Valentine (The Dragon Kings Book 3) (22 page)

A deafening shot rang out above them. Both Aspen and Hazel covered their ears, and then Hazel watched in horror as the black dragon fell to the earth. Paul promised he wouldn’t miss, but he shot the wrong dragon.

Aspen ran.

Hazel was right on her heels. She couldn’t let Aspen go out there on her own. The dragons parted for her as they ran through the crowd.

They reached Obsidian at the same time as the other black dragon touched down next to him. Aspen pressed her hands up against the gaping wound on his side, but blood gushed out around her fingers. Tears poured down her face.

“Sid, Sid, you can’t die.”

Hazel moved forward to help, placing her own hands around Aspen’s, the warm blood coating her hands in seconds. Aspen continued to sob.

“Can you change?” Aspen asked the dragon. “It will be easier to stop the flow of blood.”

The black dragon shuddered under their hands, and his body shrank. It wasn’t Obsidian who lay there bleeding, but Sid.

Hazel backed away and brought her hand up to her mouth to suppress her scream. In her wildest imaginations she never thought this was possible. She spun around and saw dragons changing all over the field. Some wore modern day clothes, but others looked like they belonged in the Victorian era or early 1800s. Soon the only dragons left were a red one, Runa, and her mother. As one, they all dropped to the knees and bowed.

A woman in a pioneer dress approached. She tore strips of fabric from her massive skirt.

“Excuse me, Your Majesty, but I think I can help.”

Aspen was still pressing her hands on the wound on Sid’s chest. She looked up.

“Please. Anything you can do.”

The woman ripped off a few more strips from her skirt and set to work. A handful of other women came forward and offered their services as well. Each addressed Aspen as “Your Majesty.”

Aspen watched them work, holding Sid’s hand. Hazel crouched down next to her.

“Why are they acting like you are some sort of royalty or something?”

Aspen gave her a weak smile. “Because I’m the queen of the dragons.”

Hazel shook her head and clenched her fists. “No, that’s not possible.” What was Aspen telling her? That she was a dragon? She couldn’t be. She was her sister.

Hazel stood, and Aspen looked up at her.

“Yes, it is. The dragon queen is always human. Sid’s the king. He chose me.”

Hazel backed away. She was in a nightmare or something. This couldn’t be real.

A hand touched her shoulder. She spun and found Val. Bile threatened to rise.

“Are you like them?” she asked, pointing to the sea of humans.

He nodded. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

Hazel shook her head. She didn’t know what to think, but she felt broken inside. Like someone had removed her heart.

Val knelt down next to Aspen. “You could heal him, you know.”

Aspen stared at him with wide eyes for a second. “This is too big of a wound. I’ve never done more than a scratch before.”

Val laid his hands over Aspen’s, whose were clutching at Sid’s.

“You have to try.”

Aspen nodded. She let go of Sid’s hands and pressed her hands on his wound. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. Then she gasped, opened her eyes, and removed her hands. Gingerly, she lifted up the fabric covering the wound. The hole that had been there seconds ago was gone. Aspen let out a yelp of joy, then she collapsed on Sid’s chest and sobbed.

Val stood up and approached Hazel. She backed away, not wanting him to touch her.

Val flinched but stopped. “I’ve got to take Sid to the woodland dragons to make sure he’s completely healed. Aspen will come with. My father can take you back to the house. We’ll talk when I get back.”

Val pointed to the bright red dragon behind him, and Hazel felt the blood drain from her face. No way in hell was she getting on a dragon. Val changed into a massive black dragon, and Hazel’s head spun. She took a few deep breaths so she didn’t succumb to the desire to vomit. Scrawled across Val’s ankle in bright green script was her name. What had he done to her? Why had he marked her?

She waited for Aspen to climb onto his back, and the other women helped lift Sid up with her. Then Val spread his wings and took off. Hazel disappeared among the crowd.

She hiked out to where they left the Hummers and sighed a breath of relief when she saw Paul leaning against the only remaining Hummer.

“Where did everyone go?” she asked.

“After I shot the wrong dragon, I ordered the troops to retreat. I watched long enough to see that they still killed the right dragon, then I bailed. Where’s Aspen?”

“She’ll be staying with the dragons. Thanks for waiting.”

So he hadn’t witnessed hundreds of dragons turning human. How convenient for the dragons. Hazel desperately wanted to talk to someone about it, but she wasn’t sure how she could without sounding like a crazy person.

“On a scale of one to ten, how pissed are they that I shot the black one?”

“Not much was said. They were focusing on saving his life. But I’d say pretty pissed.”

“Is he going to live?”

Hazel nodded.

Paul exhaled. “I’m still in trouble, but at least I didn’t kill one I wasn’t supposed to.”

Hazel looked down at her hands. She’d wiped most of the blood off, but there was still some caked in her fingernails.

“Look, this has been a really long and strange day. Do you mind taking me home?”

“Sure, Hazel. Anything for you.”

Hazel didn’t want to talk on the way home, but Paul blathered on.

“After I drop you off, I need to go report to my supervisor. But, Hazel, that was surreal in there. I’ve never seen so many dragons. Have you?”

