Okay, bad idea. I need a new plan.
As my mind scrambles to come up with an idea, the predator decides for me as it charges forward.
I don’t have any choice but to run.
Run or be eaten, my brain reminds me.
Panic beats at my chest. The fine grains of dirt are like quicksand beneath my boots as I struggle to race for the rover. I doubt I’ll make it, but I don’t have another choice. If I don’t run, I’m dead anyway.
Something hard hits the back of my body, forcing the air from my lungs and sending me sprawling forward. Pain explodes across my skull when I land on a rock. I lift my head and the world tilts and spins around me, but I somehow manage to twist onto my back. The predator swipes one limb at me and I hold up my arm to shield my body. Massive claws rake across my forearm and I cry out as searing pain rips through me.
Warmth spreads through my body from the site, and my vision begins to blur. My mind floats in a strange haze of pure bliss. Somewhere in the back of my brain, I realize this must be the effect of a toxin from its claws coursing through me, but I’m far too gone to be concerned.
A low growl rumbles nearby, and it should be terrifying, but I find I don’t really care. My vision blurs as darkness creeps in around the edges.
Wind swirls around me, kicking up dust and sand. A loud, primal roar fills the air and I fall back. I blink up at a giant red dragon staring down at me, its beautiful crimson scales glinting beneath the sunlight.
“A real-life dragon,” I barely manage to whisper before I close my eyes and fall away into darkness.
Chapter 6
Varus
I remain in draka form as I rend flesh from bone with my sharp talons, ripping apart the sand tarkin that dared threaten my mate. Pitifully, it attempts to camouflage against the rocks, hoping I’ll stop my assault. Perhaps that would confuse a lesser creature, but I am the apex predator here and I will not allow the tarkin to live after trying to kill what is mine.
Dealing another swift blow, I slam the creature against a large boulder. It releases a low, mournful sound as it crumples to the sand, the blood pooling beneath its form stains the earth black.
The sand tarkin draws in several ragged, shallow breaths as it lies dying. Normally, I’d end its suffering instantly. But this predator tried to harm my mate. It would have killed her if I had not been nearby and I cannot forgive such a transgression. I growl low in my throat. “You will suffer for trying to take that which is mine.”
Turning away, I gaze down at her small form. “Are you all right?” I ask earnestly.
Green eyes fix me with an astounded stare as she barely manages to rasp, “A real-life dragon.” Her head lolls back and she collapses against the sand.
Panicked, it takes me a moment to register the claw marks across her forearm. She must have passed out from the poison lacing the sand tarkin’s claws. I have no idea how a female of her species will react to this toxin, so I must get her back to my Clan’s Healer immediately.
Still in draka form, I reach out to scoop her up from the sand. I’m surprised by how light she is as I carefully curl my talons around her body, making sure I don't pierce her fragile skin. Fierce protectiveness grips me, and I hold her tiny form against my chest. The touch of her bare flesh against mine only strengthens the pull I feel toward this strange female.
Instinct beats inside my chest. Everything within me screams that she is mine.
Mine to protect, mine to possess, mine to keep, and mine alone to claim.
Dust and sand kick up around us as I extend and flap my wings to lift off. My hearts clench at the memory of her terror-filled cry.
How could I have left my fated one—my linaya?
She could have been killed. It’s my fault she was alone and unprotected. Already, I have failed my mate. I can only pray she will forgive me once she wakes.
As we make our way across the desert plains, the wind grows stronger. My entire form shakes roughly for a moment before I slip into the current, billowing my wings to catch the warmer air in my sails. I head back toward the city and scan the area ahead, searching for any sign of a threat.
It occurs to me that my linaya may not be alone, but I saw nothing to suggest there were others of her kind nearby. Perhaps she is an only survivor after all. I shudder to think what may have happened to her if I had not come along.
Something strange draws my attention off to the side. It is a solid, dark wall stretching across the horizon for several arcums in each direction, racing toward us at great speed.
My hearts stop and then begin pounding.
It’s a sandstorm—a large one, at that. We don’t have time to circumvent it. If I try to fly through the storm, I risk losing my mate and I will not leave her survival to chance.
I’ve seen what happens to Drakarians caught out in a sandstorm. Raw emotion stabs at my chest as I close my eyes and remember Prince Raidyn and his mother. Their bodies were battered and broken almost beyond recognition when my people finally found them. The Queen of the Wind Clan’s love for her son is still spoken of in hushed whispers of admiration throughout the Fire kingdom. She was a brave female who chose the life of her son over her own that day.
I glance down at the unconscious form of my mate. We cannot risk facing the storm head-on; we will have to find shelter.
Frantic, I search for some
