“I’ll be the dragon they’re hunting.” I grin, all teeth. “They want fire? I’ll give them an inferno.”
Before the elf can argue, I shift.
The change is seamless—bones lengthening, muscles coiling, wings erupting in a rush of heat. Scales ripple over my skin, black and gold, impervious to steel and spell. Gamble’s eyes go wide, reflecting the forge-glow of my gaze.
“Hold on,” I rumble, voice like thunder.
He scrambles onto my back, fingers digging into the ridge of my neck. The contact sends a jolt through me—mate-bond, raw and new. I launch into the sky, wings beating snow into whirlwinds.
Below, the hunters spill into the square. One points. Another slashes his sword across a supply of frozen apples.
Spells light the night—crimson bolts, shadow chains. I roar, breathe a lance of dragon fire that turns the nearest warlock to ash.
Gamble laughs, wild and free, and casts an illusion: a dozen phantom Gambles sprinting in every direction. The hunters hesitate, confused.
I bank hard, leading them away from the village. Gamble clings tight, his magic weaving with my fire—elf-light and dragon-flame braiding into something beautiful and deadly.
Together, we are a storm.
But the fire stone burns hotter against his chest. I feel it through the bond, a searing pull. He’s fading.
“Gamble!” I shout over the wind.
“I’m fine!” the boy yells back, but his voice is thin.
No, you’re not.I dive, skimming the treetops, and land in a clearing miles from the village. The hunters are minutes behind. I shift back to human form, catch Gamble as he slides from my shoulders. He’s trembling, the stone glowing like a coal.
“Take it off,” I order.
“Can’t. It’s bound to me now.” He meets my eyes, fierce despite the pain. “But I have an idea.”
“Tell me.”
Gamble grins, wicked and brave. “Kiss me again. Hard. Channel your fire into the stone. Dragon magic and elf magic—maybe we can overload it. Maybe we can buy time.”
I don’t hesitate.
I know this is a risk, but it’s one I simply have to take.
I crush him to me, kiss him like the world’s ending. My dragon pours into him—heat, power,claim. The stone flares, crimson light spilling between us. Gamble cries out, but he doesn’t pull away. His magic rises to meet mine, green and gold and wild.
The stonescreams. Cracks spiderweb across its surface. The hunters’ howls falter, then cut off entirely.
We break apart, gasping.
The stone is dark, silent. For now.
Gamble slumps against me. “Did we…?”
“Stunned it,” I say, cradling him close. “Not broken. But it’s enough.”
In the distance, the village lights still glow. It’s safe. But only for tonight.
I lift him into my arms. “Come on, little elf. Let’s go home.”
He burrows into my chest, whispering, “Yes, Daddy.”
My heart stumbles. My dragonsings.
