Instead of terror, instant relief flooded my senses as I recognized the energy that sparked in my body, reacting to the skin that touched mine.
Killian.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he spat as he released me, flashing his sword to attack one of the shadows that turned on us. Water dripped from his white-blonde hair and his eyes glittered with a determined gleam.
He fought with all the fury and pride of a nephilim, the human-angel hybrid race that my goddess blood saw only as a source of power to be used. His entire body surged with the divine magic that far rivaled my own, arcing with white light as he took down the shadow, splintering its dark bits into the abyss.
The sounds of battle seemed distant now as the knights herded the wild dragons down the Tunnel. I took a hesitant step forward, wondering if Killian needed my help, or if I’d caused enough trouble already.
This definitely wasn’t my ride home. I’d made a terrible mistake.
Killian’s roar brought me out of my stupor as the wild dragon that had been approaching me unleashed a wave of blue fire, catching Killian on his arm before he had a chance to bring up his shield.
“Killian!” I shouted, running toward him as fast as my feet would carry me. The wild dragon whirled, readying another attack as his massive tail swiped sideways, sending Killian launching into the air.
Relying on instinct that fueled my goddess blood, I didn’t stop to think about how stupid it was to face-off against the powerful creature. Instead I barreled ahead without any weapons, without a shield, without even a dragon of my own.
It didn’t matter. Killian was my mate and in this situation because of me. If I died protecting him, then at least I wouldn’t have failed him completely.
The massive creature flared his wings and opened his maw as a low rumble built in his throat. He reared back, readying another wave of fire.
As if it could protect me, I threw my hands up. “Stop!”
It didn’t listen to me, instead a wave of roaring heat came crashing down on me. The once black Tunnel lit up like a beacon as the air all around me burned.
I kept my hands up, reaching deep within myself to fuel my desires. I wanted to live. I wanted Killian to live. I had to fix this.
The heat deflected, rearing back and launching straight into the dragon’s face. It roared as it struggled to turn from the attack. Its massive wings beat as it swung itself sideways and tumbled into the darkness.
I fell to my knees and stared in utter disbelief. It felt too silent now, but I couldn’t see the knights anymore. I decided that they must have herded the other dragons down into the deeper part of the Tunnel.
The dark shadows were gone, too, as if burned up by the brilliant fire that had consumed everything. My eyes went wide when I realized Killian had been behind me and I whirled to find a streak of blacked lines arching out from where I’d somehow deflected the worst of the blast. In the cradle of devastation rested Killian, limp with half of his silver armor burned and black. Blood trickled down the arm cuff where the dragon’s tail must have cut through him.
“No,” I bit off the word as I rushed to his side. I might have lied to him, manipulated him, but he’d gotten into this fight because of me. I’d made him emotional and angry. This was my fault.“Don’t you dare die,” I said as I hovered my hands over him before pushing him onto his side.
He groaned and I sucked in a breath. The damage was much worse than I’d thought and the dragon must have released a talon into his shoulder when he’d struck. Blood tinged Killian’s mouth as he coughed. His eyes opened, only to narrow again. “Get away from me.”
“No,” I said without missing a beat. “You’re not going to die just because you’re too stubborn to accept my help,” I snapped as I wrapped my fingers around the spike embedded into his shoulder. “Bite down onto something,” I warned him and he growled at me. “Fine, have it your way,” I said as I yanked hard.
Killian roared with pain and I rushed to cover the wound, but blood ran through my fingers, making me dizzy.
That ringing burned in my ears again and this time I embraced the rush that came next. Golden power ran through my veins and gathered at my fingertips, sending a glow of energy into Killian’s body to knit his muscles and skin back together again.
He released a sharp breath as the burns receded and the shine in his hair came back. “What…” The word drifted off as he stared at me, no longer angry with me, but mesmerized.
Instinct nudged me to push onto Killian’s chest. The superficial work had been done but he was still internally bleeding. I pressed onto him and he groaned.
We sat there for a long time until I was satisfied and I sat back onto my heels. We stared at each other until Killian struggled to his feet. He wobbled, but I caught him, earning the glare again. He shook me off and stumbled back into the darkness.
“Killian,” I said, his name a desperate whisper on my tongue.
“You don’t deserve the gift,” he snapped, his words harsh. “You’re channeling power that doesn’t belong to you.”
What did that even mean?
“Uh, you’re welcome?” I said as anger fluttered in my chest. “I’m pretty sure that I just saved your life.”
He whirled on me, those white-blue eyes of his burning as hot as a wild dragon’s fire. Energy sizzled between us, kindled by the immature riderbond that I didn’t fully understand. “You don’t even know what you are, do you?” he asked, as if irritated he had to explain something so basic to me.
“Human,” I said, “with a side of goddess, apparently.”
He shook his head. “You’re a conduit,
