They were coming for him. Because of his mistake, Rohan and Edriq would be flying straight into an ambush.
Zul cursed himself again and looked up into the glowing eyes of Lieutenant Yoflam.
Yoflam smiled and gave him three slow, deliberate claps. “Well done, dragon. Well done!”
Each clap reverberated round the cave like a gunshot.
“I knew you would be useful. The antidote wasn't wasted on you,” Yoflam said with a thin smile. “But we won't be giving you any more.”
Yoflam paced in a small circle, kicking away the ashes at his feet. Picking up a small piece of ash from his boot, Yoflam crushed the remains of one of his comrades between his fingers and brushed his hands.
Zul had incinerated a whole horde of Slayors but Yoflam wasn't at all bothered by the deaths of his soldiers. Those deaths were necessary, in order to draw the remaining weredragon warriors to them.
Syndorian males were conscripted into the Syndor army at a young age. Their training was harsh and brutal. The soldiers were shown no mercy by their commanders, and if they displayed any sign of weakness, they would be tortured or killed in front of their fellow soldiers.
Every Slayor was a killing machine for Syndor. They were unfeeling and pitiless, and they could murder a defenseless elderly civilian or innocent infant in cold blood. Lives didn't matter. If they were given an order, they would finish the mission, whatever the cost. The Slayors had come to Earth to finish their mission.
“I will kill you,” Zul snarled, staggering towards Yoflam. He lunged at the Slayor but missed. Yoflam's laughing mouth split into two. Zul shook his head hard but he couldn't clear his vision. There were two Yoflams in front of him and they seemed to be swaying and tilting at strange, impossible angles.
Yoflam's taunting voice echoed around him. “You should conserve your energy, dragon. The first dose you took was only enough to temporarily halt the spread of the venom through your bloodstream. But the more you exert yourself, the faster the antidote wears off.”
Yoflam laughed and strolled away. “Don't die yet,” he tossed over his shoulder. “Live for a while more, so you can watch how we slay your king.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Kate watched Nora speak rapidly into the phone. She was talking to her colleague, Mario, a fellow paramedic.
“Okay, thanks Mario. Send my love to Julia,” Nora said and put down the phone.
Nora came back to the kitchen table and sat down with a sigh. “Mario doesn't know anything about the antidote either. Mario is half-Dracan,” Nora informed Kate. “I was his groomswoman at his wedding,” she added, with a lopsided smile.
“What can we do?” Kate cried, angry at her own helplessness. Rohan and Edriq had been gone for about an hour now, and there was no news from them. Before he left, Rohan had assured Jae that he would get rid of the dead Slayors in his apartment. “There won't be even a trace of black blood in the morning,” Rohan said. Jae had left soon after, saying that he would be going to his sister's place for the night. He didn't offer Kate a ride. He seemed to assume that she would be staying at the mansion.
“Rohan and Edriq will bring Zul home,” Amelia said, putting her arm around Kate's shoulder. “Have faith.”
“I wish I could do more, but there's nothing I can do,” Kate said, standing up. “Will you let me know once you receive any news?”
Amelia and Nora looked at her, surprised. “Aren't you staying? Where are you going?”
“Maybe I can find out something,” Kate said desperately. “Maybe if I go back...”
“Back? You mean back to your apartment?” Amelia gasped.
“You can't go back there. Not tonight, anyway. The Slayors might come back,” Nora said. “Do you have...family in the city? Or a friend you can go to?”
Kate shook her head. “I moved to the city just four months ago, and...the only person I count as a friend, is Jae.”
“Then you're staying with us,” Amelia said firmly.
“Yeah, the house is certainly big enough,” Nora said.
“But...”
Amelia cut off her protest. “Zul and Edriq have their own wing, for privacy. But we usually have dinner together here, in the main kitchen. Tessa looks forward to seeing her Uncle Zul and Uncle Edriq at dinner. And her Aunt Nora of course.”
