Nonsense. Fucking nonsense.
He was a member of the Royal Guard. He was the King of Erya’s personal bodyguard. He didn’t need anyone protecting him, not even a dragon.
“We need to find out what’s happening,” Adrian shouted. He tried to pull out of Haru’s hold, but the dragon wouldn’t put a single inch of additional space between them. When Adrian moved, Haru moved with him.
“Would New Rosanthe attack this base?” Haru called over the noise.
Adrian’s blood ran cold at the idea. From their current location, the one way the Empire could attack the base was from the Ordas. He hadn’t considered that New Rosanthe might make a pre-emptive move against Erya. He’d always assumed they would encounter those bastards in the Ordas.
“I don’t know. We need to find the commander and get orders,” Adrian replied, ignoring the answering glare from Haru. He was sure the dragon thought the only thing he needed to do was keep his head down and let the other people do the fighting, but there was no way in the world he was going to stand back and let others put their lives at risk while he did nothing.
They ran across the base, dodging dozens of other soldiers who were rushing to defensive positions and grabbing weapons. People were shouting, but the noise was largely drowned out by the continuous siren that blared.
As they got within a few dozen feet of the command center, Melita popped out. Her eyes quickly scanned the area, hit Adrian, and appeared as if relief washed over her. She jogged to intercept him.
“Commander Soto needs to speak to you immediately!” Melita shouted over the noise.
“What’s going on?” he demanded, already continuing toward the small command structure with her on his left while Haru stuck close to his right.
“Several objects have been spotted in the sky and appear to be flying straight for the base. We—”
“Where? Where are they?” Haru barked at her, excitement replacing the dullness that had filled his voice earlier.
“To the northwest.”
Haru grabbed Adrian’s biceps and flashed him a grin that was utterly blinding. “It’s my family.”
That was the only warning he got. Haru spun around on the balls of his feet and sprinted back the way they’d come, to the entrance of the base.
What the fuck was he—
Oh, shit! Family.
Adrian’s stomach dropped, and he almost choked on the breath that rushed out of him. He turned his attention to Melita, who was standing beside him looking thoroughly confused. “Tell Soto to call off the alarms. Everyone needs to stand down. Allies are coming. Don’t fucking shoot!”
Praying that his words sank in, Adrian pivoted and ran to the entrance, following the route that Haru took. With every step, Adrian’s brain frantically repeated the same thing: Don’t shift! Don’t shift! Don’t shift!
Ahead of him, he spotted Haru dodging two vehicles and a squad of soldiers with guns. When he reached the lowered arm of the gate, he vaulted over it with ease. Haru’s feet hit the road, ran two more steps, and then his tall, lean body shifted into an orange, yellow, and pink dragon with massive wings.
Fuuuucccckkk…
There was no missing that. Not when he’d taken straight to the air right in front of the base. Those giant wings spread to catch the wind, pulling him higher and higher. His long tail whipped and pushed him into the sky.
Gods, he was gorgeous.
It had been only a month and a half since he’d last seen Haru’s dragon form. How could he have forgotten how amazing it was?
Except the soldiers were freaking out. He needed to do something before someone started taking shots at Haru and the rest of his family.
Swearing under his breath, Adrian ran to the soldiers standing frozen, their fingers tightly wrapped around their weapons as they watched Haru rise in the air.
“Don’t shoot! He’s a friend! He’s bringing in more allies to help in the Ordas!” he called as he ran by them. He thought he might have caught a few looks that accused him of being utterly insane, but he ignored them to slip out of the gate. His steps slowed and he stopped at the edge of field that bordered the base, his eyes locked on the sky as he waited.
Haru was little more than a large, black shadow against the darkening clouds. The alarms stopped behind him just in time to hear a roar that made his heart skip. Did he see them? Could he see the other dragons as they approached? A couple of seconds later there were at least three answering roars, and a laugh bubbled up in Adrian’s throat. He slapped his hand over his mouth to hold it in. They were here. The dragons of the Isle of Stone were actually in Erya.
Caelan was going to kill him.
No. Haru had already arrived in Stormbreak when Adrian had finally cracked and messaged him. This wasn’t technically his fault.