Chapter 18

The sound of Faye's scream echoed in the back of his mind. He knew he had been close to her from her voice whispering in his head, but once he heard his name screamed, his dragon burst free. It was no longer willing to sit back. The shifting in the middle of woods wreaked havoc on the already dying forest. His dragon was too large for the area, but it didn't matter. Faye was in danger.

He sensed her close by and circled Gamair. His dragon was in pure beast mode. Gamair thought he was impossible to defeat. The Death Lord assumed he was too powerful for Vander, but that was where the black dragon was wrong. He had never fought Vander, The Warrior, who was protecting his mate.

Even Vander couldn't control his beast this time. Gamair came in for the attack, but Vander's dragon was in control and able to bat him off, twisting around and going for Gamair's neck. He had to stay on the Death Lord and not let him use his energy. Vander's teeth sank into the dragon, and Gamair bellowed out in pain. The dragon kicked him off, and Vander lost his grip on him.

Gamair took advantage of the kick and advanced again, trying to knock Vander down, but Vander recovered quickly. With a quick, deep breath, he blew out his scorching flames from his mouth.

Gamair let loose a scream. The flames danced along his scales. He tried to turn and run, pumping his wings as if to take off.

He was not getting in the air. If he did, there was no telling where this battle would end. Vander couldn't risk any more innocents getting injured or killed at the hands of the Death Lord.

The sound of a dragon's roar echoed in the air around them.

Feno.

Vander pounced on the tail of the Death Lord, halting his flight into the air. The dragon turned, trying to swipe his sharp talons at Vander.

Feno flew overhead and breathed his fire down onto the dragon. Vander did the same. Dragon's fire was one way to kill another dragon. Not many knew this, and dragons did not share this information. Normal fire did nothing, but it was the magic laced into a dragon's fire that was deadly to another dragon.

Gamair tried to fight them off, but he was growing weaker by the second. They continued to breathe their flames onto him. Vander let the dragon's tail go and concentrated on sending his flames. Gamair was quickly losing his fight. He slowly tried to crawl away. Another roar came from the sky, signaling the arrival of Jodos in his dragon form. He, too, joined them in sending flames onto the black dragon. He hovered in the air alongside Feno.

Finally, the Death Lord's fight went out of him. His body collapsed to the ground, unmoving. Feno and Jodos landed, and they waited to see if the black dragon would move.

"Is he dead?" Jodos asked, breaking the silence through their mental link.

Vander's dragon released a growl. He moved closer to the burnt dragon. Vander couldn't sense a heartbeat from Gamair.

"He's dead," Vander informed them. His dragon huffed, pissed that it was that easy to kill the Death Lord. He would have preferred to draw out the death and torture him slowly, until he faded into nothing, but this would have to do. Short and sweet.

The villagers would now be avenged.

Dalma would be avenged.

Faye would be?—

Faye! He turned his head, and his gaze frantically searched the area. He had to find her. His focus landed on the wooded area that was at the top of the hill, which led to where Gamair had appeared in the clearing. A slight movement from behind a tree caught his attention.

He slowly walked in the direction of the woods, his eyes on the small human who was peeking from behind a tree.

Faye.

"Go to her, brother," Feno said. "We'll take care of the body."

Vander stalked toward the trees, confident his brother would do as he'd promised. Faye moved from the tree she had been hiding behind. It was the first time he had revealed his dragon to her. He had to pull back on his dragon. His beast was ready to dash over to her and scoop her up, but Vander was sure that would scare the shit out of her.

Gentle , he scolded his dragon. We don't want to frighten her .

His dragon complied and calm down slightly. They stopped just yards away from her. She stood there, eyes wide, staring up at him. She appeared so tiny standing next to his massive dragon.

"Vander?" she whispered.

Her voice was faint, but he would recognize the sound of his name on her lips anytime.

He nodded and bent down to her. His nostrils flared, and he took in her scent. No fear, just the scent of his woman. His beast loved that she was not afraid of them. Her hand touched the tip of his nose. He closed his eyes briefly, before opening them to find a whimsical smile on her lips.

"Can you understand me?" she asked.

He nodded to her. Even though his dragon was in the forefront, he was still aware of everything. He gently pushed against her hand. She had asked him before if he would take her for a ride in the sky.

Now Gamair was dead, he would be able to finally concentrate on making her his. He leaned his head down to the ground.

She gasped and looked at him.

"A ride?" she asked, her bright smile lighting up her face. She shrieked at his nod and took off running toward him.

It was time he gave her the world.

* * *

Faye didn't hesitate. She ran to Vander. Her heart slammed in her chest at the sheer size of his dragon. Never would she have imagined she would watch dragons fight to the death, much less ride one. The scales that covered his body were tough but smooth to the touch. She was able to climb up on his shoulders and rested right at the base of his neck.

She braced; his muscles bunched beneath her touch before they were thrust into the air by Vander's massive wingspan. She gasped and held on tight to Vander's neck, her eyes squeezed shut. Her hair whipped around her face, and they flew through the air.

She released her grip on his neck and lifted her head slightly. With one eye open, she glanced around and saw nothing but the night sky, filled with twinkling stars. Not a cloud was in the sky, and she was in awe of what was in front of her. They glided through the peaceful night. She had never seen a sky so beautiful. It was like she had a front-row seat to a magical light show.

"This is beautiful," she murmured, opening her other eye. Excitement filled her chest, and she wished she could know what Vander was thinking. She didn't dare move. She didn't want to chance sliding off the large dragon's back.

Vander's dragon snorted, as if reading her thoughts.

"Where are we going?" she shouted around the wind. She knew it was silly to think that the dragon could respond to her.

But where were they going?

"Home."

The word was whispered in her ear, the breeze flying past her.

She knew they weren't heading toward Westwend. They were cutting through the sky at high speeds.

Was Vander speaking to her telepathically?

"Whose home?" she thought to herself. There was no way Vander was speaking to her.

No way.

" Our home." His voice was now clear.

She wasn't hearing things. She sat back, amazed they were able to speak to each other. Did this mean they were truly mates? Her heart sped up at the thought. She cared deeply for him and felt there would never be another one.

"Hold on to that thought." Vander's voice broke through her thoughts.

Her eyes widened; the sight of the castle came into view.

Home.

The large dragon circled the landing pad of the castle. She wasn't sure what to do as he made the descent toward the pad. She held on tight, and he made a soft landing. She looked around. The dragon turned and lowered itself toward the ground.

She slid off and backed away while keeping her eyes on him. She'd ridden a flipping dragon! She was in awe and stared at the dragon. The dragon returned her gaze, and appeared to puff its chest out.

She barked out a laugh, realizing he was showing off for her. Power radiated from the massive beast. He was beautiful, but she wanted to see his human counterpart.

"Such a handsome dragon. You are magnificent." She smiled, clasping her hands to her chest. "But I need to speak to Vander now."