SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (30 page)

“
Yes, love,
”
Flay
replies as she shifts her weight to keep Soar down. Con gets to his knees in
time to see Cloud and Flay tumble from the bridge and into the chasm below.

“
Settle
down,
”
Flay orders.

“
I
’
d tear you apart if you weren
’
t such a
—”

“
Female?
”

“
Bitch,
”
Soar snaps but Flay laughs.

“
You
’
d do well to pay attention like my
Conflagration, you idiot gryphon.
”

“
Fuck
you,
”
Soar gets the heel of his palm
under her chin and pushes but the blonde doesn
’
t budge.

“
Look,
”
Con breathes.

Flay doesn
’
t release her grip but shifts enough to
allow Soar to see. Either Cloud or Fury flies up past the dwellings on the far
side of the city with the other in pursuit.

“
Pay attention,
”
Flay slaps Soar and this time he uses
both hands on her. A violent shove gets her off but she knees him in the belly
to keep him down, rolls him over and immobilizes him from behind.
“
This is a rare opportunity. One day my
Con will have the honour of doing this for our children.
”

“
What, kill them?
”

“
No, release their dragons and you will do
the same for your own young.
”

“
Jesus,
”
Soar sighs. There
’
s nothing he can do but wait for the
outcome. Even in dragonkin form Flay is stronger and he can
’
t help Cloud if she breaks his ribs.

“
See?
”
Con says.
“
My sister is all dragon now. Fury is
simply trying to stay alive until she gets control of herself.
”

What he says looks true. The two gold
dragons make a tight turn at one end of the chamber. Now he can see the
trailing dragon is slightly smaller. She
’
s
clearly pissed off, her roar echoes down from the semi-solid roof and she
shoots another round of sticky burning fire at Fury. As she pursues, she passes
through the smoke and flames that trail him.

“
Maybe she
’
ll kill the bastard,
”
Flay prays and Con takes his eyes from
the fight long enough to shoot her a dirty look. She shrugs.
“
Maybe.
She
’
s as strong as her sire. I was
barely fourteen when my sire released my dragon. Lady Tempest is twice that age
and fully grown.
”

“
Yes,
”
Con murmurs in awe of the display. He
’
s not the only one. The streets on either
side of the chasm are lined with small clusters of upturned faces.
“
She is strong but young. My sire can hold
this form much longer and this will end either when she returns to dragonkin
form or defeats him.
”

“
Lord Fury would prefer injury,
”
Flay explains and Cloud interrupts with a
screech. Fury dodges and by some luck she anticipates and moves beneath him.
All four of her talons are poised to strike. For a moment, Fury looks down at
his daughter and almost smiles.

“
To be injured or killed,
”
Con clarifies.
“
Will make him most proud of his child.
”

Then the moment passes. Cloud rolls,
belly up, and Fury readies his own talons in defense. Soar had his doubts that
Fury wasn
’
t trying to harm her but no
longer. Fury is able to occupy three of her four sets of claws as he dives
away. Her hold is strong and Fury cannot shake her grip. As they plummet below,
her one free rear leg slashes deeply into Fury
’
s belly just below his ribs and Soar can
’
t tell if it
’
s the confusion of their entanglement or
if she sunk the full six inches of her rear claws deep inside him.

There are shouts from both sides of the
city and Soar finds himself on his feet, Flay
’
s weight gone. The scent of blood travels
quickly to them as Cloud and Fury crash down, narrowly missing the bridge.

“
Get
Lord Fury
’
s sibling,
”
Con orders and with a nod, Flay runs off.

Soar doesn
’
t wait for any more bullshit orders from
Con or his bitch female. Each step toward the precipice is an agony. The
dragonkin on the far side of the
hole
in the middle of the city can
see what has happened below. They point and exclaim amongst themselves but Soar
can
’
t afford to spare them a
glance.

When he
’
s only a few steps from the edge near the
bridge, his vision fills with gold and red and the rush of leather wings. The
wash as Cloud bursts up from below brings Soar to a stop. She
’
s nearly dragonkin, her scales and claws
are gone, but she
’
s still a foot taller than
Soar and clutches her naked human-formed sire to her.

