Gabreal laughs. “Go ahead, dragon. Burn me. I might survive your flames. She will not.”
The bindings holding me vanish, but before I can process my freedom, Gabreal lifts me off the table, holding me tightly in front of him and using me as a shield against Zogar’s fiery breath.
Zogar’s wings drop, and within seconds, he’s turned into a man.
Raising his hands, he steps toward us, palms forward. “You win,” he says.
“Your concession is wise.” Gabreal’s hand tightens around one of my breasts.
“Unhand my queen!” Zogar shouts.
“Have you such a poor memory?” Gabreal laughs. “Moments ago, yougaveher to me.”
“Never!” Zogar shouts. “I merely agreed not to use my fire to free her. She ismine!”
“Not for long, dragon. You lack allies in the Darkness, and I have many.”
Far in the distance, winged creatures appear against the red sky. Dozens of winged creatures are flying through the sky toward us. Zogar is powerful, but he’s badly outnumbered.
“Release her,” Zogar says firmly. “Release her, and I will leave you to destroy the Darkness. I will leave you in peace and never return.”
“Why would I trust your word?” Gabreal shakes his head. “But I do trust your devotion to this small human.” His hand tightens around my breast and the other hugs me so tightly I fear for my ribs.
Zogar lunges forward, but something stops him. The mages are still on the roof and are gathered into a tight circle around Eleanor. She’s holding her arms toward Zogar. Together, the mages have created a barrier to stop him.
“Again, release her, and I will leave the Darkness and never bother you again.”
“This human is nothing special.” Gabreal squeezes me. “I’ve only claimed her to vex you.” The barbed ends of his tail appear in front of me, slicing fine lines into my flesh, and marking an X on my belly.
“Keep your promise and this wound will heal.” Gabreal’s hand traces the cuts on my skin, his touch like salt on the wounds. “But if you return to the Darkness, these wounds will burst open. They will fester and ooze. Scarabs and snakes will devour her flesh, gnawing her organs from the inside. No medicines or magic will help her, and she’ll suffer a long and painful death.”
“Release her,” Zogar says. “Release her now, and I will never return to the Darkness.” He transforms back into a dragon, and the roof vibrates as he digs his wing’s spike into its surface.
Gabreal licks my neck. Anger flashes in the flickering facets of Zogar’s eyes, and he raises his head, as if preparing to breathe fire, but then Gabreal releases me.
“Take her.” He pushes me forward, then rubs his hands together. “I have thousands of wives. Most far more worthy. This human is nothing to me.” He laughs as I run toward Zogar.
“Dragon, you are no threat,” Gabreal says, “but I’m glad that our deal will save me theannoyanceof killing you.”
I climb onto Zogar’s back and quickly shift back onto his pommel. Wearing nothing but the necklace he gave me, his scales feel firm but soft between my bare legs.
Zogar rises into the air, and then turns back to circle the building, filling the entire rooftop with flames. Screams arise from the mages, but Gabreal stands defiant.
Arms raised over his head, Gabreal laughs as he burns.
CHAPTER 34
Rosomon
The mages’ screams fill the air as they’re incinerated in Zogar’s wrath, but the sounds fade as we fly farther from the building’s rooftop. The last glimpse I saw, Gabreal was engulfed in flames, but still standing at the edge of the roof, his arms raised in triumph as if the flames didn’t bother him.
I squeeze my eyes shut, hoping to erase the images and memories of everything that happened over the last hour. My heart is beating so quickly I fear it might burst. I narrowly survived my encounter with Gabreal, and now I’m about to perish from an exploding heart.
Easy, my love,Zogar says.Easy now. You’re safe. I’ve got you.
Zogar’s voice calms me. So does his knot that he very gently expanded when I mounted. Its comforting presence is helping to banish my body’s memory of Gabreal.
“Thank you,” I whisper to my dragon-shifter husband. “Thank Othrix you arrived before?—”
