Chapter 8
RECOGNIZE ME NOW?
Ziara
Something was stalking me.
An endless black void stretched out as far as the eye could see in all directions.
No visible threat lurked in its soundless, soulless depths, yet every instinct screamed that danger was nearby and ready to strike.
The fine hairs on my nape stood on end as awareness skittered across my flesh like a multitude of spiders.
Wherever I was, I wasn’t safe.
The presence inside me… stretched.
Oh no.
I backed up a step before remembering that blindly running from a predator was likely the stupidest course of action I could take.
In this darkness, with no scents to lead me, there was a good chance I’d only run into whatever stalked me.
Instead, I pulled myself together, dropped into a ready stance, and reached for my daggers.
My thigh sheaths were empty.
Stunned, I slapped my legs, cursing myself.
Unarmed!?
Since my fifth birthday, when Rust first slapped the daggers into my hands with an order to always keep them on me, I never went anywhere without them.
Hell, when I showered, they were on the counter in the bathroom, within easy reach.
Panic clawed at my throat at their absence, and I slapped at my empty thigh sheaths again.
If I lived through this, Rust was going to kick my ass.
The temperature plummeted.
My breath misted in the air as frost seeped beneath my skin and burrowed into the marrow of my bones. I tried to rub heat back into my arms, but stopped dead when I realized what I was doing. I kept my furry side on lockdown, but I was still a wolf and enjoyed many of the perks.
I didn’t get cold.
Yet my teeth chattered as I rotated slowly, muscles coiled and ready to either fight or flee the instant the threat materialized.
Something intangible shifted.
The guttural snort of a massive creature echoed through the blackness, reverberating off unseen surfaces. Terror flooded my veins, threatening to buckle my knees, but I still couldn’t pinpoint its direction so I could run the opposite way.
“Hello?” The tremor in my voice practically screamed “prey,” so I swallowed and tried to sound more like my father. “Who’s there?”
Another surge of hostility smashed into me. A lesser wolf would have bared her throat; however, I bowed to none but the alpha. Anger sparked inside me at the creature’s audacity, and I fanned the flames of my outrage, hoping it would override this crippling fear.
Gritting my teeth, I demanded, “Show yourself!”
I am Vengeance, come to claim what was taken from me. The deep voice rumbled through my mind like thunder boasting in the wake of a lightning bolt. It was impossible to determine the point of origin. Do you not recognize me, little thief?
The dragon. It had to be. Something of substantial size scraped across the floor.
Four booming footsteps resounded, followed by the sweep of an enormous…
tail? I whirled around, searching, but the sound echoed from every direction at once.
My heart thundered in my chest, making spots dance in my vision.
Breathe… in two, three, four. Hold two, three, four. Out two, three, four.
Steadying my voice, I asked, “How can I recognize you when you hide in shadows?”
I hide from no one. Least of all, you.
“Ah. That explains the deadly hedge and the magical ward shielding you from the outside world.” Angering the dragon wasn’t in my best interest, but I couldn’t do a damn thing to escape this situation until I saw exactly what I was up against.
Malice thickened in the air, making me want to tuck my tail when he asked, Are you so eager to face your death?
“Actually, I’d rather you find someone else to torment, but if you insist on sticking around, the least you could do is show me what you look like.”
The darkness peeled back like a curtain, revealing an enormous dragon coiled around me in a massive circle.
Obsidian scales—darker than midnight and polished to an impossible shine—absorbed what little light existed in this surreal space.
He was a living void carved into the shape of something ancient and terrifying.
The effect made my eyes water when I tried to focus on where the dragon’s body ended and the shadows began.
It was disorienting, like staring into an abyss that stared back.
Beneath the scales, muscles rippled, showing me just how jacked he was.
Leathery black wings unfurled with the sound of canvas snapping in a storm.
They extended out and upward, each stretching further than a city bus, blocking out whatever ceiling or sky existed above.
A gale of air slammed against me, nearly whipping me clean off my feet.
I staggered backward, instinctively throwing my arms up to shield my face from the buffeting wind, my hair lashing wildly around me.
His car-sized head whipped around, his snout coming within inches of my face.
Frigid air puffed from lips that stretched into a savage grin, revealing an alarming number of flesh-ripping teeth and startling a puppy-like whimper out of me.
Silver eyes with vertical pupils glowed like twin moons, fixing me with a predator’s focus.
They were my only potential targets.
I slapped at my thighs again, but my daggers hadn’t magically appeared. Realizing my pants didn’t even have sewn-in sheaths, I froze and glanced down at myself. Whose clothing was I wearing?
Recognize me now?
My head snapped back up in time to realize the dragon’s mouth didn’t move as he spoke. No wonder I hadn’t been able to pinpoint his location. He was communicating telepathically with me again. Even my pack couldn’t do that, and it irritated me to no end that this beast could.
“Stay the hell out of my mind.”
His eyes narrowed to slits. You are in no position to make demands.
No, I wasn’t, and I still didn’t know where we were or how I’d gotten here. This couldn’t be real. I’d escaped the dragon. Rust and I had made it home safely, and the den was protected six ways to Sunday. I couldn’t feel my pack, couldn’t hear, smell, or sense them anywhere near me…
Hold on.
Only one answer made sense.
“I’m dreaming.”
The realization must have escaped past my lips, since something that looked a lot like panic flashed across the dragon’s eyes before he doubled down on his menacing glare.
But it was too late. The remaining clues of this warped riddle clicked together, forming a revelation I clung to with every ounce of hope I had.
The dragon’s growl vibrated through my entire body. You cannot hide from me. I know your face, your name, your dreams. I will find you, Ziara, and when I do—
“You can’t do jack to me. This is just a dream.”
Shall I tear you asunder to prove the reality of my presence?
“Right. Not a dream, then. More like a nightmare.” I backed up, covertly measuring the distance to the narrow gap where his tail didn’t quite reach his torso. “Nothing but my overactive imagination conjuring up the most terrifying thing I can think of after a super stressful experience.”
I bolted.
He shifted, closing the gap, but not before I sprinted through it and into the darkness.
Air rushed. Sensing his movement, I put on a burst of speed, but it wasn’t enough.
A massive weight slammed into my side, launching me sideways.
I flew through the air, crashed into something solid—a wall that hadn’t existed seconds before—and crumpled to the ground. Pain exploded through my ribs.
Not real. None of this was real.
The stars bursting behind my eyelids said differently. Before I could roll over and find my feet, a massive claw pinned me to the floor, pressing hard enough to force the air from my lungs. The dragon’s face filled my vision, fangs bared.
I shall reclaim what is mine by blood and birthright, and I will annihilate every wretched soul who dares to attempt to stand in my way.
My pack. He was threatening my pack.
Rage cut through the terror. I shoved against his talon with all my might, knowing I couldn’t budge it but needing to fight anyway.
“Touch any of our people, and my father will mount your head on the top of the Space Needle.”
Empty threats from a thief who stabs the merciful in the back.
“Front of the chest, actually. Twice.”
He shifted more weight onto me, increasing the pressure against my internal organs. Black spots danced across my vision.
I needed out. Now.
If I could feel pain, maybe I could create enough of it to wake myself up.
I bit down on my tongue, hard enough to taste copper. The dragon’s face wavered. I chomped harder, grinding my teeth until blood filled my mouth and tears streamed down my face.
Finally, the void shattered with one last warning from the dragon.
You will beg for mercy before I end you.