Chapter 173: Shut up, Caleb!
~ Raphael's POV ~
We'd barely walked another ten steps when the idiot dragon fell.
Drogon suddenly let out a low, growl that made the hair on my arms stand up. The sound was different from his usual mumbling curt reply.
His body swayed, then he collapsed to the ground. Dirt and leaves flew up around him as his great form hit the forest floor. I wait for him to stand since it wasn't the first time.
He didn't rise.
I spin around, my heart hammering against my ribs. The others stopped dead in their tracks behind me, when he didn't stand.
"Drogon?" I called out.
He lifted his great head just enough to look at me, his eyes now dulled with exhaustion. "I can take care of myself," he said, but his voice was strained. "These are just small wounds."
I walked back to where he lay, my jaw clenching as I looked at the stubborn beast. Blood was dripping from between his scales where those cursed chains had cut deep. His breathing was getting more labored by the minute.
"If they were small, you wouldn't be on the floor," I said sarcastically.
My words hit him harder than I'd meant them to. His eyes flashed with hurt before anger took over. "I have taken worse," he retorted, his voice sharp despite his weakness. "I didn't die."
But even as he spoke, his breathing became harsh. Each breath seemed to cost him more effort than the last.
"Leave me," he suddenly said, and his voice broke. The proud dragon who'd never shown weakness was now speaking in barely a whisper. "I won't make it. Save the others... forget me."
Something snapped inside me. I dropped to my knees beside his massive head, fury shaking in my chest.
"Shut the hell up."
He blinked at me, surprised by the anger in my voice.
"If something happens to you, what the fuck do I tell her when I meet her? Huh?" I leaned closer, meeting his fading gaze. "You're her guardian. You don't get to quit."
Drogon tried to lift his head to protest, but his body suddenly convulsed. A shudder ran through his entire form, and then he went completely still.
"Drogon?" I called, but there was no response.
Behind me, I heard Gemma gasp. Caleb moved to shield her from the sight, but she pushed past him, her healer instincts kicking in.
"Is he...?" Isla whispered.
I pressed my hand against the side of his great neck, feeling for any sign of life. There was still a pulse, but it was weak and getting weaker.
"He's alive," I said. "Barely."
I stared down at Drogon's still form, my mind racing. We were stranded in an unknown land with no way home, and our only portal maker was dying right in front of us. But that wasn't what made my chest tight with panic.
It was the thought of facing Ava when I return hime. How could I look her in the eyes and tell her that I'd let her guardian die? That I'd failed to keep him safe?
"What do we do?" Caleb asked quietly.
I stood up slowly, brushing dirt from my knees. My hands were shaking, but I clenched them into fists to stop it. The others were looking at me like I had all the answers. Like I could fix this. Being a king suck a lot.
"We carry him," I said.
Gemma blinked at me. "Carry him? Raphael, he's a dragon. He must weigh tons."
"Then we drag him," I snapped. "We're not leaving him here to die." If only my stupid powers didn't merge into Grey's own. It would be nothing to carry or portal us home.
"Be reasonable," Isla said, her voice still shaky from crying. "Look at the size of him. Even if we could move him, where would we take him? We don't even know where we are."
I turned on her, anger rising in my chest. "So you want to just abandon him? Leave him here for whatever creatures live in this forest to find?"
"That's not what I'm saying," she protested. "I just think we need to be practical about this."
"Practical?" I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Nothing about this situation is practical. We're in a strange land with no food, no shelter, and no way home. The only practical thing would have been staying in our own realm and facing Alasia there. But no. You and your son decided to play foul! That's how we got in this situation. How is that practical?" I snapped at her. She steps backwards and then falls due to a log of wood.
"But we didn't," Caleb said firmly. "We're here now. And fighting about it won't help Drogon."
" Shut up, Caleb!"
I looked back down at the unconscious dragon. His breathing was so shallow I had to watch carefully to see his chest rise and fall. The blood from his wounds had slowed, but it hadn't stopped completely.
"There has to be something we can do," I muttered.
Gemma stepped closer, her fear of dragons apparently forgotten in the face of someone who needed help. "I'm not a healer like the ones back home," she said. "But I know some basic care. Maybe I can clean his wounds, at least."
"With what?" I asked. "We don't have any supplies."
She looked around the forest, then walked over to a small stream I hadn't noticed before. The water was clear and cold when she cupped it in her hands.
"Water helps," she said simply. "And there might be healing plants here. Different lands, but some things are the same everywhere."
I watched her as she began the slow process of cleaning the deepest cuts on Drogon's neck. Her hands were gentle despite his size, and she spoke softly to him even though he couldn't hear her.
"You're not dying on us," she told his still form. "Not when we need you to get home. My men need me."
Caleb joined her, helping to clear away dirt and leaves from the wounds. Even Isla, after a few minutes of hesitation, came forward to help.
"Raphael," Gemma called softly. "Come look at this."
I walked back to where she knelt beside Drogon's wing. She'd cleaned away most of the blood, and now I could see the wounds clearly for the first time.
They weren't just cuts. The chains had left marks that looked almost like burns, dark lines that seemed to glow with a faint, sickly light.
"Magic," I breathed.
"Dark magic," Gemma confirmed. "I've seen marks like this before, but never this strong. Whatever those chains were made of, they weren't just meant to hold him. They were meant to drain him."
"Drain him of what?"
"His powers. His life force. Everything that makes him what he is." She sat back on her heels, her face pale. "No wonder he can't shift back to human form. The chains are still working even though they're gone."
I felt cold despite the warm sunlight filtering through the trees. "How do we stop it?"
Log in with Google Account
Chapters
Favorite
Settings
