Chapter Thirty-Eight
Kara
I didn’t have a chance to scream in frustration.
Luke tackled me to the ground, stretching his body taunt above mine just in time to catch the dragon’s talons before they could grab his waist. He might have dodged the attack, but the sheer force and size of the creature lifted him into the air anyway—Luke clinging to the claws as he rose.
“Luke!” I screamed.
He didn’t let go.
In one smooth motion, he unsheathed his sword and sliced the dragon’s massive front limb clean off. The beast let out a deafening squawk. Luke landed hard on his feet, already turning to find me. I bent down and grabbed the fallen weapon he’d given me earlier.
I’d admit it—fighting a dragon while half-naked wasn’t ideal. But a mortal could only do what a mortal could do. And apparently, what I could do was run straight toward Luke in nothing but a shirt.
The glare he gave me spoke volumes.
See? All that anger had to be his pent-up frustration. He kept getting me off with no relief for himself. If I could, I’d give him so much pleasure he wouldn’t know what to do with it. Honestly, a genuine smile from him now and then would be nice too.
“What are you doing?” Luke roared. “Hide.”
I glanced down, startled to find my pants were back on—fully intact. Luke must have used powers.
Still, I wasn’t about to stand on the sidelines while a dragon tried to take his head off. This one differed from the decaying beasts Harvest had sent. Bigger. Smarter. It might even be larger than Payne.
When Luke sliced into its arm, the creature roared and darted into the sky—only to slam down on the other side of the river a few seconds later.
I ducked into the grass as the dragon transformed into the very entity I loathed to see.
Harvest.
He grinned at Luke before shifting his eyes to me.
“Amusing, isn’t it?”
I didn’t know what was funny, but I knew he’d enlighten me.
“He’ll tremble in rage at the mere idea of someone hurting you,” Harvest went on, “and yet, he’s going to let you fade.”
My heart felt bruised by the truth.
I stood just as Luke said, “You’ve grown braver—showing your face again before you and I are mortal.”
“When have I ever come for you?”
Something in Harvest’s tone set off a warning bell in my head. That odd glint on his face made my skin crawl.
And then Luke was running—toward me—his face contorted into something I rarely saw.
Fear.
There was a rustling sound behind me. A cloak. My arm rose instinctively, dagger already in my grip. Every instinct I had flared to life as I turned.
Being the Grim Reaper’s daughter had taught me a thing or two.
My blade caught the tip of a sword as the concealment cloak slipped from her shoulders.
Nadine.
She shoved against my blade. I parried to the left, her to the right. I waited—half a breath—to see which way she’d strike next before moving to block. Even mortal, my body was still agile and fueled by nature.
I blocked her next attack with my dagger. Then, I drove the heel of my palm into her nose.
She screamed, staggering back. “I could have killed you quickly. Now I’ll devour you piece by piece…starting with your arm.”
Oh, Hades.
I couldn’t let her turn into a dragon. The weapon I needed to pierce the hide of these new dragons was still back at the castle.
Luke burst between us. Nadine’s eyes widened as she dodged his hand by barely an inch. He caught a few strands of her hair, a growl ripping from his chest.
She didn’t waste another second.
Her body twisted as she transformed, the sound of bones cracking echoing through the field. A dragon now stood before us, roaring and baring rows of dagger-sharp teeth.
“Not much can penetrate her hide,” I warned, eyes on Luke as he walked toward her with eerie calm.
Behind us, another ripple of magic shimmered through the air.
Harvest.
He shifted mid-air, turning into a dragon as well. The two of them rose, wings stretching wide as they circled above us—predators in the sky.
Unease knotted in my gut. Their plan was obvious: kill me while I was mortal.
It was possible. All it would take was one slip. One moment where Luke’s attention wasn’t on me.
“You won’t die, Harvest,” Luke said, his voice calm—so calm it sent a chill down my spine. “No. I’ll merely put you back where you belong. You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
The giant dragon roared in rage.
“You can transform into anybody you want. Where do you think you got that from?” Luke chuckled, cracking his neck. “Only I can do more than change faces and bodies. I can become anything without the help of a dragon shifter’s blood.”
What he meant became clear as his body cracked before my eyes. His back widened, muscles stretching and splitting.
“Back up—but get under me when I’m finished,” he ordered. Even his voice changed, deepening into something animalistic and wild.
I did as he said, eyes wide in awe as he transformed. I’d seen countless dragons—lived among them, grown up with them—but my mate…he mesmerized me.
