An arm grasped his, pinching his forearm back and hauling him to his feet. In front of him, another vampire closed in fast. His fangs dropped over his lips, and there was a twisted smile on his face. The soldier raised a black-clawed hand and arced his arm out to strike.
Kestrel braced himself for the blow. Instead, something hit the vampire with the force of a freight train, sending him hurtling through the air and over the cliff. A piercing roar bit through the night.
A dragon.
The thought came seconds before an opal-hued dragon landed on the ledge in front of him. Her transparent, gossamer wings and tail fanned out behind her.
A shiver of awareness rolled down Kestrel’s spine, unfurling a ribbon of worry in its wake.
“Doc,” he breathed in disbelief.
A low growl vibrated by his ear seconds before the hands on him loosened. As Kestrel’s brain worked to piece together what was happening, the vampire on his right splintered off. Panic gripped his heart and he quickly set his eyes on Doc.
Snarling, Kestrel threw his chin back, head-butting the nose of the soldier behind him. The satisfying sound of crunching bone rang in his skull.
Blinding and warm, the light of dragonfire reflected off the cliff face around him seconds before a high-pitched scream warbled in the night. Kestrel smiled, knowing Doc had managed to take care of another vamp on her own.
Without waiting for a counterattack, Kestrel tugged his arm free, elbowing the vampire in the gut. The bloodsucker released him and stumbled back, his hand clutched about his middle. Bent over as he was, the soldier never saw Doc’s mighty fist coming. It swooped from above, her talons digging into his skull. Rivers of blood cascaded down his face in thick red streams so dark they looked black against his pale skin and alabaster hair.
Kestrel watched Doc dispatch the soldier’s body over the cliff. A beaming grin pulled back his lips. Warmth, pride and even a dash of happiness took the place of the pain and frustration he’d so recently been feeling.
The dragon looked down at him and he swore he saw her smile. Kestrel stepped forward, stopping when something snagged his vision out of the corner of his eye. Nothing more than a flash of glinting light cutting through the dark night. But at once his brain recalled the horde across the way, and his stomach dropped.
He screamed her name, but the warning came too late. Her body flew back as if struck by a rocket. A heart-splintering shriek filled his ears.
Kestrel hurried to her side, forcing his gaze from the metal spear protruding from her chest to her eyes. Her big, beautiful eyes. They blinked. Pearls of liquid squeezed out and agony was etched clear across her delicate dragon face.
“Doc,” he breathed. He couldn’t help but notice his hands were nearly as shaky as his voice. Couldn’t help the inept feeling shrouding him with every second that ticked by. Fearful his emotions might frighten her more, he swallowed them down.
“What should I do?”
She mewled, a sharp, guttural breath that twisted his heart. However, he heard her words whisper crisp and strong in his mind.
“Have to…pull it out.”
“How?” he replied, glad his voice sounded more confident, more sure than his fracturing soul.
“Just grab…and pull.” Her voice panted in his mind.
He stepped closer. The tip of his boot sank into a puddle of dark blood pooling beneath her body. His footing faltered, his stomach rolling in a nauseous wave he wasn’t sure he could stand to ride out. The realization she lay there in pain, perhaps dying because of him, sent an entirely new kind of agony jabbing through his gut.
Exhaling, he placed his hands on the silver weapon. At once the reaction began. The sizzle of flesh on a scorching-hot surface hit his ears, seconds before pain sensors fired in every direction, screaming for him to release his hold. Kestrel gripped the spear more tightly, fitting his gaze to hers one last time before he dared edge it out even an inch.
“I’m sorry if this hurts you,” he said with a forced smile, mimicking the words she’d used when she tended him. Then he roared out a scream and pulled back hard. A scream she echoed in his mind. At the sound of her agony, his chest tightened, his heart silently breaking.
Kestrel pivoted, putting his back to her. His hands screamed, blistering heat scorching him to the bone. But he wouldn’t let go, couldn’t let go, not until he was far enough away from her. He limped a step, and then another before pitching back his arms and letting the silver instrument fly over the cliff.
