by Sher Dillard
Her heart jumped to her throat and her eyes stung from the smoke.
A dragon. Giant, strong, frightening, and beautiful, all at once.
Two long rows of spikes traveled down his back to the very tip of his graceful tail. Powerful muscles rippled under the armored scales. Leathery wings unfolded and gently beat against the air. Testing, preparing for flight.
She held her breath and waited.
The dragon swept his huge head around and stared at her.
Rachel’s hands went to her throat. It was Thad. Behind those brown eyes was Thad. Her Thad. She could see him in his eyes. They narrowed with concern and care. A gentleness that surprised her.
She stared into them. Trying to let him know she wasn’t afraid. Not anymore. She tried to tell him that she wasn’t mad at him. She wasn’t disgusted by him.
She wanted desperately for him to know that she loved him. She would always love him.
He started to turn away from her. Started to leave her to confront this new menace. Rachel raised a hand to stop him. He needed to know, she thought. He needed to know the truth about how she felt.
The dragon, Thad, though, did not look back. His focus was on the threat he must face.
Taking a few running steps, he jumped into the air, his wings beating back and forth, as he struggled to gain altitude.
“Thad ...” she called.
But, he didn’t look back. Instead, he lifted his long neck and roared into the morning. Announcing to the world that the beast was free.
Rachel swallowed and tried to control the panic rising inside of her. Would they fight? Surely not. There was no reason for it.
She watched as he circled above, amazed at his grace and majestic presence. The man was amazing, she thought. Deep down inside she felt herself drawn to him. His animalistic strength. His pure, raw power. The violence that simmered just beneath the surface.
She could feel her body respond to him. To need him. An overwhelming desire to hold him. To sooth the mighty beast coursed through her.
A blush settled on her cheeks as she shook her head, denying to herself that such a thing was possible.
Holding a hand to her brow, she continued to watch as he circled above.
Suddenly, he twisted in mid-air and furiously beat his wings to get even higher.
Rachel’s heart stopped when she saw another dragon. A giant gray beast, rushing towards Thad.
There was no preliminary discovery. No prelude and posturing. The two giants raced at each other. Her blood ran cold as she saw the closing distance between them.
“No,” she screamed when she realized they would not break away. Would not swerve to miss each other.
Instead. The two giants crashed into each other, chest to chest.
A sickening, crunching thud sound reverberated down to her. Vibrating into her very bones.
Thad? How could he survive such a crash?
As she watched, the two beasts tumbled in the air, then broke away. Righting themselves, their wings beat furiously, each trying to get higher than the other.
“Please,” she prayed under her breath. “Please help him.”
Chapter Sixteen
Thad knew as soon as he saw the beast. It was the Gray. Their family’s enemy. He could see the nasty scars left by his brothers. The ripped bite mark left by Drake on the dragon’s neck. The three claw marks on the beast’s side left by Flint.
Now it was his turn, the beast inside him yelled to him. He would join his older brothers in defeating this adversary. He would join the men of his clan in defending what he loved.
Pumping his wings as fast as he could, he fought to gain speed. Dipping a wing tip, he brought himself in line with the monster and charged.
Their chests came together with a furious crash. It was like flying into as brick wall. Scrambling, Thad twisted to stay aloft.
The Gray roared and turned towards him. Thad bent and tried to turn inside the attack. If he could hurt the animal quickly, he could win.
No other solution was acceptable. Rachel was below. The Gray could not be allowed to get to her. Could not be allowed to get to the coin.
As the two twisted and turned, Thad tried to snap at the other dragon’s wings. The Gray tried to rake him with his claws. Both of them shifted and maneuvered to stay out of the other’s reach.
The Gray had learned to keep his distance. The dragons of Perralt were not to be beaten easily. But, Thad had been taught by the best. The countless hours of fighting and playing with his brothers had taught him more than one trick.
Allowing the Gray to get a little closer. Thad suddenly folded his wings and dropped from the sky.
