Page 46 of Curse of the Midnight Dragon (The Moonlight Dragon #2)

Amaya

“Guide me to your brother ,” I sent to Cullen through our telepathic pathway. I’d placed Celestina in a nearby cave in the mountains on the Fein side of the border and well clear of the undead army. Before leaving her there, I’d used my magic to pull several woolen blankets from the manor house that I piled on top of her. Once I was sure she was comfortable—as comfortable as she could be while feeling the injuries of her bonded partner—I took to the sky.

“How many are with you?” he immediately answered.

“I have me.”

“You’re going to get yourself—”

“I’m going to get your damned prince. Guide me to him .” I sent Cullen an image of the rocky peaks below me where a line of warriors were walking in an unnatural manner down a narrow mountain trail.

“I’m also a damned prince. And you’re going to listen to me and let me help—”

“Where is he? Soren and Celestina don’t have time for this argument. An argument I’m going to win in the end anyway. So, shut up and tell me where I can find your brother.”

Cullen swore colorfully before he sent me a fuzzy image of a heavily guarded tent. “ My spies tell me that he’s in there.”

“I’ll get him out.” I shifted to air. No reason to let those creepy undead warriors see me.

It didn’t take long to follow the trail Cullen had crafted and to find the tent within Queen Beatrice’s camp. It was the one with the most armed warriors milling around outside it—living, alert warriors dressed in purple leathers with purple cloaks slung over one shoulder. The number of warriors didn’t bother me. I was, after all, air.

I entered the tent through a vent flap at the top. The interior was dark. Celestina’s prince was laid out on a palette. His brow was covered in sweat while blood oozed from a gaping wound across his stomach.

“I thought vampires could survive nearly anything .” I pressed the words into Cullen’s mind. “ This wound doesn’t look that serious.”

“You found him?” Cullen’s excitement felt like my own. “ How is he? Is he awake?”

“He’s not awake. There’s a belly wound that’s actively bleeding. Not gushing. Just slowly leaking out. I think he should be awake. And from what I’ve heard about vampires, shouldn’t he be healing by now? Or was that a lie? Are vampires weaker than you want us to believe?” That would explain why my little love bite had hurt Cullen so badly.

“That’s not why I had such trouble with your bite. Dragons can injure vampires in a way that makes it difficult for us to heal ourselves.” Cullen shot a burst of spiky worry into my mind. “Blood loss is our main weakness. If my brother has lost too much blood, he’ll be weakened to the point where his body can’t even begin to heal. And there could be internal damage.”

“I suppose those are parts of his intestine hanging out there.”

“Gods. How are you going to get him out? Are you safe? Has anyone spotted you?”

“I’m air. Of course no one can see me.”

“I can.”

“Don’t remind me. I don’t… You shouldn’t be able to do that.”

“You’re not flustered, are you, Darkness?”

“I’m…I’m not…”

“There are too many soldiers around the tent you’re in. You’re going to need a diversion to get you and my brother out safely.”

Too many—? Did that mean Cullen could see the tent?

“You’re here?” I demanded. At the same time, I heard a shout in the camp. And then the heavy thuds as several guards ran past. One of the guards who’d been standing outside, a big burly warrior with a face filled with scars, stepped into the tent.

Well hell . Having company inside the tent complicated matters. I didn’t want to blow him up. That would make too big of a mess and alert more guards.

But I needed to get rid of him.

He walked over to the palette and kicked Soren where his intestines were leaking out. Soren cried out, but never opened his eyes. I hated to think how that kick had affected Celestina.

“Not so tough now, are you, Beast?” the warrior growled. He pulled back his boot to kick Soren again.

I shifted to my human form and grabbed the bastard’s boot before it could do any more damage to my Celestina.

The man gasped and spun around to see who was holding him. I let his booted foot drop and straightened.

His eyes widened when he saw me. I hadn’t bothered to pull on any clothes with the shift. For one, there hadn’t been time. And for another, this reaction was the one I wanted.

“Hello there.” He gave a lewd grin that made my stomach sour. “How did you get in here?”

I smiled at him and hoped my expression didn’t give him any hints about the monster I was about to become.

“That anxious to get to me, are you?” He licked his lips. “I suppose I could see to your needs, my pretty whore.” He grabbed my arms and tugged until I was flush against his battle leathers. I could smell the dried meat he must have eaten for lunch on his breath.

“I would love to eat you,” I whispered and then slammed my wickedly sharp dragon teeth into his neck, severing his head from his body. “But I don’t eat rotten food.” I spit out the pieces of flesh that had gotten stuck to my teeth.

I needed to get out of there before any more stinky humans barged in on us. I knelt next to Soren, pulling him off the cot.

A heartbeat later, I shifted. The transformation ripped a hole through the top of the canvas tent as my dragon outgrew the space. I clutched Soren to my chest and took to the air. The warriors still standing watch outside started to shout and throw spears.

“Got your brother,” I told Cullen.

“Thank the gods. Head back to the cave .”

My dragon-keen eyes, which could pinpoint the smallest forms of prey—a mouse, a mole, a lizard—even when flying far above the treetops, zeroed in on Cullen almost immediately. The diversion he’d created was to expose himself in the worst possible way.

The foolish vampire was darting around tents while pursued by several dozens of Queen Beatrice’s warriors. He was going to get himself killed.

I pulled my wings back and sent myself into a nosedive. I tipped Soren to the side, so I could hold him with one taloned claw, while I snatched up Cullen with my other.

“Ooof!” he grunted from the impact.

It nearly broke my wings to flap hard enough to stall my descent and then climb back into the air again.

