Page 125 of Hoarded By the Dragon

“Kalos,” I murmur. Heat flows into me from all around. He holds me to his bare chest. My face digs into the crook of his neck and I hiccup a sob in relief at his presence.

“Shh, I need to give you energy, Rina. Stay still for me,” he says with a halting cadence.

But that’s wrong. I try to move. My arms wrap tight around my stomach.

“The baby—” I start. The world comes more into focus. I can’t focus on much, but the scales on Kalos’s cheek glitter with moisture.

“Rina, you need heat. If I don’t stay here with you, the magic you’ve expended could kill you.” His voice cracks.

My body starts to shiver again and it’s jarring and painful, but doesn’t distract me.

“Is she okay?” I croak.

“You need to rest,” he says, his fingers threading in my hair as he continues to push an almost painful amount of heat into me.

I try to push him away. “Kalos! Tell me if she’s okay!”

My vision is still slightly blurry, but I catch sight of his face and wish I hadn’t. The pain of my body is echoed there. His golden eyes lack any glow.

“… I don’t know. It drained me to break free of the gate’s remnants, and I can’t—I can’t sense anything. I’ll get Maggie.” His voice is quiet, like he’s trying to keep his emotions from escaping. Even still, I feel his despair.

“Please,” I beg.

This can’t be happening. We got away.

Kalos saved us.

His presence disappears. My hands shake as I try to tap our daughter into movement. My lips part in a silent keen when my impossibility doesn’t nudge me back.

The world starts to blink out. I don’t know if it will do any good to fight the darkness that encroaches.

It doesn’t matter whether I try to fight to stay conscious. The darkness overwhelms me, cradling my terror until I break, and everything vanishes.

42

KATARINA

I wake up warm.My body aches, and I press my face into skin with a smattering of scales. I want to stay in this spot for the next day at least. Maybe Kalos will take pity on me and hold me a little longer. He does that sometimes. It’s probably prodded by guilt that the pregnancy has sapped so much of my energy—

My memories come into focus all at once, and I jolt to sit up, but strong arms keep me still.

“Easy, little queen, you must rest.” Kalos’s voice is rough but soothes the part of me that has mourned his absence.

“Kalos—” I start to ask, but he interrupts.

“Our dragonling is strong. A little shaken, but strong.”

“She’s okay?” I ask, hardly able to believe it. Not with how motionless she had been before I’d lost consciousness.

He swallows. His face is drawn tight with exhaustion, but his eyes are bright and shiny with emotion. “She’s okay. Maggie checked her over while you were passed out.”

The relief is like a gasp of air after drowning. Beautiful, painful, and too much. The gasp turns into a sob, and I crumble into Kalos’s hold. Each shuddering breath rips through me. Each bringing with it sharp memories and emotions.

Kalos stokes a scaled hand over my hair trying to offer comfort in my overwhelm.

She’s okay, but she almost wasn’t.

I ball my fists, and the first strike against Kalos’s chest is painful against my skin but cathartic at the same time. Too many emotions to name assault my senses.

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