Page 52 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
Chapter Twenty-two
A breath rushed past Tamlyn’s lips when she saw the first child coming down the rope. She blinked back tears. It didn’t matter to her that she hadn’t been the one to get them out. What mattered was that they were free.
Tamlyn helped the girl to the ground. She smiled at the child, though wasn’t disheartened when she didn’t get one in return. Tamlyn pointed to the shadows. “Stay there, out of sight.”
One by one, three more children came down the rope. She looked up, wondering where the fifth was. Tamlyn saw Cullen leaning his head out the window. Then the rope vanished from her hand. She hurried the children aside when she saw Cullen gather the last child in his arms and swing his legs out the window.
In the next breath, he landed beside her, holding the little girl in his arms. The child had a death grip on him. Tamlyn tried to take her, but the girl held on tighter.
“I’ve got her,” Cullen whispered as his clothing once more changed into that of a soldier.
Tamlyn glanced at the children. They all looked traumatized. It made her thankful that she couldn’t remember her time in the temple. Hopefully, those memories would fade for these children, too.
She leaned down to get even with their faces. “We’re going to leave the city. We have to do it quietly. Don’t make a sound.”
“We’ll be staying out of sight of everyone,” Cullen told them. “We’ll move fast to stay hidden. Tamlyn will take the lead, and I’ll bring up the rear.”
The children clustered together and waited. Tamlyn hesitated. She and Cullen had gotten there by dressing as soldiers. How would they get back with children in tow?
As if sensing her question, Cullen winked at her and whispered, “Trust me.”
She hated not knowing the plan, but it wouldn’t matter if they planned this out. Rescues had to be fluid because many things could crop up or go wrong—as they had already discovered that night. But he had not only gotten them to the temple, Cullen had also liberated the children. Now, it was just getting out of Stonemore.
“My mummy didn’t want me,” the girl Cullen held murmured.
Cullen’s arms tightened around her. “She couldna see how special you are. I do, lass.”
The child straightened and placed a kiss on Cullen’s cheek, causing Tamlyn’s eyes to tear up. Seeing him holding the girl caused her heart to melt. Their gazes met. She had the overwhelming urge to kiss him and never let him go. It was a silly thought. He was a Dragon King and couldn’t stay on her land, just as she could never go to his.
“Get ready for some mist,” Cullen warned the children.
He drew in a great breath. When he released it, fog fell from his lips. The same fog from the first day she had met him, and the forest the night before. His eyes twinkled as he watched her.
“Stay with me,” she told the kids as she took the hand of the girl nearest her.
They all linked hands, the last one taking Cullen’s as the mist spread up, down, and out, covering the city. It was so thick that she could barely see in front of her, but she knew where she was headed. She walked quickly, intent on getting out of the city with all five children.
Tamlyn had barely exited the narrow alley when she saw a glint of armor through the fog. She slowed her steps as she tried to see what was in front of her. Suddenly, Cullen was there, handing her the little girl.
“There’s a line of the priests’ soldiers,” he whispered.
She looked around him but couldn’t see anything. “What do we do?”
“I’m going to make a distraction.”
Her heart skipped a beat. She grabbed his arm. “Cullen, no. You need to come with us.”
“The only way this will work is if I do this.”
“No.”
He gently touched her face. “I’ll see you again. There’s much left to say between us, lass. I’ll do what I must so you can get the children and yourself out.”
The only way he could cause a distraction was with magic. Tamlyn was terrified to ask if he would shift or do some other kind of magic. A part of her wanted him to shift so she could see him in all his dragon glory.
Then she had a thought. “What about the one following you?”
“It’ll draw them out.”
“I don’t like this.”
He gave her a quick, hard kiss. “Trust me.”
“I do.”
The little girl in her arms turned and touched Cullen’s face. Tamlyn’s eyes welled up with tears. She barely kept them in check when he kissed the back of the girl’s hand and winked at her.
“Doona fear me,” he warned the kids. “No matter what you see, I’m your friend.”
That’s when she knew he was going to shift. She was both panicked and excited.
He stepped back, holding her gaze. The fog moved away from him as if allowing their small group to see him. In the next instant, a dragon stood before her. The children gasped and moved closer to her, but they couldn’t take their eyes from him.
Neither could she.
Tamlyn had never seen a dragon up close. She had barely seen one in the distance. Her lips parted in surprise at the sight of Cullen in his true form. He was enormous. He towered as high as the temple, his body barely contained in the courtyard. Thick, metallic scales in a stunning shade of garnet covered him with those on his belly shaded darker. His deep-set, turquoise-colored eyes watched her carefully. His head was bony and scaled, giving him a savage appearance, but she wasn’t scared. Atop his skull was one central horn that spiraled up. A row of smaller horns ran along each side of his head and jaw. His nose was flat and had two long, pointy nostrils with small tendrils on his chin. A few large teeth poked from beneath his top lip. His wide neck ran to a bulky body with four limbs. Each limb had four digits that ended in long, onyx claws.
He stretched out his head to her. Tamlyn reached out a hand and laid it upon his nose and smiled at him. To her surprise, the children also touched him. The girl in her arms kissed her palm before placing it on Cullen’s nose.
They remained a heartbeat more before he pulled back and gave her a nod. She swallowed, fearful of what might happen to him. His actions could bring about the war he’d vowed not to start.
Suddenly, he spread his colossal wings. They seemed to glow with fire itself. She stumbled back as she saw that spiked scales covered the tops of each visible bone. With a flap of his wings, the mist curled around him, clinging for a moment before falling away. She watched, stunned, as he raised his head and let out a roar that shook the mountain.
Then he was in the air, his long tail trailing behind him. He looked down at her before flying over the city. Chaos erupted all around her as people screamed and ran in panic. Tamlyn set the little girl on her feet.
“Grab hands,” she yelled over the sound of the townspeople. “Stay close together.”
With a child’s hand in each of hers, she ran through the line of soldiers. They had their gazes skyward and never saw her.
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