Once caught, Dennis forced the doctor to unlock the door to Horatio’s room and once inside, undo the braces holding Horatio to the bed.
“In the corner,” Dennis ordered while Stacey and Jasmine gathered around Horatio’s bed.
“Who are you?” Horatio asked in a weak voice. “What’s happening here?”
“I’ve been staying with the dragons on Firebound Island,” Stacey explained to him. “There was a imposter put in your place.”
“By who?” Horatio asked, sitting up.
“By the Mage,” Stacey said. “He was supposedly working with the government all this time, but he’s also been attempting to help Quraal’s endeavors –”
“Quraal?” Horatio said sharply. “He’s not here is he?”
“Yes,” Jasmine said. “He’s taken over Zane and the rest of the clan.”
“They’re attacking the city now,” Stacey said. “We have to stop them.”
Horatio stared at them blankly. He appeared confused.
“Can you help us or not?” Dennis demanded, waving the gun at him. “Or would you prefer we leave you here?”
Horatio smiled thinly. “I’m no match for Quraal. I’m far too weak.”
“But what about the rest of the clan,” Stacey insisted. “Can’t you convince them to turn against him?”
Horatio shook his head. “I have no idea. So much time has passed since…”
He groaned and took hold of his stomach.
“Please help us,” Stacey said. “If you don’t the government is going to use Quraal’s attack as an excuse to nuke all known dragon locations.”
“What?” Horatio cried.
He forced his way out of the bed.
“You’re our last hope,” Stacey said. “Please.”
She took his hand, and placed it against her belly.
“Feel the little one inside me…?”
Horatio’s eyes beamed with surprise. “Who’s dragon is this?”
“Zane’s.”
“But he never – He never weds –”
“He wants to marry me,” Stacey said. “We were going to have a family together.”
Horatio seemed genuinely moved.
He took a deep breath, and his chest heaved in and out.
He rubbed his eyes and looked around the room.
“We’ll need to get up to the roof,” he said.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The base of the Human / Dragon Affairs building had been torched to pieces by two of Zane’s dragons below. The upstairs boardroom where they’d organized to meet was about to be incinerated. Zane watched as Quraal grappled onto that part of the structure, as the base of it began to lose its sway. He broke through the glass with his clawed hands and then sent a tidal wave of fire through, killing the so called leaders he and Zane had united against.
Zane felt sick. He had yet to kill anyone himself (focusing his own destruction on inanimate objects like parked cars and statues) but the horror of seeing his men commit these atrocities was enough for him. People were dying. He could hear them screaming in the wind. How he wanted to say to the clan, Stop what you’re doing – We don’t have to do this – but as before, Quraal’s hold over him was far too great.
“Zane!” the Dark Dragon screeched as the latest destroyed building toppled over. “Why aren’t you helping?”
Zane could hardly hear him. His eyes were far away. Looking out to the distance.
Thinking about Stacey.
It was his job to protect her, to protect the people she loved, and he had failed in that role. What he needed now was a miracle. Some kind of twist of fate that would open the dark sky up and reveal the answer to him.
If it could only save him from himself…
“ZANE!” Quraal shouted again.
Zane took his eyes off the sky and stared back down into the havoc they were wreaking. There would be no miracle. It was impossible. Narses was dead. The clan was under Quraal’s command. And Stacey, oh Stacey…
His Blossom was just too far away.
Zane’s wings extended further as he dived down towards the city’s surface, blindly spraying fire in all directions.
Then, out of nowhere…
Something hit him. It fell from the sky and landed on his back.
What was it?
Who was it?
“Master,” his beloved pleaded in his ear. “What on EARTH are you doing?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Her tears were so cold. Her skin so gentle. Zane couldn’t believe it was her. What had he done to deserve this? What had he done to deserve this undying love?
His eyes shifted to the sky. It was the Red Dragon, in full spread of his wings. He looked so strong. As if he were indestructible. The glorious reality swept over him…
“FIREBOUND DRAGONS!” Horatio shouted from his dragon’s mouth. “I HAVE RETURNED TO YOU!”
The dragons stopped what they were doing. They rose up and formed a ring around Horatio and Zane.
“I AM YOUR TRUE KING, AND I SAY STOP THIS MADNESS AT ONCE!”
Zane’s eyes darted around searching for Quraal.
He couldn’t see him.
King Horatio was flying down to meet Zane at his level.
“I am utterly disappointed to see you take sides with that monster,” Horatio scolded him.
Zane opened his mouth. It had been so long since he’d used his dragon’s voice.
“Well?” Horatio demanded.
“I’m s – sorry,” Zane stuttered. “P – please forgi – ve me.”
“You can have my forgiveness,” Horatio declared, “when you bring me that monster’s head.”
He shot a glance off into the distance. Zane could see the outline of Quraal retreating.
“Yes, my King.”
Zane took off through the clouds over the burning city, Stacey’s arms still wrapped around him.
“I hoped you would come back to me,” Zane whispered to her softly.
