Fireblood Dragon: Fire In His Blood Part 14

There is nothing I want more than to crawl into bed and sleep for a few hours. This has been the longest day of my d.a.m.n life, starting with a dragon kidnapping, then dragon s.e.x, and then a sprint across half of Old Dallas to get back home to Amy. Even my flat, sorry mattress seems inviting. My body aches with exhaustion, and I feel hot and dizzy.

But I have to find Amy. She's not safe. My little sister is far too trusting, and I don't want her in the hands of the guards.

Sasha says nothing as I quickly dress and slip on a pair of heavy boots. My spares are just a bit too tight for my feet, but they're a good pair of boots and so they'll do. I tuck a spare knife into my belt and then give Sasha a confident smile. "I'll be back soon with Amy. Don't worry."

"I can't help but worry," Sasha says in a small voice. "You two are all I have."

I feel the same way. But Sasha can survive on her own. Sasha's already safe. I don't know where Amy is. "I have to go," I tell her. "I'll be back."

"Okay." Sasha doesn't sound convinced.

I don't blame her. I've got a bad habit of not coming back.

18.

CLAUDIA.

I look everywhere for Amy. I check with her friends. I check with the children's home, where the orphans are raised, because Amy likes to volunteer her time. I check at b.l.o.w.j.o.b Becky's, too, just in case, but Amy's not among the girls working there. Thank G.o.d.

I even check around Tucker's place, but no one's seen her there, either. Not for days and days. I don't know what to do until Tucker gives me a sly look. "Militia's been looking for you. Mayor wants to see you and all." He picks at his nails with a pocketknife. "Was kinda surprised they expected you to come back, but they said to me, 'You never know.' Thought they were full of s.h.i.+t, but here you are, smelling like a dumpster. You been scavenging?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I bluff bravely. "I'm just looking for Amy. That's all you need to know."

"Might be some people interested to hear that you're back," he comments.

"Save yourself the trip," I tell him. "I'm heading to the militia barracks right now." And I turn and walk out of his s.h.i.+tty little shop. If Amy heard that the militia was looking for me, just like Tucker says, she'd go straight to them and ask questions. That's dangerous. Not only is the militia full of d.i.c.ks too high on their own power, but they're the ones who offered me up to the dragon in the first place.

What if they offer Amy to a dragon?

Rubbing my neck, I race through the dark alleyways, heading for the outskirts of Fort Dallas and the rows of barracks that house the militia. If my sister's anywhere, she'll be here, I suppose. I just have to find her. The militia barracks are tucked into an old department store. The gla.s.s doors have been reinforced with steel, and a flimsy chain-link fence topped with barbed wire has been erected all around the place, just in case anyone decides to storm the castle, so to speak. There's a set of gates, though, and I head for those.

They have guards posted in front, of course. One holds a rifle and raises a hand when I approach. "No citizens allowed here."

"I'm Claudia Jones," I tell him. When his face remains blank, I add, "The chick they gave to the dragon?"

His eyes widen, and he looks me up and down in surprise, as if astonished that I'm whole and in one piece. "You're the dragon girl?"

"That's me. I'm looking for my sister."

"Wait here." He pulls out a walkie-talkie and turns away, murmuring something in it. I hear the loud clicking buzz and something mumbled in response. The soldier nods and moves to the gate, undoing the lock. He pushes it open and glances at me. "Someone's coming to meet you."

"Great." I head in, arms crossed over my chest. Wariness replaces my exhaustion, my senses growing alert. Every time I'm around the militia, something bad happens. I don't expect it to be any better now.

But Amy will want me to come for her, so I'm going to. My sister's the most important person in the world to me. I won't abandon her.

Eventually, a pair of soldiers show up, also armed with guns. "Follow us," the first one tells me, and gestures with his gun, indicating I'm to follow them inside now.

I go with them. No one ever tells an armed militia man no, of course. And if Amy is in there, that's where I need to be. They lead me into the large building that houses the barracks. It's neat and clean in here, and surprisingly empty, probably because it's night. Areas have been sectioned off to make different 'buildings' inside the bigger one, but overall, it still feels like too many eyes are watching me. Is Amy somewhere in here? In someone's bed? Being kept captive? G.o.d, I hope she's not anywhere near here. My sister's fragile in both spirit and body. Her limp and weakened leg have made it so that she needs soft places to sit, and to rest her leg frequently. Sasha and I do our best to take care of her, but she's still more fragile than most. She's not strong and resilient enough to survive in the After, I worry, so I do my best to pick up the slack.

