Esther grabbed his hands. “Stop. Okay? Stop. This isn’t your fault. All we know is that they left in a rush. They would have gone to, what, a safehouse?”
Bryant swallowed thickly and nodded. “There were several backup sites that the royal family could go to in case of emergency. Finding out which one, though…”
“Wait.” Esther dove for the phone. “I have Dominique’s number memorized. Shit, why didn’t I think of that before?”
As she dialed Bryant chuckled. “I think that’s the first time I heard you swear.”
Esther rolled her eyes as the phone started to ring. She bounced on her toes, her heart thrumming as thoughts of never seeing her friend again kept invading. Fortunately, Dominique answered soon enough, sounding both surprised and wary.
“Dom!” Esther let out a relieved breath. “Thank goodness. Are you okay?”
“Esther?”
“Yeah.”
There was a choking noise. “What the hell do you mean am I okay? You were kidnapped! Where are you? Virdi will come get you.”
“I’m fine.” Esther glanced at Bryant. “I wasn’t kidnapped. It was a… misunderstanding. I’m with Bryant at your old place.”
“What?” Dominique’s voice took on a note of panic. “Get out of there! Right now. Esther, get out of there!”
“What? Why?”
The phone went dead. Esther looked up at Bryant, who reached for her. There was something in his eyes that she couldn’t decipher. In the next second, the sound of a gun blasted through the house. A whistle, a thud. A mist of red sprayed over her face and she screamed. Bryant’s eyes widened and he stumbled. Both of them looked down to where a dark hole gaped in his abdomen. He shoved her, knocking her to the floor.
Another gunshot. This one veered to one side and blasted a hole in the mantle on the opposite side of the room. Bryant threw himself behind the couch as the door was kicked open. Robert Dunn strode in, a handgun in his hand and a smile on his lips.
“This has gone on long enough, hasn’t it, Chandler?” he caught sight of Esther and smiled, aiming the gun at her. She scrambled back and dodged behind a chair. Loud thumps hit the floor as the dragon strode forward. “Did he tell you why we hate each other so much, little human girl?”
A snarl from somewhere. Bryant. Pained and furious. Esther’s mind whirled as she looked around, trying to find something–anything–to protect herself with.
“He killed my little brother. A champion’s fight between our clans. He shouldn’t have—"
A snarl and a yelp. Something hit the floor. Esther couldn’t stop herself. She peeked around the chair to see Bryant laying into the other dragon. The gun lay on the floor near their feet. Dunn punched Bryant in the face, and Bryant retaliated with a puff of fire directly in his face. The two traded blows, shouting wordlessly. Esther watched, frozen in horror, until Dunn drove his fist into Bryant’s bleeding wound. He doubled over, face going white, and Esther threw herself from her hiding place. She scrambled for the gun.
Bryant roared. Dunn elbowed him in the face and threw him into the coffee table. It shattered under his weight, but Dunn was no longer paying attention to him. As soon as Esther’s hand wrapped around the gun, a heavy boot came down on her hand. Blinding pain flashed through her and she cried out. A clawed hand grabbed the back of her arm and dragged her to her feet.
“Don’t,” Bryant groaned. He coughed, spraying blood into the air, and rolled to his knees. “Let her go, Dunn.”
Dunn twisted Esther’s arm behind her back and wrapped a hand around her throat. “Oh, look at that. Turns out you can’t protect a woman. Twice in a row the girl you love is gonna die. Huh. The only way you get the jump on someone is by acting like a coward—”
“Tough talk from you,” Esther snarled, fighting his grip. “You shot him. In a fair fight—”
“Shut up.” Dunn shook her hard, making her teeth rattle. “And to think I was feeling bad about you having to die. When I told the Emperor’s father that one of his guardsmen had kidnapped a human woman and planned on devouring her, he didn’t believe me. Not at first, at least. But better safe than sorry. He took his mate and child and left me with half a dozen guard.”
Where were they? Esther’s heart practically stopped.
