Dragon Blood (Completed)

The Escape

"Go, tell my father I'm alive," he snapped at Ezra, the one who had tried to hit Dean. "And I'll see if I can't convince the Queen of Bluescale to spare your life." Dean gave him a curt nod, but there was more trust in the boy's eyes than Zane had seen from the two yet. It felt good that if he couldn't make an ally of the girl, then he could with the boy. He had a feeling that if Dean didn't like him, then the girl never would.

"Sir—"

"Go!" Zane roared. The sight of the girl's bloody lip and blackened eye turned his stomach. He'd just risked his life to save her, and here his own guard was beating her to a pulp. She was still doubled over on the floor, clutching her stomach. The bruises she already had must have been causing her more pain than she'd previously let on.

He dropped to his knees at her side, lifting her up into his arms, cradling her broken form gently. Her face looked bad, but it was nothing that some healing fire wouldn't fix.

He sucked in a good-sized breath, concentrated on the fires that burned within him to conjure the magical healing fire that could burn away mortal injuries. Injuries sustained while in their dragon form were usually permanent, but most mortal injuries could easily be burned away by replacing the flesh that housed their dragon forms. He moved to cover the queen's swollen eye. As his hand approached her face, her good eye grew wide as she cringed away. As her hands flailed wildly toward her face, her fingers brushed against his hand that held the fire. She screamed out in pain.

"No, stop!" Dean shouted as he tried to pull her away from Zane's grasp.

"What's wrong?" Zane asked over the girl's uncontrollable sobs. Zane looked at her hand, horrified and confused. How was this possible? She was a dragon. Dragon fire shouldn't burn her. Not healing fire anyway.

"No fire," Dean said, his brown eyes filled with tears. All the trust Zane had just seen in the boy was gone.

"But you're dragons?"

"Paige, what do I do?" Dean pleaded to the girl who was still in too much pain to respond. "Please, tell me what to do."

"Zane!" His father's voice was full of relief. Zane felt his own relief at seeing his father because he didn't know what to do for the girl now. He set her gently on the floor, taking care not to bump her hand.

"Father." Zane walked over to the king of Blackskin. "They really are Bluescales. She saved my life. I killed Drake. The guard hit her. I was going to heal her, but somehow, I burned her. Now she's hurt really bad."

"What? Slow down," Titus said, putting his hand on Zane's shoulder.

"She needs help," Zane exclaimed helplessly, feeling as small as Dean next to his father. Like Dean, all he wanted to do was say the words the boy had just uttered, 'Please, tell me what to do.' But he was a grown dragon of twenty-four, far beyond the age of Dean, so he took a calming breath as his hands shook.

"Sir?" Zane and his father both turned at the guard's word.

"What?" Titus asked.

"The girl—I mean, the queen is trying to leave."

Zane looked up to see Paige and Dean were heading straight for another Bluescale waterway. When they got there, Dean climbed up on the edge. Paige sat down on the stone ledge, then leaned over to dip her hand in the cool water, her face relaxing some.

"Paige," Zane warned, taking a step toward her. She glared at him with her good eye, showing him all the hate she had shown him earlier. Turning back to Dean, she wrapped her arm around him to hold him securely with her good hand. Then, before Zane could make it half the distance to her, the two Bluescales disappeared into the water.