by Zoe Chant
And a heartbeat later, the three men were gone. Instead, three red dragons now stood where the men had been.
Their scales gleamed, their eyes shining with the same red fire that she’d seen in the eyes of her attackers.
They were smaller and leaner than her ocean dragon. They looked a little bit like the fire dragons in her game—but less majestic. There was something mean about them. They looked like hunters—and for some reason, Liana knew that she was the prey.
The dragons hissed. Smoke rose from their nostrils. Then their jaws opened, and Liana could see flames dancing around their teeth.
This couldn’t be real. Actual, fire breathing dragons didn’t exist. She was probably still in her bed, having a nightmare...
Then one of the fire dragons exhaled, and a jet of flame shot right towards her.
She could feel the heat of it on her face, a scream building inside her chest even as she told herself that she’d wake up any second. Then the ocean dragon spread his wings and roared. A jet of water shot out of his own jaws, hitting the fire, which vanished in a sudden cloud of steam.
A few droplets of water hit her cheek.
With trembling fingers, she reached up to brush them away, then stared at her fingertips for a moment.
Water. Water that glistened in the morning sun, cool like dewdrops against her skin...
It was no dream. It was real. She could feel it—it was all real.
Either that, or she’d gone insane. But given that she’d been able to feel the heat of the fire that had nearly devoured her, right now didn’t seem to be the time to worry about that.
Worry about not dying!
The fire dragons were rearing up threateningly. Even though they were smaller than the ocean dragon, they were able to breathe fire—which right now seemed like a rather unfair advantage to Liana.
You can’t kill someone with water, can you?
She really hadn’t thought that through when coming up with the suggestion for the game designers...
Hissing, their tails thrashing back and forth, the group of fire dragons advanced.
At the same time, all three dragons opened their jaws. Flames shot forward.
This time, with three flames mingling, it looked like a pillar of wildfire came tearing down the alley right towards her.
Liana cried out in fear as she felt the incredible heat against her face—and then her ocean dragon roared and spread his wings.
From nowhere, a wall of water had appeared between them and the dragons. As she watched, the jets of fire hit the wall—and turned into harmless steam.
Again the fire dragons roared in anger. All of a sudden, one of them rose into the air, beating his wings as his head came forward. At the same time, the two other dragons advanced, hissing as they shot more fire at the water barrier.
From above, the third dragon simultaneously released another jet of flame that came straight at them.
Just in time, her ocean dragon answered the attack with one of his own.
This time, the fountain of water he spewed forth was so powerful that it didn’t only completely extinguish the fire the third dragon had sent their way, but it enveloped their attacker in the air as well.
The fire dragon screeched as the water hit his body. Steam rose from him, as if there was an inner fire that had been extinguished. Struggling to keep his wings beating, he crashed to the ground a moment later, and the ocean dragon used the moment of distraction.
The wall of water that had shielded them from the other two dragons suddenly began to wobble. Then, without warning, it collapsed to the outside, more and more water joining the flood until it washed the two remaining dragons away in a giant wave.
Wide-eyed, Liana kept staring at the battle raging in front of her.
She’d never seen anything like it. She still didn’t believe this was real—but for once, her body knew better than her mind, her heart racing with panic.
Still clutching her phone tightly in her hands, she began to inch away along the wall. If she could make it out of the alley, she’d find other people, phones—and cops.
She didn’t even make it halfway to the end of the alley when from out of nowhere, a fourth fire dragon appeared.
She didn’t get more than a second’s glimpse of red scales before large, black claws tightened around her body.
A heartbeat later, she was in the air.
She shouted, wriggling desperately despite the tight grip the claws had on her—until she saw just how far up they were, the alley far below now.
Terrified, she froze. If she fell from this height, she’d be dead...
That was when the fire dragon’s claws released her.
And then she was falling.
She knew she was screaming, even though she could hear the sound of her voice only as a distant roar. Her heart was beating so fast that her chest ached. She couldn’t breathe, she could only stare at the ground below that was rushing up to meet her...
And then something closed around her, stopping her fall.
Dizzily, she twisted her head, certain that she was about to die. She caught a glimpse of claws the deep blue of the ocean at night, and scales that gleamed blue and green like the waters lapping at a Caribbean beach.
Then everything went dark.
Chapter Six: Timothy
Timothy was beating his wings, flying faster than he’d ever flown before. His mate was unconscious—unharmed, he thought, but even so it had been a close call.
Every now and then, he twisted his head around to make certain that their attackers weren’t following them, but they’d scattered and fled as soon as he’d rescued Liana.
Three of them had barely been able to fly after he’d beaten them. But the fourth had appeared out of nowhere, tricking him while the other three had distracted them.
To think that he’d almost lost his mate when he’d only just met her...
He would have to contact the chimera. And he would have to thank him—without the chimera’s warning, he might not have been watching over Liana when the fire dragons attacked.
Still, right now all Timothy could think about was his mate. His mate who wasn’t safe yet.
