Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
CONNOR
“ I t’s a trick! ” Seb yells inside my head as the boat we’ve all been watching approach the dock on the southern border, abruptly veers and speeds away from shore. “ That’s not Roman .”
We know we’ve been duped when we hear the spray of bullets and the sound of a chopper in the distance. Fear swarms down my bond with Fiona and knocks the breath from my lungs. He’s come for her, but not here, not where he said, not where his lookalike lured us.
Fuck, that’s why he chose the southern border. It’s the farthest from the lodge, more than a mile of wooded acreage. I can run fast, but I won’t make it in this form. I shift, exploding into the sky, beating my black wings as fast as they will carry me.
I see the helicopter, Fiona strapped into one of the seats, looking absolutely terrified. Roman stands braced in the open side door with his crossbow glowing blue and aimed at me. In that moment, I don’t give a shit if I live or die. I only care about Fiona, about saving her from whatever horrors the bastard has in store for her. I fly faster. I can’t blow fire for fear of hurting her, but if I can catch the helicopter in my claws or teeth?—
A blue bolt flies from Roman’s crossbow. I bank right, but it pierces my lower wing. I roar and speed faster toward my mate, my mind going dark. All my human words melt away, replaced by pure instinct. Another bolt flies. I roll out of the way but I’m hit, the point imbedding deep in my chest, near my left shoulder. Pure agony tears through me, the icy poison branching through my scales. But I don’t stop. A crack forms in my consciousness, and a high-pitched sound bleeds in. A scream. Fiona’s scream.
I see her behind Roman, her hands over her mouth, her eyes red. I’m not hearing her scream. I’m feeling it down our bond. Fuck.
Roman takes aim again, his soulless eyes locking onto mine, that crossbow of his leveled at my head. I attempt an evasive dive, but my injured wing is completely locked from the spreading poison and won’t move. The bolt flies. My eyes widen as I accept that this could be the end.
A flash of green comes from my right, and I’m knocked out of the way as the bolt flies right through where my left eye had been. Talons grip me, and I tumble through the sky, carried by another dragon, one with dark green scales. Ellison . My brain is producing words again .
Yeah, it’s me , fucker, he thinks back to me. You’re hurt, but I’ve got you.
We land behind the lodge and shift back to our human forms. His transformation is graceful. Mine is not. The entire left side of my body feels like barbed ice is being forced through my veins. I roar and try to rise. I have to get to Fiona!
Ellison takes my hand, his eyes still slitted like his dragon’s. “Seb already called Morwyn for Bones and Zaire. He’s on his way. I’ve got you. I’ve got you, brother.”
Those are the last words I hear before the pain is too much and darkness swallows me whole.