Deception

29 ¦ A Dragon's Majesty

I woke on the lawn with a sharp intake of air, and the first thing I felt was Axa shaking my body.

"Damn you, Helena, wake up!" Axa roared.

"I'm back! I'm back!" I exclaimed. "Stop shaking me."

"Holy fuck, you made it?" she exclaimed as she drew me to her in a huge hug. Her smile faded as she looked around her. "Where the fuck is he?"

"Here," Dahlroth said as he emerged from the garden dressed in his traditional Shadow Rider uniform. He went over to my pack, found two vials of liquid potions and drank them greedily.

"Excuse me," Axa said, "but just what the fuck--"

"Forgive the uniform, but I don't want to kill our comrades by mistake."

With a gasp, I stared at him. Had something gone wrong? Had Lord Darius returned?

Axa rose to her feet and crossed her arms. "Prove that you're the dragon," she hissed.

"Shall I morph in front of you, Dragonborn?" he growled under his breath. "I don't want to injure you--Helena and I respect you too much."

"Where is your rider, anyway?" she growled. "Who controls you?"

Dahlroth pointed in my direction. "She does."

Both of them stared at me, and my mouth fell open. "Who, me?" I asked, stunned as I pointed at myself. "What are you talking about?"

"Your medallion," Dahlroth replied. "It fits securely onto an implant in my back, like a key. You hold the reins and guide my decisions because I trust you with my life. No one else."

Axa scrunched up her face in confusion and disdain. In a flash, she whipped out two broadswords and brandished them at the apparent Shadow Rider.

"Show me your true form, demon, or you ain't going anywhere near my people."

"Your wish is my command." Dahlroth turned to me. "Khrysakh, would you come here, please?"

With trembling knees, I walked towards Dahlroth, not knowing what he expected me to do. He reached out one of his gloved hands to me, and my heart thudded as he drew me close.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered in my ear. "I would never hurt you, no matter what my form."

"What are you doing with her?" Axa snarled as she prepared for battle. "Let her go."

"It's okay, Axa." I held out my palm towards her. "He won't hurt me."

"We need a moment of privacy, please," Dahlroth commanded. "Turn around."

"The fuck I--"

"I said turn around!" he roared.

To my shock, Axa turned without another word. After removing his cape, Dahlroth began to remove all of his leather armor bit by bit. My heart thudded in my chest, and he chuckled.

"Later, sweetheart," he murmured. "We have the battle to fight, remember."

"I can't move, Helena!" Axa growled. "Dragons can compel the Dragonborn. But if he's hurting you, I will fucking kill him."

"I'm fine, Axa," I said, breathless. "Trust me."

Dahlroth--my mate in another life--stood with his back to me, fully unclothed. His tall, lithe frame took my breath away, and I longed to touch his smooth, light-blue skin.

The draconic man knelt on the ground in front of me, and I stared at his lean back, his wiry muscles rippling beneath his scaly flesh. Directly in between his shoulder blades lay a metallic frame, which had the same shape as my medallion.