Carolyn patted her arm.“Will do.”
Nyree strode toward the shop, searching the vicinity as she returned to work.“Tawera, what are you doing?”she muttered.“You’d better not be causing trouble.”
Tawera inhaled and pushed the breath back out, repeating this several times to slow the race of his thudding heart.He had to move out of the way before the humans became more upset.Another growl struggled for freedom, but he swallowed it down and crawled away from the doorway.Each move produced new darts of pain to poke at his muscles.
He’d never suffered such as this with his energy sapped and every muscle on fire.
The instant he moved, humans burst outside.They wore uniforms and concerned expressions.Tawera wanted to growl again while his throat tickled with the beginnings of flames.He dragged in a deep breath and scrambled away from two men examining the railings and the floor.
He tried to shift to his human form, but his bobbling and fractured mind mucked up his concentration.Heat built in his throat until his flames burned for release.He used his energy to scramble to his feet and directed the fire into the air.
The two men shouted, their bodies jolting in surprise.They rushed toward him, and one stood on his tail.Distress rocketed through him, and a roar of agony escaped.Flames chased his cry up his throat.The human fell off-balance and toppled on his butt.He released a shout of his own while the other man scrambled backward.He bumped into Tawera and let out a muffledoomph.
“What the hell was that?”the first man asked.
The second man rubbed his wide eyes.“No idea.I’d swear I walked into a wall.”
“I tripped on something.”He scowled at the deck while Tawera tried to distance himself and drag his abused body farther away.The tickling in his throat resumed, and he gave an involuntary hiccup.A spark sizzled in the air before vanishing.
“Did you see that?”
The two men exchanged a glance, and the other one nodded.
“What is it?”the first man whispered.
“I don’t know, but I hope it doesn’t set our ship on fire.”He rubbed at his eyes and blinked.“It’s kinda hard to take action when we can’t see what to fix.”
“Yeah.”
Tawera needed to find a safe place to rest and let his body heal.He forced his torso upward and scanned the deck for a place safe from clumsy humans.If he stopped spurting fire, he could get inside and search out a peaceful spot in which to recover.
His taniwha wasn’t right.
Whether it was the curse or the lack of flying, he didn’t know, but staying here with vulnerable humans might mean injuries.None of this was their fault.
A door opened behind him, and Tawera propelled his body across the deck and through the gap before he second thought the idea.He bowled over the woman who tried to come through, and the two male humans raced over to help her to her feet.
Sorry.Regret filled Tawera at her pained shout.He hiccupped twice, his eyes widening at the sparks that shot toward the curtains.Hands.Hands.He needed hands.
Panic filled him as he struggled to visualize his human form.Holes burned in the fabric, and a glow formed around the edges.He smelled smoke, and his panic increased.Don’t set the boat on fire.His sailor had feared fire, carrying the scars of a sea mishap when the ship he’d traveled on had burned and sunk.
Concentrate.
Nyree counted on him.No, confusion mired his mind.He relied on Nyree.Yes, that was what he meant.
Some of his panic faded, the tension leaching from his muscles.He wanted to get to know Nyree better because she was an intriguing woman.Nyree’s form slid into his mind readily enough, not even the shouts and cries from the humans breaking the mental vision of her loveliness.
A human woman rushed toward him and threw her drink at the curtain.
Tawera didn’t know what was in the drink, but it worsened the situation.The smoldering fabric burst into flames.He gasped.His elbows pressed into his sides while he blinked rapidly.
Shift.Shift.Shift.
He tried to picture his two-legged form to start his transformation, but that didn’t work.He squeezed his eyes shut and attempted to block out the fire, the humans, the acrid smoke.Focus!If he couldn’t hold his form in his mind, what if he imagined Nyree with him standing beside her?
His muscles tightened as his tension grew.Another human stood on his tail, and he choked back his tortured cry.Instead, he curled in a tight ball and focused on Nyree.Once he had her fixed in his mind, he concentrated on adding himself to the picture.Lightheaded elation filled him as this plan worked.He attached to the mental vision and willed his taniwha body to change.As with his shift from human to dragon, the transformation was labored.
But it worked.