“I'm her favorite aunt.” Nora smirked. “When Tessa grows up, she wants to be a paramedic, just like her Aunt Nora!”
“And a mermaid,” Amelia added with a laugh. “Tessa wants to be a mermaid paramedic and save people underwater.”
Nora turned to Kate and said, “There are enough rooms in the mansion. I'll be here with Amelia for the night. We can rest in one of the guest bedrooms, since I doubt any of us will be getting much sleep tonight.”
“I don't want to impose...” Kate began.
“You are here because you care for Zul,” Amelia said. “You're not a Dracan, but...you're family.”
“I'm not Dracan either,” Nora said. “I'm completely human, just like you. I just happen to be a weredragon warrior's mate.”
“Oh, I thought...” Kate stammered.
“Nah, you don't have to be a dragon to be mated to one,” Nora answered her question before she could utter it.
Amelia and Nora shared a knowing look and turned to Kate. “You've seen Zul's dragon, haven't you?” Amelia asked slowly.
“Y-yes.” Kate blushed. From the way the two women were looking at her, she knew that they thought she was Zul's mate.
Could she really be the mate of a weredragon warrior?
All she knew was that she cared a lot about Zul. She never knew that she could grow to care so much for a person in such a short time.
This wasn't a mere infatuation. And it wasn't lust at first sight, even though Zul was smoking hot and devastatingly sexy. The feelings she had for Zul were deep, intense and real. She wanted him to be safe and well, and she knew without a doubt that she could willingly exchange her life for his.
If the Slayors would take her instead of Zul, she would willingly go to them. She wasn't afraid to die. She just wanted Zul to live.
Her tears fell onto her lap and she swiped furiously at her eyes. As Amelia and Nora hugged her hard, she whispered, “I'll do anything...for him. Just tell me what to do.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Zul closed his eyes and reached out with his mind to his brothers. He knew they were near. They had blatantly ignored his warning and come for him. Stubborn, stubborn dragons!
Zul grimaced. He would have done the same for either of them.
The Slayors had left him unguarded. He wasn't deemed a threat, not in this weakened state. His legs was numb and he couldn't even feel the shackles around his ankles.
As Zul struggled for breath, he knew that the venom was killing his cells and organs one by one. Very soon, the blood vessels would burst in his body and the blood would fill his lungs. He would drown in his own blood.
As excruciating pain racked his body, Zul dug his nails into the rock and fought to hold on to consciousness. An image flashed through his mind. He saw Kate's beautiful face, and she was smiling at him.
Zul took a painful breath and held on to that angelic vision. He could remember how she felt beneath him, how sweet she tasted, and how she had clung to him and screamed his name.
He wished he had protected her better. He had been too reckless, too careless. How could he have let himself get bitten?
“Kate,” he whispered as her image faded from his mind.
Even if he lived, the venom might have done permanent damage to his body. He might never be the same again. He would be a burden, to his mate and his brothers.
Zul gasped when he sensed his brothers circling the sky above the cave. They had zeroed in on his location and would be attacking the Slayor's hideout with all the firepower they had.
Zul forced his dragon to the fore and Rohan's mind connected with his in a heartbeat. Zul! Hang
on, buddy, we're coming in!
No! Edriq, Rohan, they've booby-trapped the front of the cave! Zul screamed a frantic warning to his brothers.
We know. Just lie low, Zul. Edriq sounded calm and controlled.
Zul snarled. Lie low when his brothers were fighting the Slayors? He was going to miss all the fun!
Fuck that! If he was going to die, then he would die fighting. He wasn't going to lie down and wait for the venom to finish him off.
Zul crouched, taking small, shallow breaths to conserve his energy. He needed all the remaining strength he had.
He could hear the Slayors getting into position. The hissing stopped, but he could still hear the Slayors slithering over rocks and up to the roof of the huge cave. Some of the Slayors had shifted to serpent form for the battle with the dragons, but most of the lieutenants had chosen to fight in human shape.
Zul pricked his ears. His brothers could glide soundlessly through the air and swoop in without warning.
