by Amelia Jade
“If you keep this up, there is a good chance you will die,” he shouted back at them. “Are you willing to do that, just for her?” He added under his breath without thinking, “Because I am.”
There was no reply. Below, they passed over the edge of the forest, the giant Vallenwood tre’s appearing below them.
“Uhh, Zeke. They’ve gained a lot of height. I think they’re trying something.” Amber sounded nervous now.
He looked back briefly to see the second pairing lining up to dive-bomb him.
Zeke’s reaction was opposite that of Amber’s. He smiled. It was time to put his newfound skills to use. These gryphons were agile in the air, but they were not Guardian level. The things he had seen from the first pair, and now this move, showed that they were training themselves though. Thankfully, so was he. Six months ago, he would have been overwhelmed and unsure of what to do. It was only because of what he had learned at Top Scale that he was going to survive this.
Hopefully.
The two gryphons dove on, catching up rapidly, claws extended in front of them as they aimed for his sides.
“When I tell you, hold on as tightly as you can. It’s going to get…vertical,” he said.
“What?” She sounded extremely unsteady.
“Just do it.”
“Zeke,” Amber said as he flew on in a straight line, watching them come.
Not yet.
He could see the whites of their eyes and the way the wind whipped at their beaks, sending their saliva into a froth from the speed with which they were descending.
“Zeke!”
He held his course in disbelief. How could they not see what was about to happen? It was so transparent to him that he thought they should have seen.
“ZEKE!” Amber shouted.
He acted.
“Now!”
Snapping out his wings, he came to almost a dead halt mid-air. A split second later he folded in his wings and dropped.
Backward.
He fell toward the earth facing upward now.
With the two gryphons almost on top of him.
Zeke smiled, and a moment later a violent blast of fire exploded from his mouth, engulfing both of the gryphons in a blazing ball of fire that evaporated feathers and melted flesh. The pair shrieked and tried to break off their attack run.
Or tried to.
One of them was too badly hurt to recover, and even as Zeke tried to roll back over and out of the way, a burning shifter slammed into his wing.
Zeke howled in pain as the razor-sharp beak of his foe punctured his wing, and then ripped it open as the creature continued to fall, barely slowed by the collision.
“Zeke!” Amber cried as they began to tumble from the sky.
He groaned in pain, trying to focus. If he didn’t right himself, they were going to die. It was only if he managed to turn back over to get off his side that they would have a chance. He had to do it. If not for himself, for Amber.
Yellow dragon eyes flew open, incandescent rage blowing past his pain receptors as he realized that Amber might perish if he didn’t do this. That could not be allowed to happen. Zeke was not going to be the reason she died.
No, he was going to be the reason she lived.
With a terrible yell of pain, he forced his ripped and broken wing to extend, catching some of the air and giving him some leverage to roll his body around and open his other wing.
The agony intensified as both wings reached wide, trying to slow their progress.
“This is going to be rough,” he groaned through the pain as the ground came up to meet them. “I’m sorry!”
They hit.
***
At the last moment, Zeke spotted a hole in the canopy of trees and managed to direct them through it to a small clearing. He thanked his lucky stars for that small miracle. They might survive after all.
He bounced high in the air, and thrusted his wings out to the sides to try and stop himself.
His left wing, broken and mangled, failed and collapsed under the sudden strain. With resistance suddenly only on one side, Zeke’s massive dragon body whipped around and then began to roll.
Amber shrieked, but somehow managed to maintain her grip on his scales until they came back around, right-side up.
Unfortunately his momentum was too great and she was flung free up into the air on the second roll. Zeke roared in concern, and slammed his great hind legs into the ground as he came back around. Gigantic muscles howled in protest as his talons dug through the ground, leaving massive furrows as he slid.
His good wing snapped out and he managed to catch her on the tip of it, slowing her momentum until she practically slid to the ground.
Zeke’s legs finally gave out under the strain, and he rolled onto his back, where he slid for a few feet as the momentum finally slacked enough for him to lie there.
In the distance under the magnificent canopy, he could see one burning body crumpled into the ground. He saw that the other one who hadn’t collided with him had managed to land in the trees as well, though it was covered in hideous burns from his Dragonfire and wasn’t moving.
Zeke thought about that for a second. He had produced full-blown Dragonfire in the form of a ball. That was new to him, and not something he’d known he was capable of. A stream of fire, sure, but a powerful contained fireball? Neither Rhynne nor Daxxton mentioned Fire Dragons could do that.
And not only that, but the blast he’d hit the two dive-bombers with had been tinged with blue-white flames, a heat intensity he’d never been able to achieve before.
It was fueled by my emotions.
Zeke vaguely recalled in his pain-addled brain that Asher had experienced something similar when Quinn had been in danger, and he’d been forced to save her. That was the first time he’d truly managed to manifest his Frostfire.
Just like Zeke had now managed to manifest a fireball, all in an effort to save Amber.
He smiled, and sagged into an exhausted pile of scales and wing membrane.
