Portia frowned. “I’m sorry? Repeat, please.” She shook her head.
“A dragon shifter crashed on the beach. He’s injured and unconscious, and no matter what the staff tries, the creature isn’t budging.”
Portia’s breath caught. There was a whole lot of magic around the resort, and no dragon…nothing, in fact…should have been able to crash through the defensive and protective magic. “Tell the beach staff I’m on my way.”
She took a deep breath before heading over to the bar where Lou was mixing a few drinks for a couple who were clearly looking to get to know each other better. “Lou,” she waved him forward, “we’ve got an issue. You need to follow me, and I’ll fill you in on the way.”
“But,” the bartender pouted. “I’m just starting to have fun.” He eyed the couple.
Portia rolled her eyes. “That doesn’t matter right now. There’s a beached dragon on our shores.”
Lou didn’t frown, and he didn’t even look shocked. He just smiled, wiped his hands on a dishtowel, and ran around the counter. “That is one of the best sentences I’ve heard in a long time.”
Portia followed behind him, concerned that he wouldn’t take this seriously, but it was all kinds of bad.
TWO
COOPER
Cooper Dawson was aware of one thing and one thing only…he was in serious pain.
He knew that one of his wings was broken without even cracking an eye open. Not just broken but almost ripped from his body. Every shallow breath hurt. The scent of blood lingered on him, but he couldn’t tell if it was his or his enemy’s.
Some of it had to be his because one of his wings was so damaged that flying all the way to the resort had been pure torture. The flight to Hellscape Holiday Resort had been long. There might have been closer places where he could have sought help and safety, but even in his seriously injured state, he knew that there was no better person than Portia to help him.
Especially if he was going to die without an heir.
“Cooper!” Portia gasped, kneeling beside the massive red dragon. “What’s happened to you?” Her hand reached out to touch a deep gash in one of his wings, but she changed her mind at the last minute. It was probably for the best because it would have been terribly painful.
Cooper’s dragon only huffed out a deep breath that curled with smoke around his bloodied nostrils in gratitude for Portia’s presence. He also tried to convey that he had been in a very serious fight. A fight for his people.
“Well, I obviously know you’ve been in a battle, Cooper. What I don’t know iswhyorwhowould do this to the Dawson alpha dragon.”
Cooper wanted to shift into his human shape to explain everything, but there was no shifting back in the condition he was in. He hoped Portia knew that if he tried to force his broken body through his change, he might very well die. His injuries were just too extensive. At the very least, his dragon form would help him heal that much faster…but he might still need help, though.
The fight he was involved in had been dirty and brutal, and even if he had won, Cooper wasn’t sure his troubles were over. He closed his eyes with a groan. It took so much energy to stay awake, and he needed to let himself pass out to heal. He let the dark undertow take him over but not before he heard Portia command an imp, “Secundus, go to my office and get Alice to come here right away.”
The imp bowed low and scampered off, his taloned feet tripping in the sand. Cooper didn’t know who Alice was, but he could only hope that she could help him heal because he had never experienced this kind of pain before. His last conscious thought was that Alice was a beautiful name.
* * *
Cooper couldn’t understandwhy his skin didn’t hurt anymore. He tried to flex his severely injured wing, but instead of the flash of pain he had been expecting, there was only a twinge.
Huh. Looks like you did some good healing for us, he told his dragon with a heavy dose of pride. Maybe he would be a good alpha after all.
Don’t get too excited, his dragon’s voice filled his head.It’s not all me. I had help to heal us. Just wait until you see her.
Cooper didn’t get the chance to ask his dragon who he meant because his hazy and sleepy thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice.
“Oh, you’re coming around,” the gentle angel whispered. “Don’t try to rush it. You’ve been through a lot, and you still have many injuries healing. Sleep, dragon. I’m going to keep putting healing poultices on your wounds, but you should know that I was able to save your wing. It won’t look the same, but it’s going to let you fly just fine. Can’t have a flightless dragon. That would break my heart.”
The voice was soft, kind, and so beautiful that Cooper wanted to open his eyes and see who was helping him. It was no use. The gentle woman started to speak in tongues to him, and the more he tried to be alert, the deeper he fell into sleep.
This time, the last thought he had was of the stranger who would heal a fallen dragon. It had to be a person with a strong stomach and serious powers.
* * *
Cooper’s dreams were strange.They mixed the bloody battle he had survived with his childhood. Some other stuff came through, and most of it was all roped into the kind woman who had helped him heal.