by Amelia Jade
Amber nodded. “What can I do?”
Daxxton shook his head. “Nothing, I am afraid. Zeke will have to fight this out on his own, in his mind.”
Her stomach sank as the words were spoken, when Daxxton once again said she could be of no help.
Dammit. This is twice now I’ve been powerless to help him, as he’s sacrificed everything for me! Think, woman. Think. There must be a way you can help. A way you can help him come back to himself. To get in his mind.
She stood up straight from her hunched-over position.
“You!” she said, pointing at Asher. “You did something with Quinn. Her leg. She said you guys are in each other’s minds.”
Amber turned and stabbed a finger at Daxxton. “Put me in his mind. Do whatever it is you have to do, and don’t you dare think of saying no to me,” she said with a fiery air to her words as she stared down the huge shifter.
“Can you not keep anything to yourself?” Daxxton said to Asher with a sigh. Then he focused on her. “It won’t work,” he said reluctantly.
“Why not?”
“The process works by affixing his scale to you.”
“I know, do it,” she ordered.
“It’s not that easy. Simply taking a scale from him and placing it on you won’t affix the scale in place. It needs to be adhered to you. In Zeke’s case, he needs to heat your skin with his Dragonfire, and then the scale will adhere to that, and thus you.”
Amber looked at the unconscious form of Zeke. “That’s not gonna work.”
“I know,” Daxxton said regretfully. “I am sorry.”
“What if,” Dominick said, speaking up, his voice growing more excited as he spoke. “What if we could get the fire? Could it still work?”
Daxxton looked dubious, an interesting expression on a dragon. “He couldn’t control his fire enough to ensure he didn’t incinerate her.”
Dom shook his head. “But what if we held the scale into the fire, and then placed it against her. Could that work?”
“I don’t know,” Daxxton said, swiveling around to look at Zeke’s form. “But it’s worth a try. If you can get him to breathe fire.”
Amber watched as the Gold Dragon used one of his talons to take a small scale, not much bigger than a human fist, from Zeke’s tail.
“Make him breathe fire,” he said.
Dom nodded, and without preamble, sent a burst of low powered lightning into Zeke, playing it across his side.
Asher took the cue and hit him with a burst of Frostfire.
Zeke roared in anger, but his eyes still didn’t focus.
“Again!” she shouted, and the dragons responded.
The Red Dragon thrashed and roared, but nothing came from his mouth.
Asher hit him with Frostfire. Dom hit him with Electrofire.
And Daxxton slammed a fist down on top of Zeke’s head.
Flame gushed forth as Zeke’s body reacted even when his mind couldn’t, trying to fight off his foes.
Daxxton stuck the scale into the fire, and pulled it out moments later.
Before Amber could brace herself, he pressed it to the exposed skin of her upper chest.
She screamed as flesh melted under the glowing shield-shaped scale. The pain was more intense than anything she’d ever felt before. It reached out and overwhelmed her mind, and Amber knew she was going to faint.
Her body hit the ground as she writhed in agony, the blackness that had been enveloping her suddenly gone.
And yet, there was more. Behind the pain, the agony, and the shock, there was another presence.
Zeke.
It had to be. But it was weak. Broken and scattered. She was touching only a fragment of it. Amber closed her eyes, trying to help him at the same time she worked at figuring out just what was going on. There were bits and pieces of him in her mind. In her memories, her nervous system, her heart. Zeke was everywhere.
Not entirely sure what she was doing, Amber gathered them up, and began to restore them. She sorted through the pieces, until she found ones that worked together. Like a puzzle, the more she worked, the more it began to take shape. It was all happening in her mind, but she could tell that it was having an effect.
As pieces began to slot into place with increasing frequency, building up the statue of Zeke as she worked frantically in the gray abyss that she figured had to represent the bond between them, Amber realized she was no longer hurting. The scale was there in her mind, affixed just below her neck, over her collarbone and above her cleavage. She paused momentarily, running a hand over the sleek red object that was now a part of her forever.
Only if I can bring him back.
The red glow from the puzzle in front of her began to fade, and she knew she was losing him. Her arms worked fast, faster than she thought possible. They were a blur in front of her as she slapped it all together, trying to meld his mind whole again.
But the glow kept fading.
“No, damn you!” she yelled as the last piece went home, and the glow went out. “You are not giving up on me.”
She stepped forward, and without thinking it through, kissed the statue in her mind.
Red light burst through her eyelids, so bright she couldn’t shade herself from it, but she ignored it. The light reached out and kissed her back, pulling her tight to it as she heard the pieces of the puzzle crackling, as if fire was melting them until they became whole once more.
The light grew brighter, until Amber was forced to open her eyes, at which point she realized she was kissing Zeke, who was standing in front of her in his human form.
He looked exhausted, hurt, and strained.
But most important of all, to her eyes, he looked alive.
A smile blossomed on his face as they stepped back, and Amber started as she realized she not only saw, but felt his happiness at seeing her.
