A gunshot rang out across the campsite, and Polly’s voice cried out. “We have your queen, stand down now!”
Gilbert released the dragon he had a chokehold on. It gasped, but didn’t move to attack again. He spared a glance around the camp to see flashlights gleaming on two more dragons. One of them, a tiny green one, dropped and shifted back into human form. The other one shifted into Bryant, who threw the intruder onto their stomach and called for a rope.
Gilbert looked back at his prisoner, who had shifted as well. Blood dribbled from his throat as he glared up at Gilbert.
“I need rope over here, too.”
One of the students jogged over with baler’s twine. Her eyes were wide, but Gilbert ignored the look. He flipped the dragon around and tied his hands tightly behind his back, making sure to get it tight enough that he wouldn’t be able to wriggle free. He then pulled the dragon to his feet and shoved him over to the camper, where Bryant made his dragon sit.
Polly stood next to the camper, her mother beside her and a gun in her hand. A thin, red-headed woman sat at her feet. From inside the camper came cries from the twins. Gilbert snarled as he went to them.
“Hello, Claire.”
The redhead gave him a cool glance. “Gilbert.”
“She tried to get into the camper.” Polly kicked Claire none too gently. “I think she was going to try to kidnap the twins during the commotion out here. Force Bryant and Esther to hand me over to her in order to save their babies. You’re disgusting,” she added, kicking Claire again.
Claire made an angry noise in her throat. “You don’t even know if that was my plan.”
“Then what was it?”
Claire didn’t respond, which was answer enough for Gilbert. If the situation was different, he might be tempted to attack Claire himself. She’d attempted to kidnap Polly twice, and then to attack this place? To go after children?
The twins continued to cry. Smoke billowed from Bryant’s mouth, and Gilbert quickly inserted himself between Claire and him; while he felt like burning her himself, they needed answers. They wouldn’t get that if Claire was dead. Not to mention the trouble he’d get in if he killed a human in front of all these students.
He didn’t doubt Bryant’s self-control, but it would be difficult to repress that anger at having one’s children threatened. Gilbert grabbed Claire by the arm, eliciting a hiss from the two tied-up dragons, and jerked her to her feet. Bryant brought the other two up, and with Polly still holding the gun behind them, they headed for the kitchen. That would at least give them some privacy.
“Where did you get a gun?” Gilbert asked Polly once they were inside.
She glanced at the gun, then pointed it at the ground. “My mom had it. I don’t actually know how to use one of these, though.”
“Here.” Bryant took the weapon and removed the magazine before putting it on the table. He shook his head. “How’d she get that through customs? Never mind. Not important. You.” He turned a black glare on Claire and stalked towards her. She shrank back and the two dragons snarled. Gilbert quickly joined him, in case something went wrong. “What are you after, Perry? Why is Polly so important to you that you’d be willing to terrorize two babies?”
Claire glared at him. “If everything went according to the plan, they would not have been harmed.”
“Just tell us what you want.” Polly’s voice was cutting. “Before I decide to see if I can awaken my dragon by beating the crap out of you.”
Claire rose her chin and sneered. Then the sneer disappeared, and a look of true fear entered her eyes. “I’m here because my mate is dying.”
That was the last thing that Gilbert had expected to hear; he knew the king she had mated. He was still in his prime. There was no reason for him to be in such bad shape. He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but Claire continued without needing to be prompted.
“My mate, as it turns out, is the second cousin to your father,” she said, glancing at Polly. “Recently… he started to exhibit the same symptoms. He’s unable to shift and he’s had a loss of coordination. He’s growing weak. I have done everything I can. I’ve searched and searched for any treatments that could help him. I think that if he… drinks your blood, he will be cured.”
Gilbert lunged. Bryant caught him and threw him back with a warning growl. Gilbert snarled back, but then Polly was there. One of her hands pressed against his chest. He became aware of the heat in his mouth, the flame flickering over his tongue. He swallowed it down and backed up, struggling to keep his temper in check. His chest heaved, but he was able to keep himself still now.
