Tears of the Dragon: A Zodiac Shifters Paranormal Romance: Aries

by Cara Wylde

  “No.”

  “Then, you’re of no use to us.”

  With that said, the man stabbed Aileen in the back. Once, twice, then a third time for good measure.

  Aileen screamed. She had never felt such pain in her entire life, but she didn’t have time to process what was happening and what she could do to make it stop, because her captor suddenly threw her to the side. He threw her with such force, that she ended up on the grass, face first, far away from the three men.

  “No!” Drakon took a step towards her. “What have you done?”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  He let the knife drop to the ground, and pulled out his gun as fast as he could. When he started shooting, the other two started shooting with him. Over the sound of gunshots, they missed the crack of bones and pop of joints. All they knew was that their target was moving so fast that they barely had time to aim and shoot. Mostly, they skipped the aiming part and shot in the general direction of the man who was gradually growing larger, shifting into the tall golden dragon they feared so much.

  Their plan had gone wrong, but there was no time for regrets. Initially, they had only wanted to grab Aileen and head back to the camp to interrogate her. They had spent all day spying on her, and when they realized she had been taken somewhere inside the cave, they had done their best to find ways of getting access to what was happening without having to enter the cave. It had been quite clear that going inside was not a good option. It had taken them a while to find the smaller entrance on the left side of the mountain, far away from the clearing, but when they found it, they realized they could go inside, down a narrow corridor, until they reached a dead end. The auxiliary entrance had been blocked years before by rocks, but it was somehow positioned near the room where Aileen had been locked. So, the three men had managed to hear parts of her conversation with Drakon, those parts when she screamed, begged, and when she enthusiastically told him about the prophecy.

  They didn’t care about the prophecy, though. Not even about the dragon’s healing tears. All they cared about was the Golden Fleece. When they realized the beast wasn’t going to kill her, they were relieved. Then, they understood that some sort of friendship was forming between them, which led them to the conclusion that, sooner or later, Aileen would leave the cave, if only for a breath of fresh air.

  No, the plan had never been to confront the dragon. They had wanted Aileen in hopes she could tell them how to kill the dragon. Surely, she had learned about his weaknesses while befriending him, right? In case they did come face to face with the dragon, they hoped their guns would do the trick.

  Unfortunately, the flying bullets only managed to enrage the beast even more. They couldn’t be sure if they had wounded him while he was in his human form, but it immediately became clear to them that they had no chance of taking him down once he shifted, stretched his wings, and took off in the air. The bullets bounced right off the shiny, golden scales. It was as if the dragon’s body was covered in an unbreakable armor.

  When the beast started flying in circles above their heads, the three men panicked. They fumbled to reload their guns, but it was too late. Maybe, they should have run. They were too shocked and paralyzed with fear to have the presence of mind to make any sound decision, and Drakon took full advantage of that.

  The fire in his chest bubbled up to the surface, until it reached his throat and he could feel it dance against the roof of his mouth. With a mighty roar, Drakon released a long, scorching flame. It was all it took. The three men lit up like torches, their screams and wails filling the night. Their bodies sent red, hot light to every corner of the clearing, as they burned and burned, until there was nothing left where they had stood. Nothing, but ashes. Unlike normal fire, dragon fire could even burn bones. In a matter of hours, after the wind would have spread the ashes in the four directions, no one would be able to tell what had happened in the clearing. It would look like someone had camped there for a night and built a huge bonfire, let the fire burn until it consumed the last piece of wood, then left.

  Drakon flew over the clearing until the dust and ashes settled, then landed carefully. He shifted into his human form faster than ever before, and ran to Aileen. He took her in his arms. She was barely breathing.

  “Aileen, my love… Hang in there. It’s going to be all right.”

  She opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she smiled when she saw Drakon’s handsome face. She had lost so much blood that it was almost impossible for her to stay awake. She opened her mouth, moved her lips, but no word came out.

  “Shh…” He cradled her gently, leaning over her small, battered frame to plant a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m sorry. This is all my fault. The treasure, the curse… they have taken everything away from me. My home, my life, Medea… now you.”

  Aileen tried to speak again. There was only one thing in her mind, and her life depended on it. If she could only make the words come, if she could only make her vocal chords work!

  “Aileen, please don’t leave me,” he whispered. “I can’t live without you.”

  She shook her head slowly, and pain shot through her spine and neck.

  “I… I moved on after Medea, but I know why I had the strength. She wasn’t my soul mate. You are. I’ve lived for so long, waited in this cave, because somewhere deep inside I knew you would come. I knew you would find me and bring me a moment of love and peace. I should be the one to die, not you.” He hugged her closer to his chest. “Please don’t leave me.”

  Aileen took a shaky breath and focused on speaking. It had to work. Drakon was in so much emotional pain that he couldn’t think, couldn’t look for solutions. And there was one. There was one solution, and Aileen had to remind him.

  “The bottle,” she croaked. “The last tear… I need it.”

