Chapter 20

20

C reed

I walk to Tank. I take my time. I keep my head high. I do not show weakness or fear.

His grin grows wider and wider as I approach. My frown grows deeper.

"Tell me all about human pussy," he says as I get closer. "No." He laughs. "You know what, don't bother; it won't be long before I get some of my own."

Rage courses through me. My dragon goes nuts. I push him down. I need clarity. Tank is trying to anger me, trying to get me off-kilter. He'll use it against me. He's quick and aggressive but, at the same time, keeps a cool head. He's a formidable opponent. I need to be the same. I need to be better if I have any hope of beating him.

As much as I'm doing this for Octavia, I can't let thoughts of her interfere with my concentration. Especially thoughts of what will happen to her if I am unsuccessful.

No!

I can't go there!

"Can he do this?" Octavia yells. "Is this even allowed? What about the rules? What about the rules, Pyro? This has to be against the rules."

Pyro says something to her, but I drown it out. I need to concentrate.

I'm almost positive that Tank knows about my ribs. That's why he is doing this. One night would not have mended them fully, but I would have been far better off than I am right now. Some time to heal is better than no time.

We circle each other in our human forms. He is still smirking. I shift first, feeling my dragon burst forth. He is right behind me; I barely have time to dodge his flames. I use my tail, but he leaps back.

We exchange a few blows, but it's clear that we're testing one another. I think he might be toying with me. I don't mind. Let him be cocky. The longer he plays, the more hope I have of getting a good blow in, a winning blow.

I get a claw to his back where I open flesh. He snarls and comes at me, his tail missing me by an inch. I feel the displaced air as I leap away.

He comes at me, flames licking. This time, he lands a strike with the side of his head… and directly on my ribs. I hear a crack as my newly fractured bones break clean through.

Agony, white-hot like molten lava, settles there as his head twists back. I stagger. Fuck! I catch myself and stand tall. His eyes twinkle with humor, and he chuffs.

He knows.

I knew it.

I can still do this. I have to try. I want to turn to look at Octavia, but I know it will be my undoing. I will give it my all.

I prepare to launch an attack on Tank when someone shouts something. There is pointing and more shouting.

"Stop!" Pyro says. "Look," he adds, pointing to the sky.

I lift my gaze. My dragon wants me to keep fighting.

Protect.

Fight!

Kill!

Tank shifts back into his human form.

I do too. "What the hell!?" I mutter as soon as I am able to talk. My bones feel worse now that I am in human form. I have to work to stand tall and not clutch my side. I feel nothing but relief when I see a large contingent of dragons flying our way. Males have joined and left but in drips and drabs, nothing of this magnitude. There must be at least a hundred dragons flying in formation. They're a few minutes out, approaching fast.

"Let's finish this," Tank snarls, turning slitted eyes on me.

"No!" Pyro shouts. "The games are over! We need to leave."

A few dragons take to the sky. A few move closer.

"It's done. If you lift so much as a finger, we will have cause to end you." Pyro says. Two of the males snarl, and a third growls. They all shift, ready to intervene. Tank hasn't earned any friends with his behavior today.

I turn and walk back to Octavia, who is holding her hand up to shield her face from the sun; she's squinting.

She gasps when she spots them. "What is that?"

"They're from the city," Pyro says. The male followed me here.

"I think you're right," I say. "There are too many of them to be banished males."

"What do they want?" Octavia asks, unable to take her eyes off the formation. It's drawing closer at speed, and it's so big it blocks the sun. "Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to see them. It's a freaking miracle."

"You," I say. "They're here for you. There is no other explanation."

There is yelling and then cracking sounds as dragons shift one after the other. Groups of them take to the sky, scattering like leaves in the wind.

Tank turns to us from the field below. "This isn't over," he tells me, but since the male has been banished for life, that isn't true. He can't enter the city. That is where the king's guard will take her.

"It's not safe for you here," I tell Pyro, who must know this. "They'll be here any minute."

Pyro's group starts to grow restless. One or two of them shift and leave.

"You really should go," I tell him. "There is no telling how the king's guard will react when they get here."

"They can be hard on us," Pyro explains to Octavia. "They hate us."

"Maybe we should run while we can." Octavia turns frightened eyes to me. She grabs my arm. "We should also go, Creed."

"You have nothing to fear, human," Pyro says. "The guard will take you back to the city. You are nearly safe. As for the rest of us…" He shakes his head. "We are seen as the lowest form of scum and treated accordingly. I must leave now. You should do the same, Creed."

More and more dragons leave as he speaks.

"It was good meeting you, Pyro," Octavia says. "I hope you get to go home soon."