“Please. I just want to save my mate,” Claire whispered.
“You will be dealt with, according to law,” Bryant said, ignoring everything else she said. “And as for your mate… well, maybe it’s what he deserves.”
Gilbert gave him a surprised look, but didn’t get any explanation for that statement. They scrounged up some more materials to keep the prisoners tied up, then stuck them in various car trunks to keep them from shifting. Not that Claire could shift. Still, Gilbert did not feel sorry for her. This was the woman who wanted to turn her mate into a vampire.
Once they were secured, Gilbert volunteered to watch over them while Bryant returned to Esther and the twins, as well as call up the local dragons to help them deal with this.
Polly stayed with him. She shivered as she stared at the car that held Claire. There was some thumping from inside, but it quieted soon enough. Polly turned to him, her expression resolute and determined.
“You have to promise me something.”
Gilbert nodded.
“Don’t do this.” She gestured at Claire’s trunk. “Don’t go crazy to save me, Gil.”
“What?”
“Don’t go crazy. I don’t want you hurting anybody to save me. Understood? I know that this isn’t what we wanted. I know that… I know that you love me. But you can’t lose yourself.”
Gilbert had no response to that other than to pull her into his arms and kiss her. Her fingers curled into his shirt, tears spilling onto her cheeks. He wanted to wipe them away, but she held him so close, he couldn’t reach her face. He rested his forehead against hers and let out a shuddering sigh.
“I won’t lose myself, I promise. And I know you love me, too.”
She kissed him again, wild, desperate, passionate. And he kissed her back, trying to give her everything that he was.
Chapter Thirteen
Why Bryant insisted that they go with him to deliver Claire and the other dragons to wherever they were going was beyond her. Polly tapped her foot against the floor of the car as they pulled up to a nondescript house. Her jaw clenched tight and she couldn’t help but think that if she hadn’t agreed, she could be back in Belize with her father now. Who cared if he was unconscious the majority of the time? She could have a few minutes here and there. More than she had gotten up to this point in her life.
Instead, she had come here while her mom flew to Belize. Polly only hoped that this wouldn’t take long.
Gilbert stepped out of the car after her. Bryant and his armored truck holding the two other dragons had split from them a while ago, but Claire was still with them. She was pulled out of the very back of the long car. Tear tracks smeared her makeup and Polly felt a wince of sympathy. She reached for Gilbert’s hand. If he was taken away from her like that…
They were quickly ushered inside, and a giant dragon with more muscle than the Rock took them to a parlor and told them to wait. Claire was whisked off somewhere else.
“Now the parents of the Emperor will decide on her punishment,” Gilbert murmured to himself. There was a look of total awe on his face as he glanced around. “Do you know how lucky we are that they permitted us to come here?”
Polly shot him an annoyed glance. Yes, the Emperor was meant to unite all the dragons, but she didn’t care about that. She just wanted to be with her dad, for the few days that he had left.
After what
felt like far too long, Gilbert was called out. Polly protested, but she was ignored. Gilbert gave her a sympathetic look, kissed her, and whispered a promise to be back soon.
Once he was gone, Polly collapsed on the couch and wondered how quickly she’d be able to get to Belize if she slipped away right now. Between customs and buying a ticket and all that other stuff, it would probably be just as quick to wait until Gilbert could fly her down. He knew how important this was; he wouldn’t delay.
As she sat there, too anxious to even try to read some of the magazines on the coffee table, the door opened. A little boy, about six years old, crawled into the room and closed the door after him. Then he darted to his feet and raced to hide behind the couch.
“Hello.” Polly peered behind the couch at the boy.
“You’re the dragon who can’t shift, right?”
That was an odd thing for a little boy to ask. Polly frowned but nodded. His eyes, which were a deep amber-gold, focused on her. His brow furrowed in concentration and concern that didn’t match his childish features.