  Drakon’s eyes grew wide. He mentally kicked himself for not figuring it out. Yes, the bottle she had brought with her still contained the last tear Medea had collected right before she had left him. He wanted to stand up, but changed his mind. He couldn’t leave Aileen alone. What if she died while he was gone? He eyed the entrance of the cave. He knew exactly where he had left the bottle, in the room where they had made love, but even if he used his shifter speed, it still meant he’d have to leave Aileen outside. And he couldn’t move her, either. She was bleeding profusely, and he could tell she was in excruciating pain.

  “Drakon…”

  He looked down at her. Her intense green eyes were losing their spark. Her long, dark hair was spread all over his arms and lap. His hands and knees were covered in her blood, and the sight was making him ill to his stomach. As a dragon shifter, he had killed many thieves who had tried to steal the Golden Fleece, but nothing had made him ill to his stomach before.

  “Drakon…”

  She was drifting away. He could feel it.

  “Shh… My love, I’m here.”

  He kissed her forehead again, and she closed her eyes. Raw, unforgiving pain stabbed him right through the chest when he realized she might not open them again. Her pulse was fading. His Aileen was vanishing into nothingness just as quickly as she had appeared into his life. Tears welled up in his eyes, and when he allowed them to fall down his cheeks, Drakon felt like he could cry forever. Once he started, he would never stop. But, it was okay. He would stay there, with Aileen, hold her in his arms and cry over her lifeless body until… he had no idea until when. There was no time, nor space after her. No life, just the overwhelming desire to die and forget.

  When small, salty drops hit Aileen’s cheeks, she instinctively moved her head so they would fall on her lips. She couldn’t tell if he knew what he was doing, or if he was doing it on purpose, but she hoped it worked. Really, there was no way to know…

  Had Drakon’s tears always had healing properties? Had he gained this amazing gift after the witch had cursed him? Or, maybe the gift had something to do with Medea and the magic had only worked then, because of her? Neither Ailee
n, nor Drakon knew the answers to those questions.

  When he realized what she was doing, Drakon cupped her cheek with a trembling hand, and parted her lips with his thumb. She opened her mouth, and his tears fell on her tongue. She swallowed greedily, then waited. They both waited.

  The bottle had contained three healing tears: one for the soul, the second one for the mind, and the last one for the body. This time, Drakon gave Aileen much more than only three tears. Hopefully, one of them would heal her wounds and save her life. But, they had to wait. And waiting to see what the future held, - life or death, - was not easy.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Aileen kept her eyes closed and her focus on her own body. A couple of minutes passed, and she couldn’t say whether the pain was, indeed, subsiding, or she was dreaming, her hope having started to deceive her so she would simply die more peacefully. She didn’t feel as sleepy, though, and that had to be a good sign.

  Drakon held her gently, his eyes never leaving her face. The tears had stopped, but his soul was still crying. He couldn’t lose her, not when he had just found her. Or… she had found him. She was Medea’s descendant, and she was his mate. There was no doubt in his heart, although he couldn’t explain what he felt rationally. He didn’t even want to try. Feelings had nothing to do with rational thought, and if he had learned anything in his long life, it was that feelings held more truth than logic.

  She was breathing more evenly. Little by little, Aileen started regaining feeling in parts of her body which had gone slightly numb. The pain in her back was almost gone, too. She wanted to sit up and inspect her body, see if the wounds were healing. Despite telling herself she shouldn’t get her hopes too high, she couldn’t help but believe that his tears were working. Once again, they were healing her, making her stronger and healthier. Drakon was saving her for the second time. Even if it didn’t work and she died, she still believed he was saving her just by holding her against his chest. He was saving her from suffering and dying alone.

  “I think it stopped,” Drakon whispered, his lips curling up in a huge smile.

  Aileen didn’t open her eyes.

  “The bleeding stopped.”

  He moved and pulled his hand from under her to inspect his fingers. The blood had dried, and no new, fresh drops had covered the dry patches. In his enthusiasm, he tried to move her, pull her up just enough to check her wounds, but Aileen moaned in protest.

  “No. Let me rest for a few more minutes.”

  “Okay…”

  Drakon kept silent for what felt like hours. He wanted to give her the space she needed, but he was also dying to make sure that she was all right, that her wounds were healing. He caressed her face, smoothed down her hair, kissed her cheeks and forehead. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She looked so peaceful and angelic… She didn’t deserve to die, much less die for him and for that dreaded treasure. It was way past midnight, and it was getting colder and colder. He was aware of the change in temperature, but he didn’t feel it. As a dragon shifter, his blood always ran hotter than a human could even imagine. But she could have been cold, so he leaned over her, trying to cover her body with his as much as he could. All he wanted was to love and protect her. If he knew the gods he had once believed in were still up there, in the clouds, he would have prayed.

  Aileen took her time to focus on each part of her body. At some point, she knew for a fact that her wounds had healed almost completely, but she didn’t say a word. On the one hand, she wanted to be sure. When she stood up, she wanted to be able to walk on her own two feet, without Drakon’s help. She wanted to see the joy and wonder in his pale blue eyes when he realized she was fine. On the other hand, she was thinking of what they needed to do next. What she needed to do next… They couldn’t go on like this. She had to do something about the curse, even if she had no clue what that something could be.

