Seducing The Dragon King

Chapter Four: Cursed From Within

I watch in horror as Jayce transforms into his dragon form and creeps slowly toward our assailants, keeping me hidden from their withering gazes with his giant body.
"Jayce, be careful!" I call out.
"On my signal, you run and don't look back," he says. The two dragons standing opposite from
us bare their teeth and viciously snarl. I catch the smoke churning in their throats before I see the fire. As if on cue, Jayce gives me the signal.
    "RUN!" With no hesitation, he attacks, and faster than I've ever seen him move, he bears down on the green dragon, sinking his teeth into its neck. With a hideous shriek, the green dragon shakes itself loose and goes on the offensive, swatting Jayce with gnarled talons across his forearm, while the blue dragon snaps its jagged teeth at him. With the two rampaging dragons keeping busy at Jayce, I take off sprinting towards the thick vegetation growing at the edge of the forest.

    I haven't even made it halfway to the forest when the blue dragon lands right in front of me and roars right in my face, the force almost knocking me back. I can smell the rot emitting from its mouth and a few drops of thick saliva dribble down my arms. Scanning the ground around me for something capable of being used in a fight, I spot a jagged wooden piece that must have been snapped off of a larger tree. Eyeing the dragon warily, I cut sharply to the left, pick up the jagged branch, and hold it menacingly out in front of me just as the dragon lunges for me. I hear a satisfying howl of pain and look up to see the branch has left a bright red slash across the dragon's hand. Despite my small victory, the beast quickly collects itself and once again bears down on me. I take off running and darting between scattered rocks and loose roots littering the forest floor. Sweaty and exhausted, I shoot through the trees at top speed, only slowing down when the sounds of the fight fade from my ears. I don't know how long I have been waiting, hunched behind a wide tree when I hear something shuffling through the trees. My whole body immediately tenses and I chance a peek around the bark. Jayce is limping through the woods, one arm wrapped around his lower stomach, and the other helping him find purchase against the trees. I immediately remove myself from my hiding spot and rush over to him.
    "Jayce!" I exclaim. He startles, but when he realizes it's me, he visibly relaxes. His face is screwed into a mask of pain and I realize he's covered in blood.
    "You're alright?" He asks, looking me over quickly. Before I can answer, he collapses.

    Night has fallen and Jayce has been in and out of conscience for hours, mumbling softly in his sleep. In that time, I've cleaned the blood, dressed his wounds, and built a fire for warmth. I'm changing his bandages from shreds of my dress when Jayce cracks an unfocused eye open, his head resting in my lap.
    "Anna," he says quietly. I ignore the hurt that invades my heart when he calls me by her name, and pretend to busy myself catering to his wounds.
    "It's me, Jayce. Cyrilla. You're safe," I say. He squeezes his eyes shut for a moment as if willing to focus, and when he opens them again, he looks at me with clarity. He makes himself sit up, but he winces and gasps in pain at the movement. I place a palm against his chest to gently guide him to lie back down again.
    "Careful, you took quite a beating. You need rest."
    "It's not safe here," he says quickly. "We need to go."
    "What we need to do is wait for you to feel better," I say firmly. "I will not have you survive a battle with two feral dragons just to bleed out at the home stretch." To my amazement, Jayce doesn't argue. He looks down at himself and his trademark grin creeps onto his face.
    "If you need an excuse to get me out of my clothes all you had to do was ask," he chuckles, but winces.
    "Seriously?" I demand. "We just had a brush with death and you're still cracking jokes?"
    "I did tell you to run," Jayce says. "If you had listened, you wouldn't be stuck here now, infantilizing me."
    "And if I had run, you would have probably bled out, so be grateful that I didn't," I point out.
    "My hero," Jayce sighs, nestling his head back into my lap.
    "And don't you forget it," I laugh.
    "So..." he says slowly, voice serious as he gazes up at me. "Be honest. What deviant acts did you perform on me while I was sleeping?" I can't help but laugh at his affinity with cracking jokes despite the pain he's clearly in. I affectionately run my fingers through his hair.
    "Wouldn't you like to know?" I tease. Suddenly, his smile fades and a shadow falls across his face.
    "Someone is coming," he says quickly, eyes darting around.
    "The dragons?" I ask.
    "No," he shakes his head "I killed the dragons. This is something else. Something lighter." And sure enough, I hear it too. Light footsteps crunch across the soft grass. As quietly as possible, I help Jayce up and wrap his good arm around my shoulders to support him. Jayce turns his head to whisper to me, his mouth against my ear, and his breath tickles my skin.
    "Follow my lead and be ready to run if things take a turn," he says quietly.
    "What?" I ask. "No. You are in no shape for a fight and there is no way I am leaving you behind." Jayce glares at me, eyes narrowed.
    "Of all the times for you to be stubborn, this isn't one of them."