Page 53 of Dragon Unbound (Dragon Kings 3)
Cullen kept his eyes on Tamlyn and the bairns. He was the distraction they needed to make a clean getaway. He tipped his wing and swung back around. As he did, he passed close to the palace. Soldiers came rushing out, firing arrows. They all bounced off his scales. He briefly thought about releasing dragon fire on the palace but decided against it since he was already breaking promises by showing his true self.
Besides, he didn’t know if the ruler was responsible for the child sacrifices, or if the priests ruled the city. It appeared as if it were the priests, but Cullen couldn’t be sure of that from the little time he’d spent there.
He did another pass over the city. Tamlyn and the kids were now on the third level. She wasn’t far from the stairs, leading to the second. Cullen would remain until they were in the forest. After what he’d come to learn in his time with Tamlyn, he shouldn’t be shocked at the terror that ran through the city like wildfire at the sight of him.
His mere appearance caused pandemonium. He hadn’t doused anyone with dragon fire. He hadn’t attacked. He’d simply flown around the city. But the humans’ terror was very real. Whatever they had been told about dragons caused anxiety and panic on a level Cullen had never witnessed before.
He found Tamlyn once more. They were on the second level. One more to go to freedom. The thought had barely registered when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His instincts told him to turn at that instant. Something grazed him. That small contact disoriented him, causing his body to stiffen and freeze for a heartbeat.
He swung around, searching for who or what had attacked him. Just as before, he saw nothing. But he knew it was there. Waiting for the opportunity to strike again.
* * * *
Tamlyn glanced up at Cullen. The sound of his wings was reassuring. She tripped and hurriedly righted herself, when she saw a shudder run through Cullen’s body, and the way he quickly turned around with fury in his eyes, she knew he had been attacked. The arrows being fired at him did nothing, so this had to be the enemy he searched for.
He had put himself in danger to help her and the children. If she hadn’t already thought him perfect, he was then. And she would tell him as much the next time she saw. She didn’t allow herself to consider that it might not be a possibility. It had to be.
Her grip on the children tightened when a group of people rushed through the streets, fighting each other, their fear, and the fog. She shoved her shoulder into someone who had pushed one of the kids to the ground. Tamlyn had to release her hold on the two children to get the other up before he was trampled. She did it with the help of the children.
No one seemed to care that there were kids about. They only cared about themselves. She spied a toddler crying in the streets when the fog cleared slightly. Tamlyn watched as people rushed by the boy, knocking him to the ground. No one helped him, no one stopped. She maneuvered their group to the toddler and lifted him into her arms. He shook as he clung to her, snot and tears covering his face.
She looked to the oldest girl. “Help me keep the others together.”
The girl nodded as she stayed close to Tamlyn. It felt like an eternity weaving through the throng of people while keeping their small group together. They were jostled, hit, shoved, and run over. But they stayed together. The mist hid them, but it also hindered her sight. She wouldn’t complain since Cullen had used his power to help her. She just wished he was there because he could see through it.
Eventually, they reached the stairs. Tamlyn paused to catch her breath. She was sweating, and her senses were on overload. She was hyperaware of every sound and movement. Adrenaline and resolve kept her on her feet and moving. A glance at the children told her they were hanging on by a thread. She gave them a nod and a smile she hoped looked better than it felt.
She took a deep breath and fell in with the crowd once more. It was just a few steps to the stairs that would take her to the ground level. The instant she saw the stairwell, she jerked to a stop and pulled the kids back. It was crowded with people who pushed and shoved, knocking others to the floor and walking over them. There was no way she could take the kids there. Her only other option was to remain on the road and take the long way to the gates, but at least that was safer than the steps.
“Come on,” she called.
The kids clustered around her. She adjusted the toddler on her hip. Cullen passed over her, the beat of his wings stirring the air. That second of cool air soothed her enough to keep going.
They hadn’t gone another twenty feet when she heard a shout ahead. The people in front of her abruptly halted and spun around, rushing back toward her. She had little time to shove the children out of the way before they were all crushed. Tamlyn kept the kids from following the others. She didn’t know what’d caused the crowd to turn around, but they couldn’t go back. Their way out was down, and that was where she would go.
When she was finally able, she looked ahead. The fog was dissipating. It still clung in patches, but it wasn’t as thick as before, which allowed her to see the army who stood shoulder to shoulder across the road. Tamlyn glanced over her shoulder at the stairway, and just as she feared, people were coming back up that way, as well.
“Shite,” she murmured.
Tamlyn looked skyward and saw Cullen’s dark shape flying near the top of the mountain. She almost called for him but held back at the last minute. He was doing all he could. It would be wrong to ask for more. She would have to find a way out herself.
Six pairs of eyes watched her, waiting for her decision. Never had so much rested on her shoulders. They could go back up with the others, but what would that do? Nothing. They could remain where they were, which would get them caught. Or…they could make a run for the stairs to the lower level.
It was her only course of action. She was resourceful. She’d think of something.
“I hope,” she whispered as she started toward the stairs.
“You there!” a voice bellowed. “Halt!”
Tamlyn pushed the kids. “Keep going.”
“I said halt!”
