If he’d had at least one of the other dragons of the council here, he’d been glad to spread his wings and challenge the fire dragons. But right now, Autumn came first.
“If we’re quick, I can outfly them again,” he said hastily. “They’ll probably track us down eventually, but it should give us enough time for my friends to arrive. I can bring you to your friend’s farm in the north, if you want. Or...”
“No,” Autumn said immediately, even though he could feel her fear through the bond. “I can’t. If they’ll track us to her farm—I couldn’t do that to her.”
Damon exhaled, the dragon within him roaring as he eyed the sky. The distant specs had become larger. Five fire dragons this time. More than they’d ever seen before.
Just how many of them are there? Someone needs to have a stern talk with our captive fire dragon...
“I know you’ve been looking forward to this trip,” he then said. “But if you trust me—trust me enough to cross the ocean on my back—I can take you away from here. I’ll fly you back home. You’ll be safe in Dragon Springs, and my friends can deal with these dragons.”
In the distance, there was a sound almost like the faint roll of thunder.
Autumn shuddered in his arms. They both knew that it was the roar of a dragon echoing in the sky.
Then Autumn turned in his embrace. Her lips were pressed together, and her eyes filled with determination.
“Let’s go,” she said.
By the time they were outside, Damon shifting immediately and lifting Autumn onto his back with a clawed hand, the dragons were so close that they could see their shadows on the ground, racing towards them like angry storm clouds.
Damon dug his claws deep into the earth. He parted his jaw and inhaled, calling on the power of his element.
Strength came rushing into him, the centuries-old rocks beneath him readily giving their support. The song of life roared in his ears as everything that was green and growing sang out for him.
Fire was strong. Fire was destructive.
But nothing was as strong as the force of life that made grass grow and trees flower, year after year.
With the power of the earth itself thrumming through him, he gathered his strength and then took off into the air, effortlessly beating his wings while the fire dragons roared in anger behind him. They’d come close enough that he could feel the heat of the fire they belched after him, but another beat of his wings took them out of the danger zone.
And then they were above the clouds.
The sun was shining. The cover of white beneath them was undisturbed, and everything was shockingly peaceful and quiet, as if the dragons hunting them had suddenly ceased to exist.
Nevertheless, Damon continued to fly as quickly as he could, drawing on the power of his element to magically increase his speed.
No ordinary dragon could fly so fast. There were only two other dragons in the world who could match his speed, and both sat on the council together with him.
Still, even at this pace, it would take a few hours to make it back to Dragon Springs from Iceland—but Autumn would be safe on his back, and that was what counted.
And once he knew that his mate was safe in his own home—then he’d deal with the dragons that had dared to threaten her.
Chapter Eleven: Autumn
Once they were above the clouds, Autumn dared to relax. For the first quarter of an hour, she’d kept looking back, but there was no sign of the dragons.
They’d outraced them before, after all. And here, on the back of Damon’s powerful dragon form, she had no doubt at all that every beat of the strong wings put more di
stance between them.
Eventually, the cloud cover beneath them began to thin. To her surprise, she saw that they were already above the ocean.
This time, there were no seat belts, no security instructions and no flight attendants bringing her water and snacks—but she felt safer on Damon’s back than she’d felt inside the plane. Despite their height, his body gave off enough warmth that she was more comfortable than inside the air-conditioned jet.
Dragon travel. Better than a first-class upgrade.
A wave of amusement filled her, coming from the dragon beneath her.