I heard a tense chuckle from my fey pack mate. “I love the way you could have taken off immediately and flown above their heads, but instead you stayed and showed them their mistake in attacking us.”
Hell yes I did. Next time they would think twice about it. I was dragon and wolf. We did not run from a fight; we were dominant and needed them to know it. Plus, it was fun to let free some of my frustrated anger. I hated the path my life had taken lately: the dragon mark, the Four, Larky. And most especially that my bond with Braxton had not formed properly. If it wasn’t for the fact that I had found my twin – who had some decent groveling to do the next time I saw her so I wouldn’t kick her ass – and I had freed my dragon, I’d think that the fates kind of hated me.
Bitches.
Okay, they did give me Braxton as a mate, sort of, so I couldn’t really hate on them too much.
Still, it wasn’t like I’d had any time to actually enjoy or appreciate this gift. Sooooo … I was right back to wanting to kick the fates in their faces. Their stupid, smug faces.
“Jess, you need to move faster. Death stalks us on swift winds. The evil is so infiltrated in this area I can’t even tell where it’s coming from.”
I realized I had slipped easily into my Jessa mind then. The dragon and I were coexisting so much more independently than me and my wolf, like there were two separate brains inside my head. I worried about that. Shouldn’t there be more melding between us?
My chest started rumbling then, and I knew the dragon was feeling the same evil as Jacob. I let my mind go, let her take control again, and the world was once more flashing at me in so many different stimuli. The wind whipped around us, and in the air currents I scented the shadow stalking us. It was strong and dark, familiar, but also smoke-like. Every time I got a decent feel for what was after us, the sense slipped through my fingers.
My wings flapped harder, the cool air whooshing by. I barely felt the chill, but something told me it was almost freezing. I hoped Jacob was doing okay back there. His magical bond with the elements should keep him warm. The labyrinth, which was actually not a labyrinth at all since there was nothing maze-like to this path, seemed to be changing as we progressed further through it.
The unease was creeping closer, my scaly hide growing extra sensitive to the currents around me. That ache which had started in my lower back when we were first attacked was still present, even while in dragon form. Which was odd – shifting usually healed minor wounds.
A shadow closed over us and I knew an attack was imminent. I mentally urged Jacob to hold on as my dragon went into stealth mode. I dived lower, whipping in and out of the shadows, pulling my wings in tight so my large dragon body moved as swiftly as a bullet.
I risked a glance backwards, and the flash of black, red, and orange caught my gaze. Motherfucker. Larky had finally caught up with us; that bastard just did not give up. I kicked up my speed. I could not risk Jacob. I wasn’t sure what the king would do if he got his hands on him, and my best friend was vulnerable without his brothers.
The greenery around us changed again, thinning out and giving the general vibe that we were coming to the end of this journey. I spread my wings again and flapped a few more times, my brain screaming for us to go faster, although my dragon remained calm as she kept one eye on our surroundings and one on Larky. I dived lower, my claws almost scraping the rough ground. There were no creatures to avoid here, just the giant shadow tailing me at a rapid rate.
I heard Jacob give an excited yell and I focused forward. Yes! We were nearing the end of the path, a trail which would have been very long and difficult to traverse without the help of my dragon. Of course, I wasn’t sure if all those tiny asshole critters were courtesy of the jinn; those ancient fuckers kept trying to passively kill me. Even if the “ass eaters” were just a special gift for me alone, the sheer length of this path could have any person wandering for weeks.
The dragon cut through the distance with a speed that would be impossible for any other supernatural. Freedom was so close I could practically smell the fresh air, or at least new air from whatever lay on the other side. The damp, decaying scents were lessening, and I had a sense of sunshine and crystal clear waters. Something beautiful was on the other side.
The shadow was close. It would be a race to see which of us would make it there first. The steel trap of my dragon mind forced me to focus on the end of our maze, to push our wings harder, to dip and dive through the air currents, seeking the fastest route. I’d had no idea that dragons could actually use the elements to increase their speed. My beast showed me differently.
Even though shifters used magic to shift, my wolf was still animal, bound by the laws of her species. I was starting to think dragons had no laws, which was just fantastic when I had another crazy-ass dragon chasing me, one with a god complex and delusions of grandeur.
The space between the hedges was widening. I could actually spread my wings their full width, which had to be well over fifteen feet. Jacob pressed himself more firmly against me, and at the same time leaned back to give me a chance to really flap hard.
“Fuck!” My fey quad’s curse was low and menacing, and I knew our time for running was up.
In a flash, I flipped myself over into a complete tumble, which somehow let the dragon body snake around and face back the way we’d just come from.
Holy flaming shitballs. How the hell had that even been possible?
Especially considering we’d been flying fast, like a freaking bullet fast. That was a wicked move. I needed to learn what the dragon was capable of. Both of us were pretty clueless. Thankfully, she had millions of years of instinct guiding her.