The water attacked my skin like a thousand blades. I gasped, as shock tore through my body. I choked on the bitter water that entered my mouth, quickly spitting it out. I had to take control.
I became aware of shouting behind me, knowing that Jones and Louis would be demanding my return to the boat. I shrugged off the jacket, and left it floating on the surface of the water as and I cut through the ocean with determined strokes. Thank god I knew how to swim. I managed to get a little distance between the boat and me before I heard the expected splash of someone entering the water. Louis would be coming after me.I pushed on. Louis’s weight and muscle-clad frame would slow him down in the water, whereas my slim body would give me an advantage.I kicked violently, dipping my head in and out of the sea to come up for breath. I knew there was every chance I could be taken away from the island by the current, but I had to try. I had to keep going. Occasionally I hI wanted to stay by Danny’s side so I could question him as soon as he woke up, but Thale refused. I had already pushed him to his limits tonight, and I had no wish to test them further. Instead, I agreed for one of Thale’s men to alert me as soon as Danny woke up.“Try to get some rest. You can sleep here.” Thale’s tone was flat as he showed me to a bedroom.The fortress was exactly how it sounded. A cold metal window-less box. The majority of it appeared to be built underground. This room was no warmer, only a simple wire framed bed shrouded in dark polyester sheets sat within the walls. I noted what looked like a hatch for storage opposite.“What about you? You haven’t slept since yesterday either?”“I’ll be fine. I don’t need as much sleep as humans. Besides, I need to figure out if this was anything to do with Fallon or not.”He was barely looking at me, and I so badly wan
Danny had refused to believe me. That was until he couldn’t get hold of Mack, then I could see the doubt creeping in. Thale still had him in silver shackles, although the look on Danny’s face told me that he barely had any fight left.“How could he do this to me?” I faintly heard Danny mumble.I didn’t respond. I was too busy pacing up and down the room, waiting for news of what we were going to do next. Louis had been gone for over 30 minutes. I would have expected them to have come and got me by now. I stopped suddenly. What if they had gone to confront Fallon without me? I would never forgive Thale if they had.“Sophia!”Danny shouting my name made me spin round. “What Danny?”“I was asking you why Mack is working for Fallon.”I bristled with irritation. “Because he’s fucking one of the female dragons, and he thinks they have a better chance at winning than you.
We left Danny alone with Louis so he could talk to Thomas. The plan was to bring him here as soon as possible. I wanted to get Thale away from Danny. He was barely containing his rage and I could feel the tension radiating off him. I also needed to fix this between us. Ever since I had defended Danny from his beating, I could feel Thale slipping away from me. I knew he felt betrayed. I wanted to show him that wasn’t the case. I was his. I would always be his now.“Come back to the bedroom with me.”He raised his eyebrow. “Why?”“Just…please, okay?” I took hold of his hand tracing my thumb over the back of it.He looked at the action, his body stilling. “I don’t think that’s a good idea Sophia. There is too much going on. Don’t you want to focus on that?”I edged towards him. “What I want, is to close this gap between us.” I leaned up, watching him regar
“Where’s the hoard then?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.We were still lying bed, although I was now positioned next to him while he stroked my arm gently with his fingertips.He laughed. “It’s much further down into the ground with various locked doors before you can actually get to it.”“Will you show me? While we’re waiting for Thomas to arrive?” I was desperately curious to see what all the fuss was about. And despite Thale telling me it wasn’t a cavern full of gold and jewels, that’s what I still had in my head.He turned his face to me, his outgrown stubble from not shaving making him look even more masculine that usual. “I suppose. You’ll have to put some clothes on first though,” he smirked wickedly.I had definitely won him back.We got dressed quickly, both of us knowing that if we didn’t, we’d fall right back into bed.
He didn’t take his eyes off me as I pulled the sweats from my skin. Not too long ago, I would have felt shy or embarrassed to strip off in front of any man. Thale was different. He was mine. He was devoted to me. Exposing myself like this to him was a way of proving that I felt the same way about him. My bare feet stepped towards him on the concrete floor, taking up my position again on his lap. His palms came to rest on my hips. The sensation of his strong hands enough to make me wetter than I already was. I traced my fingertips down his chest, the action making his breath quicken as I got lower. Reaching the zip of his jeans I pulled it down, the sound making me restless for what was underneath. He lifted himself up a little so I could drag the items down, allowing his now stiff cock to be set free. This time I didn’t want any foreplay. I didn’t even want to kiss him. I only desired to observe his features as I made my next move.I took hold of h
Relief washed through me. Maybe all of this could be fixed. Jack and I could be normal human beings without this terrible responsibility. Our relationship had taken such a battering recently. This would give us the chance to find our way back to each other. “Okay, so how do I do it?”Thomas frowned at me, scratching the back of his head. “Actually Sophia, I don’t think you can do it.”I shook my head in confusion. “What do you mean? I’m the guardian? Aren’t I the one who is meant to control the stone?”“Not as such. You’re the guardian, but you aren’t the creator. Hereti was. Only the creator can destroy the stone.” Thomas began riffling through one of the books in front of him, the yellow pages rustling under his fingers.Doubt began to creep back into me. I already knew I was going to do anything I could to get Jack home safe. Even if that meant giving Fallon what he wanted.
