by Ruby Dixon
And yet…isn’t this exactly what I wanted? A distraction so I can rescue Amy? Why flinch back now? We might never have another chance. It’s ruthless…but what they’ve done to Amy—and to me—is ruthless, too. Might as well move forward. I swallow the knot in my throat and point at the southeast end of the compound. Go there first. I need to see if Sasha is home.
As you wish.
We fly on over huddles of buildings and reinforced roofs until the junkyard where we huddle down with the other shanties comes into view. I see the broken yellow bus, and as I do, I begin to unbuckle the straps holding me into the saddle. I need to get down and check for her. No one’s going to come out when there’s a dragon prowling about.
Be careful. Kael lands atop the bus, and I wince, imagining the terror going through poor Sasha’s mind. Then the dragon hops to the ground, tail lashing so hard it knocks over a nearby spit. I do not like this. I smell humans and their fire spitters around.
Shit. Guns. I’ll be cautious.
With the last strap undone, Kael kneels and I slide to the ground. I shove my goggles back so I can see better. “Sasha?” I call out, racing for the door of the bus. “Are you here? Sasha?” A shadow falls, and I look back at Kael. He fans his wings out, shadowing the school bus and protecting it from view.
Hurry, he tells me. I can smell the fire spitters. They come.
“I can’t leave without Sasha,” I protest, and push open the busted door to the bus, crawling inside. “Sasha? Are you here? Tell me!”
A muffled half-sob meets my ears.
Encouraged, I head farther into the bus, scrambling to the end compartment. Sure enough, Sasha is huddled deep in the recesses of the bus, hiding against the welded-shut door. A blanket is pulled over her head, and her big eyes are filled with tears.
“Sasha! Honey, it’s me. Claudia.” I move forward and kneel next to my terrified friend. “Don’t be scared. The dragon’s with me. He’s safe. I’ve come to take you away.”
“Take me away?” Sasha’s eyes widen, and as they do, I notice that one eye is swollen and dark around the edges underneath the ever-present layer of soot on her skin. Frowning, I touch my friend’s face…and gasp when the blanket falls away and I see Sasha’s arm in a sling.
“What happened?” I ask, shocked.
Sasha shrugs the blanket back over her arm, hiding it. “I needed money.”
And the soldier she sells herself to gets rougher with every visit. I press my lips together to bite back my response, angry. No, I’m more than angry. I’m bitterly furious. If I’d been here, this wouldn’t have happened. I could have kept Sasha fed with my scavenging. Amy, too. All of this is my fault. But I can’t focus on that now. One thing at a time. “Come on. We’re getting out of here. You, me, and Amy.”
“B-but…it’s not safe,” Sasha protests, even as I take her good hand and help her to her feet. She has to be pushed to even take a few steps forward, and her hesitation is clear. “We can’t leave the city—”
“That’s what I thought, once upon a time,” I tell her, projecting confidence. “But you’ll be safer with me and the dragon than here. I promise you that.” When Sasha continues to pull and struggle, I turn to her and put my hands on her shoulders. “Sasha. Do you trust me?”
They come, my mate, Kael sends. They come and they are spitting fire. Hurry.
30
CLAUDIA
The patter of rifle fire sounds in the distance, and Kael rustles his wings, drawing them tighter around the bus to protect me. “We’ve got to go,” I tell Sasha. “Please, come with me.”
My friend hesitates, then slowly nods, wide-eyed. She lets me lead her out of the bus.
The sound of the gunfire grows louder as we hold hands and race back toward Kael. I can feel Sasha’s hand trembling in mine, but she doesn’t pull away. That’s good, at least. “Come on,” I say as we reach Kael’s side. I pat his flank so he can crouch low and let us mount. “We need to get you strapped in.”
A gun fires, entirely too close, and Kael’s wings shoot upright, blocking my grasp on the hanging straps I use to climb atop him. “Kael,” I protest, even as Sasha whimpers and ducks her head. “Quit moving. I can’t—”
Forget the straps, Kael warns me. Just climb on. They are too close.
