Blueblood Dragon (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Genesis Valley Book 1) (8 page)

***

“You’re thinking about the Order again, aren’t you?” she gently accused him.

Ferro shook himself from his daze, meeting her gentle glare.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Is it that obvious?”

Ana snorted in a most un-“ladylike” manner, though he found it rather cute and endearing.

“I’ve been talking to you for the past five minutes. Have you heard a word of it?”

A strange feeling overcame Ferro just then. It took him a moment to realize it. He was blushing! Embarrassment wasn’t something that happened to him often anymore.

Giving Ana a wry smile he shook his head. “No. I have been doing you a disservice.” He grabbed her hand and gently pressed his lips to the back of it. “You have my abject apologies, m’lady.”

She giggled, but didn’t snatch her hand back either. “Well, I mean, if they’re abject, then who am I to hold it against you?”

Ferro grinned.
God she is perfect.

It didn’t occur to him that he’d known her for less than twenty-four hours. It felt like so much longer, as if they’d been friends for a long time who had only recently discovered that they were, in fact, so much more. Their elongated life spans meant that they could share thoughts and experiences that no one else would ever truly understand.

It also meant she could read his body language with an accuracy that was bordering on scary. He instantly made a vow then and there to never try to hide anything from her. Not only would he fail miserably, but she would never let him forget it either.

A smile split his face at that thought.

“What are you grinning at mister?”

“You,” he told her with a wink.

Ana giggled again, shaking her head at his unabashed words.

They were in the mountainous hills east of the village. That was where Ferro had initially been headed before he had stopped to render assistance. Now, they were hiking up a game trail, ascending to well above sea level as they went.

“Where are you taking me again?” she asked as they pushed on, their brief pause done.

“There,” he said, pointing vaguely upward.

“Oh. Right. Up,” she said sarcastically. “So Mr. Specific,” she said, using the words like a title, “is there a particular destination at the end of this journey ‘up,’ or are we just going for an exploration?”

He smiled. “Yes, there is a particular destination at the end of our journey,” he informed her.

“Ow!” he cried, as a rock careened off the back of his head. Looking back, he gave Ana an incredulous glance.

“It wasn’t me!” she protested. “It must have come from ‘up.’”

He stared at her for a moment before breaking into laughter, which only served to agitate his momentarily irritated skull.

“Next time, ‘up’ had better use a rounded rock, if it knows what is good for it,” he said, shaking his fist in mock anger at the incline ahead of them.

“Are you going to tell me?” she inquired as they resumed their climb.

“Of course!” he reassured her.

There was silence for a moment, before she sighed dramatically. “
When
are you going to tell me?”

He considered his answer carefully. “Soon,” he answered cryptically.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re rather annoying?” she asked cheerfully.

“Occasionally!” He ducked the flying rock this time.

He was fairly positive he could hear Ana’s teeth grinding behind him, so he decided to take pity on her. A joke was a joke only until it was taken too far, after all.

“The primary residence of the Dragon Council is located within these hills,” he told her, his tone now serious.

There was a short silence before Ana spoke again. “You don’t really think the Order was dumb enough to set up base here, do you?”

Ferro shook his head. “No. But the Council may have left clues.”

“Clues to what?”

“Their whereabouts,” he replied. “The Order did not get them all. They all but confirmed that to us. Some, if not most, of the Council is likely now in hiding. It is my hope that we can find out where.”

“Have you considered that the Order may have agents watching this place? They obviously know where it is, or else they wouldn’t have been able to overthrow the Council.”

“Yes.” He hoped his body language didn’t give away the fact that he thought that not only possible, but a near certainty.

Unfortunately, Ana seemed to pick up on that as well. “You think they’re watching it, don’t you?”

He didn’t reply.

“Oh my God,” she said, getting angry. “You’re
hoping
that they do! You want them to see you. To see
us!
”

Ferro stopped his progress, turning to face Ana. “They were going to find us again eventually,” he told her, trying to ignore the way the lock of black amidst her platinum blonde hair bounced as she shook her head.

“No. They were going to find
you
. I could be,” her voice trailed off, but she threw her hands wide, indicating the world. “It would be easy enough for me to lose them,” she accused.