Zeke smiled as well, and a wave of reassurance came through her connection.
He was going to live.
Chapter Sixteen
Zeke
He awoke to the gentle caress of a soft, tender hand across his brow.
“Hey sleepyhead,” Amber said from where she hovered over him.
“Hi,” he said, his throat feeling like it was full of gravel.
“Here, have some water,” she said, and poured several drops slowly into his mouth.
Zeke worked them around, then nodded for more. Amber poured slowly, until he waved weakly at her to stop. Slowly the water slid down his throat, loosening it up. After several more mouthfuls, he felt well enough to walk.
“Hi,” he said again, giving her his best, weak smile. “I feel like I was hit by a million bricks.”
“You had a rough go of it,” she said. “You came back to us briefly.” She blushed at the memory, though he wasn’t sure why, he didn’t remember much. “And then you passed out again in my arms. That was terrifying.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Oh, well yes, that too. But I meant because I couldn’t hold you up,” she giggled, embarrassed. “I dropped you almost instantly.”
Zeke watched as she began to laugh, still apologizing.
“I’m so sorry,” she said again, and he realized that this was just her blowing off some nervous tension.
“Hey,” he said, grabbing her wrists and pulling them tight to him. “It’s okay. I’m here now. I’m back,” he promised. “I’ll be fine in no time.”
“Good,” she said, kissing his forehead. “Because there’s lots to do, and I’m going to need you by my side.”
“I’ll be there. I promise,” he said fiercely.
Amber smiled, her eyes never wavering as they stared into his.
“I believe you,” she said as he sent his conviction through their link.
Asher had talked about it a lot with him, so he wasn’t surprised by the sensation of Amber being in his head, even if it was a purely emotional connection. It was something that would take a lot of getting used to, and at
the same time would take absolutely none. He’d been awake for a few minutes now, and it felt completely normal, yet wondrous.
Throwing the blanket aside, he made to rise.
“Whoa, slow down there, tiger,” she said, pushing him back.
Or trying to. Zeke wasn’t being bedridden. He’d been through too much for that.
“How long was I out for?”
“All night.”
“I’m fine,” he promised, knowing his body would have healed most of the damage by then.
Now he would just be tired as he recovered his strength.
Tired and—
“Food,” he said, his stomach rumbling so loud it filled his little Academy room.
“Okay,” Amber said with a sigh of defeat. “Let’s go get you some food then. But you do as I say. No roughhousing with the boys or other shenanigans for a few days, okay?”
“Amber, I’m fine,” he told her.
“Ezequiel Hawthorn, you listen to me, and you listen good,” she said sternly, her finger suddenly buried in his sternum. “I almost lost you once. I am not going through that again. Understood?”
Zeke sensed the emotions she was trying to hold back, and he swept her into his arms.
“It’s okay. I promise,” he said, holding her tight to him.
“You don’t even know what happened, you dolt,” she said, tears of joy and relief beginning to stream down her face.
“True. I don’t. Come tell me all about it over breakfast?”
“Very well,” she said with a laugh.
“Hey,” he said, spinning her back to look at him. “I love you, Amber Klose. You know that, right?”
“I had hoped,” she told him. “But it’s certainly nice to hear it. Because I love you too, Zeke.”
He kissed her, pulling her tight to him once more, allowing himself to fall into the moment for as long as he could.
An angry dull roar filled the room.
“Seriously?” Amber asked as she pulled away, her eyes twinkling.
“The stomach wants what the stomach wants,” he teased, following her from the room.
He reached forward and grabbed her rear just before she entered the hallway.
“Hey!” she cried, turning, placing her hands on her hips.
“Everything okay?” a voice asked in the hallway.
Zeke saw Amber’s face turn a bright red as Blaine came into view.
“Umm, yes. Everything is fine, Blaine,” she said.
“Zeke, good to see you up. We need to talk.”
“Yes. Food first,” he said, taking his mate by her hand and heading down the hallway. “I’ll come find you after I’m up and about.”
“Good. Daxxton has filed for asylum for Amber, and he needs your signature as well. So make sure you go see him.”
“I will. Is that it?”
“Actually, yes.”
The pair turned away and continued to the stairs.
“Oh, and it’s good to see you up and about, Hawthorn. Get your food and heal up. Training isn’t over.”
Zeke laughed and waved a hand at his senior instructor.
“Come on my love,” Amber said with a tug at his arm. “Let me regale you with tales of how I saved your life.”
He grinned.
Today was going to be a good day.
***
Amber stepped down from the podium, and he took her into his arms, letting his pride at her strength flow through him. The cameras stopped running, and the human news reporters began to pack up their cameras. The wording on their invitations into Cadia had been strict. They knew better than to dawdle.
“Thank you,” she said in response to the unspoken words.
“I know that must have been hard on you,” he said as they walked away together, heading back out of Cadia.
“I just hope they leave it alone, do what needs to be done on the outside, and don’t do something stupid, like sending a hit team after me or something,” she joked.
Zeke laughed. “Humans wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“True,” she said, reaching up on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.
