The Terran men who had kidnapped her drugged her shortly after taking her from Ethan. When she woke up, she found herself tied to a chair. Lord Bolton didn't waste any time when it came to smacking her around. The guards had left the two of them alone, and that scared her far more than anything else.
Bolton knocked her to the ground and struck her repeatedly. Only Dani couldn't do anything to defend herself, because she was tied to the chair. Each blow distracted her from being able to summon up any magic. Self-preservation ignited a shield of fire that surrounded her, but it didn't stop him from trying to attack her. His fists pounded against the red orb of flames, and each time he hit, it rocked her body.
She whimpered. “Please stop hurting me.”
“Oh, I am nowhere near done hurting you. Remember how I said I would find you another man? Well, I found five of them, and each is more than willing to take his part in making sure Terran gets its place in glory,” Bolton spat. “In fact, I may even do it myself.”
He's not saying what I think he is… is he? She shivered when she looked up into Bolton's eyes and saw nothing but his anger. There was a whole new kind of fire in his gaze. His eyes were narrowed, his lips in a snarl, and she felt more like an object than a person. He advanced on her, grabbing her shirt by the collar, pulling her in closer, the fabric ripping slightly. Then the door burst open. Hope filled her.
“Ethan!” she cried out, and then tears fell from her eyes. Even more so when she realized it wasn't him.
“Sorry to disappoint you,” Maya sneered.
The tone of Maya's voice was a tip-off that Dani shouldn't expect any help. Deep inside of her, she wanted to try anyway. “Please, help me. Bolton, he's gone—”
Lord Bolton smacked her quiet. “Wray, I told you to bring her back to me before she did anything rash. Glad to know you're as reliable as you claimed to be.”
A man Dani had never seen before stood next to Maya. His face was expressionless, and his blue eyes looked at Dani and then at Lord Bolton before narrowing. Without a word, he extended his hand, and a red flame tinged with blue burst from his fingertips. It hit Lord Bolton in the chest, the force of the blast sending his body across the room, where he hit his head against a chair. He fell unconscious, and Dani exhaled a soft breath of relief.
“Thank you,” she whispered, and tried to wriggle her way out of the ropes restraining her to the chair.
The man adjusted his gaze so that it was now on Dani. “What for? I'm not here to help you.”
“You stopped him from hurting me.”
“My boss said to send him a gentle message. That's all I did. His services are no longer needed. You can tell him that when he wakes up again. Assuming you're still alive yourself, of course,” he said, and smirked.
Dani squirmed some more in her chair, her eyes wide. “What do you mean, assuming I'm still alive?”
He propped a leg up on an arm of her chair. “The whole point of making a pact with the Terran was to keep you from the Oceina boy. Since that didn't work out, I'm going to have to do something more extreme. It's nothing personal. I hope you understand.”
I don't understand. At all. She struggled more, trying to use her magic to burn the rope, but Lord Bolton had thought ahead. The fabric was flame retardant and her magic worthless against it. “You don't need to kill me. I don't know who you're working for, but Ethan and I just want to live alone in peace. Okay? Just walk away, and we can all move on.”
Maya scoffed. “Please, are you kidding me? The prophets foresaw your spawn destroying mine. I'm not going to let it happen!”
“What are you talking about?” Dani asked.
The man shook his head. “She doesn't know. Don't get mad at her, darling, for something beyond her understanding. She's never been told what she really is. The kind of monster she's going to make. We don't have to punish her too badly for that. There are other things we can do instead.”
“Like?” Maya asked, clearly annoyed. Dani wanted to ask why she was so against her, but decided to not press. A woman scorned was a dangerous thing, and Maya definitely fit the bill.
“Well, the only thing we don't want her to do is reproduce, right?” The man smiled devilishly. He then placed a hand on top of Dani's forehead. “I'll even put you under first.”
His smile was the last thing she could clearly see. Right before her eyes drooped closed, she was almost positive there was a bright, beautiful, purple light surrounding her.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Tyson followed Maya into Terran on the same flight. In fact, he'd followed her through the entire city, waiting outside of every building she entered. First it was a large corporate tower, then a hotel which made him cringe, and then to the building Lord Bolton did his business in. The temptation to enter and make his presence known was great, but his gut told him to linger outside of the door instead. Something wasn't quite right, and he waited. When she finally left there with the strange man, she walked right past Tyson and didn't even notice. But Tyson noticed her and the way she glowed with pride, as well as the unmistakable smell of blood.
He didn't hesitate any longer. Walking quickly through the building, he made his way to Lord Bolton's office. Tyson had been there enough times that his being inside wasn't anything considered out of the ordinary. He'd had plenty of meetings with the Terran Lord, and everyone knew the wedding was supposed to be coming up quickly. No one paid him any attention, which was just how he liked it. He knocked quietly on the door, just to attempt politeness, before opening the door and stumbling onto a horrible mess.
Gagging at the smell of the blood stinging his nostrils, it took him a moment to realize it didn't belong to Lord Bolton. Dani lay on the floor, turned onto her side, her hands holding her stomach, which was ripped. Almost as if someone had reached inside of her and tried to pull out her guts. As far as he could tell, nothing was displaced or hanging out of her, but the wound was large. She was losing a lot of blood—and fast.
