Page 86 of Resolve
Like the feet of a Dragon.
I’m waiting for wings and a tail to burst from him any moment.
Someone screams.
The room becomes a mad scramble of people fighting to leave and others trying not to be swept away.
“Kell?” I shout over the chaos to make sure it’s still him.
His usual grin is gone, and there’s a darker, deadlier energy radiating from him. When he hears my voice, he cocks his head at me like a beast eyeing its prey.
“Is that still you?” I approach him slowly, instinct warning me to make no sudden movements. Nothing that could be perceived as an attack. Raising my hand, red lightning still jolts and dances over it.
He captures my hand, then brings it to his lips. Kell licks my palm like he’s enjoying the taste of my gift. His blackened gaze fixates onme like he’s preparing to devour me next.
Something wet sprinkles the side of my face.
“Hey! Change back before everyone panics!” Portia sprays Kellan with water. “I don’t want to use my gift on you, but I will!” She sprays him again.
Kellan turns his head and just stares at her.
I covertly slide myself a bit in front of her. “It’s okay, Porsh. He’s not going to hurt anyone.” At least, I don’t think he will.
Aiden pushes through the crowd of people and runs to our side. “Kellan. What...”
Kell closes his eyes and releases a slow, long breath. His gift recedes, fading to his golden-brown skin and no horns or talons in sight. When he opens his eyes, he grins. “That’s only the second time I’ve tested out the increase in my gift, so I’m still getting the hang of it. What do you think, beautiful?” His blue-green gaze twinkles with excitement.
I release my gift too, now that I think the match is over, and run my hand over his smooth and muscular arm. “That was amazing,” I breathe, still waiting for it all to sink in. “I thought you were going to shift into an actual dragon for a second.”
“Not quite, but it’s pretty damn close.” He chuckles.
“Wow,” Portia commends, and Kell’s attention zeros in on the spray bottle in her hands. He snatches it and sprays her in the face. “Hey! Wait!” she sputters.
He sprays her again, his arm maneuvering out of reach whenever she tries to grab it. “Payback.” He does it one more time. “And for threatening to use your gift on me. I’ll do more than spray you with water if you ever try that.”
Portia squeals each time the water hits her in the face, her armsflailing in front of her to try to grab it blindly. He finally returns it, and she wipes her face with her arm and hand. “How was I supposed to know you were fine when you looked like that? What if you breathed fire and we needed to put you out?”
I’m not sure how a spray bottle would combat a fire-breathing dragon, but I don’t mention that. Instead, I focus on the possibility she raised. “Can you do that?”
“No. At least, I don’t think I can. But I have more than that. I just held back so I wouldn’t break the rule of not damaging anything.”
Aiden scans the room. “You may not have broken anything, but you certainly scared some people away.” Surprisingly, only a quarter of the bystanders are gone. The rest are watching on in awe or whispering amongst themselves and pointing our way.
“Not nearly enough,” I mumble more to myself, but Aiden looks at me and lifts his brows. “Sorry, it was just a lot.”
“It’s good the training ended, then. Especially before the two of you actually tried to fight like that. I doubt the nightclub would still be standing if you had.” He glances over his shoulder as Elias approaches. “I’ll explain what happened. You head upstairs and out of sight for a bit.”
“I’ll help smooth things over, too,” Portia offers, following Aiden.
Kellan throws his arm around my shoulder as if to give me a hug, but some of his weight presses down, and I plant my feet. “Sorry, beautiful. It wears me out pretty fast still. I’ll be fine after a nap.”
I grip his wrist over my shoulder and wrap my arm around his waist, though I can’t reach his other side. “Come on. I’ll see if Dane’s finished with Alice and can make you something to eat, too.” Once we’re at the top of the stairs, I tell him, “Next time, show me all of it.”
He chuckles. “You just want to see if I have a dragon dick.”
I gently shove him with my hip. “Shut up.”
Raised voices behind the door are a bad sign of how Alice’s training is going. I knock three times, knowing Jackson will still hear me through the noise. “It’s Raegan,” I call out.