“
Help,
”
she cries. There
’
s barely room between Soar and the ledge
but she finds a toe-hold in the narrow space and lands, almost immediately
returning to her gryphon size. The only difference is her wings are the thin
gold leather of a dragonkin. Her feathers are gone.

“
Got him,
”
Soar
grunts as he takes Fury
’
s weight in his arms.

“
I didn
’
t,
”
Cloud
gasps.
“
I couldn
’
t
…”

Her voice fails as she drops to her
knees. Then Con is there and together he and Soar bear the big male to the warm
stone room from which Cloud stepped only minutes before.

 
“
Beautiful
female,
”
Soar whispers as a brownish
dawn finally lightens Skyfall.

Cloud hasn
’
t spoken much since Soar returned to her
side. She cried out when the stone door sealed Fury and the healer in and had
to be forced into the trousers Flay shoved into his hands.

Their half finished meal from the night
before sits nearby. She was only interested in the food until Con and Flay left
them alone. Even Flay
’
s explanation of Fury
’
s actions and releasing her dragon failed
to get her attention although she relaxed when Fury
’
s sibling announced he was healing and
would see them in the morning.

Cloud
’
s beautiful adornment covers her breasts
even in dragonkin form and other than her gold wings the only change is two
strips of soft scales that run from behind her ears, beneath her adornment and
disappear into her trousers.

“
Please say something,
”
Soar asks. She shifts in his arms then
squirms upward on their sleeping mat to meet him nose to nose.

“
I was thinking,
”
she starts.

No shit. You
’
ve been thinking all night,
but Soar keeps his mouth
shut. He
’
s been thinking as well but
more about how they
’
re going to get home than
about life with a dragonkin. Life will happen, getting home may not.

“
Do you still want me like this?
”

“
It
’
s different,
”
Soar
explains.
“
I don
’
t feel any urge to hunt but I
’
m as attracted to you as ever.
”

“
Same, but this,
”
she sits and stretches her wings.
“
And what I turned into.
”

“
Your dragon kicks ass,
”
Soar says. Inside he prays she doesn
’
t notice his insensitive old self who
doesn
’
t consider the feelings of the
shaken female at his side. There are better words he could use to describe the
great gold mass of scale and flame who impressed and scared the hell out of him
at the same time. Who made him need to be a better male to show his gratitude
for winning
her.
“
And you
’
re still as beautiful outside as in.
”

She accepts his touch under her chin then
he gets bolder, anxious to demonstrate his acceptance. Under her gryphon scent
is another that is different from that of a shifted gold dragonkin and only
noticeable when he wets her skin with his tongue. It
’
s a little darker, rich, ancient and
dangerous, but her natural sweetness still floats above it and fills his
senses. Her dragon scent should scare him but he
’
s driven to exhibit power to match the
deep oily tang that hovers over her damp skin.

“
Soar,
”
Cloud moans and pushes him aside but not
to push him away. Her lips find his mating bite, red and swollen in his gryphon
form, and she seals her mouth around it. With each soft suckle of the circle of
ridges Soar tenses until he throws her back, nestling his erection in her belly
and claiming the mark he left on her shoulder.

“
Little
gryphon,
”
he growls into her flesh.
“
No hunt needed. Just the smell of you and
I
’
m yours.
”

“
Are you sure? My dragon, I couldn
’
t control her. I could have killed my
sire when I met him. She was so angry, I could barely keep her from killing you
for slowing her down even though she came out to protect you. She forgot
everything but going after him.
”

“
Cloud
—”

“
No.
Don
’
t, Soar,
”
Cloud
’
s voice hitches, making her shrink
beneath him. She forces her hands between them and he groans, expecting them to
slide down inside his trousers but they go down hers instead, cradling her
womb.
“
One day, Soar, we
’
ll have children and you
’
ll have to try and kill them or someone
they love to turn them like he did to me. Are you ready for that? I
’
m not. I didn
’
t want that.

“
All I could do was watch as I turned into
a monster.
”

Soar slides to her side. Cloud
’
s wings are spread beneath her, their
span wider than her feathered wings. He
’
s
lucky. Even after his betrayals her trust in him has returned. The precious
gift is something he
’
ll never squander again.