by Jaymin Eve
With one final lunge the dragon’s bulk smashed through the wall holding her captive, and as it fell, a fracturing of some sort started in my chest. For a second my vision flashed in black and white before returning to regular.
I knew there was no reinstating that wall. The dragon was free and the barrier between us would never exist again. A wash of dragon and shifter magic swept through me, and in a rush of panic I ushered – maybe even shoved – my wolf back to her section. I didn’t want to end up as some sort of literal half wolf dragon – a fluffy dragon was bad enough.
“Jacob, get away from me!” I screamed as the change started to shake my body. The fey dived to the side, somehow still maintaining the elemental ring around us. I had no time to admire his move though, I was about to become a dragon.
Every muscle and nerve in my body was quivering as power and adrenalin flooded through me. The magic engulfed my mind, and unlike the other times I had shifted, I was aware enough to feel everything. The swelling of my heart as it enlarged into an organ five times the size, big enough to fill the massive chest of my dragon, this heart was filled with fire and heat. At the center of the beast was an inferno which burned hotter than lava. My bones cracked and popped, but the magic prevented the pain from being too intense. It was worse than with my wolf, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
The shift was fast, and at the same time felt like an eternity as my limbs lengthened, tearing through clothes. My mind was the last thing to shift, the world suddenly filling with the kaleidoscope of colors which dominated the dragon vision.
I blinked a few times, orienting myself to the new body and thought patterns. The dragon was less animalistic than the wolf, more evolved and wise, overflowing with an abundance of magic. Still, there was something extra foreign about my mind now, something which scared me a little and felt disconnected, like the dragon and Jessa brains were not meshing as closely as they should. Probably just another part of the bonding that I needed to work on.
I could sense thousands of life forces around me; the strongest was the fey close to my side. Jacob was awash in shades of turquoise, the energy of his fey power. Brother. The dragon knew him, trusted him. He was one of her guarded treasures, her family. The rest of the creatures who sought to harm us were another story. They would flee or die. There was no other option in the dragon’s mind.
I threw back my head and let out a roar. It bellowed deep from within my thick chest and echoed out into the darkness of the world. Strangely, the labyrinth seemed to be even more shadowed and ominous right now, as if it were reacting to the dragon’s presence and upping its scariness. It wished it was as scary as me.
The burning heat in my chest increased; flames followed the bellow, courtesy of the lava in my center. The impressive plume shot out into the air and was about a zillion times hotter than Jacob’s ring of fire, which looked to be on its last legs. Time for my dragon to step in and clear the path.
I lowered my head and nudged at my pack mate. Even with the wash of turquoise, I noticed that his skin was extra pale. He was low on energy. With a flick of my snout, I indicated that he needed to get onto my back. I was getting us out of here, one way or another, and while I knew it wouldn’t be as simple as just flying away – the labyrinth would not let me go that easily – I could at least clear a path.
His eyes flashed as he climbed on, his almost non-existent weight settling in behind my wing joints. I flapped a few times to ensure I had enough movement.
“I need to drop the elemental ring now, Jessa babe.” His low words were easy for the dragon to hear. “I want to have enough energy to keep your back protected.”
I nodded my head at him, letting him know I was ready. It was time.
The fire winked out in a final flash of heat and light and the noise seemed to increase then, as if Jacob and I had been in our own personal bubble. My powerful limbs surged forward and the instincts of the dragon kicked in. Which was good, because the Jessa part of me had no idea how to utilize this weapon which was my beast.
My tail whipped around in an arc, clearing out the enemies sneaking in behind, and with two hard thrusts of my wings I was up off the ground, about six-feet high, which allowed me to use my four powerful claws as weapons. Creatures threw themselves forward and I wiped through them like they were nothing. A lick of heat grazed my right side, and I glanced down to see that a bunch of the fire slugs had morphed together and were trying to blast through my scales and fur. I wanted to chuckle. I was a dragon, fire was my friend. It almost felt rejuvenating, as if I was sucking in some of the element and strengthening myself, slices of heat flickering through my blood and into my muscles and organs.
I roared again and my own flames shot out, incinerating everything in the path, flames of the brightest red and orange, with shimmers of blue, almost like the blue flame which surrounded Braxton when he went into raging maniac mode.
Braxton.
On the outside we were still fighting, flames and claws making light work of the creatures who had made the mistake of taking on a dragon. Jacob on my back was helping too. I could see flashes of his elemental magic in the dim light. Yep, on the outside we were all badass, but on the inside my dragon was making a sad, mourning cry. It hurt my heart, like someone had just reached into my chest and was squeezing it tightly. I realized I was mourning too.
Mate, we both said in a whisper to the other. I understood her emotions; she had accepted Braxton as the mate for me, and we both missed him and his dragon.
I pushed down my ache for the moment. I needed to focus. So far the labyrinth had only thrown evil little critters at us, no match for the dragon. None of them had an attack which could hurt me. But I sensed something more lurked in the shadows.
“Move, Jessa!” Jacob’s shout spurred me into action, and my wings, which had been in a glide position, started to flap and push us forward. My flames cleared the path, and finally a few of the small annoyances must have grown a brain, because they were fleeing back into the bushy hedges around us.
