None of them looked down.
Beneath their boots, dirt churned violently as Spring’s dragon dug a tunnel under the ring of fire and the feet of the men.
She created an opening in the earth behind the wagon, just beneath the tarp, and slipped into the shadows above ground, her body trembling from the effort.
“R-Roam,” she breathed, crawling up beside him.
His face was still, too quiet. “Roam, wake up,” she whispered, patting his furry cheeks. “Please. Come on.”
Nothing.
Panic clawed at her chest. The flames wouldn’t hold forever, and it was only a matter of time before the men found her. She didn’t have much time to get Roam to safety.
She hooked her arms beneath his and dragged his limp body toward the wagon’s edge.
A roar went up as the tarp shifted.
“There she is!” the leader bellowed.
Spring shoved Roam off the back of the wagon and into her tunnel, then leapt and shifted in midair.
Her dragon form surged into being.
She spun, fire bursting from her jaws, the heat so intense the wagon blazed instantly. Men dove for cover, cursing and screaming—trapped between the first ring she had created and now the blazing wagon.
A blade whirled through the air—bright, spinning—and slashed across her shoulder.
She howled in pain, reeling back. Her wings faltered. Blood sprayed down her foreleg as she dropped beside Roam, shifting back again to give herself room to maneuver in the tunnel with Roam.
No time. No time, her dragon whimpered in pain.
She hooked her hands under his arms, dragging him further into the tunnel.
Flames licked higher beyond the entrance of the tunnel.
“Kill the she-creature!” the leader shouted.
Another dagger flew. Spring ducked, her breath rasping in her throat. She trembled from the strain of pulling Roam into the narrow tunnel, her body scraping the sides and leaving a trail of blood from the wound on her shoulder. Her muscles burned.
She pulled on Roam until they vanished into the shadows.
Only after they were hidden did she collapse beside him with a whimper. Blood soaked her shirt, hot and sticky against her skin. She was too tired and dizzy to shift back again.
Her arms curled around him.
Roam’s head lolled against her shoulder.
“You’re safe now,” she whispered. “I’m here. I’ve got you. No one’s taking you ever again.”
Outside, the men’s shouts grew fainter, smothered by smoke and the crackling blaze above.
Spring pressed her forehead to his, her hand trembling as she brushed the hair from his brow. “Just stay quiet. Please, Roam. Please be okay. We’re safe for now. You’re safe.”
A tear slipped down her cheek and onto his.
“I won’t let anything happen to you. You mean everything to me.”
The dim light that reached them flickered from the burning wagon above. In the hush of the tunnel, she held Roam’s furry body against hers as the fire raged and her heart whispered healing words in the dark.
