Page 46 of Burn for the Dragon
She had shifted and was now standing over him like a predator protecting its hard-won meal. It was a situation he rarely, if ever, had found himself in before, normally being the one at the top of the food chain.
He needed to move, before he was stomped on. Or worse, covered in fire ants. One of the “perks” of living in Texas—even the ants tried to eat you. Hawke clenched his jaw to keep from making any noise as he tightened his abs and tore his raw back from the grass, rolling over onto his stomach. He didn’t know if shifting would affect her hearing loss or not, but he also had a good guess as to who she was protecting her meal from. However, he underestimated what was left of his own strength and bumped into one of the talons. Instinctively, he froze.
Everly’s large head swooped down. She huffed out a breath and then tilted it to the side to stare at him with one silvery eye. Recognition shimmered within it, and she sniffed his hair, inhaling deeply. Then she stepped forward, a low growl rumbling down the length of her throat above him.
She wasn’t going to eat him. At least for now. She was protecting him. From her brother.
Fear shot through him. But not for himself this time. This time it was for her. Whether she planned to roast and eat him when this was all over was a moot point right now. This was her first shift, and she was going head to head with a dragon who couldn’t be in his right mind, who had just tried to flambé them both. Sister or not.
Another explosion took out more of the building behind them and sent flames shooting into the air, lighting the area as bright as midday. Raindrops began to drip here and there from the sky, sizzling as they hit the fires. Taking advantage of the distraction, Everly advanced on her brother, leaving Hawke lying in the grass behind her. He took a steadying breath, then he gathered his arms and legs beneath him and pushed himself up onto all fours. The edges of his burned clothes tore at his inflamed skin and raw muscle. He felt the pain that rippled down his spine, and yet it didn’t feel like pain at all, and he thanked the gods for destroyed nerve endings. Though he knew it was gonna hurt like a bitch when they started to grow back.
He stayed as he was for a few seconds. When he thought he could handle it, he pushed himself to his feet. The rain and cool night air felt good on his heated skin. He wasn’t worried about infection, but he would need to feed if he was going to survive this. And soon.
Injured and weak, his first instinct was to get the hell out of there, but he couldn’t leave Everly. She was young and inexperienced in her new form. There was no way she was going to win this fight. He needed to help her.
Before he could figure out exactly how he was going to do that, she spread her wings wide and flew up through the smoky air. With a glance at Hawke, Matthew followed her. Like a phoenix rising with her dark, red scales and majestic form, she went right for her brother, talons at the ready. They collided mid-air, the force of her charge sending them rolling over each other until they went crashing to the ground on the other side of the burning building. A shriek of rage preceded a fountain of fire that rose straight up from the ground.
Everly appeared high in the air. Tucking her wings, she swooped low, circling around Hawke, one eye fixed on him, before she again charged her brother who had joined her in the sky. They collided again, only this time she caught him in her talons and hung on.
She flapped her wings, dragging him up into the sky, rising higher and higher until they disappeared from sight.
Hawke wiped rain from his face and made his way over to the shelter of the nearest building, only one story but it had a bit of a ledge around the roofline, enough to provide him some cover. Pulling his cell phone from his pocket, he wasn’t surprised to see the screen cracked and the cover melted through to the battery. With a curse, he threw it to the ground.
He needed Kohl. But he had no idea what would happen if there were three dragons all fighting for dominance. Or if he would know enough not to hurt Everly. As far as Hawke knew, Kohl had never been around another dragon before while shifted, so there was no way to know.
A flash of lightning had him lifting his eyes to the sky, where the two dragons, necks and wings tangled, came spiraling down toward the ground. Hawke watched in horror as Everly crashed down hard, her brother atop her. The back of her head bounced off the ground and rolled on her neck. Her beautiful silver eyes blinked a few times, then slid closed.
She didn’t move as Matthew wriggled around, and his heart stilled in his chest. For a moment, he couldn’t move. But then he saw her chest rise and fall with breath as Matthew freed his wing and rose off her. Hawke looked around for a weapon. The burning building caught his eye, and although he really didn’t want to go anywhere near any kind of flame ever again in his life, he kept one eye on the dragons as he limped over, looking for a brick, a piece of broken furniture, anything he could use. A large piece of what looked to be a desk or table that had been flung from the debris caught his eye, and he snapped off one of the legs.
Turning, he found himself pinned to the spot by Matthew’s hateful glare. Hawke froze, makeshift weapon at the ready, in case he charged.
Everly stirred, drawing her brother’s attention. Seeing him there, she quickly struggled to her feet, using the tips of her wings to help her, and the fight was on.
Only someone completely out of their mind would get in the middle of a battle between two beasts nearly the size of a two-story building, but Hawke couldn’t just stand there and allow Everly to take on the weight of what she was trying to do. And there was no fucking way in hell he was gonna stand there and watch her get killed. So he waited, biding his time until the right moment.
With a smooth twist of her body, she ducked her head and came back up and around, clamping down on her brother’s neck. She gave it a vicious shake, but he tore free, and they both took a few steps back, eyeing each other for the next attack.
Hawke dug down deep for the courage he would need for what he was about to do. Hefting the table leg like a spear, shivering violently from the wind and rain blowing against his burns, he saw his chance and ran straight toward the dragons. His muscles screamed. His vision went in and out. But he kept going, teeth clenched, fangs bared in agony and determination.
The dragon dropped its gaze from Everly and raised its head when it noticed him coming, then stepped away from her, turning to face this new threat.
Hawke didn’t slow down, didn’t give himself time to think. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Everly finally notice the crazy vampire running toward them. He knew he was taking a risk. He may have totally misread her earlier behavior. She might roast him alive as he passed and get back to her dragon match without a second thought. At least not until she reverted back to her human form.
With one last burst of energy, he pushed himself to go faster. Before either of them could react, he was beneath the male’s head as it took a great inhale, preparing to finish what it had started.
With a scream of rage, Hawke swung his homemade spear up mid-stride, using his body’s momentum to force the tip between the dragon’s scales and straight into its heart.
The dragon staggered backward, large head swinging from side to side as it tried to dislodge the piece of wood.
Hawke fell on his ass. Struggling to get his legs back under him, he tried to keep Everly in his line of vision. His ankle twisted in a rut in the ground and he fell to his knees, catching himself on his hands. Black spots clouded his vision. His breath rasped through his lungs. He needed fluids. He needed blood.
He heard the sound of bone crushing bone. He heard Everly cry out, her voice an odd combination of a human scream and a dragon’s screech, but he couldn’t lift his head to see what was happening. Couldn’t get his sorry ass off the ground to help her.
The wet ground rushed up at him, and everything went black.
Chapter 23
Everly lay on the cold, wet ground, breathing in the scent of the earth. Slowly and carefully, she pushed herself into a sitting position, her hair hanging in her face in a riot of damp, red curls. Light rain ran down her face and shoulders and she shivered, reaching automatically for her sweater, only to find she was nude.
