Page 36 of Lady Dragon
That didn’t sound good. “You justwhat?”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to—” When the dragon girl looked at her again, her eyes were wide—and terrified. “I think I just pair-bonded with you.”
It was Samansa’s turn to feel punched in the gut. Her breath caught in her lungs, and her mouth fell agape. It took her a moment to be able to speak.
“Youwhat?” she finally cried, her hand flying to her own chest. “How is that possible?” She patted herself, perhaps inanely—she didn’t feel any different from before, other than horror that she’d somehow catastrophically overstepped.
And yet, rising beneath the horror was a fluttery feeling that she couldn’t quash. A thrill that flew in the face of it all, unfettered, now that the impossible might be possible—that Kirek might feel something for her. And not justsomething, but the strongest of feelings, among dragons.
Something undeniable and powerful as a pair-bond.
Samansa didn’t understand it, but perhaps it wasn’t horrible. Perhaps it was incredible.
Kirek certainly didn’t look happy—she looked the very opposite of happy. “Itshouldn’tbe possible. This can’t happen. But it did.” The dragon girl took a stumbling step away from her and grabbed handfuls of her own hair, looking more miserable and deranged than Samansa had ever seen her—confirming the princess’s worst fears that this situation was, in fact, awful. “My mother is going tokillme.”
The princess hoped she didn’t meanliterally…but something in Kirek’s tone made her sound quite serious. Any thrill Samansa had felt dwindled and died within her, leaving only panic.
She raised a pleading hand to the dragon girl, not knowing what else to do. “Don’t worry. We can fix this. I’ll help you—”
Kirek suddenly screamed, a terribly pained sound that could have ripped Samansa’s heart out. She clutched her chest once more, this time tearing at her leather armor in a frenzy.
And then a brilliant purple lightburstthrough her armor, and a streak of red shot out of Kirek and straight for the princess.
Samansa didn’t see what happened, because thenshewas screaming. Her chest was an agony of sharp fire. The feeling pierced her straight through, flooding her limbs with burning light. She tried to claw at it, but her hands were dissolving—
And then everything flared red.
10
KIREK
Through the haze of pain, Kirek couldn’t believe what she was seeing. The Heartstone felt as if it had shattered in her chest with such force that part of it had shot out of her—andintothe princess, catching her like an arrowhead. Her own pain had been bad enough, but then Samansa had screamed, and the sound flooded Kirek with new agony.
She’d already wanted to protect Samansa, but this was different. It was as if all her concern and vague impulses toward the princess from before had shifted, coming into focus with new, crystalline clarity, sharp enough to cut. Kirek had never experienced a pair-bond before, but there was no mistaking it. She felt Samansa’s pain like her own.
Kirek had to help her.
But before Kirek could reach her to try to pry the chunk of stone out, Samansa began tochange. Her soft arms and creamy skin were flushing from far more than blood—with a glaring red light. And they werestretching.
Crimson scales burst forth, shining upon huge limbs tipped in wicked claws, and spreading wings nearly filled the room with their span. A colossal head rose up where it hadn’t been before, jaws snarling and filled with teeth as long as a humanarm. Much to Kirek’s utter disbelief, there was suddenly a massive red dragon within the tower room, writhing in what seemed like the throes of anguish. Instead of stopping to stare, let alone continuing toward where the princess had once been, Kirek found herself runningaway. It was all she could do to avoid getting crushed by the thrashing wings and tail.
Kirek dove behind a couch as the dragon rolled atop the dining table and shattered the massive wooden slab into mere splinters. And yet, Kirek was only able to pause for a moment before the tail came crashing down through the back of the couch, splitting it like a sword would a melon, barely a handsbreadth from her face.
The dragon was panicking in the tight space. Kirek had to move. She had to transform herself and fly out of here to a safe distance where she could coax the other dragon out, or she would die.
Just as she made to leap for the giant double doors, an earsplittingyowlstopped her in her tracks.
Samansa’s blasted cat, Thoman, was screeching and hissing from under a side table that had nearly been crushed. It was amazing the beast wasn’t a casualty already.
Kirek looked at the gateway that would free her, and looked at the cat.
Samansa wouldn’t thank her if she left the cat to be killed, not even while trying to save the princess. Kirek cursed.
And then she was running, not for the doors but for thecat, ducking and weaving around broken furniture, flying debris, and giant raking claws. She dove and hit the wall in a slide, her shoulders slamming into stone near the half-collapsed side table. The cat hissed at her from underneath.
“You’ll thank me later,” Kirek snarled, more commanding than hopeful, and her hands shot out, seizing his fur.
Of course, the beast immediately sank his claws into her arms, scratching and biting and spitting, but Kirek paid him no mind as she tucked him under her arm and ran for the much smaller door that led to the stairs out of the tower. Still, it was like holding on to a miniature, furry lightning storm. It was a wonder she managed to contain him until she reached the door, wrenched it open, and tossed him out. He landed on his feet, his tail spiked in all directions. He immediately and incongruously started to lick his paw—which was the last thing Kirek saw before the dragon’s tail whipped across the wall overhead, forcing her to duck and nearly slamming the door closed on her arm.
