Page 40 of Captured in Love
We face the canal again, waiting for something to change. Then the dragon’s tail twitches, briefly surfacing before it sinks under again. I have no idea when he’ll wake up, but I really want to talk to Isak about this. I mean, holy hell. Isthisthe reason why there aren’t any witches in Iceland?
Our problem is that we don’t really have time to wait. We don’t even know how we’re going to get out of the dragon city because of that iron portcullis in the tunnel, and we still need to get the token. We’ve spent precious time saving Isak from the portal spell. Every minute we remain here, the chances of us dying increase.
Slowly, I push myself away from the wall and tiptoe to where Isak’s great head lies underwater. I crouch by the water and softly call Isak’s name.
“Nora,” Raphaël warns.
Levi saunters over, his good mood already restored. “Yeah, you should totally let sleeping dragons lie.”
I shoot him a glare, then slowly reach out to touch Isak neck.
“Oh,” I squeak. “He’s so warm!”
I’d sort of expected the sea dragon to be cool and, well, fishy. Those shimmering pearlescent scales are definitely smooth and slick, but the heat that radiates from beneath them tells me he’s hot-blooded. I allow myself to study the features of his head, the sharp, slightly curved horns that protrude from his forehead and the spikes that run the length of his spine. His scales are pale blue on his back, and his wings have that same silvery sheen to them.
He’s magnificent.
And he’s looking at me.
I jerk back and fall on my ass. One large golden eye stares at me from beneath the surface, then the dragon lifts his head and faces me directly. He huffs at me, then sniffs, and a deep rumble begins in his chest.
“All right, that’s enough,” Raphaël growls, hauls me to my feet, and pulls me back.
Levi also puts himself in front of me, his hands raised.
I guess for all their talk about dragons, they’re still worried about what Isak might do.
The Icelander just waits, not moving a muscle in his massive body.
“Guys, it’s okay,” I murmur. “He won’t hurt us. Right?”
I address that last bit at Isak, peering from around Levi’s broad shoulders.
The dragon slowly shakes his head from left to right.
“Aw.” I slip past Raphaël and approach Isak again. “You can’t speak in this form.”
He shakes his head again.
“Can you change back to your human form?” I ask.
Isak dips his head back underwater and catches a large fish that floats by in the canal. It disappears inside his mouth with a snap of razor-sharp teeth. Then his golden eyes close, and another glimmer of magic runs over his body. This time, the process is reversed. The scales, the wings, and the tail disappear, leaving a tall, muscled man standing in the canal.
The water reaches almost up to his armpits, but it’s immediately clear that his body is in much better shape than before. Large red welts still cover his torso and legs, and all the visible skin has a fresh, pink hue to it—which makes sense. It’s completely new, regrown in the last half hour. Some of the worst lesions might even scar, but the charred, dead skin has sloughed off somehow.
Isak runs his hands over his head and winces as his fingers meet mostly bare skin. He utters a string of Icelandic words, which I would bet are curses, then focuses back on us. “Thank you,” he says.
I stare down at him, lost for words.
“Need a hand?” Levi eyes Isak warily.
The Icelander waves him away. “I need a couple more minutes in here. The water helps.”
“With what?” I ask, my brain still stuck on the fact that this man was a dragon just a minute ago.
“His supernatural healing,” Raphaël answers, his voice thoughtful.
Isak dips his head in a nod. “Yes. That.”