“It was my turn to save you,” Stacey whispered back.
She kissed his neck and they both knew Zane wouldn’t have to ask for her forgiveness as well.
Because as he had always loved her, she had always loved him. And there wasn’t anything the pair wouldn’t do for each other.
Up ahead, in a clearing beyond the city, Quraal’s dragon had come to a stop.
Weird lights surrounded him. He had changed back into human form.
The final battle approached.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Zane landed with Stacey in the grass several meters from Quraal who was motionless. Stacey slid off his back and landed on her knees, before being quickly confronted by Zane, having morphed to human form.
“You should run to somewhere safe,” he whispered to her. “I don’t know what’s going to happen here.”
“No,” Stacey insisted. “I’m staying. We don’t leave each other … right?”
Zane sighed. “Right.”
“Never fear, never fear, I will not harm the girl,” Quraal spoke up behind them.
Zane helped Stacey to her feet and together they approached.
Quraal’s hands were comfortably placed behind his back. Stacey searched for something protruding from his sides, because she felt at any second he might launch a weapon at them.
“So it appears the Mage has betrayed me,” Quraal said. “I should have expected as much, given he is a human after all.”
Zane moved closer towards him.
Stacey followed Zane.
“So now you’ve come to betray me too,” Quraal accused. “Is that it?”
“Horatio has returned,” Zane said simply. “He is our true ruler.”
“A human-lover, that’s what he is,” Quraal spouted. “What happens now? Everyone just gets along? You know that’s not what the humans want.”
“Well, we dragons, don’t want you.”
Quraal reared his head back. “I’m not going back to the otherworld, Zane. Not when I have so much to do here
. Not while I have a child on the way.”
Stacey shuddered.
“That’s no business of ours,” Zane said. “You can find some other place to torment.”
“I don’t think so,” Stacey interrupted.
Zane turned to her. Blinked.
“Yes, please, do speak up again, my little bug,” Quraal said mockingly.
“We can’t just let him go off and kill more innocent people,” Stacey said defiantly. “He must be stopped.”
“Oh must I?”
Zane turned from Stacey back to Quraal.
“Let’s finish it,” Zane said. “By sword, or by fire?”
“What difference does it make?” Quraal murmured. “Either way I’ll destroy you.”
He then whipped out a giant green sword and threw it at Zane’s feet.
Zane reached out and pulled it out of the ground.
With Quraal’s other hand he pulled a red sword out from his back. He waved it through the air.
“Last chance, Zane,” Quraal said. “We’ll take back the clan together. Take over the whole fucking world.”
“No,” Zane replied.
He ran hard into Quraal and their swords connected.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Sweat. Blood. Dirt.
It all flew through the air as the dragon men fought each other with as much strength as possible. At times they moved so fast, Stacey could barely make them out beyond a blur. She stood at the sidelines, her adrenalin racing, hoping Zane would achieve a victory.
But with each passing minute, he appeared to becoming more and more tired. Stacey could see the frustration in his eyes. The fatigue. Not only was Quraal faster than him, his blows had a greater amount of strength. Between both of them, she saw flashes of their dragons emerge into the light, as though the battle wasn’t just taking place in front of her here, but also in some other world.
Then came the tragedy. The last blow Quraal delivered was so strong it knocked Zane off his feet. His whole body collapsed into the grass, writhing in pain. Quraal wiped his sword on the ground next to him, whilst kicking Zane’s sword out of reach at the same time.
He put one foot on top of Zane’s back to hold him in place.
“This brings me no pleasure,” he muttered. “But just as the Dragon Masters and their kingdoms will burn for their treachery, so shall this cursed earth. And any other dragon who stands against me.”
Quraal’s blade quickly moved down through the air so as to silence Zane.
But the blade, never made it…
While Quraal had been gloating over the body, Stacey had rolled across the ground to retrieve Zane’s cast aside sword. At first she was going to hand it back to Zane, but then she felt something within her. Something, not human…
The rage was magnificent.
The fire. The strength.
Their little baby inside her knew his father was about to die. And he wasn’t having a bit of it.
Stacey, now merged with their unborn child, swung Zane’s sword with tremendous strength towards Quraal and sliced through his body cutting it completely in half.
Quraal’s scream was throttled as he hit the ground in two separate pieces, and almost at once the skin of his face blackened and melted away to reveal a hollow corpse.
Stacey dropped the sword, her arms shaking, and then was confronted by Zane’s powerful embrace. He was in just as much shock as she was, and they stood there, holding each other, not quite comprehending the miraculous outcome that had occurred.
Their lips soon connected, along with the rest of them, and it was the greatest moment of their lives.
Because now it was real.
Now it was true.
Nothing.
No man. No woman.
No dragon or mage or god.
No force from this world or the other, would ever come between Zane and Stacey again.
They laughed. They cried.
And all they could think about was each other.
And the world they would create for the child they shared.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Stacey and Zane’s wedding was held on Firebound Island one week after Quraal’s demise.