Kestrel allowed himself a moment to breathe before he spun around, trying to get a bead on Sparrow, to make sure she was safe.
His breath caught. “Doc,” he said on the exhale, shuffling toward her.
Small and bloody, she lay there in human form looking every bit like the broken bird she was. Trembling, fragile and so small. A single bead of crimson puckered from beneath the arm she held protectively over her middle, swelling to a dark maroon against her nearly translucent flesh.
Blood.
Kestrel sucked in a breath as his eyes truly took in the sight before him. The tacky substance seemed to be pouring out from everywhere and yet nowhere he could discern. It pooled beneath her slim body, the circle of slick liquid eating up the ground beneath her.
Where was it all coming from? How much was she losing? How much could she lose?
She murmured something unintelligible, her voice flat and hollow. It took him a moment to realize she’d answered his questions. That he’d spoken them aloud. He moved alongside her, tenderly sliding her arm away from her side. Her hand seized his, her blood-slicked fingers twining through his in a death grip. Swallowing, Kestrel gave her a reassuring squeeze before prying her fingers from his. “It’s okay, Doc. I’ve got you.”
She blinked up at him. A second after she nodded, he glanced down at her wound.
Oh, Gods.
The gaping hole punctured her abdomen, just below the rib cage. The core of it raw, aching and streaming a constant gush of blood.
Kestrel didn’t need to be an empath to feel her pain. It saturated his every breath. He leveled his gaze on hers and tried to mask the worry in his voice.
“You’re going to have to talk me through this. I don’t know what to do.”
Chapter Nine
Sparrow tried to focus on Kestrel’s words. His voice sounded hard and cold. But then he moved closer, lay beside her. The scent of him curled around her, his warm body emitting the heat hers no longer seemed capable of producing. His fingers twined in her hair and his dark and sexy voice lowered to a seductive whisper as he followed her instructions and applied pressure to her wound.
Her hands instinctively covered his when he tried to move away. “No,” she panted. “There.”
She closed her eyes. Closed off all thoughts and emotions and simply listened. The rhythmic ocean sang in the background. The steady pull and release of the waves rolled over the pebbled beaches below. She’d always wanted to hear the ocean one day. She only wished she could see it. Actually, right now she wished a lot of things.
Then she thought of something she’d meant to ask him last night before she fell asleep in his arms.
“Kestrel?” she asked, her voice distant and hollow to her own ears.
“Yeah, Doc?”
“How did you know—” she swallowed “—I said I love you?”
Warm and soft, his lips touched her forehead, placing a kiss upon it. “I heard you. Heard your voice in my head as clear as I hear you speaking now.”
She took a breath and tried to speak. When nothing but a faint wheeze came out, she sucked in another gulp of air. “I do, you know…”
“Shhh, sunshine. Don’t speak,” he said, his voice cracking. Long and gentle, his fingers stroked her hair. At the feel of his touch, her muscles relaxed, her limbs grew heavy.
“I like that,” she managed.
His fingers continued their soothing pattern through her hair. “Thank you for coming after me.” He spoke so softly, she half
thought she imagined it. “But you know what this means now, don’t you?”
“Hmm?”
“Well, now that you’ve shifted, you’re going to have to move out of the magus dome. That sequestered life won’t suit you after tasting the open air.”
She heard his smile and offered one in return. “Nowhere else…to go.”
Silence stretched for what felt like an hour.
“You can stay with me.”
Sparrow tried to respond. Tried to tell him how happy his offer made her. But her mouth wouldn’t quite work. And her eyes felt as if lead weights anchored them down. “So…tired.”
“No, Doc,” he said, his body shifting beside her. “I need you to stay with me. Keep talking to me. Dammit!” he said, grasping her cheeks. “Doc, look at me. Look at me,” he repeated, the hands on her face as urgent as his voice.
Sparrow blinked, forcing her eyes open.
“You can’t leave me. Not now, okay?”
“Losing…too much blood.” She closed her eyes. “Sorry.”
