Crack!

Kieran’s eyes snapped open at the sound, his ears straining to hear something in the ensuing silence. His body felt heavy as it screamed in pain as if his bones were popping and moving. ’Move.’ The word sparked him into movement as he pushed himself up and scrambled from his warm leaf pile, leaning heavily on against a tree. Bark crunched as his clawlike fingers dug into the flesh of the wood. Where he lay mere moments before was pierced by an arrow. ’Run, now.’ Adrenaline saturated his system as Kieran pushed off the tree, his body fighting against him as he half stumbled half-ran.

His legs refused to work properly. It felt as if something heavy weighed upon his shoulders pulling him back. Balance was not his friend as he swayed dangerously from side to side. Defending himself did not cross his confused state of mind as he ducked his head, hearing the arrow whistle past his ear. Arrows meant humans and he did not want to cause them any harm. But why were they attacking him? He pushed through the pain as he broke through the treeline, pausing when he saw Mamlak sprawling in the distance. Home. Teu.

Relief and hope flooded his heart, having love and faith in his family and knowing they were so close in his time of need. Pain blossomed instantly in his calf the moment an arrow pierced his muscle and lodged against his bone. Kieran gave a bellow of anguish, sounding half animalistic as he tried to limp his way into the clearing. Another arrow was loosed, catching his side thanks to his equilibrium problems. Kieran collapsed to his knees, holding himself up with just one hand as the other cupped the wound around the arrow shaft as best as he could. ”That’s far enough demon!” A female voice commanded as several hunters exited the woods, all of them training knocked arrows on the wounded noble.

Demon? Through the fog of fear and pain, Kieran noticed he was shadowed by something non-human. His peripheral vision told him it was a pair of large sapphire-colored leather wings. Did he shift last night? ”I’m not–” She kicked him, catching his diaphragm and knocked the wind from his lungs as he fell to his side with another bellow, curling up defensively. ”You attack our livestock, our homes and wares. To protect the citizens of Mamlak, we must send you back to whence you came.” ”But I’m from–” ”Archers ready!”

Dae looked down upon his mother with white leather hood shadowing his face. Even from beneath the hood, Teu could read the grim features on her son’s face. The young man cared deeply for Kieran. Teu reached out with her black leather gloved hand to grip her son’s arm. A smile was upon her lips that did not reach her eyes. ”We will find him, and bring him home safe.” Even though the words were said it was hard for her to feel it deep in her soul. Knowing her words did not have the emphasis that she wanted, her hand lifted to cup Dae’s cheek. The pair looked at each other for a moment as if it were to solidify their resolve.

Once they got their heads set on straight a different aura in the room. Both finally smiled as their resolve finally settled in. Teu turned from her son to leave the room. Dae fell in step behind her as if to meld into her shadow. Both were armed to the teeth.

With a talented assassin at her back, the healer allowed her son to take the tracking in his hands. They moved swiftly through town…and then out of town. The trail left was not difficult for them to follow. Teu’s heart twisted continuously as they still saw no physical sign of her love. She needed to have Kieran back in her arms. As they moved on, her stomach became more nauseated. Dae kept his gaze straight as they moved, though it was difficult for him not to look back at his mother.

Both of their heads lifted at the sound of a beast howling in pain. Instantly Teu began to run. The assassin dug in his feet to keep up with his mother. Both had flicked out their weapons to take on whatever was coming for their loved one. A group of archers were keeping something in the line of sight while yelling at whoever was there. From the circle of warriors, Teu could see the peak of draconic wings. ”Kieran,” she breathed.

Her running turned more desperate as she made for the warriors most certainly targeting her fiancé. ”He’s not a demon!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Dae was already letting out his shadows. The warriors were experienced for the limit of what a village could provide. His shadows were creeping up their legs to the bows. His mother was already in her own attack actions upon those who would take her entire world away.

Black eyes completely over took over as a hand was lashed out in a large sweep. An ice wall swooped in an arch upwards to make a barrier between Kieran and the archers. Even if they wanted to fire, the shadows held the arrows fast to the bows. The warriors had hardly the time to allow the look of terror to cross their faces. Dae remained on the side of the ice wall with the warriors to stare them down from beneath the shadow of his hood.

