Chapter 41

I charge forward, my massive claws tearing through the underbrush as I barreled toward them. The sight nearly drove me mad with rage. A man with deep red hair stood over Meara, his pants half undone, while his men held her down. Her terrified eyes met mine, and something inside me snapped.

I roared, the sound shaking the trees and sending the men stumbling back In fear. Lightning crackled around me, sparking off my scales as my fury surged. Without hesitation, I unleashed a bolt that struck one of the men holding her down, reducing him to a smoking heap of ash. Another tried to run, but I swung my tail, knocking him into a tree with a sickening crunch.

The red-haired man scrambled to his feet, pulling a dagger. His hand shook as he pointed it at me, his eyes wide with terror. Pathetic. I lunged at him, my claws slashing across his chest, leaving deep, sizzling wounds as lightning scorched his skin. He screamed, stumbling backward, blood pouring from his wounds.

I was ready to finish him off, to unleash every ounce of rage on him until he was nothing but ash. But then, I caught sight of Meara. She lay lifeless on the ground, her chest bare rising. Her pulse was weak, and her skin was pale. My heart twisted painfully in my chest.

I turned back to the red-haired man, who was clutching his bleeding wounds, his face twisted in pain. He was struggling to crawl away, but I knew I could catch him. I could end him right now. But Meara’s soft, labored breaths pulled me back.

“ Next time,” I growled, eyes locked on him. “ I’ll kill you slowly.”

With a furious snarl, I let him crawl away into the shadows, his body dragging through the dirt. I scooped Meara up gently in my massive paw, cradling her close. Her head lolled against me, and every breath she took was a battle. I couldn’t waste another second. She needed help, and fast.

I launched into the sky, wings beating hard as I raced back toward Valtor. The cold wind whipped past us, but all I could focus on was getting her to the healers. Meara’s life was hanging by a thread, and I’d be damned if I lost her now.

The barrier was no longer an obstacle—I’d tear it down if it tried to keep me from her. As we flew, I vowed to come back for that red-haired bastard. He would suffer for what he did, but Meara came first. She was my mate, and I would do whatever it took to save her.

I flew faster, pushing my wings to their limit. Valtor was just ahead. The healers would fix her, and then I’d come back to Dravonia. This wasn’t over—not by a long shot.


*****


( Meara )


The darkness was suffocating, pulling me deeper and deeper into its cold embrace. My mind was numb, and I couldn’t feel anything but the faintest pulse of pain echoing through my body. But then, something stirred within me. My eyelids fluttered, heavy as lead, but I managed to pry them open, just for a moment. Everything was a blur—hazy shapes and shadows danced around me.

I felt myself being lifted, my body limp and unresponsive. The touch wasn’t rough like I expected. It was almost... gentle, but firm, as if whoever held me was afraid I’d break. My vision was still a foggy mess. I could only make out a huge, dark figure towering over me, cloaked in shadows. For a second, I thought I saw scales glinting in the dim light, but my mind was playing tricks on me. I tried to focus, tried to see who or what had me, but the effort was too much. Everting went black again.

When I came to, it felt like I was moving—fast. My body was cradled close to something solid, and a sharp, cold wind nipped at my skin, stinging where the bruises and cuts marred my body. I blinked, but my vision was just a haze of lights and colors swirling around me. The ground wasn’t beneath me anymore—I was flying, but not in the way I’d imagined freedom would feel. I was weightless, like I was caught between the world of the living and whatever awaited me beyond.

I tried to move, to see, to fight, but my limbs were heavy, unresponsive. I couldn’t tell where I was or who had me. My mind slipped again, and I sank deeper into the darkness, this time feeling like there was no coming back. It was like an endless black hole was swallowing me whole, pulling me into its depths. This was it. This was the end of me.

I knew I couldn’t take much more. All the abuse, the pain, the endless days of starvation and torture—I had nothing left to give. My body had finally reached its limit, and my mind was breaking apart. I tried to fight, to hold on to some shred of hope, but the blackness was relentless, consuming me inch by inch.

A part of me was sure it was Hezron who had me, dragging me back to his dark palace. His twisted creature must have snatched me up, hauling me back to where I’d be nothing but a plaything, another prize for him to torment. I could almost hear his laugh, taunting me, mocking my every failed attempt to escape. The thought of going back to that nightmare, of being trapped forever in his grasp, made my heart sink deeper into despair.

If this was the end, I’d rather it be in the pit of the Harvesting, where I could find some kind of release from this misery. But even that seemed too kind, too easy. My mind flickered with images of my fate—a life spent chained, broken, and at the mercy of Hezron’s sick desires. There would be no rescue, no last-minute save. No one was coming for me.

I felt myself slipping away, surrendering to the darkness. Maybe this was better. Maybe this was the peace I’d been searching for, far away from the pain and terror that had been my constant companions. I let go, sinking deeper into the black, knowing that this time, there was nothing left to pull me back.


( Kaden )


I shot through the skies above Valtor, my wings cutting through the air like blades as I bolted toward the palace. Below me, the grandeur of the palace garden unfolded, lush with vibrant flowers and towering trees. I landed with a thunderous thud, my massive form shaking the ground as I descended. My claws dug into the earth, and a deep growl rumbled from my chest, echoing through the palace grounds.

The servants and guards rushed out; their faces filled with terror. I could hear their frantic whispers, see their wide-eyed panic as they stumbled back. To them, I was just a monstrous dragon that had invaded their king’s domain. They had no idea it was me—their king—trapped inside this beast.

Before I could call out, Mike, Seth, Deon, and Zaden stormed out of the palace, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief. But unlike the others, they weren’t afraid. They looked at me with a kind of awe, their eyes darting between my towering form and the lifeless figure cradled in my paw.

I opened my talons, revealing Meara’s small, fragile body. She looked like a tiny mouse against the scale of my enormous claw, her pale skin marred with bruises and cuts. She was limp and lifeless, barely clinging on. I roared, my voice rough and monstrous, reverberating from deep within my chest.

" Get her to the healers!" The command came out more as a snarl than a sentence, my dragon’s voice unrecognizable. Seth and Zaden didn’t hesitate—they rushed forward, carefully lifting Meara from my grasp. They moved swiftly, carrying her inside the palace with urgency. My heart pounded as I watched them disappear, taking her out of my sight. I couldn’t follow them, not like this. My dragon form was too massive, too wild for the palace walls.

Deon and Mike stood rooted in place, their eyes locked on me, mesmerized. Deon’s expression shifted from shock to a knowing smirk.

" I knew it," he said, slapping Mike on the back. Mike just stared, speechless, his eyes wide with a mix of fear and awe.

" Where did you find her?" Deon’s voice held a sharp edge of concern, his usual lighthearted demeanor replaced with something more serious.

" In Dravonia." The words were snarled out through my dragon mouth, a growl underscoring every syllable. Their expressions shifted, eyes widening at the mention of the forbidden land.

" But how did she get through the barrier?" Mike asked, his voice trembling with confusion. " She’s not a dragon. How did she get through?"

" I don’t know," I snapped, frustration boiling inside me. " She’s clearly not a dragon, so I don’t have the slightest idea how she managed it. But that doesn’t matter right now." My tail whipped behind me, slashing at the ground in agitation. " I need to find out how to shift back. I need to be by her side. She needs me."