Chapter Sixteen

Silas

The impact drove the air from my lungs as I sailed through the air.

No, not I. We.

While I convulsed, trying desperately to bring air back to my lungs, he threw me from his grip down onto the beach. I didn't bounce, the wet sand sucking me in, keeping me in place.

A moment later, a wave washed over me, spinning me around.

"Silas!" a voice screamed from back on the hill.

I lifted a hand, trying to let Chloe know I was okay. Even if my lungs still refused to work. Bending over, waiting for the spasms to die down, I gathered my thoughts, forcing back the panic signal my brain was sending out from a lack of oxygen.

It would come. I just needed time to recover, and then I—

A dragon tail swept across the surf as it slammed into my legs, hitting me hard in the midsection. I flew parallel to the coast, skipping like a stone, before my leg caught, and I whipped over and down, planting face-first into a mixture of seawater and sand.

"Not so fucking tough now, are you?" a voice snarled as something big made its way through the water toward me.

"Mattias," I gasped, muscles abruptly responding to my orders once more. I drew in several deep breaths as the gold dragon stormed its way through the surf toward me. "How lovely to see you again."

"Fuck you."

I flung myself to the side as Mattias vomited flames from the snout of his beast. The cold water of the Atlantic absorbed the heat and exploded outward, adding force to my leap. I bounced and rolled up onto the coast, bending both knees as I skidded to a stop, finally upright.

Fury burned through me as the gold dragon whipped its head around and prepared to attack me again. Mattias had snuck up on me. On us. If he'd wanted, he could have hit Chloe with his dive-bomb attack, and there would be nothing I could have done to stop it. She would be dead.

All because I'd been unprepared for the escalation like that. Clearly, Seth hadn't been willing to let things go, so he'd sent his thugs out to find me and make his displeasure clear.

Unguarded, I'd been a prime target. I wasn't about to make that mistake again, however. It was time to send a message back to Seth. One he couldn't fail to misunderstand.

Flame belched forth once more, and I shot into the sky as wings erupted from my shoulder blades, carrying me high above Mattias. The large dragon crouched, leaping to give pursuit.

I flipped myself over, and as I dropped from the sky face first, I let the rest of my change come over me.

Mattias, unprepared, tried to bank out of the way, but he was too slow, caught between beats of his wings. I slammed into him with gravity on my side, much as he'd done to me seconds earlier.

That time, however, I raked my claws along his flank, tearing scales apart and sending them and blood to shower the sandy beach below. We landed hard, but not before Mattias' jaw darted forward on the end of his long neck and ripped a chunk out of my right foreleg. Crimson scales scattered, mixing with gold.

However, the move left his neck wide open, and my snout darted forward, closing on it.

Before I could rip it out, Mattias' tail came flying in without warning, catching me across the head. Stunned, I staggered across the beach, claws digging in to try to stabilize me but finding no purchase as the sand just gave way under the immense force.

The gold dragon leaped on me, claws shredding, and I bellowed in pain against my will.

A horrified cry from high on the hill fell over us.

"You could have hurt her!" I roared.

"Don't worry," the gold dragon snarled, inhaling deep. "She's next."

Fresh fury propelled me forward with incredible speed. Already in the process of lunging to extend himself and shoot fire all over my weakened flank, Mattias was unable to get out of the way. My jaws shut around his snout, forcing it closed.

Fire burst out of the sides, scorching me slightly but doing far worse to Mattias as he cooked his insides from the heat.

Spitting him aside, I placed one massive paw on his chest, pinning the slightly smaller dragon to the ground. "Don't ever threaten her again," I snarled. "Is that understood?"

"Fuck you," Mattias spat. "You human-loving—AYIIEEEEE"

The scream as I opened his side like a zipper with my claw was anything but pleasant on the ears. Nothing like what he was going through, however, as I split the flesh fully, exposing his insides.

"I asked you a question!" I bellowed, still holding him in place. "You never touch her or threaten her. Is that clear?"

"Yes! Clear! Oh, fuck, I get it, I get it!" Mattias wailed as blood poured from the wound into the sand before the next wave came in and washed it away.

While also pouring salt into the wound. The gold dragon screamed and thrashed some more.

"Quit your whining," I spat, shaking my head. "It's not fatal, lucky for you. Just going to be painful for a long time."

For a human, it probably would have been fatal. But dragons healed faster. All Mattias had to do was press the wound together, and it would begin stitching itself shut. Still, it would take huge amounts of energies. He would be useless for several days while he recovered. But as I'd told him, he would live.

Live to tell Seth what had happened and what would happen if anyone tried to touch Chloe.

She was mine. I was her protector. They would all know that now.

My dragon's agreement was swift and fierce.

Looking up at a sound, I saw her scrambling down the hill toward me. My dragon sight made it easy to see the panic and fear on her face.

Shifting back, I went to meet her and calm her down.