Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

“ K yle!” I rush forward and drop to my hands and knees, staring down into the crater.

I can’t see him anywhere. Why didn’t he release his wings? I frantically scan the volcano below, but he’s just gone.

I scramble to my feet, charging at Drakon as red-hot rage floods through me, and I punch him in the face.

“You bastard!” I scream, smacking my fists into his chest.

He lets out a warning growl, and his two guards restrain me.

Drakon dusts off his leathers. “I will only warn you once. Do that again, and I’ll feed you to the wild dragons.”

I struggle against the guards, but they’re not about to let me go. “What have you done?!”

A roar booms inside the volcano, and I still. It echoes through the air, and then Kyle’s dragon shoots out of the crater, his gold wings swooping hard as he soars into the sky.

The guards let me go, and we stare as he flaps his enormous wings, flying higher and higher, until he’s a mere speck in the sky above.

Drakon laughs. “Works every time.”

I narrow my gaze at him. “And how many times have you done that?”

He smirks. “Okay, fine, that’s the first time. But it worked, didn’t it?”

I stare at Kyle as he glides closer. He’s magnificent. His golden scales gleam in the sunlight as he twirls through the air, gliding down and then powering back up again, riding the wind currents. I almost want to join him up there, but it’s probably best I don’t while he’s still getting used to his dragon.

“Why is his dragon gold?” I ask curiously.

Drakon doesn’t respond right away, and something about his pinched mouth tells me it annoys him.

“We are all unique, but I do not know,” he eventually says. “I can’t say I have seen a gold dragon before.”

Why would Kyle be gold, and not Drakon, considering they’re closely related?

Two black dragons glide down and land on the volcano. They shift, and it’s Atlas and Rhea.

Great.

Kyle swoops down and lands on the edge of the crater, almost falling in. He shifts back into his male form, flicking his gaze around as if he’s confused before he zeros in on Drakon and strides up to the male.

“What the fuck was that?” Kyle demands.

Drakon smirks. “What that was, was necessary. It called to your dragon’s survival instincts and helped to draw him out.”

“What if it didn’t work?”

Drakon walks to the crater’s edge and kicks a stone in. “You would have been fine. The lava can’t harm us.”

I remember now how Drakon dipped his hand in the lava river as if it were nothing but water. He knew Kyle would be okay, even if Kyle and I didn’t.

Kyle seems to accept that, and he moves to my side, curling his arm around me.

Atlas watches with piqued curiosity, and then his gaze finds mine.

Drakon looks between Atlas and Rhea. “Can I help you with something, son?”

“No, we just came to watch.”

I shuffle uncomfortably from one foot to the other. I don’t like the way Atlas looks at me, especially after the visions I’ve had about him. He’s a cocky, arrogant male, and even though Rhea is a bitch, she doesn’t deserve the way he treats her. I don’t trust either of them.

She flicks her gaze to me briefly then refocuses on Kyle.

Drakon clasps his hands together. “Kyle, I want you to shift again, without me shoving you over the edge. Think about how you felt right before you shifted and draw on that feeling.”

Kyle moves away from me and closes his eyes, his brows pulling together with deep concentration. He takes a run-up and jumps off the volcano, disappearing down the side and out of view. We all rush over to look for him when gold angel wings appear, and he flies back up and lands on the crater’s edge next to me.

“It didn’t work,” he says, frustration thick in his tone.

Drakon moves to stand before him. “You need to get a handle on this. You can’t only shift when danger is near. You must be able to shift at any time, in any moment.”

Kyle runs his hand down his face. “You’ve been doing this for years. It’s going to take me some time to work it out.”

Atlas steps forward. “I’d be happy to create some danger if it’ll help.”

I don’t like the way his gaze lands on me as he says it, as if I’m the bait in his twisted plan. Rhea lets out a huff and moves to his side, curling her arm through his to try and steal his focus. He glances at her like he’s annoyed she’s here and shakes her arm loose. She glares at him then shifts into her dragon and takes off.

