Page 100 of Destined Dawn

She ignores me.

“The dragon’s somewhere here?” She raises her hand and a spark flickers on her palm. “Stables,” she says, “I think we’re in the stables.”

Under our feet is straw and the wooden roof is high above our heads. Chained to a wall is the huddled form of several sheep, sheep I recognize as the breed Lowsky’s men were bundling into trucks. Can’t see any dragons though. And those fuckers are pretty big to miss.

“Come on,” she says, taking my hand in hers and making me giddy. “I have a sense she’s this way.”

Little rabbit pulls me through the vast space and stops at a door. It’s chained shut, but I blast through it with my magic and then we step inside.

It’s a nest. A dragon’s nest. The floor knee deep in straw, the skeletons of sheep buried among the strands and five dragons curled up together in the center, sleeping.

At the bottom of the pile of reptiles is little rabbit’s dragon, her reddish-gold scales just visible.

Little rabbit steps inside and one of the dragons lifts its head and stares at her, its nostrils rippling like it might barbecue her.

Little rabbit is oblivious. She points in their direction. It makes me wince. Tough fuckers never like it when you point at them. Lowsky never liked it. I never had a problem with it.A gun pointing at my head, a knife at my throat, that’s my kind of fun. I doubt dragons go for that shit though.

“They’re chained up.”

“So, unchain them,” I say, leaning against the wall. I could do it myself, but there’s something about watching my little rabbit use her magic that fucking fascinates me – the way her magic flickers with light and dark magic in a way I’ve never known. It’s damn pretty.

She zaps at the metal collars and cuffs, chains falling away and then all the dragons stir, stretching and yawning like cats.

The gold dragon is the last to rise and little rabbit calls to her, using her name now.

“Gwenhwyfar, we need your help. Right now. Will you help us?” she says like she’s talking to her little man and not some gigantic dragon.

The golden dragon lowers her head, right close to little rabbit, making me twitch like crazy. She rumbles. Then straightens and swings her huge head from side to side, howling as she does, before she throws her head upwards. She opens her jaws, rumbles, and a stream of fire shoots from her mouth, up into the roof, burning the rafters.

“Could be wrong,” I say, “but I think she wants to leave that way.”

Females – always so fucking dramatic. Because it’s not exactly subtle is it. There’s no chance of us slipping off into the night now, not when there’s a fire raging.

Then again, I doubt slipping away is little rabbit’s plan. She’s going to want to go back and help the others, despite what I’ve been instructed by the enforcer.

Sparks, debris and bits of burning roof come tumbling down onto our heads. The dragon takes no notice, lowering her head to the floor and inviting us to hop on board.

I wrap my hands around my little rabbit’s tiny waist and lift her up onto the old girl and then I follow her, securing my spot right behind her.

The dragon raises onto her four legs and peers up at the flaming roof, the fire scorching the top of my head. Too much of the roof remains, we can’t squeeze through the gap forming yet. We’re going to have to wait.

Little rabbit bites at her thumbnail and my right leg jigs up and down. The temperature rises, which is fine if you’re a dragon. Not if you’re a human. Trust me, I’ve seen what happens when you roast a person.

The dragon must read my fucking mind – which give her credit, ain’t an easy thing to do – because she spits out more flames towards the roof and the fire burns with more rapidity.

She spreads open her wings and–

“Leaving so soon?” The Black Prince is standing below us, the edges of his lips curled upwards. “But you only just arrived daughter. And things were just starting to get interesting.”

The dragon decides she isn’t playing games. She blasts that freaky sucker with a jet of fire.

Little rabbit screams in horror – which surprises me because he isn’t the first dude she’s seen burned alive. Except the Black Prince shields his face with his arms and the flames part around him, not licking him at all. Fireproof. Maybe he’s got those reptilian genes after all.

“Gwenhwyfar was always so difficult to train. She has a temper. And after I spent so long searching for her kind – nearly as long as I spent searching for you. After I rescued her from that volcano. Ungrateful wretch.”

He flicks his wrist and a whip of magic crashes against the dragon’s flank, making her groan.

“Leave her alone!” little rabbit cries out.