Page 20
“Out of the way, little dragon,” Legend says, green eyes gleaming.
“No way.” I stand my ground. “If you want to fight, you’ll have to go through me.”
Day snorts angrily. “This is our way, Ash. Only one of us will prove himself worthy.”
“Well, your way is fucking stupid,” I say.
They both look at me, shocked.
“We’re going to get caught,” I say. “Do you want to get kicked out of the horde for good? And get me kicked out, too? I’ve only just found my dragon family. You’re being so selfish.”
The dragons puff and snort, looking warily at each other. Their heads dip a little. They think for a long moment. It takes time for human logic to beat out their animal instincts.
“He’s right, bro,” Day says at last.
“Shift back on three?” Legend says.
They both shift on the count, too honorable to trick each other. I let out a huge sigh of relief and retake my human form. Now the three of us have a different pressing issue. We’re stark naked on a suburban street.
“Duel’s still on,” Legend grunts. “Safer as humans.”
Fuck.
“Hey, I didn’t mean you to…” I yell.
They ignore me again. Day shoves Legend hard in the chest. Legend staggers, before pulling back his fist. Day dodges the punch and slams his fist into Legend’s stomach. The force of the blow would’ve felled a bull, but Legend straightens up and cracks Day across the face. Day reels back. Blood spurts from his nose. A red fountain lit up by the streetlight. I jump between them just as Day attacks again. White pain fills my skull, shocking as lighting. I go down in a heap, groaning and holding my cheekbone. It feels broken. The punch was like a battering ram. It really fucking hurts. Faintness closes in around me. The dragons panic, kneeling on either side of me.
“For fuck’s sake, Ash! Why would you do that?” Day yells. “Are you okay? Please say you’re okay. ”
“He’ll be okay,” Legend says. “Just focus on healing, Ash. You can do it.”
There’s the sound of a car turning into the street. Told them. Legend quickly lifts me up while Day gathers up the scraps of our clothes. They take me into the shelter of some shrubs, out of sight. I take deep breaths. Each one makes my face burn. The pain is spectacular, but already I feel my cheekbone reknitting. Magic tinkers with my skull, hot and probing. The faintness recedes and my thoughts clear. I guess the magic is preventing a concussion too. This is so cool. My first magical healing. I’m lucky this is happening after unlocking my shifter powers. When I broke my arm in college, I had to heal the boring human way. After a few minutes I feel my face tentatively. Everything seems fine again. I turn to my big dragons severely.
“Enough,” I say. “No more fighting. No more acting like I’m a prize. I’m a person.” I grin. “Actually, I’m a dragon. And I make my own decisions.”
“So choose, little dragon,” Legend says, voice low. “Which one of us do you want?”
I look between them. Legend’s deep, serious gaze, his quiet smile. Day’s expression is somber for once. A strand of blond hair falls over his face as his big blue eyes plead with me.
“I don’t want to choose,” I say. “I love you both.”
Chapter 7
The guys blink. Then they rush to beat each other to the answer.
“I love you too,” Legend says.
“I love you more!” Day yells.
I laugh and crush them both in a naked hug. Legend kisses my hair and Day nuzzles my neck, their lips dragon-hot. This is surreal. How the fuck has my boring life gotten so chaotic? So amazing? They both want me. They really want me.
“So now what?” I say, a little breathless. “Can you both claim me?”
They look at each other. Day chews his lip.
“I’ve never heard of that,” he says.
“Neither have I.” Legend, usually so sure, looks uncertain.