He doesn’t even seem to care that she left. I wonder if he’s even noticed.

“I think I’ll pass,” Kyle says.

I rub Kyle’s lower back. “Just give it another go. You’ve got to keep trying.”

He slips his finger under my chin, tilting it up so he can kiss me. “I will.”

He wanders to the edge of the volcano and shuts his eyes. The air around him shifts, but nothing happens. He opens his eyes and looks at me, then closes them again. As he focuses everything he has, he creases his forehead .

The air shifts once again, and Kyle is replaced by his dragon. He glances back at us, his red eyes focused on me, and he lets out a huff before he kicks off into the sky.

Drakon walks to the other side of the volcano for a better view, but as I go to follow him, Atlas steps in my way.

Not this again. “What is it?”

He inches closer. “Enjoy the show last night?”

His seedy tone prickles my skin.

“No, I didn’t. Now please move.” I go to walk around him, but he grabs my arm.

I glance up at the sky, but Kyle’s dragon is flying around high above us and hasn’t noticed.

Atlas leans in close to whisper in my ear, “I enjoyed having an audience. Makes me hard just thinking about it.”

I yank my arm free and stride to the other side of the volcano, away from him. Disgusting male. We need Kyle to learn how to control his dragon and fire powers, fast, so we can get the heck out of this place.

I stand next to Drakon and fold my arms, pretending the interaction with Atlas just now didn’t happen. “He’s getting it.”

He focuses on Kyle’s dragon as he soars above us. “He is. But he has a long way to go.”

Atlas saunters over to stand at my side. “Looks like you’ll be here a while, then.”

I roll my eyes. “Hopefully not too long.”

I can feel Atlas’s gaze on me, but I ignore him. I need to avoid as much interaction with him as possible.

Kyle glides back down and lands on the edge of the volcano, much smoother this time, and shifts back. I hurry over to him with Drakon and Atlas close behind.

“You were amazing! What’s it like being a dragon?” I ask, curling my arms around his neck.

He leans down and kisses me. “It’s exhilarating. It’s like it’s me, but not. I have control, but I’m fighting him for it. As if he wants to take over and do what he pleases.”

Drakon slaps Kyle on the back. “And that’s why you must learn to control him. You do not want your dragon to control you. Ever. We’ve lost several shifters to their dragons over the years. They simply weren’t strong enough to control them, and they couldn’t shift back. Their dragons flew off, and we haven’t seen them since.”

I gasp, my gaze flicking between Kyle and Drakon. “Did you ever go after them?”

Atlas snorts. “You don’t go after a wild dragon, Zarla. It would be the death of you.”

“But they’re not a wild dragon. They’re dragon shifters. Like you.”

Drakon slips his hands into his pockets. “Not by that stage, they’re not. And even being stuck in their dragon form for a week, there’s almost no going back. They become animalistic. Wild. They’re a lost cause.”

Goose bumps trickle down my spine at the thought. It could have happened to Kyle today. What if he couldn’t regain that control, and he was lost to his dragon forever?

Kyle grabs hold of my hand, stealing my focus. “Do I have any other relatives here?”

Drakon visibly tenses, as if it’s a taboo subject or something. “Yes.”

Kyle’s gaze darts between Drakon and Atlas. “Okay, who?”

Something tells me the answer isn’t going to be a good one.

Drakon blows out a long breath and walks over to the other side of the volcano. He points out into the distance, and we join him, looking at what he’s trying to show us.

“Your grandfather, Theon, lives out there somewhere. Zeta’s father. He didn’t like the way in which I ran the Kingdom, and so he chose to leave the city. Become an outcast from society.” His tone holds buried anger that I can tell he hasn’t worked through just yet.

I look out over that side of the Kingdom, at the barren lands that stretch on farther than the eye can see. There’s just sand dunes out there, rocky cliffs, and more volcanos in the distance. He must be pretty isolated and lonely out there.

