Page 10 of Mad Dragon of Chaos

At the end of the long, dark corridor that held a heavy mildew odor, he turned to see a large cell with black bars. Inside lay Haru in his dragon form, curled into a ball with his nose tucked under his long tail.

“Haru.” Adrian sighed, his name tripping out as it finally got past the blockage in his throat.

The dragon blinked slowly and lifted its head. He stared at Adrian, not seeming to react. Adrian had been about to race along the length of the hall to him, but Haru’s lack of reaction made him hesitate. What if Haru thought he was a hallucination? A nightmare sent to torment his mind?

“It’s okay, Haru. It’s really me,” Adrian coaxed. He ignored the way his voice trembled. He started forward, each step slow and cautious. Haru wouldn’t intentionally hurt him, but Adrian had no way of knowing how Yesuntei’s magic was affecting his mind at that moment.

The dragon blinked again, but this time his giant yellow eyes focused on him more sharply. His long body jolted, and Adrian froze.

“Haru?”

In a flash, Haru shifted into his human form. “My Adrian!” Those two words escaped him, hoarse and ragged, but there was so much relief in them. He took a step toward the bars, but his legs gave out and he sat down hard.

Adrian swallowed a cry and ran to him. He grabbed the bars of the door, preparing to rattle the fuckers until someone came to open them, but the door swung wildly open, nearly knocking Adrian on his ass at the first pull.

“I’m not a prisoner.” Haru huffed a laugh. “They only lock the cell when I ask them to.”

“Whatever,” Adrian muttered as he shoved the door out of the way and flew inside, throwing himself at Haru. Dropping to his knees, he wrapped his arms around Haru, pulling him close enough that the dragon was practically sitting in his lap. Immediately, he noticed that Haru felt thinner. His body had already been lithe and slender as a willow, but Adrian swore he was even thinner to an unhealthy degree.

“You haven’t been eating properly. Don’t tell me that Nori has been starving his favorite child,” Adrian growled against his throat. He nuzzled his face into the soft hollow between his neck and shoulder.

A low hum rumbled from deep in Haru’s chest, and it was almost as if he were purring. He held Adrian tightly, pulling him even closer. “No, Nori has admonished me plenty about my poor eating habits. So has my cousin. You’ve seen him?”

Adrian grunted. “Don’t change the subject.”

“I have lost my appetite. I eat as my stomach allows. Most of my time was spent in meditation and talking nonsense with my clan mates while I waited for my Adrian to save me.”

Adrian’s heart squeezed so hard, it was in danger of being reduced to a fine powder. “You need to eat.” He forced those few words out through clenched teeth.

“I will. However, I was not expecting you so soon. I thought you would go save the people in Damardor first from the monsters.”

Adrian loosened his hold on Haru enough to stare at him. There were dark circles under his blue eyes, which seemed to have lost some of their sparkle, as if exhaustion had dulled his brightness. His cheeks were little more than hollows. He didn’t look well at all. It didn’t appear as if he would have been able to last until after they settled the mess in Damardor—not that it was ever a consideration.

“We came here as fast as we could from Bellcairn. There was no way I was going to leave this thing inside you. Tyche said you agreed to it. I can’t believe you! I’ve never been so pissed and proud of you at the same time.”

Drayce’s chuckle echoed along the corridor leading to the cell. “Look at that. Adrian made a new word. Prissed!”

“Asshole,” Adrian muttered as he twisted to gaze at Tyche, Shey, and Drayce as they approached. Haru’s arms tightened on him as if he were afraid Adrian was going to leave him.

“Welcome to the Isle of Stone, Prince Shey and Tyche,” Haru greeted them with a weak smile.

“How are you feeling?” Shey asked.

“Tired.”

“Then let’s get that damn thing out of you.” Tyche stepped forward but stopped to frown at his surroundings. “Well, maybe this isn’t the greatest spot. We should probably wait until we’re at the clan home where things are cleaner.”

“Wait a minute,” Adrian snapped. “What’s that supposed to mean? How do you get it out of Haru?” He started to climb to his feet, but Haru held on to him, keeping him trapped in his arms.

“He has to cut it out of me.” The statement was horrible, but Haru’s voice was calm and even.

Adrian’s head jerked around so that he could glare at the dragon. His heart skipped a beat. “What? You knew this?”

“No, but I’m not surprised by the development. It’s not a big deal. It will be painful, but dragons heal fast. Everything will be fine.” Haru lifted his gaze to stare at Tyche. “We can’t take it out yet. I wish to hold on to it for a while longer.”

“Are you insane?” Adrian shouted.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Haru,” Tyche chimed in. “It would be better to get it out as quickly as possible. Your job was to protect it from Cirina, and you did that brilliantly. Let’s get you free of that thing.”