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I dig at the chains around my neck. He can’t even use the same trick twice, and force Scaldric to shift, since I’m still wearing all the aellurium.
Fire rains down from the sky. Scaldric scorches the Thornwood while he circles above me. Wincing, I shield my eyes from the blaze. I’m surrounded by flames. Deeper in the forest, a horse whinnies. I press my knuckles to my mouth and stifle the urge to scream Rook’s name.
Fuck, I can’t just hide and do nothing.
I run from the thicket of roses. Fire crackles and crawls around me, devouring wood, hissing through wet ferns. Smoke clouds the air and scratches my throat.
Scaldric swoops down on me.
He flares his wings and lands in my path with a thud. His claws dig furrows into the earth. I stumble back from him, a scream caught in my throat. He’s even bigger than he looked in the sky. He tastes the air with his tongue, no doubt intrigued by my scent.
Can he tell I’m in heat?
Despite my racing pulse, I tilt my head back and meet his yellow eyes. Defiant. “You must be Scaldric.”
“And you Pyrah.” His deep voice rumbles inside my rib cage.
I’m terrified to be this close to him while I’m a woman. I’m so much smaller and weaker than him, and I’m sure he knows it. But I know it’s not safe to reveal my fear. That might antagonize a male dragon like him.
“Why are you hunting Rook?” I ask.
“Not Rook.” The slits of his pupils widen. “You.”
My heartbeat stumbles. “Me?”
“They tell stories of a red dragon who guards her territory in the wilderness. She has been alone and unprotected for years. A hidden jewel in need of a mate.” He locks gazes with me. “I have come to claim you.”
The shock of it pierces me like an arrow and pins me to the spot. All my life, I’ve waited to hear these words from my future mate.
Why does it feel so wrong?
“Scaldric, I can’t… You can’t be serious.”
“Very.”
A crazy laugh of disbelief escapes me. “We don’t know each other yet. We’ve never even met before. Is burning down a forest your idea of courtship?”
“You ran.”
Behind Scaldric, a sword gleams. Instantly, I know who’s holding it.
Rook.
The demon sprints through fire for me. He leaps for Scaldric’s neck and swings his blade. But the golden dragon must have glimpsed the flash of steel, because he jerks his head aside at the last moment. The sword sinks into Scaldric’s shoulder, and he roars with pain and rage. Rook wrenches the blade free to strike again.
Scaldric strikes first. He lashes out and claws Rook in the chest. The blow knocks Rook off his feet and flings him into a tree. The demon hits the wood hard and falls onto his stomach. Spitting dirt, he staggers upright and braces himself on his sword.
“Rook!” I cry out. “No!”
Scaldric will burn him alive.
Blood trickles from Rook’s mouth. “Let her go, you bastard.”
He doesn’t know when to quit, does he?
“Stop,” I say. “Scaldric claimed me.”
Betrayal hits Rook’s face as if I knifed him in the ribs. It hurts just to look at him. My chest aches with raw pain. If I didn’t know better, I would think he’s heartbroken.
