Page 32 of The Naga Scavenger’s Precious Mate

Heart in my throat, I leaned out as far as I could to see if I could catch a glimpse of Zeidon or the brave Shaman. “Again!” shouted Corin from behind me. “I will do the same.” And there the dragon went, circling toward the mouth of the river where it spewed from the mountain in a wild, frothing mass. I could not believe that I’d swam in that, that Zeidon and I had made our way out of the robot’s domain through that waterway. I could definitely believe that rough water like that had been the final straw for the injuries to his chest, they must have battered him so badly as he brought me to safety.

As the pale blue male followed Artek’s lead, I had my chance to spot the sprawled-out green body along the river bank. He was lying on his back, head tilted toward the sky but I could not tell if his eyes were open or closed. He did not move, but I could see that Srazz was harrying the white male as he leaned over his master’s prone form. “Hurry,” I shouted to Zsekhet, “I have to help!”

Those males were both absolutely insane for leaping from a dragon’s back the way they had, diving to the ground without a parachute like a pair of insane paratroopers. I was grateful to them for being that dedicated to reaching their patient, but I knew there was no way I could do the same, and I really wanted to be there, to know if Zeidon still breathed. I could calm Srazz, so they could do their work. It wouldn’t be much help, but it was something.

“We will,” the golden Naga assured me but his words were yanked from him by the wind as the dragon sped up again. I had to be freezing but I could not feel it, my clothes were damp and the wind was tearing through them, but I could not focus on my own body when Zeidon’s life was in the balance.

I nudged Buzz and he nuzzled his small, velvety snout against my cheek. “Go to Srazz, calm him!” I urged the little fellow to leap from my shoulder and with a chirp he did so, tossed about in the air before he righted himself. The air currents created by the dragon almost proved too much for him. However, he managed to arrow himself back the way we'd come, heading directly for Zeidon.

I had to crane my neck to keep track of his small purple form, but things turned a bit crazy when the dragon roared and suddenly dove for the ground. My eyes widened when I spotted the clearing he was headed for, still not really big enough to fit his massive size, we were going to crash into trees. The beast pulled up at the last moments and I heard the sound of crashing and tearing as it spun back into the skies.

My body ached in the belts that held me to his back; I was flung back and forth like a tiny ship on a wild ocean. He circled and we were back in line with the small clearing for another landing attempt. It was now far less small, with deep furrows that gauged through the earth and uprooted trees lying left and right. Compared to the violent approach from before, this landing attempt was downright graceful and elegant.

The dragon touched down with a massive exhale of his huge lungs, and I half expected smoke and fire to belch from his maw. It was not that dramatic, he landed almost silently and tucked his wings carefully back against his sides. We were on the ground, and I did not even acknowledge the racing of my heart from that rollercoaster ride, yanking on the belts that held me instead.

Zsekhet was quicker than I was because my fingers were clumsy against the belts, stiff from the cold I hadn’t noticed. He gently brushed my hands aside and then undid the straps with a few quick twists of his hands. With polite hands on my hips, he assisted me down the steep side of the dragon but he did not need to point me in the right direction to locate Zeidon.

Running as fast as I could, I followed the sound of the river back toward the mountain. The golden Naga kept pace next to me but said nothing, though I did notice that he carried another bag of supplies on his back now. I appreciated that he kept a slight distance and let me go as fast as I wanted, even if I was just going to be useless when we got there. I just needed to know, did he still breathe? Could they heal him?

I broke through the treeline and nearly stumbled over a portion of someone’s tail. The tableau that greeted me was a bit of a surprise. Zeidon was still where I’d last seen him, but the other two Naga were on either side of him, leaning over his chest as they worked. Their bags with medical supplies lay open at their sides. None of that was surprising, but the sight of Srazz dangling from a blue tail in the air, hissing and growling definitely was.

It looked to me like he’d put up a fight when they approached. The pale white Shaman had several dots of blood decorating one arm, while Corin, who was holding Srazz, had to have a sore tail from the quills that had pierced his scales. Zsekhet made a smothered sound of laughter as if Corin’s struggle with Zeidon’s pet entertained him, but I yelped and rushed for him. The poor guy was just trying to keep his friend safe.

Buzz wasn’t helping like I hoped he would either, but circling over their heads and dive-bombing them with his claws or little flames he spouted from his tiny maw. “Stop it, Buzz!” I yelled as I prioritized the miniature dragon over the contained Srazz. I caught him out of the air and clutched him to my chest where he finally calmed, only then did I see what was going on.