“They weren’t easy to get rid of, your brothers-in-arms,” Dunn continued, sneering at Bryant. “Once I return to him and tell him how you killed them and the human woman, you’ll be executed for sure.”
“They’ll never believe that.” Esther writhed in his grip as she felt claws pressing against her skin.
“With you dead and the proof of your marriage in my hands?” Dunn pushed his nose into her hair and inhaled deeply. “Not to mention your scent all over him and his all over you. I bet I could even convince them that he—”
Bryant threw himself forward with a roar. Flames flickered in his mouth as his bulk rammed into Dunn, throwing the other dragon off balance. Bryant’s arms wrapped around Esther and in one motion he yanked her from Dunn’s grasp. He didn’t waste any more time; Esther felt his skin grow hot and rough as scales burst over him. Wings crashed into the ceiling and he tucked her close to his belly as he smashed through the wall. With a couple great beats of his wings, he took off.
Blood continued to pour from his wound, dripping to the ground as they flew. Esther wiggled around in his grasp and managed to press both hands to the wound. She could feel the ragged edges of flesh and the hot liquid submerging her hands. It made her head spin and she almost threw up twice, but she swallowed it back down and pressed her hands tighter.
Eventually, his wings faltered. He took a nosedive into a thick swatch of forest. With a cry and a jerk, he flipped onto his back. Trees crumbled as they crashed through them. The jolt threw Esther clear, and she smacked into a tree and rolled over a few times before blackness swallowed her vision.
***
Esther groaned, pain spiking through both her head and hand. The pain made her vomit, but once her stomach was empty she forced herself to her feet. Bryant lay motionless in his human form nearby and she stumbled over to him. The gunshot wound had stopped bleeding, and she could still see him breathing. The thought that Dunn might be following them crossed her mind, but she couldn’t bring herself to worry about that. If he was following them, he’d already be there, wouldn’t he?
She curled into Bryant’s side and closed her eyes, letting the darkness take her again. When she opened them again, it was dark all around.
There was a soft moan beneath her and she lifted herself up. A flicker of flame lit the area, showing Bryant’s eyes were open. He swallowed his fire back down and reached for her. His hands patted her face and he let out another groan.
“You’re okay.”
“I think so.” Esther pulled herself up, deciding not to say anything about her aching hand. She was okay. That was all that mattered right now. “I’m going to find some wood for a fire.”
“No… just stay next to me.”
That sounded nice. Even better than any sort of flame or light source. She sank back down beside him, her arms wrapping around his waist. Her hand submerged in a hot liquid again and her heart jumped into her throat. “You’re still bleeding.”
Bryant shifted slightly and groaned. “I’ll be fine. It’s not that bad. The jackass has lousy aim…”
His voice broke. Esther remembered what else Dunn had said–he had killed Bryant’s colleagues. His friends… Fury welled in her but fear followed close behind. She suddenly felt too fragile to do anything and the possibilities of what might have happened crashed down on her, leaving her panting for breath.
“If he was following us, he would have killed us already,” Bryant whispered. “Probably wants us hunted… I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Esther buried her face into his chest and started to cry softly. “What makes you think I’m worried about myself? I thought he was going to kill you. I thought… What does he want? Why does he hate you so much? This is mo
re than a petty grudge match over a kicked dog, what happened to his brother?”
Bryant was silent for a long moment. So long she was afraid he had lost consciousness again. But then his hand stroked her hair and he let out a shuddering breath. “I told you that Shaya was killed in the clash with another clan. It was with Dunn’s clan. To end it, his brother was chosen as a champion to fight me. We weren’t supposed to kill each other. But while we were fighting… he taunted me. He said that he was the one that killed Shaya.”
His voice broke and Esther tried to bury herself deeper into his warmth. “And you killed him.”
Silence.
“Bryant?”
“I killed him. Rage overtook me and I killed him. I didn’t mean to. I thought that he’d heal. But he didn’t and he died. I don’t know if he even killed Shaya or not. In my worst nightmares, I relive that moment… he was the first and only person I’ve ever killed.”