Drakon glances at Kyle. “Why don’t you shift into your dragon and take Zarla for a ride?”

I swallow hard and take a step back. “I don’t think I’m ready for that just yet.”

Kyle tilts his head as he looks at me. “Are you afraid, my mate?”

I flick my gaze to Atlas and Drakon, who seem to find this all too amusing, then back to Kyle. “Of course not. But you heard what he just said about dragon shifters who shift and get trapped within their dragon form, right?”

Atlas spreads his arms out at his sides. “Or you could ride me? My dragon is well under my control.”

I narrow my gaze at him, knowing his comment has an underlying message that Kyle or Drakon won’t pick up on. Such a creep.

“Or,” I counter, “I can fly myself. I do have my own wings, after all.”

I release my wings and move to the edge of the volcano, glancing back as Drakon shifts, followed by Atlas. They take to the sky, but Kyle remains.

“You can do this,” I tell him.

He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes. The air around him goes almost hazy, and then he shifts into his dragon. He lets out a roar and kicks off the top of the volcano, spreading his vast gold wings out at his sides as he flaps them, soaring up to join Drakon and Atlas.

I dive off the volcano and fly up toward them. Drakon and Atlas roar then head back toward the castle, but Kyle’s dragon remains. He looks at me with his large red eyes, and I wonder how much of Kyle is in there. Something inside tells me he is in control and that I can trust his dragon just as much as I can trust him.

“I’m going to land on your back, okay?”

He lets out a grunt, and I know he can understand me. I swoop up and then glide down, carefully landing on his dragon’s back. He tilts to the side, and I almost fall off but quickly manage to grab a hold of the thick spikes running down his spine. I cling on tight, gripping my legs around his wide neck.

I’m riding Kyle’s dragon.

And it’s the most exhilarating feeling I’ve ever experienced. More so than when I first rode Keva.

Gods above, the thought of Keva hurts my heart. I miss him so much. Sensing my thoughts, Kyle’s dragon groans.

“I miss Keva,” I explain to him, gently rubbing my hand over the thick scales down his neck. “I know he’s okay, though. He’s with the other Zelons in the Dark Forest.”

I haven’t really been paying much attention to the direction we’re heading, but when I glance up, I realise Kyle is flying toward the area his grandfather, Theon, lives. We pass over sand dunes and rocky cliffs, and the closer we get, the more apparent it becomes how desolate a place this really is.

Kyle’s dragon swoops lower, playfully darting across the tops of the sand dunes. The wind picks up, carrying sand and blowing it up around us. I duck my face against his dragon’s neck, shielding myself as best I can, but I still get sand in my eyes. I blink, rubbing my eyes, and something flashes in my peripheral.

An enormous blue dragon swoops up the side of a sand dune and blasts fire right at us.

Kyle’s dragon tilts to the side to dodge the fiery blast, and I scream, falling off. I land on the top of a sand dune and roll down the side of it, but I scramble to my feet as two more dragons chase after Kyle.

These are smaller than the blue one, but they’re still massive. Not as big as Kyle’s dragon, though, which seems to be the biggest one I’ve seen in Pyrrhus.

The green dragon swoops around in a loop and then darts toward Kyle, smashing into his side. Kyle’s dragon loses his balance and crashes somewhere into the ground below, but the sand dunes before me obscure my view.

“Kyle!” I scream, releasing my wings.

Dragon roars boom through the air, but I can’t see what’s happening. They’ve fallen down behind a huge sand dune in front of me. I swoop my wings, fly up, and then land with a thud on the top where my boots dig into the sand. I spot Kyle at the base of the vast sand dune, but I hesitate to fly down there.

The three dragons circle Kyle’s dragon, and his gaze finds mine. I duck down behind the sand dune, somehow sensing that’s what he wants me to do.

If these dragons spot me, they’ll probably kill me. I know that’s why they’re here, to kill us.