“So, now that I’ve told the world about the pipeline, the attempts on my life, and the gryphons attempting to get support from the human governments to overthrow the dragons, what next?”
Zeke laughed. The revelation that her company had promised to work from the outside to dismantle the power of the dragons, but wanting to deal with the gryphons only, had been not only shocking, but eye-opening. The fact that gryphons would willingly work with humans, and had given them permission to build the pipeline all the way through their territory in recompense, was a serious turn of events.
The censure had been swift, but peaceful. No more gryphons had died, but many of their leaders had been sent to jail, and they were barred from votes on the Guardian Council for five years. It was harsh, but just. Zeke had approved, and had hoped this would be the end of things.
It had been a week since he had almost died. The government had granted Amber asylum, and she was there to stay, for as long as she chose. Just now, she had given a press conference for the human news agencies to carry back to the outside world detailing everything that had happened to her, and what her company had done.
“Why don’t we go home?” he asked.
“To Asher’s, you mean?”
Zeke shook his head. That wasn’t where he meant at all.
“Where, then?”
An image came to Zeke’s mind. A flat plot of land, dipping down to the river out back, a grove of untamed apple trees on the left. It was mostly full of bush and a few scrubby trees. Lots of work would be needed to clear it and build a house.
But he had seen it, and knew that she would love it. Just down the road from Asher, he had closed on it quickly, the whole process taking only three days. The deed had been given to him that morning.
And he couldn’t wait to show Amber.
“What are you hiding from me?” she asked, giving him her best detective look.
Zeke smiled.
“Come with me,” he said. “I want to show you something.”
THE END
This concludes Book 2 of the Top Scale Academy Series. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Keep turning the page for Electro Dragon – Book #3!
Electro Dragon
Chapter One
Dominick
Long fingers wrapped around the dirty mug, lifting the ridged glass to his mouth. Tilting it upward, he dumped some more of the contents into his mouth, taking several long chugs before returning it to the pitted and well-used surface in front of him.
To either side, others did the same, everyone staring blankly at the wall in front of them, as if the slightly-cleaner mugs and half-empty bottles of cheap booze just out of reach might give them some answers if only they just drank enough for it all to make sense.
He squinted, but everything was still sharply in focus.
Damn.
The brew was much stronger than anything that might be found in a human bar. A glass of it would put all but the staunchest of humans flat on their back, babbling nonsense at best. It was more likely they’d end up in the hospital.
This was the fourth glass he’d drunk that night. The brew was having an effect on him, he knew it. There was a warm buzz in his stomach that was trying to reach up and overwhelm the darkness that gnawed at the rest of him. That was usually as far as he let it go. Having too many drinks would lead him down a road best left to others—like the bear to his right, who was at least twice as many drinks into his night.
“Hey, hot stuff, fetch me one from the bottom row, would ya?” the grizzled shifter said.
Hah. The bear is grizzled. Now that’s humor.
He didn’t think the others would appreciate the humor though, so he kept his mouth shut, even as the drunk harassed the younger waitress. He was forcing her to bend over so he could stare down her shirt, ogling the barest hints of her breasts that the outfit showed. It wa
sn’t a particularly revealing outfit either, which was probably a smart choice for a place like this.
It wasn’t the worst bar in Cadia, the shifter stronghold where he lived. But it wasn’t the best either.
Changeling.
Even the name was a less-than-shining reference to the abilities of everyone in there. They were shifters, and that was the term they preferred. Even the more formal "shapeshifter" was better than being called a Changeling. That word implied something devious, evil, and unnatural.
It also perfectly described the attitude of those who came in. Outside they all put on the façades they were expected to wear in public. Big, bright smiles, happy attitudes and general courteousness to others. Generally. But it was expected that you didn’t let others into the darkness of your mind, that bleak void, the abyss tucked away behind the outer exterior, but always looking to take control.
That was what Changeling was for. A place for that other to come out. To reveal itself in a crowd of the like-minded. Although he wasn’t as far down the path as most in the bar, his downhill slope was rapidly becoming a sheer-faced cliff. He was the wrong side of thirty by almost a handful of years, with only one bright spot in his life.
A bright spot which didn’t seem as shiny as it once had. Hell, it didn’t even seem attainable. Nine months ago, he had been admitted to Top Scale Academy. It had been the happiest day of his life. As a thirty-four-year-old construction worker who had begun to think he’d never amount to much, no matter how hard he’d tried, the day he’d been told to report had been his best.
Over the past nine months, he’d learned what it truly meant to be a dragon, taught by the best of the best. His full powers had begun to form within him, and his instructors had shown him how to use them.
That was what Top Scale did. Unlike in the books of legends and stories, shapeshifters, upon coming into their animals during puberty, were not automatically imbued with the natural animalistic grace and abilities of their feral halves. What that meant was he’d suddenly been able to shift into a dragon. But it had taken him four years of practice to learn to even fly. It had been two years after that before he’d been able to do so for any length of time.
