Fire Dragon (A BBW Standalone Shape Shifter Romance) (Top Scale Academy Book 2)

by Amelia Jade

  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 h
ad 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.

  Hopefully somewhere safer than the last time.

  She smiled, then frowned as Zeke shifted slightly, exposing his back to her. Reaching forward, she tugged his ripped shirt slightly to the side, inspecting the wound on his back she knew affected his wing when he was in dragon form. The long, deep gash was mostly healed by then, though it had left an ugly welt that didn’t look very comfortable either.

  Zeke had made it seem like he would be perfectly fine in the morning, but she knew that something like that would hinder him for a while yet.

  Just how badly was he hurt? And why didn’t he say anything?

  She couldn’t see his stomach to inspect that opening, but she hoped it was healing the same, if not faster. That wasn’t nearly as pressing though. The fact that his wing had been rendered useless was the big worry. Without it they couldn’t fly away. They were stuck on the ground in the forest.

  Amber stood, slowly stretching her body, trying to ignore the shrieks it made as she moved. Her shoulder had loosened up during their flight yesterday, but had stiffened up again overnight. She moved it gingerly, testing it out. As far as she could feel, she was just bruised and sore all over, without any major injuries. Considering how far they’d dropped out of the air, Amber considered that fact nothing short of miraculous.

  “You’re up.”

  She started as Zeke spoke, his eyes opening, the brown orbs focusing on her almost immediately.

  “Yes,” she said. “How are you feeling?”

  He sat up, and she saw him do his best to hide a grimace from her. “Doing just fine,” he lied.

  “Seriously,” she pressed. “I don’t need the macho man angle.”

  Zeke gave her the lopsided grin that always sent her heart fluttering. “Okay, so I’ve had better days. I hurt, but I should be good to go.”

  Amber nodded once sharply. “Much better.”

  He shook his head, the smile still plastered on his face. “Such a harsh taskmaster,” he teased.

  Amber watched as he got to his feet next to her.

  “Hey, if you’re going to be carrying me anywhere in the air, I need to know you aren’t just going to suddenly drop out from under me.” She paused. “
Again.”

  Zeke’s jaw dropped open. “Well played,” he said with a reluctant nod. “Well played.”

  “Thank you,” she said, accepting the compliment graciously.

  “Let’s see what we can see, shall we?” Zeke said, motioning outside and then leading the way, wary of any traps.

  But there was nobody there. With the sunlight to guide them, they made it to a clearing with ease, where Zeke once again shifted back into his dragon form. She noted the smoothness to his transition once again, but also the way he sagged after doing it.

  However he’s keeping it contained, it must take a lot out of him.

  “Are you okay to fly after that?” she asked, knowing he wouldn’t like being pressed. She had to ask though.

  “I am,” he said, then paused. “Where am I flying to?”

  “What do you mean?” She was confused.

  “Do you want to go home?”

  Amber opened her mouth to say yes. That’s where she was supposed to go, but closed it again abruptly as she realized what he was asking.

  Zeke was asking if she wanted to stay. For him.

  “If I go,” she said slowly, “I’ll never see you again, correct?”

  “Most likely,” he admitted. “At the minimum, not for a long time.”

  “But if I stay, someone will find me and kill me, right?”

  Zeke bristled at that. “I wouldn’t let it happen.”

  She eyed him. “Can you spend every single second of every day protecting me, Zeke? I appreciate the sentiment behind your statement, but I think we both know it’s not realistic.”

  He sagged, and she moved to the dragon’s side, resting her head against his red scales. They were darker today, closer to the color of rust.

  Or dried blood.

  “Do I have a choice?” she asked.

  Amber wanted to stay. She did. Something about Zeke called out to her. Like he was important, and meant to be in her life.

  But how could he be, if she didn’t have one? If she stayed, someone here would kill her. She would be a fugitive at all times, and that was no way to live either.