“I'm here,” he whispered, and searched for something, anything, to put over her to help stop the bleeding. Nothing was in sight outside of the shredded remains of a rope and an unconscious Lord Bolton off to the side. Tyson pulled off his shirt. That was about the best he could offer her for the time being. His medical skills were limited, so he would have to call for help.
His hands shook as he tried to remember the number to dial on his phone. Why was his mind going blank when he needed it most? Once he finally remembered it, more specifically the number for dragon-related emergencies, telling the dispatcher about the problem blurred by. He was barely aware of what he said.
When he was off the phone, he gathered her up and held her close. She felt cold, and while she was awake, her gaze seemed distant, like she wasn't mentally there—only physically.
“Help is coming,” he whispered. “I won't let you die.”
“He tried to take it,” she choked out.
“Dani, don't talk, okay? Focus so you don't get worse.”
She shook her head, though it hardly moved. “He couldn't… Our magics are too strong… It was such a pretty light…”
“Shh, you can tell me all about it later. Once you're better. Okay?” Tyson said, trying to remain positive even if her rambling didn't make any sense to him. Tears welled up in his eyes; the thought of possibly losing her was mortifying. I wish I had magic that could heal. How did she even get here? Shouldn't she be with Ethan?
It took twenty minutes for the paramedics to arrive. Much longer than he would have preferred. As they put her onto a stretcher and wheeled her away, Tyson never once left her side or let go of her hand. A strange bittersweet moment for him in a way, because it felt like the type of thing a husband would do, but when it came time to load her into the ambulance he wasn't allowed to be with her. They weren't married, so he wasn't considered her family.
Tyson hailed the first cab he saw and took it to the hospital, where he washed up in the bathroom, just enough to be presentable. While there, he calle
d her parents. Then he could do nothing but wait. Several hours later a doctor woke him in the waiting room. When he opened his eyes, he found he wasn't alone. Both of Dani's parents were there along with her brothers. A risk, considering her father was supposed to be exiled to Shanrea for life.
“What happened?” her mother asked.
“I don't know. Something Maya did. She went to Lord Bolton's office, and when I went to see why, I found Dani.” Tyson shook his head and looked up at the doctor. “Is she going to be okay?”
The man nodded. “We were able to stabilize her. Whoever attacked her tried to rip out her ovaries. The gashes are deep, but everything seems to be intact. It's hard to tell just yet what the damage is, outside of knowing it's not fatal. We're not sure how everything will heal up. She is going to live, and life will return to normal again for her.”
“When can we see her?” her father asked.
“You can go in one or two at a time. She's still drowsy and scared, but a familiar face would be welcome, I think.”
“I'm going first,” her mother said, and without another word left the waiting room with the doctor.
Tyson closed his eyes again and sighed with relief.
“My thoughts exactly,” Matthias said. “Thank you for not doing what I said and following. Otherwise…”
“There is no otherwise, so we don't need to think about it,” Tyson whispered.
The doors to the waiting room burst open, and Ethan came in followed by his father, the Great Oceina Lord himself. Both sopping wet from head to toe.
Ethan was about to march straight back to her room, but his father had the sense to hold him back. “I have to go to her,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “Is she—?”
“She's okay and should recover fine,” Tyson said. “Took you long enough to get the message.”
“I don't get good reception at the bottom of the ocean,” Ethan snapped. “I'm surprised my phone even works still.”
Darien shrugged. “I told you my magic could protect it. The important thing is, we're here, and you should be resting.”
“I'm fine!” Ethan protested, but sat down anyway. His brow glistened with sweat, and Tyson noticed the slight strain in his breathing.
He put a hand on his friend's shoulder. “They said only a couple of people could see her at a time because she's tired. Her mom's with her, so as soon as she's out you can go in. You'll need to calm down and relax first or you might stress her out. And you should rest. Because Dani isn't going to be thrilled with you nearly killing yourself getting here.”
Ethan nodded tiredly and closed his eyes. His father sat down next to him and put a hand to the back of his son's neck. All the while, he eyed Dani's father.
“I know I'm not supposed to be here. All I ask is, if you're going to execute me, to please at least let me see her one more time,” Matthias said while rolling his eyes.
The Great Oceina Lord shook his head. “I don't see anyone here who's not supposed to be.”
Tyson watched the exchange and couldn't help but smile. This was a huge step toward peace between the two nations.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ethan's heart broke the instant he saw Dani lying in the hospital bed. Her skin was more pale than usual and covered in cuts and bruises. Over her stomach was a bandage soaked in blood, haphazardly covered by her hospital gown. She looked miserable, though her eyes lit up when she saw him.
You made it, she said.
He nodded. I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. “I came as soon as I was able.” This is my fault.
“It's just as much mine as it is yours. And that's not much at all. The only person I'm going to blame is Bolton and the guy who attacked me. I missed his name, but he was with Maya. She's different and gone. But I refuse to blame you, or myself,” she said firmly.
