Page 60 of Dance for the Dragon
Without warning, the Master attacked, but Kohl was ready. Faster than the human eye could track, he sidestepped the first punch and landed his fist directly into the ancient vampire’s kidney. It did little damage, but it sure as hell felt good.
The crowd of vampires hissed their approval.
All of the pent up aggression Kohl had suppressed over the years came boiling to the surface, and he quickly went on the offensive, landing punch after punch into the Master’s face until his knuckles were raw and bleeding and his opponent was barely recognizable. But they healed almost as quickly as they busted open, and even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t have stopped him. He didn’t use his fangs, even though they were aching to rip into flesh, only his fists. The brute force was a release, and kept the dragon restrained, but barely. Kohl shut everything out until he didn’t even know who or what he was hitting. He didn’t feel the shots the Master got in on him or the teeth sinking into his shoulder as his momentum took them both to the ground.
Suddenly, he was lifted and thrown through the air. Kohl landed on his back in the middle of the vampires, who’d parted when they saw him coming. It appeared the Master was finished being a punching bag. Springing to his feet, Kohl shook his head until his vision cleared. Balancing on the balls of his feet, he raised his fists and prepared to launch a new attack.
Before he was able to land a punch, Devon cried out. Kohl spun around, refocusing his rage on whoever was hurting her. He didn’t need to see it to know something had happened. The dragon could feel her pain as though it were his own. But no one was near her.
The back of Kohl’s neck was on fucking fire, his skin overly sensitive as the dragon screamed in rage and fought to be free. Distracted, Kohl ducked and pivoted just in time as the Master threw his arms out to capture him in a deadly bear hug. Diving into his legs, Kohl knocked him off balance, but he didn’t fall.
Instead, he rose in the air until he hovered a good foot off the floor. His eyes were pure black, and his skin shimmered white. His fingers curled like claws as he pointed one at Kohl. “You’re an idiot if you think anyone will follow someone like you!” His voice, at a normal volume to the others, filled Kohl’s head until he wanted to slap his hands over his hears in an effort to block it out.
Kohl snarled his answer, thirsty for blood and ready to end it.
The Master curled his fingers into a fist, wrapping an invisible hand around Kohl’s throat. Jaz came to stand behind him, as did most of the coven, blocking Devon from his view, and as Kohl struggled for air, he realized what the Master said was true. He would rather take the hit to his honor and win this fight any way he could rather than let a hybrid best him by brute force. And a good portion of the coven had no fucking issue with that.
Kohl stared at the man who’d protected and guided him for most of his life. He didn’t struggle. It would be a waste of energy. He would never be able to break the grip of the invisible weight around his throat. His eyes began to water as he struggled to stay conscious, and for a moment, he panicked. But then slowly, tauntingly, the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile as he felt the dragon move restlessly inside of him.
Wanna come out and play?
The dragon screeched in response.
He had a brief instance of fear for Devon and Hawke, but then something happened that had never happened before. The beast was communicating with him, and he knew without a doubt Devon would be fine.
And hopefully, Hawke would have enough damn sense to get the hell out of the way.
His smile widened.
Chapter 22
Devon struggled against the rope binding her to the throne, but she was weak from the loss of so much blood and her muscles refused to function. Despite the sweat dripping down her temples and her spine, she was shivering with cold, and she had to fight to keep her eyes open. All her body wanted to do was sleep.
Her mind, however, was just fucking fine.
Vampires crowded in front of her, and she’d lost sight of Kohl what seemed like forever ago but was probably only a minute into the fight. The two vampires moved so fast, she couldn’t tell who was winning anyway.
The crowd suddenly shifted restlessly, and a gap appeared. Through it, she could see Kohl’s friend Hawke. He stood toward the back with a few others who were apparently either on Kohl’s side or pleading the fifth. Whatever. Vampire politics meant nothing to her. She just wanted Kohl to survive this night. She wanted both of them to survive this night.
Hawke’s face was completely expressionless, but his stance was tense. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she screamed his name in her head, hoping like hell he would hear her. The fourth time she did it, she knew she’d succeeded when his eyes flicked over to her briefly before he went back to the fight.
She was gearing up to try again when she heard it.
Devon?
He didn’t sound pleased with her, but she didn’t give a rat’s ass. Oh, thank God. Help me, Hawke. Please.
Slowly, his head turned in her direction. Devon knew she must look like some kind of bloody pagan offering, but she could only hope his stoic persona wasn’t an act and he would be able to control the impulse to feed. She was gambling with her life, but she was running out of options here. Please, she begged him.
Kohl roared in anguish, or maybe it was anger, but she kept her focus on Hawke. Please.
His mouth twisted with something akin to annoyance as his eyes shot back and forth between her and Kohl.
Devon let out a sob of gratitude when he finally appeared in front of her on the dais. She didn’t even see him move.
He assessed her injuries with cold, dark eyes. “I could heal you, but I don’t think your boyfriend would like that.” He pulled his upper lip back, showing her his fangs, extended and ready to feed. A shiver of fear slid up her spine as he leaned in and smelled her. “I can certainly see why my boy is so attracted to you, though.” Shouts rose up behind Hawke, and he shifted his body to see what was going on, enough that Devon could see, too.
The dragon stared at her through Kohl’s eyes. As she watched, he arched forward and two rows of spines tore through the skin and clothing along his back. Kohl raised his head, fangs bared as his focus shifted back and forth between her and Hawke. Horrible, heart-breaking sounds were ripped from his throat as the dragon fought its way out.
