Tharen’s lips were pinched. "Go."
Her hands were shaking, hot blood dripping down her spine, weakening her with each trickle from her opened wounds. The glamor kept it hidden, and a part of her was grateful. She only wanted to get out—she could worry about the shredded mess of her back later.
"I will come back for you." Vale wrapped an arm around her front, close to her neck. It was near stifling, but at least it kept her protected from the raging wind. "I swear it." Vehemence lined those three words, unleashed devotion hanging heavy in the rain-soaked air.
With that promise, the four others backed up, crouched low to the ground to keep their balance, leaving Luella and Vale standing in the center of the throne room. Water lapped against her knees; it was growing higher, and she could barely pick her leg up to walk as Bastian beckoned her with an outstretched hand. As she slogged toward the vampire, the water weighed her down.
Bastian caught her arms and tugged her to him, shielding her with his body.
"What is he doing?" Luella forced her voice to become louder, so they could hear over the pounding rain and raging air.
Water rose around Vale as he stood beneath the shattered skylight. Drenched, his golden hair was dark, plastered to his forehead.
"Just watch," Tharen said.
So, she watched as the King turned into beast.
Onyx scales rippled, overtaking more of his flesh. His chest grew larger, bones cracked, and those green eyes became elongated, turning to draconic slits. Clothes tore from his body, falling to the water, drifting atop it in gilded shreds.
Luella did not blink, consumed by the sight. He grew before her very eyes, towering above them. In a loud snap, his dark-scaled wings unfurled.
As each droplet of rain fell upon the dragon, it sizzled, small tendrils of grey curling up from the heat that radiated off him.
Those green eyes fell upon her as Bastian pushed her forward with urgency.
"He will take you somewhere safe." The vampire’s cold hands withdrew reluctantly, leaving her to stumble toward the dragon on her own.
Her heart was in her throat. How could she know he wouldn’t open that large mouth and snap her up between his deadly teeth?
Mine.
The word was so loud in her head, it boomed, making her gasp and stumble forward.
She nearly fell into the water, but a large, warm wing caught her gently. The scales were like hot silk under her palms as the dragon’s wing urged her up and closer into his side.
Safe. Mine.
Protect.
The dragon’s emotions pressed into her, thick with protective possession.
And Luella knew, with absolute certainty, that the dragon wouldneverharm her.
A rumble reverberated through the beast’s chest, making her bones rattle and her wings shiver with pain. A choked sound escaped her, and the dragon’s purr cut off—he’d felt her pain.
Mine.
A large claw-tipped talon reached for her, wrapping around her midsection and tugging her close to his chest as his wing shielded her from the growing storm and the rattling stone walls.
She placed a hesitant hand on the dragon’s talon, so small against him. He could crush her, but she knew he would not.
The dragon used his other talon to cradle her fully, then lifted her. She gasped, wide eyes finding the others as they watched her.
For some reason she would never fully understand, Luella looked to Tharen first. The Prima dipped his chin, reassuring her, even as his knuckles were white at his side as he clenched his fists. Rain slid down his severe cheekbones and dripped from his jaw.
As soon as she was cradled in the dragon’s talon, his claws keeping her shielded almost entirely, encasing her in darkness, she heard his thoughts. Clear as day, as if they were whispered in her ear, sounding like Vale, but not—primal and raw:
Do not move. Still. I will keep you safe.