It's fear for Amy that keeps me going forward, even when a couple guards come out of their quarters and gather nearby, smirking at me. They look me up and down, as if seeing me naked despite my clothing. I know what they're thinking. They're thinking the dragon let me go because I gave it s.e.xual favors or something equally filthy.

I hate that they're right, too. Well, halfway right-I don't think Kael had any intention of ever letting me go. I shove my filthy hair back off my face and keep my chin high, ignoring their stares. All that matters is Amy.

The guards take me to a small room at the back of the large building and sit me down at what looks like an old school desk. I'm left alone, and a few moments later, two different men enter. One is the captain of the militia, and one is the mayor. Both look surprised to see me, as if they didn't quite buy the reports that I was here on their doorstep.

"Long time no see," I tell them dryly. "I'm here for my sister. Where is she?"

"Somewhere safe," the captain tells me.

Somewhere safe? Bulls.h.i.+t. "Safe like you kept me safe? Or are you saving her for bait girl number seven?" The thought makes me furious, and my fists clench. "She hasn't done anything wrong!"

The captain raises a hand at me, as if trying to calm me. "Sit down. We'd like to ask you some questions."

"I don't want to sit. I want my d.a.m.n sister back. She's a citizen, and you have no right to hold her!"

"If she wants to remain a resident of Fort Dallas," the mayor interjects, a sour note in his voice. "She'll obey our rules. Just like you will. I'd be more than happy to send both of you out into the Scavenge Lands and bar you from re-entering Fort Dallas for good. Is that what you want?"

It's awful, but a teeny, tiny part of me does want that. I liked being with Kael. I liked spending time with him, right up until the s.e.x part. I'm still frustrated and hurting over how that turned out, and it feels weirdly like I lost a friend. Even so, I could probably survive for a while in the Scavenge Lands. I know how to hide and how to look for food and drink.

But Amy? She's not strong enough. And without my help to bring in trade goods, Sasha will have to sell herself just to eat.

I can't do that to them.

So I grit my teeth and say nothing.

"Good. Now sit down. As I said, we want to ask you some questions."

I sit, feeling helpless and angry.

"Tell us about the situation with the dragon," the captain says, his eyes glittering. "We left you chained. Yet you've returned here unharmed. I want to know how that happened."

Unharmed?

Are they for real?

I want to laugh. Since they left me for dead, I nearly fell off a building when a dragon s.n.a.t.c.hed me out of a stairwell. I was kidnapped by another dragon, rescued, bitten, and now I'm back in Fort Dallas. I feel like a ping-pong ball that's been bounced around. A battered, bruised, feverish, sore and heartsick ping-pong ball.

Unharmed, my a.s.s.

Of course, saying that won't get me anywhere. So I tell a little lie. "The dragon let me go."

"Why did he let you go?"

I shrug, uneasy at the thought of telling them much about Kael. For all his intensity, he had tried to be kind to me in his own way. It's not his fault that I can't handle dragon s.e.x. "He saw me hurting myself, so he broke the chains."

"Did you tame the dragon?"

My mouth twitches. "There is no taming that dragon."

"Yet you are here and whole and unharmed. How did that happen? How did you get away?"

He's vulnerable when he's f.u.c.king you isn't an answer I feel like sharing. "Where is my sister?"

"We're holding her," the mayor says bluntly. "We figured if you returned to the city, you'd want to see her, and we wanted to see you. Clearly we have questions. You're not getting her back until you answer them, either."

My stomach drops. "My sister hasn't done anything wrong."

The mayor is implacable. "No, she hasn't. But this is about more than your sister. We're trying to save an entire city of people here, and any information you can give us is key. Tell us what happened."

I glare at the men, hating that they're going to make me give them information, and hating that I'll do it, because I need to free Amy. I'm weak, I know, but I can't let my sister suffer. "Where do you want me to start?"

"At the beginning, of course."

Irritated, I begin. I tell them about Kael landing and his transformation into human form. That gets their attention, and they quiz me repeatedly. I'm not entirely sure they believe me, except when I mention his appearance as a human-eyes swirling to black, dappled skin, and finger-claws-they exchange looks.

b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. So they'd known all along he could turn human? And no one bothered to say a peep to me, the human sacrifice? I'm filled with even more helpless rage.

They ask me more pointed questions. Did he speak in human form? Could he converse in English? Did I try Spanish or French? What words did he know?

