Page 29

CHAPTER 29

BOWEN

T he day after Paxon’s outburst before breakfast, I decided I couldn’t sit by any longer. With the storm finally ebbing, I had things I needed to attend to.

Things like figuring out why the fuck that bones dragon hit an invisible sort of wall and couldn’t pass through it.

Raiden had given me the rundown on what had happened during breakfast to cause Auria to be standing outside covered in food and, very clearly, upset. Meanwhile, Siara had wanted to find Paxon and rip his dick off—her words, not mine—for shoving Auria. His manhood—again, her words, though I wholly agreed—didn’t deserve to be intact after his elbow made contact with her.

The moment I had seen Auria standing there with her eyes squeezed shut and her body being held up by the wall, I couldn’t have kept going.

No, Auria was the only thing that had mattered in that moment.

“We’re going to the caves,” I said to Vulcan as I rounded his front leg in the meadow and grabbed one of his scales to heft myself up his body.

Is that the brightest idea, given you and the girl were just nearly killed in there? Vulcan asked, judgment blazing in his tone as it rang through my mind.

“I need to figure out why that dragon couldn’t pass through that barrier in the caves.” I settled on his back and adjusted my face covering before he took flight with a huff.

His massive wings beat hard against the calming air, and I squinted my eyes against the onslaught of wind as we took off.

Let me guess, I am to be your test subject , Vulcan said.

“If you can fit in the cave, that’d be helpful.” Despite his clear reluctance at the idea of it, he’d have no choice. I needed to figure this out.

It took longer than usual to reach the mountain due to the random bursts of wind slamming into Vulcan on our way. Once we made it, Vulcan circled before landing on the rockslide, finding a spot right outside the opening of the cave. His talons scrambled for purchase, digging into the loose boulders.

This is not smart , Vulcan chastised, his grip slipping on one of the rocks. Dragons were strong, but their size wasn’t always ideal.

“Scared?” I asked as I descended his muscled leg.

For a being as small as you, yes.

I chuckled. “Always so judgmental.”

A burst of steam hit my back as I climbed the boulders, Vulcan close behind in case I lost my footing. I wouldn’t, but the sentiment still stood.

Once we reached the mouth of the cave, I peered inside, narrowing my eyes against the endless pit of black to be sure the bones dragon hadn’t made it through since we had left.

When no form took shape, I entered, walking a few feet in before turning around to see if Vulcan could fit. He ducked his massive head, bending his neck and curling his body in on itself.

This is not how I wished to spend my day , he huffed, just barely making it through the entrance.

I turned, continuing on my way. “You complain a lot for a dragon.”

You demand a lot for a tiny being , he retorted, trying to lift his neck but only resulting in hitting the rocky ceiling.

Bits of loose debris rained down around me from the impact, but I ignored it. “Commenting a lot on my size today. Feeling a little self-conscious?”

No, but I am a tad hungry.

“If we get stuck in here, I give you full permission to eat me.”

Really?

He sounded too hopeful.

I shot a glare back at him.

“No.”

We walked at a slow pace to accommodate for the awkward position Vulcan was in, and once we reached the spot I remembered seeing the bones dragon last, I held my hand up for him to stop. Claw marks dug into the ground before me, evidence of where the dragon had struggled to get through but had no luck.

Please, do tell what your plan is , Vulcan spoke up, his voice vibrating through my mind.

I stepped to the side, gesturing at the empty space. “Try to get through.”

His bored gaze moved from me to the vast nothingness and back again, all the while I stared at him.

You are serious.

“I am.”

With a sigh, Vulcan moved. I pressed my back up against the wall to give him space to fit. As soon as his nose was near the claw marks, he stopped, but not of his own accord. He shook his head against the impact of whatever his muzzle ran into.

He tried again, shoving his forehead into the invisible wall.

Still, no luck.

“Does it hurt at all? Maybe a burn?”

No. Just a wall like any other.

