"So we'll eat, and talk about dragons, and then..." He kissed her again, more lingeringly.
Despite the temptation to decide that neither of them was that hungry, they got dressed, though it took rather longer than strictly necessary. Virginia's clothes were still soaking; she rummaged through his wardrobe, finally settling on one of his dress shirts, which drowned her from neck to knees.
"I feel like a reverse Cinderella," she said ruefully, rolling up the sleeves. "From princess to rags."
"You look adorable," Dai told her, holding out his bathrobe for her. She shot him a dry, disbelieving look as she shrugged into it. He spread his hands, smiling. "Just check the mate-bond if you don't bel—"
DANGER!
His inner dragon's shriek came barely in time. Dai flung himself on top of Virginia as the skylight above them blazed with incandescent flame. The glass barely withstood a second before exploding in a hail of shards, but it was enough time for Dai to make the fastest shift of his life, basic self-preservation instinct overriding Bertram's restriction. Dragonfire washed over his back, scorched his armored scales.
The space was much too small for his dragon form. His sides and tail squeezed agonizingly against the walls for a moment before the brickwork crumbled. The floor gave way, unable to support his sudden weight. All Dai could do was curl in a tight ball of wings and scales around Virginia, desperately trying to shield her as they plummeted.
The impact of hitting the ground made him black out for a moment. When he came to, the first thing he was aware of was Virginia writhing in his grip, her hands shoving futilely at his scaled chest. The second was the crushing weight of the collapsed house. With tremendous effort, Dai forced his wings open, bricks and beams sliding off his back.
He twisted his neck, rain running over his spines and into his eyes as he scanned the sky. Since there was no sign of another imminent attack from above, he painfully uncurled, his tail sweeping through burning debris. He managed to roll to one side just far enough to allow Virginia to wriggle free from his grasp.
Heedless of the wreckage all around, Virginia stumbled back, her huge eyes fixed on him. Her terror and panic beat at him down the mate-bond.
"Dai!" she screamed, looking around wildly. "Dai!"
His heart froze in his chest. Impossible. She knew, she told me she knew! Yet there was no trace of recognition in Virginia's expression.
*I'm here,* he sent urgently to her. He tried to get to his own feet, but fallen beams still pinned his hindquarters to the ground. *Virginia, it's me!*
Virginia shook her head in mute denial, still backing away from him—and then Dai saw what was lurking, invisible to non-shifter eyes, right behind her.
*VIRGINIA!* he roared, both physically and psychically. He made a desperate lunge, but couldn't reach her. *NO!*
Virginia broke and fled—running straight into Bertram's waiting, outstretched claws.
Chapter Thirteen
Virginia struggled back to consciousness in a cold, muddy field. Her first thought was: He's a dragon. Dai's a dragon shifter.
Her second thought was: I really wish he were here now.
The white dragon crouche
d opposite her, legs and wings folded neatly. With an involuntary whimper, Virginia scrabbled away from it, her back hitting a wall before she'd gone more than a foot. The great burning eyes stayed fixed on her with unblinking fascination, like a cat watching a trapped mouse. The tip of the dragon's tail twitched slightly.
Virginia swallowed hard. "I know that's you, Bertram," she said, her voice trembling despite her best efforts. Her legs had turned to rubber. "And you aren't impressing anyone, so you might as well knock it off. I know you aren't actually going to eat me."
The white dragon yawned expansively, giving her a fine view of teeth as long as her forearm. *What makes you so sure?*
Virginia skin crawled at the oily, slick feel of Bertram's voice in her head. She made herself sit up straighter at least, trying to pull together what dignity she could while barefoot and in a bathrobe. "Because you'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble with the other shifters."
*The Parliament of Shifters?* Bertram's black, forked tongue lolled out in amusement. *My dear delectable Virginia, shifter politicians are much like politicians anywhere—concerned only with keeping their supporters happy. And my family have been extremely generous supporters.*
"I didn't mean the shifter government," Virginia said, hoping she sounded a lot more courageous than she actually felt. "If you don't let me go right now, you aren't going to last long enough to face any formal court of justice. Dai will tear you apart."
Bertram rustled one wing in an unconcerned shrug. *The last time I checked, the little red was occupied with more pressing matters. Such as the house on top of him.*
Virginia's blood ran cold as she remembered her last sight of Dai—his sinuous dragon's body pinned under bricks and beams, battered and broken. Even now, he could be bleeding to death, trapped in the rubble...but the mate-bond was a steadfast, warm presence in the center of her chest. Even though she was too far away from Dai to tell what he was thinking or where he was, she knew that he wasn't badly hurt.
Hugh, she thought in relief, remembering the silver-haired healer with the magic hands. Hugh and the rest of the crew must have helped him.
"He's fine," she said defiantly. "And I bet he's already on his way here."