Page 32 of Elemental Evolved


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Was I a bird? If I hadn't felt the same sensation before in Hyperborea, I wouldn't have known what it was, but as I flexed and tried to move, I knew I definitely had wings there.

As I swung my head from side to side, I noticed that my vision had changed slightly. The colors were faded, but the details were sharper. It made me wonder if this was how all birds saw or if this was just a special shifter thing.

Tessa, you're a caretaker,Dresden whispered in my head.

A dragon?I asked, shock rippling through me.

That's certainly what you look like to me. An adult version, not like your babies.

It warmed my heart to hear him call the dragons that lived within me my babies because that was how I looked at them. I had seen them hatch, and I shared a body with them. Sure, I hadn't laid the egg myself, but they were as important to me as any of my guys, just not in a romantic sense.

Still, the idea that I was now a dragon was somewhat mind-boggling. I tried to walk forward and stumbled a little, but quickly found the right pace and movement.

I tried to yell for Timmon, but it came out as a roar, causing everybody in the forest to look at me. The Agarthans that had been fighting with us dropped back to the sides, some even going down to one knee, while the members of that One Realm cult didn't seem to know how to respond.

A lot of them just turned tail and ran. Apparently, I was quite scary as a dragon.

Timmon, of course, did no such thing. Some of his warriors closed ranks around him, but there weren't as many as a few moments ago. This pleased me. His followers might have thought he was the be-all and end-all, but when faced with a dragon, when faced with the reality that this wasn't, in fact, the case, they turned tail and ran.

I moved through the forest toward the huddle of warriors and Timmon. My presence and form seemed to give the Agarthan warriors a second wind as they charged forward with me. There was barely anywhere for them to fight with me in the way, but they managed somehow.

Timmon stepped forward, acting like the cocky asshole he was. "You think you can beat me just because you have that form?"

I padded closer, silently daring him to come at me. My guys were busy helping out the Agarthan warriors, who clearly weren't used to an all-out brawl like what was happening, so it was just me and Timmon.

In the back of my mind, I could feel Kai slipping away, and I knew that this needed to be a decisive victory, one that wouldn't leave any question over who was superior, at least if I didn't want to have to argue with whoever took over after Timmon.

He raised his sword and held it out to me as though he expected me to actually fight him with a weapon when I was a giant fucking dragon. Instead of doing anything like that, I shot my head forward, my long neck extending perfectly and chomped down on Timmon before picking him up and shaking him like a rag doll, much like I'd seen dogs do with toys.

The coppery, metallic taste of his blood made me want to gag, so I quickly spit his broken body back out before swallowing any of it. He landed on the ground with a satisfying squish and a lack of life in his eyes.

It wasn't as satisfying as I thought, so I stomped on him for good measure, resulting in another stomach-turning squishy noise.

With a snort and a roar, I announced that the battle was, for all intents and purposes, over. Everyone turned around, looked at me, and saw Timmon on the ground. They gaped at the wreckage of his body before the remaining One Realm cult members surrendered.

Don't kill them. We should question them first.I projected my thoughts to Dres and Niall, who both nodded and relayed my wishes to the other warriors before too many remaining cult members were killed.

Surely this had to be enough to stop them? Word would spread that their leader was dead, that I had the stones, that the realms were stabilized, or at least they would be shortly.

I hoped so because I didn't want to fight anymore. All I wanted in that moment was Kai and to make sure he was okay.

17

Tessa

I ran back to Kai, my feet pounding against the ground in my dragon form as I tried to transform back into a human. With every step I took, I said a silent prayer that he was still alive and that he would make it no matter what injury Timmon had given him.

Finally, my body began shrinking in on itself as my bones reformed and became smaller, more fragile. I wasn't upset about it, though. It wasn't like I wanted to be a dragon all the time. Just when it was called for and when I was fighting Timmon, it was definitely called for. I wished I could get some water to get the taste of him out of my mouth.

For a second, as I approached, I thought it was too late. The key was already gone, but then his chest rose, and hope bloomed in me that I might be in time.

When I reached Kai, I knelt next to him, resting my hand over his heart, and I could feel the low thump resonating from within. He was definitely still alive, but only barely. I knew if I was going to save him, it was up to me to do it. No one else except my guys seemed to be in any hurry to help.

"Is there anywhere we can get him healed?" I called out to the group of warriors still standing.

Silence was the only response, and it was not encouraging. Mentally, I called my dragons, asking them to help as they flew back down from wherever they had been in the canopy.

Their noises weren't the happy trills I was used to. Instead, they were low and soothing, almost sorrowful.

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