The air moved ever so slightly.
Zul smiled.
A ball of dragon fire slammed through the mouth of the cave. Venom-tipped arrows flew through the air, but none found their target. The ground was littered with writhing bodies, some still in snake form. The dragon fire had caused many of the Slayors to shift involuntarily back to human form. Many Slayors had their skin burned right off their faces and others were rolling frantically on the ground, trying to put out the fire that was consuming the rest of their bodies.
Yoflam was standing silently in a corner, holding a bow. His yellow eyes glowed as he aimed a poisoned arrow at the entrance. More archers ran out of the cave and shot their arrows skyward.
Something dropped from the sky but it wasn't a dragon. It was a sparrow who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Zul tensed.
A bolt of blinding white-hot fire crashed into the cave and Zul used all his will and strength to force his dragon out of him.
His dragon roared, attracting the Slayors' attention.
At that instant, Rohan swooped into the cave like a shadow and shifted swiftly to human form.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Zul breathed a stream of weak fire to cover Rohan as he ran into the cave. The Slayors fired their arrows but as a human, Rohan was an impossible target. It was much easier to hit a gigantic dragon than an athletic, nimble human. Rohan's movements were swift and agile, and he was no more than a blur as he raced towards Zul.
Another bolt of fire smashed into the cave. Slayors were incinerated on the spot, and those who were still standing were swiftly shot down by Rohan. He had two guns in his hands and was firing non-stop.
Zul spat his fire at the Slayors but his fire wasn't powerful enough to incinerate them to ashes. He was losing his strength and his hold on his dragon.
Zul slipped back to human form and crumpled to the ground. “Leave,” he choked out in Dracan as he knelt in front of Rohan. “Just leave me, Your Majesty!”
“No! We're not leaving without you,” Rohan snapped. A knife whizzed past Rohan's shoulder and lodged itself in the chest of a Slayor behind him.
Zul saw Edriq charge into the cave, taking out another two Slayors with his throwing knives.
Zul wished he had the strength to fight alongside his brothers. He wished they would leave while they could. They had mates, families to return to.
He didn't want Rohan and Edriq to see him foaming at the mouth and convulsing in agony in his final moments.
“Leave!” Zul roared at them. “Just go! And tell Kate...tell Kate I wish I could have given her the future she deserves.”
“Then give her that future,” Rohan shouted.
“I...”
“It's an order. From your king!”
Despite his pain, Zul found the energy to roll his eyes.
“You've never shoved your royal status in my face before,” Zul groused.
“You've never let me down before,” Rohan shot back. “Don't let me down now, Zul.”
Edriq gunned down a dozen Slayors and skidded to Zul's side. “Get him out,” he told Rohan. “I'll cover you.”
Zul growled at them. “I told you to go!”
“Are you ordering your king around?” Edriq demanded.
“You're a royal pain in the ass. Pun intended,” Zul deadpanned.
As Edriq fired at the Slayors to keep them at bay, Rohan snatched a knife out from his side holster. Rohan gripped the bejeweled hilt and pressed one of the rubies at the side. With a click, the blade lengthened into a sword.
Zul blinked when he saw the Sword of Draca in his king's hands. Only a king of Draca could hold that sacred and powerful sword.
Rohan swung the sword down on the chains.
There was a blinding flash of light and the shackles fell away from Zul's ankles.
Rohan caught him as he fell forward. “We'll fight our way out,” Rohan said grimly. “We're getting out of this stinking snake hole!”
“Let's take out as many of those fuckers on our way out,” Zul said through gritted teeth. He stretched out his hand to Edriq. “Give me a gun!”
Without question, Edriq slapped a gun into his palm. “Let's get out of here.”
With his arm over Rohan's shoulder, Zul staggered towards the opening of the large cave. He let out a demented laugh as he squeezed off a dozen bullets. His aim was a bit off but he still managed to hit an impressive number of Slayors. He gave a whoop and hollered, “Bullseye!”
