12. Kaida

The purple wings that sprouted from her back lifted her in the air with a speed she didn’t know she was capable of. Kaida flapped them as hard as she could, and another terror-inducing roar sang into her ears. Kaida could hear the others behind her, but she was faster.

I need to get to him. Something is wrong. Something is very, very wrong.

As she cleared the first few buildings of the town, Kaida could see Blaze’s giant ruby-red dragon spewing fire at people as they were running to escape him. A few of them were, thankfully, Tidal dragons, and they managed to put up a shield of water that exploded into steam when the blazing fire reached them. Others were blowing air in his direction to deflect his flames, while a few were creating barriers of dirt to hide behind. Blaze stomped toward individuals who chose to use their magic and blew fire at their shields. Many had to run before Blaze broke their shields because they could not fight his power.

That was the problem with dragon magic. Someone more powerful could easily overpower others’ magic. Blaze was the most powerful Ember dragon on the island. He was probably one of the top-ranking dragons in his species, just like the other princes. They were the only ones who could match him and stop him.

Kaida knew in her heart that she would need to get involved. The others would not like it, but she outranked them all. She was the key if there was a chance to get through to Blaze. If he chose to listen to her, this would end quickly. If he fought, this could get bloody.

But I am his mate. He wouldn’t harm his mate, right?

"Enzo! I need you to fly ahead. Get those people out of there. Arlo, Esen, Beck! You guys will distract him so Enzo can lead them out."

Enzo flew ahead like Kaida demanded, followed by Arlo and Esen. All of them fully shifted into their dragons to handle this fight properly. Dragon against human form wasn’t exactly an equal fight.

Beck flew beside her and frowned, "You need to stay here. If the dimension has a hold of him, he isn’t going to recognize you."

"I’m not letting him kill a bunch of people, Beck. I’m not going to let that be on his conscience."

"If he kills you, he won’t be able to face anyone. Not even himself."

Beckett darted downward while pushing himself into his dragon form. Kaida growled. There was no chance in hell she would sit on the sidelines. Blaze would not submit to any of them, especially if he were being influenced.

Enzo’s right. I did it before, and I can do it again.

Kaida dove toward the ground and called her dragon to her. In a blink, her purple dragon replaced her human form and flapped her magnificent wings to project her forward. Within seconds, she was on the ground behind Beckett. In front of him, Blaze was charging toward Arlo. Kaida grimaced as the thought of fire meeting Earth could be disastrous. Blaze had the advantage of fire being slightly more powerful than earth magic. If Arlo weren’t ready for the attack, Blaze could inflict much damage on him. Beckett must have thought the same thing and opened his mouth to let out a thick stream of water at the back of Blaze’s head. The dragon’s neck swiveled to glare at Beckett. His eyes burned with the fire Kaida had seen only an hour ago. All predator and no friend.

Blaze then charged at Beckett, who was ready for him. Blaze smacked into a shield of water, which dazed him momentarily. Beckett tried to create a bubble of his magic around Blaze, but his fire poofed it into steam before Blaze let loose a bout of his fire at Beckett. Beck wasn’t prepared for it. Kaida let loose her magic, colliding with Blaze’s fire just in time. Beckett’s slender body turned to look at her, his dragon eyes glaring. Kaida pushed into their bond, told him this wasn’t the time and moved forward. Blaze bellowed a roar that shook the buildings around them. Some were already missing pieces from the fight, and Kaida frowned at it all. The destruction of the town would be devastating to the island.

We can’t fight here.

Kaida let loose another small stream of her magic, only enough to irritate Blaze when it struck him and pushed her feet off the ground to take flight. Blaze let out another roar before she heard his wings flapping behind her. The others quickly joined in from what she could hear, and she breathed a little easier, knowing they understood what she was doing.

There was a crackle of fire behind her, and Kaida managed to dodge Blaze’s attack, But they kept coming. One after another, she had to turn and dodge pillars of fire. She knew her dragon could withstand the flames, but she wasn’t sure how long she could handle them before they seared her scales. Kaida continued to do well until the moment they cleared the area of the town and headed to the peninsula, where the dark dimension’s portal opened. Kaida became distracted as she scanned the area for another portal. It would explain Blaze’s sudden berserk moment. There was no black mist and no opening that she could see.

Then, her body went up in flames.

Kaida roared and flapped her wings faster to get her to the water. The fire danced across her scales, searing them as she tried to get to the water. She could feel inside her mate bond with Blaze, and she felt his triumph to be able to strike her while in the air. Kaida sent her dismay at his feeling back at him, and for a moment, she felt Blaze’s shock and terror before it returned to glee. The glistening water appeared placid before her body collided against it. When she plunged underneath the waves, the ice-cold water sizzled the flames and brought relief.

The dimension is controlling him. That is why I could feel two versions of him inside the bond. This isn’t him. I need to break through the dimension’s clutches to get him back.

