by Rinelle Grey
The intense focus on his face must be the reason he was resisting the life dragon’s magic so well. He was completely unaware of her scrutiny, staring intently at the little board that controlled the fireworks.
His fireworks were fascinating. He controlled great power, but he didn’t have to stand next to it to do it, he could be at a distance and still wreak havoc. She wondered if she might even be brave enough to fight if she could do so without being in the line of fire.
She took a moment to stare at him. The tight fitting shirt he wore covered up his skin, but didn’t hide any of the muscles rippling under it. His wide brimmed hat hid part of his face in shadow, accentuating the determined set of his jaw.
When she’d indulged in secret dreams of mating a man she wanted, not a prince, it had never been anyone like this. She’d hoped for a quiet, unassuming dragon.
She’d never imagined she could mate with a hero.
Could Chase really be her fated mate? Did she stand any chance with a man as wonderful as he was? He was so bold and sure, and here she was cowering on the ground. They had nothing in common. Was there any chance she could be worthy of his love?
She wanted to be. Her heart pounded in her chest. She could try.
That thought pushed away the last of the hold the life dragon had over her. She scrambled to her feet, being careful not to touch any of the wire on the cage, and stood next to Chase. Her heart still thumped in her chest, but no lightning hit her. This wasn’t so terrifying after all.
Chase looked up briefly and flashed her a smile.
Wayrian’s heart skipped a beat. How had she missed how gorgeous he was?
Not gorgeous like the dragons, who strutted around wearing next to nothing, their muscles bulging. That had never attracted her in the slightest.
His was an understated appeal. He wasn’t attempting to show off or impress anyone. He was cool and calm in the fight, yet completely sure of himself.
His confidence was as appealing as his good looks were.
Maybe she could enjoy this task the goddess had given her after all.
His eyes flicked over to the Mesmer chamber, and a worried frown crossed his face.
Lisa.
Realisation hit her like a bolt of lightning, crisping the edges of her unprotected heart.
He cared about Lisa.
Well, that solved that. Even if she might be attracted to him, she wasn’t going to get involved in another triangle. She’d done that once, at her grandfather’s insistence, and look how well that had turned out.
If she was right about Chase being her fated mate, and he was in love with Lisa, the dragons might just have to become human after all.
As another bolt of lightning hit the cage she was in, almost sending her cowering back on the floor, she wondered if that would be such a bad thing. Maybe the goddess was right. Maybe it would be better for them to be human. Wayrian could certainly agree they fought too much.
If they were human, Ultrima wouldn’t be able to throw lightning at them.
Given the fact that his lifespan had been extended by magic, the clan’s enemy might not even still be alive.
Neither might all the princes and princesses.
That thought wasn’t so appealing. She might not want to marry one of them, but she still shared the clan’s belief that the princes and princesses were the only ones who could guide their clan to success.
None of it, not the goddess’s challenge, her fated mate, would matter if she didn’t survive this battle. She heard another round of gunfire and an angry dragon roar.
The element of surprise had almost won the humans the last battle, but the Trima dragons knew what they were up against this time. What if they lost?
Wayrian wished she were nowhere near this battle. Why had she let her grandfather talk her into coming?
Why had he even tried? Surely it would be far safer to impress the prince once he was safely back at the lair.
If he made it back to the lair.
She looked around for the dragons, trying to guess where and when the next round of lightning would hit the cage. Ultrima seemed to have it in for Chase. Not surprising given he was the one who controlled the fireworks.
But to her surprise, the sky was empty.
Too empty.
Chapter 3
Chase’s finger paused over the fire button. His eyes were drawn, like everyone else’s, to the cloud of dust, low on the horizon.
Someone was coming. A car.
But who?
Did it really matter? Everyone who knew about the dragons was already here. This was someone else. And for them to be out here, they had to be looking for dragons.
Ultrima knew it too. He took one last look at Chase, then he and his clan rose into the sky as one, disappearing into the clouds in a matter of minutes.
The Rian dragons moved just as quickly, landing near the cars, transforming back into their human forms, and pulling on their clothes.
Those that had taken dragon form in the first place anyway. Chase spared a glance at the old dragon, one of the elders, and his granddaughter, who had taken refuge in the cage with him. What were they doing here anyway, if they weren’t going to fight?
After how fearful Wayrian had been when the battle had started, he was surprised that the young woman who had nearly married Taurian had actually scrambled to her feet during the fighting. Right in the middle of the fear attack from the life dragon even. That took guts.
More guts than her old man, who was only now noticing that something was going on. He lifted his head and stared at a sky that was surprisingly empty of dragons. “What happened?” he demanded, his voice shaking.
“A car. Not one of ours.” Chase turned back to the horizon. The flat plains meant he could see a long way. The cloud was closer, but still not recognisable.
Karla’s voice rang out. “We need to get out of here.”
Leave? They couldn’t.
Chase jumped from the back of the ute and took a few steps towards where she was waving at everyone else.
To his surprise, the old dragon followed him.
Chase ignored him, and focused on Karla. “We can’t go,” he said urgently. “What about Lisa? She’s still in there.”
