“Boys will be boys,” Faye murmured.
“Don’t worry, dear. I’m sure he will show you. Hopefully, he’ll be returning soon.” Dalma patted her on the hand. She must have seen the suspicion on Faye’s face.
Faye felt slightly better, and they walked in the opposite direction.
“Have you spoken to him?” Faye asked. Since he’d left, there hadn’t been any communication between the two of them. She didn’t want to be a distraction to him and was sure that when he was able, he would contact her.
There was much for her to do, but it still didn’t keep her from worrying about Vander. Last night, she had gone swimming in the beautiful Olympic-sized indoor pool, then relaxed in the sauna, before venturing around the castle and into the library. It had been a while since Faye had had time to just relax and read a book. She’d fallen asleep, reading a romance novel, that led her to have a steamy dream that included Vander.
“No, I haven’t, my dear. When the boys go on missions such as these, it’s best to leave them alone and wait for word. They look out for each other. I’m sure everything is just fine.”
Vander directedhis dragon to fly lower beneath the clouds. Thanks to the Orb of Erlo, Vander was able to figure out where Gamair could be hiding. The smell of death, decay, and water, could only mean one thing.
The Wetlands.
Darkness was approaching, and he knew that if Gamair were near, he would show himself soon. Vander was familiar with the evil dragon’s actions. Gamair loved to hunt and attack at night.
“Any signs of him?”Jodos asked, using their telepathic link.
“No, nothing,”he replied.
The swampy, bug-infested waters were the perfect place for Gamair to hide out. Vander’s dragon pumped his wings harder, gaining more speed. They had to hurry so they could put an end to this. Gamair needed to die before he harmed other people.
“I found him.”Feno’s voice broke through.“Lock on to my location and get your asses here.”
Vander’s dragon located Feno’s, who was only a few miles away. Vander directed his dragon to turn into the direction of his brother. This time, the three of them would work together to capture and destroy the black dragon. He pushed his dragon harder, anticipation for the coming battle mounting. He needed to keep Faye safe. That was his top priority. Once they took out Gamair, he could focus on mating with her, and living forever with the one woman who was made just for him.
He flew higher, wanting to make sure he was able to get the black dragon into his line of sight. Feno’s dragon came into his vision, and Jodos’ dragon suddenly appeared, flying alongside his brother as the black dragon led them on a chase.
“Vander, get your pansy ass over here,”Feno commanded.
“Old man, you need to get your eyes checked. I’m right above you,”Vander retorted.
Gamair let loose a dragon roar that echoed through the air. He finally detected that he was not the only dragon in the sky. Vander would have to be more careful tonight. There would not be a repeat of before, which had landed him in the Westwend Hospital. Not this time. Vander would be ready.
“He’s going toward land.”Feno’s voice broke through.
“Good. I didn’t feel like going for a swim,”Vander replied. His dragon hated water. It wasn’t that he wouldn’t be able to swim in his dragon form, it was just that dragons were a fire species who preferred to stay in the air, raining fire down on their enemies, not frolicking in the muddy waters of the Wetlands.
They moved into a triad formation, with Feno in the lead. His brother dove down, crashing his massive body onto the dark dragon. Their bodies tumbled through the air, with Feno landing on top of the black dragon, pushing him toward the ground.
Jodos and Vander followed, tucking their wings to their sides, gaining speed and piercing the sky, jetting through the air toward the ground.
“Feno, pull up,”Vander shouted.
His brother was heading for the ground at record speed, and unless he wanted to end up in the hospital like Vander had, he needed to let the dragon go before they approached barren land. Feno’s wings spread out, slowing his descent through the air. The black dragon slammed into the ground. Each of their dragons made a safe landing. Staying in dragon form, they quickly made their way to the fallen dragon.
“Is he dead?”Jodos asked.
They approached the dragon’s side.
“Doubt it,”Feno replied.
Vander stared at the fallen creature. He wasn’t sure why, but alarms went off in the back of his mind. The massive beast lay, unmoving, on the ground. Vander’s dragon growled, ready to blow out his flames onto their captive, but the human in Vander knew something was wrong.
“Something’s different,”Vander announced.
“What the hell do you mean?”Jodos groaned.“We’ve chased this dragon for months, and now you say something’s wrong?”