Kaida pushed to the surface and found her four mates battling against Blaze’s berserk dragon. They tag-teamed up. Beckett and Arlo attacked so Enzo and Esen could get relief, and then Enzo and Esen did the same. It almost looked as if it were a stalemate. None of them could have the advantage over Blaze while he was in this state. His flames blew past all of them at one time or another and singed the trees nearby. Kaida slowly pushed her way back to shore. Her not being a Tidal dragon made it challenging to maneuver herself. Dragons were designed for flying, not swimming unless born into the water.

Blaze managed to get himself close to Enzo and sunk his teeth into his neck. Kaida felt the pain sear into her as if it were happening to her. Kaida roared and rolled onto the beach. Without thinking it through, Kaida sent a blast of her plasma into Blaze and threw it over Enzo into a tree. With Blaze’s teeth still in the base of Enzo’s neck, there was a tear in Enzo’s shoulder where, clearly, Blaze hadn’t released before being blown off of him. Enzo roared and whimpered before lying down. Blaze quickly got to his feet and stomped toward Enzo. Beckett blasted water at Blaze and hit him in the face so he couldn’t finish the job on Enzo. Blaze shook his head as if the water dazed him and spewed his flames back.

What the hell can we do to get him out of this?

We need to make him submit.

And how the hell can we do that?

The battle ensued, and her men did their best not to harm Blaze. Arlo used his control over the terrain and caused roots to hold Blaze in place. Blaze wasted no time before using his fire to burn them away, but it took a second, allowing everyone a moment of rest.

Our bond. We need to push through the bond to bring Blaze to the surface. The dimension controls his ability to recognize who we all are to him. We need him to remember.

He won’t forgive me if I use the bond against him.

That is something to worry about later. Right now, we need to fight to keep him with us. If he doesn’t stop, our mates will have no choice but to kill him. He is a threat to us. Our mates will not stand for that.

Kaida pushed her energy into her feet, making them carry her toward Blaze. The others protested with growls, but Kaida snapped her jaws at them. She wasn’t going to give up on Blaze. They may not have completed their bond, but she needed him. He needed her, too; he just couldn’t admit it yet. If using their bond against him was the only way out of this, then so be it. Kaida made her way to Blaze and bit into his neck before he realized she was on him. The taste of metallic and spice coated her tongue, and Blaze roared and snarled as he moved his neck back and forth to get himself loose. Kaida held on as she instinctively felt this was how to do that.

The image of their bonds was protected in front of her. She could see everyone’s darkening and brightening between flickers, reminding Kaida that Blaze’s was still missing. His ombre of red flame was smaller than it had been before, and now it had a black edge to it. Kaida found herself snarling as she recognized the black as the dimension.

Not the time. We cannot complete the bond with the dimension influencing him.

Then what do we do?

Push on the bond. Remind him of who he is. He can fight this if we give him the chance.

How?

Use your imagination! I don’t have all the answers. I just feel like that is what we need to do.

Kaida did her best to imagine herself before the bond flames in her human form. She could see herself standing before the flames and reaching out to Blaze’s. It was hot to the touch but did not burn her when she picked it up. Kaida imagined herself pulling away the black from the red flame. Kaida felt the oily black ooze that coated the flame on her hand. Kaida growled at feeling the sickly power the dimension held in its ooze. She pushed her magic into her hand and watched the ooze sizzle out of existence.

It worked!

Keep going! There is more, and I can’t hold him in place much longer!

Kaida continued her movements of pulling the dimension out of the flame and burned it off with her magic. Slowly, the black outline around Blaze’s flame faded away. After the last of the dimensions was pulled away, the scent of campfire and Blaze returned. Kaida placed the flame back where it belonged. It was still small compared to the others due to their bond not being completed, but at least the dimension was no longer affecting him.

The image went away as her teeth left Blaze’s skin. Kaida stepped back; Blaze placed his head on the ground and closed his eyes. Kaida looked at the others, and they shifted back to their human forms. Enzo remained in his dragon form as he healed from his wound. Kaida glanced at him, and her dragon let out a breathy whine. Enzo glanced at her but didn’t move. The wound looked aggressive as it puffed up during the healing process. It would probably be gone in an hour, but it would be difficult for him to move until then.

Kaida shifted back so she could talk to the others. They rushed to her, Arlo reaching her first. He looked her over and pulled her to him, and when he was satisfied, she was okay.

"Gods, I thought I’d see burns on you after feeling his flames scorching your scales," Arlo said into her neck.

Beckett and Esen looked her over, too, when Arlo stepped away as if he would lie. Kaida soaked up the attention but pushed them away to walk closer to Blaze. She heard the guys protesting behind her but brushed them off again.

"I need to know he is okay," Kaida said as she approached Blaze’s dragon gingerly.

His body was curled into a ball, and his wings were tucked in with his head on the ground. She noticed his one eye opened to look at her when a twig snapped under her feet. Kaida halted to give the dragon a moment to recognize her. The dragon rumbled and breathed out a sigh.

He’s not going to hurt me.

Blaze leaned his snout out to her as she approached. She put one hand against him, and the rumbling in his chest returned. There was nothing in the bond, but he knew who she was, which was the goal to calm him down from going berserk. It was a fight, but they got him back.

Where he belongs.