Page 33 of Once the Skies Fade (Immortal Reveries #2)

Chapter 33

Matthias

A drenaline—and maybe a bit of fear—forced an almost hysterical laugh from my lungs as a plan began to form in my mind. A risky one, sure, but in certain cases—like being chased down by a gigantic, winged creature—there was nothing but risk.

Barreling through another large fern, I abruptly changed course, darting to my left and circling back around on him. I had underestimated his reflexes—and his sight—because he didn’t slow down remotely as he spun around after me, his clawed feet skidding in the dirt. His tail swept through trees, smashing them like they were made of paper. He was so close, a blast of hot air—moist and earthy—hit my face when I risked a glance behind me.

My foot snagged on a root, sending me careening toward the ground, but I twisted my body so that I rolled instead. Unfortunately, even with my quick reaction, my mishap gave Asher enough of an advantage to swipe at me. A sharp flash of pain hit as one of his claws met the back of my neck, snagging on my shirt briefly before slicing right through the fabric.

I couldn’t outrun him forever—stars, how I had outrun him this long was surprising. Then again, dragons weren’t forest-dwellers, and the densely packed trees inevitably slowed the beast down. Up ahead, a large tree to the left had some limbs and vines hanging low. I’d get one chance at this, and I wasn’t as spry as I was when I was younger. Not that I’d admit that to anyone.

Closer.

Closer.

Here goes nothing.

I launched myself at the tree and bounded up from one limb to another. Asher’s horned head lifted, his fierce eyes tracking me as I jumped into the air and caught one of the vines in both hands. My palms slipped, the coarse plant biting into them and stripping away my skin. I squeezed tighter, wincing through the searing pain at my hands, until I finally stopped.

As I’d hoped, Asher slowed enough for me to drop onto his back near his neck, but unlike the vine, his scales were smooth. My feet and hands scrambled for purchase. Asher slid to a stop, slamming my face into him so hard my nose cracked to one side and my teeth sliced open the inside of my lip, filling my mouth with blood. Wrenching my head to the side, I spat out the blood at the same moment that Asher whipped his head around to snap at me with his large jaws. My blood landed squarely on his snout. With a huffy snort, he shook his head and reared up onto his hind legs.

I could have sworn the damn beast was laughing now as I slid helplessly down his back. Reaching down to my belt, I drew my dagger and stabbed it hard at his shoulders. The blade’s tip snapped off and came flying past my face.

Fuck. I should have known that wouldn’t work.

I let go of the useless weapon and flung both hands out to my sides, curling my fingers against his scales until they caught the top edge of his wings. The sudden stop pulled hard on my shoulders, and I hissed in pain.

Asher gnashed his teeth at me again, but he couldn’t quite reach. When he dropped back onto all fours, I lost my grip on his wings and began to slide forward. Despite his low growl filling my ears, another sound—familiar and formerly terrifying—caught my attention.

I twisted my head around, and sure enough, the vines were creeping up on my reluctant mount. Scrambling to get to my feet, I turned and ran toward his tail, ducking as it swatted at me. I dropped to the ground, hitting it harder than I intended. Nearby, thick tree trunks protruded out of the earth, twisting over each other to create small alcoves—perfect places for me to hide and let the forest do its job with the shifter.

Asher rounded on me, and I ducked under one of the tree roots just as a vine caught his back legs. Another one latched onto his tail, but both snapped as he wrenched himself free. More vines came, and I started to smile, until I realized one was coming straight toward me.

Something tightened against my feet, and the wood around me started to creak.

The damned roots were closing in on me. Confused panic settled in my chest.

I had the pendant.

I had immunity.

Yanking my feet free from the encroaching roots, I rolled out from under them and reached up to my neck.

Nothing.

I swept my hand around and around but found nothing except a sticky gash where Asher had nicked me.

And tore off the chain in the process, apparently.

Where had it dropped? Spinning in a circle, I looked back at the path of destruction Asher had left. The pendant would be too small to see from here. I pushed forward to begin my hunt for it, but a large fern smacked into my face and stayed there, like it was trying to smother me in its fronds.

That’s exactly what it’s doing.

Thrusting my hands up, I tore the plant away from me and managed one sharp inhale before vines lashed out, quickly tying my legs together as another tied my wrists and lifted them up above my head. I counted it a small mercy that they didn’t pull me off the ground, but even so, my shoulders were still tender from my dragon ride and resting in this position only exacerbated the pain. I refrained from struggling, letting the forest know I was surrendering. Without a weapon on me, it should have realized I wasn’t a threat, yet here I was, tied up like a stag waiting to be dressed.