“No,” she said and kept her gaze fixed on the trees flying by. Val was a dragon. She loved him, and he had lied to her. She thought she’d finally found someone worth settling down with, but he wasn’t even human.

“So, are you going out to dinner with Val? Celebrate the loss of the human killer?”

Hazel shuddered as she remembered how the black dragon, who was Val, had ripped off the head of the gold dragon.

“Val and I aren’t together anymore.”

“Oh yeah? You want to go out to dinner with me then?”

Hazel’s first reaction was hell no. But did she really want to stay home and replay the horror she witnessed in her mind over and over again? Paul could distract her. Save her from having to think about it for a few hours at least.

“Only under one condition.”

“Anything for you.”

“I don’t want to hear the word dragon.”

Paul dropped her off, and she made a beeline for the bathroom. She didn’t want to talk to her parents. Not yet. She knew she’d have to face them before she went out again, but she desperately needed to be alone for a few minutes.

In the shower, Hazel scrubbed at the blood under her fingernails. She felt betrayed in every way possible. Val, who she’d finally given her heart to, broke it. He lied to her. Kept the most important thing from her. The fact that he wasn’t even human. Hazel struggled to even comprehend that idea. Tears threatened to fall, but she kept them in. She didn’t want to give Val the satisfaction that he’d hurt her. She knew he couldn’t see her, but she still didn’t want to give into the pain. The betrayal.

She was blow-drying her hair when her mom knocked on the bathroom door.

“Paul’s here.”

“Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“Paul said they finally killed the dragon that’s been plaguing us.”

Hazel nodded. “Yeah, I was there. Saw it myself.”

“Why were you there?”

“Because I wasn’t going to let Aspen and Paul go without me.”

“Where’s Aspen?”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “With Sid. If I see her, I’ll have her call you.”

There was another person who broke her heart. How could Aspen keep all of this from her? She knew what Val was, and she didn’t say a word. Not to mention this whole queen of the dragons thing.

Paul waited downstairs and helped her put her coat on.

“What do you want to do?” he asked when they got in the car.

“Anything to take my mind off what I saw today.”

“Yeah, those dragons fighting was pretty scary. How about we grab some takeout and go back to my place and watch a movie. Something funny.”

“That sounds amazing.”

The movie was slapstick and funny and perfect for forgetting things she didn’t want to think about. She curled into Paul’s side, and he held her tight. She felt safe. Normal. This was a life she could handle. Nothing exciting, but secure. Now that she’d had a taste of commitment with Val, she realized she was done flitting around. She wanted to settle down. She wanted a real relationship. Paul would give her that. He wouldn’t blink an eye. He probably still had the ring he proposed with before she fled to Hawaii.

The movie ended in the middle of her thoughts. Paul flicked off the television.

“Do you want me to find another movie?”

She shook her head, gave him a wicked grin, pulled his head down, and kissed him.

V
AL SAT AT the kitchen table with Aspen and Sid. The healing had been quick, and Sid was able to fly back on his own. Aspen stayed glued to his side. Val had never seen her so scared.

None of them said much. A few minutes later Pearl entered the room.

“The third black dragon has been spotted.”

Sid jerked his head around. “Where?”

“Northern California. An eagle saw him, but when the dragons went in search of him, they couldn’t find him.”

Sid turned back to Val. “It’s time to get this show on the road. Hazel needs to be made queen so we can focus on the third king. We don’t know when the war will start. It could be years from now, or it could be tomorrow. We need to be prepared.”

“I told Hazel to meet me here.”

Aspen shook her head. “I just got a message from my mom. She went out with Paul tonight.”

Val’s heart clenched. “Why would she go out with him?”

Aspen frowned. “She didn’t seem too happy to find out you were a dragon. She’s probably just processing. I’m sure she feels like she can’t talk to me or you. Let’s give her the night, and we’ll find her tomorrow. Convincing her to be queen though is not going to be easy.”

Jealousy reared in his chest. “But she’s out with another man. I should go get her.”

“Don’t do that. You’ll just chase her away. Let her be tonight. We probably all ought to get some sleep. I thought things would get easier once the human killer was dead, but it looks like it will be just as crazy for the next several months or even years.”

Sid nodded. “I could definitely use some sleep.”

Val didn’t want to go to sleep. He wanted to find Paul’s house and convince Hazel to come home with him.

Sid put his hand on Val’s shoulder. “I know what you’re thinking, man. Just leave it. Give her a day to figure things out.”

Reluctantly, Val went upstairs, showered, and went to bed. He didn’t think he’d be able to sleep, but it came quickly. He hadn’t realized how exhausted he was.

Light filled the room, and Val squinted his eyes against the brightness. It took a second for his eyes to adjust, but when it did, he saw Hazel standing in the doorway. Her hair stuck out in every direction, black streaks smeared her splotchy cheeks, and fresh tears fell. Her lips pressed in a straight line, and her eyes narrowed at him.

Without a word, she ripped off her sock and pointed to her ankle where his name was scrawled.

“What the hell did you do to me?”

He was so glad to see her he didn’t think. He pulled her close and smashed his lips against hers. She’d come back to him. Sid had been right to let her have some time. She returned the kiss but then stiffened against his body and pulled away.

“No. You can’t do this to me. I want to know what the hell this means and how I can get rid of it.”