Nix’s four pawsscrabbled across the forest floor, talons extended, trying to get agrip on the loose earth. Egan’s two human feet, clad in trainers,appeared to make a better job of it, steadying them both. Finally,they came to a stop.
“Are you okay?”Egan asked.
“Yeah, I’mfine. Thanks for saving me, Egan. I take it back; you might onlyhave the wings of a dragon, but you’re strong.”
“Anytime. Whatthe hell happened?” Egan retracted his wings, and they disappearedinto two slits in the back of his shirt.
“Something hitme from above, I think. Didn’t you see it?” He rotated his shoulderand growled. “I can’t move my wing.”
“I sawsomething metallic whizz by, maybe a piece of plane fuselage orsomething. Let me have a look at your wing.” Egan drew in airthrough his teeth. “It looks pretty swollen.” He glanced around theforest, an anxious expression on his face. “You have to shift back,Nix.”
He didn’t needhis half-brother to tell him. Nix bowed his head and commanded thetransmutation. Scales became skin, talons became fingernails, andhis reptilian vision became human once more as he shrank into hishuman form.
At least that’swhat should have happened.
He craned hisneck over his shoulder. His damaged wing remained unchanged andhung limply behind him. Nix ordered his wing to retract.Excruciating pain made him yell so loud a flock of birds, some twohundred metres away, took flight.
“Nix, what’swrong?”
“My wing won’tcooperate. I can’t shift back completely.” This wasn’t good. He wasnaked in the woods—not that being naked bothered him—but he hadbigger problems; namely, his wing was exposed. Granted, they weremiles from anywhere, but he couldn’t risk being seen by anyone. Themagic veil only worked when he was in full dragon form for flightmode. He had no need for it in his human form. What if it didn’twork to hide just his wing? “See if you can fold it back in, wouldyou?” he asked his brother.
Egan tried. Itmoved a little, but not enough. Nix vented another yell.
“Sorry. Itlooks like you’ve damaged the patagium. I don’t think your wingwill shift back until the swelling goes down on the skin fold.”
Nix raked hishands through his hair and looked to the sky. “It will be dark inan hour or so. I’ll have to hike back home.”
“It’s toorisky, mate. You might be seen.”
“It’ll be fine.No one will be out in the woods now.”
“I’ll carryyou, and we can fly to your cottage,” Egan suggested.
Nix pressed hislips. “No, I won’t put you at risk too. Get yourself out of here.I’ll walk home.”
Egan’s gazeflitted around the forest. “I can’t just leave you here.”
“We can’tchance both of us being seen. You know I’m right.”
“But—”
“No buts. Go.I’ll call you when I get home.”
His brothergrinned. “Probably best not to mention butts when you’re standingthere naked. At least get a fig leaf or something.”
“Sorry.” Hecovered his manhood. Despite his predicament and his earlier mood,his brother managed to make him smile. “It’s all right for you,half-blood; you get to keep your clothes on when you fly. Idon’t.”
“No, becauseyou are the legend, oh, magnificent one.” Egan bowed in front ofhim like a court jester. “The last male dragon in existence,” hesaid, making his voice sound dramatic, like the voiceover on a filmtrailer. “Keeper of the faith; destined to live for all eternity,wandering around the woods, naked as a baby, his hairy arse scaringall who dare to challenge him—”
“All right,enough!” he interrupted, a belly laugh erupting now. He could counton Egan to take the mickey at every opportunity. “And for yourinformation, I don’t have a hairy backside.”
Egan pulled aface. “Ugh, I don’t want to know.”
“Now piss offbefore I singe your pretty eyebrows with my dragon breath.”
His brotherlaughed too. “I’d like to see you try.”
Nix cleared histhroat, pretending to ready the flames that flicked at the back ofhis throat.
Egan held hishands up. “Okay, okay, I’m going.” He headed towards a clearing andextended his wings through the slits in his shirt once again. “AndPhoenix?”
“What?”
“She will findher way to you one day.”
Nix’s moodturned sombre once more. “I hope so, Egan,” he said, watching hishalf-brother as he flew away. “I hope so.”
He rotated hisshoulder and flinched. It would heal soon, thanks to his dragon’sregenerative genes, but for now, he’d have to walk and be vigilant.The last thing he needed was to bump into some random hikers. Withhim naked, they’d probably call the police—if they weren’t totallyfreaked out by a damaged dragon wing protruding from his shoulderblade like some kind of hideous medical experiment gone wrong.
Rain trickledthrough the canopy of leaves, making it slippery under his barehuman feet, and it was a fair way back to his cottage. Of course,if he could morph into his dragon and use his wings, he could bethere quicker.
Nix headed intothe trees, his wing dragging along the ground and picking up leavesand other forest debris. As he followed a narrow path borderedeither side by an abundance of bluebells, his thoughts returned tohis soulmate. She’d loved the forest in the spring. They used towalk hand in hand without a care in the world, and he’d pick abluebell and tuck it in her hair. Then her laughter would fill theforest and…
A sound madehim halt in his tracks.
There, off tohis left. Someone else was in the woods. He strained his ears andlistened. One person, a female, by the lightness of the step.
He dived behinda sprawling blackberry bush and hid.
Why would awoman be out in the woods, alone, with barely any daylightremaining?
ChapterTwo
Kat Fosterstopped dead. A large raindrop fell from her hood and splashed ontoher nose. “Toby…?” she called out, despite knowing the rustling inthe bushes was too loud to be her Westie.
More rustling.Someone was hiding behind a large blackberry bush. A man? A glimpseof bare flesh showed through the leaves and thorns. To the right,something glistened like black crystals in the fading light.
Fear grippedher throat, sent a shiver up her spine. What would someone be doingout in the woods, possibly naked?
She gulped.Suddenly, being lost and alone in the woods seemed more appealingthan being faced with some weirdo stranger—who could be a rapist orserial killer. With the way her luck was going, he was