“Why?”
Oh, boy. How to explain that. “I… I’m sick. We don’t know why, but I’m sick and so my dragon stays asleep. Are you a dragon?’
The boy nodded. He straightened and climbed over the back of the couch. “My name’s Thunder. Daddy can turn into a dragon, too. Mommy can’t. Want to see my dragon?”
Not really, but Polly didn’t want to be rude. With a sigh, she nodded. Having a bit of a distraction would be helpful, right? Take her mind off the fact that her father was out there dying while she was here, playing entertainer to a child—
The thought died in her mind as the boy’s form shimmered. Unlike the transformations of the other dragons, which seemed to burst from their human forms, looking painful, his transformation was smooth. As though he was simply stepping into another skin. His body became long and sinewy, his eyes glowed and scales of red and gold emerged from his body. Five sharp claws ended his feet.
Polly’s breath left her lungs. She stared in amazement as the dragon rose up. An instinct hit hard in the pit of her stomach and she threw herself to the floor. She knelt before her emperor, heart in her throat. She had never seen anything so beautiful, so dangerous, so wonderful.
Long whiskers drooped from either side of his face. Thunder gazed at her with eyes far too intelligent for a child, and then one whisker rose. It pressed against her forehead. And in her head, she heard a voice, as deep as the sea, as beautiful as a rainbow, as terrible as a hurricane, as delightful as a baby’s first laugh.
I forgive the debt. Be free.
In an instant, Polly felt lighter than air. She felt warmth sweep through her, burning hotter and hotter. Something unlocked in her chest, the feeling of cages falling away. The fire burned even hotter, racing to the ends of her nerves. It burned so much that she let out a scream of pain, but with that pain was exhilaration; something stretched out within her, pushing outward until it filled her skin. But it didn’t push her out of the way, instead it molded against her, a perfect fit.
The burning stopped, becoming a pool in her stomach. Her fires flickered and leapt. She tasted smoke on her tongue as she looked up at her emperor.
Thunder retook his human form, one of his hands now on her head. He smiled at her and nodded. “There. I knew I could fix you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”
The door burst open. A man and a woman came running in. The woman grabbed Thunder and pulled him away from Polly while the man loomed over her. Smoke billowed from his mouth. Polly instinctively lowered her gaze. There was no fear, though. She knew they weren’t going to harm her; they were just concerned for their son.
Her dragon stretched inside of her, and she placed a hand on her chest. She wanted to rush out of the house right now and shift, but held herself back.
“What did you do?” the woman demanded.
Polly looked up to answer, but the boy’s mother wasn’t looking at her; rather, her gaze was locked on her son. The little boy’s gaze was steady as he clasped his mother’s face in his tiny hands.
“I fixed her, Mommy. I know you and Daddy want me to live normal and be safe, but we can’t change the place where we go. Our faces.”
His mother smoothed his hair from his face. “You mean destiny and fate?”
Thunder nodded. “Yeah. That’s what I mean. I am the Emperor, Mommy. I could feel how much pain she was in. You don’t understand because you don’t have a dragon. But it was locked away, and I couldn’t let her hurt no more. So, I fixed her.” He smiled over at Polly, his face lit up with the self-satisfaction of a child who had done something he was told he couldn’t do. “Right?”
Polly nodded. Tears burned in her eyes, and she felt her dragon rippling through her with each sigh. They weren’t two separate beings, they were one soul, one being. And for the first time in her life, she felt complete. A piece of her she didn’t even realize was missing, put back. Whole, and she couldn’t stop the tears of joy.
“Thank you,” she whispered again, choking on the lump in her throat. “I can never thank you enough.”
Thunder’s father, apparently deciding that she wasn’t a threat after all, stepped back. He returned to his mate and child and put an arm around them both. Thunder’s parents exchanged worried looks, but Thunder took their hands and smiled at both of them.
