Not only were they real, but she’d married one.
Cripes, she was still married to Tony because her ex refused to release her without a fight. He declined to sign the divorce papers because her father had money, and Tony wanted a cut. Bastard.
She glanced at Nan, who was still and showed no signs of life. Liza crept closer. She reached out a finger to test for a pulse. Nothing.
Nan was dead.
A savage roar sounded in the sky above her.
Leo.
Liza stumbled away from Nan and along a narrow track until she reached the small clearing where Leo had dropped her. Two green dragons were still fighting, talons slicing and gouging. Flames lit the sky.
How could she help?
Heck, she wasn’t even sure which dragon was Leo.
She collected another pile of rocks until she had thirty or forty. Her head still thumped, but the worst of the pain seemed to have passed.
If she could help Leo, the fight might end on a positive note.
Liza sucked in a deep breath and marched to the middle of the clearing. “Leo!” she hollered and prayed that he heard her. “Over here.” She waved her arms and shouted again.
One dragon broke away. She cataloged the beast’s wounds. It roared and attacked, spurting fire in her direction. An enemy, then.
The dragon opened its giant maw. Its big green chest expanded.
Instinct told Liza to run.
She sprinted into the trees and barely dodged the blast of flames that rained down on the spot where she’d stood seconds ago.
Not Leo.
The dragon hovered, his colossal head twisting as he searched for her or perhaps Nan. The dragon bugled then listened. Yep, searching for Nan.
Too late, buddy. The weak human prevailed.
Liza tiptoed through the undergrowth until she reached her pile of stones. Softball champion. Yay, her! She waited until the dragon flapped its wings and flew closer before she launched her first projectile.
Bam! Take that.
Her other rock flew true and smacked the dragon in the chest. The dragon let out a screech of rage and swooped toward her. Liza scooped up several of her rocks at a run and darted under cover again. She exited the forest at a different point and lobbed more rocks. They didn’t all connect, but it was enough to distract the green dragon and divide his attention.
Leo, bless the dragon-man, caught on to her gambit while she chucked rocks. He spewed fire and attacked from the rear. Around her, the forest crackled with flames. Dead branches and undergrowth caught fire and smoke filled the air.
Liza coughed, her lungs burning. The muscles of her arms quivered from firing all the rocks, yet she kept going, scooping up rocks and chucking them at the dragon, finding it easy to tell the difference between the two now.
Their strategy seemed to be working. Her rock clouted the dragon’s snout. It roared, pain and fury filling the dragon’s shriek. While she distracted the dragon, Leo attacked, tearing at the beast with his talons. Hunks of flesh dropped from the sky. Blood. At first, Liza thought it was raining, but no. She ducked away, grabbing more stones for the instant Leo backed up.
But that didn’t happen.
The green dragon’s shriek cut off mid-bugle.
Liza watched the huge beast shudder, then it dropped like one of her rocks.
She fled for the safety of the trees but didn’t make it. The dragon crashed into the ground, the wallop of contact, shaking the land. Liza dropped to her knees, her heart beating almost out of her chest. Was the dragon dead?
Leo landed and shifted to his human form. “Gwenyth!” he shouted.