It would have been a perfect escape if not for the archers.

They started firing, filling the sky with their steel-tipped arrows. My scales were tough enough to repel them. But the vampires in my arms were fragile things. They could be injured by one of those arrows. And I wasn’t going to risk Celestina’s life any more than I already had.

I spun so my back took the brunt of the arrows, my scales easily protecting me from feeling anything more than several dull thumps. My leathery wings, however, didn’t fare so well. Several arrows tore through my right wing. I winced at the pain, hoping Cullen wouldn’t notice.

I didn’t want to worry him about something that wasn’t going to cause us that much trouble. I simply needed to get away from the camp first. And gain some altitude.

“You’re hurt!” Cullen shouted in my mind.

“Shh…I’m flying here .” It wasn’t the steadiest path as air poured through one wing like water from a leaky bucket.

“Dammit! I can feel your pain. It’s excruciating!”

“Thanks for reminding me. Still trying to get us away from the enemy while pretending it doesn’t hurt.”

“Sorry.”

The wind whipped through the holes in my injured wing, ripping the leathery membrane and causing the gashes to widen. It took all I had in me not to scream aloud.

I hadn’t managed to get high enough. And there was a mountain coming at us that I was about to smash into. But on the plus side, we were out of range of those horrible archers.

There was only one thing I could do to save us.

I shifted to air.

Both Soren and Cullen started to freefall.

I shifted back to my dragon form. The shifting from one form to the other healed my torn wing. I immediately threw my wings back and dove after the falling men. There was still several hundred yards of space between them and the ground when I swooped them into my taloned claws.

“Holy Goddess Perth! What the hell, Amaya? We-we nearly—”

“So dramatic, my brave prince. You weren’t even close to being smashed against the rocks.”

“You dropped us!”

“I couldn’t fly with a torn wing.”

“You. Dropped. Us.”

“And I caught you. I couldn’t fly with a torn wing.” How could he not understand that? “ We would have all crashed to our deaths on the side of that mountain if I hadn’t shifted forms.”

“Could you—could you give me a warning next time?”

“Let’s hope there’s not a next time.”

“But if there is—?”

“I’ll totally warn you.”

“That’s all I ask.”

His voice went silent in my mind. I missed it. “ How is your brother faring?”

“He’s no worse than he was when you first added me to your escape plan.”

Which I took to mean that he was half-dead. “ We’re nearly to the cave.”

Cullen didn’t answer me, but I felt his relief ripple through my body.

A few minutes later, I set down at the entrance to the cave nestled high in the neighboring mountain. I placed Cullen on his feet, but kept Soren pressed to my chest. Cullen reached out his hand like he was going to pet me. But he stopped himself before he touched my scales.

“Beautiful,” he breathed the word.

I tried to ignore his praise. Why would I care what some silly vampire thought of me? Goddess, I didn’t want to feel all warm and gooey inside because someone had said one kind word to me. But I couldn’t seem to stop the feelings from coming.

“Well, here’s a few more kind words you deserve to hear. You, Amaya, are amazing. And I’ll be forever in your debt for saving my brother. We wouldn’t have been able to get him out of the camp. We could use compulsion on the living warriors. But our powers don’t work on the undead, and Queen Beatrice has the undead guarding the camp’s perimeter.”

“Let’s save him before you go and make dramatic vows.” I carried Soren toward the back of the cave where I’d put Celestina in the makeshift nest of blankets.

I laid the vampire prince down next to Celestina, pressing his body to hers.

“He’s going to need to feed. If you’re not comfortable with letting him feed from Celestina, I could have him take my blood.”

I shifted back to my human form, pulling my sweater and leather pants on at the same time so I wouldn’t be naked in front of Cullen. “What would it be like for her? Would she feel the same way I did when you fed on me?”

Cullen’s brown eyes darkened. “It should be the same.”

“Will she be strong enough to handle the blood loss?”

“Because of their bond, her blood will be more powerful than mine for him. He’ll heal faster, which in turn, will bring Celestina back to health faster.”

I nodded. Celestina would want to be the one to help him. “Why isn’t he feeding already?”

“He’s too weak. I’ll have to open a vein for him.”

“No.” I pressed my hand on Cullen’s chest to stop him. “I’ll do it.” I doubted I could handle watching anyone else injure my Celestina. I knelt next to her, tilting her head to one side. And bending down like I was going to kiss her neck, I pierced her skin with one of my dragon’s teeth. She jerked from the pain but remained unconscious.

Cullen helped his brother press his lips to where Celestina’s blood was flowing. Soren immediately started feeding.

Celestina gasped. Her body rose to press against Soren’s. Her eyes opened slightly as she threaded her fingers with his.

“Let’s give them some privacy.” Cullen tugged at my hand.

I let him lead us back to the mouth of the cave. He’d kept hold of my hand as we walked. I wasn’t sure why he’d want to touch me like this. But I guess I didn’t mind it. We stood side-by-side at the cave’s entrance, looking out in the direction of the mountain where Queen Beatrice and her army had made camp. I tightened my grip on his hand when he started to release mine. I wasn’t sure why I craved his touch. He wasn’t another dragon. I shouldn’t want him like this.

From this side of the mountain, I couldn’t see any evidence of the fighting and deaths that was happening even now. It appeared peaceful here.

“Her army of the dead is relentless,” he said as if he could hear my thoughts. He likely could. “They don’t stop to sleep or eat. They attack night and day. Our warriors are tired.”

“What are you going to do?” I asked.

He sighed. “There’s nothing we can do, Amaya, other than keep fighting.”