The darkness was no problem for the dragon. The world was awash in a medley of colors, everything tinted with light so I could see clearly. Within a few seconds we were well past the chipmunks and friends, but I knew there was a reason Jacob had warned me to move. Something was stalking us, something big.
I heard a tense chuckle from my fey pack mate. “I love the way you could have taken off immediately and flown above their heads, but instead you stayed and showed them their mistake in attacking us.”
Hell yes I did. Next time they would think twice about it. I was dragon and wolf. We did not run from a fight; we were dominant and needed them to know it. Plus, it was fun to let free some of my frustrated anger. I hated the path my life had taken lately: the dragon mark, the Four, Larky. And most especially that my bond with Braxton had not formed properly. If it wasn’t for the fact that I had found my twin – who had some decent groveling to do the next time I saw her so I wouldn’t kick her ass – and I had freed my dragon, I’d think that the fates kind of hated me.
Bitches.
Okay, they did give me Braxton as a mate, sort of, so I couldn’t really hate on them too much.
Still, it wasn’t like I’d had any time to actually enjoy or appreciate this gift. Sooooo … I was right back to wanting to kick the fates in their faces. Their stupid, smug faces.
“Jess, you need to move faster. Death stalks us on swift winds. The evil is so infiltrated in this area I can’t even tell where it’s coming from.”
I realized I had slipped easily into my Jessa mind then. The dragon and I were coexisting so much more independently than me and my wolf, like there were two separate brains inside my head. I worried about that. Shouldn’t there be more melding between us?
My chest started rumbling then, and I knew the dragon was feeling the same evil as Jacob. I let my mind go, let her take control again, and the world was once more flashing at me in so many different stimuli. The wind whipped around us, and in the air cur
rents I scented the shadow stalking us. It was strong and dark, familiar, but also smoke-like. Every time I got a decent feel for what was after us, the sense slipped through my fingers.
My wings flapped harder, the cool air whooshing by. I barely felt the chill, but something told me it was almost freezing. I hoped Jacob was doing okay back there. His magical bond with the elements should keep him warm. The labyrinth, which was actually not a labyrinth at all since there was nothing maze-like to this path, seemed to be changing as we progressed further through it.
The unease was creeping closer, my scaly hide growing extra sensitive to the currents around me. That ache which had started in my lower back when we were first attacked was still present, even while in dragon form. Which was odd – shifting usually healed minor wounds.
A shadow closed over us and I knew an attack was imminent. I mentally urged Jacob to hold on as my dragon went into stealth mode. I dived lower, whipping in and out of the shadows, pulling my wings in tight so my large dragon body moved as swiftly as a bullet.
I risked a glance backwards, and the flash of black, red, and orange caught my gaze. Motherfucker. Larky had finally caught up with us; that bastard just did not give up. I kicked up my speed. I could not risk Jacob. I wasn’t sure what the king would do if he got his hands on him, and my best friend was vulnerable without his brothers.
The greenery around us changed again, thinning out and giving the general vibe that we were coming to the end of this journey. I spread my wings again and flapped a few more times, my brain screaming for us to go faster, although my dragon remained calm as she kept one eye on our surroundings and one on Larky. I dived lower, my claws almost scraping the rough ground. There were no creatures to avoid here, just the giant shadow tailing me at a rapid rate.
I heard Jacob give an excited yell and I focused forward. Yes! We were nearing the end of the path, a trail which would have been very long and difficult to traverse without the help of my dragon. Of course, I wasn’t sure if all those tiny asshole critters were courtesy of the jinn; those ancient fuckers kept trying to passively kill me. Even if the “ass eaters” were just a special gift for me alone, the sheer length of this path could have any person wandering for weeks.
The dragon cut through the distance with a speed that would be impossible for any other supernatural. Freedom was so close I could practically smell the fresh air, or at least new air from whatever lay on the other side. The damp, decaying scents were lessening, and I had a sense of sunshine and crystal clear waters. Something beautiful was on the other side.
The shadow was close. It would be a race to see which of us would make it there first. The steel trap of my dragon mind forced me to focus on the end of our maze, to push our wings harder, to dip and dive through the air currents, seeking the fastest route. I’d had no idea that dragons could actually use the elements to increase their speed. My beast showed me differently.
Even though shifters used magic to shift, my wolf was still animal, bound by the laws of her species. I was starting to think dragons had no laws, which was just fantastic when I had another crazy-ass dragon chasing me, one with a god complex and delusions of grandeur.
The space between the hedges was widening. I could actually spread my wings their full width, which had to be well over fifteen feet. Jacob pressed himself more firmly against me, and at the same time leaned back to give me a chance to really flap hard.
“Fuck!” My fey quad’s curse was low and menacing, and I knew our time for running was up.
In a flash, I flipped myself over into a complete tumble, which somehow let the dragon body snake around and face back the way we’d just come from.
Holy flaming shitballs. How the hell had that even been possible?
Especially considering we’d been flying fast, like a freaking bullet fast. That was a wicked move. I needed to learn what the dragon was capable of. Both of us were pretty clueless. Thankfully, she had millions of years of instinct guiding her.