“I did the good thing, right?”
His mother fluffed her fingers through his hair. “Yes, baby. You did very well. Mommy and Daddy are just a little sad because they wanted you to have a normal life. And now… I’m not sure that’s possible.”
Thunder yawned. He stretched and then climbed into her lap and curled up with his head on her shoulder. “I was never normal, Mommy. I’m tired now. Can I have some ice cream?”
Thunder’s mother kissed his forehead and murmured something to him. She carried him out of the room, giving Polly a glance over her shoulder as she went. When she stepped out, Gilbert came in. He must have been standing outside, listening to everything, because now when he looked at her, there was wonder in his eyes. She couldn’t stop herself from beaming back at him.
“I trust both of you know not to tell anybody about this?” Thunder’s father glared at them.
Polly got to her feet. She nodded. “Of course not. I would never put him in danger. Thank you so much for allowing us to come. I can’t express to you—”
“You can express it by keeping this to yourself.” His glare softened, and he ran a hand through his hair. “He’s never shifted before. But he’s a strong, smart little boy… Everything is going to work out fine…”
Polly nodded at him, even though she knew that he was speaking more to himself than to her. He glanced at them again, grunted, and told them they were free to leave whenever they desired. Polly had to force herself to walk out of the house. Her first instinct when she felt the breeze on her face was to shift at once, but she didn’t want to be naked in suburbia.
She waited until they were outside of the city before she told Gilbert to stop the car. Then, she jumped out and stripped off all of her clothes at once. She held her breath as her fires danced inside of her. She focused on the feeling of the dragon skin inside of her. She wasn’t certain how to bring it forward, but after a couple of tries, she managed to shift.
It was like being reborn. Strength flowed through every muscle in her body. Her wings felt natural, the scales on her body as sensitive as her fingertips. She rolled over, feeling the ground beneath her, and then sprang into the air. She beat her wings hard and found herself shooting towards the sky. Her mouth opened and a joyful roar burst from her. Wind whistled in her ears. Moments later, a shadow fell over her. She looked up to see Gilbert soaring over her. He twisted over in the air to glide on his back and he winked before flipping back over and speeding ahead of her.
So, he wanted a race, did he? Polly tucked her legs in against her belly to streamline herself and beat her wings harder
. Challenge accepted!
Chapter Fourteen
She was beautiful. All silver scales, with rows of ruby spikes down her spine and a cluster of them at the end of her tail. Sharp talons sliced through the air as she bobbed and weaved through the clouds. Gilbert watched her as she flew, his own fires burning hot to see the clear joy she had as she danced through the sky. Eventually, he saw her chest heaving, and he glided in slow circles to the top of a mountain. He wasn’t even certain how far they had flown, lost in the joy of first flight.
Polly lit on the ground next to him and shifted back to her human form. She stumbled, laughing, into him. Her eyes were bright and her hair windblown around her face, like the halo of an angel. He couldn’t stop himself from bringing her in for a kiss. Their bodies pressed together, naked from their flight. The air around them seemed to grow warmer as the heat of passion grew. Gilbert felt himself hardening as Polly dug her fingers into his hair and thrust her tongue into his mouth.
After a moment of frenzied kissing, both of them backed away. Their hands remained on each other’s bodies as they stared into each other’s eyes. Polly chewed her lower lip even as she smiled at him. He smiled back, his hands gently tracing the flare of her hips.
“So… Five years living side-by-side and this is what it comes to, huh?” he murmured.
“Five years,” she agreed. “Amazing how time goes by… And finally, here we are…” She moved forward again, the length of her curvy body pressed against him. “I love you Gilbert West.”
“And I love you, Polly Shields. I swear that I will always serve and protect you, as part of the king’s guard—”
“No.” Her hands pressed against his chest, then moved around to embrace him and pull him tight. “As my mate. And as your mate, I promise I will always serve and protect you.”
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