Emins’ Mate(74)

He kind of loved that. His feminine, delicate, long-haired, big-eyed, sweet little Zara smelled like sex on two legs. But he hated the thought of other dragon shifters smelling her scent. He could see the way the other males in the Surgere were skirting around her, trying to ignore her siren’s call. They all knew that Solar was on the edge. Looking for a reason to rip the scales off somebody’s tail.

He had to get his mind off it. Luckily, the Oracle sidled up next to Solar as the dragons marched through the cover of the trees. The light blinked off of the Oracle’s turquoise blue scales. The shadows of the pine trees danced across him as they moved.

“We’re getting close,” O whispered to Solar. This was part of the plan. They flew as a group to the edge of the Shina Mountains, keeping well away from any towns or provinces where dragon shifters could see them and report to the king’s armies. Once they got to the base of the mountain range, they proceeded on foot, but in their dragon forms, ready to fight at any given second.

They figured two things. When they got close to Dalyer they would start to see crows. That was how he’d been communicating with his armies. Messenger bird. They knew this because about two years ago they’d intercepted one while they were camping on the beaches of the West Ocean. It had been the only way they’d known to move camps. The letter between the dragon general and Dalyer had contained way too much information about the Surgere camp.

The other thing they figured was that the closer they got to Dalyer, the fuzzier the Oracle’s gift would get. Dalyer had some way of obscuring O’s sight. They had no idea how, only that it was potent.

“You’re getting fuzzy?” Solar asked O as they walked beside one another. Zara glanced over at them as they whispered together.

The Oracle nodded, shaking his sculpted dragon head as if he had water in his ears. “Like trying to see through the back of my head. If I had to guess, he’s close.”

“Sol,” Zara whispered and pointed above them. Sure enough, a lone blackbird winged through the air, so high that it was just a speck of black in an ocean of bright blue sky.

Solar’s heart dropped to his toes. This meant that it was time for Zara to proceed alone. Without them. If Dalyer smelled other dragons with her, he’d understand it was a trap right away. She had to wander into Dalyer’s territory, as if she’d come looking for him when her fertility season hit. The idea was laughable to both Solar and Zara, but Dalyer had always been self-involved enough, short-sighted enough, that there was a good chance he’d believe it. Plus, Zara had been kidnapped, she hadn’t run away. There was a chance he believed that she would have preferred to stay with him.

The group of dragons halted. This was it. This was as far as they went until Zara managed to lure Dalyer back toward them. An uneasy feeling rose and settled over the group. What had seemed so easy intellectually was much harder in practice. Keiko rushed forward in her dark brown dragon form. She couldn’t really touch Zara without risking shredding her delicate human skin. So instead she settled for lowering her head to Zara’s eye level.

“Be smart. Come home at the end of it.” Keiko’s voice was much grander, more willowy in dragon form. But her words sounded out over the group. It reassured Solar to see how many people loved Zara. He wouldn’t be the only one fighting for her safety today.

Zara took a deep breath and turned toward Solar and the Oracle. Solar knew he was breaking the protocol that he, himself, had put into place but he couldn’t help it. He immediately shifted back to his human form and grabbed Zara to him, hugging her tightly.

“Don’t linger. Don’t push it. If you get a bad feeling, shift and get the fuck out of there. If you can’t get away, roar. I’ll hear you. I’ll come for you. I’ll be there in a second.”

“I know, Sol. We’ve been over the plan a hundred times. It’s gonna be alright. We’re gonna get him. We’re gonna end this.” Zara went up on her toes and planted a kiss on Solar’s lips. Brief, but passionate. They both knew that if she didn’t go now they would lose their gumption.

Zara broke away from Solar and turned toward the forest. But she froze in her tracks, her mouth halfway open as a naked Oracle stood in his human form in front of her.

“Jesus, O,” Solar muttered, dragging a hand over his face.

The Oracle followed Zara’s eyes down to his very exposed nether regions. “Yeah,” he said, putting one hand in front of himself. “Guess I didn’t really think through the intimacy of this moment.” He cleared his throat. “Just wanted to give you a hug goodbye.”