ease.
Though he didn’t look very old, maybe twenty-seven or twenty-eight, his startlingly green eyes told a different story. He had seen a great deal of hardship and pain in his life, a life she suspected had stretched across a century or more. It sounded almost too fantastic to even think a man could live so long, but their shared dreams were equally as fantastic yet nonetheless real.
Yearning for the connection that brought her such peace during her imprisonment, Ivy closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cool stone. She breathed deeply and slowly and focused all of her thoughts on the handsome face that filled her dreams. If she could see him for even one minute, it would make the next day of captivity bearable.
Exhaustion dragged her down into the murky darkness of her dream space. Suddenly, she was flying. A swooping sensation rushed through her stomach and into her chest. She could feel the cool but humid air blasting her bare skin. The scent of the sea filled her nose. The flap of heavy wings echoed in her ears.
My wings , she realized. Just as she had brought that great big beast of a man into her dreams and pulled him into her body, he seemed to have finally done the same to her. Did he know? Was he aware of her presence? A rippling sensation in her chest confirmed that he did. She felt…surprised. She realized that he was the one feeling some shock at having her experiencing his dream. Only…
This wasn’t a dream. The thought hit her with a resounding thud. He was awake—and she was asleep. He was flying in his dragon form, and somehow she had drifted into his conscious. Something about his shifted form made him vulnerable to her. Curious , she thought with interest.
With a slow turn, the dragon began a controlled but angled descent. Even in the darkness, she could see the pale stone of the ancient prison looming ahead. Though his speed had slowed, he was still coming in exceedingly fast. When he landed on a rampart, she felt the stones shudder beneath his massive feet. A strange rumbling sensation rolled through her chest and out of her throat.
In the distance, she heard men shouting. Soon, bullets were whizzing by him and popping when they hit the stone wall behind him. She felt his wide, heavy wings unfurling. They flicked in a warning motion, but the armed men who came at him were undeterred. Stamping his foot, he smacked his wings together and an unbelievably loud thunderclap tore the night.
The shockwave of the blast tossed her right out of him. Floating in a bizarre space between reality and conscious, she hovered over him and then in front of him. Scarlet red and so very big, the dragon snarled viciously and beat his wings together, sending smaller bursts of that painful energy into the night. The thunderclaps rendered men unconscious. His attackers dropped to their knees and fell onto their faces.
He was winning! He was going to rescue her!
But her joy was short lived.
An agonizing bolt of electricity screamed through her neck. Though still unconscious in this dreamy haze, Ivy was fully aware that her captors were making use of the collar they had fitted around her neck at the time of her kidnapping to zap her in the most horrific way. The dragon tossed back his head, baring his vicious fangs, and roared with fury. He feels my pain .
Though she sensed the beast wanted to rip the men surrounding him limb from limb, he lowered his wings and let his arms fall to his sides. He surrendered reluctantly but quietly, his huge chest heaving and his talon-tipped fingers curling at his sides in tight fists. His strange red eyes closed, and she could hear him speaking to her.
Go. Wake. I’m coming for you.
A jolt of white-hot heat pierced her belly and caused Ivy to gasp. With a startled cry, she woke as directed. Though her neck burned, she felt the soothing heat inspired by the dragon—her dragon—spreading into her chest. It warmed and settled her nerves. Eyes closed, she concentrated
Nikita Storm, Bessie Hucow, Mystique Vixen