  “Aileen?”

  Drakon’s timid voice pulled her out of her trance. For a few minutes, she had been completely absorbed by possible solutions. Finally, she opened her eyes. She was well again, and there was no point in letting Drakon think she needed more time.

  “I’m here,” she said.

  Drakon smiled, opened his mouth to say something, then changed his mind and kissed her deeply. Their tongues danced around each other slowly, teasingly. For a second, he thought he could taste his own tears on her tongue. Then, he remembered about her wounds, and broke the kiss.

  “How are you feeling?”

  Aileen beamed at him.

  “Like new. Here, let me show you.”

  Drakon helped her get up to her feet. He did his best to support her, but Aileen refused him with stubbornness.

  “I got it,” she said.

  He circled her a couple of times, but he could find no wound. Her clothes were soaked in blood, and there were patches of dried blood on her skin, especially on her back, but there was no open wound. Not even a scratch.

  “This is incredible!”

  Aileen cupped his face with her palms.

  “Yes, incredible. That’s what you are. You saved me again, Drakon.”

  He kissed her palm, but when he wanted to pull her into a hug, she immediately put some distance between them. Confused, he looked into her green eyes, and what he saw there sent a cold chill up his spine.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think it’s time I saved you,” she said.

  “What? No! What are you doing?”

  Aileen started running towards the cave, and he ran after her. With his shifter speed, he could easily catch her, but when he decided to use it, he stopped dead in his tracks. Aileen was already near the entrance of the cave.

  “What are you doing?”

  She stopped for a second, turned to him, and whispered: “This ends here.”

  Drakon heard her so clear and loud that her words kept ringing in his head minutes after she had spoken them. Then, he understood what she wanted to do, where she was headed, and his blood froze in his veins. He was a dragon shifter. A dragon shifter’s blood never froze. The foreign sensation took Drakon by surprise and paralyzed him. He watched Aileen disappear inside the cave. His sight was perfect in the dark, but hers wasn’t, and that thought made him overcome his temporary shock and run again after her. He would hate himself forever if he let her wander through the cave in complete darkness and hurt herself. As he entered the cave, he saw a light dancing in front of him, down the corridor, and he knew that meant she had found something to light her way with. A candle, maybe.

  “Aileen, please don’t do this! Come back!”

  She didn’t stop, didn’t answer, she just kept going.

  Drakon cursed under his breath and started walking at a brisk pace. He was afraid to run after her. If she was looking for the place he thought she was, then chasing her would soon turn into a hunt. She would become his prey only because the curse would kick in the moment the Golden Fleece was threatened. He wanted to go after her, wanted to try and stop her, but running, and especially using his shifter speed, would surely trigger the curse and his Guardian instinct faster.

  “Aileen, you have no idea what you’re doing,” he tried again. “You don’t know what you’re risking.”

  She kept running. Her lungs were starting to burn, and her vision became blurry after waving the flashlight on her phone all over the walls, checking the rooms she was passing by in a hurry. She needed to find it. The Golden Fleece, the treasure, the thing that was keeping Drakon stuck in this place. She didn’t know what she would do once she found it. She hadn’t figured that part out, yet. But she trusted the solution would reveal itself to her. There was no other way. She was going on instinct, and it would have to be enough. She could hear Drakon walking behind her, getting closer by the second. She didn’t stop to wonder why it was taking him so long to catch up with her when he could have easily reached her by then and thrown her over his shoulder to take her out of the cave. She had n
o time for these details.

  Aileen slowed down when she realized she was in a part of the cave she hadn’t seen before. It was deep in the heart of the mountain, or so it seemed. The flashlight revealed a much taller ceiling. After walking for another minute, she spotted it: the wide, tall room where the Golden Fleece had stayed hidden for so many thousands of years. It was right ahead of her. She took a deep breath and walked towards it. It glowed so warmly in the dark, that she didn’t need the flashlight anymore. Nonetheless, she kept it.

  She was two steps away from the entrance, when she heard Drakon stop behind her. He had run like a blur, like a rush of hot wind, and the little hairs on Aileen’s arms stood on end when she noticed the change in the air. She turned around, illuminating his handsome, manly face with her flashlight. His pale blue eyes didn’t show kindness anymore. His features held no trace of the love and adoration he had displayed earlier, and that chilled Aileen to the bone.

  “Drakon?”

  He sneered at her. His reaction surprised him, too, but he couldn’t fight it. When he spoke, there was barely contained hatred in his voice.

  “You have to stop,” he said. “If you go inside, I will kill you.”

  Aileen shuddered and bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself under control. She couldn’t back down at this crucial moment.

  “You won’t kill me, my love,” she said softly. “I trust you.”

  “But I don’t trust myself. I can’t risk trusting myself when the curse is so strong. It’s inside me, it’s running through my veins, poisoning my blood. Please, Aileen, don’t go in there. Don’t force me to do this.”

  She shook her head. There was sadness in her eyes, but hope still lingered in her heart.

  “You won’t harm me. I know it, and you know it, too. Trust what you know, Drakon.”

  Then, she turned around and entered the room.