Dragon Blood

Thirty-Two: The Enemy of My Enemy

Right. That's how everything felt. She felt right in his arms. Her lips felt right against his. The fact that he told her he loved her, even if he didn't say the exact words, felt right. She was right, and now she was his. There was no way he was ever going to be able to let her go. His dragon, who had already been attached to her before ever touching her like this, was hardly about to let her out of his sight until they had officially claimed her as their mate.

The moment that he would happily spend the rest of his life in was interrupted by the arrival of two dragons. He reluctantly pulled his mouth away from hers, stroking her flushed, full cheeks with his thumbs before lifting his head to look at the dragons that flew overhead. They were flying low, barely above the tops of the trees, and he caught a glimpse of riders on both dragons. If he wasn't mistaken, the beasts were Kordan and Jackson, the dragons he and Percy had been sent to search for.

Skylar's grip on his shirt tightened and her surprised intake of breath was audible. He could hear her heart rate pick up and he looked down at her, confused about her reaction. Riders on dragons was unusual, but not unheard of; she'd ridden on his back after all. Her blue eyes were wide as she tore her gaze away from the dragons.

"Orion," she said quietly, fear leaking into her voice. "Those men are wearing the uniforms of Draco's knights."

"What?" he snarled, turning back to watch them. It was then that he noticed the iron collars around the dragons' necks. "No, no, no!" He then watched in horror as the dragons flew over the landing pad toward the Square, opened their jaws, and let loose jets of fire. He heard the panicked screams of the clan and his blood ran cold. He'd never heard them so afraid before.

"Orion, go!" Skylar shoved him forward, finally sending him into motion. He had been frozen in shock, seeing two members of his clan attacking them. He broke into a sprint, releasing his dragon. The beast lunged forward with a roar, ready to protect and defend his clan.

The golden dragon launched himself into the air with a snarl. The closest dragon, the forest green one who was Jackson, turned to look at him with a growl. The newfound enemy didn't have time to react before the golden dragon slammed into him.

His claws sank into the green scales, embedding themselves and drawing out angry roars from the other dragon. He cut off those roars sharply as his jaws locked around his neck, right above where the iron collar was located. He felt his sharp teeth puncture the armored scales that protected the soft flesh of the enemy's neck and blood rushed into his mouth, fueling his fury. The dragon screeched in agony, flapping his wings frantically and kicking at Orion in an attempt to dislodge him.

The man atop the dragon's back, dressed in full metal armor with green coverings, raised his sword and waved it in Orion's direction.

"Release us, monster!" he demanded, but the golden dragon didn't have time for him. They were spinning toward the ground, but Orion wasn't about to let go. He could sense the sudden panic that took over the knight as the ground got closer. The dragons couldn't fly while they were intertwined the way they were, but Orion wasn't worried about that. He was worried about the dragon that was attacking his clan. For the moment, he had forgotten about the second dragon.

At least he did until he felt teeth sink into his hind leg, ripping him away from the green dragon. He roared in surprise and pain, whipping around and letting his own stream of fire go in the direction of the yellow dragon. He flapped his wings to put some distance between them and to get away from the ground. The yellow and the green dragon faced him, and then one dove under while the other went over. The gold dragon spun around trying to follow both of them. While his eyes were on the green one, who was bleeding heavily from the deep wounds the gold dragon had inflicted, the yellow one made a move from below.