Page 64 of Charming the Dragon
They put together the tripod that would hold the launcher. The launcher was a combination of a crossbow found in the tunnel storage room, as well as some sort of air compressor from blow-up mattresses. Although Nathan had fiddled with it, making it a lot more powerful.
Last, they put a scope on the launcher, taken from a powerful tranquilizer gun. Ever since the Dragon Knights and dragon hunters had started using them to pick off dragon-shifters, Stonefire had devised their own varieties.
Which were technically illegal, but Hayley wasn’t about to rat them out.
Once assembled, Nathan took out one of the two grappling hooks he’d put together and loaded it into the device. The old one, from the treasure room, was the third option and would be used as a last resort since it was probably the most fragile.
After finishing, he turned toward Hayley. “All done. Now, let’s set it just inside the tunnel and you wait there whilst I try to knock down some stalactites.”
This was the part of the plan she was most unsure about. “What if one of them pierces your wing? Won’t you crash?”
“If that happens, and I don’t think it will, I’ll maneuver into the lake.” He cupped her cheek. “Promise me you’ll stay in the tunnel until I land again, Hayley.”
“I will, with a caveat. If you crash, I’m going after you.”
He kissed her cheek. “Here’s to Operation Badass Dragon.”
“I still think Operation Falcon would’ve been better, as we need that sort of agility.”
“Dragons are better than Falcons.”
“Maybe. Just a little.”
He lightly swatted her backside and added, “Stay here, love. It’s time to put our plan into action.”
She hugged him before stepping further into the tunnel—far enough back to protect her, but she could still watch him shift into his dragon form. Once done, his beautiful red dragon jumped into the air and hovered. She couldn’t help but stare at the powerful muscles keeping his wings moving. It still amazed her that any dragon could be brought down by a human.
Nathan slowly ascended until he reached just below the longest stalactite. He batted his wing against it, and it sailed downward, crashing into the lake. Over and over again, he knocked them down, until he reached the biggest one, right next to the largest opening—which was their main target.
She chewed her nails as she watched him move a little this way and that, until he finally hovered in place. His wing wouldn’t work for this one since it was so thick, so he’d have to use the force of his entire body.
After what seemed like eons, he moved backward and flew for the thick column dangling from the ceiling. As his side crashed into the rock, Hayley bit off a nail. And for a second, time stilled. Then she watched as the dragon and rock tumbled down together, Nathan’s body under the stone.
They both crashed into the water.
Nathan didn’t immediately surface.
Hayley cried out. Uncaring of the few small pieces still falling from the ceiling, she went to the edge of the lake and scanned the surface, looking for any sign of Nathan in either his human or dragon forms.
Nothing.
Just as she debated diving into the water to find him, his human form broke the surface, gasped, and dove back down.
“Nathan!”
Hayley charged into the water and made it up to her waist when Nathan’s head rose above the surface again and he started swimming toward her.
She debated going out to meet him, but as he was making steady progress, she merely watched his every move. If he went down below the water again, she’d go after him.
But within minutes, Nathan reached the shallow area and stood.
She charged for him and stopped just short of lunging at his body. “Are you all right? Did you get hurt anywhere? Are you bleeding?”
“I’ll have a massive bruise tomorrow, no doubt. But otherwise, I’m fine.”
“A bruise could signal internal damage.”
He shook his head. “I’m a lot stronger in my dragon form. I only shifted back because it was easier to talk to you, if needed.” He took her hand. “I’m fine, Hayley. I promise.”
