Traded

“Are you alright?” Casplan asks gently, hinbering along exhausted. “Do you need me to take her?” My muscles tense at the thought of her leaving my arms to I clench my jaw and hold her closer

“I am fine.” I tell him, ignoring the way my body screams for a break, my muscles are sore and tight, my that feels like it’s trying to drag me down.

y skin stinging with every missed step or root Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“You should let Calvin look at your wounds,” Melody says

na motherly voice. I slide minin

Π

the dragon healer, who pants as he tries to keep up

“I said I am fine.” I say again, my

y voice laced with pain as I try to focus on the t task before me.

“Alpha-”

“Mel. let him be,” Caspian says weakly. “Merikh is capable of deciding what he does”

“Not if he is going to pass out and drop my daughter” She snaps.

“Why did you let her use that much power in the first place?” I say, shooting her a glare.

“What! How was I supposed to know she could even do that?” She gawks at me, and I chuckle dryly

⠀ “Enough“” Caspian yells “That is enough.”

1 press my mouth shut, biting back my growing anger. I know we are all on edge. With every one of us not just a little injured but all sustaining some serious injuries, it makes sense that tensions would run high. Caspian looks worse for the wear, his body badly needing to rejuvenate itself in its natural life source.

Melody is full or fear, panic and looks like absolute shit. The only reason she is still moving is her maternal instincts driving her to get Colette to safety as quickly as possible. And as for the dragon lingering on behind us..well him, I don’t know about

Melody seems to trust him and Caspian hasn’t spoken against him coming along with us. But dragons just tried to kill us. Dragons kidnapped my mate and are the enemy for now.

“I need to rest.” He says, dropping to the ground next to a tree. “How long have we been on the move?”

1 look up at the sky, the sun long gone as the moon shines brightly from behind cloud cover. It has spent many hours walking, exactly how many, I am not sure, but we have covered a fair amount of ground.

“Enough to afford us a break,” I say, pressing my pained back to a smooth barked tree as I lower myself to the ground, sliding down it with Colette in my arms.

I groan out in pain, releasing a sigh of relief once I hit the ground and allow my body to relax. Colette is still out cold, her body chilled to the touch as adjust her to lie between my legs, her back pressing to my chest

“May I look her over?” the healer says, and I scowl at him as I give a gentle nod.

He hums as he moves up next to me, touching her head, and looking over her injuries before he produces a small item from his bag and holds it under her nose. Nothing happens, not even a flinch and I see him frown. Then he presses his hands to her neck and slides his fingers down her arm to her wrist.

“Is she okay, Calvin?” Melody asks. He sighs heavily before sitting back on his feet.

“She is alive and seemingly uninjured. She just has no energy, like she worked herself so ragged she needs to rest for days”

“Unless we get her to the ocean?” I ask, meeting his eyes where he seems to weigh my question.

“She is a hybrid, so it is hard to say what will or will not work. But I believe you are on to something with that thought process, Alpha.”

The longer look at him, the more I get the feeling he is familiar. Someone I may know from another life, or another time, before I became who I am today, but I struggle to place it. My brows pull together in deep thought and be clears his throat, moving away from me.

“Wait,” I say, and he freezes, his eyes skarting around anxiously as I press forward, pulling my back from the tree. “Could you look at my back?”

Calvin’s brows pop up in surprise, but he hobbles over. Leaning over my back with a low whistle before he mumbles and hums a tune to himself | can feel the touch of his hands, my teeth grinding together as I grunt and try to not cry out. He tuts behind me before releasing a heavy sigh and walking away, speaking to himself.

I watch in shock as he disappears into the darkness of the trees, glancing between Melody and Caspian, who have yet to fully know what to do with one another after all this time.

“No one is conremed about him just walking off?” I ask. “How do we know we can trust him””

“Calvin lost everything to save Colette Melody says, looking at Caspian.

“What?” Caspian asks. “How!”

“He lied to Giselle and the man she was with.” Melody says looking to where Calvin had disappeared. “I don’t know exactly what happened, as he hasn’t fully explained it. But he was there that night and he was punished. He was as much a prisoner as I was.”