He would have helped the dragons anyway, but one of his main reasons for being here was to keep an eye on Lisa. They’d been friends since he’d caught her climbing out her bedroom window as he headed home late one evening, not long after getting his licence. He hadn’t been able to dissuade her from heading into town to meet up with some boy, but he had driven her there to make sure she didn’t run into trouble on the way.
That had only been the first time he’d helped her out. He’d quickly become the one she rang when she needed help, and he’d never let her down, even though he refused to get romantically involved with her. She was like a sister to him, and as a big brother, he needed to protect her. Now more than ever.
“Lisa? What about Prince Verrian? We’ve all risked out lives to save him, are we just going to abandon him now?” The elder, Ostrian, Chase thought his name was, stood next to him, his eyes blazing.
Of course he was more worried about his prince. That stood to reason, but it was no reason to dismiss Lisa’s wellbeing. Chase clenched his fists and avoided saying anything.
Karla stayed calm, even though this wasn’t the first time Ostrian had argued with her. “They’re both safe inside the Mesmer chamber and Ultrima has left. We need to lead whoever this is away from here. Then we can come back for them.”
Her words made sense, but that didn’t make them agree with his heart. He couldn’t convince himself that leaving now wasn’t abandoning Lisa. “You go, I’ll stay,” he insisted.
“So will Wayrian and I,” Ostrian said firmly.
Chase somehow suspected that the old dragon would be more of a hindrance than a help, but he didn’t say anything. Maybe the elder’s agreement would help his cause.
Karla met his eyes. “You can’t, Chase. If
you stay here, then whoever that is will probably stop and talk to you. Meaning they could be standing there when Lisa and Verrian emerge from the Mesmer chamber. If they already suspect something, and there’s no other reason for them to be here, seeing Verrian will only confirm it.”
She followed her speech with a glance at Ostrian. This time, her expression was less sympathetic. “You know it too, Ostrian. Our staying will cause more harm than help.”
“Why should I listen to you?” the old dragon demanded, the blue in his dragon eyes thrashing like a storm at sea. “It’s your problem we’re in this mess. The humans would know nothing about us if you hadn’t come.”
“Get in the car, Ostrian.” Prince Taurian’s voice was firm, leaving no room for argument.
He was the one person Ostrian would listen to. “Apologies, Prince, I spoke out of turn,” the old dragon said. “I’m just very concerned for your brother.”
“As am I,” Taurian agreed. “But Princess Karla is right. The best thing we can do right now is lead whoever this is away. Verrian and Lisa will be protected in the Mesmer chamber.”
Every second the car came closer, but still, Chase couldn’t give up. This didn’t feel right, even if he couldn’t argue with their logic. “We’re coming right back as soon as we lose them?”
Karla nodded. “As soon as we’re clear.”
Even though she’d agreed with him, Chase didn’t feel any better. He wasn’t going to until Lisa was safe. But for now, he’d have to be satisfied with Karla’s agreement. There wasn’t time for more. Chase nodded and turned back to his ute. It was only then he realised that Wayrian still hovered in the back, clutching at the side of the cage.
He glanced around, but the old dragon was still arguing with Taurian, this time about which vehicle he would travel in. Chase strode towards the ute.
Wayrian stared at him, her eyes wide.
“There’s a car coming,” he explained, in case she’d somehow missed all the fuss. “We need to get out of here before we’re discovered.”
She nodded and stumbled towards the back of the ute then, her knees shaking.
A pang of sympathy hit Chase, despite his hurry. He’d had that reaction himself after the last battle. Fine in the middle of it all, but once it was over, he could barely walk from the shaking in his legs.
Trouble was, this battle wasn’t over yet.
Chase reached in and grabbed her arm and tugged her towards the back of the ute.
She stumbled a little, clinging to the door as she half jumped, half fell out of the ute, leaving Chase with no choice but to catch her before she hit the ground.
She stared up at him, her eyes wild. For a second, he could feel her heart thudding in her chest, pressed up against his. His own sped up in time, connected through the touch of their skin.
The people and dragons rushing to jump into utes, engines being started, even the strange car speeding towards them, all faded into the background for a moment, and he stared at her, mesmerised.
Adrenaline thrummed in his veins, and his whole body heated several degrees.
How had he never noticed her until this moment?
Well, he had noticed her, especially when she’d been about to marry the prince when everyone knew he was in love with Karla.
But he hadn’t noticed her like this.
Her eyes, blue as the ocean, stared solemnly into his, their depths hinting at mysteries he suddenly wanted to explore.
Chase forced himself to take a deep breath, not realising he’d been holding it, and the world started up around him again. For a moment, he was annoyed at the interruption. Then some of the urgency communicated itself to him and he remembered.
They had to get out of here.
Chase set Wayrian on her feet and then headed to the cab. He had the door open before he realised she wasn’t following him. When he looked back, she was staring around the other utes, searching for something. Probably the old dragon.
