12
Izzy
Rhuron’s assistant, Karr, was kind enough to take me back to town.
His driver had already visited Kiernsville, and I needed to get there as soon as possible. Sitting in the passenger seat, I had to wonder why Rhuron had wanted a mate as fragile as a human. If I had been a dragon shifter, he would have taken me with him, asked me to help him defend his way of life.
As a human, I wasn’t sure how much there was that I could do.
I just wanted to be with him.
I needed him.
It was an hour and a half drive in total, each minute spent full of anxious nerves. We followed a thin road down and down into a deep valley where the town laid. I say town, but it was more like one long street with a neighborhood on one side and a shopping strip on the other. Farmland and woods spun out from there, making it seem even smaller.
“Do you see anyth—”
I was cut off as a dark plume of smoke filled the air in the forest ahead of us.
“What’s that?” I gasped.
“Dragon fire. Stay here,” he answered, pushing on the brake and undoing his seatbelt.
“I’m not going to stay in the car.” I shook my head as we both stepped out. The air stank of thick and syrupy smoke, like somebody was burning honey. Using the sleeve of my jacket, I tried to filter out the smoke as we walked. The space beside me seemed to fracture and I looked over only to realize that Karr had shifted. Huge and pale mint green, he moved ahead of me as we walked.
A gut-wrenching roar burst out from the woods ahead, and I silently prayed that it wasn’t from Rhuron.
I want to believe I was only helping because I wanted his kingdom to live in, that I was just being agreeable, but there was something about Rhuron himself that gave me strength. We had barely spent the night together, and yet, I felt so connected to him that I’d be beyond devastated if anything happened.
A huge plume of smoke filled the woods like a fog, and I heard a weighty thud up ahead of us.
I opened my mouth to speak but could only cough. My throat and mouth were coated with this strange and sticky smoke.
Another few steps and I began to see flashes of color up ahead.
Locked arm in arm, a dragon that I recognized as Rhuron was trying to wrestle a smaller red dragon to the ground. A woman screamed as we came into view, and my mind cleared. I was here to help — she needed it. Running away from Karr, despite his deep growls of concern and alarm, I headed towards the direction of the scream.
Instead of cutting right through the clearing as the two bounced and banged against each other, I ran along the perimeter of the clearing. The woods were old, thick and tall. The leaves and branches that lined the forest floor snapped readily under my feet.
I spotted the woman.
She was hiding behind a tree, crouched down low. Her clothing was torn, and her eyes were wide and fixed on the scene before them. I made sure I had her attention before closing the gap between us, I didn’t want to scare her more. She’d been through enough.
“Are you hurt?” I asked her when I got close enough. The two dragons were still thrashing and fighting, teeth and claws ripping at each other.
“Just this.” She showed me a scratch across her chest. It looked shallow but still had to hurt.
“Alright, I’m going to get you out of here,” I said softly.
She nodded and I took her hand.
As quietly as we could, we slipped our way through the forest towards the car. A third dragon had now joined the match, biting and fighting at Rhuron’s side. Tierner looked rough but furious, and I was glad he couldn’t see what we were doing. Cars weren’t dragon-proof, but at least it would give ussomeshelter from the fight.
“Who are you?” the girl asked as we climbed into the car and locked it.
“I’m just another human girl with a dragon fated mate,” I explained. “What did he do?”
She frowned and cringed a little.