Like a couple of drunks, they staggered out to the clearing. Edriq was behind them, giving them as much cover as he could.
“Now!” Rohan yelled.
Both Rohan and Edriq shifted into dragon form and hurled two gigantic balls of fire at the Slayors.
Then Rohan grabbed Zul with his talons and soared into the sky. Zul looked back and saw Edriq flying close behind them.
“Did we kill 'em all?” Zul asked, his words slurring.
He heard Rohan's reply just before his eyes closed.
No.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“They're back,” Amelia and Nora said together and jumped up.
Kate gasped and stared at the two women. “How do you know?”
Amelia pulled her collar down and showed her a dragon-shaped mark near her collar bone. The mark was bright red and throbbing. “Being bonded to a dragon means he is a part of you. Your emotions and life force are intricately, intimately connected,” Amelia explained softly.
Kate hurried behind Amelia and Nora as they wound their way through the corridors. Both women were whispering softly under their breaths, but they weren't speaking with each other. They were speaking with their husbands. Kate swallowed hard. She envied the close connection and bond they shared with their mates. It was almost like their hearts and souls were joined so they could sense and feel each other's presence and emotions. Kate had been married before, but she had never ever experienced this kind of closeness and love.
“Where is Zul?” Kate asked fearfully. “Did they...is he...?”
“Yeah, they got him,” Nora said. “They're taking Zul straight to his room, so they'll be using the entrance at Zul's side of the mansion.”
Kate nodded, and ran with Amelia and Nora through the final corridor linking Zul's wing of the mansion to the main house. As they pounded up the stairs, Kate heard Rohan and Edriq's voices.
Kate rushed into Zul's spacious bedroom and flew to his bedside. His brothers had undressed him and pulled the covers up to his waist. Zul's muscular body was covered with a sheen of sweat, and he was murmuring deliriously.
“Zul!” Kate cried, taking his hand. His hand burned against hers, and Kate let out a panicked cry at his dangerously high temperature.
She spun round to face Rohan and Edriq. “Have you given him the antidote? Is he going to be okay?” she asked, unable to keep her voice steady.
“We don't have the antidote,” Edriq replied gravely. “Ou
r physicians on Draca had been working on the antidote to the Slayors' venom, but their research died with them.”
“So...the venom is still in his blood?” Kate stuttered in horror.
“Yes.”
“Who else has the antidote?” Kate said desperately. “There must be something to neutralize the venom! You can save him, can't you? Please...”
Rohan stepped forward and placed a hand on Kate's shoulder. “Only his dragon can save him now.”
“His dragon?” Kate gasped.
“Yes. The venom is inside his body. He will have to fight the venom from within,” Rohan answered.
“But...he's hurt! There must be another way!” Kate said, swiping at her tears. “His dragon wouldn't be strong enough at this time...”
“Then give him the strength,” Amelia said, turning Kate around to face her. “Give him a reason to fight. Zul will fight—for you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You. It is obvious that you and Zul share a very special bond.” Amelia paused and said, “If you are his mate, then only you can save him. A dragon will never stop fighting for its mate. Zul will fight everything, even death, for you.”
Kate looked at Amelia, and glanced at the anxious, hopeful faces behind her. Rohan, Edriq and Nora nodded firmly and gave her grim but encouraging smiles.
“I heard him call your name,” Rohan said softly. “Anyone else would have succumbed to the venom by now. But my brother is holding on and fighting the good fight for you. Stay with him and give him what he needs to win the fight. Please.”
Kate swallowed. Rohan Draek, the king of the Dracans, was actually begging her to save his brother.
“I will do my best. So will Zul,” she said, bowing her head. Looking up, she said fiercely, “Zul will win this fight.”
“Because of you,” Amelia whispered.
“Not because of me. Zul will win because...” Her eyes shone as she managed a very small, crooked smile. “He simply hates to lose.”
To Love A Dragon: Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (Weredragon Warriors Book 3) Page 6
