Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
He had seen her too late. The dark-haired woman tumbled from the black and silver dragon before he could reach her. He dove the instant he saw her fall, but not even his speed could catch her in time.
The ground was rising up fast. He knew what would happen if he didn’t get to her. He ignored the dragons and forgot about exacting justice on the humans. Nothing mattered but her.
He dove faster, willing himself to reach her. He extended his hand, scooping her into his palm moments before she would have slammed into the ground. His wings spread to help soften his landing as he brought his hand against his chest to protect her. He still stumbled. His shoulder rammed into the earth, sending dirt and grass flying as he slid, the ground forming a large hill.
He slowly regained his feet and then carefully lowered his arm, unfurling his fingers to find her. He felt her breathing against his palm. Her long, black tresses were spread against his scales in all directions. Her clothes were torn and bloodied. He saw a few bruises, but no wounds. He focused on her face, willing her eyes to open, but she was out cold.
The ground shook with the telltale sign of another dragon landing. He looked up to find the Lichen before him. Voices shouted in his head, calling him a name he didn’t recognize. He shut them out, refusing to listen. No one would stop him from eradicating the humans as they should have been wiped out eons ago. Once he purged this realm, he would return to the other world and wipe it clean.
A Gold descended to the earth, followed by a Sapphire . The sea green one was next. Last was the gold and beige male. They surrounded him, but he didn’t care. He could kill them all. He knew it. Just as he knew the woman had to be protected. Surely , they were aware they didn’t stand a chance against him. He locked eyes with the gold dragon. Not even a Gold could stop him. He didn’t want to kill them, but he would if they stood between him and his destiny.
There was no sign of the black and silver dragon. Yet . It would return. It seemed to always be there. His gaze dropped to his hand. Just as she was. Who was she? How did he know her?
He looked up in time to see the lichen-colored dragon glance at the woman. Maybe they weren’t here for him. Maybe they wanted her. He issued a warning growl. That wasn’t happening. He gently laid the female on the ground and stood protectively over her, looking at each of the dragons, another growl rumbling through him. If any of them dared to come closer, he would rip their throats out.
All but one of the voices quieted, but he still ignored the speaker. The words meant nothing. He had been stopped before. He had ignored and hidden his feelings about the humans for far too long. He would no longer conceal what he felt—or who he was. He would settle the score, once and for all.
The lichen dragon took a step forward.
Apparently , his warning wasn’t enough. He spread his wings, his talons curving into the ground. His mouth opened, and he released a beam of searing light. The Lichen jumped into the air to dodge the blast. He readied for the next attack, but none came. The dragons held back, watching and waiting.
Something touched his arm. He looked down to find the woman’s eyes open and locked on him. Gray eyes met his. The darkness called, but its voice was barely a whisper. Her arm was extended, her hand touching his scales. The rest of the world dissolved, leaving only her.
She sat up and winced as she touched her head. He didn’t like that she was hurt. He wanted to take her pain but didn’t have that ability. Another did. He tried to recall who but couldn’t dredge up that information in the chaos of his mind.
The woman climbed to her feet. Her hand smoothed up his arm as high as it could go. She wasn’t scared of him in this form. And her touch was sublime. It calmed the raging beast a fraction.
“ Thank you for saving me,” she said.
He tucked his wings, wanting more of her touch, more of her words. His mind cleared enough that memories peeked through. This woman was important to him. She meant everything. He would kill for her.
He would die for her.
“ Can I touch your face?”
Her question surprised him. Still , he lowered his head so his chin brushed the ground. She placed her palm on his snout. The sensation of her magic glided over his scales like a caress. He held her gaze, drinking in her beauty and gentleness. She was an ember burning brightly through the fire. She was power and strength.
He needed to touch her. With a thought, he shifted to his human form. Her lips curved upward. He locked onto that sight because he had been waiting for her to smile for a long time. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he did.
“ Hi ,” she said softly.
Her hand had fallen away when he shifted, and his mind was becoming chaotic again. He reached for her, only to draw up short when a rumbling growl caught his attention. He turned his head to the side to retaliate, but she tenderly took his face in her hands and brought his focus back to her.
“ Ignore them,” she told him. “ This is between us.”
She dropped her hands to his shoulders before skimming her fingers down his arms to his palms. They linked hands.
“ Do you remember me?” she asked.
He knew her face, her touch. Even her taste. He wanted to tell her he would never forget her but couldn’t get the words out. He could only nod.
Her lips curved into a quick smile. “ Do you remember my name?”
His heart lurched. How could he remember her but not what she was called? He didn’t want to tell her that. He wanted her to smile, not frown.
“ It’s all right,” she said quickly. “ My name is Katla .”
Katla . Aye , that’s what she was called.
“ Your name is Merrill .” Her fingers tightened on his.
He stared into her gray eyes, noting the black that ringed her irises. There was dirt on her cheek and forehead, specks of blood here and there. Her hair was tangled, and her clothes were ripped. But he had never seen anyone so breathtaking.
“ Do you recall the first time you saw me?” she asked.
An image of her on the streets of a city on the side of a mountain flashed in his mind. He dipped his head.
“ Do you remember the first time we looked at each other?”
He started to shake his head when he caught a glimpse of a memory. It was Katla walking through rubble before turning, their eyes locking. He nodded again.
“ What about when you followed me?”
He frowned at the question. Had he followed her? Aye , he had. That’s when he saw the small ones. What were they called? Ba …bairns. She had been looking after three.
