A Dragon's Treasure

19. Another Man in the Mirror

Luke's racing heartbeat boxed his ears, panic surging through him. He needed to calm down, but that was easier said than done. The dragon threw him at the nearest stone wall. Pain burst across Luke's shoulders and back, thundering through his head. This man, whose name Cassian never mentioned, didn't waste any time curling his claws around Luke's throat.

"Get—get off me!" Luke barked, prying at the scales to no avail. Cassian's brother was a ruby red dragon. His scales framed the edges of his form with matching wings stretching from his back, while his horns were just as black as his eyes. Luke attempted one more hard thrash, but this man's grip tightened. Luke really needed to stop testing his bad luck. Luke snapped, "Who the fuck are you?"

Cassian's brother chuckled. "I'm your new problem, Rhys Alwyn. Here I thought my brother was home, but it was just a stray..." Rhys tilted his head, his eyes sliding up and down Luke's body. "There's something weird about you. Why is your aura like that?"

"Am I supposed to understand crazy?" Luke grunted, hoping if he gets the guy talking, he could stall and give Cassian time to figure out that Luke was fucked. "Speak my language, man."

Glancing behind his shoulder, Rhys grinned, all sharp teeth. "Ohhh... Cassian is here, and he must've brought you. Now things are coming together..." He studied Luke again, his eyes piercing right through him. "This is quite the surprise. I mean, it's a bit medieval to bring a human to the horde, but I am curious what kind of power you'd be able to bring."

"Power? What are you talking about? Just let me go. Trust me. There's nothing interesting about me." Luke didn't want to beg, but he wasn't above it. He already knew he would die young, but letting this guy kill him just sounded downright embarrassing.

"I don't think so, Love," Rhys said, sounding so amused by Luke's pleas. "Cassian has already been here too long, too close to his horde. You don't seem to understand it, but a dragon's horde gives them power. I suspect he hasn't withered to a shriveled husk because he took treasure with him or he's found..." At the realization, Rhys looked back at him, and Luke did not like the joy in his eyes.

Without warning. Rhys grabbed Luke's arm, bent down, and tossed Luke over his shoulder. "Hey!" Luke yelped.

"Oh, yeah." Rhys laughed to himself. "This is going to be interesting."

Rhys wedged Luke between his shoulder with his arm wrapped around Luke's arms to pin him in place. Luke only got one kick in before this man held his legs down, too. Luke reached out and grabbed the nearest object, a wall torch he swung as hard as he could at the back of Rhys's skull. Rhys jutted forward, but he wasn't wounded. Didn't let Luke go. Luke realized he probably, most definitely fucked up.

Just as Rhys carried Luke through the threshold, a geyser of fire ripped through the middle of the spiral staircase.

"Thank God," Luke said, letting out a sigh of relief. Never thought a column of white-hot fire would become a comfort. Before relief set in, Rhys dropped Luke like a sack of potatoes, and he hit the stone floor hard on his back. All the air was punched out of his lungs and it left Luke to wheeze and regain his consciousness as Rhys backed up, his fists raised as a hot wind whipped through the stairwell. Rising, Lord Cassian B. Alwyn appeared like the devil from Rhys's nightmares, fire spewing between his lips.

"You are a fucking bastard," Cassian bellowed, flying right over Luke. "Get out of my house." The brothers moved almost too fast for Luke to process. Cassian slung his flaming fist at Rhys, but in the next moment, they had flown to the other side of the room and Cassian was blocking one of his brother's swings.

Thankfully forgotten, Luke climbed back to his feet and held onto the doorway to catch his breath. The adrenaline was still thrumming through Luke, his nerves frayed and tattered, whizzing with electric panic. He wanted to help. It burned Luke to know he couldn't.