Teu skid to a halt while sending dirt flying. She dropped to her knees while lightly touching Kieran’s shoulder. His body was a mess and nothing was helped by the arrow lodged in his calf deeply. ”Oh, Kieran,” she said in a half sob. Her arms wrapped around him as she took in the sight of his wings behind him. ”You are all right. We will figure this out.” A kiss was placed on his cheek before standing up. Taking a deep steadying breath, the healer allowed ice and shadow to creep up her hands to her forearm.

Dae stood with no words as his twin wrist blades were held out in front of him. Gray eyes looked over to see his mother coming around the edge of her ice wall. Her movements were slow and deliberate. ”If everyone can get themselves settled, we can have a conversation.” Teu stared at their leader who was heated up her collar for being made ineffective by merely two persons. The diowolf was now going to allow her other side that few saw to come through. ”That is my fiancé, so this was not good on your part. I understand that he did damage, but it was an accident. I will compensate you for any and all loses.”

It seemed inevitable, imminent death. A woman’s face flashed across his mind, regret filling his soul as he remembered his beautiful mate, Teu, and their brief time together. As the arrows pierce his flesh, ending his life, he would be breaking her heart once more as another man she loves is taken from her yet again. Kieran stared at the frost that had crystallized beneath him, waiting for the command that would devastate her, tears running down his face as he wished for a chance to see her one last time, knowing they would not listen to reason. The woman hesitated for a fraction of a moment, allowing Teu’s frantic voice to cut across the distance at them, screaming in desperation to save his life. His heart jumped in his throat as his eyes found the vision of her in battle leathers, her braided hair meaning business.

With Dae at her side, they rushed to protect him, his love for them swelling as he felt undeserving of their loyalty. Ice formed, creating a wall between hunters and prey, shielding him from any further harm. ”Teu…” he groaned her name with a sense of relief as she fell to her knees beside him, shifting so he could wrap an arm around her. This was her reassurance to him before ripping herself from his grasp to deal with the threat. ”No offense, Teu, but you’re delusional! You’re marrying a daemon. If we let this go now, what is to stop him from attacking again? We have to protect our children. Annie was under that window he nearly broke!”

Annie? He listened as Teu defended Kieran from Annie’s mother, pushing himself to stand. Heavily limping in an effort to put very little weight on his injured leg without jostling his side, as well as leaning against the ice wall, Kieran moved so he can see around the ice wall, one hand gripping his injured side. Sure enough, Rosalie was the one trying to not back down from Teu’s icy glare. ”I repeat, I am not a daemon. And Annie–” ”Don’t you dare say her name!” The woman wheeled on Kieran, seething with hatred, which disappointed Kieran deeply. ”Oh, shut up, Rosalie! Listen for once in your life!” He snapped, effectively shutting the woman up. ”Annie is brilliant. She usually has her nose stuck in a book, dreaming of exploring the world and finding every single insect species, maybe even discover a new one. Every day, she will bore the other children with fascinating facts about the subject until only I am left listening. And Charlie,” Kieran motioned to one of the archers.

”Charlie is gifted with a natural talent for swordplay. But he wants to be like you. For hours, he practices his archery, no closer to the center of the target than he was the day before, despite the tips and lessons I can offer.” He groaned as a wave of pain threatened to break his endurance. ”We have healed your wounded, I have helped to rebuild this town. Standing by your side, we have fought to defend Mamlak with our lives. Yet, the moment something goes wrong, you accuse it on daemons. That’s not what I am… Recently, it was revealed I am a dragon. I had no knowledge of the transformation last night. The destruction to Mamlak and the livestock, that’s replaceable, rebuildable. I would never forgive myself if it was a person that I hurt. Just be glad I didn’t.” Kieran closed his eyes against the agony. He was quite relieved to hear that no one died due to the dragon’s nature forcing itself upon his body. Carefully sagging to the ground against the ice, he grunted when he came to a sudden stop. ”Be glad… and let me rest., he whispered. He could fall asleep right here.

This was her entire life flashing before her very eyes. A literal nightmare before her that Teu had feared repeatedly. Over and over again Teu had lost someone precious to her heart. What filled the half elf with absolute terror was having her heart finally full of content. To find someone that made Teu feel at home while within his arms. Twice she had felt that love, and it had been ripped away from her in the most unsuspecting ways. Neither time had Teu the power or mental fortitude to keep the loss from happening.

