Page 22 of Hunted By the Dragon Alien

Heat built like a firestorm, roaring to life with every pulse of adrenaline spiking his heart. In an instant, the world around him narrowed. The bright lights of the arena cast harsh shadows that revealed what he was.

Everything blurred—the arena, the crowd, and even Sevas—washed away in a surge of intensity. The world turned white hot, and his senses heightened to an unbearable level. He could smell every metal, every drop of sweat, and every faint tremor emanating from the crowd.

His voice was gone. Heat built up in his throat with a need to unleash. He let out a thunderous roar that shook the very floor beneath him. The sound vibrated through the arena, sending shockwaves of fear rippling through the crowd. Finally, and too late, they realized their fate.

The mechs were no longer in control of this match. He was.

He unleashed a torrent of flame aimed at the arena doors, sending out a wave of heat that turned the arena’s sand into molten shadows and illuminating Sevas’ figure across the pit.

He could see the shock in her eyes, the way they widened, reflecting the brilliance of the flames.

Takkian spread his wings in an intimidating display. The crowd, once roaring with excitement, turned into a cacophony of panic as growing heat engulfed the arena.

His heart raced. He was here to protect Sevas, and even if that meant unleashing the fire within, he needed to do it wisely.

The mechs flooded inside, circuits buzzing nervously. They had moved too close, thinking to contain him, thinking he was just another beast to subjugate. But Takkian had tasted the power of freedom, and he wouldn’t surrender to them again. The fire grew, swirling around him, a protective aura that encased Sevas like a fortress against the chaos outside.

He then turned toward the mechs.The heat surged, pouring out of him in a stream of molten fire. He ignited them, turning them into smoking lumps of charred metal within moments.

The chaotic crowd had clotted at the exits as attendees pushed one another in an effort to escape. Takkian felt an electrifying surge as he unleashed his rage and his pain. He was no mere gladiator now—he was a predator, roaring to life in the arena. Every inch of his form was alive with purpose. He was reclaiming power, not just for himself but for Sevas, Bruil, Ulo, and every other doomed soul who suffered in this place.

As the molten remnants of machinery hissed and sizzled, Takkian stepped forward, muscles coiled and ready. He poured more fire onto the entryway and the high temperature of his flames did their job. The hinges melted. The partially fused doors fell forward, leaving a large opening for escape. He stepped back. He would not leave Sevas.

“Takkian, stop!” Sevas’ choked voice cut through the sounds of destruction. She had grabbed a weapon from the untouched pile—a stone hammer on a metal handle. But she huddled against the wall, face pinched in pain. It was so hot, the air wavered. Her long hair was burned off to the shoulder. The ends were blackened.

Panic stabbed him. He’d let it become too hot for the pit to be safe for her. With cool air pouring through the opening, he flapped his enormous wings and brought some of it further inside. He let out a roar, since he couldn’t speak words, and lowered his head.

She coughed but came to him without hesitation, carrying her heavy weapon with surprising ease. “It’s okay,” she whispered, touching his snout. “You didn’t know it was too hot. We have to get Bruil and Ulo and get out of here, now.” The urgency in her tone sliced through the chaos, snapping him back to the present. “Before they can react.”

Sevas’ words were a tether grounding him back to their shared reality. The arena was their prison—but today, it could also become their freedom. Takkian growled as the primal instinct surged within him. The incinerated wreckage of the previous mechs lay smoldering behind them. Their useless husks crumpled against the sand. The entrance loomed before Takkian. He lowered his massive head and one wing in a signal for Sevas to go climb onto him. She did so, hoisting herself onto his back. “Let’s go!” she cried, urging him forward.

Takkian thundered forward. The passageway lay ahead, twisting and turning. His dragon body was too big to fit through these corridors. He arched his wings up and back to protect Sevas, and smashed through the once-familiar hallways that had seemed destined to imprison them forever. He sent out fire as he crashed his way down the corridor. One by one, cells bustedopen to reveal other fighters, eyes wide with shock and hope, along with echoes of disbelief and confusion.

What the other fighters did was not his worry, but their escape would make it even more difficult for the mechs to regain control. With each ripped-open cell, the tide shifted. An undercurrent of rebellion rose among the fighters. He saw them move to grab makeshift weapons and spread out. Some shouted to others calling for cells to be opened on all the levels. The handlers and officials, who they never saw, were likely already fleeing the station.

But Takkian’s fury was fading. The transformation into his dragon form beginning to exhaust him. His body shuddered and his bones contracted with the early stages of the shift back to his warrior form. They reached their old cell.

Sevas jumped off his back and laid a hand on his neck. “We’re here,” she said, soothingly. “One last cell to open.”

He tore off the door. Ulo lumbered out. His small eyes were wide with both fear and exhilaration. Bruil emerged behind him, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Takkian!” Bruil exclaimed, turning to them with an incredulous stare. “The arena is going mad!”

“We’re escaping,” Sevas said. “We’ll explain later.”

And with that, his body contorted, and he fell into an unconscious heap on the floor.

TWELVE

Sevas

Sevas stumbled back as Takkian fell to the floor. He was naked. She may have taken her time andlookedif they weren’t in such a hurry. Even lying on the floor and unconscious, he was nothing short of intimidating. The powerful silhouette of his wings, although limp, made the hall feel small, as if the very space itself recognized the raw power lying within him.

She was still reeling from what she’d seem him turn into. Despite the size and lethal fire of him as a dragon, there had been a gracefulness to the giant green beast who had saved her life. He was beautiful in a fierce and terrifying way. His scales had shimmered in shades of green, as his body had flexed in sinuous elegance. Even now, with him back to “himself,” vulnerable and unconscious, his muscles rippled like water beneath his skin. Therewasa resemblance between his two forms.

Sevas kneeled beside him. This wasTakkian—the same male who had transformed into a creature that could instill fear and awe in anyone who encountered him. Her heart pounded with amixture of admiration and worry. She ran a tentative hand over his forehead, feeling cool, dry skin. She swallowed hard. “Come on, Takkian,” she whispered, brushing a trembling hand over the scales of his forearm, cold and unyielding. “We need you to get up.”

But there was no response. The heavy rise and fall of his chest was the only sign that he was still alive.

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