I didn’t know any dragons.
Surely, I didn’t.
I didn’t...
The dam holding back my doubts burst open. My jaws released their pressure just enough for the dragon to throw me off. I tumbled to the forest floor with a grunt, then rolled to my feet. I panted heavily and spat out a mouthful of dragon blood.
The dragon was sprawled against the ground, drawing ragged breaths. Its golden eyes dragged towards me, and its slitted pupils pierced my gaze.
I shuddered. Those eyes were painfully familiar.
Where did I know them from?
“Rorik,” the dragon rasped.
Icy dread prickled under my fur. The air was tropical, but I was utterly chilled to the bone.
I had a gut-wrenching feeling that I’d done something terribly wrong.
“How… do you know my name?” I asked.
The corner of the dragon’s mouth curled into a dry smirk. “We met… a couple days ago…” He broke off into a cough.
The familiar eyes. The golden scales. The fact that he knew my name.
I felt hideously sick as the worst-case scenario flashed in my mind. The dragon in front of me was Saffron. Hewasa dragon after all, and I’d attacked him. Hurt him.
I could have killed him.
A full-body shiver drenched me like a torrent of rain. A realization hit me fast and hard: if that was true, I would not be able to live with myself. Mission be damned. Sheba be damned. Every fucking thing except Saffron be damned.
But no. It couldn’t be Saffron. Even from a distance, the dragon’s scent was different. It wasn’t the one I’d grown so fond of, the one that drilled into my core...
“What—what should I do?” I asked, voice rising with panic.
The dragon wheezed. “Get… Saffron...”
My heart stopped again.
That meant—
A commotion burst into the clearing. The dragon’s pained cries had carried across the island. Everyone must’ve heard and came to his rescue.
And leading the group was Saffron.
MySaffron.
“AURUM!” he screamed.
He bolted towards the downed dragon, falling to his knees by the creature’s bloody neck. His face twisted with concern and panic.
“What happened? Who did this to you?” Saffron cried, fighting off tears.
Aurum’s eyes pulled away from me as he clenched them shut. “Not important.”
I went breathless.
Was he trying to protect me?