More bullets fly, and I hear the sound of them thudding into something. Something distinctly un-metallic. Are they hitting my dragon? I can’t breathe for a second. They’re not hurting you, are they? Kael—
No, but you are vulnerable, my Claudia. The possessive anger in his head blasts through my mind. I will not let you get hurt!
Okay, big guy. Calm down. I force myself to concentrate on the task at hand. We’ll just have to strap in when we’re safely in the skies. I grab at the dangling straps when he dips a shoulder low again and haul myself onto the saddle perched between his shoulder-blades. Then I lean over and offer an arm to Sasha. “Climb on, and fast. They’re shooting at us.”
The rain of gunfire is constant now, along with the shouts of the soldiers. Dragons never land in the city, and the fact that one has is making people freak the fuck out. Sasha hesitates for a moment, then offers me her good arm, and we manage to drag her onto the back of the dragon awkwardly. She sprawls behind me, her face white with pain as she clutches her injured arm to her chest.
“Good?” I ask, breathless. At her nod, I reach forward and pat Kael’s neck. We’re on!
Then we go! Kael launches himself into the air with a bellow.
“Hold on!” I shout to Sasha, one hand on the handlebars while I twist to look back at Sasha. She flings her good arm around my waist, but we bounce and slide as Kael takes to the air, our seats unsteady. Everything feels too loose, too unsafe.
“I’m going to fall,” Sasha cries as the saddle jostles again.
“You’re fine,” I call out, but I’m worried just as much as her. “We just need to get out of shooting range, strap in, and then we’re going for Amy.”
Sasha gives a moan of distress as Kael banks sharply, wings flapping as he gains altitude. I ignore the sick lurch of my stomach and hold on tightly, but I don’t feel secure in the slightest. Kael won’t let me fall. He won’t. I trust him. But Sasha weeps and clings to me, crying out with every dip. And every time she pulls on my clothing, I have to fight the urge to fling her hands off so I stay on balance. I know she’s scared, and I know she’s got a bad arm, so I don’t. But this isn’t going to work for long.
We’re sliding, I tell Kael. Please, get somewhere safe so we can strap in again.
“Where are we going?” Sasha cries out as Kael lifts higher and higher into the air. Her voice raises in a small scream of worry as she glances over the side. “We’re so high up!”
“We’re trying to get out of range of the guns,” I yell back, and cough when a bug flies into my mouth. I claw at my throat, grossed out. God, what I wouldn’t give for mental communication with Sasha at this moment! Her hands squeeze me tightly, and I fight back my frustration. “We’re fine. I promise. We’re going to go a bit higher and then head to the jail. Is Amy still there?”
“I guess?” Sasha says, fighting back tears. “They won’t let me see her, no matter who I try to bribe.”
All at once, I feel bad for being impatient with Sasha. We have no money, so I can only guess what Sasha was trying to bribe the guards with. That she’s putting herself at risk for Amy means everything to me. I pat her clinging hand, grateful. “I’m going to get you somewhere safe. I’m going to take care of you. We don’t need the city. Just trust me.”
Her eyes streaming with tears, she nods.
Kael wheels higher in the sky, then veers abruptly when a series of pops echo in the air. They spit fire too close, Kael warns. Head down.
“Duck,” I warn Sasha. “They’re shooting at us.”
“They’re shooting at us? Sasha is hysterical. “Why?”
“Because we’re with the enemy,” I tell her. “The other dragon’s attacking the city!”
“There’s another dragon?”
Hold on, Kael warns, even as his entire body tilts. They are spitting from both sides now. Stay close! Before I can ask how we’re supposed to do that, a growl erupts in his throat. Dakh approaches.
Something rat-tat-tats past my ear, and I fling myself against Kael’s neck. That one was close!
Behind me, Sasha shrieks in pain, and the arm around my waist loosens. I turn to demand that Sasha hold on, but as I watch, she slides slowly off the side, her eyes wide in horror.
Then my friend is free-falling through the air.
“Sasha!” I scream, sticking a hand out for my friend uselessly. “No! Kael! Save her!”
A massive shape swoops under us, and as I watch, Dakh’s golden dragon form arrows underneath Kael, neatly snatching the flailing Sasha out of the skies. With a triumphant bugle and the woman clutched tightly in his claws, Dakh turns about and begins to flap his wings hard, heading up and away from the city.