“Perhaps,” he agreed. “I thought that through as well. I figure it to be more likely that they will eventually find you. When they find you, they
will
kill you,” he said, his voice deadly serious. His gaze bore into her, driving home the point. “You stand a much better chance of staying alive if you stay with me.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “If I stay with you? Did you ever ask me if I
wanted
to stay with you?”

“Ana—” he began, but it was too late.

She spun in place and began working her way down the mountain.

“Ana, wait!” he called.

“I’ll be at the bottom. I’ll wait four hours. If you aren’t there, I’m leaving,” she said without turning back to look at him.

He stood still, watching her form recede down the small trail. The sun was hidden by clouds, the dull gray daylight reflecting his current mood. That was
not
how he had intended for things to go.

Already breaking your vow.

That wasn’t exactly true. He hadn’t lied to her, nor had the subject even come up. Was he in the wrong for thinking—after the night they had had and the connection they clearly shared—that she might want to stay with him?

What if she wanted you to stay with
her
?

He rocked back on his heels as his subconscious provided him with that thought.

You idiot. Of course. You were not thinking of staying together and figuring out things together. You, being the big idiot you are, simply assumed she would come back to Genesis Valley with you, and the two of you would live happily never growing old operating your bar. Why the hell would she just up and agree to that?

Ferro cursed himself, feeling the fool. He had made assumption after assumption that she would change everything to become a part of his life. What was worse, he couldn’t chase after her. Not yet. He
had
to inspect the Council chambers. That was bigger than him and Ana, little though he wanted to accept it. There were
lives
at stake here, hundreds and thousands of lives.

If he had to, he would choose to save all of those innocents, in turn giving up his chance at love.

Okay there, do you not think you might be getting just a
little
ahead of yourself? It won’t take you four hours to get there. Not now that you can go by air.

He snorted. His inner voice had a flair for the dramatic, it was true. It also had no problems calling him out when he started acting like some sort of comic book character.

With a sigh, he summoned his dragon and made for the Council chambers at best speed.

Please still be there when I get back…

Ana

“Cutting it close,” she said snarkily, not even bothering to turn around as Ferro entered the clearing she was sitting in. She had seen his dragon come diving down the side of the mountain. After a brief moment of panic, thinking the Order had found her, she recognized him in its eyes. The silver glow was still present, surrounding the big yellow oval orbs.

“I have made some mistakes,” he admitted, coming up behind her. “But I would have made a bigger one by putting us—whatever we are—ahead of the potential lives lost if the Order is allowed to continue to exist.”

She flinched, stung at the mild reprimand in his voice. He was right and she knew it. He may have gone about it the wrong way, but their priority
had
to be dealing with the Order. Ana wasn’t entirely sure how she’d come to the decision that she was going to help with that, but as she waited for him to return at some point over the past four hours,  it had become clear to her that she was caught up in the battle now whether she liked it or not.

“You don’t get off that easily though,” she said, turning to face him, a mask of steel on her face. “I’m not some young girl easily awed by your good looks and skill in bed. I’ve lived my life the way I’ve wanted to for a long time. I’m not about to just give up on things and do your bidding.”

Ferro fought back a smile. “I am not sure I could ever get you to ‘do my bidding,’” he replied. “But you are correct. I made some assumptions, without even realizing that I was doing so. I apologize for that. I also apologize for keeping you in the dark about my thoughts on the Order agents nearby.”

She looked around, accepting his apologies. For now. “Nearby?”

He shrugged. “I did not see anyone, which is a little surprising, but I think we both know that we cannot have dealt with them all yesterday. Even if we had, they would have sent more when those failed to report in.”

Ana looked around, expecting their adversaries to jump out at any point. “So what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here!”

“I agree, time to head back to our room for the evening. Perhaps we shall see if someone will sell us some food first.”

Ana looked at him in shock. “What? Go
back?
If they’re so close, we need to
go.
You know, vamoose, scram, leave post-haste. Whatever phrase triggers the understanding in you of the point I’m trying to make.”

Ferro frowned. “What are you talking about?”

She blinked, not sure he truly understood what was going on. “Ferro. The Order is composed of
dragon
shifters. They want to
kill
us. I, for one, am more interested in staying alive. Which means we need to be elsewhere.”

The dragon shifter paused, considering her words. “We cannot just flee, Ana. We have to be prepared to fight them.” His eyes narrowed. “You do know that, do you not? This is not going to just solve itself while we hide from them.”