On the drive there I tried to think of some ingenious plan to trick Fallon into destroying the stone. Nothing came to me though. Nothing. I could tell Thale was trying to do the same thing, his brow permanently creased in thought.Shortly before arriving, I reached out for his hand. He looked up at me.“Thale, if we can’t think of something, you know I’m going to have to do what he tells me. Don’t you? No matter the cost. My brother comes first.”He nodded and squeezed my hand. “I know Sophia. I will stand by whatever decision you make.”I exhaled heavily, allowing him to pull me against his chest as Louis drove us the rest of the way in silence.Fallon’s home seemed even more imposing than it had before, but I did at least feel an element of hope at the prospect of being able to see Jack again.As we stepped out of the car, we were greeted by two burly looking men with dark suits and glasses.
I tried to pull myself together as I was led back down the marble steps. I didn’t want Thale to see me like this. Not when there wasn’t anything he could do about it. As soon as he saw me though, my resolve failed. He ran to my side, holding my face in his hands. “Sophia? What happened? Is Jack hurt?”I cried into him, not able to stop now that I had started. “He’s different…just… he’s been made to use the stone…when he shouldn’t.” My words came out between sobs.Thale’s face darkened. “Danny?” He whispered, so only I could hear him. I knew he was worried about the same thing I had been.“No. Mack,” I spat.Thale embraced me, stroking my hair and trying to comfort me. I wished for this all to be over. I wanted to got back home with him and Jack to Ashdown.“Come now Sophia. It’s not like he’s dead,” Fallon&r
Two months later...“Again?” I asked, half laughing, half hoping.“Yes, again,” he growled. “I have a lot to make up for.” His hand traced up the length of my leg, back to my core that was now drenched in the pleasure of both our bodies.“You’re going to break me if we go on much longer,” I uttered, my breath catching as his fingers began circling my swollen clit.“Tell me to stop then,” he said darkly into my ear. “Tell me you don’t want me.”Instead of saying anything, I let my legs fall open, allowing him to take me to another high. Just when I thought it wouldn’t be possible to go there again.“You look so beautiful when you’re like this.” He traced soft kisses down my neck, grazing his teeth against the sensitive skin.He took his hand away, and I whimpered. But before I could open my mouth to protest, he&rsqu
Despite the wonderful news that he was recovering, it took another three days for Thale to show any proper signs of life. During those three days, I mostly drew him. It was the first time I’d been able to do any kind of art since the first day I’d let him lead me to bed. As he lay perfectly still, I committed his profile in minute detail to the paper in front of me. It was still too hot for me to bare being too close, so it was a way of being intimate with him without touching his body.It was during one of these sessions, that I saw him open his eyes for the first time in a week. Just as I looked away to sketch his mouth, I heard a groan. My eyes snapped back to him, nearly crying with joy as I saw him writhe.“Thale?” I rushed over to his bedside the paper and pencil clattering to the ground. I took his hand in mine. “Thale can you hear me? It’s me. It’s Sophia.”His eyes flickered open and shut, an unearthly sou
I reached the room, breathless. Mrs Elliot was close on my heels. “What’s happening?!”Dr Squire was looking at Thale’s arm closely, concern written all over her face. I went over to her side, and had to clap my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming.The skin on Thale’s wrist looked like it was coming away. As if it was shedding like a snake. The area was inflamed, with chunks of scales lifting away from his body.“I’m sorry Miss Bell. This is what I was afraid of. His body is beginning to break down.” Dr Squire stood back up, taking the gloves from her hands as if she was done.I looked at her as if she was mad. “Well, what can we do then? There must be something we can do?”Her eyes finally met mine. “Now this is happening, the chance of him surviving is extremely low. Dragons rarely recover once their skin begins to shed.”I shook my head furi
I tried my best to engage with Jack. I owed him at least that. I forced the soup and bread down my throat, if only to encourage him to eat his. Despite me knowing how delicious it was meant to be, the chunky vegetables kept feeling like they were going to get stuck in my throat. But I managed it.By the time we’d finished, Jack seemed to be talking with more ease than he had with me in a long time. Perhaps there was every chance we could repair our relationship. I know that’s what our parents would have wanted.After Jack went back to his room, I asked to speak with Louis. When the gruff man with kind eyes sat down in front of me, I couldn’t help but reflect on how I’d viewed him at first. After all, he’d been the man that had guarded my door when I wanted to escape. But now he was a comfort, one of Thale’s loyal men that genuinely cared for us.“I wanted to thank you, for what you did. If you hadn’t shown up with
