I Married A Dragon (Prime Mating Agency)(2)

The remaining aqrats following the dragon down the shaft forced us to move on some of the ramps leading to the platform of the power core in order to get a proper angle to fire at them. Four of us stood by ourselves on our respective ramp, while Maeve and Oleg stood together on the southeast ramp.

“What do we do about the dragon once we’re done with the critters?” Oleg asked as we were taking out the handful of stragglers.

“Fall back to the exit at the end of your ramp,” Tedrick replied. “If all goes well, he should simply return to his realm through the portal.”

“And if all does not go well?” I asked.

“Then it’s going to get ugly real fast. Find a place to shelter, but do not harm or kill the dragon,” Tedrick said in a tone that brooked no argument.

My curiosity further spiked as to what was so special about the creature… beyond the fact that he was a freaking dragon.

As the last couple of aqrats dissolved, we all started running back towards the doorway at the end of our respective ramps. However, an enraged roar from the dragon had my blood turning to ice. He didn’t seem appeased at all, but he appeared to be itching to fight a bit longer.

Arms and legs pumping, I dashed towards my exit, only to stop dead in my tracks and throw myself backward when the dragon breathed a powerful stream of shadow flames directly in my path. The flames shot upward through the grids of the ramp while the dragon flew up.

“Fuck! It’s blocking my way!” I exclaimed through the com. “I’m going to circle through the platform towards another ramp.”

“Run!” Tedrick shouted. “Everyone else, blasters to stun. Aim for his throat!”

I never reached the central platform. Like a deadly monster emerging from the depths of a dark ocean, the dragon soared above the ramp, breathing his shadow flames in a sweep in front of me. Flying overhead, he reached the central platform and, with a powerful swipe of his enormous claws, he destroyed the connecting paths towards the other ramps.

While he was savagely wrecking any means of exit that way, I tried to go back towards the doorway. But seconds later, I heard a loud flap of wings before he fired his flames again in front of me. In my attempt to come to an abrupt stop, I tripped and fell onto my stomach. My teeth rattled in my head from the force of the impact. I turned onto my back and immediately pushed myself up on my feet, only to see the giant beast land on the ramp directly in front of me.

My stomach dropped to my feet. Heart pounding, I could barely breathe as the creature roared again, its golden eyes filled with madness. It appeared to be foaming at the mouth while a shadowy substance—likely blood—dripped from the countless lacerations and wounds the aqrats had inflicted.

As if in slow motion, I raised my blaster and aimed at his throat, knowing I wasn’t making it out of this one. I stared at his massive maw opening to countless razor-sharp giant teeth as he roared again and lunged for me. My shot went off at the same time his hand closed around me, knocking off my weapon.

I vaguely heard Tedrick barking orders through the com, but the deafening sound of my blood rushing in my ears drowned it all out. Like a brick wall, the golden chest of the dragon came at me at a dizzying speed as he lifted me up. I thought he would toss me into his gaping maw, but he slammed me against his chest. I gasped, the wind knocked out of me.

“Ejaya!”

The foreign word resonated loudly in my mind. It hadn’t come through my com, and I hadn’t heard it through my ears. It had been spoken to me telepathically. But by whom? The dragon? And what the fuck did it mean?

I knew it was important, and that I should focus on it, but that stupid survival instinct I’d mentioned earlier kicked in with a vengeance. I wiggled and fought to free myself from his crushing hold. That only made him tighten his grip, his second hand joining the fray.

“He… he’s crushing me,” I said to my team.

“Ejaya!” the foreign voice repeated.

“No fucking way!” Tedrick whispered in a disbelieving voice through the com. “Kaida, stop fighting! He won’t hurt you. He’s calming down. Don’t fight him!”

As I tried to listen, my body had gone into flight mode. I was being crushed. I couldn’t breathe. My skin tingled, and my head felt light. In that instant, I knew I would lose consciousness. Maybe it was a good thing. Then I’d stop fighting. Then, maybe, he’d loosen his grip.

But even as that thought entered my mind, I realized it was no longer his hand holding me, like King Kong holding Ann Darrow. It was now both of his arms. I couldn’t say if my mind was playing tricks on me, but he seemed to be shrinking down to a more human size. However, I would never know. Just as a veil of darkness descended before my eyes, a massive sedative dart embedded itself in his neck.





Chapter 2





Kaida





Sitting in one of the smaller meeting rooms of the UPO Enforcers’ HQ, I shifted restlessly while waiting for whoever would interview or debrief me. The barren room contained a rectangular table for ten, a whiteboard on one wall, a giant vidscreen on the other, and nothing else.

At least, this isn’t an interrogation room with a two-way mirror.

At this point, it wouldn’t have surprised me all that much. Forty-eight hours had gone by since I’d lost consciousness in the research facility, and I still didn’t know what the fuck was going on.