With King Horatio’s help during the week, they had visited the journalist Steve Sherper with evidence that exposed the government’s corruption at the research facility team and Stacey was cleared of all convictions and wrongdoing. They were able to arrest Walter and the rest of the security team, and Stacey felt much safer knowing they were behind bars and in the process of giving up the names of which government officials had been involved in the corruption.
Although he was sought for high and wide, the one person who got away clean, was the Human Mage who seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. Stacey hated that he was still out there, but now that the dragons were back under Horatio’s rule, it was made clear that should he ever resurface, he would be dealt with swiftly.
The wedding was held outside the palace in the middle of the afternoon, on a hot, sunny day. Birds were chirping, squirrels were giggling, and all other matter of reptile or rodent on the island seemed to erupt with delight as their ceremony began.
Stacey was inside the palace with her father, whom had flown in with her mother and cousins to witness the ceremony. While he found it odd Stacey had chosen to marry a dragon, he couldn’t say much other than how sorry he was for not standing up for his daughter when she had been wrongfully accused of murder.
While it had hurt Stacey at the time, it was okay for her now.
She forgave him.
Stacey’s bridesmaid’s dress was the most extravagant and beautiful dress she had ever seen. It was a shiny, emerald green, with white lacing stitched around the shoulders and waist. Inside it, she felt invincible. Marvelous. Miraculous. Something she had only once dared to dream about…
Blissful sounds of violin strings echoed through the courtyard as Stacey walked the isle. Jasmine was standing up the front to the left side, smiling at her, so gorgeous and happy. In the crowd she also knew Dennis was looking on to show his support. Although there had been some trying times with him in the recent past, he had assured both her and Zane that he now knew the error of his ways, and hoped they could remain friends in the days to come. While Stacey wasn’t completely assured of his transformation, she wasn’t going to knock it back either. Zane seemed to believe him at least, and that was more than enough for her.
On the groom’s side, Horatio Hurux was standing there in a formal tuxedo. He had been elected best man.
Beside him, Zane.
The groom.
He was waiting for her.
Stacey stepped up to the alter beside Zane, the pair of them unable to stop smiling. The violin’s ceased and their attention was turned to the celebrant.
“Some of you know me,” the celebrant began. “Some of your don’t. I am one of Masters of the otherworld, which means I know much about the affairs of dragons and humans alike. We are gathered here today, in celebration for the union of these two people, and I want you to pay attention to the word I’m using there. When I say people, I mean both the groom and the bride, because humans and dragons are both people to one another. We are not animals of another species. We are people, who understand one another as clear as day. There needs to be no divide between us. That is who we are all today, dragons or humans alike. We are the same.”
Zane’s warm eyes looked down on Stacey, making her blush.
“Zane and Stacey. Two people who have met and shared an experience,” the celebrant continued. “Two people who have not only had to battle corruption and evil – who not only endured hardship – but put an end to the hardship of others. Both of them, are people. But they are heroes for us. They are true leaders who set an example of how two people, when in love, should act towards one another. I know you all will have your own experiences with the couple, but as I have only met them today, I can say I have never before seen, two people who have been as in love as much as Zane and St
acey.”
Tears fell from Stacey’s eyes first.
Then they fell from Zane’s.
“Stacey would you like to say your vows?”
Stacey’s face went bright red.
“My dearest Master,” she said meekly. “I have never met anyone as brave, or noble, or awesome as you. You fill my heart will a thousand stars, each one of them a wish coming true. I love you so much … And I know the love I have for you, is nothing compared to the love our baby has for both of us…”
Stacey could hardly say those last words. She was faint. Her blood pressure was off the charts.
And Zane shared the moment with her.
“My wonderful, beautiful, amazing Blossom,” Zane gushed. “You are the strongest woman I have ever met. You are the most pure. The most perfect. But that’s not why I love you. I love you, for the girl I see inside of you. She’s so hard to find. So secretive. Although you are the kindest and most giving person among strangers, you still keep that little girl hidden from everyone. I know who she is. I know who you are. You were the girl who was going to break me in two. Because it’s only once I’m broken so badly, that I can find the little boy inside of me…”
The tears were coming out of her like a bucket.
Even their family and friends were crying.
“Stacey Caversham, do you take Zane Hunter to be your lawfully wedded King?”
Stacey smiled through the tears. “I do.”
“Zane Hunter, do you take Stacey Caversham to be your lawfully wedded Queen?”
Zane smiled through his tears. “I do.”
“Then I am proud to announce to world, King Zane and Queen Stacey. Husband and wife for all time. You may kiss the bride.”
Zane put his lips to hers hungrily, and she wrapped her arms around him.
Confetti flew in the air and the crowd cheered for their union.
Music played. The animals all sang.
And a little dragon in Stacey’s tummy, began to gurgle in delight, because he knew when it was time for him to come into the world…
How he would be loved…
Shared By The Dragon Clan: The Complete Set Page 22
