Before he could protest further, she stepped away. His jaw locked, and a muscle twitched in his cheek, but he didn’t come after her as she edged further away. Lexi wiped her sweaty palms on her pants before striding toward the dragon.
“Don’t get too close,” Orin cautioned. “Those chains have some range to them.”
CHAPTERTHREE
As Lexicautiously approached the dragon, it lifted its head and narrowed its eyes until she was staring into the black, glistening center of its slitted pupils. The sound it released was a cross between an irate cobra and a cornered tiger.
Her bladder clenched in response, and she almost crossed her legs, but Orin would snicker if she did. And if he did, she might torch his ass.
When she was only twenty feet away, the creature lunged forward. Lexi stumbled away from the snout coming toward her, but the chains bolted into the wall caught when it was ten feet away. They jerked the dragon back.
A startled hiss escaped the dragon when it slammed into the ground and its impact shook the cave. Without thinking and instinctively seeking to help it, Lexi sprang forward before catching herself and skidding to a stop.
She felt sorry for the poor thing; no one should treat a creature like this, but she’d prefer not to be its breakfast. Though the chains around its jaws should hold, she wasn’t taking any chances.
The dragon lifted its head to glower at her. A puff of smoke flowed from its nostrils; each one of them was the size of her head. The dragon was smaller than most of the others she’d seen, making her think it might be younger, but it could just be smaller than the others. Either way, that didn’t make it any less lethal.
Its green scales, shimmering with yellows and oranges, resembled a starburst of color when it moved certain ways in the torchlight. The dragon was enraged...and gorgeous.
Her fingers twitched with the urge to pet it, comfort it, and connect with it, but she balled them into fists to keep from reaching out to the creature. That would probably be a surefire way to end up dead.
“Hi,” she whispered, and the dragon released another puff of smoke. “My name is Elexiandra. Most call me Lexi; my dad sometimes calls me Andi.”
She didn’t tell it the rebels she helped save also called her Andi. The dragon wasn’t overly impressed with her words as another puff of smoke issued from its nostrils.
Its talons scoured the stone when it tried to wiggle closer, stretching its chains as far as they would go. Lexi gulped as she eyed the chains. They didn’t look like they were about to break, but she doubted she’d get much warning.
As the dragon tested the bounds of its restraints, the nails-on-a-chalkboard sound its talons created made her wince, and she resisted the impulse to run. She didn’t know much about dragons, but they wouldn’t respect cowardice.
It moved closer until its nostrils were only feet away when another puff of smoke billowed into her face. If there was some connection between her and the dragons, this one sure didn’t care about it.
But then, she wouldn’t be too receptive if someone tossed her into chains and locked her in a cave so others could explore with her.
* * *
Cole’s clawsdug into his palms, drawing blood that filled his hands as Lexi inched closer to the dragon. His shoulders hunched as the creature lunged at her with another rattle of chains.
Once again, its bound legs gave out beneath it, and the cave’s floor heaved when it hit the ground. Lexi’s hand flew out as if seeking to comfort it, and the dragon surged toward her.
Around the dragon, the shadows on the walls crept closer while Cole kept his focus on the beast who would love to eat his fiancée. Those shadows would tear this thing apart before it got the chance to attack her. He’d make sure of it.
“I worked hard to catch this dragon; don’t you dare destroy it,” Orin muttered to him.
“Then you better hope those chains hold,” Cole growled.
“They will.”
Lexi’s head spun toward him, and her shoulders went back as she frowned at the encroaching shadows. “We don’t need the shadows.”
“If it doesn’t hurt you, I won’t hurt it,” he replied.
His voice sounded far calmer than he felt. This was a necessary evil, but he didn’t have to like it.
“You shouldn’t be calling on the shadows,” Lexi said.
Because the more he did, the deeper they dug into his soul and the more their darkness spread through him. They were both aware of that, but he would use them to keep her safe no matter how much they affected him.
No matter the cost to his soul.
