Prince of Fire | Dragonfire Book One

Capitolo Sei

Eon's mate bond with Sephaline connected them to each other for eternity, weaving their weaknesses and strengths together.

~ Draconic Book of Songs

Chapter Six

Dante hissed as he manually picked every bullet out of his skin. Deep red blood coated his fingers and trickled down his skin. The only saving grace from the injuries was that he, like most dragons, had fast healing. Recovery may hurt, but it would be quick.

Damn those hunters. He missed the days where hunters had more rudimentary weapons that left less damage. The worst part was the Shift. It was much easier to pry out projectiles using fingers than with claws. However, Shifting with an embedded item was rather painful as his body transformed around the bullets.

He cursed under his breath again once he dug the final bullet out and flung it to the ground. Even though he had managed to escape the scene, he wasn't far enough away where he could curse at any volume. Unfortunately, Dracula had escaped among the chaos and was probably hiding somewhere. The only redeeming factor was that the curator had escaped so she was now Dracula's primary goal in his mission to find the Chalice.

Hopefully, the human managed to escape alive. But, if not, the information stored in her head would be lost to Dracula and the rest of any species on Earth. He still wasn't quite sure who Dracula intended to resurrect.

The first to come in mind was Zara, Dracula's long-dead mate. However, he doubted that the magic of even a powerful object like the Jade Chalice would have the ability to resurrect a soul and body that had been gone for centuries. Dracula must have lost every drop of sanity with his delirium-riddled fantasies finally manifesting in his reappearance. At times, Dante almost pitied his old dragonhood friend. The loss of the other half of one's soul could completely ruin one's life and sanity. It would be more humane to put him out of his misery, but Dante had his orders from Eon and he had to follow them, even if he wondered what Eon could offer to redeem Dracula's crimes.

Dante glanced down at his naked human form to examine his wounds. The bullet indents, which had scattered across his back and sides, were slowly healing and patching up. Dried blood stained his skin but the scars underneath were starting to disappear into his skin. He predicted that within ten minutes, he would look unscathed.

However, he knew for a fact that healing also required a great sum of energy that would need to be replenished soon. With centuries of data regarding his stamina and perseverance, Dante calculated that he could manage to hold off for another three more hours before he needed sustenance. That should give him enough time for finding the curator and going to the nearest town.

As for the current location of the curator, Dante closed his eyes to focus his hearing. He had to filter through the countless unnecessary rustling of animals and listen for any human conversation. However, the only conversation he heard was in the direction from which he had fled, as much as he hated to admit that fact to himself.

"How much of it did you see?" Dante heard a woman's voice from the scene. The woman's voice had a hint of a Spanish accent.

Another woman's voice answered, but this time, it was more familiar. "I only saw the end. But I've been a captive for the last week. The red one kidnapped me."

Dante's eyes snapped open as he recognized the curator's voice. Her identity was reaffirmed when she sounded distressed about his well-being, despite the fact that she had forgotten his name. He ignored the rest of the conversation between the two women to think of a plan. The curator was now in the hands of the hunters, so he couldn't just barge into the field, naked as day, demanding to take her back. No, that would attract too much suspicion.