Looking up, she spotted a green dragon form she knew well—Aaron’s.
“What the bloody hell is he doing here?”
Two weeks ago, she would’ve wondered if he doubted her abilities. But now that she knew him better, Aaron would only desert his post if it were important.
Fuck, has something happened?
Her dragon growled. Let’s find out.
Teagan turned away from the pond and listened for any unusual noises.
The birds chirped, the wind rustled the leaves, and she heard a dragon roar in the distance. The roar wasn’t one of pain, but rather a ferocious one used for battle or to express anger.
She’d heard a few roars over the last twenty minutes or so, but had assumed it was one of the others cursing about getting something wrong.
If only she had her phone so she could check in. But none of them had been allowed to carry one.
Her beast chimed in. That’s why we need to check in with Aaron to see if anything’s wrong.
Doing so would disqualify us.
Then the question is—how much do you trust Aaron? If he’s here, I think it’s because we need to talk to him about something important.
After a beat Teagan answered, You’re right.
Aaron would never jeopardize her role unnecessarily.
Since no dragon could land near where she was because of the abundance of trees, Teagan ran down the path toward the beginning of the View Point trail. That was the nearest open space for Aaron’s dragon to land.
She pushed herself harder, and the stone wall surrounding the grounds came into view. Less than a minute later, she exited the gate and saw Aaron’s naked human form studying the skies. “Aaron,” she shouted.
He turned toward her and replied, “Stay inside the grounds, Teagan. There are more places to hide near the castle.”
While her curiosity burned, she stayed put as Aaron jogged to her position. He was less than a foot away when he cursed.
Before she could do more than open her mouth, he jumped and covered her body with his. He murmured, “Stay still for a few minutes,” before his body went slack.
Her heart hammered inside her chest. Something’s wrong.
Follow his instructions or it may compromise us both.
Only because she heard Aaron’s heart beating, albeit slowly, did she remain still. After the longest few minutes of her life, she moved enough to peer out from Aaron’s body. She listened and surveyed the area for any sign of trouble, but she didn’t hear anything unusual. Not even a roaring dragon in the distance.
Satisfied the threat was gone, at least for the moment, she shimmied out from under Aaron’s weight and quickly checked his body. Two tiny darts, one in his neck and the other in his side, caught her attention.
If she were a betting dragon, she’d say it was the same type of drug-filled dart that had been used on one of the children of her clan not too long ago. Aaron had jumped to take the second one meant for her.
Someone was messing with her leadership challenge.
She spotted the small pouch Aaron had tossed aside after landing. His mobile phone would no doubt be inside, but she couldn’t chance going out into the open to retrieve it. After all, she was supposed to be unconscious and couldn’t risk being spotted. Who knew what was going on back inside the clan’s lands.
Her dragon growled. Find another way.
She ignored her dragon as an idea struck. While it may get her into trouble with the DDA, she needed to get inside the castle and call her clan from there.
Plucking the darts from Aaron’s body, she carefully buried them in a safe spot and marked it with a series of rocks before gripping under his armpits. Mustering her strength, she dragged him further inside the gardens. While she couldn’t drag him the entire way to the castle quickly, she needed to stash him somewhere relatively safe so that she could dash and make the call.
Another dragon roared in the distance and Teagan pushed her muscles to the limits. Once Aaron was inside a protected area of trees and underbrush, she turned and ran to the castle’s main entrance. Pulling the dress over her head, she covered her fist and smashed through the glass on the door. She reached in and unlocked it.