I mention that he understands the word 'no' but leave out his name-it's not mine to give, after all. I also leave out a great deal of the s.e.xual tension that crackled between us and had a rather bad ending. That all seems too...personal.

I tell them instead that he was simply fascinated with me and had tried to feed me and protect me.

The questions begin again. How often did the dragon change into his human form? Did he have any particular vulnerabilities in human form? Did I think bullets would pierce his hide while in human form? The questions make me hugely uncomfortable, so I lie to them. No vulnerabilities. No, bullets won't hurt him in human form. "He's still covered in scales," I lie. "Skin's hard as a rock."

The captain frowns and writes that down. "I thought you said his skin was human-like except for a pattern?"

"It is," I tell them, and put on my blankest smile. "A pattern and the scaliness, of course."

They exchange a look that clearly questions my intelligence. Yeah, put that in your report, a.s.shole.

I do mention the other dragon that Kael had attacked, though, and they make me go over in great detail how Kael attacked him. How he'd moved, how long it had taken for his teeth to tear out the throat of the other. How long had it taken for the other dragon to bleed out? Had the other dragon tried to communicate with her?

The questions make me uncomfortable, and I give them as little information as possible. This isn't learning how to live alongside the dragons or stop the attacks. This is a 'how do we defeat the enemy' sort of questioning talk, and I don't like it. Maybe a few weeks ago I'd have been all for it, but that was before I knew Kael.

I don't like the thought of these a.s.sholes attacking him. I don't like the thought of them waiting for him to get into his human form and then hurting him. Because when I think of him in his human form, I don't think of the dragon-man that bit me. I think of the flirty, playful Kael that says my name in that adorably mangled way of his. "He's not a monster," I point out to them. "I think he's just confused most of the time. All he wanted to do was protect me and take care of me. He didn't hurt me."

The captain writes down a few more notes, then flips through his papers. "Let's go over it again. You mentioned that he ripped out the throat of the other dragon. Did he struggle to do so at all? Do you think his throat is a vulnerability in dragon form? Were you able to tell the amount of scales there versus the rest of his hide?"

I hate this. "Why do you care? It's clear they can learn English. We can teach him to speak with us and get him to leave the city alone. I'm sure he would do it if we talked to him and the other dragons. We just need to communicate with them somehow."

The captain stares at me for a moment. Then he looks down at his notes again. "Tell me about the scales on the throat again."

No one's listening to me. No one at all.

KAEL.

My head aches.

My body is curiously tired, but the throb in my head is the worst of it. I tense, waiting to see if this is another form of the creeping madness that always waits at the fringes...but there is nothing. I feel...normal.

I open my eyes, gazing up. Through the broken ceiling, I can see the skies overhead. They are dark, twinkling with light from the stars. Far in the distance, I can see the greenish, smoky outline of the rip in the skies that my people originally came from. The sight of it doesn't send me spiraling. Instead, it just makes me feel a little sad. It's a place I can never get back to, and I suppose a little part of me will always miss it.

It takes a moment for me to realize that the skies are dark. They were not dark earlier, not when I claimed her.

My Clau-dah.

No, I realize. Claudia. That feels right. Dainty and elegant but strong, like my mate.

I reach for her, seeking her small, soft body. Memories of our recent mating flood my mind, and I growl low in my throat with pleasure. Claiming her was the greatest joy I have ever experienced, and I revel in the thoughts of her sweet form under mine, the scent of her filling my lungs, the taste of her on my tongue. Already I am hungry for her again. I reach out with the mind-link even as I reach for her body. I must have fallen asleep after giving her my venom. I've heard stories of it draining the strength of a drakoni because our very essence is shared. Claudia has no essence to share back with me, so perhaps that is why I have been unconscious for so long.

But my mind is crystal clear and bright, a sign that the bond is true.

My searching hands do not find Claudia nearby, though. I sit up, flaring my nostrils in the hopes of picking up her delicate scent. Did she walk away?

But the only scent of her is hours old and faint.

She is not here.

I sit up, all weariness forgotten. Claudia? I ask, testing the mental link between us that is established with a mating.

No response. I can feel the tether between us, but she is too far away to receive my thoughts.

Too far away?

Rage flashes through me, hot and fast. Had another male s.n.a.t.c.hed my female while I slept? Unthinkable. A claimed mate is off-limits, even in the madness-crazed minds of the drakoni. No one would dare. Claudia is mine. I have claimed her. She is mine to protect. Mine to cherish.

Mine.