Synge waited. She wasn't good at waiting. But it was part of caring for eggs so she didn't mind that much. Synge fidgeted a bit. She gnawed bones, scorched the cave wall, fiddled with her coins, and napped to past the time in between flame bursts.
The sun was soon setting and Imperio wasn't home. She started getting worried. What if Imperio had met another female and flied off with her? No, Imperio would never do that. What if Imperio had gotten stuck in a human trap? That was possible. A lot of things were 'possible.'
Then, Synge heard something. She listened. There it was again. It was a roar of pain and not just any roar, Imperio's roar! Synge was about to take off when she remembered the eggs. She paused and warmed the stones around them. It was the best she could do but they could still get stolen without a protector. She would have to take the risk.
In a moment, Synge was flying toward the roar. She had to get there fast before something terrible happened. Soon, Synge was hovering over a clearing. In the clearing, Imperio rested with blood dripping over his snowy scales. He was tied down with chains that bit into him. Arrow were suck between his scales. He was breathing raggedly and his wings were tilted at an unnatural angle. Synge could hardly bear to look at this broken form that was her mate, her beautiful, majestic, caring, mate.
Synge needed to fly down. She needed to save Imperio. But, their eggs needed her. If Synge flew down there to help, she might end up like Imperio. Then what would happen to the eggs?
A human walked toward Imperio with his sword raised. "Burn no more, devil!" the human shouted as he pieced his sword into Imperio's vulnerable throat. Imperio's body jerked with pain then went limb. Tears stung Synge's eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She flew back to her lonely cave. She couldn't get Imperio's body out of her mind.
Synge collapsed onto a nearby pile of gold and sobbed. What was she supposed to do without her Imperio? She would have to leave to hunt. Then the humans could take her unprotected eggs just like they had taken everything else. They had killed every dragon she had cared about. They murdered both of her parents and all of her siblings.
Now, they had attacked her mate. What more could those cursed humans take? Synge glanced at my eggs. The only thing left for the humans to take. She couldn't ever let them come close to my eggs. She nuzzled them gently with her nose and promised herself that no harm would ever come to these innocent living pearls.
