Chapter 56: Laryn

I see Ashrac flying to me as fast as his small wings will pump. What is he doing here?
"Uncle Laryn, Uncle Laryn. Uncle Sarn has your bride," he screams as he draws closer.
I'm so stunned I drop the chalice and painting and don't think of them again. "Where is my bride?"
"At the cliffs. Uncle Sarn wanted me to go with him to his castle. Your bride got angry and then Uncle Sarn got angry."
My heart is beating double time. "Go find your parents and send them here. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Uncle Laryn. Please rescue her. She is very brave for a human."
She is, but I don't have time to answer. Have I not been punished enough for what I did to Bastian and Acasia? If Sarn has harmed one hair on her head, he's a dead dragon.
Thirty minutes later, I see the purple dragon speeding toward me. I charge.
"No, I have her," he screams into my head seconds before impact.
I turn my body and barely stop my strike. "Give her to me, you son of a bitch."
"I cannot transfer her while we fly, she's hurt."
"I will kill you for this," I say with a guttural roar.
"As you should."
Sarn flies past me heading for my castle. I mentally try to connect with my bride. Nothing. She must be unconscious. My rage sizzles. I want her away from Sarn. I know something is horribly wrong or he would not bring her back. My bride is the greatest treasure of all the realms and a prize for any dragon.
We reach my highest tower perch. Sarn drops his behemoth head as soon as we land. "I'm sorry, Laryn, so very sorry."
"I will deal with you later. Give me my bride."
What rolls onto the perch is almost impossible to decipher. "Ahhrahhaa," blasts from my throat. What is left of her arm is melted to the bone. Her entire upper right side is nothing but charred bone. Most of her hair is singed away along with the lower part of her face. I shift and fall to my knees. Her heart beats, but it's so faint I know she must be moments from death. I'm afraid to touch her because of the pain it will cause.
I look up at Sarn, my grief, fury, and desolation flowing with my tears. He's not looking at me. "Go. Go now. I do not have time to kill you. Just go." I'm not even yelling. She groans quietly. I use my dragon's magic to mentally place her in a temporary sleep so she doesn't feel the pain as death takes her. I don't hear Sarn fly away and I don't care that he's gone and I cannot kill him immediately. The only thing I care about is dying in front of me. A hand on my back startles me, but I don't move.
"Laryn," Acasia's gentle voice whispers. "She still lives. I don't know if that's what you want."
I lie down beside my bride only able to touch the side of her face that still has flesh. Acasia doesn't understand. I could love my bride like this no matter her injury. No arms, no legs, her smile would carry me forever.
I know the truth of it, though. She is a warrior. She would not choose to live such as this and I know there is little chance of it happening anyway. She is also a fighter and her death will not come as quickly as it should.
"I will kill him, Laryn. I will bring you his head." Bastian's voice is soft but deadly.
"No. Please go into my rooms and gather the silk sheet from my bed." I know what I must do. I just don't want to leave her for the time it takes to prepare. Her breathing is shallow, and even in her current state of sleep she gasps in pain every few breaths.
A short while later, the sheet is laid beside us. I can't look at Acasia and Bastian. I gather the sheet around my bride and tie it above her. "Acasia, please hold the knot up so it doesn't touch her and cause more pain."
I back up a few yards and shift. I take the top of the knot in my teeth and fly off without saying another word to my friends. I fly to our spot. This is where I fell in love with my bride. We stood above the ocean for the first time and she cuddled into the warmth of my dragon legs while the wind whipped at her face. I love her and I'm the most foolish man alive to think for one second that I don't.
I know this is where she battled Sarn and that is fitting also. My bride. The warrior. I lay her gently on the ground. I shift and gather her one last time into my arms. I cannot allow her to suffer any longer.
"I love you, Roxanne. I will always love you." My tears fall on her scorched flesh. "I will never forget you, but I promise you this," I take a ragged breath so I can get the words out. "I will love each bride from the day I choose them. I will cherish every moment we have together and they will always know I love them. That's how much I love you. Thank you."
The muscles of my arms bunch as I lift her higher. Her death will be instant when she lands against the jagged rocks. I'm completely unprepared when her eyes flutter open. I almost drop her. I blink once, then twice. What I'm seeing does not disappear.
Roxanne stares back at me with eyes of the purest blue I've ever seen. "Laryn, I hurt."
I can't speak or breathe.
She screams. I back away from the cliff as her body goes so hot it burns me. She writhes in my arms and I have no idea what to do. I run to a patch of grass about twenty feet away and set her down.
"Make it stop, Laryn, please."
She's still burned so badly I'm afraid to touch her. A blue light shines from inside her body. The heat actually makes me step away. Her eyes close and I think she's passed out. A scream unlike anything I've ever heard bursts from her throat. I cover my ears at the horrible pain she bears. She continues writhing and I can't stand it.
The blue light explodes. It spikes into the clouds and covers me, blending with my dragon's inner blue light. The pulsing waves continue until a blue dragon lies in my bride's place.
I fall to my knees. My heart has stopped and started again. I'm looking at the most glorious sight in the universe. It can't be.
An eerie female voice comes with the wind. "You have proven your worth as a dragon."
I look around and see no one.
Roxanne opens her large, luminescent blue eyes.
My bride is dragon.