The mighty Gray Dragon saw his chance, and lunged. His massive jaw opening to catch Thad at the neck and snap it.
But, Thad wasn’t there. He’d turned his back to the ground and raised his claws to rake the belly of the Gray.
The giant bellowed in pain as armored scales were ripped from his body.
Thad quickly turned and brought himself back in line with the monster.
Both of them circled. Gaining height for the next attack.
The Gray was worried. Thad could see it in the beast’s eyes. Once again, he had been wounded by a Perralt. Once again, he was in danger.
Thad saw his advantage and grabbed it. Swinging to the left, he changed direction in mid-flight and caught the Gray in the leg. Snapping his jaw close, he felt his fangs sink into the dragon.
The awful taste of scale, meat, and blood flooded Thad’s mouth. It was a taste that he would never forget. Like a lost demon, full of sulfur and hate.
The Gray Dragon screamed and twisted, until his leg was ripped free from Thad’s jaw, as he turned in mid-air.
The fight was over, Thad knew it in his soul. He could see it in the other beast’s eyes. Three times he had tried for the coin. Now three times he had lost. When would he ever learn?
Lifting his head back. Thad roared and let loose a stream of fire into the air. He had won. The monster was defeated.
The dragon stared back at him with pure hate. Thad could see the diabolical mind searching for some answer. Some way to change the outcome.
Then, the dragon seemed to hold in mid-air. His eyes lighting up with pleasure.
Thad’s stomach dropped forty feet as his heart raced.
The Gray Dragon twisted and dove for the ground. Dove directly towards Rachel, like a hawk on a rabbit.
Thad didn’t scream. He didn’t waste the effort. He folded his wings and dove after the Gray.
The monster had a head start. Too much of a head start. Blood dripped from his wounds, but still he dove for Rachel.
As he chased him, Thad searched the ground for Rachel. His heart pounding. His soul locked in fear.
The girl stood stock still. Her face drained of all color as she stared up at the charging dragon.
NO! Thad thought as he fought to catch the beast.
Rachel looked like a deer caught in the firelight. Afraid to move. Terrified to remain still. Torn between action and stealth.
Please, he begged. His wings pounded at the air as he tried to gain on the monster in front of him. If he could catch him he could stop him.
Rachel finally understood. To remain was to die. She bolted for the rocks.
The beast shifted course. Thad shifted to match him, trying to cut the corner. Please he begged again.
The Gray had Rachel in his sights. There was nothing Thad could do. A helpless feeling consumed him. He roared and shot a bolt of fire at the Gray, hoping to distract him.
It was useless, the beast ignored him, the fire bouncing off its side. He continued to zero in on Rachel.
The girl turned as she ran. Her face was carved in shock. White, devoid of all color. Her eyes large in fright.
NO! Thad thought, but he was too late. The beast was gathering his wind.
Twisting, the hated monster swooped over the ground towards Rachel. His wings pushing. He lifted his head and let loose a
long stream of yellow death. A stream of fire that would kill any non-dragon in its path.
A pulse-pounding fear ate at Thad. A bone deep terrifying fear. Rachel. He couldn’t lose Rachel. Not like this, not here.
The dread of sighting a pile of charred bones hung over Thad as he scanned the ground for any sign of her. A deep fear building inside of him of what he might see.
Nothing, no movement, no sign she had ever existed.
Thad lost all awareness of the world. Sights, sounds, everything disappeared. Rachel was gone. His Rachel.
His heart turned to stone. All that mattered now was this monster’s death. Preferably, long and slow. He rushed to catch him, using the animal’s distraction to cut another corner and catch the beast by the shoulder.
The Gray twisted to catch him as the two tumbled over each other and into the ground. Rolling through the dust like crazy whirlwinds.
Thad shook off the heavy hit of the earth and twisted to kill his enemy.
“Thad,” a soft voice yelled from behind him.
He turned.
Rachel. She was alive.