I bite back my cry of horror. He’s got Sasha! Kael, we have to save her!
No, he says, voice grim in my head. We will get your sister. Hold tight.
What? No! Kael, Dakh’s crazy, and he has my friend. She’s not safe!
She is safe with him. He wants a mate.
I gasp at the ugliness of it. Is that all we are to you? Just playthings you can grab and claim for yourselves?
We will argue about this later, Kael says. For now, she is safe with him, and you are still in danger. We must find your sister, and fast.
I grit my teeth at his determined tone, watching Dakh fly away. Part of me knows that he’s right, that Sasha won’t be hurt by the other dragon if he truly wants a mate, but it’s a small comfort. I saw the bruised look in Sasha’s eyes, left there by abuse. Now I’ve turned my broken, damaged friend over to a dragon that wants nothing more than to stake his claim as her mate. I just traded her from one overbearing male to another, and the thought feels like a raw wound.
I hear your thoughts, my mate. Do you wish me to turn and confront Dakh? Know that even if I took her back from him, I cannot guarantee her safety. Other males would scent her out and seek her. I cannot fight all of them. But for you, I will turn back now and chase him down.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to fight the tears that’ll just pool in my stupid goggles. Go after Sasha and forget about Amy? Or save Amy and leave Sasha in Dakh’s insane clutches, knowing that my sister’s only safe until another dragon comes along to drag her away?
There are no good choices. I fight the sob choking my throat, because I can’t cry right now. I need to focus. “Let’s just go and get my sister from these fucking bastards.” At least a dragon will only want to covet Amy and take care of her. The humans want to hold a gun to her head to force me to do what they want. No fucking way am I going to continue to let that fly.
I’m sorry, Sasha. I’m sorry I’m choosing my sister over rescuing you. I hope you understand someday, I tell the disappearing speck of gold on the horizon.
We go, Kael tells me. Hold on.
I cling to the saddle as he dives low, my body instinctively knowing which way to turn and when to grip harder. Without Sasha clinging to me and screaming in my ear, I can move with him since our minds are connected…and then I feel another twinge of guilt. Would Sasha be with Dakh if I’d belted her in and not worried about my own? Could we have belted just her in?
We are close. Be ready.
The roof of the parking garage comes into view, and there’s no more time for doubt. Kael circles the building, swinging lower, and as he does, my heart feels as if it moves into my throat.
Two figures stand alone on the roof. One has a blindfold over her eyes, pale blonde hair streaming, her arms against her sides. She wears a familiar faded pink shirt and a long skirt. The other is the mayor, his fat paunchy belly hanging over his pants.
He holds a gun to Amy’s head, his own head tilted back to watch us as they circled.
He has my sister, I tell Kael furiously. That fucking cocksucker!
Shall I eat him?
I wish. No. He’ll shoot her the moment we come any closer. Let me down on the far end of the roof.
Not if it will put you in danger. His voice is a low growl echoing in my mind. He doesn’t land, either.
If you don’t take me down right now, I’m going to jump off your back, I warn him, frantic at the sight of Amy held captive. I can’t think with the sight of that gun pressed to her head. Do it now, Kael.
He gives a snarl of rage, this time audible. I will not!
“Fine!” I throw my leg over his side and slide down his back. I have to get Amy back, no matter the cost.
CLAUDIA. DO NOT—
He dips a shoulder low to catch me, but it’s too late. I tumble off his back, and then I’m free-falling through the air for a terrifying moment, and then I tumble to the concrete a short distance below, dazed.
Well. That was…dumb.
I lie flat on my back, mentally assessing my wounds. The breath has been knocked out of me, and everything fucking hurts. I’m scraped on hands and knees from my roll, but…I’m alive. And I’m on the ground.
A moment later, a heavy thump lands beside me, a shadow falling over my face. I look up to see Kael staring down at me, his eyes dark with terrible anger. He leans over and nudges me with his enormous head. Speak to me. Are you hurt?
Just my pride, I tell him, sitting up slowly and wincing as everything screams a protest. That was…less badass than I’d hoped. I look over at the mayor.