Right. His wing. Shit.
“Amber?” he groaned, reluctant to roll himself over until he knew where she was. All of his bearings had been lost in the collision and subsequent crash. He wasn’t even sure where they were, besides deep in the forest.
“Amber?” he rumbled again, trying to crane his head around to spot her.
“I’m over here,” she said, her voice also tinged with pain.
“Are you okay?” he asked, rolling away from the sound of her voice, until he could regain his footing. With his neck able to properly move, he could look at her.
She was holding her arm. “I think so. I hit really hard on my shoulder. I’m not sure if I broke something, or if it’s just numb from the impact.” Amber tried to move it, and winced.
“Just hold it there,” he advised. “We’ll get someone to look at it.”
Her black hair bounced as she looked around the forest. The height of the Vallenwood trees allowed them a long field of view, despite the thickness of their trunks.
“I hope you don’t mean either of those two,” she said grimly, nodding at the two gryphons.
He looked away, unhappy with what he’d been forced to do in front of her. “I don’t think one of them is going to be looking at anything ever again,” he admitted.
Her eyebrows rose slightly in surprise, then narrowed. “Good.”
Zeke turned to face her. “Good?” he asked, surprised at her reaction. He’d expected her to look at him like he was some sort of monster.
“Yes. Good. They were going to kill me. Probably in some painful manner. I wish they hadn’t. but they did, and so I’m glad that one of them in particular won’t be able to try that again. I happen to enjoy living, Zeke. Even if it hurts sometimes,” she said with a grin at her shoulder. “I would have preferred this to be done peacefully without death, yes. But if they’re going to come for me, I’d rather they die.”
“How do you carry such strength in such a small body?
” he asked in disbelief. “I am constantly astounded by you.”
She grinned. “Stop underestimating me, and maybe I’ll stop surprising you.”
Zeke laughed, then winced as his muscles protested the full-body movement.
“Are you okay?” she asked, approaching him and looking at his underside.
Zeke glanced at the wound in his scales. Blood still flowed through it, beginning to soak the ground underneath him.
“I’m gonna be pretty useless for a bit,” he admitted. “And the others will find this place. We should get moving.”
Amber nodded, standing up.
He eyed her. “Uhh, you might want to move back more. There’s no stone circle here to contain anything.” He frowned. “I’m going to have to do it myself I guess. Somehow.”
“Can it be done?” she asked, moving a much farther distance away.
“Oh sure. Daxxton, the head of Top Scale, my commander, can do it in a cloud of smoke and a shower of sparks. It’s quite impressive. I just don’t know how he does it,” Zeke admitted. “But here goes nothing.”
He focused on the change, feeling the smoke rise up. This time though, he kept his eyes open. He looked at the black clouds and the flames that appeared between them. As his form shrank, he tried to pull the fire clouds into him. To contain them and control them with his self.
The flames fought back though, and he struggled even harder. A forest fire was something they could ill afford just then. It took his complete mental effort, an undertaking almost as tiring and painful as the first time he’d ever forced himself to shift. That was before it became second nature.
“Wow,” Amber said as the blackness dissipated.
Flames still erupted, but this time it was around him. They shot up into the air, vanishing a foot over his head. Only a few puffs of smoke rose from the grass where sparks and embers had hit.
“Neat,” he said, and then fell over in pure exhaustion.
The pain of his wounds and the effort of his change left him gasping for breath. Each heave of his lungs sent bolts of lightning agony through his body. The giant cut on his stomach was mirrored by one down his deltoid. No matter what he did, Zeke was left in agony as he moved.
But move he did. After several minutes of recovering his breath and his mental clarity, he hauled himself to his feet.
“We need to go,” he said, picking a direction.
They had wasted too much time there already. He was lost, disoriented, and weak.
But he wasn’t dead yet, and he was damn well going to get them out of here if it was the last thing he did.
One step. Then another. Slowly. But always surely.
The pair of them, leaning on each other for support when needed, moved away from the flaming wreckage of their pursuers. With one last glance over his shoulder before they disappeared, Zeke was fairly certain that he saw one of them move.
Pursuit would be coming. The other two gryphons would recover and come after them. Hell, they probably had more allies nearby. There had been no way for the gryphons to know ahead of time that he was going to alter course and head in a different direction. So the two gryphons who had surprised him had to have been one of several pairs who had just so happened to get lucky.
Which meant fresh, unhurt shifters coming after the two of them while the injured couple made their way through the forest.
“How’s your arm?” he asked as they went on. He’d noticed Amber favoring it less and less as they moved.
“Tingles. Pins and needles,” she said.
He nodded. “Keep moving it more and more if it doesn’t hurt too much. The movement will be good for it.”
She nodded, conserving her breath. They weren’t running, but they were moving as fast as Zeke could. There was still blood running from his wounds, but he could feel it beginning to slow. Dragons healed faster than a normal human, though it wasn’t instantaneous. He would be fine by morning, but that still left a large part of the day and all night where he would be weaker than normal.