His sheer size sent a ripple of panic through my chest.
Yet , he kept growing.
Within seconds, he was larger than both Harvest and Nadine. His massive head swung in my direction, tail whipping behind him and nearly striking me with its force. The signature orange cracks in his skin glowed now beneath shimmering black scales.
Hades, how was he so glorious—no matter what form he took?
As Harvest lunged from the sky, I dove beneath Luke. I bobbed and weaved between his legs and wings as he moved to intercept them, blocking every grab they made for me.
It was dangerous—insanely so—but smart. He was the only shield between life and death.
My life had been in Luke’s hands more times than I could count. And every time…
He saved me.
I didn’t know what the plan was.
Every time Luke’s body jolted from one of their attacks, I hunkered lower, bracing myself against the trembling earth. I couldn’t see anything—not through the grass or the massive shadow he cast over me—until thick globs of blood began falling.
Black blood splattered the ground, landing in heavy drops around me, seeping into the soil.
My stomach lurched.
Tears stung my eyes as dread wrapped around my chest like a noose. He wasn’t fighting them—he’d transformed just to shield me. He could’ve taken them on easily if he’d let me die.
And he was bleeding for it.
A frantic urgency crawled under my skin, making my hands slick with sweat. He couldn’t last forever. The second they broke him enough to knock him unconscious, I was dead.
“Just fucking kill them!” I screamed, my voice cracking under the weight of fury and helplessness. Hot tears slid down my cheeks. The rage that filled me was too much. Uselessness was a wound I couldn’t bear. I wasn’t built to cower—I needed to do something.
Luke needed a distraction.
I started crawling forward—but a massive paw slammed down, blocking my path.
Don’t you dare.
The command rumbled through my skull—his voice, low and lethal, inside my head.
My chin trembled as I held back the sob caught in my throat. I wiped my face roughly and pressed my forehead to the warm grass.
I’d never doubted he was my marked mate. But now…I felt it in my bones.
Be patient.
They’ll give me an opening.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I muttered, voice shaky but stubborn.
Then I felt it—in the next breath.
The sweet, wondrous return of my power.
But relief never came. Rage slammed into me like an avalanche.
I faded, reappearing in the air directly above Harvest. He sensed me instantly—but I was faster. My blade materialized as I dropped onto his back and drove it into his neck until only the hilt remained.
Harvest roared.
Hmm, I thought his hide was impenetrable. Apparently, scales were no match for a furious woman.
He thrashed mid-air, claws swiping at me. Luke’s wings burst open as he leapt skyward, but I was already gripping the hilt. Twisting the blade deeper. Then I ripped it free—only to stab again.
“I thought my siblings said you and your dragons had thick hides,” I hissed. My voice was pure malice. “You lost your chance to kill me again.”
With a deep dive, Harvest flung me from his back.
I faded—and reappeared beneath him, slamming my sword into his underbelly. He screamed. His claws caught me, tearing at my face before he flung me aside like a rag doll.
Stunned, I couldn’t fade. Before I hit the ground, Luke caught me in his talons, his massive wings buffeting the air. I blinked past the pain in time to see Nadine soar toward Harvest. The second she reached him, they winked out of existence above us.
The fury was like a thunderclap.
He got away. Again.
We could’ve had him. I could’ve taken his head clean off and kept it off, stopped the regeneration before it started. I knew it was possible. His neck was torn to shreds.
I shoved against Luke’s talons, nicking my shoulder. “What have you done?” I snapped. “He was weak—so weak! I could’ve finished it!”
I tried to jump out of his grasp, and nothing happened.
I froze.
Nothing.
I tried again. No fade. No power. Just…nothing.
My stomach turned to ice.
My legs trembled as I clung to one of Luke’s talons, the height and exposure suddenly terrifying in a way it had never been before. Mortality. It tasted of panic and ash in my throat. I looked down at the world beneath us, and my pulse raced.
And worse… I looked up.
Waiting. Knowing.
He’d be back. Of course, Harvest would be back. He had to know—hadn’t he sensed it?
My powers were gone.
Tears pricked my eyes, blurring the edges of the sky.
Helplessness clung to me like a sickness. I hated this—
I hated being this powerless. Weak. Vulnerable.
And worst of all?
I hated that the only way to save the world—and my family—was by killing the only person who had ever truly saved me.
“Harvest is going to come back!” I screamed, falling to my knees in Luke’s massive palm. “Why haven’t they returned?”