He smiles. "I have two months left of my six-month sentence. I greatly look forward to returning to the city. For now," he looks up at the sky, "I think I need to get myself gone." He looks over at the last remaining males in his group.

"I will see you soon, human," Tank growls. It sounds like both a promise and a warning.

I growl low, my chest vibrating. It hurts, but I don't give a fuck. I put an arm around Octavia and pull her close. She puts her arms around me.

Tank grins at us, looking every bit the madman. "I would have won."

"I guess we'll never know," I tell him.

"I would have. You are lucky, but your luck can only last so long," Tank tells me, his eyes narrowed. "Until we meet again, human," he says. Then he winks at her and shifts, taking to the sky. He screeches as he flies over us before darting away to the thicker part of the jungle. The parts where the enforcers don't go.

"You should go too, Creed," Pyro says, urgency laced in his voice.

I shake my head. "I promised to see Octavia to safety. I have served my time. I will wait for them to get here."

Pyro nods once at me and then at Octavia. He turns and jogs away, shifting mid-stride. He and the last of the dragons take off, flying at a fast pace.

I look up, seeing how close the formation is. There might even be more than a hundred of them. They're tightly packed.

"You're okay?" She hugs me. "I can't believe it." Her voice is high-pitched. I can tell that she's only just holding it together. "I thought…I…"

"I'm fine. It's fine," I tell her.

"I can't believe they're coming." She looks over at them, smiling. She laughs but turns serious. "Are you sure they're here to help me?" Octavia sounds frightened. I can't blame her. It is a sight to behold.

"Yes. You are safe now," I say. I'm holding her hand. I squeeze it, then let her go. I'm not sure how they will react if I am touching her. I think that they might go harder on me.

"You should leave," Octavia says. "The rest all left. Pyro said it wasn't safe for you."

"I promised I would stay with you until you were safe. The guard is not here yet, which means that you are still at risk." I lick my lips. "Listen to me one last time. They might get rough with me. They might even beat me. Don't interfere."

"What?" She turns to me, her eyes blazing. "Are you insane? I'm just supposed to watch? I won't, Creed. You've taken enough beatings for me."

"I told you that I'm fine. We agreed that you would do everything I asked of you; well, this is one of those things. They might beat me, but they will let me go…eventually. I will be fine. They'll take you to safety. You will get off of this island and back to the Mainland like you wanted."

"I don't like it, Creed." She shakes her head, her eyes wide.

"Please do as I say," I beg, taking both her hands in mine.

She nods once, swallowing thickly. "So, this is goodbye, then?" Her eyes glint with what looks like unshed tears.

"Yes. You will be fine."

"Come with me back to the city, please. Come back! This is as good a time as any. I don't want to go with them. Not without you." Her voice has a pleading edge. She's afraid, but I know she'll be fine. The city dragons are very different from what she has experienced with most of the jungle males.

But looking into her gray-blue eyes, I'm tempted to do just that. To re-enter society, to start again, to take back my life, but…this is not the right time. It's better if I cut ties with the human now before I grow attached.

"I have some things I still need to attend to back at the cabin. You'll be home in no time," I tell her in a soothing voice.

She puts her arms around me, burying her face in my chest. "I'm not ready to say goodbye to you." She lets me go, looking into my eyes.

I smile. "It's time."

She needs to leave, which means that I need to stay. Humans do not belong on Mistveil. There is nothing else to it.

"I'm scared, Creed," she says as a huge shadow falls over us. The flapping of wings drowns out her voice.

"There is no reason. You're braver than you think. You stood up to Tank more than once. You made it out here. You should be proud. Now, you need to go back to the Mainland." I smile. "It's important that you go for more flying lessons. You need them."

She gives me a watery smile as her eyes fill with tears. She doesn't cry, though. Octavia is too strong for tears.

We both turn as the first of the dragons land. The earth shakes beneath our feet as at least a hundred dragons land together in formation.

Several males in the front shift into their human forms. All of the dragons behind them stay in tight lines, standing like statues on the ready.

"Get away from the female, outlaw scum!" the closest male instructs me, his eyes blazing with unchecked hate and animosity.

"Stop, he's my friend," Octavia yells so that all present will hear.

"Remember what I said," I say under my breath. "I will be fine. Goodbye, Octavia."

We're still looking at one another when I am tackled to the ground. My ribs scream. I think I do, too, as the wind is knocked from me.

I think Octavia is telling me "Goodbye," but I can't be sure. Two males pick me up from behind, and the one who tackled me is back on his feet. He punches me in the stomach, putting his back into it.

Then, blessedly, he goes for my face. I don't think I can take any more blows to the torso. He keeps up the assault. I don't care about the punches, but I bristle at Octavia's screams.