Chapter 18

DAMIAN

The news of two of our guys being hurt has me on edge. What the hell happened?

It’s already odd that Prince Zar, King Gabriel’s son, showed up asking for a trade of scales. Now, with two of our own injured, things are getting weirder.

Right now, I have no idea where Dimitri is. He and Valkyrie had a spat, and I haven’t seen him since.

I have no choice but to mind-link him. Dimitri sounds ticked off at first, but once I fill him in, he’s on his way. I send a few guys and Leo to scour the mountains and figure out what happened.

The two injured guys were on border patrol. One of them says they were attacked, but he didn’t see who or what did it.

Luckily, another dragon was flying by and helped them out, bringing them back.

Could it be that tamers are nearby? They know this is dangerous territory, though.

“Damian, what’s the situation?” Dimitri asks, stopping to look out from the cave.

“We have two injured. We don’t know what attacked them,” I explain, “It might be dragon tamers.”

“Where are they?” Dimitri asks.

“They’re with Michael,” I point out, and Dimitri heads over to them.

Michael is tending to both dragons. Thankfully, their injuries are minor, nothing too serious.

~“Leo, any updates? Did you find anything?”~ I ask, mind-linking Leo.

~“No, it’s weird. The whole forest is empty,”~ Leo replies.

I sigh and move closer to look. Using my dragon sight, I scan the area near the palace. It’s true, no one can get to the palace because it’s at the highest peak.

But if they have weapons or dragons, they could still reach it and hurt someone.

~“Damian, we see four men. They’re running towards the border,”~ Leo says, making me turn and call Dimitri.

“How many?” Dimitri asks.

“Four, they’re running away,” I say.

Dimitri quickly strips and transforms, ready to give chase.

~“Let’s go, Damian,”~ Dimitri orders. I nod and follow him.

Dimitri growls a warning as we fly fast towards the border. I’m sure everyone in the palace knows something’s up.

~“Let’s corner them,”~ I suggest. Everyone agrees, and we cut them off.

Dimitri lands with a thud and moves in on them. He grabs the first one with his snout, killing him instantly.

~“We need one alive, so don’t kill them all,”~ Dimitri orders. I look around, trying to find someone who might be useful. We have three left.

The bastards scream and try to escape. As I move to pin one down, he pulls out a whip and cracks it at me. I growl loudly as the whip wraps around my paw.

The weapon he’s using is a tamer’s. It has spikes and crystal plates. The weapon immediately weakens me. Dimitri sees me struggling and charges at the man.

~“Dragon tamer!”~ Dimitri shouts through the mind-link.

I need to move, but the crystals blur my vision. My body feels heavy, my mind foggy. I sway, trying to back away.

~“Damian!”~ I hear Dimitri call. I shake my head and growl softly, trying to keep myself upright.

The crystal plates on the spikes have pierced my skin, injuring my leg.

I stumble and fall sideways. I try to steady myself with my front paws.

~“Pull yourself together, Damian!”~ Dimitri orders.

I hear more growls and look up at the sky. I see a figure. Who is that?

“DAMIAN!” the voice calls, and I realize who’s riding on Leo’s back.

~“Valkyrie?”~ I mumble as my eyelids start to droop. I rest my head on the ground, grumbling. I need to fight the poison, or my recovery will take forever.

I hear Valkyrie calling my name as I finally let sleep take over. I can feel her hands on my skin, pushing against me with worry.

***

I wake up feeling sick and roll over to vomit. My body feels heavy, and my head is spinning. I groan and clutch my stomach, throwing up again.

“It’s okay. Let it out,” Michael says. His voice makes me groan in annoyance. My hearing is too sensitive, and it’s bothering me.

“What happened?” I ask. “How long have I been out?”

“Honestly, only two days,” Michael says, making me snap my head up in confusion.

“Two days?” I ask. “Why?”

“Well…,” Michael starts, looking away.

I frown at him. My head is still pounding.

“Valkyrie saved your scaly ass,” Dimitri says, walking into the room. He’s wearing black pants and a fur coat. “And now she’s paying the price.”

What the hell is Dimitri talking about?

“Wait, what?” I stutter.

“Valkyrie healed you, but she didn’t do it right,” Michael sighs. “Now she’s in a deep sleep.”

“What? What are you talking about?” I ask, sitting up. “Why is she in a deep sleep?”

“Valkyrie used her powers the wrong way. It’s affected her. She’s been asleep for the last two days. Her body isn’t responding to anything,” Michael explains, reaching for my forehead.

“It seems Valkyrie has dragon’s blood in her veins.”

I look between Michael and Dimitri.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I spit out, shocked. “Valkyrie is human!”

“Nah,” Prince Cian says, strolling into the room to stand beside Dimitri. “I took a peek into her past. She’s a hybrid. Looks like Valkyrie is part dragon, part mage. Just like Michael and me.”