A deep rumble like distant thunder filled the forest from where Asher was held fast by vines, latched around each of his four legs, his tail, and even his neck. Though his head hung low in defeat, his eyes—glowing like hot embers—stared straight at me. His lips curled up over impressive teeth as he continued to growl, and that same dimple peeked through on his scaled cheek.

“Looks like that temper of yours has gotten us into a bit of a pickle,” I said, flatly, unable to fake amusement in this situation.

And my mouth, for that matter.

At least I had my medallion.

I just needed to get free somehow, find where I’d dropped the pendant, and make it back to the castle before dusk.

Asher shifted his head to the side, angling his ear upward as if listening for something. I did the same, and felt ridiculous for it. All I heard was our two heartbeats, ragged breaths, and the creepy shifting of the vines as they held us.

“Do you hear something or are you just stretching?” I asked. He ignored me. “This whole conversation thing would be easier if you weren’t…you know…still a dragon.”

At that moment, two fae came barreling through a stand of ferns. Beck and Korben took one look at the captured dragon and stopped short.

“Fancy seeing you two here,” I called, and they shifted their gaze to me for half a breath before looking back to Asher. I sighed heavily. “It’s not polite to gawk, you know.”

“It’s a…” Korben mumbled.

“Dragon.” Beck whispered the word. “I thought they were a myth.”

Bobbing my head from side to side, I introduced them. “Asher, this is Korben and Beck. Guys, this is Asher. Dragon-shifter extraordinaire.”

“Doesn’t seem too impressive all tied up like this, does he?” Korben said, nudging Beck with his elbow before sidling up to Asher, who didn’t seem to notice, aside from a slight twitch of his eyes. Korben pulled out his dagger. “My brother won’t believe it when I tell him. Perhaps a souvenir is in order.”

“Don’t—” Beck and I both started to warn him, but stopped short when Korben sliced his blade through one of Asher’s clawed toes. The dragon didn’t bellow or roar, but a low, menacing snarl started, like he was brewing up a plan for revenge on this asshole of a fae.

Korben’s face twisted with brutal delight as he picked up the toe and examined it before finally pocketing it and once more stepping toward the restrained beast.

“Although, it’d be even more impressive if I bring back his head,” he mused.

Asher bared his teeth and snarled fiercely, but Korben merely laughed.

I scoffed, and he swung toward me.

“How exactly do you plan to do that with a mere dagger?” I asked. “It will take you all evening with such a small blade. And are you expecting Beck here to help you carry it all the way back?”

I nodded toward the smaller fae, who stood off to the side, wringing his hands at his waist.

“Fine,” Korben muttered, but then turned to Beck. “Won’t get another chance like this, B. Imagine how much someone would pay to have this mounted on their wall. Your family would be set.”

“I don’t know.” Beck shifted his weight back and forth as if he were about to flee.

“At least until Asher’s brothers find out what happened,” I said, and Beck’s eyes widened. “I imagine they won’t be too merciful to those responsible.”

“He’s right, Korben,” Beck said. “And we still need to find our medallions.”

I balked at this. “Wait. You guys don’t have those yet? I mean, a dragon’s head—while impressive—won’t win you the tournament.”

“Who needs to win that bitch’s hand when you can score a prize like this?”

“Ah, yes,” I said. “A dragon’s dismembered head is far greater a prize than the throne of an entire kingdom. I do wonder, though, how the general and Her Majesty will take to you killing their friend.”

“Friend?” Beck asked. I nodded solemnly. “Korben, let’s just go.”

Korben hesitated, lifting his dagger in the air until it was level with Asher’s eye. “Maybe just one more trophy. His eye perhaps.”

I groaned in exasperation. “Leave the poor bastard alone. The forest is going to finish us both off anyway.” As if to prove my point, the vines twisted tighter around both Asher and me, squeezing another pained moan from both of us. I strained to get my next words out. “In my right pocket, I have a medallion. It’s yours if you just leave.”

Korben studied me with narrowed eyes. Shrugging, he strolled over to me.

“Alright. Matthias, is it? Deal.”

Instead of reaching a hand into my pocket, though, he slashed his dagger across my upper thigh, cutting through the heavy fabric so the medallion fell out into his outstretched hand.

“Seriously? These are my good pants,” I complained, only to realize a breath later that his blade had sliced a decent-sized gash in my leg, from which blood was already seeping. He had just missed the artery but had still cut deeply enough I might not have been able to heal fast enough while strung up like this. My vision blurred at the edges.

“Don’t worry. As you mentioned, the forest will kill you soon enough,” Korben said, backing away into the trees and motioning for Beck to follow. The smaller fae offered a sympathetic look as he too ran off.