Esther shivered. “When you first told me about Dunn…”
“I know.” His arms tightened. “I didn’t tell you everything. And I’m so sorry that you’ve ended up in this mess. But I promise. I promise I will get you out safely. I love you, Esther Doran. I love you.”
Tears flowed freely from her eyes. “I love you, too. And I want you out safe, too. Promise me.”
There was no answer.
Chapter Twelve
Bryant
After a long, dark night where Bryant slipped in and out of consciousness, his fires sometimes raging, sometimes flickering so low they almost went out, morning came. His whole body was stiff and sore, but that discomfort was overshadowed by the lingering, burning pain from the gunshot wound. By now the bullet would be surrounded by scar tissue, safely encased from jostling around and doing more damage. It was extremely painful to try to shift in this condition, though, and the fact of the matter was that the change could tear the newly-healed flesh.
And so, they were left on foot as they moved through the forest, trying to find a way back to civilization. At first it was easy, merely follow the trail of broken trees and they were pointed in the right direction. After they left the path of destruction, however, it became more difficult to make sure that they were moving in the right direction. Bryant couldn’t remember if he had flown in a straight line or not after leaving the city.
The going was slow, too, and by the dawn of the second day, they were both hungry, tired and thirsty. Fortunately, they were able to find a river. Unfortunately, it didn’t run sparkling clear and looked rather gross.
“We have to figure out how to boil it,” Esther sighed as she rolled her head back. “Let’s see… I took a wilderness survival course after the whole incident at the last dig. If we find a branch or log or bark that we can carve into a pot we can try to boil water in it.”
“Let’s get—” Bryant flinched as a sharp pain burst up his side.
Esther grabbed his arm, her expression worried, as he doubled over. “I think you need to stay here and rest. I’ll go find something.”
Bryant sank to the rocky beach and nodded. Maybe he wasn’t as healed as he had thought. A pity, but nothing he could do about that except for rest. “Don’t go too far. We’re going to need firewood, too. Maybe hang your bra on that tree there so you have a reference point to come back.”
Esther whipped off her shirt, then unfastened her bra. Bryant took a moment to appreciate the sight of her breasts, so big and soft, before she pulled her shirt on again. She rolled her eyes at the expression on his face but still smiled at him. She hung the bright pink bra up and then headed into the forest, hunting. The dragon laid back down on the rocks, adjusting himself to find the warmest and most comfortable position.
What he really needed was something to eat. That would restore his dwindling reserves and help with the healing. In his current state it wasn’t like he could go hunting. Still, his mouth watered at the thought of a thick, juicy steak. Something tender and rare in the middle, with that whiff of smoke…
His eyes snapped open as he smelled smoke. Dragon smoke. He scrambled to his feet, but even as he did so, several dragons dropped from the sky. They shifted upon landing. Relief washed over him and he nearly fell to his knees again. They were several members of the Guard, men he knew.
His relief washed away when he saw the fury in their eyes. He recalled Dunn’s words and his heart sank. Would they believe that he had killed their fellow guards? Who had died? Who had Dunn killed?
I’m going to kill him, he swore for what felt like the hundredth time.
The guards stopped several meters away. One of them, James Colson, nodded at him. “Chandler. Where’s the human?”
“She went to gather firewood. I don’t know what you were told—”
“We were told to bring you back to face trial.” James’ expression was unreadable. “If you’ve hurt the human—”
Bryant shook his head. “I didn’t hurt anybody. Robert Dunn has—”
“Go find the human,” James ordered over his shoulder.
One of the others nodded and disappeared into the forest, but not before eyeing the bra and giving Bryant a disgusted look. He could tell that his former brothers-in-arms weren’t interested in listening to him so he stayed quiet. A thousand protests and explanations flashed through his mind, but he knew what was happening here. It didn’t matter what they believed or wanted to believe. They had to accept him as a threat until proven otherwise.
On the other hand, he couldn’t let his despair over the situation make him just give up. He still had a duty to the Emperor. “Robert Dunn ambushed me and Esther at the house. Whoever else was there, he killed. It wasn’t me.”
