Still, even so, she wasn’t going to go down without resistance.
There were only seconds left before he’d reach her, but she rolled out from beneath the bench where she’d been hiding.
Instinct had taken over. There was no time left for thought. She was running as fast as she could, her chest and her legs aching fiercely, but she knew she couldn’t stop.
Any moment now she’d feel the heat of his breath on her neck. But dimly, she remembered that somewhere before her, there was a small lake, filled with greedy swans and colorful, small fishes that had flitted back and forth when she and Ginny had tossed some crumbs into the water.
It wouldn’t be much, but maybe, if she could dive into the water, she’d at least be protected from the flames...
There was another roar. It was terrifyingly close.
It was so close that Naomi could now feel the air around her being stirred by giant, beating wings. Despite her terror, she twisted her head to look behind her, expecting to find the fire dragon’s jaws open, ready to close around her.
Instead, she was just in time to see the clouds opening again.
For a moment, it seemed as if the sun itself had come to her rescue. Then, a moment later, she saw just what had caused the cloud of smoke to disperse.
A storm had arrived. Grey storm clouds kept gathering in volume, and a wind had sprung up that drove the smoke away from the mansion. Then there was a flash of lightning and the boom of thunder. The clouds opened, a torrent of rain beginning to fall.
And out of the storm clouds a dragon shot forth, a beautiful creature of silver, lightning playing around the glittering scales that covered his body.
Gregory had returned for her.
He’d arrived just in time. Carried by the storm that he’d brought with him, he plummeted from the sky faster than anything Naomi had ever seen, aiming straight at the fire dragon who’d twisted in the air to meet him.
Chapter Fourteen: Gregory
Gregory had seen excitement and adventure before. He’d known panic—even terror, one day when he’d gone diving and there was a problem with his equipment.
But nothing could have prepared him for the storm of protective rage and fear rushing through his veins when he at last broke through the clouds of smoke that hung dark and threatening over his mansion.
There, somewhere on the ground below him, was his mate. He could feel her own terror pulse through the bond between them.
With all his might, he threw himself at the fire dragon, plummeting from the sky like a torpedo, aiming straight at the dragon who’d dared to attack his mate.
There was no time for thought. The fire dragon had defeated him before, but with his mate’s life at stake, Gregory had no time for elaborate plans.
With powerful beats of his wings, the fire dragon had turned just in time, ascending in the air to meet Gregory’s challenge. His jaw opened, revealing the flicker of lethal fire inside—but Gregory too had an element at his command.
A sudden gust of wind shook the fire dragon, just in time so that the fire that he spewed forth missed Gregory.
Gregory could feel the rush of heat. The fire had barely missed his left wing—but it had missed.
Making use of the second of surprise this gave him, he twisted. He was still plummeting straight at his enemy, but had turned upside down now, his legs stretched out.
With a roar of anger, the other dragon tried to twist out of the way—but it was too late. One of Gregory’s hind legs made contact, the claws of his foot opening a large cut all along the dragon’s side.
Quick like a snake despite the wound, the fire dragon’s head twisted and another gust of fire was breathed towards Gregory.
Gregory was too close to move out of the way—but fortunately he was so fast that it touched only the very tip of his wing. The burn smarted, and a roar of pain escape him—but even so, the wound wasn’t dangerous. It didn’t even affect his ability to fly.
Takes more than that to take me out, Gregory thought furiously as he kept plummeting from the sky.
The fire dragon was hot on his heels. For some reason, Gregory knew exactly where the dragon was, even though he shouldn’t know—the fire dragon was making sure to keep right in his blind spot.
And yet, as Gregory hurtled towards the side of the mountain that rose on the far side of his mansion, he could see it vividly. There was his own silver body coming straight at the mountain—and there, right behind him, angled so that even Gregory’s dragon eyes couldn’t catch sight of him unless he’d twist his head around, came the fire dragon.
But how...?