Chapter Twelve
S ard went from the highest high of being claimed and defended by his chosen wife, the woman he most loved, to the lowest low of terror as his brother’s former servant, a minor aristocrat who seemed like he had nothing left to lose, flew at them.
Julie shrieked.
Sard burst into dragon, still shifting as the male attacked.
The male’s claws raked his still-weakened, scarred chest. He grunted as he scrambled free and launched, trying to lead the male away from defenseless Julie and Copper.
His plan worked. The male flew after him, then hesitated as though realizing what Sard had done.
“Why did you come back?” Sard roared to draw his attention back to him. “You should live and be free!”
“Free of what?” The male’s vicious claws dripped with Sard’s blood. “Why does everyone else get to live the way that they want but not me?”
“You can?—”
“No, I can’t!” The minor aristocrat lunged at Sard, aiming for his throat.
Sard spun midair, using the momentum to lash out with a powerful kick of his hind legs.
The other dragon twisted away, narrowly avoiding his kick.
Sard flew hard into the cold, white sky. But then he noticed the other male had stopped chasing him. He stopped as well.
“Because otherwise, what was it all for?” the male panted. “All the pain? Everything I had to give up? Why do you get to have what I couldn’t have?”
Sard didn’t know his story. He had no idea how to answer. “You can choose now.”
“Then I choose for you to feel my pain!”
They flew through the sky, chasing and attacking. Sard tried to draw him farther and farther away, even taking hits so as to keep his focus, but the male eventually realized what he was doing and hovered in the air, his wings flapping laboriously, exhausted.
“Come and get me!” Sard taunted. “I’m weak and hurt!”
“You’re playing, but I’m not.” The male whirled and dove for the cabin.
Sard swore and flew after him.
The male landed roughly in front of the cabin.
Julie raced outside wearing clothes instead of the blankets. Her arms were free. Copper must have been left in the cabin.
There was no room to land near Julie. She was under the trees, and it would be too dangerous. He dove at the male.
The other dragon stopped him with a growl. “Attack me and I’ll bite her in half!”
Sard hovered, his wings beating the air helplessly. He was about to do something suicidal.
Julie held up a piece of brimstone candy. “See this?”
“Throw it to me!” Sard shouted.
The dragon undulated between them, blocking her from throwing it.
Sard snarled in frustration.
She brandished the candy at the other male like a weapon. “You back off or else I’ll eat it.”
“So what?” the servant dragon sneered. “You’re human. You can’t be pregnant with a dragonlet after one night.”
“Have it your way.” She crunched the candy, made a face, and swallowed.
The servant tilted his head.
Nothing happened.
The male sneered. “And after all that, you wasted it. You two will die because you’re too stupid to live.”
“If you harm a single hair on her head, the female dragons will end you!” Sard shouted desperately. “Why did you endure so much only to now commit suicide?”
“Because I have nothing left,” the male snapped. “I keep waiting for the pain to subside, but it doesn’t. I can’t move on.”
Again, Sard was at a loss.
“Therapy,” Julie said, rubbing her stomach absently.
“What?” the male said.
“It’s what you’re supposed to do when you can’t move on. Have you ever heard of something called therapy?”
“No, I have never heard of this, which means I don’t need it.” The male arched his neck and showed all his teeth, lurching toward her again. “I’ll feel better when you die.”
“No!” Sard rushed him.
But Julie made a sudden face and clamped her hands on her stomach. “Ugh.”
The male paused, indecisive. “You’re pretending.”
Sard landed to the side of the male. “Julie?”
“Watch…” Her eyes bugged, and her throat glowed red. “…out!”
Flames erupted from her human mouth, spewing across the frozen ground.
The other male scrambled back as the flames licked at his feet and wingtips.
She staggered after him, taking deep, gulping breaths and then throwing out searing flames across his flank and tail as he turned and flew away in a panic.
Overhead, another dragon alien ship floated on the horizon, but this one, Sard recognized.
His old bodyguard, Syenite, floated down from the ship.
He and other dragons Sard had hired away from ruin to staff Carnelian Clothiers surrounded the male, who nursed some singed wounds.
With lasers, they escorted the limp male into their ship.
Syenite rotated to them and waved.
Sard transformed abruptly back into a human and waved back his thanks.
In another life, he would’ve tried to help that male himself. If their times had been shifted and Sard had been the oldest sibling, he would’ve tried to save his elder sister, her first husband, and this male.
Because what if he’d failed and Julie had been killed? Maybe he never would’ve gotten over it either.
But that wasn’t how things had worked out. Now, if he ever saw this male again, he would be ready for a fight.
“Whew.” Julie stamped out some coals. “Lucky this happened in winter so I didn’t just light the whole forest on fire.”
Sard flew to her and wrapped Julie in the biggest, hardest hug, kissing across her perfect face and her smoking lips and her surprised, laughing eyes. “You are my official wife, and no one will dare separate us again.”
“Yes.” She bit her lips guiltily. “I’m sorry you had to give up your riches and your family, though.”
“What are you talking about? I still have my vast wealth and my lair. I’ve lost nothing, only gained everything so long out of reach.” He tucked her hair back and helped wipe the soot from around her mouth.
“Ugh. I forgot how rough it is to have morning sickness.”
“The timing was incredible.” And then, because he still could hardly dare to believe that this was his actual future and the dream was real, he checked one more time. “Are you sure you were not with another dragon shifter male?”
“Of course not,” she insisted. “I got pregnant after our first night together, so I thought there was a good chance we might be two for two. Why are you even asking that? Now?”
“You are very irresistible to dragons.”
“For the last time, I’m only irresistible to you!”
“Hmm.” He looked down at her archly as she shivered in the cold, then lifted her into his arms and walked her back to the cabin, where their son floated eagerly inside. “I will lock you up in my lair so you will never be in danger again.”
“That’s what you think, you crazy male!”
“I am crazy because of you.” He covered her mouth with his kiss.