Ana took a deep breath. Intellectually, yes, she understood what he was saying. Emotional understanding and acceptance was another matter entirely.

“Ferro,” she began. “I don’t know.”

He arched an eyebrow, inviting her to continue.

“I’ve always survived by running. By hiding. That’s what’s kept me alive so long,” she told him. “You say you aren’t entirely sure just how old you are, right?”

He nodded.

“Well, not all of us are like that. Do you know how long I’ve been alive?” she asked.

Ferro’s head moved sideways.

“Three thousand seven hundred and forty-eight years, five months, and give or take a few days,” she said flatly. “The calendars have changed a few times. I think I may have mixed up the exact day a little.” She shrugged, a wry smile on her face. “And do you know how I’ve managed to do so?”

He shook his head again.

“By running. I was born in what is now Egypt, at the height of their power,” she explained. “How accepting do you think they were of a pale-skinned woman who upon her thirteenth birthday, discovered she could change into a creature even they considered mythical?”

Anger seeped into her voice as she spoke, colored by the terror of her early years. “I’ll keep it short, but the gist of it is, the red carpet they rolled out upon my arrival was originally white, until they stained it with my blood.”

That wasn’t the literal truth, but it served her purpose, conjuring images of the people her city had sent to capture her. To display her before their pharaoh before she was sacrificed to the gods as an abomination, a thing that should never have been.

Her mind flashed back to that day. It had been there, upon the altar, that she had killed for the first time. The man had been impaled upon her horn as she shifted, her brilliant white coat stained red as the life leaked from within him.

Killing was not something Ana enjoyed, though she had been forced to do so again and again. And again. She had fled to the ends of the earth in an attempt to escape capture. Only by disappearing into the wilds and living with the animals had she been able to be free.

“I am sorry for what you have endured,” Ferro said with heartfelt sincerity. He took her hands, holding them together in his, pressed against his powerful chest. “I truly am. I wish I had been there to help prevent it. Had I but known…” he shrugged. “But this is not now. You are old, and you are powerful. You can fight,” he said fiercely.

Ana pulled her arms back, hugging them to herself. “I don’t know, Ferro,” she said uncertainly. The idea of fighting and risking her life didn’t sound overly appealing.

They lapsed into silence for the remainder of the walk back into town. Despite the ongoing issues between them, the pair were old enough to be able to appreciate the unspoken silence, the quiet bond between them. The ability to be at peace in someone else’s presence, without feeling the need to speak, was valuable beyond meaning. Simply enjoying the state of
being
with someone was exhilarating.

It was just that silence that almost got them killed. They were halfway back through the city before Ana realized something was off.

“It’s too quiet,” she whispered at the same moment Ferro perked up, obviously picking up on the change in her body language.

They walked through a stone arch into the open square at the center of town. She could see the building they had rented a room in.

“Duck!” Ferro shouted.

Ana dropped like a stone. Thousands of years of finely honed instincts and a remarkably deep trust in Ferro meant she didn’t question what he said when his tone took on such urgency. She fell to the ground, dropping her shoulder and rolling out of the way as a man stumbled above her, the mortal strike with his sword—
a fucking sword?!—
suddenly encountering empty air.

The shifter paused as his reach extended fully, caught off guard by how quickly the pair had reacted to his attack. He had clearly expected to skewer at least one of, if not both of them, with his surprise attack.

Instead, Ana was already well beyond his reach, and Ferro was right there to meet him.

Coming to her feet, she saw a second shape move behind Ferro. Her fingers slammed into the cobblestone and she withdrew a large chunk of it. Her arm whirled forward, above her head, and down in an arc. She used the underhanded throw to whip the stone across the intervening distance where it careened off the shifter’s head with a crack. The man’s legs failed for a split second, and he staggered, reaching for the wall next to him to steady himself.

Ana landed on him at that moment, clobbering him with a fist to the gut as she used her momentum to ride him to the ground. He threw her clear as he hit hard, bashing his head against the stones of the square. Ana tumbled, thrown free of the clash. By the time she regained her footing she was a good thirty feet from where Ferro was rapidly becoming surrounded by four men, all of them attempting to rain blows on him.

“Go!” he shouted, his arms working feverishly to block the attacks, his movements a near blur in her vision.

“I’m not leaving you!” she shouted, stalking back toward the melee.

