Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

KIARA

Not going to lie, a small part of me wanted to turn tail and focus only on Cal. I wasn't equipped to fight dragons. One wrong move and they could crush me with claws, fire, or even accidentally stepping on me. But Camden couldn't get close while they were all attacking Aiden. I'd need to give him an opening by distracting them.

There were two silver looking ones and a green one, Jasper. They were ganging up on Aiden, but Aiden was beyond angry and was a force to be reckoned with.

Going for the one closest to me, I ducked under his tail and tore my claws through the muscle of his leg. His scales were tough and cut my paws, but it was enough to draw his focus. I roared out a challenge and stood my ground. As he drew in a deep breath, I felt my heart stutter in my chest. If I didn't move, he'd turn me to ash, but I needed to keep him still long enough for Camden to get close. I waited as long as I could, but when the inhale paused, I knew better than to stand around anymore. I darted into the trees, only escaping the fire because of the trunks in the way and my speed.

I took the long way around, coming up alongside the crew. Anyone who was able to shift was there, but they weren't focused on the fight. They were focused on Andrew. Ethan was kneeling beside him, sobbing and shaking him.

"Kiara! Focus!" Camden called out. He'd gotten the one who had breathed fire at me and dragged the unconscious man out of the way, but he couldn't get close to the other dragons. I didn't want to leave, not when I knew Andrew was hurt, but if we wanted this to end, I had to focus.

Playing the same song and dance was harder this time. Getting close to the fighting dragons was insanely difficult. I tried to get the silver one's focus onto me, but he was busy defending himself from Aiden. Camden raced forward, his attention on the back legs of the silver one, and he didn't see Jasper lash out with his claws. He threw himself out of the way before Jasper could claw him, but he fell and Aiden knocked the silver one back at just the wrong time.

Camden screamed as the dragon's foot crushed his leg and went limp. To save him from being crushed completely, I had to grab his arm and drag him into the trees. Fury filled me and I shifted back, grabbing the last shot from his bag. I didn't know where the other one went, he must've dropped it when he was stepped on, but it didn't matter. Aiden could take a dragon one on one. Time to even the odds.

The silver dragon bellowed as Aiden tore through its wing. The pain was enough to knock the creature to the ground, and I seized my opportunity, darting forward and slamming the pen into the soft flesh at the base of his wing. It was insanely effective, and the guy shifted back immediately, unconscious and bleeding. I was pissed enough to leave him lying there, instead searching for the final shot. But it was dark, and even the fire from the trees and the light from the compound wasn't enough. I couldn't see anything. Not until a ball of light flew into the air, exploding above the heads of the dragons. It separated them and Runa strode forward, her entire body glowing.

When she spoke, the words made no sense. It wasn't a language I knew, but I could feel the weight of her words. Her gaze was locked on Jasper, the spell directed at him. He roared at her, drawing in a breath of fire. She didn't even blink, walking straight up to him while his focus was on drawing the breath and putting her hands on his chest. Aiden leapt in the way, protecting the crew with his body from a fire that never came.

Runa's voice grew louder, almost like it was magnified, and it didn't sound like her anymore. It sounded like a dozen people were talking, saying the same thing over and over again, and it looked like she was drawing the fire straight out of Jasper's chest. He screamed and bellowed, slowly shrinking until he was human again, collapsed on all fours with Runa standing over him. Her hands were on fire and her eyes were glowing so bright, I couldn't see anything other than purple.

"What did you do? What did you do?" Jasper screamed.

She blinked slowly, looking down at him. "You tipped the balance, Jasper Marino. Doomed your own kind. So I took your fire. Never again will you taste the flames. That is your punishment."

He looked horrified and panicked, reaching for her, but she stepped out of the way with a bland expression. Before he could push to his feet to go after her, I flattened him and stood on his back, keeping him from moving an inch.

Runa nodded once at me before turning to face the crew. Aiden had shifted back and stared helplessly at his mate, lifeless and unmoving under a sobbing Ethan. Ethan looked up at her, his eyes wide and pleading.

"You saved me. Save him. Please."

She hummed. She looked at Andrew, her head tipping slowly. She was acting weird, her movements slow like she had to put a lot of effort into each step and blink. When she came closer, Ethan scrambled out of the way to give her room. Aiden took a step towards her, his voice barely a whisper.

"Can you save him?"

She looked up at him, her head tipping again. I growled low. What the hell was happening to her?

"I can try."

"Please," Aiden breathed. "Please save him."

When she put her hands on Andrew's chest, I didn't know what was going to happen. Witches weren't a thing I ever thought was real until I came out here. She never talked about what she could and couldn't do. But she did say she was a healer. That was where she thrived. I just wasn't sure she could heal death.

"The gift that was taken, let it pass to him," she murmured.

It wasn't pretty. And it wasn't easy. She shoved all the fire she'd taken from Jasper into Andrew's body. I could see the strain on her face, it looked like it hurt for her to do it, and tears spilled down her face with the effort.

Jasper struggled under my weight, screaming at her to stop, that it was his, but I wouldn't let him up. And when it looked like he might get away, a massive bear joined me and put a paw on Jasper's back. Teddy. Jasper wasn't going anywhere.

The spell flickered and Runa gritted her teeth, the glow she'd shown up with slowly draining out of her and into Andrew. When the transfer was done, she swayed, and I could tell she was wiped out, but no one moved, the entire forest silent like they were waiting for something to happen. Then, like a miracle, Andrew drew in a deep breath.

"So mote it be," Runa whispered, and toppled over onto the grass.

Knowing Teddy had Jasper covered, I darted forward, shifting back to check on her. The rest of the crew was all focused on Andrew. I put two fingers against Runa's neck, checking for a pulse. It was thready, but there.

"Holy shit."

"Is she alive?"

Cal's voice was hoarse. He stood a few feet away, shaking and pale, his eyes full of tears. Pulling Runa's head into my lap, I stroked her hair softly.

"She's alive."

He sank to his knees beside her, his shoulders shaking on suppressed sobs. He'd lost his glasses at one point, and he was disheveled and dirty, but he looked okay. I pulled him into my arms, hugging him close.

"It was all my fault. I pissed him off. I wanted to give them a shot at getting away. It was stupid. I should've listened to you. I should've stayed out of it."

I hushed him, running my fingers through his hair. "You don't know what would've happened if you hadn't intervened. If Jasper had used fire to kill Andrew, Runa probably wouldn't have been able to bring him back." His fingers dug into me as he hugged me tight. "But yeah. We should probably have a discussion about you pissing off dragons. I don't want to spend the rest of my life saving your ass."

He hiccuped out a laugh, lifting his head to give me a watery smile. "You love it, don't lie. You like playing the hero."

I rolled my eyes, tugging him close again. The teasing helped, and I hoped whatever happened with him, he'd get over in time. I'd need to get Runa inside and get Camden some help, but for a second, I just held Cal close. Just to remind myself that he was alive.