Hidden Fate

4

Thorn shook his head as he turned around, facing the direction we’d come from. No clue.

“Dad, he’s right.” Sol pursed his lips. “I’m pretty sure Drake knew we were lying.”

“Yeah, but Wyvern attacked the warriors when the warriors were attacking them.” Theron gestured at our naked group. “If something were to happen…”

Saphira nodded and stepped forward. “I agree. We can’t risk Wyvern staying here. He needs to come with us.”

“Dear.” Errol touched her arm. “We shouldn’t interfere with thunder politics. Unlike the king, they haven’t asked for an advisor.”

Wyvern smiled at Saphira. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine, and I promise you’ll see me soon. I can’t stay away from you for long.”

Yeah, they were definitely attracted to each other.

“If Theron and Wyvern know what they’re doing, we need to go. Our scents need time to dilute.” Vlad steepled his fingers. “Time is truly of the essence.”

“We must bury the king,” Brenton added, frowning deeply.

“Seriously, go.” Wyvern gestured at the sky. “We were hidden by trees, so no one saw us attack the warriors. I’ll keep you updated on everything I learn.”

Huffing, Theron nodded and patted Wyvern on the arm. “You and Sol are the two I trust the most to lead the thunder in my absence. Just make sure you aren’t in danger, and if something happens to you or the thunder—”

Wyvern lifted a hand. “We’ll let you know. I get that I f****d up by informing Drake that Thorn was here, but that was before I learned what he’d done for Sol. I’m sorry I caused this problem, not only for our thunder but for Thorn and the others as well.” He nodded to us.

I nodded back. He had messed up, but I understood. I would’ve done the same thing if I’d thought people I loved were in danger. Hell, I’d handed myself over to Drake to save my sister, Eva, from a fate that happened anyway.

“Let’s shift.” Vlad stepped back, getting more room for his dragon form. “And Thorn, I’ll carry the king from here. You’ve done enough.” The last sentence was filled with emotion.

Everything was settled.

“Okay,” I said. “We’ve all had enough naked time.”

Everyone nodded, and we spread apart. Soon, every one of us, minus Wyvern, the king, and Tyson, was in dragon form. Theron gingerly grabbed his clothes, and I was confused until I noticed the lump of a cell phone in his back pocket. He’d need it to communicate with Wyvern.

“Go on.” Wyvern waved us away, his gaze locked on Saphira. “I’ll hold them off. Be safe.”

I was certain those last two words were mainly directed at her. The butterscotch scales on her cheeks reddened, proving that dragons could blush.

Since it was still bright out, we bolted high into the sky, with Vlad carrying the king and Brenton carrying his son in their talons. I focused on our surroundings, making sure no aircraft were nearby. We flew as high as we could, and then Cassidy gestured in all different directions.

She’s suggesting we split up, Thorn connected. Let’s go right. We can fly around the long way.

I was more than okay with that. After the battle, I needed a release, and now wasn’t the time to get it sexually from Thorn for so many reasons, so flying would have to do the trick.

The two of us peeled off, flying east with the sun at our backs. Summer was approaching, and the air was warm, even all the way up here. We flew in tandem, and I glanced back to see the others break off into groups. Sol stuck with Brenton and Tyson, leaving Hydra and Theron together.

After several long minutes, I couldn’t take the silence. I love you, and I’m here.

Guilt and shame swirled inside him, and my dragon whimpered. Something strange was definitely going on with him.

I love you, too, and I’m so damn sorry, he replied, staring at me with those gorgeous eyes that matched the sky around us.

Something stirred inside me, making my scales crawl. What do you mean? I tried to keep my voice level, but I was confused.

When Drake killed my fath—King Arman, all I saw was red. He hung his head as we turned slightly, easing our way back toward the barn. And I put you in danger.

You didn’t. He must have forgotten why we’d been there. It had been my influence, my suggestion, and now he felt awful about it? My lungs couldn’t fill completely. Remember, you didn’t want to go. If I’d known— I stopped. I didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t make it worse. No matter what we’d done, people would have died.

You were right to push us to go. Now we have someone Drake trusts who will alert us if something seems suspicious. We need more allies like that. But when King Arman died, I was so angry and fixated on Drake and everything he’d done that I left you behind. His eyes glistened. Next time, that could easily be you. I wanted to stop him. I wanted to protect you, but instead, I left you exposed and vulnerable.

My chest expanded so much that it hurt. I hated that I had put such a heavy burden on him. You did nothing wrong. Your father died right in front of you while weapons were trained on us.

Yeah, that sucked. Smoke trickled from his nose. But if something had happened to you because I ran off to kill Drake, I wouldn’t have survived that. Hell, I almost didn’t survive you being stuck in that château with him. I sure couldn’t handle not having you on this earth any longer.

I’ve been training to protect myself. Remember? My heart skipped. Even through everything, his biggest concern had been me. I’d never had someone love me this much. He felt bad because he thought he’d abandoned me, though he’d chased after a threat to protect me. It would have been comical if it didn’t burden him so much. You have nothing to feel bad about. As soon as I said I needed you, you didn’t hesitate. You came back to me.

His dragon smiled. It was big, toothy, funny, and sexy all at the same time. I’ve always been chasing after you. It started that night at the bar, the first time I saw you. I followed you home that night, albeit not with the best intentions, but I was drawn to you even when I thought I shouldn’t be.

The memory of that night crashed over me. I’d hunted Drake down to ask him to take me instead of Eva as payment for my stepfather’s crime—before I’d learned about all this. It was the best bad decision I’d ever made and one I would never want to change.