She scrambled onto his back and clung to his neck. He relished the sensation of her body pressed against his, her strong arms hugging him.
He flapped his wings and rose into the sky, carefully. She was between his wings, a comforting warm weight, and he was very careful to stay horizontal as he flew. He headed back towards the city.
The other dragon was very close now, and it sent a blast of frost their way. He flew lower and just barely managed to avoid it, but he couldn’t dive or maneuver effectively with Cadence on his back. He felt the sudden chill in the air as he beat his wings faster, desperate to get Cadence to the city. To safety.
The dragon was close behind him. He rose, wheeled around, and sent a blast of fire at it, scorching the air. It reared back, and he smelled burning flesh; he’d caught the tendrils that draped beardlike beneath the dragons’ chin.
The dragon responded with another blast of frost that caught one of his wings, searing it with biting cold. Instantly his wing stiffened and icicles formed, dripping off the edge.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he struggled to stay aloft. He was more than a match for the dragon, but he couldn’t risk throwing Cadence off.
Instead, he flew as fast as he could, with each flap of his left wing sending searing pain through his body. He flooded the wing with a wave of heat from deep inside himself, and the ice melted off and turned to steam, but the damage to his flesh had already been done.
The dragon stayed right on his tail, and he flew lower, in case it made him fall. He felt Cadence’s arms gripping him like iron, and he risked dodging, flying higher and then lower and maneuvering as much as he dared.
Cars were beneath them now, honking their horns and scattering in panic to either side of the road. The ice dragon sent another arctic blast his way, and it caught his tail, sending an ache right up his spine. Frost formed on the road and the cars, and several of them skidded out, slamming into each other.
Orion cursed to himself. People feared dragons enough as it was; forcing a battle like this was sheer idiocy.
As soon as he got back to the city, he landed in the police station parking lot. Cadence tumbled off him, and he shifted back into human form and stood there naked, his arm and his butt pulsing with agony. He rubbed his arm, scowling. He’d heal, but it would take a few days before the ache was gone completely.
The ice dragon shot off into the sky, wings flapping madly, and let out one last mighty blast that sent snow swirling down on them.
A police officer stormed up, furious. He slipped on a puddle of ice and barely caught himself by grabbing a light pole.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” he roared. “How dare you fight in a human zone? If you’d crashed, you could have killed dozens of people.”
To say nothing of himself and Cadence, Orion thought. But, fair enough, he understood the human’s anger.
“I was attacked,” he said, rubbing his arm, which throbbed and pulsed. It was blackened and blistered, but he could see the healing starting already. “I did not start it, and as soon as we were approaching the city, I did not fire back at him. I can assure you that this will be reported to the Dragon Elders immediately.”
“Damn straight it will,” the man snapped at him.
Orion glanced over at Cadence, who was swaying where she stood and gingerly patting her frazzled hair. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Whoo. Let’s go on that ride again!” She managed a smile, but looked as if she were about to puke.
Orion leaned in closer to her. “Listen. As you know, dragons are as rich as hell and have endless resources. They’ll keep coming after you. You won’t be safe going back to your house. You should come home with me.”
“Are you sure? It looks like that would be an open call for the ice dragons to declare war.”
“Let them,” Orion said with a fierce grin. “Next time I meet them, you’ll be safely in my castle and they’ll be scaly shish-kabob.”
Chapter Five
“Nope, that’s it,” Cadence said, putting her hands on her hips. “I refuse to stay here at this hovel. You’ll have to do better than that.”
“Hah, hah.” Orion snorted. “I didn’t realize you were such a princess.”
The night before, she’d slept in a hotel room adjoining Orion’s. His servants had gone to her house in the morning and packed up all her belongings. Then they had all flown to Nevada on a private jet owned by Garrison Industries. First time she’d ever peed in a gold-plated toilet. She was hoping it was the last; there was something disconcerting about resting her butt cheeks on material that was worth more than her yearly salary.