Ronan

Chapter Fifty

The dragon appeared around the corner. Like the rest of the prisoners, Dionysus had set it free. Even as danger budded, Ronan and Rosa stared at it in awe.

Its endlessly long tail shot out, sweeping through a new staircase.

Holy shit.

Brick clattered to the floor, dust flying through the air with the rubble.

Where the dragon's shoulders barged into the walls, mighty cracks were formed, fracturing the building's structure.

And then its snout opened—heat.

Ronan cursed.

"Now Rosie!"

They darted out of the castle after the other prisoners and out into the courtyard. The prisoners, like them, seemed to understand the gravity of the threat upon them. Some raced into the woods, others stared up at it with motionless fear.

"Oh Gods," Rosa whispered.

In the exact spot they'd been standing not a minute before hand, the doors were blown off of the castle and sent flying in a wind of fire and searing heat.

"It's getting out," Ronan said.

"Then what?"

"It was fine when it was contained and away from the ruckus. This landscape is spacious enough for it to live freely until I can come back for it." Until he had the means to return, fix Proelii and take this beautiful beast home.

"What about Nadine?"

"For now, we pray the bitch can't move it."

It would take more than a portal jumper to take something like a dragon from one realm to another. Would Nadine have something capable lying around in her arsenal?

He took Rosa's hand as the beast barrelled through that slim opening, knocking more stone down with it.

Its snout opened again.

Shit—

With the dragon catching up to them, that marked their most ungraceful portal jump ever.

Rosa hit the grass with a shriek, barely blocking her face in time. Her warlock boyfriend fell haphazardly above her, crushing her into the dirt.

She groaned, contemplating the downsides of not getting back up at all.

I think he's crushed my windpipe.

Huh, it was better than staying there and, y'know, dying by dragon breath.

Mumbling a slew of apologies, Ronan rolled to her side, his chest quaking with his frantic breaths.

She surveyed the space around them. Back in Romania. They wouldn't be dragon dinner today.

Lifting himself from the mud, Ronan gave Rosa a once over, searching for injuries.

"Are you okay?"

She shifted to her back, focusing on breathing. "I'm fine—are you?"

He looked about ready to collapse. Miraculously, he was still standing.

"I'm okay. You're not hurt?"

A little lost for breath after his entire body weight had crushed her windpipe, but other than that not too bad.

"I'm good. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," He answered. It was the first time in a long time that he hadn't had a plan. He grabbed her hand, tugging her up. "I've got nothing."