A gentle hand rested on my shoulder, and I woke with a start, looking to see if Thale was awake. But he was in exactly the same position as before. His face was relaxed, and if it hadn’t been for the wounds and burns covering his profile, I may have been able to kid myself that he was simply sleeping.“Miss Bell, sorry. You asked me to tell you when your brother was awake?”I turned my face to see Mrs Elliot’s face. Her hair was not as neat as it usually was.“Yes, thank you. Can you take me to him?”She stepped back so I could get out of bed. I pulled away from Thale reluctantly, but I knew I needed to see Jack.Mrs Elliot led me to a room I vaguely remembered Thale showing me. It faced out onto the grounds, the same view my art room did. I briefly hoped that I would get some time in that room again, and not because I was mourning…Jack was sitting by the window, curled up with one of Ashdown&rsquo
I scrambled over to him, grabbing his face and shaking it.“Thale! Thale wake up!”I put my ear to his chest, I thought I could hear a heartbeat, but I couldn’t be sure. I frantically racked my brain on how to conduct CPR. Why didn’t I know how to do that?I began to make an attempt, pressing my hands down on his chest, and intermittently bringing my mouth to his to blow air into his lungs. Nothing. He wasn’t stirring. Was I doing it wrong?“Thale! It’s Sophia.” My voice began to break. “Don’t you fucking leave me. Don’t you fucking dare.”I banged on his chest. Still nothing. I screamed out into the darkness. I collapsed sobbing onto his chest, crawling beside him.“Please wake up,” I whispered. “Please.”The sound of tires approaching made me look up. Through the fog of the ash, I could see the truck coming towards me. The light blo
I had never seen Thale shift properly, so I was not completely prepared for what I observed next. Fallon’s skin seemed to bleed into onyx scales, causing him to look as if he was being savaged by a terrible disease. Like with Danny, his bones began to break. His ribs tore from his back, stretching out into deformed wings. His head went under, elongating in an unnatural way. Talons sprang from his hands and feet, the appendages growing and lengthening. Minutes later, he was the size of a bus, his human form all but eradicated. He continued to expand, far surpassing Thale’s stature. However, the process seemed to take longer. Against my will, my hand clasped over my mouth as he now reached an incomprehensible size. Surely, we were now small dots to him, the stone, a mere spec.“How…how will he know where to breathe?” I whispered to Thale, recoiling in horror as the creature’s enormous tail thrashed behind it.Thale pulled me in
“GET UP! The boss wants you outside in 10 minutes!”The booming voice of one of Fallon’s henchmen made us both wake with a start. In seconds, Thale was out of bed, still naked, striding towards the door. He ripped it open, and although I could not see the look he gave the burly bald-man, I could see that it was making the recipient cower. Perhaps he had forgotten that he was waking up a dragon.The man scurried away with his tail between his legs, and Thale shut the door with a slam. He rested his forehead on the wooden panel, trying to take a deep breath.I padded over to him and placed my hand lightly on his shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s time to get this over with.”We dressed quickly, knowing that it was not wise to keep Fallon waiting. Not when we were about to try and trick him. He had to be as congenial as possible.Just before leaving the room, Thale pulled me in for a final kiss. “Whatever
My whole body ached. My limbs were as heavy as concrete, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get out of the chair without help. My heart hurt too. My physical and emotional energy was all but gone.“Well?” Fallon asked impatiently.I had already decided to tell a half truth. That would be easier to maintain than a full-blown lie. I rested backwards in the chair, using my fingers to rub my temples to relieve my sore head. “My mother, or at least, a part of her, spoke to me in the stone. She was the last guardian. She will act as my guide.”Thale came to my side, kneeling down on the floor so he could look up into my face. “That must have been hard Sophia. Are you okay?”I inclined my head, trying to communicate to him with a look that I finally had a plan. He seemed to understand and stood up to address Fallon.“I think it would be best if Sophia rested before her next session.