Ice (The Beast King Brides Book 5) by Charlene Hartnady

Author:Charlene Hartnady [Hartnady, Charlene]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-02-26T16:00:00+00:00

18

Daegal

That evening…

Hovering over the growing pile, I open my claws and toss a tree trunk onto it. Ryder is right behind me; he drops several trees onto the growing pyre. It’s bigger than my pile by a mile. I have to flap my wings hard to hover on the spot. Ryder doesn’t seem to be doing much flapping at all.

I watch the SUV approach, its lights eating up the dark. Ax is with Ivy and Penelope. They are using the vehicle to drag fallen trees and branches to the area. We’re slowly amassing a pyre.

We decided that the ravine where we all first met would be the best option for a controlled fire. Two sides are sheer cliffs. The third side is a narrow opening that doubles as a natural firebreak. It is barren of plant life for several hundred yards at the entrance. It’s all rocks and dirt.

Ryder carefully burned a firebreak at the long side that leads to the mountain range. There is a low chance of the fire skipping across. We’ll wait until morning to light the pyre. That way, we’ll be in a better position to keep it from getting out of hand. We are lucky enough to have a summer witch on our team. As a last resort, Ivy will make rain clouds to hopefully put the fire out should it get out of control. For now, we need to keep adding to the growing pile of material. It needs to be much bigger than this if we’re going to summon a phoenix shifter.

It's back and forth, back and forth with logs and branches. We’ve been at it for hours. If I’d been in my human form, I’d have sweat dripping down my face and body. As it stands, my muscles are taking serious strain. It’s getting harder and harder to flap my wings. The logs and branches feel like they weigh a ton.

I hate to admit it, but I think I’m losing my strength and stamina. I still have my dragon, but we are not what we used to be. I watch Ryder shoot off, eating up the night sky like it’s nothing. I want to follow, but I feel weighed down.

I rumble in frustration as I descend, landing harder than intended. I stagger a few strides and am in my human form much quicker than planned.

I almost fall on my damned face but just manage to catch myself at the last second.

“You okay?” Ax asks, walking toward me.

“Yes…no… I’m just tired.” I scrub a hand over my face.

He hands me a bottle of water, and I drink most of it.

“Sit and catch your breath.” He points at a rocky outcrop, sitting next to me when we get there.

“I shouldn’t have to catch my damned breath,” I growl. “I’m a dragon shifter, for fuck’s sake.”

“You are not yourself right now, and that can’t be helped. You need to cut yourself some slack.” He rubs his hands on his jeans. It’s all he’s wearing.

We sit in silence for a few minutes, the fatigue weighing down on me like a heavy, sodden blanket.

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