Page 91 of Dragon Eternal (Dragon Kings 4)
A scream locked in Nia’s chest as she tumbled through the air. Everything was a blur as she plunged to the ground, the wind whooshing in her ears. She couldn’t stop thinking about Shaw. His name was on her lips as she closed her eyes and prepared to die.
Suddenly, she stopped falling. She opened her eyes to find herself looking at sapphire scales. Nia lifted her head and gazed up at the chest and neck of a dragon. Tears blurred her eyes. Shaw had saved her. He had saved her. She sobbed as she rested her cheek on the inside of his hand, grateful to be alive.
Something whistled past them. Then more whistles. Arrows, Nia thought. Shaw pressed the hand that held her against his chest and flew faster. She wanted to look down upon the world and see it from his vantage point, but she didn’t have the energy for anything but being held securely by him.
Nia had no idea how long they flew before Shaw landed. He gently laid his hand upon the ground and opened it. She climbed out and faced him. The moonlight fell upon him, making his glossy sapphire scales appear nearly black. He towered over her. She gasped at his size and took several steps back to get a better look at him.
He watched her carefully with mirror-like, platinum-colored eyes. She stumbled as she walked to the side to see more of him. His scales were large and shiny but became finer and less thick on his neck. He had four limbs with long, black talons that looked as if they could cut a mountain in two. Shaw’s dragon head was blocky with a mane of bony spikes that sprouted from the back of his head, and two long, misshapen horns that extended from his forehead.
Something drew his attention. His head snapped back toward Stonemore, and he growled. She felt the rumble of it and spotted the rows of razor-sharp teeth when his lip lifted for an instant. His tail twitched before it curled around him at the same time he folded his huge wings against his body. Then, he looked back at her.
She had wanted to see him, but she hadn’t been prepared for all of it. She had seen drawings of dragons and had heard others speak of them. The few glimpses she’d caught of Cullen had made her think she would be prepared to come face-to-face with Shaw in his true form, but nothing could do that.
Was he terrifying? Absolutely.
Would she run if she didn’t know him? Without a doubt.
Did she feel threatened by him? Not for an instant.
He had saved her life. He had believed in her when no one else had, and he had shown her how to protect herself. She might have gotten free of Amsden but getting out of the citadel had been another problem altogether.
Nia walked to him and wrapped her arms around the arm that had caught her. Hers didn’t go halfway around his, but she didn’t care. She wanted him to know that she didn’t fear him. Nia smiled as she realized his scales were warm. She hadn’t internalized that when he’d held her in his palm.
She reluctantly released him. The instant she did, Shaw shifted into his human form. He was naked for a heartbeat before clothes covered him. He said nothing as he dragged her into his arms. The tears came then. She held tight as she put her head into the crook of his neck and cried.
“You’re safe now,” he whispered over and over.
It took a while for the tears to subside. Even when she finished, they remained locked in their embrace. She didn’t know where she was, and she didn’t care. She was free of Stonemore and the Divine, released to do whatever she wanted. And the only thing she wanted was Shaw.
All her life, she had closed herself off to keep her heart safe. Nothing could have prepared her for Shaw and the feelings he invoked. He’d shown her the life she could have, and the love she could know. That glimpse was all it had taken to break down every barrier she had. And it had happened slowly, without her even knowing that Shaw had taken up residence in her heart.
Was it love? She didn’t know what the emotion was, but she suspected it was love. Her life had been about survival. Shaw had opened other doors and stood by her as she tested each one. He didn’t want to control her or own her. It was the first time she realized there was another way.
What did she do with all this information now? Their relationship had been an act, something to bring him to the Divine. There had been no promises, no exchange of words about what might come next.
And that was why she couldn’t let go of him now.
She was scared that once she did, he would disappear from her life. She had known the fierce lovemaking, the gentleness, and the determination of a Dragon King. No one in the universe could compare to that. Not now.
Not ever.
Somewhere along the way, she had become Shaw’s. It didn’t matter if he wanted her or not. She had basked in his smiles and teasing. Had known the heat of his body and pleasure unlike anything she’d experienced before. There wasn’t a single spot on her that he hadn’t kissed, licked, or caressed. The pleasure, the peace, the freedom. He had given her so much.
She leaned back to look into his fern green eyes. Torment contorted his face. She smiled to let him know that she was okay. “Thank you.”
“If I hadna gotten there in time…”
“Shh,” she said as she shook her head. She cupped his face. “You did get to me. That’s all that matters. Don’t think of anything else.”
His eyes blazed with some emotion that made her heart catch. “I can no’ stop thinking about it. Nia, I–”
“Shaw!”
Nia wanted to scream at whoever had interrupted them. She dropped her arms to her sides, the moment broken.