A deep sigh reverberated by her temple. Then his body shifted away from hers and she nearly whimpered at the loss. Blindly she groped the air where she’d felt him last. Firm and strong, his hand clasped hers. “I’m right here, Doc. I’m not going anywhere. But I’ve got to let you go for a second. I’ve got to get you back to the sisters.”
A blast of air washed over her. An uncontrollable shudder racked her body, her teeth chattering. Kestrel’s voice, smooth and reassuring, spoke in her mind, lessening the stab of pain lancing through her as a mighty silver dragon gently lifted her off the ground.
Chapter Ten
“Good morning, sunshine.”
At the sight of Kestrel, stretched out in the chair beside her bed, Sparrow grinned madly. Something she did a lot these days.
“Did you sleep here all night again?” she asked, propping herself up.
“Would you have preferred me in your hospital bed?”
Sparrow smiled. Again. Then lowered her eyes, hoping to hide exactly how very much she would have loved to feel him crowding the small bed beside her.
The sound of leather stretching echoed in the room as Kestrel stood. His booted heels clicked on the linoleum floor, followed by a distinct metal clink. “You’re blushing, love.”
“Stop it,” she hushed, her gaze self-consciously flitting about the infirmary. “They’ll hear you.”
“Let them.” He bent over her. Tilting her chin with his thumb and forefinger, he placed a soft, sweet kiss on her lips.
“They’ll see you, too.”
He smiled, the sight stealing her breath. “Do you really mind?”
“Not one bit,” she said with a grin.
“I’m sorry,” a voice called from the door. “Am I interrupting something?”
Kestrel looked over, sinking into a bow at the sight of the king’s son, Declan. “My lord,” he said. Sparrow lowered her head, offering the new king as much respect as she could while horizontal. “What brings you to sick bay?”
“Well,” he said, stepping into the room. The white sweater he wore offset his dark hair and the striking blue of his eyes. Kestrel’s throat tightened with emotion. He looked so like his father.
“Since the doctor could not make our meet the other day,” Declan continued, “I came here to discuss the prophecy of this Draco Crystal she deciphered.” Declan’s face tightened, a dark look passing over his features. “However, before we can commence, there is an order of business that’s come to my attention.”
Kestrel swallowed his apprehension. “Yes.”
Declan kept his eyes on Sparrow. “I understand the doctor would like the position of resident healer to be reinstated.”
She nodded. “Very much, my lord.”
“As I’m sure you are aware, this flock has never had a female in high office at court, much less as resident healer. It’s just not done.”
Doc’s delicate gaze flitted to Kestrel. The look in her eyes constricted his heart, twisting it cruelly.
“My lord.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “Declan. Don’t do this. I beg you.”
A light of tenderness flickered behind his friend’s weary blue eyes. “I’m sorry, Captain…”
Kestrel could no longer hold his head up, could no longer bear to watch the truth he knew was about to slam down on his heart like a gavel.
“However, it is mandatory that I personally approve of all mating flights, especially when it concerns two high council members.”
“What?” Kestrel shot his disbelieving gaze up to Declan. The sincere grin on his king’s face at once washed away any doubts.
Declan clapped him on the shoulder. “In these dark times, those who can, deserve to find and enjoy happiness while they can.” Then his gaze settled on Sparrow. “And some rules are not meant to last forever. Welcome to the council, my dear. I look forward to working with you.”
Sparrow and the king clasped hands. Kestrel watched in a daze as he left the room, leaving them alone again. Grinning, he stepped over to Doc, not minding the measured steps it took to get there. Only that he was beside her. That they were together.
Long and smooth, her fingers twined with his, pulling his attention down.
“Mating flight?” she asked, an eager smile in her eyes.
A wicked curve twisted his mouth and he bent, his lips hovering over hers. “Well, we wouldn’t want to upset the king now, would we?”
Don’t miss the thrilling story of the dragon lord Declan’s romance with vampire princess Alexia in SHADOW OF THE VAMPIRE, by Meagan Hatfield. Available from HQN Books!