How? She looked unhurt. Her hair twisted in knots and her dress ripped. But, unhurt. She shot him a smile and his insides relaxed.
The blackened rocks showed him. She had hidden behind the large boulders. Safe from the beast’s fire.
Good girl, he thought. His heart soared. Rachel was alive.
Turning, he prepared to launch himself at the dragon, but the beast was already away. Up in the air and scampering away as fast as his wings would carry him.
He was obviously aware that to remain meant certain death.
Thad made ready to launch himself and chase the animal. To the ends of the earth if necessary, when Rachel yelled, “Thad, No! Stay, Please!”
His heart stalled. His neck muscles cramped. He couldn’t leave her. What if another beast showed up? What if the Gray circled back? No, he must stay and protect her.
Slumping in on himself, he folded his wings and returned to the rocks and his Rachel.
Slowly approaching, he scanned her body for any injury. Any cause for concern.
She smiled up at him, melting his heart.
Sighing, he let out a great puff of air, blowing her dress and raising a small dust storm.
Rachel laughed and shook her head.
He was smitten. He was lost. Lowering his head to the ground next to her he looked into her eyes. There was no disgust. No fear.
She hesitated for a moment, then reached out to touch him. Her soft fingers caressing his cheek. Rubbing against his armor. Looking at him with tender eyes.
He would do anything for this woman. Anything.
Chapter Seventeen
Rachel’s heart pounded in her chest as she watched Thad turn away. His giant form lumbering down the road, blocking the horizon.
Her father would have loved this, she thought. He would have been completely enamored with Thad the dragon. This majestic, magical being who had turned the world upside down.
The mighty beast turned once again to face her, then once more, bursting into flame and smoke. The air rippled with the smell of sulfur as the rush of wind blew her dress against her legs.
Would she ever come to accept what her eyes told her? Thad, her Thad, magically transformed back into the man she knew.
He stood once more on the road. His wide shoulders set, his hands flexing, as if he needed to grab something. He looked like a mighty warrior out of all the great books in the world. Strong, tall, handsome, with a hint of danger in his eyes.
A man, a beast, a warrior.
She stared into his eyes, he stared back into hers, searching for something.
He is afraid, she realized. Afraid that I will hate him. Afraid I will despise him.
Swallowing hard, she stepped towards him. He stepped towards her. For a moment, a brief, shiny moment, she thought he would pull her into his arms and all would be forgotten, all would be forgiven.
But, then he shifted and stared off into the distance. Out over the Forbidden Forrest and the mountains beyond.
Rachel stopped and followed his stare. There, in the distant sky, movement. Her heart plummeted, her skin crawled with fear. No, not again.
Another dragon approached, its wings beating as it hurried towards them. She grabbed Thad’s hand.
“Is it the Gray Dragon again?” she asked with a weak voice.
“Worse,” Thad said with a heavy scowl, as he stepped between her and the approaching beast, his eyes never leaving the onrushing monster.
“It’s my brother.”
Rachel’s stomach clenched up. Thad’s family. And she was a complete mess. Her dress was torn. Her hair had fallen, she was dirty, and smelled of dragon smoke. What would they think of her?
She quickly tried to make herself presentable as the large Golden Dragon swooped down to land on the road, a solid thump vibrated through the ground.
Like Thad, this dragon was large and powerful, and just like Thad, it burst into flames. Golden flames and smoke.
The man that emerged from the fire could be no one except Thad’s brother. The same chiseled jaw, the same wide shoulders. Where Thad’s hair was brown, this man’s was a tawny gold. But, other than that, they were too identical not to be related.
“Flint,” Thad said with scorn in his voice.
The Golden Man laughed and shook his head. Rachel noticed that even their laughs sounded similar.
“Thaddaeus,” he replied with a smile and a shake of his head. “It has been awhile. Mother will be pleased.”