As the dragon focused back into the darkened labyrinth, the shadow was no longer just a shadow. It was a massive sunset-colored dragon, at least twice the size of me, the stuff of horror and legend. The breadth of its black wings, tipped in red points, were well over twenty-five feet, Larky’s four heavily-muscled legs tucked-up beneath. He had managed to change his own trajectory and was now hovering about a hundred yards from us.
My dragon had mixed emotions about this magnificent creature. She seemed both in awe and annoyed. I understood this. Larky was pretty magnetic, and his beast was damn impressive. From this angle his dragon looked even larger than Braxton’s and that was saying something. Still, neither of us particularly liked that he kept chasing us and trying to lock us up like a friggin’ circus sideshow.
Jacob slid himself off to the side, hanging close to my head. “I’ll distract him, Jessa babe, you get out of here. Get to the boys so they can help you fight. You and I can’t take him right now. He’s too powerful and we cannot let him get a hold of you. Whatever plans he has, they’re not happening.” The fey practically hung mid-air on my right flank, his air element assisting him to stay aloft.
A growl rumbled my chest. He was as crazy as donkey balls if he thought I was going to leave him here to the mercy of Larky. I knew for a fact I wasn’t going to die today. King dickhead needed me for something, but Jacob did not have any protection against his treachery. And if he died, my world would cease to exist.
I lunged out to snap at his shirt. Once he was in my teeth I’d be hauling him back onto my back, but he had already let go of me. He fell thirty feet to the ground, in a rapid but controlled drop.
Bastard. Jacob didn’t have to worry about Larky, I was going to beat his ass when I got to him. Ignoring his orders from before, I followed his path, the flash of blond hair easy enough to track in the darkness. He was heading straight for the other dragon.
“Jessa babe, go the other fucking way,” I heard him yell, but he didn’t stop, and I wasn’t stopping either. Larky was still hovering, his orange-tinted eyes observing us as we both barreled toward him.
“Braxton is waiting for you, Jess.”
Jacob was playing hardball now. My chest actually clenched, even in dragon form. Both of us loved Braxton. But I also loved Jacob and I would never be able to face the rest of my boys if I left one of them behind in here with the dragon king. I would never be able to face myself again.
I covered the distance in seconds, the darkness again closing in as I left the light and freedom which had been so close. I had no hesitation to attack, but I decided not to hit the dragon king head on. In the last possible second I ducked myself beneath the massive form of the sunset dragon, avoiding his claws and coming up behind him. I snaked out and bit down onto his tail, which hung low and heavy, avoiding the three-foot spikes which littered the spine of his body and tail, and crunched into scale and flesh. As my jaws locked on, I ceased flapping, dropping straight down. Larky gave a roar as I took him down with me, but, unfortunately, just as the ground closed in, he flapped those powerful wings and halted our descent.
I will not let you be hurt. You must stop fighting me.
Oh hell to the no! For the love of all the fey gods, someone tell me Larky is not able to talk in my head! That was supposed to be something I experienced the first time with Braxton, the way dragons could communicate with each other.
I projected my thoughts back as loudly as I could.
Go. Fuck. Yourself.
A low, rich and kind of creepy laugh echoed in my mind. I would much rather you did that for me.
Well, shit. I kind of walked right into that one.
Larky continued to hold both of our weights with no effort, the air around us whooshing as his wings beat rhythmically. I had no idea how to stop him or escape. I couldn’t see Jacob any longer, and I really hoped he was somewhere safe now.
In a desperate move, I opened my jaws and let myself drop very close to the ground. The hedges were narrow in this section. As fast as
I could move, Larky would not be able to follow me. I was determined to lead him away from Jacob.
I zoomed along with the currents, enjoying the whip of icy wind on my snout. The large dragon shadow fell in behind me, which sucked, but at least he was following me, which is what I wanted. Except the closer we got to the end of this maze, the easier it would be for him to spread those massive wings and catch me. I hadn’t forgotten Rose’s words though. Larky was not welcome on the isle of the shining ones. The gods hated him too, so if I could just make it through to there, I’d be safe.
And if Jacob wasn’t on the other side when I got there, I was gonna be pissed. I flapped harder, an ache developing in the joints of my wing. I wasn’t used to using these muscles. My poor dragon had spent too much of her life trapped inside of me.
There I went again, acting like she was a separate entity from me. I’d never heard Braxton express this sort of feeling for his beast. I’d just never expected her to be so independent, unique, and strong of personality. I was actually sad that she was not free, that she was under my control. Why didn’t it feel like that with my wolf?
The light was bright again. I’d made good distance, but now would be the true part of the race. I heard a roar, and felt flames licking at my tail. Larky was gaining on me, but I had sheer desperation on my side. I flapped harder, the pain in my wings and back fading out to almost nothing as my adrenalin skyrocketed.
The shadow was closer now, so close I could smell the wild magic of his dragon. With my own bellowing roar I pushed myself further, praying for strength to make it to the end. I was losing momentum, the adrenalin only able to sustain me for so long. I wasn’t going to make it.