He scanned the sky once more, but there was no trace of their attackers to be found.
The city spread below him, glass and metal gleaming in the light of the morning sun, the ocean glistening a tempting blue on the horizon that called his name.
But there was no time to follow that call yet. First he had to make sure that Liana was all right.
By the time he had landed on top of the Dragon Tower, the sky was completely clear. Not a single cloud blocked his view.
There was no other dragon in the sky. They had lost their attackers.
Or rather, they had fled...
Timothy shifted back into his human form, then carefully gathered Liana into his arms. With his fingerprint, he opened a door that led right into his penthouse—a door no other person had access to.
Liana was still unconscious as he carried her down.
Gently, he put her down onto his bed, then touched her cheek. Her skin was warm to the touch. As he worriedly watched over her, her eyelashes began to flutter.
A moment later, her eyes opened. A small smile spread over her face when their eyes met.
“Oh, I like this dream,” she sighed.
Then she frowned. Abruptly, she sat up, staring at him with wide eyes.
“What the hell happened?” she demanded. “Where am I? There were dragons, and then—”
“What’s the last thing you remember?” he asked softly, retreating a little so that she wouldn’t feel threatened.
Her forehead creased as she tried to think. “The Ocean Dragon,” she declared at last. There was an awe in her voice that made the dragon within him preen with instinctive pride.
“But that can’t be real,” she added, her eyes narrowing at him. “And—you! What are you doing here? And where am I?”
Timothy licked his li
ps, trying to think about the best way to explain all of this.
“I’m the ocean dragon,” he finally said, deciding to go with the truth. His mate deserved the full truth. “I’d received a warning that fire dragons might attack. So I watched over your street at night. And it was a good thing, too. That was a close call.”
“You’re... a dragon?” Liana clutched at her head. “This has got to be the worst hangover ever,” she muttered. “Everyone knows dragons aren’t real. You’re just making fun of me because I told you about our game.”
Timothy shook his head.
“I can show you if you want,” he offered. “Are you well enough to get up?”
Liana nodded, then carefully tried to stand. “I’m fine.”
She still looked a little insecure—but she seemed unharmed. The dragon within Timothy relaxed.
“I can get you a glass of water. Or—”
“No,” she cut him off. The look she gave him was suspicious. “I hate it when people think they can make fun of the silly geek girl.”
“I’m not making fun—” he began.
“I don’t care.” She crossed her arms, glaring at him. “You get one chance to turn into a dragon. After that, I’m out of here.”
Timothy nodded towards the door. “All right. I’ll need more space for that.”
“I should have known you were too good to be true,” she muttered so softly that it took his dragon’s sharp senses to make out the words.
Still, she followed him back up onto the roof of the building. Even now, he could hear her calling to him, a gentle song that tugged insistently at his dragon. Could she feel it, too?
Once they were back up on the roof, he took a few steps away from her. And then, before she could change her mind, he shifted.
Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open.
He’d half feared that she would scream in shock.
Instead—
“It’s real!” she gasped.
She was laughing. Her eyes were bright with joy and wonder as she looked at him, and she couldn’t stop laughing.
“You’re my Ocean Dragon! Can I touch you?”
Timothy inclined his head. With awe, he watched how his mate came closer, fearless and brave.
She reached out with a hand to touch his leg—and then she laughed again.
“And you feel alive! You’re really real!”
Timothy lowered his head and gave her a very careful, gentle nudge with his forehead.
Then he shifted back again, standing in front of her on the roof, with the sun shining down on them and the city spread out below all around them.
Her eyes were still filled with the same awe, and she reached out for him again.
Carefully, her hand came to rest against his chest.
“You’re real,” she said again, her voice very quiet.
His heart was beating quickly in his chest.
“I’m real. And so were the fire dragons,” he murmured. “I’m sorry. This isn’t how I wanted to tell you—”
“What’s going on with those fire dragons? Who told you they were going to attack? And why—” Liana winced and raised a hand to her head. “No, wait. Actually, I’ll take you up on that glass of water. Or maybe coffee, if you’ve got some. I barely got any sleep, and now this...”
Ten minutes later, they were sitting next to each other on the huge, comfy sofa that faced the wall of glass, staring down at the city that was slowly waking up. He’d made coffee for both of them and brought Liana a glass of water and some Tylenol, which she’d gratefully accepted.
“So. Dragons are really real, huh?” she said as she inhaled the steam rising from her coffee. “Now I feel somewhat stupid going on about my silly game.”
“Don’t,” he said earnestly. “I thought it was charming. You obviously love your work—and it must make lots of people very happy. I get to talk to bankers all day, and believe me, nothing they do ever makes anyone happy.”
That got him an amused snort from Liana.
“I suppose I do get to make people happy,” she said. “And you aren’t offended that we’re just turning you into games and think you’re just myths and fairy tales?”