There’s a loud click as he cocks the gun, and he hasn’t moved away from Amy. “Call off your dragon.”
Amy whimpers, her body stiff with fear. The blindfold prevents me from making eye contact with my sister, but I know her. I can tell she’s utterly terrified. It’s that fear that drives me constantly. I’m the one who takes care of Amy, makes sure she’s safe. The fact that she’s been put in this position because of me makes me feel helpless and awful.
I get to my feet slowly, wincing at the stabs of pain that shoot through my body. My gaze remains on the mayor at all times. “Let my sister go. She’s done nothing wrong.”
“I don’t care if she has or she hasn’t. She’s the only leverage I have against you.” His fat face gleams with a thin sheen of nervous sweat. “Now, call off your dragons.” His eyes are crazed, his face flushed red, and I don’t like the way his hand trembles as he holds the gun to Amy’s temple.
I give him a weak smile. “What makes you think I can get the dragons to do anything?”
“You rode one in,” he snarls, spittle flying. “You made them attack the city, didn’t you?”
“That’s what you wanted, right?” I say, letting a sneer get into my voice to hide the fact that I’m so damn frightened for Amy. “You wanted me to fuck my way into controlling a dragon or two, right? Wasn’t that the grand plan? Why you threw me out there into the Scavenge Lands? Well, surprise surprise, I lived. And I made a friend.”
His fat face shakes with rage. “I wanted you to tame the dragon and make it stop attacking us! Not make you turn on your own kind!”
“No, you didn’t give a shit what happened to me,” I correct. “You figured I’d die, but it didn’t matter, because I was just a thief, right? And now you expect me to have loyalty to the city that threw me out? That turned my sister into a prisoner? Are you kidding me?” I can hear the rising hysteria in my voice. “Why should I be loyal?”
The mayor’s gaze slides to Kael, and I suspect my dragon’s getting agitated behind me, probably due to my own rising emotions. In response, the mayor pushes the gun harder against Amy’s temple.
Amy chokes back a cry.
I go completely still, unable to look away. Back down, I command Kael silently. Please.
“Leave, and I’ll let your sister go,” the mayor says.
“Bullshit. If I leave, you’re going to keep holding my sister hostage as leverage to try and force me not to use the dragons to attack
the city. But newsflash, this is the only dragon I control.” I gesture at Kael, who’s looming behind me. “And even that control’s a little iffy, if you haven’t noticed.”
“I don’t care if you have to suck dragon dick, I just want you out of here.” The mayor shakes his head, sweat flying as he does. “And I can’t give you back the girl. Just turn around and leave right now and she won’t get hurt.”
I cross my arms over my chest. “Then it seems like we’re at an impasse. I’m not leaving until I get my sister, and my dragon’s not leaving unless I do.”
Shall I eat him? Kael’s voice snakes through my mind, along with a mental image of him chomping the fat mayor in half.
No! Gross! You’re totally not kissing me with that mouth if you eat him.
“If you won’t leave, I’ll make you leave,” the mayor snarls. “I’ll make both of you leave.”
I clench my fists helplessly and take a step forward. “Don’t you fucking hurt my sister—”
He turns the gun. There’s a moment of confusion as I stare at the barrel of it for a hot moment. A loud pop. Something slams into my side and knocks me over.
My first thought is that Kael has gotten overzealous and accidentally pushed me down. But as I smack to the concrete, skidding backward, I hear Amy’s scream as if through a tunnel, and a loud roar in my mind and rumbling aloud.
NO!
CLAUDIA!
Sharp pain stabs through my side, and my chest feels heavy. Oh. Oh… My hands move in slow motion to my side, where it seems to be wet and full of lead. Painful, painful lead. The mayor shot me to force Kael to leave. That…was a stupid plan. As stupid as my leap off the dragon’s back. I want to laugh, the sheer ridiculousness of the situation bubbling up inside me, but everything hurts too much to even breathe. All I can do is lie there and hurt.
There’s more screaming. More popping bangs. I look over in a fog as the mayor fires his gun at Kael’s head, over and over. The dragon ignores it, massive jaws clamping down over the top half of the mayor’s body and ripping him apart in a bloody show of force.