Taking a seat in the nearest chair, he grabbed hold of her hand. “It's a miracle you're alive. I saw the reports outside. If Tyson hadn't found you, a lot would be different right now. A lot of things fell perfectly into place to protect you.”
“A divine miracle,” she said. “And you did help protect me too, you know. It was your magic that saved me. When he tried to destroy what's inside of me, magic came from within me.” She tapped her chest. “I wasn't even thinking about it, and it created some kind of a barrier to keep him from doing more damage. And I know it was you because it was purple. The most beautiful purple I've ever seen. Kind of like…” She paused and pointed to the stone on her ring. “Kind of like that. I wish I could show it to you, but you helped make me strong. Being with you is what stopped this from being worse.”
“Do you… think it was bad we rushed this?” he asked quietly. Dani had said not to blame himself, but he couldn't help it. If they had waited a little bit longer until his dad had been more on board, or until Lord Bolton could be talked down, then maybe things would have been different.
She shook her head. “This would have happened no matter what. He said… he said I wasn't supposed to have children with you. That's what he wanted to stop, and why the whole arrangement had been made to begin with. I don't think either Tyson's parents or mine knew this plan. But even if everyone had agreed, he still would have tried. And worse things could have happened.”
“Why don't they want…” He trailed off. Because I am the answer to the question.
“What question?” she asked.
He swallowed. “Who is the Great Dragon? Where does he come from? Me, us. I don't know about you, but I'm starting to feel a lot of pressure here.”
Dani reached up, wincing slightly as she did so, and touched the side of his face. “That's assuming I can even have children anymore. I was protected, but not entirely. Regardless, there shouldn't be pressure on us. I've lived my whole life that way, and I'm not going to stand for it anymore. We're going to just be us, and see the world, and live wherever we please. Nothing is going to keep us apart from now on, and whatever kids we have… All of them are going to be amazing and blessed.”
“But what if one of them is the Great Dragon?”
“Then so what? If he is called to that life, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. But I think our parents were on to something with not telling us about this,” she said.
“And that is what?” he asked quietly, leaning his face in closer to hers and wanting more than ever to express his love for her clearly. After spending so much time keeping it locked inside of him, he didn't want to go on ever having her not know.
She kissed him, her lips barely brushing against his, and she smiled. “Why worry? Why wonder? Why plan? Whatever is going to happen is out of our hands now. Nothing we do is going to make the Great Dragon come or not come. It's not for us to decide.”
“Nothing we do, huh?” he said with a smirk. “Are you sure about that?”
Dani blushed, and it was absolutely adorable. So much so that he had to kiss her cheeks. She tilted her head in toward his affections. “You know what I meant.”
“Yes,” he said. “All right, from here on out, no more pressure or wondering. Great Dragon who?”
“I like that idea.”
He frowned slightly as it dawned on him. “How will he know who he is if we don't tell him though? Isn't that one of our duties as parents?”
“Assuming we have children, I'm sure we'll know when the time is right.”
Ethan lay his head next to hers on the pillow, wanting to urge her back to sleep. He needed it himself after his long journey there. Pushing the pressure aside wasn't something that was so easy for him to do, unfortunately. The selfish part of him hoped he wouldn't have to deal with ever having the responsibility of raising a divine being.
Epilogue
Dani and Ethan had been married for one full dragon year. Tyson could hardly believe it had been so long and yet so short all at once. And he was especially excited to see his two friends again. The backlash from Lord Bolton took some time to cool down. With the help of Ethan's father, Dani's grandfather, and both of the
ir connections to high places, they were able to talk the Terran Lord down from a declaration of war. It didn't take long for Lord Bolton to be voted out of office and replaced by a much more relaxed man. One who believed in letting the pacts of the past die as the nations continued to focus on healing.
While his friends traveled the world, Tyson spent his time in school learning medicine. Dani's near-death experience had inspired him to want to learn more. Getting into a college wasn't hard and was the best decision he'd ever made. After all, it was there he met his, hopefully, soon to be fiancée.
He stood on the beach in front of Dani's house, the same place where the adventure had all begun, and he watched the waves roll onto the shore. In the sky, he spotted Ethan, Dani resting on his back. Tyson waved at them. They landed, and he helped Dani off of her husband's back and then both stepped out of the way so Ethan could transform back into his human shape.
“Have fun? Where did you go?” Tyson asked. “I mean, it's been a year! You must have been able to see everything.”
“Just about,” Dani said. “But I want to know more about this girl. Is she good enough for you? She's not creepy or shady like the she-devil, right?”
Tyson grimaced at the mention of Maya. Someone he hadn't seen since watching her leave the corporate building so long ago. And he hoped to never see her again. He didn't want to know what she was up to, because it couldn't be anything good.
“She's good, sweet—nothing like her,” Tyson reassured Dani.
Dani leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Okay, good.”
“So, uh, any, you know,” he gestured to her stomach, unsure of how to ask.
“Bun in the oven?” Ethan supplied, finally joining the conversation. He was a little out of breath, but he seemed to be in much better shape than usual. Married life must have been doing good things for him.
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