My breathing sawed out of me on a shocked, horrified exhale and then I forced myself to swallow and focus on the good things. He was breathing, his chest was rising and falling unassisted, which meant he lived. He seemed almost peaceful the way he rested on the purple grass, with his eyes closed and his mouth lax. Not boyish or sweet, he still had a feral cast to his cheekbones and mouth, but I had never seen him look this restful and relaxed.

Blood saturated the ground around his chest, a shocking sight considering he had no visible wounds. Now he did, and at first, I thought that meant some wild creature might have attacked him while I was looking for help. But as I forced my frantic brain to analyze instead of leap to awful conclusions, I had to assume that the healer was responsible for all that blood.

They were draining it from his chest through an incision while holding a glowing light over him that originated from the palms of their hands. It might have been some kind of handheld healing device, but it didn’t resemble the types I was used to back home. The sight of them reassured me; they were doing the best they could, and that was far better than their fallen civilization would imply.

I sank to my knees as close to Zeidon and the healers as I dared, and when Corin swung a struggling Srazz my way, I took him from his tail and held him close. With Buzz curled against my neck, purring softly, and the black and white Ayala in my lap, I watched and waited. I hoped.

When he finally stirred, I was still numb to my own pain and discomfort. He fluttered his lashes and with a near-silent moan, his emerald eyes opened and landed on me with unerring accuracy. “Mate…” he said huskily, “My precious Farah.” Finally, I believed that he’d live, and I dared to imagine that future again with him at my side.

Always, I was the one of many words while he was so stoic and silent, but they seemed to fail me now. Nothing made it past my lips, nothing seemed big enough to convey how I felt at that moment. He knew though, of that I was sure. His eyes glowed, and then the mating marks along his body started to thrum with a hint of light too. I clutched his hand as tightly as I held Srazz and that was enough.

Chapter 23

Zeidon

I did not tell my female that my chest still ached a little when I breathed too deeply, she did not need to worry about that when I knew it was an ache that would fade with time. Today was the day the Shaman was allowing me to leave the medical room and his care so that we could claim a home inside the mountain of our own.

This room had seemed large at first, but the walls had started closing in on me over the days I’d been forced to spend in here. I only remained as long as I had, because I did not want to cause my precious Farah any more worry and fear. And, though I did not admit this out loud, I very much enjoyed how she fussed over me when she was at my side.

The door to the room swished open then to the sound of several female voices. My mate was in the lead, but she was accompanied by the blonde mate of Zathar. Vera, who’d given me advice on how to court my female. There was also a small pale woman with flaming orange hair and many dots on her skin. That one wore slinky clothing and a sassy look in her eyes whenever she was accompanied by her mate, Zsekhet, once of Serqethos. A dragon rider who’d brought the healers to me in the nick of time.

I had eyes only for Farah though, who was smiling broadly and accompanied by the pet Sleara riding on her shoulder. She looked radiant and happy, like a fish in water, completely at home with all this companionship. For her, I knew I had to adjust to living at Ahoshaga with all these males, a feat no Water Weaver male had ever accomplished before.

Srazz growled with annoyance as the sounds interrupted his nap in my coils, and when I shifted to climb out of the medical nest, he let me know just how annoyed by digging his claws into my scales. With the tip of my tail, I picked him up and slung him to the floor where he was quickly appeased when the females dropped to their knees to give him pets.

Farah approached me and with a happy smile threw her arms around my neck. I loved how her curves fit to my body, all soft and warm and so very female. She smelled delightful, even better than before now that she was healthy and happy. I was eager to grip her chin and cover her mouth with mine for one of those Earth kisses that the humans had brought to us. Her taste swept across all my senses as I drew it into my mouth, heady and sweet.

To the sound of whistling and laughter, Farah pulled back. I did not want to let her go, my grip on the back of her neck briefly tightening before I gave in to her wishes. If it were up to me, I’d glare at the gaggle of humans laughing at us, but they were backed by their amused mates and I had a feeling they would not take kindly to that kind of thing.

“Come on, Zeidon,” Farah said, tugging on my hands. I glanced down to look at those tiny fingers against mine, the differences and the similarities. Five fingers tipped with a nail, though hers were small and blunt. A smattering of opalescent scales still glimmered along the backs of her palms, but they already seemed to have flaked off a bit. My green scales were much more pronounced against her pale skin, and I liked how it was tough against soft, how we seemed to balance each other.

The Shaman had studied the scales that covered my mate in intriguing stripes and slashes right now and told us they would likely disappear over time. I was relieved when he claimed the revenant had done her no permanent damage, and surprised that Farah wasn’t happier by the news. She’d told me last night in whispers that she’d hoped that the scales on her skin meant we would have an easier time conceiving. My mate wanted younglings, my younglings, as soon as possible to grow our little family.