Page 91 of Rescued By the Beast
My body stiffens, my heart races, my instincts on high alert. It's unlike anything I've ever seen.
The treetops sway violently, as if a storm is about to break, and the noise intensifies.
Wings.
Huge wings.
And then I see it.
A creature emerges, camouflaged in the darkness of the night, but upon closer inspection, I can see that its black scales glisten like oil in the moonlight.
A dragon...
Smaller than I imagined dragons to be, but still powerful, with sparkling amber eyes and a dagger-tipped tail, hovering in the air like a living shadow.
It is not alone.
On its back, I notice the silhouette of a man, holding tight to the ridges as he rides it. On each of its front legs, between the colossal claws, two more men are carried. The dragon lets out a snort that sounds almost like a greeting before descending, releasing its passengers with a surprisingly graceful movement.
Ethan and Balthazar land on their feet. And Ted, who slides down the creature's leg and jumps to the ground.
"Thanks," the latter says breathlessly.
"You're welcome, Bear," a female voice comes from the dragon.
Before I can understand, the creature shrinks, its forms compress, and in the blink of an eye, it is nothing more than a black raven, which takes flight and disappears into the night.
Ted and Ethan rush to cross the magical barrier and reach us, throwing themselves to their knees on the other side of the Mark.
"I-I did what I could," my voice fails, a sob escapes. "I didn't know what else to do. Please take care of him. Please!"
Ted turns his face sharply towards me, his eyes burning with suspicion.
"Who are you? What did you do to him?"
Panic grips my chest.
"I tried to help... I...
My voice trails off as I look down at my hands. Red. Bloodied. My entire body is stained red, every part of me touched by Mark's blood.
Ethan is pale, his eyes wide as he assesses the severity of the wounds.
"You did well to try to stop the bleeding, but he's lost a lot," he murmurs, his tone grave. "The wounds aren't closing and his heart is about to give out. What the hell happened?" Ethan curses.
"Balthazar brought a healing potion," Ted says. "But he's unconscious. He won't be able to drink it properly, for fuck's sake..."
"It can be injected!" Balthazar shouts from a distance, without crossing the barrier.
Ted growls.
"Now you speak?!"
He passes the small test tube to Ethan, who deftly catches it and quickly draws the liquid into a syringe. Without hesitation, he sticks the needle straight into Mark's jugular and injects the substance.
The cuts begin to close before our eyes. The skin begins to reconnect, but then everything stops. The wounds have only decreased in size. They are not as deep as before, but they are still there, with dark edges. Something is wrong, but Ethandoesn't hesitate to dig into the bag he brought with him and pull out a suture kit.
"He needs more potion! Give him more!" I beg desperately, looking from Ted to Ethan with teary eyes.