Rachel felt Thad tense up at the use of his full name. A fear began to bubble inside of her. Didn’t they like each other? Both of them looked as if they were ready to charge into the other for a knock down drag out fight.
Her heart quickened. Two such powerful men, surely someone would be hurt.
The two of them approached, Rachel held her breath. Then Thad launched himself at the other man and pulled him into a deep hug.
“Flint,” he said as he pounded him on the back. Rachel heard a tender tone to Thad’s voice that touched her heart.
“Little brother, welcome home,” the man said, as he returned the pounding to Thad’s back.
Rachel’s brow narrowed in confusion. She would never understand siblings, she decided.
The two men broke apart as Thad pulled his brother towards her.
“Flint,” he said, “this is Rachel Hopson, of Carster. Rachel, my brother Flint.”
She gave the big man her best smile, and held out her hand. “It is nice to meet you.”
Rachel bit her tongue as the large man took her hand in his and scanned her, his eyes searching and probing, obviously trying to determine who she was and what she wanted with his brother.
At last the big man nodded and smiled back as he gently let go of her hand. He then turned to his brother. “Why am I not surprised?” he said, as he shook his head and laughed.
“Not surprised?” Rachel asked with furrowed brow.
Flint laughed again. “My little brother disappears for three years. Not a letter, no messages, nothing. Then he shows up, bigger, stronger, battle hardened, with a beautiful woman from a far distant land, and acts as if he’d been out for a morning patrol.”
“I didn’t disappear,” Thad said, as he stepped back between Rachel and his brother. “I was banished, remember?”
Rachel noticed the possessive stance Thad had taken by placing himself between them. He was subtly letting his brother know that his was his woman and to back off. And, what did he mean ‘banished’?
What was more, she caught the realization about Thad’s possessiveness in Flint’s eyes and the amused expression on his face. He looked at Thad, then at Rachel and then back to Thad again.
“Don’t worry, little brother,” he said in a stage whisper, “Laila would skin me alive.”
Thad seemed to relax a little.
Rachel shook her head as she tried to understand what was going on. Who
was Laila and why did Flint fear her? The man was a dragon. There weren’t many things that should intimidate a dragon. But, for some reason, this Laila put fear into Flint’s voice.
Her next thought was to try and understand why Thad was being possessive. He didn’t care for her. They were no longer together.
She wondered if that was all they would ever be. A few short, wonderful nights on the road. Now the road was coming to an end. Surely, there was nothing more. She had lied to him, and he would never forgive her.
Then, a third thought hit her like a hammer.
His brother lived here? His mother was here. In the Forbidden Forest, in Perralt. Did that mean Thad was from Perralt? Why hadn’t he told her? He had only said that he had been there, not lived there. Nothing about being born and raised in the far off Kingdom of her ancestors.
More lies. Why must there always be lies between them? she wondered as her heart began to break once again.
“Come, Thaddaeus,” Flint said with a smirk. Rachel could tell that he loved teasing his brother. “Why don’t you take Rachel to meet the family? I’ll take care of the horses. There’s a farmer not too far from here who could use them. Then, I’ll fly home and let mother know you are coming. You know how she hates to be surprised.”
Thad nodded, his brow set in concentration. Rachel knew that he was trying to figure out all of the possible consequences.
“Be careful,” Thad said to his brother. “The Gray is back, he attacked just before you got here.”
Flint froze in place as he studied his brother. “I thought I felt something. That was why I was headed this way. Did you kill him?”
Rachel gasped at the brutal question.
Thad shook his head. “No, I hurt him. But, no, he got away, and I couldn’t leave Rachel.”
Flint nodded. “That bastard has more scars from our family than a cat’s play-toy. We’ll get him eventually.”
“He’s mine,” Thad said with a forcefulness to his voice that Rachel found surprising. “He tried to kill Rachel.”
Flint simply smiled and shook his head. “Get in line little brother. Drake’s got first dibs, then me. He went after Laila, remember? After that, you’ll get your chance, if there is anything left.”