54. Chapter Fifty-Four
~Felix~
Conflicting instincts pulled at me as Evalina broke from the group on our way out of the house. I needed to protect my mate but I also needed to be there for my Alpha, not to mention my Luna who had literally been offered as some kind of sacrifice to the local dragon population.
Weighing the situations, I decided to follow Vaughan outside while remaining close enough to the door that if Evalina called for me, I’d hear her.
Calista was still alive; that much, I knew, because if anything happened to her, Vaughan would have felt it. He’d be in intense physical agony thanks to the bond that tied them together and the marks they’d given each other when they accepted that bond. His clenched fists and rigid posture hinted at his simmering fear, but the fact that he still stood upright, roaring at the fae king, made it clear that the worst hadn’t happened.
We still had time to make sure it wouldn't.
“Can any of you teleport like the elves?” Vaughan demanded.
“N-no,” the king stuttered out. “None of us have that ability.”
Vaughan’s growl rolled through the clearing like thunder, shaking the trees. “Then I want your fastest men to show me the way. They’ll take us all the way to these dragons’ nest if they have to. We’re not stopping until we find them, and by the Goddess, so help me, if a hair on her head has been harmed…”
“Vaughan, look!”
Evalina appeared in the doorway with another fae woman beside her, cutting off my Alpha’s threat as she pointed to the sky behind him. Her other arm awkwardly juggled the box with Tarron’s heart inside, but everyone seemed to have forgotten about the box. All of us, fae and werewolf alike, turned to look in the direction she indicated.
Above the trees, three immense forms darkened the skies, their purplish-gray bodies glinting against the soft pink sky. The rhythmic beating of their wings sent gusts of wind rippling through the clearing, and though I had never seen a dragon in the flesh before, it didn’t take a genius to recognize the flying lizards.
Were dragons technically lizards? I’d have to check when I got back to my books and pinboard. I had a whole bunch of new species to add to my list of the ones I’d encountered in person.
“Ready your fire!” one of the fae soldiers called out. “Everyone else, take cover.”
Several of the men pulled weapons off their backs, glimmering bows that looked like the same weapon that had been used to sedate me on my first visit to this territory.
“No, wait!” Evalina cried out, running from the door to stand in front of the soldiers to catch their attention. “They’re not alone.”
It took me a moment to see what she meant. Almost lost in the bulk of the creatures’ scales and wings and talons, there were smaller forms on their backs, forms that looked more than a little familiar.
“Callie!” Vaughan’s roar carried equal parts relief and desperation as the small blonde figure on the middle dragon raised a hand in greeting.
What the hell?
Vaughan turned to the king, still with murder in his eyes. “If any of your men fire on them, I will personally ensure that they never use a weapon again.”
That could mean any number of things but the vague threat did its job. The king held out a hand to his men. “Hold your fire. Lower your weapons.”
Reluctantly, the men obeyed, and we watched as the three dragons began to descend into the open space in front of us. Wind from their flapping wings blew through my fur, and I watched in awe as Calista, Leo, and all the others, including a fae man I’d never seen before, slid down off of the majestic creatures. The movement was as nonchalant as if they had just been out horse-riding in a meadow rather than soaring through the skies on the backs of mythical creatures none of us had ever seen before.
You’re just jealous, Kai teased.
Damn right I am. I want to ride a dragon.
Some of the men were naked, meaning they must have shifted at some point, but Calista remained clothed. She only managed a couple of steps forward before Vaughan reached her, his long strides easily eating up the space between them. His hands went to her face first, then her shoulders, his eyes scanning her as he searched for any sign of injury.
“I’m fine,” I could hear her say, thanks to my wolf’s superior hearing. “What’s going on here?”
“I need a little more than ‘I’m fine’,” Vaughan protested. “What happened with the dragons?”
He shot a wary glance up at the beast who glared right back down at him.
Calista stepped forward, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. “We were making our way back to the portal when the dragons approached us. We had nowhere to hide, which I’m sure was Tarron’s plan when he summoned them. Luckily, a new friend intervened and managed to negotiate with them.”
She gestured to the fae man, and the woman who had come out of the house with Evalina ran forward and into his arms, nearly knocking him over in the process. “Pavla!”
Evalina’s face beamed with delight as she watched them.
“Turns out they have a bone to pick with Tarron too,” Calista continued. “Once we established we were all on the same page, we agreed that if they brought us back here, we’d turn him over. Where is he?”
Her eyes scanned the assembled crowd while I tried not to chuckle. Tarron miscalculated using the dragons to attack the werewolves, the same way he miscalculated using me to get Evalina to agree to his plans. The man got greedy and he paid the price, but unfortunately for the dragons, it meant they’d already missed the fun.
“He’s here,” Evalina replied, holding up the box she still held. Her slim arms were beginning to tremble from the strain of carrying it for so long. “What’s left of him, anyway.”
The eyes of the lead dragon narrowed on the box and it let out a huff of breath through its nose, discharging a puff of smoke that completely enveloped Vaughan, Calista and the others standing nearby.
“What is that?” the dragon asked, its eyes still fixed on my mate. The rasp of its voice made my own throat hurt.
It can talk? Kai asked, his tone full of envy. Why can’t I?
A question for another day, buddy.
Having had enough of sitting on the sidelines, I padded forward and shifted back to my human form next to Evalina.
“I’m not sure what the box is made of, but it’s nice and shiny, as you can see.” I gestured towards the box like an assistant on a TV game show displaying the prizes. “And inside, you’ll find the still-beating heart of the jackass we’re all happy to see dead. What did he do to do?”
The dragon let out another heavy puff of smoke, its nostrils flaring as it did. “He stole our eggs.”
“To be an antidote for the illness he caused among the elves,” Vaughan added, his eyes bright with understanding. “Dragon eggs were their payment for kidnapping Felix.”
“He had his fingers in everyone’s pies, didn’t he?” I mused. “Well, I’m afraid that we already killed him, but if you’d like to take the box for safekeeping, I think it would fit in nicely with your hoard.”
Personally, I couldn’t think of a safer place to store the heart and make sure no one went near it.
The dragons exchanged glances, seeming to confer silently in a way that made me think they might also have some kind of telepathic ability.
“You can’t barter away my son’s heart,” the king tried to protest, but his words had no urgency to them. He must have realized, as everyone else did, that the balance of power had shifted. Tarron had too many enemies, and the king should count himself lucky that he wasn’t also being asked to pay the price for his son’s scheming.
“Give us all a ride back to the portal and the box is yours,” I offered. Vaughan rolled his eyes, muttering something about priorities, but I stood firm. When else would I get to ride a dragon?
When the dragons nodded their agreement, I held out my hand to Evalina.
“Are you ready to get out of here?”
“Absolutely.”
Her smile was sweeter than victory, promising everything I’d ever wanted and things I never knew I needed, all wrapped up in one perfect package.