It wasn’t until well after dark that they stopped moving. Zeke hadn’t noticed any signs of pursuit, but he knew it would come. They had to stop though. Amber was in pain, and he wasn’t doing much better. She hadn’t told him about anything other than her shoulder, but he suspected from the way she had begun to move more gingerly that her body was starting to bruise from the fall. He admired her stoic quiet over it, but the truth was they were both finished for the day.
“Here, over here,” he said, pointing toward a large hillock, mostly covered by the huge trees.
“Why, what’s over here?” Amber asked, gratefully slowly her pace.
“Shelter, for the night.” He pointed her at the little opening he could see. “It’s not much, but it’s more defensible than being out in the open.
Zeke quickly checked out the cave to ensure it wasn’t inhabited by a wild bear or other animal. It was empty though, and the pair moved in, sitting gingerly next to each other.
Amber’s head immediately rested on his shoulder.
He turned his head slightly and kissed her forehead. It was a natural move, something that he didn’t even think about doing before he did it, as if it had happened a thousand times before.
Except it hadn’t. He felt and saw Amber stiffen from his touch, but to his surprise, she didn’t move away. Quite the opposite, actually. She tilted her head backward while still laying it on his shoulder.
To the point where he could see her lips.
Zeke’s heart began to race, pumping more blood into his wounds, but he ignored the fresh wave of pain they sent through him. His focus was elsewhere.
Was she giving him the opening to kiss her?
He looked into her eyes at last, and saw it there. The same desire he felt, reflected back at him. Without hesitating, Zeke leaned in gently, and in the darkness of their refuge their lips met for the first time. He kissed her full on the mouth, and Amber reciprocated instantly. There was no pause. She melted into him, turning slightly, her uninjured hand reaching up to caress his face.
Her lips parted, her tongue hungrily exploring his mouth as the kiss went on.
And on.
It felt like an eternity. They sat there side by side, lips locked, wrapped up in each other’s world.
Then suddenly Amber pulled back, blinking in embarrassment. She turned away.
What? What the hell did I do wrong?
She tried to pull away again, but he reached out and held her close.
“No.”
“No?” she asked, and he sensed a bit of a challenge in her voice.
“No. Because you need to stay warm. It’s going to get cold out soon. You need the warmth I can provide.”
He ached to say more. But he didn’t. Right then he had to be all business, to prove to her that he wasn’t trying to force her to stay with him, to sleep with him when the time came. She truly needed his warmth, and that was that.
As if to reinforce his point, a chilly breeze swept through the cave, sending a shiver through Amber.
“Okay, you win this round,” she said begrudgingly, though without too much anger.
She snuggled closer to him as he positioned himself with his back against the wall, trying not to lean hard against his injured side.
While she was tightly snuggled up against him, he noticed that Amber’s breathing had changed. It was long, slow, and very rhythmic, a surefire indicator that she was asleep.
Zeke leaned his head back, and minutes later, despite his best attempts to stay awake, he too fell into a deep sleep with memories of her soft lips on his mind.
Chapter Seven
Amber
A gust of wind settled a leaf against her face, waking Amber in the morning as a corner scraped gently across her skin. She exhaled, blowing the fallen soldier away and took a deep breath, coming to her senses.
Everything hurt. That was the first thing she noticed in her increasingly awakened state.
And I mean everything. Ow.
Her entire body, while seeming to respond to commands, was not happy and was letting her know. She gently unwrapped Zeke’s arm from around her and sat up. At some point in the night they had lain in a prone position with him cuddled up behind her.
She looked at him, still sound asleep, and before she could help it she leaned down and gently kissed his forehead.
Her lips were warmed by his skin, and they tingled for a few seconds after.
Just like when he kissed me last night.
Her cheeks burned with warmth as she recalled the way she’d kissed him, then moved away so abruptly without explanation.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to kiss him. She had. And when their lips had met, it had been bliss. Amber had been in heaven. Everything about it had just felt so perfect.
Which is why she’d moved away. It had been too perfect. Straight out of a movie. She’d needed to clear her mind, to ensure that she was thinking clearly, and not addled by everything that they had gone through for the day.
If he tried to kiss her again now…she smiled despite herself. She wouldn’t resist this time. No, Amber was positive of that now.
Assuming he tries again after you rejected him the first time.
She frowned at that. It was a valid point. She’d have to make it clear to him that she was still interested in him.
Which was a ridiculous point in and of itself, she knew. This was the third time she’d seen him. None of which had been under normal circumstances. Couldn’t she just go out to dinner with him? It would have been so much easier!
It didn’t change the fact that she felt comfortable, safe, and at ease around him. That she liked talking to him, listening to his stories, and generally being around him. There was something about his charm and attitude that just made her feel comfortable. It was a scarily powerful feeling, but Amber was smart enough to know she couldn’t fight it. She was better off following it, and seeing where it led her.