AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jesper makes a face, clears his throat and refuses to look at me again.
“He knows something.”
Oh, so you do exist. Nice of you to say hi.
“I’m serious. He knows something, something he doesn’t want you to know. Pay attention.”
I roll my eyes. Where the hell was she when Jekyll started to transform into Hyde? Huh? No where. That’s where.
“What is it?”
“What’s what?” Jesper says, his palms sweaty on the reigns.
“Whatever you’re not saying.”
His shoulders slump as he exhales deeply. “There’s a way to get you up there without you shifting, but you’re not going to like it.”
I straighten, glancing at him over my shoulder. “How?”
“You might or might not have to become a dragon snack.” The horses’ hooves beating the ground fills the silence that falls around us.
“What?”
Jesper tucks his chin to his chest. “You have to ride in Loric’s mouth… but hey, the chicken survived so your chances are pretty good.”
I chuckle, but when he doesn’t join in on the comic relief, the blood drains from my face. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Ireallywish I was.” He fakes a smile as he pulls the horse to a stop at the base of the mountain.
“No… No. There has to be another way. Teach me to shift,” I say, letting him swing off the horse first. Once on the ground, Jesper holds a hand out to me.
“There really isn’t. Learning to shift is complicated, and you just discovered your beast. It’s possible she’s not ready to shift yet and doing so prematurely can cause some serious issues.”
“I doubt there anywhere near as serious as being swallowed whole by a fucking dragon.”
His eyebrows go flat. “Hey now, that’s your mate.”
“Mate or not, I don’t think a gag reflex is going to keep me and Mr. Mittens from becoming gourmet dragon food.”
Jesper adjusts the reigns in his hand. “First, nevercats are all females. Secondly, I think you missed the part where I said we don’t have a choice. Forcing you to shift now could end with you having micro wings. Worse, you could end up with no wings or a tail and be the only fury who resembles a hippo. Do you want that? Your scales might be the prettiest, but they aren’t going to distract anyone from that.”
My face falls. “Fine. I’ll do it.” I steal a glance at Loric who’s now off his horse. “Is he going to be alright?”
“I don’t know, but let’s worry about one thing at a time.” Jesper removes the phantom mare’s bridle and saddle, then smacks it on the butt. It gallops off into the valley while he does the same with Loric’s.
“Where’s Brenn and Mira?” I ask, scanning the forest. The mountain stretches up, the ledge steep on this side of it. Wavesgently roll off the coast, the water roaring as it spreads over the rocks.
“They’ll be here.” Jesper holds a hand over his eyes, scanning the coast, then points off in the distance. “There.”
I squint through the light reflecting off the water, finding two little blips walking down the coast. “You’re sure his plan will work? What happens if it doesn’t?”
“You explode in his mouth.”
I freeze. For a moment, I don’t so much as breathe as I turn to face Jesper. “I what?”
“You heard me. Trust me, you think he’s traumatized now, Loric’s never going to come back from that if it happens. So, hopefully that makes you have a little faith in the plan.”
No… Not even a little.