As if on cue, the old man comes back into view with a handful of plants and the same song he has been humming since we picked him up. He moves behind me and I look at Caspian, whose eyes drift closed even though he fights the urge. He goes silent for a moment and then cold wetness hits my back, making me cry out in shock.

“Maybe a linke warning next time? 1 grit out, wincing as I try to

try to hide my pain

“Oh. Uh, yes. This may sting” He says, like I had woken him from a trance.

“What is it anyway?” I ask him and he chuckles.

“Various plants, meant for pain relief to help you make it to where we are going” he pauses. “And uh..well dragon’s saliva.” He clears his throat and my body tenses, my face morphing from one of pain to disgust.

“Did you spit on my back?” I growl low in warming and he pops around in front of me, shaking his head.

“Oh, no no! I c

I chewed up the plant. Dragons saliva has many healing properties. It will not save you from scarring it, but it will help head what it can.”

“I don’t know whether to thank you or hit you” I mumble, nuzzling my face into Colete’s hair, dragging her closer as she murmurs something incoherently.

“I would understand both actions.” He says in a sing song voice as he applies more to my back. I use the mate bond between Colette and me to recharge both our bodies, hoping it will give her something, help her recuperate faster.

Exhaustion hits me hard as my adrenaline wanes and the pain subsides my body, begging for rest while Caspian and Melody snore lightly near each other. Calvin sits across from me, staring up at the sky, not humming or speaking, just mindless staring. I want to ask him questions but words fail me as I too find it impossible to stay awake any longer

My eyes snap open as I sense movement and sit up abruptly, nearly knocking Colette from my lap. I scan the area, finding a set of eyes watching me from the cover shadows in the trees. They step out, moving closer, and my eyes grow wide as I see Ezrah, who looks concerned.

“What the hell happened?” he whispers, coming over to help me.

“I hate to sound unhappy to see you, but what the fuck are you doing here?” I ask him, and he frowns

I am alwa

am always around, Alpha,” he tells me and I scoff

“Unless we are fighting and could use the help. I grumble at him and he frowns.

“Ah, well. I was on my way to deliver a message to Caspian from Elm. I was not here for your heroic night, it seems”

“And what message would that be?” Caspian asks, his voice raw as he sits up, looking like absolute shit. His eyes are dark, his skin almost slack as he looks like he gained wrinkles overnight.

“The Fae have agreed to strip Lily of her title and, along with that, she will lose a majority of her power. But he needs to get to her first, so he can release her from their bond and strip her of the title. He says with a gentle nod

“I see,” he says, coughing roughly as he sits up, trying to stand.

“You look rough, my friend,” Ezrah says, frowning

“It’s been a rough few days. I tell Ezrah, eyeing Caspian and realizing we need to move, and fast, before we lose him.

“Allow me to help escort you to the water. It is just over that hill,” Ezrah says with a knowing sinile. Caspian furrows his brow, worry flushing over his features.

“I think I am dying” He whispers. “I should be able to feel the pull of the water. It should be calling to me…But I feel nothing His eyes meet mine and I see how dull the blue has become and suddenly fear grips me. Caspian has become a friend, someone I trust with with Colette’s life, Not to mention Colette will be destroyed if he passes. We need to get him to the water as fast as humanly possible.

ing but emeri

emptiness.

my

buy life.

“Can you move fast with Colette in your arma Lask Ezra, who nods.

“Of course

DOWN PM

“Take her and lead the way. I will use my lycan to carry Caspian as fast as possible.” I say.

ooping up my mate. His eyes meet mine and he gives me a nod

He swoops down, scooping

“I swear to be gentle,” he assures me as I stand, then I call forth my tired lycan and lift Caspian as he tries to feebly deny me.

“We will be behind you,” Melody says, her lip between her lips and a somber look on her face. “I will meet you on the horizon. She whispers to Caspian, who rasps out a breath.

“Hold on,

old friend, just a little longer.” Ezrah says before we break into a dead run, racing against time and nature to save him.