Her Dragon To Slay(48)

Just as he was about to move forward, he caught sight of Devon perched on the edge of the opening to the cave directly above Andrew and Kyndel. How had he gotten up there without anyone noticing? Rayne didn’t give a damn at that moment, glad for his friend’s stealth. There was hope and that was all he needed. He knew he could not use their mind speak for fear that Andrew would tune in, he would have to rely on the rest of his men to pay attention. The second Devon made a move, they would all have to act to save Kyndel and keep Andrew from getting away.

In the blink of an eye everything changed. Andrew pulled Kyndel’s head back, preparing to pull the knife across her neck. Devon looked at Royce who was standing on Rayne’s right and winked. Andrew was so focused on making sure Rayne was watching as he held his mate that missed the signals between brethren. Rayne knew to trust his brothers in arms, he focused completely on Kyndel, keeping Andrew from realizing what was happening right over his head.

Devon launched himself at Andrew’s head, Royce threw his considerable girth at Andrew’s side, effectively loosening the hand holding the knife and knocking him right into Devon’s falling body. What no one had planned on was that the force of Royce hitting Andrew in the side coupled with his hand in Kyndel’s hair would throw her into the air and she would land with a crunch against the rocks.

Rayne rushed to her side. He ran his hands all over her body, feeling for any broken bones or serious injuries. He was afraid to pick her up but longed to hold her and make sure she was going to be alright. He had no idea how hard her head had struck the rock but from the sound of it he knew she was in pain. He placed his hand on her forehead and slowly began to feel every inch of her head for injury. He stared at her gorgeous face, watching for any signs of pain, praying her beautiful emerald eyes would open. As he reached the underside of her head, he felt the warm stickiness of blood.

“Royce, get your ass over here! Let the others handle that lunatic. Kyndel's hurt!”

Rayne was hunched over his fallen mate as Royce rushed to them, “Commander, you have to move back. I need to take a look at the wound.”

Rayne moved around to the other side of Kyndel. There was no way he was moving farther than that. His place was right by her side. He would be there when she opened those beautiful eyes. She would see only him. He had to touch her, had to know she was still breathing. She had told him she would kick his ass if he died. Well, he was going to punish her for making him worry, but first she needed to wake up. He watched patiently as Royce bandaged her head. He prayed harder than he ever had.

“She has to be ok, Royce. Do whatever you have to but she has to be ok.”

“I believe she will be fine. I have her wound wrapped and the bleeding has slowed considerably. You need to get her to the lair. The Healer will be able to stitch her wound and make sure there is nothing I am missing. The laceration is not that long or deep, the best I can tell. Head wounds bleed more than any other so it looks worse than it is. It’s the way she hit that rock that I want Siobhan to look at.”

He could feel Royce’s worry for both of them. The older dragon shifter was a strong empath, so he was sure to know that Rayne was holding onto his sanity by the thinnest of threads thus the very formal and professional manner he was speaking to him with regards to his mate. He would focus on getting Kyndel back to the lair, she was all that mattered. “Lance, I need you and Devon to construct a makeshift stretcher that I can secure Kyndel to. I need to fly her back to the lair. We have blankets and ties in the med kit. Do what you have to do. I want to take off in less than fifteen minutes.”

He turned his head to find the twins on either side of their brother. “Aidan and Aaron, is the traitor secure?” He had to make sure they were seeing their brother’s crimes and not the young boy they had raised. It may be harsh but it would benefit them in the long run. Andrew would be judged at the Tribunal for his crimes against dragon kind and more importantly his mate. If they could remember the crimes their brother had committed against their kin, they would not have to suffer his loss a second time.

“Yes, Commander, he's secure. I’ll carry him in my talon and Aidan will fly beside.” Aaron answered. Rayne could feel the pure fury rolling off of him.

Aidan was obviously still in shock. Rayne knew his mind had to be on overload. He had been the first to see Aidan the night they thought they had lost Andrew. He had been inconsolable. Rayne had taken him to the healers and they’d finally had to sedate him. It took weeks before Aidan would speak and even longer before he let his dragon fly. All these years later they still took turns checking on him. Aidan had told the absolute truth when he said he lived with the loss of his brother every day. Gone was the happy go lucky trickster that had played pranks on all of them along with Lance. What was left was a hollow shell of the man they had all known for almost a century.