James shifted and glanced away briefly. “Just come quietly, Chandler. It’s not up to us to make the decision. Dunn isn’t being let anywhere near the royal family. But if you try to resist, we’ll bring you in any way we can, understood?”
Bryant nodded. “I was shot,” he offered. “You can see that I’m not fully healed.”
“I don’t give a damn.”
He shrugged. “Can I at least sit?”
James glared at him. That was unnecessary. Bryant’s legs were beginning to shake with exertion, though, so he decided to take it as permission and sank back to the ground. James muttered something to one of the others and they came forward. The other one pulled a set of cuffs from the pouch around his neck and Bryant grimaced. This was not his idea of fun at all.
“Who—” he started.
“Shut up.” James’ hard expression slipped for a moment. “Just shut up, okay? This situation is shitty enough without having to deal with…”
He trailed off, but Bryant understood. Either he was a traitor or they were arresting an innocent man. Either way, they were friends. And they had lost friends. Bryant’s shoulders slumped. Maybe it was finally being faced with others who he could trust to return him and Esther back to civilization safely, but he suddenly felt very dizzy and tired and like he wouldn’t be able to stand on his own. Even if they didn’t cuff him, he wouldn’t have the strength to fight against them.
Esther burst from the bushes. She ran at James, a thick stick in her hands. The dragons turned with surprised expressions and she let out a yell as she swung the stick. James lifted an arm in defense. The force with which the stick hit him ripped it from Esther’s hands and she stumbled over, nearly falling. Bryant moved to catch her, forgetting that he was cuffed, and ended up falling onto his face.
When he rolled over again, Esther stood protectively over him, her fists up at eye-level. The other dragons backed away a few steps and glanced at each other with surprised and confused expressions.
“Back off,” she snarled at them. “I’m Dominique’s friend and if you hurt either of us, there will be hell to pay! Got it, buster?”
Bryant couldn’t help but smile. “Esther, they’re part of the Emperor’s Guard.”
She glanced at him and frowned. “Then why are they handcuffing you instead of helping us?”
; James held up his hands. “Esther Doran?”
“Yeah. I am. Release him from those handcuffs this instant!” Esther snatched the stick from the ground again and pointed it at James. “Do it now.”
“Miss Doran, we were sent to retrieve you safely and—”
“I’d be a heck of a lot safer if you lot didn’t let Robert Dunn run free. He tried to kill us.” Esther glared at them. “He said to my face that he was going to kill me and frame Bryant. So, you take those cuffs off of him this moment and take us to Dominique and Virdi so we can get this straightened out and make sure that Dunn doesn’t come after us or them. I don’t know what he’s planning but it can’t be good.”
James stepped closer. “I appreciate your testimony and once we’re back we will—”
“No. There is no ‘once we’re back’. Uncuff him!” Esther rolled to the balls of her feet.
“There are also two witnesses who claim they were kidnapped by Mr. Chandler.”
“Esther,” Bryant interrupted as she made a strangled noise in her throat. “Hey. It’s okay. They’re doing their jobs. Put the stick down, okay? The sooner we can get back, the sooner we can figure this out.”
Esther gave him a doubtful look. He smiled encouragingly at her, and she reluctantly dropped the stick. She still scowled at the other dragons as they pulled Bryant to his feet, though. Bryant’s heart warmed at the way she had been so stubborn for him–even if it was essentially a crazy plan that wouldn’t have worked, he was glad that she felt strongly enough for him to try to defend him.
“You better not hurt him,” she warned James with a ferocious scowl as he pulled Bryant to his feet.
Bryant sighed. If only James and the others were the ones he had to worry about.
***
As soon as they landed at the safehouse, Esther was shuffled off to go see Dominique and Bryant was taken before Virdi. Bryant wasn’t too worried about it. Sure, he felt dead inside and knew that this was going to end in disaster for him, but he wasn’t worried. He knew what was going to happen. With Esther backing him up, they’d agree that Dunn was the villain here. But everything else that Bryant had done would mean that he was going to be dishonorably removed from the Emperor’s Guard.
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