Page 55 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
Cullen stared up at the sky through human eyes as he fought to catch his breath after his fall. He rolled onto his hands and knees and took stock of his body. Everything hurt. His muscles twitched erratically, and his bones ached as if they had been pulled apart. The wound on his back where he’d been struck had already healed, but remnants of the magic remained.
He took in several breaths, trying to get the world to stop spinning. When it did, he saw that he had decimated the area around him. Trees were splintered, others flattened. He managed to get to his feet as he called clothes to him. He weaved slightly while turning around to look for his attacker.
This wasn’t the first time he’d been struck down, but he’d never experienced anything like this. Dark Fae magic wasn’t as painful as this. Whatever power this was, the Kings needed to learn of it immediately so they could protect themselves.
Cullen briefly closed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw something out of the corner of his eye again. This time, he remained still to see if he could get a better idea of what it was. He’d thought it a shimmer before, but he was wrong. It was more like a ripple through water.
“I know you’re there,” he told his foe.
Silence met his statement.
“Who are you? What do you want?”
“Your death.”
The disembodied whisper seemed to come from all around him. Cullen tried to shift back into his true form. To his disbelief, he couldn’t.
The laugh that filled the air set his teeth on edge.
Oh, yes, he was going to find this fucker and rip him apart. Cullen widened his stance and braced himself. He could battle in either form. If this bastard wanted a fight, Cullen would give him one.
Cullen used his peripheral vision to anticipate the attack. He saw it come at him from the left and dove out of the way. He didn’t see the one from behind that sent him face-first into a splintered tree trunk. A shard the width of his hand impaled him through his shoulder.
There wasn’t time to yank it out as he saw the ripple in the air come at him from the right again. This time, he predicted when the being would be upon him and drew up his fist. He thought he’d connect with something. Instead, his hand met air. Cullen was so stunned that he could only stare at his hand.
Suddenly, he was flung to the side, landing so the fragment of wood thrust deeper into his shoulder. Cullen jumped to his feet and bared his teeth.
“Afraid to face me? Only a coward attacks as you are.”
The faceless voice laughed once more. “Only those being beaten say such things.”
Cullen couldn’t make out if the hoarse voice was male or female. What he did know was that whoever this was, they had no intention of showing their face. He saw the ripple once more and prepared to use magic to contain whoever it was.
When the being rushed him, the bushes nearby rustled as a wildcat jumped and landed before Cullen. The cat was clawing at something, growling and biting at what looked like air. Yet it was apparent the animal could see whatever the entity was. Just as quickly as the cat had attacked, it stopped and began licking its paws. After a few minutes, it looked up at Cullen sleepily and reclined on its side.
He stared at the animal in amazement. “What did you see?”
The animal yawned, showing off its many teeth. Its ears swiveled around to hear something behind them. The wildcat jumped up and trotted off without another look at Cullen. He watched the feline vanish into the forest.
“Cullen?”
He jerked at the sound of Tamlyn’s voice. “I’m here,” he said as he yanked the shard from his shoulder and ran to her.
Her smile was bright as she rushed him, wrapping her free arm around him. Cullen embraced her and smiled at the toddler, who seemed content to be in her arms.
“There’s my dragon,” a small voice declared.
He felt hands on his leg and looked down to see the little girl he’d carried. Cullen lifted her into his arms. She laid her head on his uninjured shoulder as he looked at the other four. Somehow, they had come out of a terrible situation.
“Have we had enough adventure for the night?” he asked.
Everyone nodded.
“Let’s go home,” Tamlyn said.
Home. Dreagan was his home. Or it had been. He wasn’t sure anymore. A lot hinged on Tamlyn’s response to being his mate.
His shoulder had healed, and there was only silence in the forest as they made their way to the other side. They were nearly out of the woods when he spotted Con, Brandr, Eurwen, and Vaughn walking toward them.
“Where the bloody hell have you been?” Vaughn demanded.
Cullen glanced at Tamlyn. “It’s a long story that I’ll be happy to tell once we have the bairns settled.”
Eurwen smiled and held out her hand to the children. One of them walked slowly to her and hesitantly took her hand. Con squatted and motioned to one of the boys. The child was so exhausted that he fell into Con’s arms and was asleep before the King straightened. Vaughn and Brandr each took another.
“This should be interesting,” Tamlyn murmured as their group walked to the canyon.
Once there, Brandr and Eurwen teleported everyone to the bottom.
“Oh,” Tamlyn said when she realized what had happened. “I could get used to that.”
Eurwen smiled in response. Tamlyn led them to the hidden door and then inside the ruins. Cullen watched his friends’ faces as they saw what was underground. He wasn’t surprised to see Jenefer and Sian waiting at the bottom of the steps.
“Introductions after the children are settled,” Tamlyn told her friends.
The group followed her down a corridor to a room where the other kids were. Cullen wasn’t surprised to see them all together, despite the many rooms in the ruins. They likely felt safer that way.
“I stay with you,” the girl in his arms said as she tightened her grip around his neck when Cullen tried to put her down.
He leaned back to look at her. “You need to rest.”
“You my dragon.”
His heart filled with love as he stared into her brown eyes. Cullen knelt next to the bedding and smoothed down her blond curls. “I’ll be here, lass. You have my word.”
Reluctantly, she nodded and loosened her hold. He gently laid her down and covered her with the blanket. She stared up at him solemnly. He couldn’t imagine what she had been through, but he would make sure that she knew she was safe. He smiled and rested his hand against her cheek before standing.
At the door, he paused and looked back to find her gaze still on him. He waved and quietly walked out to join the others in the great hall, though a part of him wanted to bring the child. He’d liked having the girl with him. It wasn’t that he didn’t like children—he liked them a great deal. But he had resigned himself to never having any. What he hadn’t counted on was his heart being stolen by a child who called him her dragon.
“There you are,” Tamlyn said when he walked to their group.
He sensed the tension as Tamlyn stood between Jenefer and Sian while his friends stood across from them. Cullen paused between Jenefer and Brandr. He let his gaze move between the seven before taking a deep breath and motioning to Con, who was the farthest away. “Constantine, King of Dragon Kings, his daughter Eurwen, Vaughn, King of Teals and Eurwen’s mate, and Brandr, brother to Eurwen.” Cullen then motioned to his left. “This is Jenefer, an Amazon, Tamlyn a Banshee, and Sian, an Alchemist.”
“That was you we heard screaming, wasn’t it?” Eurwen asked Tamlyn.
Sian’s and Jenefer’s heads jerked to Tamlyn in dismay as they asked in unison, “You screamed?”
“I did,” Tamlyn replied. Her gaze moved to him. “It just happened.”
