Vander pushed his dragon faster, his wings slicing through the air, eating up the distance. His dragon was in battle mode, and they closed in on Faye’s location. If one hair was harmed on her head, he would tear Gamair limb from limb.
The smell of stale water and rotting flesh filled his nostrils, denoting they were close to the Wetlands. Vander scanned the waters as soon as they came into sight, instantly looking for Faye.
The three dragons stayed in a triangular formation flying over the waters. Vander glanced toward the sun and saw it was making its descent. They would need to hurry. Once nighttime fell, it would make it harder for them to find her. The Wetlands stretched on for miles, and in the dark, there was no telling what creatures would be on the hunt.
“Any sign of her?”Jodos asked.
“No,”Vander growled. There wasn’t even a sign of Gamair. It was hard to hide a dragon that was larger than the size of a football field.
“A couple miles ahead, there’s a small mountainous region. I bet he’s holed up there,”Feno said.
“It’s worth a shot,”Vander replied, falling in line behind his brother, leading the way.
The mountainous regionthat Feno spoke of came into view, and Vander wasn’t sure he would really call it a mountain region. More like hills and valleys. It was nothing like the massive mountain his castle sat on.
“I’m going to shift and land. He’ll hear us coming if we stay in dragon form,”Vander announced. If they were to rescue Faye, the only way he would be able to find her in the hills would be in human form. She had yet to see him in his dragon form, and he wouldn’t want to scare her off.
“Jodos, shift with him. I’ll stay in my dragon form and patrol the air,”Feno instructed.
“Will do,”Jodos replied.
They circled around the land.
Vander’s dragon descended toward land. He shifted midair, dropping a few hundred yards to the ground. He stood and glanced down at his naked self. With a wave of his hand, he was fully clothed with jeans, a T-shirt, and hiking boots.
“Which way first?” Jodos asked, coming to stand next to Vander.
He turned to his longtime friend and found him dressed similarly. He glanced around but didn’t see much. The land was not plush and thriving as it probably should have been.
The trees were dying. Where there should have been rows of vibrant greenery, were rows of trees, spotted with brown leaves. They looked like naked skeletons and were past saving. The land was sick, and it wouldn’t survive long. Vander knew the source of the destruction of the land.
Gamair.
“Let’s go up. There are a lot of hiding places in this area.” Vander closed his eyes and tried to place Faye. He sensed she was near.
They began the hike up the hills, through the dense woods. No words were needed in their search for Faye. Vander tried to focus on her and the pendant. He just needed her to call on it again as she had before.
If only he would have explained the pendant to her. It was a way to link a human mate to their dragon shifter; a way to communicate between mates. The pendant would show any other dragon shifter who the human belonged to. But, more importantly, it acted as a beacon to allow him to find her.
As soon as they found her and got her to safety, he would lay it all on the line and tell her she was his mate.
“Come on, Faye, speak to me,” he murmured.
They came to a clearing.
“Over there.” Jodos pointed.
Vander’s eyes turned to where his friend indicated, and he saw a little cave. He doubted that Gamair would hide in such a small area, but it was worth a shot.
His heart sped up with the thought that she would be stashed in the cave opening, cold and alone. He jogged over to the opening and peered inside.
* * *
Faye grimaced and tried to move her arm again. Gamair had taken her immobile body and stashed her inside a dark, drafty cave. Her clothes, hardening as they dried on her, itched her skin and just about drove her insane. Her hand rested a couple of millimeters from where her leg itched. She let loose a curse.
It still wouldn’t budge.
What type of magic is this?she groaned to herself.Doesn’t it wear off?
