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“He’s unconscious,” another said with an annoyed tone. “How do you expect him to do that?”
Someone stroked the snout of my nose. “Wake up, your majesty. We need you to wake up!”
I groaned as my body throbbed with pain.
“I told you he was alive!” the first person said, a man. “Your majesty, we need you to turn back into a human.”
Nothing he said made sense to me. I roared and tried to push him away, my dragon instincts taking over. The dragon wanted to flee, to lick his wounds alone. Every movement I made only increased the terrible agony I was in. That was a good sign, I supposed. Before, I’d been feeling cold and numb. If I could feel pain and discomfort, then perhaps I’d live to see another day.
Live to try and make things right with Katerina.
Turning back into a human, however, might be more of a challenge. I could try. I did my best to block out the pain and focus on my human shape. The familiar sensation of shifting fell over me, but it didn’t last long. I reverted back to my dragon form almost immediately.
I was too weak.
“Let’s take him back to the castle on my cart,” the second voice said, a woman. “They can help him more there than we can.” She touched my skin with a gentle hand. “Hold on.”
They were able to lift me into one of their carts, though the anguish that ripped through my body at the movements was strong enough to make me pass out once more.
When I awoke, I was in the cart. I barely fit, but it would suffice for travel. The storm continued to rumble overhead, though the worst of it was now passed.
I must have blacked out again because the next moment, a sharp jolt woke me. I was still in the cart. When my vision focused, I could see the gates of Damon’s castle. My brothers were at my side, walking beside the cart.
“Thank God you were there to find him,” Dymitri said.
“Lucian,” Damon said. “Can you hear me? Do you understand where you are?”
I groaned in response, wanting them to know I did, but I couldn’t shift back to tell them so.
“Here, this is for your help,” Sarah said at the gate, offering the people something. I couldn’t see.
“No, we don’t—” the man said.
“I insist,” Sarah said, and that was the last I heard of her voice.
They brought me inside the warmth of the castle and as soon as the huge front doors closed, a soft cloud settled over my skin. I was carried into one of the large dens and laid on a rug.
Dymitri rubbed my body with his hands, trying to warm me. “We need you to turn back into a human.”
“Then we can help you more,” Damon said. He put a thick blanket over me. The extra heat helped. Being cold always make me sleepy.
With the warmth, some of my strength returned. I tried once more to become human, and this time the transformation stuck. I shivered in the blankets, still wet and injured from my attempted journey through the storm.
“What are you doing here?” Dymitri asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Katerina...” Her name was the only word I could manage. My head hurt and my heart pounded fiercely despite its ache. Why was it so cold? I couldn’t stop shivering.
Damon put a hand to my forehead. “He’s burning up. We need to get him into bed.”
I tried to stand on the rug beneath me, but my legs couldn’t hold my weight. My brothers each put an arm around their shoulders.
“We’ve got you,” Dymitri said. “You’re going to be okay now.”
“Kat...” I tried again.
“Is she in trouble? Is that why you rushed back here?” Dymitri asked.
I shook my head, wanting to tell him all about how she didn’t want me anymore. Perhaps he could see it in my eyes, because his expression changed from worry to grief.
