Page 54 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
Chapter Twenty-three
His enemy was still there. Cullen could sense it, even if he couldn’t see them. If a glancing blow had caused him to shudder so painfully, what would a direct hit do? He didn’t want to find out. But he had to know if it was something that could kill a King. Was another Dragon King out there, created by this new realm?
Or was it another entity entirely, hell-bent on killing dragons?
Neither scenario was a good one. Cullen remained in the air, continuing to circle the city. No matter how close he came to the palace, he had seen only soldiers. But what concerned him was that the army refused to open the gates to let people out. He didn’t think too much of it, because Tamlyn had another way out.
At least he thought that until he saw the army gathering on the bottom two levels, preventing anyone from leaving. His gaze found Tamlyn with the children. To his surprise, she had another bairn on her hip. The soldiers had spotted her and were calling out to her.
Cullen readied himself to let out a roar when he saw a shimmer of something out of the corner of his eye again. This time, he tucked his wings and dove toward the city. He spread his wings, soaring over the tops of buildings on the third level. He’d managed to dodge another hit, but how many more would he see?
“Con!” he called through the mental link, hoping that, somehow, he could reach the other Kings and alert them. “Vaughn! Anyone?”
* * * *
Tamlyn grabbed the kids and hurriedly backed up when the soldiers rushed up from the stairway with their weapons drawn and pointed at them. She put her hand in front of the children to protect them—for what good it did.
She glared at the soldiers who blocked her path to the stairs. Behind her were more of the army, intending to keep her from reaching the gates. She kept turning, trying to keep everyone within view. A child’s startled scream jerked her around.
A soldier had grabbed one of the children. He held a sword to the girl’s neck, his fingers biting painfully into her shoulder to keep her still.
“Take off our armor, you thief,” a soldier told her.
But she wasn’t listening. Something inside her had changed. Like a switch had been flipped. Everything began to move in slow motion. She saw spittle fly from a soldier’s mouth as he shouted. A bead of blood welled on the neck of the girl in the soldier’s hold. Tamlyn watched as it rolled slowly down her skin.
Tamlyn looked to the child closest to her and gently pushed him down to the ground while the boy on her hip buried his face in her neck. She carefully placed him down, too. Rage and indignation were hurled at her in all directions. She looked down at her hands and saw them turning as if to gather the hateful emotions. The moment she did, a surge went through her. That’s when she felt the scream begin to rise inside her. There was no fear, no trepidation. Somehow, she had found herself.
Tamlyn focused on the group of men closest to her, including the one who held the child. She drew in a deep breath and released the scream. The soldiers flew backwards. She grabbed hold of the girl and brought her close. Tamlyn looked at the men, who now lay unmoving. She didn’t know if they were dead or unconscious—and she didn’t care.
Behind her, she heard the other soldiers getting ready to attack. Tamlyn turned, urging the girl down like the rest of the children. The world still moved slowly as she faced the army. She watched in amazement as they charged her, uncaring or unfazed at what she had just done to their comrades.
Another scream welled within her. She let it build, waiting until she couldn’t contain it, and then released it. The force of it knocked the men back as if an explosion had struck them.
In the silence that followed, time righted itself. Tamlyn gasped in a breath as she took in the scene before her. She turned in a circle and found the street empty, and the city quiet. She didn’t stick around to find out what would happen.
“Come on,” she urged the children.
They jumped to their feet and rushed to the stairway.
* * * *
Cullen wanted to shout with joy, even as he felt the shockwave of Tamlyn’s scream. To witness her discovering her powers was glorious. He couldn’t wait to celebrate with her. Maybe then he would tell her that she was his mate.
As much as he wanted to keep thinking about her, he returned his mind to whoever was after him. There hadn’t been another attack, but he wasn’t letting his guard down. It was out there watching and waiting for him to make a mistake. Cullen wanted to find the bastard, but he needed to safeguard Tamlyn and the bairns first. Then he’d return to find the wanker.
He looked down in time to see Tamlyn use her Banshee scream to burst open the city’s gates and take out more soldiers. She walked out with her head held high and the kids by her side. Cullen turned and flew toward the forest.
As he spread his wings and soared over the city, he saw people begin filling the streets once more as they headed toward the gates that barely hung on their hinges. He smiled and looked for a place in the forest to land so he could meet up with Tamlyn.
He’d let his guard down, which was why he never saw the attack.
* * * *
Tamlyn couldn’t contain her smile as she hurried from the city. The beat of Cullen’s wings caught her attention. She looked up to see him flying over the forest. Her pace quickened. The children broke into a run to keep up with her.
The startled roar brought her to a sudden halt. The darkness prevented her from seeing anything. The crash of trees and the rumble of the ground beneath her feet told her all she needed to know.
“Cullen,” she whispered, her heart hammering in her chest.
“Where’s my dragon?” the little girl Cullen had jumped from the temple with asked.
Tamlyn glanced at her, then looked through the forest. She had to get to him. She jerked off the heavy armor, squared her shoulders, and walked into the forest. She kept to the road, her gaze darting about for any beasts coming to investigate the noises from Stonemore.
“He’s out there,” Tamlyn answered the child. “Waiting for us.”
He’d been beside her every step of this endeavor. She couldn’t imagine a day without him. She didn’t want to imagine it. Ever. The thought of him gone from her life was devastating. He’d shown her how to embrace who she was. Without him, she might never have known she had such power within her. She certainly wouldn’t have gone into Stonemore as they had.
His fearlessness and confidence showed her that it was okay to be afraid and when to take a stand. He methodically thought through any problem and came up with several solutions. He’d known from the beginning they would get separated. He’d warned her, but she hadn’t wanted to listen because she hadn’t thought she could do this alone.
While he’d known she could.
No one had ever had that kind of faith in her. Discovering that she was strong, that she had powers as a Banshee, allowed her to shake off her past that haunted her. She still had a long way to go, but it was a start she’d not had before.
Tamlyn switched the toddler to her other hip as tears welled. Cullen was an immortal. He couldn’t be hurt. He couldn’t.
But she’d heard a crash, one that sounded like something large falling to the ground. Something large like a dragon? She didn’t want to think about it, but she couldn’t think of anything else.
* * * *
