A Dragon's Heart (Book Three in the APK Trilogy)

Chapter 7 | (P.1) Desperation

Hey Guys! Just a quick note to let you know that Part Two will be up later today xx

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OBSIDIAN

NO!

She was getting away! She was getting away from me! I struggled fiercely against the grip of the other dragon but his jaws were clamped firmly around my leg and my only option was to watch her fly away, disappearing into the night and taking what was left of my heart with her. I had been so close!

My simmering rage burst forth and I turned on the other beast, attacking with wild, uncontrollable fury. I wrestled in his grip, my jaws clamping, grating against his hard armor, desperate to find a soft spot. Our wings battered the air as we fought to keep our massive bodies airborne.

One wild glance around told me that the Prince had still not surfaced and it was then that I realized Unabonan carried another. I spied her fingers, gripping desperately to the saddle like contraption he had strapped to his back. The Prince of Dragons, reduced to a pack horse. Pitiful.

My black scaled lips pulled back in a snarl as I saw my way out. Drawing in a breath I felt the hot flames building in the back of my throat. The saddle was exposed as his neck bent down in order to keep his hold on my leg and not willing to miss the chance I unleashed a torrent of golden flame, aimed directly at the girl he carried. If he wanted to save her, he would have to let go.

And let go he did, turning at the very last second to divert the flame onto another part of his body instead. I was off in an instance, using my color to my advantage and melting back into the night as silently as I had come. By the time he looked back to me, there was nothing left to see.

I heard his roar of challenge echo out behind me and I was smart enough to resist the urge to reply with a challenge of my own. If I was quick I could still catch her.

But there was a pain ...

I dipped down towards the water dangerously, only now realizing the extent of my injuries. I would have to land but the thought of losing this chance because of some minor blood loss made me feel sick to my stomach. Damn it to hell, if only I had realized it was her to begin with, I would have never attacked. I had been in the moment, destroying a town in this form made me blood thirsty and through the reddish tinge, all that I had seen was that stupid, stupid, Dragon.

There were animalistic urges, ones that I still had trouble controlling, like Unabonan's challenge from before. It was deeply ingrained in a Dragons blood to not back down from a challenge like that, especially when we knew we could take him. It took every ounce of my Human strength not to reply.

Once I had realized it was her, that it was my Circe, my joy had been clouded by my anger at her flight. The beast inside me struggled to grasp why she was running. Only prey ran and she was not prey.

But chasing her like that? What had I been thinking? That she would recognize me? Pah, how foolish. I had been so desperate, so desperate to reach her that I had lost control. I would have tried to obtain her at any cost.

I could have killed her.

That realization alone was enough to shock me out of the air and I dropped another hundred meters. I spied an out crop of land from the direction in which I had come and crash landed on the beach. The jungle was dark here and there was no sign of human life.

Groaning with despair I made the shift, pulling forward my human image and hiding my Dragon skin. I fell to my knees, my head lolling back as I glared up at the stars. And then the pain hit.

Air hissed out from between my teeth as I fell forward, twisting my body around to inspect the damage to my leg. The gash was smaller than it had been when I was in Dragon form, but that didn't make it any less severe. The rest of the damage was minor and although I was covered in blood, I wasn't too worried; it was this leg that would be the most inconvenient. Even with the ability to heal faster, a handy trait that I had inherited from Zarska, it would still take a solid day to heal properly. And if I wanted to catch her, there was no way I could wait that long. Sooner or later, she would realize that by being airborne she was easier for Zalas to track and then she would ditch the dragon and slip back into the water and out of my grasp.

I ripped off my filthy shirt and tore a strip from it. Wincing, I bound the rag around the leg as tightly as I could. I stood up and tested my weight on it, realizing instantly that there was no way that I could walk, not that walking would get me anywhere anyway, and I couldn't change form because that would only put stress on the wound.

Frowning deeply, I concentrated with all of my might on what I desired and slowly pushed Zarska's wings alone, out from my back. It was painful, but eventually the black reptilian wings surrounded me like an unfolding cocoon and I sighed, stretching them out, testing to see if they had been damaged in the battle. They had not.

Using my heightened senses I tasted the air. I could sense that the dragon, Unabonan, was still in the last place that I had left him which was both good and bad. Good because it meant that something was holding them up. Bad because when whatever it was that was keeping them there was gone, he would waste no time in coming after me. In this strange half form I knew that I would be more difficult to find because he was looking for a Dragon, and at the moment I was clearly not that. And he would not be looking for my human form, because he thought I was dead. I sneered. Stupid beast.

I turned in the direction that I had seen Circe go and my brow furrowed as I struggled to pick her out. She was moving fast, if I wanted to have any hope of catching her I would have to leave now. I could only hope that her hostile reception towards Zalas meant that the Prince would not be so quick to resume his pathetic pursuit.

I beat my powerful wings once and shot up into the sky. I would not lose her again and she would not run this time. She was in my sights and there was no-where left to hide.

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