Dracon (1st book of the Draconon Series)

Chapter 40

"Oh, Dear," my grandmother said while she walked out of the room, wiping her hands on her pants. "That is not good. What happened?"

I didn't say a word and growled at my guard, telling him to move out of my way and let me at Frederick. My whole body was warm, and it felt like it was starting to lengthen and shift, but I didn't care while the anger fueled my desire to get to him and show him who was boss and not weak.

"Frederick implied that she was weak, which is why she needed a guard," Targon said after he cleared his throat, keeping his head bowed so that I wouldn't turn my attention to him.

"I did n-"

"Hush," my grandmother warned, stopping Frederick from speaking. "You might not have meant to, but that is how she took it."

My mate set his jaw and didn't say another word. He looked at me before he looked at my grandmother, and if I was in control of myself, then I would know that he was feeling guilty about it.

"Hmph." She moved closer to me, and I ignored her while my gaze was focused on my guard and my mate. She was about to touch my back but stopped when Targon opened his mouth.

"An-"

"Hush," my grandmother said but didn't touch my back yet. She smiled at him, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I will be fine."

I didn't turn my attention to her and kept looking at my mate and guard. "Targon, move," I ordered him in our tongue, and Targon flinched and bowed his head, fighting my command to protect his king. "Now."

"No," he said and shook his head. "I apologize, my queen, but I can not do that, and you know that I can't." He looked at my grandmother. "Do what you need to do, and make it quick before som-"

"Of course," she said, interrupting him. She placed her hand on my back, and I growled while I turned my attention to her, deciding that it would be best for me to take my anger out on her.

Magic filled the air around us while my grandmother did something, and the wind picked up speed, creating this sort of forcefield around me and her.

It roared and was deafening, and I couldn't help but close my eyes and grit my teeth together, wishing for it to stop.

"Are you coming, Targon?" my grandmother asked, calling over the wind, and I wasn't sure if my guard could hear it or not. "Frederick, unfortunately, you will have to sit this one out."

"Yes," Targon said, his voice breaking with the wind. "We'll be back, Your Highness, with a fully shifted dragon."

"Bu-"

"No," Andromeda said, interrupting him. "We will be back soon."

And with that, everything went black, and my whole world disappeared until it was nothing.

***

The whole world appeared again, and my anger seemed to disappear as soon as I was away from my mate.

Pain and agony filled my body while I laid on the ground, and Andromeda stood over me with Targon by her side.

"Wh-"

"It's ok," my grandmother said, interrupting me with a small smile on her face. "You're shifting. Close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Don't try to talk because it's going to be more painful if you do."

"Bu-"

"No, you are ok, Clove. Just breathe and try to relax."

I hesitated before I slowly nodded and started to take a deep breath and closed my eyes, waiting for this pain to pass and for me to be in my dragon form again.

I released that breath with a small whoosh and took another deep breath while I waited for this to end, not knowing when it would stop and how long for this to take to complete.

Would it stop as soon as I turned into my dragon form? I silently wondered while I groaned in pain and twisted to the side, my bones breaking and bending into different angles before they shifted into the form that they were supposed to be.

I took another deep breath and released it with another small whoosh, but that did not help stop the pain that I was feeling, and none of the breaths that followed worked either.

Oh, Gods, what was happening to me? Why was this hurting as much as it is, and when will this pain stop?

My grandmother cleared her throat, and I could feel her shifting while she stared at me with a pained expression on her face. "Is she supposed to be shifting this slowly?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "It wasn't this bad the first time; was it?"

Targon hesitated, and I had a feeling that he shook his head no. "It wasn't," he said before he cleared his throat and shifted on his feet, and I knew that he had a grimace on his face. "I am unaware if it is because she shifted while she was angry or if there is something else to it that we don't know about, but it wasn't this painful the first time she shifted into her dragon form."

"Oh, poor, Dear," my grandmother said, her voice barely above a whisper. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, looking at me with a pained expression on her face. "And there is no way that I can help her, correct?"

"Unfortunately, not," Targon said with a shake of his head, his grimace growing larger. "She has to do this on her own."

I gritted my teeth and groaned while I twisted to a different side and faced away from them.

Tears streamed down my face while I waited for this pain to end, but it didn't, and each bone seemed to pop and move in a different direction before it healed in a different direction than what I was used to.

Sylias? I asked, silently praying that my dragon was there to talk to me, even though I had no idea what I wanted her for. Are you there?

Yes, my dragon said, her voice also filled with pain, and I had to bite my lip to stop the sob of relief that I wanted to let out.

She was there...

Are you ok? I am sorry about this. I know that this isn't the ideal situation to find yourself in.

Peachy, I said sarcastically, earning a small snort from her. I furrowed my brows and frowned, biting back a small scream of pain. Do you know why this is hurting more than it should? They seem worried about it.

My dragon sighed, and I had a feeling that she shook her head. I do not, she admitted, apologetically, and I do not know why it is taking so long for this to be finished.

I bit back a small groan and gritted my teeth but didn't say another word about my annoyance.

Was there a way that we could change this so that it didn't continue to hurt us both? I silently wondered, letting Sylias hear my thoughts.

Sylias sighed, and I had a feeling that she slowly nodded, thinking about something. There is one way, she said, and I raised an eyebrow in question, biting back another scream. However, I don't know if you are going to like it or not.

My stomach turned, and I had no idea if it was from the pain or from dread of what she meant by me not liking what she wanted to do.

What is the idea? I asked.

She hesitated before she cleared her throat and shifted a little. "Give me control," she said, finally her voice barely above a whisper. Give me full control over us, and I believe we will no longer be in pain.