“Oh, we like it that way.” He took a sip of his coffee and stared out at the city below. “Once upon a time, in the Middle Ages, people knew dragons were real. That wasn’t good for anyone.”
“You fought against knights and kidnapped virgins,” Liana said, then suddenly twisted around to stare at him, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “Wait—is that why I’m here? Did you kidnap me because—”
She broke off in embarrassment.
The dragon inside Timothy perked up eagerly. It took Timothy a heartbeat longer to understand why she’d suddenly stopped.
“Oh,” he said, the dragon within him already way too eager to claim her. “It’s... No. It’s not that, I promise! Not that that is a problem, I mean—sorry. This probably sounds really inappropriate. But, when I first saw you—I recognized you. There was an immediate connection. Did you feel that, too?”
Liana gave him a jerky nod, still looking embarrassed.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he said softly. “I know that this is all a lot. And you’re free to go whenever you want—I didn’t kidnap you. I just needed to get you somewhere safe, before they could attack again.”
“Wait—what happened to them? Are they still around?” Liana gave the large window a worried look.
Timothy followed her gaze, but the sky was clear. The weather was gorgeous, the sun shining down on the glistening buildings below.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But I know why they are here. They came for me.”
“Then why did they attack me? Do they go after everyone you talk to?” she demanded, glaring at him. “In that case, maybe you shouldn’t go out and talk to unsuspecting people.”
“Sorry,” he said again. “And it’s a bit more complicated than that. That connection I mentioned...”
“I felt it too,” Liana admitted reluctantly. “It was... weird. A bit like getting hit by electricity when you touched me. Like there was a strange vibration in the air. You know that weird feeling when you’re out and there’s a thunderstorm? When the air is charged with electricity and you can taste it on your tongue? I thought it was the champagne—but that must have been your dragon magic.”
Timothy shook his head. Slowly, he reached out, watching her eyes widen as he covered her hand with his. The moment their skin touched, her mouth opened and she drew in a sudden breath.
Warmth ran up through his arm, a feeling of inexplicable rightness swelling in his heart. His heart began to pound again—mirrored by a similar pounding between his legs.
Not now, he told himself firmly. Don’t scare her. She told you she’s got no experience with this.
“It’s not because I’m a shifter,” he said huskily. “It’s because of you, as much as because of me.”
“I don’t understand,” she breathed, but she didn’t pull her hand away.
“We have a word for this among shifters,” he said. “This connection... it means we’re mates. We’re meant for each other.”
Hastily, Liana pulled her hand back. “That makes no sense. Nothing about this makes sense.”
“You saw me turn into a dragon,” he pointed out gently. “Is it really that much harder to believe that soulmates exist?”
Liana swallowed. “I’ll admit that you’re terribly hot, and terribly charming—which I’m sure countless women have told you.”
“None of that mattered.” Timothy shrugged. “I used to enjoy partying—clubs, cruises, whatever you can think of. But in the end, there was always a strange emptiness. No matter how many people were around me, in the end I was always alone. Being charming doesn’t fix that.”
“And you think I’ll fix that?” Liana crossed her arms again.
“I don’t know,” Timothy said honestly. “Finding your mate isn’t a recipe for instant happiness, you know. You’ll s
till have to work to make it work, just like any other relationship. But if it does work...”
“You don’t even know me.” Her hazel eyes were suddenly wary. “Last night was fun—and I was looking forward to dinner, but—”
Timothy swallowed, already missing her touch. “I know it’s all happening way too fast. I thought you’d be able to get to know me before I told you that I’m a shifter. I know how weird and scary everything must look. But when those fire dragons attacked—I don’t want you to be left in the dark, Liana. You’re in danger now, because of me. You deserve to know everything.”
“Why did they come after me? How did they know—”
“I’m not entirely sure,” Timothy admitted. “I assume they were spying on me last night. If they saw us together leaving the club, they would have known.”
“Known what? That I’m your—”
“That you’re my mate.” Timothy sighed, slumping back against the couch. “I would have been more careful if I’d known that they had spies here. We’ve been trying to track them down, but they’re surprisingly hard to find. You’d think it would be easy to see fire—but fire causes smoke and shadows.”
“Stop.” Liana held up her hand. “Sorry, but none of that makes sense. I like my dragons to stay in my games. I don’t want any of this—”
Timothy felt his heart aching as he looked at her. He hadn’t even really contemplated the possibility that his mate might hate his world and everything he loved.
Not that he could blame her. Her first exposure to it had been a group of homicidal fire dragons who’d nearly managed to kill her.
He’d gone about it all wrong. He’d been so sure that his charm would win over any woman.
He’d always gotten along well with people—except for the dragon of earth, of course. But he’d never even considered that his mate might not want him.
Even now, something twisted inside his chest at the thought that Liana might leave, and that he’d never see her smile again the way she’d smiled when she’d danced—carefree, full of energy and laughter, her luscious curves fitting so perfectly against his body that he hadn’t wanted to let go.