Page 91 of Ashborne: Defiance

‘Kham, just give us a moment! Please!’

But my dragon didn’t hear me. He tossed his head, and bellowed at the males that were now descending the side of the launch hollow.

“There’s no time,” I instructed Grace. “Put your arms around my neck, your legs around my waist, and hold on!”

Eyes wide, she did as I said, clinging to my chest like a child and tucking her face under my jaw, holding me so tightly that as I let us slip down the strap, only giving enough resistance to control our fall, she barely moved when I caught our combined weight.

Two slides down, and we were just feet from the ground.

Two of the males reached the bottom of the hollow and Koa whirled.

Kham trumpeted and turned to find her—and we swung out far enough that my feet left Kham’s side.

He started forward and I cursed, cupped a hand over Grace’s head, and let the momentum of his turn throw us wide on the strap, then let go just as our weight caught and we would have been tugged back to him.

It was an awkward angle. Shouts went up as we dropped. I tucked myself around her and prepared to roll.

It must have rained here during the storm as well. The softness of the ground saved my tailbone as we hit the earth. I grunted and rolled immediately, but my elbow slammed against a rock on the ground and sent a numbing jolt through my arm.

Grace shrieked and we rolled two more times—then slid to a stop.

She was still clinging to me, her breath hot on my neck. And her ass in the air.

She moved to push away, but I held her there for a moment. “Stop. Assess,” I croaked in her ear.

And for a moment, amid dragon roars, the shouts of men, and the hubbub of a Furyknight reunion, we lay there, together.

My shoulder ached. My tailbone was bruised.

“Are you hurt?” I asked her in a strangled voice.

“No. No, you kept me safe,” she replied breathlessly.

Then her head popped up and she stared down at me, eyes wide. There was a split second when my mind tumbled back to those minutes when the dragons had just bonded and I kissed her. I saw myself cupping her face, pulling her back down, taking those sweet lips and—

My only warning was the flicker of a shadow in my peripheral vision.

I cursed and tugged her back down, rolling again and screaming at Kham to watch for us! He’d turned with such speed, his tail whipped around and the blades might have taken her head off.

Holy shit, that was close.

My brothers finally arrived, hands reaching to pick up Grace, and clasp my hand, pull me to my feet. Questions were peppered with shocked looks, claps on the back, and more than one warning to move.

Koa screamed and I grabbed Grace’s arm, pulling her with me, running toward the side of the launch hollow and out of reach of Kham’s wingspan or tail, not stopping until we were halfway up the steep slope and Grace stumbled.

I braced her weight, lifting that arm and turning to catch her at the waist.

My head spun. But soon we clambered together over the edge of the launch hollow and were safely above the dragons milling at its base.

I turned to face Kham, to watch, make certain he was safe. There were several males down there and Koa, in her alarm, crowded against him. I pulled Grace to my side, instinct chittering that she was to be protected also.

But, no. We were here. We were safe—now.

Grace was Chosen. And I’d brought her home.

Holy shit.

We’d done it.