“Yes. You are!” he replied sharply, driving a fist into a face that sent one opponent flailing backward.

Her old self, always eager and accepting of a way out, screamed at her to take it and run. But some part of her, perhaps the part that thought getting involved with Ferro was a good idea, told her to stay firm, to go to his aid.

“Now!” he shouted. “I will be better on my own.”

She grimaced, knowing what he meant. Right then, he had to worry about both himself and her. If she were safe and gone, then he could fight the way he needed to fight.

“Find me!” she cried out, hating herself.

But she did what he said, turning her back and running flat out for the far side of the little square. Even before she got there, Ana was changing. She leapt forward as it took hold, the finishing changes happening mid-air.

Hooves struck cobblestone and she took off like a rocket, propelled forward by the incredible strength and speed that her unicorn conferred upon her. She quickly made it out of the city, fleeing down the road, wishing the forest was even closer than it was.

In her mind, all she could think about was the man she had hit lying on the ground, knocked out cold by his own actions, and Ferro, a man she was terrified to admit that she cared for more than was normal, battling the three attackers.

Three? But there were—

Darkness struck. Death from above as massive talons pierced her flanks. She screamed, the loud noise reflected back at her as she was lifted from the ground. Her unicorn was no small creature however, and the dragon trying to lift her was having a hard time of it. Mighty wings beat down, sending gusts of air at her, though she barely noticed it over the savage wounds being inflicted upon her sides.

Finally the dragon gave up, and he dropped her. It was a good fifteen feet down, and despite the strength in her animal, Ana knew its legs couldn’t handle the fall. So once more in mid-air, this time under slightly different circumstances, she shifted.

Her outstretched arms hit the road first, followed by her shoulders. She suffered a glancing blow as she rolled awkwardly, leaving her tailbone stinging, but that was the least of Ana’s worries.

“It’s about time you met your end,” the dragon shifter said, settling down nearby.

Angrily she staggered toward him. His talons had left three puncture marks down each side with a matching one under each shoulder blade. Eight holes from which blood poured, drenching her outfit in seconds. The blood slowed from gushing to a trickle as she got closer, though the holes themselves would take longer to heal completely.

“I’m going to kill you,” she promised, focusing her rage on the dragon’s head.

“Oh please,” the purple-sheened dragon replied, his voice dripping condescension. “You can’t kill me.”

“Watch me,” she snarled.

“Okay,” he said with a toss of his head. “Are you going to kill me from there, or—”

He had barely finished speaking when Ana realized her mistake. His tail flicked out and slammed into her, the tough scales crunching her arm against her shoulder as she flew through the air.

“Or from over there?” he finished as she bounced and rolled to a halt.

Woozily she got to her feet, making a promise that she would never forget the tail again.

“Afraid to fight me on terms where I might have a chance?” she taunted, hoping to get his ego involved.

“More like smarter to know that you aren’t completely helpless.” He inhaled deeply, and she knew he was preparing to unleash his devastating flame.

“Not that smart,” she said, pausing and crossing her arms.

The Order dragon cocked his head sideways. Ana didn’t respond. Instead, she angled her own head upward. The Order dragon understood almost immediately, but it was too late. He dove to the side, turning to unleash his breath.

The brass dragon dropping from the sky snapped its wings forward in a protective shield, holding them there until the last second. Then he pulled them back, his body slamming into its target with full force. The two dragons went down, long necks swirling sinuously as they snapped at each other, powerful legs clawing scales from each other’s bodies as they went.

The newcomer was smaller than her attacker, but more agile and by the look of it, more experienced as well. He landed several blows, weakening his opponent. Ana continued to watch, feeling her strength return as her injuries healed and she got her senses about her. She still didn’t belong between two raging dragons, but if they were to shift back, then she felt comfortable getting involved.

As if by magic, the rolling pair of dragons began to shrink rapidly until they were back in human form.

“Big mistake,” she muttered, gliding forward.

Her approach came up short, however, as her attacker landed a powerful left that spun the newcomer to the ground. A vicious kick to his midsection sent him hurtling through the air, where he collided with a tree.

The Order dragon spun to face her, but she had closed the distance enough by then that he would be risking being unarmed for too long if he tried to shift back. The delay while he decided whether to do it anyway or not was so minute it was barely detectable.