He should leave her there. She would only slow him down when he came back for Lisa. Besides, the way he’d felt as he’d held her in his arms confused him. He paused. But he couldn’t make himself leave her here. Especially not when she looked so lost, like a calf that couldn’t find the herd.
“Come on, we don’t have time,” Chase said urgently. He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle pull towards the front of the ute.
Wayrian took one last look around, then nodded, and climbed into the cab, scooting across into the middle, just as her grandfather climbed in the other door.
Great. Trust the grumpy elder to pick his car to get into.
As Chase started the engine, Wayrian fumbled with her seatbelt.
The dust cloud was closer now, a little yellow car just visible emerging from it. Chase winced. Better than white and blue, but only just.
His tires crunched the dirt as he hit the accelerator. Only after they were moving did he reach for his seatbelt.
He couldn’t see the little yellow car behind them now. It was lost in the cloud of dust their group of cars was stirring up.
Trouble was, that just meant the car would have no trouble following them.
“Karla said we need to split up,” Wayrian spoke up without warning.
Chase was so surprised he turned to stare at her. “How do you know that?”
He wasn’t disbelieving, exactly, just… surprised, is all.
The old man was staring at her too. “Why would she communicate with you instead of me?” he demanded.
Wayrian stared at the older dragon for a moment, before ignoring his question and turning to Chase. “We can talk. In here.” She pointed to her head.
That knowledge was so surprising, Chase let the car bump along for a few moments, trying to take it in. Why was he not surprised that she had a magic beyond her looks and the way they’d affected him? She was a dragon, after all. Just like the rest of them.
He was almost used to their overt magic. Strange that throwing lightning and fire seemed almost normal after a few weeks. Their different types of magic and how they worked fascinated him. He couldn’t help wanting to know everything about them, even though he knew he’d never be able to tell anyone. That was half the reason he was here, helping.
As for the other half, well: dragons.
He shook his head. He’d have to consider the new type of dragon magic later. Right now, he needed to pick a direction.
Ahead of him, the other vehicles began to separate, their dust clouds separating too, until there were many tyre tracks splitting like the delta of a river where it met the ocean.
Chase was closer to the right hand side of the group, so he turned right, almost at a ninety-degree angle to the direction he had been going in. This way, he’d be closer to the Mesmer chamber, and could help Lisa as soon as Karla gave the all clear.
Typically though, the little yellow car chose his vehicle to follow. Chase swore under his breath as he saw it in the rear-view mirror.
“What’s wrong?” the old dragon demanded sharply.
“We’re being followed.”
Wayrian twisted around in her seat to stare at the car behind them. “Who is it?”
Now it was closer, he could confirm his suspicions. The yellow was kind of a dead giveaway. There weren’t that many yellow cars in Mungaloo. The magnets on the side advertising the local paper just confirmed it. “Rita Thorne. She’s a reporter for the local paper.”
He didn’t know her personally. Didn’t know many people in Mungaloo personally, since he lived out of town and had done school of distance. But everyone had heard of her. Being the local reporter made her something of a celebrity.
“What do you mean, a reporter?” the old dragon asked sharply. “Are reporters dangerous?”
He kept forgetting that these dragons knew so little about human life. Even the ones who had been awake stayed away from town. “Sort of. She writes up news articles about anything she thinks people might be interested in and publishes them in a newspaper that gets d
istributed to everyone in Mungaloo. Of course, if she actually manages to get a photo of a dragon, the news will probably be worldwide in less than a day.”
Wayrian was silent for a second, then she jerked her head in a nod. “I’ll tell Karla.”
“No, I’ll tell Taurian,” the old dragon said sharply.
Wayrian subsided into her seat, looking chastised, and Chase felt an unexpected protective surge towards Wayrian. Did the old dragon have to be such a bastard?
He was pretty sure Karla would have already worked it out anyway, but he didn’t say that. There wasn’t time. “Tell them the car is following us. Ask them what they want me to do. There’s no way I can lose a car out here.”
The area was too open. There was nowhere to hide and nothing to weave between. Rita probably couldn’t catch him, but he couldn’t lose her either.
His hopes of being able to return for Lisa faded away.
Well, if he couldn’t return, then he could lure Rita as far away as possible so that the others could.
With that thought in mind, he pressed down on the accelerator. He circled around, driving past the Mesmer chamber a great distance away, and headed towards the town. That was his one chance of losing the little yellow car, although even then it would be hard.
The old man didn’t say anything. Chase guessed he was communicating with Taurian, however that worked.
Wayrian was silent too, her fingers white knuckled on the dashboard in front of her.
“Taurian said to keep going, and keep him informed,” Ostrian said. His eyes widened. “Where are you going?” he demanded.
“Towards town,” Chase said. “We have more chance of losing her there.”
“You can’t take us near the humans.” The old man’s voice was surprisingly close to panic. “If they find out about us, we’re in serious trouble.”
Chase bit back a sigh. “If this reporter catches us, we are in more trouble. Once we lose Rita, we can return to the others.”
Ostrian frowned, but to Chase’s relief, he didn’t argue again. If he was complaining, it was to one of the other dragons, not to him.