Turn the page to read an excerpt…
Shadow of the Vampire
By Meagan Hatfield
Declan ran up the narrow tunnel. Footfalls pounding the earth behind him told him they didn’t have much time to escape. Straight ahead, the mouth of the cave yawned, the slight flicker of moonlight revealing their way out.
“Tallon!”
“I see it,” she called over her shoulder, her legs kicking with each powerful stride.
“Fly,” he shouted when they neared the ledge. Without slowing, Tallon leapt into the void. Her slight body fell for a split second before she shifted form and took to the sky. Declan made sure she was airborne before pushing off the cliff with a grunt. His long body soared through the cool air, transforming with seamless precision into a black dragon.
As he climbed upward, a glance back showed the vampire soldiers, armed and ready to kill for the treasure he’d carried out of their den. Turning toward the heavens, Declan beat his wings to climb higher as a barrage of gunshots screamed from below.
“Faster,” he shouted telepathically, seconds before bullets tattered the scales of his left wing. A hot spike of pain lanced between his shoulder blades. Slipping in his ascent, he paused to grab a breath.
“Declan. Come on!”
He ignored her. Instead, he stared at the vampire horde twenty feet below. Rage bubbled in his veins at the sight of them spilling out of their seaside catacomb like ants from a hill. A soldier lifted a bow gun to his shoulder and fired. Arrows cut through the sky. Declan swung into their path, taking in his arm the one meant for Tallon. The skewered flesh sizzled.
Silver-tipped arrows. He groaned.
Not good.
The fine metal acted like a poison on his kind, eating their flesh and siphoning their power from the inside out. Gritting his jaw against the pain, he slashed the knapsack from around his neck and tossed it at Tallon. She caught it in one clawed hand.
“Take it and go.”
She looked up. The fear in her eyes eating at his soul. Tonight was not supposed to have gone down like this. They’d gotten what they came for. But he’d be damned if it ended with her getting hurt.
A second arrow ate through his thigh.
“Dammit, Tallon. You promised.” He growled. “Get out of here. Now!”
A breath of relief sawed out of his lungs when she nodded. After
she disappeared in the darkness, he turned his focus on the vamp with the bow gun. Snapping his wings wide, Declan arced into a kamikaze dive. Fire licked the back of his throat. Smoke curled out of his nostrils.
The vampire saw him coming and turned to run, but he was too late. Declan opened his jowls, raining a torrent of dragonfire on the soldier. Pale flesh melted off his face and hands, pooling on the stones below.
Before Declan could close his jaw, another blitz of gunshots saturated the sky. Blazing heat ripped through his veins with the same burning efficiency as the bullets had torn his flesh. His wings faltered and folded behind him. His elongated muzzle shrunk until cool night air whipped his human face, tossing strands of hair into his eyes.
“Shit,” he muttered as he began plummeting toward the ground, human from the waist up. Unable to stop, he twisted in midair and tucked his chin, waiting for impact. His body smacked the dirt, bouncing and skidding, his flesh eating the small rocks and granules. He slid to a halt. A cloud of dust rose and then settled over him like a blanket, coating his lungs.
Coughing, he rolled to his stomach and opened his eyes to peek. Two soldiers were rushing him. Fast. Their black trench coats billowed behind them, showing off an assortment of weapons strapped to gun belts around their thick waists.
At least six more, all decked out like G.I. Joe on crack, were closing in not ten paces behind them.
Great.
The first two almost on him, Declan crouched and sideswiped his leg in an arc, knocking them down. Springing to his feet, he reared his tail. Blood splattered across his face and neck as he lodged the club-shaped ball at the end of it into the nearest vamp’s chest. Spinning, he caught the second one by the throat. He snapped the soldier’s thick neck around until a sickening crunch reverberated through his arms. Discarding the lifeless heap on the ground, Declan wrenched his tail out of what was left of the other vamp’s torso, and turned to face the second wave of soldiers bearing down on him.
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