Chapter 26
Blaze heard the dragon’s sonar call. It was Arena. He knew it.
Our mate needs us,his dragon implored.
He redirected his flight in the sonar’s direction. The others followed him. Thoughts of what might be happening to Arena filled his mind and made him fly faster than he had ever flown before.
A few minutes later he caught sight of a female figure on a ledge near a cave on the ground. He shifted just as he landed and ran to the female. A few feet away he knew it wasn’t Arena. It was Shanna. He knelt down and turned her over.
“Shanna, where’s Arena?”
Shanna groaned as she opened her eyes. “Blaze?”
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go this far.”
“Where’s Arena?”
“She went east. Cor… he’s going to kill her.”
“I’ll stay with the female,” Reichardt offered, coming up beside him. “Go after Arena.”
Blaze stood up and ran for the ledge shifting into dragon form as he jumped off. Inhaling deeply, he picked up Arena’s scent. He also detected Arena’s blood. She was hurt. Fury filled him as he flew.
Two dragon forms appeared a few hundred feet ahead. They looked like they were engaging in mid-air battle. The smaller dragon—Arena—ducked to avoid getting swiped. When Arena seemed to lose her balance and began to fall, Blaze felt like his heart dropped as well.
No! He let out a roar of fury. The larger dragon — Cor — stopped his pursuit of Arena and turned to face Blaze. Blaze hit Cor’s dragon in the side hard, knocking him away. He glanced down and saw Arena’s dragon land a bit clumsily on the ground. The other two dragons — Malachi and another warrior he assumed was Arena’s guard — made their way down to her. He wanted to go to her, but first, he would take care of the male that had dared to attack his mate.
He returned his attention to Cor’s dragon just as the other dragon tried to claw him. Blaze dropped down and scored a hit on Cor’s underbelly. The dragon roared out in pain and fury. Cor tried to get him with his lower claws but he dodged Cor again and breathed fire on the dragon. Usually the scales protected dragons from fire, but with a fresh cut on the underbelly, Cor was more vulnerable.
They battled in the sky, each one taking a swipe at the other. Cor missed Blaze quite a few times. Blaze swiped Cor multiple times until the dragon was losing blood and strength. As their fight began to die down, they lowered in altitude, getting closer and closer to the ground. Finally, Cor fell to the ground, shifting to his two-legged form. Blaze followed him down and shifted. King Malachi approached the badly injured Cor.
“Arena?” Blaze called out in desperation.
“Her guard has her by the creek to your right. I’ll take care of this guy. Go see to your mate.”
Blaze didn’t have to be told twice. He ran to her. At the sight of another male near his very naked mate, his dragon growled.
The guard stood back and put his hands in the air. “I was just assessing her injuries. They’re healing.”
“Blaze!” Arena cried out at the sight of him. “You’re hurt.”
He knelt down and gently pulled her into his arms. “All is well.”
“No, it’s not. You’re hurt.”
She touched him gently to see where all his injuries were located. Leaning his head down to inhale her scent, he felt whole with her in his arms. “I’m fine. How are your injuries?”
Arena stroked his face. “It will take a few shifts before I’m fully healed, but the bleeding has stopped.”
“That’s good. We’ll shift and head back to the ranch. You need to rest and eat. We’ll shift again by morning.”
“Help me up,” she told him.
Blaze stood and lifted her to her feet easily. “Are you sure you can shift again? You could ride on my back.”
“I will fly on my own, thank you very much.”
He smiled at her sassiness. He leaned down and kissed her. “By the way, I’m going to be claiming you as my mate. Just wanted to give you a heads up.”
She snorted. “I’m claiming you, just so you know.”
“I love you, Arena.”
Arena smiled at him. “Love you, too.”
“Let’s go home, my queen.”
“Yes, please.”