I stepped around his massive foot, holding my arm out and successfully passing through the barrier. “Can you see it or is it nonexistent to you, too?”

Nothing is there. It only prevents me from passing.

It must be that way for every dragon, then. Much like the barrier over the chasm, preventing their entrance to Amosite.

“Have you experienced anything like this before?” I asked, stepping over the claw marks etched into the ground.

Only the same place we all know , Vulcan replied. The one kingdom we cannot get into.

It didn’t make any sense. How was this here, and why was it preventing dragons from passing through?

I didn’t sense any magic, so whatever was powering the invisible wall did a good job at hiding its power source. My only thought was that there had to be something inside Amosite that wanted to keep dragons out. Fae were able to pass through it no problem. It was only the beasts it affected.

Deep in the cave, a crash echoed, pulling both mine and Vulcan’s attention to the sound. Seconds later, the bones dragon appeared, racing around the corner with its mouth wide, yellowed teeth bared, and a roar splitting through the air. I quickly stepped back over the line, hoping like hell the wall kept it on the other side. Otherwise, we were screwed. Vulcan could take it down no problem, but with the close proximity and the inability for him to stretch to his full size, it’d be difficult and likely result in the cave collapsing on top of us.

Behind me , Vulcan roared into my mind as his growl filled the tunnel.

“It won’t get past.” At least, I hoped.

Vulcan’s massive mouth was directly beside me, pungent saliva puddling at my boots as the bones dragon advanced. Not even a foot from me, as my heart thumped in my chest, screaming at me to run, it slammed into the wall. A clatter of bones clanking against one another echoed through the cave as the dragon roared in frustration.

It is truly stuck inside , Vulcan observed, schooling his features.

I nodded, watching as it got back on its bony feet. As soon as it did, it opened its massive jaw to release another ear-piercing bellow.

Vulcan’s foot disappeared from my periphery, and I turned to find him retreating.

“Where are you going?”

We will not find answers standing in an unstable tunnel. Leave the creature alone.

He was right. The cave could collapse at any moment, much like it had before, and provoking the bones dragon to act out wouldn’t help matters. I couldn’t help but note the sympathy squeezing through the cracks of Vulcan’s typically hard tone either. Seeing the dragon stuck there had to affect him somehow, even if he tried to hide it.

With one last glance at the dragon, I turned around, following Vulcan’s massive body out of the cave. The sun was blinding as we exited, the cloud cover finally gone, leaving the sky wide open, and I squinted my eyes until they adjusted.

What is your plan? Vulcan asked.

From where I stood on the edge of the ledge, I stared out at the land, watching as the sun and the reflective rays beat down on the nature surrounding us. I had not a clue where to start with figuring this thing out, other than whatever was powering it was coming from inside Amosite.

“I’m not sure yet.”

In the distance, a familiar dark green dragon appeared in the sky, powerful wings coasting along the skyline as it slowed its approach. Perched atop the beast’s back was Raiden, and I instantly recognized him on his dragon, Bratus. If he was here, that meant he had something to tell me that couldn’t wait until I returned.

Vulcan and I climbed a bit of the way down the rockslide to meet Bratus and Raiden where they landed. Raiden descended the dragon’s back, meeting me halfway.

“What is it?” I asked.

“I debated coming at all, but I wasn’t sure if you’d be pissed I didn’t tell you right away. Dixus, intoxicated as ever, passed me in the street like he usually does on his way home from Barter’s Hell. He made it a point to tell me to stop in at the bar.”

My eyes narrowed in confusion. “Why?”

“Guess he saw a beautiful woman from another world.”

My jaw clenched as what he said registered.

There was only one woman Dixus would be ogling over in his drunken state. The man wasn’t even into the female population to begin with.

I silently cursed, not giving Raiden another glance before turning to mount Vulcan.

If Auria was in Barter’s Hell by herself, she was in for a rude awakening.

Criminals were all too quick to lose their manners in the presence of pretty things.