Kyle’s dragon spins in a circle, blasting fire at all three of the dragons before pushing off into the sky. The three dragons seem disorientated by his flames, pawing at their eyes before they zone in on Kyle again and chase after him.

Shoot, what do I do? If I fly after them, I may get eaten. I’m no match for a dragon, especially without access to my powers. But I can’t just stand here and do nothing.

I take to the sky and fly toward Kyle and the three dragons chasing him, unsure how I’ll be able to help him with no powers.

And then Kyle’s dragon disappears.

I stop flying and hover, darting my gaze around, searching the sky for him. What in the gods just happened?

Suddenly he appears behind the dragons, lets out a deep growl, opens his jaws, and blasts fire at them.

I blink, confused at what just happened. Did he teleport?

He swings his enormous tail through the air and slams it into the green dragon, and it screeches and then drops from the sky. It lands hard in the sand dunes below. It’s badly injured, but it doesn’t deter the other two dragons, who continue their ferocious attack.

Kyle’s dragon bites into the back of the black one, and the blue one swoops at him, forcing him to let go.

Out of nowhere, a huge brown dragon swoops down from above and smashes into the blue dragon, sending that one swirling into the sand dunes below. It’s just the black one left now, but when it catches sight of the brown dragon, it abruptly turns and flies away.

How bizarre.

The brown dragon glides down and lands in the sand near the injured blue and green dragons. Kyle’s dragon lands near the brown one, and I land next to Kyle. He shifts back, his focus locked on the brown dragon.

“Are you okay?” I ask, wrapping my arms around him.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

We stare at the brown dragon, and he shifts into a tall male with broad shoulders. His long black hair is pulled back into a ponytail. By the gods, he looks like Zeta.

Kyle takes a step toward him. “Are you Theon?”

He pulls a blade from his belt and storms up to the blue dragon, and in one swift motion, he slits its throat. Blue blood oozes from the deep gash, and I gasp and turn into Kyle. The dragon shifts back into a male, his blank, lifeless gaze staring up at us.

Theon strides through the sand toward the other one.

“Wait! Don’t!” Kyle calls out to him.

Theon, or who I assume to be Theon, stops and glances over his shoulder at Kyle. “Why? You want to give him the opportunity to kill you first?”

“We can at least ask him who sent them.”

He laughs and carries on toward the male. Blood drips off his blade from the previous kill, and I can’t look. He’s about to kill the other one when Kyle runs over to him.

“Just wait! How can we make him shift back?”

Theon rolls his eyes and then glides his blade across the dragon’s back, making a thin cut in his skin. The dragon grunts and then shifts back to his male.

Theon holds the blade to his throat, and the male’s gaze darts around.

“Who are you?” the male asks.

“Tsk tsk… I’ll ask the questions, shifter. Who sent you?” Theon demands.

He presses his lips together into a firm line, clearly refusing to answer.

Theon presses the blade harder, drawing blood. “I’m not asking again.”

The male shifts uncomfortably, knowing Theon isn’t messing around. “I can’t say. I’ve been bound by magic.”

Theon looks over his shoulder at Kyle and then slits the male’s throat. He wipes the blade across his leathers, cleaning off the blood, and then slips it back into his holster. He smiles at us with his hands on his hips.

“To answer your earlier question, yes, I am Theon.” He gestures between the two of us. “Who the hell are you?”

Kyle and I exchange looks. “I’m Kyle Laskaris.”

He tilts his head to the side. “I thought as much. You look just like my daughter, Zeta. And who are you?”

“I’m Zarla Vasilis. Atticus’s daughter,” I say.

I refuse to use the name Quinn. Harlum may have raised me, but he was also present for my mother’s murder and did nothing about it.

He raises his brows. “Well. I can understand why someone wants you dead, Kyle. This place isn’t safe. For either of you.”

I frown at that, my skin prickling at the warning in his words. “Why?”

He takes in a long breath and then blows it out slowly. “Because Kyle is destined to rule this Kingdom.”