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Geryon was filled with anger towards her, filled with disappointment at himself. He was also filled with a loss he didn’t understand.What of her was real?He’d felt tenderness for this woman because of what he’d been able to see of her.

Now, all he felt was disgust and hate.

When he finally made it to the roof of the palace, he stood facing the only road leading away. It was the only way she could have gone, and he glared when he saw the path was empty – she’d already managed to get far.

His hands were shaking with fury, his fists closed so tightly, his knuckles were white. After a deep, drawing breath, he released a ring of fire from his lungs into the air. It floated, holding its shape for a moment.

Then, he chanted the singular word he needed for the spell. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done this.

“SHIFT!” He yelled the word, unable to keep the rage from his voice.

The ring of fire blew back over his body, encasing him in flame, disintegrating his clothes until he was naked. His body began to change as ancient magic swirled around him to create a new shape.

Where nails once were, claws grew. Where human teeth once sat, sharp rows of fangs cut through. A tail sprouted from the base of his spine as wings jutted from his back. As this happened, his body grew, scales pushing up through his skin. It had been too long since he’d shifted; it was both painful and euphoric at the same time.

When the flames disappeared, Geryon was a Dragon.

Without hesitation, he lifted off from the stone bricks beneath him, his large, weighty wings flapping dust and dirt from the roof. Even after so long, his body moved with ease, like it was only yesterday he’d been in this form.

Geryon immediately flew in the only direction they would have gone.I will fucking burn you to ashes, Witch.

I hear wings constantly.They flapped from a distance. Most would assume it was merely a bird flying directly overhead, but Valerie knew it wasn’t that close, knew it wasn’t a bird.

“Why did we have to get rid of the horse again?” Kaeylyn whined.

They were running through the forest on foot. She didn’t tell her young sister what they were running from, only that they needed to flee.

The canopy of leaves would give them cover, and as long as they didn’t use their witchcraft, they wouldn’t be seen. Only if the Dragon used his special sight directly where they were would he be able to see them.

“Because a horse would have been easier to track,” Valerie answered.

She’d set it free a day ago.

The clomping of hooves would have been easy to hear in comparison to their light footfalls.He can smell a horse from the air.Their human-shaped bodies were harder to follow.

Every few hundred metres, Valerie rubbed their skin with pine needles, leaves, and bark to hide their scents. He would be tracking Kaeylyn more than anything.

He did not take my scent directly, so he will not be able to remember it well.She just had to make sure she kept him from smelling either of them.

She was praying the horse confused him. She sent it through the forest in the opposite direction they needed to run. While he chased after it, they had been heading the other way.

“I am tired, Valerie.” Kaeylyn’s feet were dragging while she pulled her along.

We are both tired.Instead of complaining, she crouched down so her sister could climb onto her back. The child clung to her torso while she continued to run as best she could. She constantly had to slow to a walk so that she could catch her breath, then she would sprint again.

Sparingly, Valerie used her magic.

The only spell she used was one that would direct them home. With a small chant against the back of her hand, a white beam of light would show her which direction she needed to go.

She had to stop to do it, making sure a tree covered her from above. She would wait for it to fade, shaking her hand like that would help, before she took them forward again.

It will be days before we are home.Already, a day had passed, and she knew they had many more to go. They often stopped if she passed food, like fruit and nuts, knowing what was safe to eat and what wasn’t.

Valerie wasn’t scared. She was determined, using that to give her strength. Her heart was only rushed because of her exhaustion, her lungs tight because they fought for breath.

Valerie was adamant about getting Kaeylyn home, even if she had to carry the girl the entire way.

I do not care what happens to me after.Once they were there, the likelihood of her being found was low.