Page 77 of Dragon Unleashed
“Where you stand is a fragile place,” he warns, gesturing to the sleeping beasts surrounding me. “One word from me, and they’ll end you where you stand.”
My eyes catch on something propped against the rock wall behind him. A book. It’s worn around the edges, though not ornate or important looking like the one Paige showed me earlier. This one is plain and unsuspecting yet clearly important to him, or it wouldn’t be up on that ledge with him instead of down here with his pets.
My gaze snaps back to the man standing above us like some sort of ringmaster. Several things are clear even if I don’t fully understand his reasoning.
“These creatures all came from books.”
“Very good, your highness.” The derision doesn’t bother me. Nor does the fact that he knows who and what I am. His intentions where it involves Paige, however, do bother me.
“You are going to use them to attack the library. Why?”
“It is not your concern.”
Fury flashes through me. "You have carved a tunnel straight into the private chambers of my mate. That is absolutely my concern.”
“If I wanted to hurt Paige, I could have done so a thousand times already.” He tosses the words out so casually, but I have to bite back the urge to roar my rage across this cavern.
I take a step forward, and the creature closest to me stirs. I wait while it rolls away and settles into sleep again. Then I glare at Constantine.
“What do you want with her?”
“I want what we all want, dragon. Freedom.” He spits the word at me. Clearly, I’ve struck a chord. It reminds me of what he said to Paige yesterday. And then I realize what he means.
“You are trapped here. In the library.”
“We are all trapped here. In a world that could be ours for the taking if we could only find our way out of this damned library first. We could rule here. More than kings, we could be gods to these lowly fucking humans. If you weren’t so spellbound by the first pussy you came across in this world, you’d recognize the opportunity before you.”
“Watch your mouth, old man.” I take another step, uncaring who or what I wake. The broom handles quiver beneath my tightening grip, but I don’t bother to ease my hold. Let them break. I won’t need them when I’ve shifted into my beast and scorched every last monster in this bloody cavern.
He sighs. “I grow tired of this interruption.Surgit.”
His command is punctuated by a sudden gasp. In the flickering light, something large rises from the cavern’s floor. Yellow, glowing eyes fasten on me and narrow. The creature is already angry.
Constantine smiles at me, satisfied with what he assumes will be my end.
“You might have been the top of the food chain in your world, dragon, but here, you are nothing. These creatures are the most formidable in all the realms. They will tear you apart for a snack. And then you will be nothing more than a figment of someone’s imagination once again.” His eyes gleam as the creature on the floor below his feet lowers its head, ready to charge at me.
My skin turns to scales along my back and over my shoulders.
“You are nothing here,” Constantine calls out. “And when you are gone, her magic will be mine. Perhaps I will keep her when it’s done. Make her my queen. She is so damned powerful it’s delicious.” He presses the tips of his fingers to his lips and kisses them noisily.
Constantine’s words jolt me, but not for long. The creature charges. Its bellow is loud enough to ring in my ears—and to wake the others. Constantine doesn’t even move from his vantage point. Fucker. His confidence will be his downfall in the end.
For now, I focus on the glowing eyes as they charge at me and lose myself to the battle.
The creature is joined by two others. By the time they reach me, I’ve shifted, knocking them aside as I spread my massive wings. My feet turn to clawed talons, and I shove upward just as teeth lock against my ankle and drag me downward again.
The pain of my flesh giving between their teeth only makes me furious. Rage builds, hot as fire, and my dragon rises to the surface of my awareness. I give myself over to the beast inside me, happy to let it destroy my enemies.
As the three surround me, heat builds in my scaly throat. My dragon mouth opens, and fire pours out of me. All three creatures scream as they succumb to the flames and heat, some of them scrambling out of the way. They don’t get far.
But more have already woken. Now, they move toward me with murder in their eyes.
Something manages to sneak up behind me. I feel the prick of its claw or pointed weapon as it attempts to penetrate my scales.
Whirling, I find a snake larger than any land animal I’ve ever seen. Its fangs drip with poison, and I realize too late the prick I felt is much more dangerous than I’d assumed before.
My dragon falters even as I drive my claw across the snake’s throat, severing its head. It falls dead, and I whirl, wading through half a dozen other monsters, spilling blood and spitting fire before the venom finally stops me.
