Chapter 12 #2
The ground shook beneath her feet and a sudden gust of wind blew her hair into her face.
She tried to keep her footing, but it was near impossible.
Stumbling every few steps, Devon’s foot landed in a hole she had no way of seeing and her ankle twisted painfully.
With a cry, she fell forward, barely catching herself before she face planted.
She managed to struggle to her feet again, but when she tried to put her weight on her ankle, it gave out.
Through strands of wet hair—wet with what, she didn’t even want to know—she saw the vampire disappear in the direction of trees.
There one moment and gone the next, leaving her on her own with the dragon.
It was right behind her. She felt the warmth of its breath on her damp back. Panic shot a surge of adrenaline into her blood, and she got to her feet. She made it two steps before she fell again. Pulling her good leg beneath her, she pushed with her hands—
And was hit around the midsection and lifted into the air. Wind whooshed past as she watched the ground grow farther and farther away. Pushing her hair out of her face, she found herself directly beneath the dragon’s belly. Large wings flapped lazily as it gained altitude.
Devon drew in a ragged breath, and screamed.
She must’ve startled her rescuer, because her stomach lurched just like it did in airplanes when they hit air pockets. “Oh…God! Please don’t drop me!” she shouted.
The dragon responded by tightening its talons around her middle.
Though her hands were cold and aching, she did her best to hang on.
Long minutes passed with Devon taking turns praying to anyone who happened to be listening and trying to convince Kohl not to barbecue her alive, and then her stomach flipped as they plummeted toward the ground.
He skimmed the tops of a group of trees until they came to a clearing.
There, the dragon tucked in its wings and descended rapidly toward the ground.
Rearing up at the last minute, it gently deposited her on the grass between two mounds of cactus.
Devon pushed herself up onto her knees just in time to watch him land like some giant, ancient bird just a few feet away from her.
The large head swung from side to side, nostrils flaring as it scented the air.
Then he cocked his head to the side, and she got the impression he was listening, though she didn’t know how he could hear anything with such tiny ears on top of his head.
When he appeared satisfied, his glowing eyes found her.
A low purring sound rumbled deep within his throat.
Afraid to move, she tried to gauge his mood.
But he seemed perfectly content to stand guard over her for the time being.
From this angle, Devon saw more wounds on his neck and shoulder, and one of his wings was torn near the second spike closest to the tip.
Slowly, she stood on her good leg and tested her ankle.
It was sore, but she could walk on it now.
The dragon—Kohl—speared her with one glowing eye. She stilled, her blood freezing in fear she was about to be flambéed like the soup she’d eaten earlier, but he only huffed as though to fuss at her for trying to walk and went back to surveying the area around them.
It took a few seconds, but eventually her heart gave a couple of good hard pounds and then settled into its natural rhythm again.
Devon swallowed hard and looked around, trying to figure out where they were.
But the moon was hidden behind the clouds, and it was impossible to see very much at all.
It was even darker than it was on the lake.
At least there, the houses across the way gave her some point of reference.
If it weren’t for the dragon’s eyes, she wouldn’t be able to see anything at all.
Devon turned her attention back to her companion.
As if sensing her attention, he shifted about restlessly, favoring his wounded shoulder. It looked like he was trying to tuck his body in on itself, as though to appear smaller.
She crossed her arms against the cold, intentionally ignoring him. She didn’t know what she could do to help him anyway, even if he would allow her to get close enough to look at his injuries.
But it only took a few seconds for her to admit defeat. She wasn’t one to stand by and watch creatures suffer, no matter what they were. So, she looked to the heavens for strength, then back at the dragon. “Please don’t eat me. Or worse, burn me alive.”
The eye facing her slowly closed and opened again as another purr rumbled through him in response.
Careful of her bad ankle, she limped over. When she was close enough, he lifted his injured wing. Devon froze, ready to duck, but he only tucked it around her like a shield.
He was still protecting her.
She took a steadying breath.
“My heart is never going to survive this night, you know that?” She waved her hand in the air as her sanity threatened to snap. “Forget what I said before about wanting to see the dragon. I want Kohl back. Can you do that for me?”
The dragon blinked its eye, and made a clicking sound in the back of its mouth.
“No? Really?” She rubbed her forehead. “Okay, then. Well, at least having a dragon for a boyfriend distracts me from being involved in a mass shooting.” Slowly and carefully, she laid one hand against his side.
His scaly skin was slightly different than, say, a lizard.
Softer. But not as soft as a human’s, or a vampire’s for that matter. And also unlike a lizard, he was warm.
His side rose and fell beneath her hand as he breathed deep, and she could feel the slow, steady rhythm of his heart. This close, the natural woodsy scent that clung to him was stronger than when he was in his human/vampire form, but still achingly familiar.
She touched the wing, running her fingers as far as she could reach.
Strong bones. Smooth, leathery expanse of skin between them marred only by the zigzag of veins.
She didn’t touch the spikes, not knowing how sharp they were, or if they were venomous or otherwise dangerous, and now wished she’d spent more of her time at Parasupe reading the studies in their database about dragons.
Vampires and werewolves had always been more interesting to her, as no dragons had ever been found on this continent. Until now.
Steadying herself with one hand on his body, she limped to his shoulder as he tracked her movements. Lifting up onto her tiptoes with a wince of pain, she tried to check out the wound. He was so large, though, she couldn’t see anything but blood running down his wing.
His large head swung forward, and again, he lifted his nose and scented the air.
She wondered if all dragons did that, or if it was because of his vampire side.
When he appeared content there was no danger, he lowered himself with a grunt until he was lying on his belly and his shoulder was just above her head.
Carefully, Devon gently probed the area around the wound, but without enough light, it was impossible to see how deep it went.
The good news was, the bleeding appeared to be slowing, so either it wasn’t very serious, or he healed extremely fast. She wondered what had caused it.
It had to have been a weapon of some sort, for surely a vampire alone couldn’t rip open a wound this large, but she didn’t remember seeing anything.
Of course, she had been running for her life.
One hand on the powerful slab of muscle, she made her way down the length of his neck until she reached his head.
He didn’t lift it from where it rested on the ground, but that striking eye continued to watch her every move as she checked out the wound on his face, easier to see in the glow from his iris.
When she saw it wasn’t near as bad as the one on his shoulder, she met his stare.
It was at that moment Devon realized Kohl had been wrong. “You know exactly who I am, don’t you?”
The dragon purred, the sound content.
She felt strange talking to him like this. “Thank you for saving me.” Her ankle began to ache, and she leaned back against his large neck and looked around. “So, are we just going to stay here all night, or…?”
His sides heaved as he took in a deep breath. Readjusting his head and body a bit, he settled into the damp ground.
“I guess so.” Suddenly cold and exhausted, she looked around for a good place to sit, and finally decided to just stay right where she was. Luckily, it was winter and she didn’t have to worry about fire ants. But on the other hand, it was winter and it was fucking cold.
Careful of her ankle, she sank to the ground and leaned back against the dragon’s warm neck. Exhausted, her eyes closed even as she shivered, and Devon felt his wing cover her as she drifted off.
Her last thought was wondering if she was going to wake up to discover this had all been some kind of crazy dream.