It was this time that Teu would not accept such outcomes to pass.

No. They would not take Kieran away from her.

Sheer rage coursed through her veins as the healer thought about the entire situation further. He belonged to Teu wholly. There she fell to her knees beside Kieran. Held him close to her in order to feel any kind of warmth that would radiate off the man who had made her fall in love again. It was clear that his blood had taken to his dragon lineage quickly and thoroughly, but now was not the time to think about all of that. The security and safety of her mate had to be settled first. Those that pointed their weapons at her mate were lucky that they were still alive. Not only was Teu heated, but Dae was holding back what little was left his control over his wrath. She was proud of her son, but knew that if she gave a signal they would all be dead in the length of a breath.

It took all of Teu’s willpower to pull herself away from Kieran in order to address those that had attacked her future husband. Her features went from loving to sheer iron upon skirting around the wall of protective ice. She could feel her temper beginning to flair as the shadows that had become a part of her begged to be released. ”No offense? No offense, my ass. You know that Kieran is a wonderful man and all the hard work that he has done for all of you. And yet in a flash moment you take your weapons even though you see who he is.”. Frost began to waft about Teu mixed with black shadows as if it were all steam. This was about to go south for all involved if she could not settle down. Least of all, Dae looked quite ready to use his hidden blades on those that injured his step-father. A smirk was upon his face as he saw his mother continue to get more infuriated by the minute.

Kieran’s voice helped bring Teu settle down slightly; slightly was the operative word. The healer moved swiftly to Kieran’s side to help him continue to stand while examining his wounds from the corner of her eye. First they had to keep from sustaining additional injuries before working on the current ones. At the rate that Kieran was still losing blood, everything needed to be wrapped up quickly. She aided her fiancé to get to the ground while leaning against the ice. With a quick though there was a sheet of shadow that coated the ice in order to keep the cold from overtaking Kieran in that very moment.

Dae tilted his hooded head at the group of ‘warriors’ as if to ask them what they wished to do next. Thankfully, for them, they decided to not pursue any further. The group did know the family and their capabilities. It would be dangerous for it to be dragged out further. This was all to Dae’s great disappointment. There had been a while since his last good fight, not that this one would have really qualified as a good fight.

”And with that, I will be taking Kieran home. Shipments will still be sent to your town on schedule despite your previous instance to harm my mate.”. Teu glared at them as they stood in their formation still. She knew that when Dae wrapped his cloak around Kieran and picked him up, that they would not be stopped.

From within her hidden pocket Teu pulled out a small statuette of a crystal unicorn. Whispered words were murmured over the figure before it was placed on the grass. In a flash of white light to show a fully grown unicorn that threw its head while waiting for commands. A quick nod of her head told Dae to place Kieran up on the back of the unicorn’s back. It was not the easiest task for the young assassin, but he was able to adjust Kieran solidly on the equine’s back. There he could slump forward while they all began to make their way back to the city. Teu continued to allow the frost and shadows to radiate from her form make sure there was a strong incentive for the warriors not to attack.

A cloak was wrapped around his naked form, warm and comforting. He groaned as his step-son picked him up off the ground. With a lot of effort on Dae’s part, the tired dragon was seated upon the equine. Despite the gentle ride back, or maybe resulting from, Kieran slumbered for most of the journey. His limbs finally straightened, fingers losing all claw like appearance by the time they made it to the shop.

It was the jostling of his wounds upon the dismounting that woke the dragon with a growl. Teu and Dae led him to one of the back rooms. Once more, he found himself on the table on which he first met Teu. Instead of a knife wound, he was treated like a pincushion by archers. Someone broke the arrow that pierced his side, yanking the rest of it through his wound. Kieran howled. Where was his little Ria, his little nurse? She was the only one missing from the room…

The wound was cleaned as best as possible, Teu’s deft fingers nimbly worked at sewing him up. As usual, he was as good of a patient as he could be, trying not to move too much. ”Teu… I’m sorry,” he mumbled when she moved to stitch the opposite side. Due to things outside of his control, she nearly lost love once more, and it would have been his fault, the burden of his heritage. ”I’m so sorry…” She came to his defense, protecting him when he should be the one standing up for her.