“ You do,” Katla said with a soft smile. “ Then you know we’re friends.”
They were more than that. He was sure of it. His gaze dropped to her mouth. He brought a hand to her face. He had touched her like this before. He rubbed his thumb over her lips. He had kissed her.
Her eyes closed for a heartbeat as she kissed his thumb. His balls tightened with need as heat rushed through him. Her gaze smoldered with desire as she rose on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his. He was lost. Enraptured . Spellbound .
Desire flared. He wound his arms around her and held her against him as their tongues tangled. She tasted of passion and paradise. His hand moved down to the curve of her lower back, and he splayed his palm there, pressing her against his aching cock. She groaned into his mouth, inflaming his already out-of-control need to new heights.
The only thing standing between them was her clothes. But those could be removed quickly enough. He tugged at the hem of her shirt that had come loose from her waistband and slipped his hand beneath the material. He laid his palm against her bare skin.
She gasped and tore her mouth from his. Her eyes were bright, her chest heaving, and her lips swollen as she looked up at him. She desired him. Just as he craved her.
“ Merrill , I want this. More than you can possibly know.” She swallowed and glanced to the side. “ But now isn’t the time.”
He remembered then that they were surrounded. Being with her made him forget everything. Even his enemies.
Katla gently touched his face, her gaze serious. “ You were taken from me. Ripped out of my arms.”
A flash of fire and agony cut through him. He squeezed his eyes closed and jerked his head to the side.
Her hand rested on his chest over his heart. “ I don’t want to bring you any pain, but I need you to remember.”
With her near, his frenzied mind was calm, allowing a few things to come through. Her words brought forth recollections he couldn’t reconcile. He opened his eyes as the memories began to play.
They had been kissing—their first kiss. There had been an explosion, and then she was gone. He had shifted, only to be met by a terrible foe. “ Entity .” He didn’t recognize his voice. It was deep and rough, like it hadn’t been used in months.
She nodded slowly. “ It and the Orgate warriors took you. They …they tortured you.”
Those unearthed memories rose, drowning him in that awful torment once more.
“ You’re free of it,” Katla hurriedly said. “ You’re free of it. You’re here with me now.”
He realized he was clutching her against him and loosened his hold. Someone had made him suffer, knowing it would drive him mad. They wanted him like this. No . Not they. The entity. It had wanted the dragon he’d once been wiped away.
Katla called him Merrill , but he wasn’t him anymore. He looked up at the dragons. If he tried, he knew he would remember who they were. They hadn’t moved. Enemies would’ve attacked, like he had with the black and silver dragon.
He wished to remain with Katla —for the calm she brought his mind, but also because she was…what was the word? He knew it. It was important to dragons. More important than anything.
“ Mate ,” he murmured. She was his mate.
He wouldn’t be able to live without her. But he couldn’t be with her as he was now. There was enough of him left to realize that he needed to save her from himself. He took a step back.
“ No , please,” she said and held on to him. “ Don’t go.”
He smoothed the wavy strands of her hair from her face. “ Must .”
“ Then we go together,” she stated.
He shook his head, but she wasn’t listening.
“ I can see the entity. We can find it together. We’ll fight it,” she insisted.
He would do anything for her but put her in a situation where she might die. She pressed her cheek into his palm and implored him with her eyes. She had his heart, his very soul. He would lay the universe at her feet. But he refused to put her in danger. Yet it was only because she was near that he could think clearly again, that the rage didn’t consume him. The moment he left her, his mind would become a jumbled mess again. He was sure of it. He would be taken by a killing frenzy as he had been just moments before.
“ You’re stronger than before. You might even be able to kill the entity,” Katla said.
The idea appealed to him. It needed to pay for what it had done to him.
“ It followed us,” Katla pressed. “ It wants you to kill.”
Why ? The entity was capable of killing whatever it wanted.
“ I don’t know why, but it won’t matter if we can stop it. You need me to get close to it.”
He cupped her face in his hands. There were words he wanted to say, significant words. Things she needed to know. But they remained just out of reach. How did he tell her that he would rather die than see her harmed?
“ I’m not without magic. I can take care of myself,” she said.
He let himself imagine the two of them hunting—and ending—the entity. Then what? It wasn’t safe for him to be out there alone. Worse , what if he turned on Katla ? He looked up at the lichen-colored dragon before him. It had heard their conversation. All the dragons surrounding him had.
“ If the entity isn’t stopped, it’ll keep hurting dragons,” Katla said. “ What if it takes Varek next time?”
He knew that name. It rolled around on his tongue, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t speak it aloud. He finally forced the name through his mind. “ Varek .”
The Lichen dipped his head in acknowledgment.
A voice pushed against his mind. He hesitated before opening the link.
“ I know what you fear, brother. You have my word your death will be swift if it comes to that. But it willna. You’re strong enough to fight this,” Varek said.
He’d called him brother . They weren’t blood, but close enough. He had forgotten even that. The dragons around him were friends. He didn’t want any of them to go through what he had. For them to lose themselves as he had. But he couldn’t battle the destruction of his mind. It was already done. This brief reprieve was exactly that, and he needed to take advantage of it while it lasted. Before he forgot everything again. “ Promise …to…protect…her?”
“ I give you my vow that I will safeguard Katla .”
With Varek’s promise, he lowered his gaze to her. She watched him expectantly. A smile broke across her face when he nodded in agreement.