Page 121 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
“I am certain we have nothing to worry about with him for the rest of the night.” Kitaro held up the animals he found on his hunt. “Shall we have lunch?”
“Yes!” Auslin’s hunger returned now that the threat of Fenalo was gone.
The two set about readying lunch before they resumed their travels for the afternoon.
Chapter 62
Auslin
It grew colder as they drew nearer to the mountains where Satsuma lived in Arenvale. The intimidating summit towered over them, filling Auslin with dread as they made camp at the base of the mountain. He warmed up in front of the fire while Kitaro hunted for food.
While Auslin didn’t need to worry about Kitaro straying, he extended his senses because it comforted him to know the shifter prince was nearby. But something disturbing drew Auslin’s attention. Someone was badly hurt. Auslin’s need to help someone in pain conflicted with his duty to stay where he was until Kitaro returned. If he waited too long, he might be too late.
It was something Kio had yelled at Auslin about so many times. The human’s need to save others had infuriated the half-shifter. But Kitaro wasn’t Kio. Hewould understand why Auslin had to go, plus he could trace the mage by scent since he wasn’t going far.
Auslin had only been walking a few minutes before he came across a massive dog that was easily ten times the size of the human. Based on its size, it was clearly a dog shifter in beast form, caught in a gnarly trap. As Auslin approached, the black dog snarled at him, baring its teeth in warning. Wild anger burned bright in its glowing green eyes.
The ferocious show of anger would have been terrifying if Auslin hadn’t been so worried about the shifter. He reached out with his aura to brush against the dog shifter’s, doing his best to soothe the creature. “I’m not here to hurt you. I want to set you free and heal you, okay?” He held his hand out for the dog to sniff. “I know you can smell I’m telling the truth. I just want to help.”
When the dog merely whined through a grumble, Auslin walked closer. He crouched down to look at the massive metal trap, which had ensnared the dog shifter and crushed its leg. The trap seemed to be enchanted, so the shifter couldn’t use magic to get out of it. Auslin frowned at the gruesome contraption and the sight of bone peeking through broken skin.
He tried to pry it open, but his human strength wasn’t enough to budge the jaws of the trap. The dog shifter snarled in pain, making Auslin stop. He stroked the part of the dog that wasn’t hurt. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it worse. But I promise I will get youout of here.” He sensed Kitaro approaching, which gave him hope. “Someone’s coming who can help us.”
At Kitaro’s arrival, the dog shifter began angrily barking at him.
The dragon shifter was completely nonplussed by the aggressive behavior. He stayed focused on Auslin. “Is there some reason you are here instead of at camp?”
“Because he needed help.” Auslin kept his voice calm, even though the loud barking unnerved him. “It’s okay. He’s with me. I promise he won’t hurt you, either. We both want to help.”
The barking stopped, but the dog shifter still growled in warning.
“I’m not strong enough to open this trap, but he should be able to do it,” Auslin continued. “Once he does, I’ll heal you so you can leave immediately. We only want to help you get free.”
The dog shifter warily looked at Auslin, his nose flaring as he tried to scent the lie.
Auslin gestured for Kitaro to join him. “Would you please get this thing off him? I’m not strong enough, and I only hurt him more when I tried.”
“I will do my best.” It took considerable effort for Kitaro to pry the trap open enough for the dog shifter to slip his injured leg free.
The dog shifter immediately started trying to scramble away, but Auslin stopped him. “Wait! Will you please let me heal you? There’s no reason for youto suffer for hours while your leg repairs itself when I can help. You can leave as soon as I’m done.”
Auslin thought the shifter would refuse, but it lay down in front of the human. It extended its injured leg in silent permission.
“Thank you.” It was a relief he could help.
Auslin merged his aura with the dog shifter’s. It allowed him to heal the nasty break from where the trap had shattered the bone and torn the muscles to shreds. The damage made Auslin cringe in sympathy. “You poor thing.”
Only once he was satisfied the injury had completely healed did Auslin withdraw his aura. He petted the leg to reassure himself that it had returned to normal. “That’s much better. You’re free to go now. Be well.”
Instead of running off like Auslin expected, the dog shifter reverted into his human form. He was a young-looking man with black hair, brown eyes, and emerald-green shifter markings on his body. His expression was incredulous. “Why?”
Auslin tilted his head in confusion. “Why what?”
The shifter gestured between them. “Why would a human ever heal a shifter? Why would you even try to help me at all?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Auslin shrugged. “You were hurt. It was the right thing to do.”
“You’rehuman,” the dog shifter spat in disgust. “Humans made that trap. And you ask me why?”
