Dragonfury 01 - Fury of Fire

that she knew it. She was probably sitting there beating herself up, replaying the scenario, all of the “what ifs,” in an attempt to understand where she’d gone wrong.
    The courageous ones did that, wanting to improve, to do better next time. He should know. He’d done the “what if” bullshit too many times to count. Knew what it felt like to second-guess every decision in the aftermath. Too bad that strategy wouldn’t help either of them this time. His decision couldn’t be undone. Myst belonged to him now, and he couldn’t make himself regret it. He wanted her that badly. Enough to screw up her life. Enough to take what little time he had with her. Enough to raise their child alone.
    “Don’t think about it,” he murmured, keeping his voice low so Myst wouldn’t hear him. “What’s done is done.”
    Banking right, Bastian swung around a bend in the river, hearing the rush, feeling the spray before he spotted the waterfall. The cascade tumbled from three hundred feet up, the soft rumble thundering into a roar the closer he flew. Drizzle gleamed on his scales, rolling off his wing tips as he lined up his approach. His built-in sonar pinged, finding the narrow opening behind the wall of moving water.
    Mad scrambling—shoes sliding on upholstery, fingernails scraping the dashboard—sounded from inside the car.
    “It’s all right, Myst,” he said, smelling her fear.
    Wings angled on the vertical line, he sliced through the falling water into the darkness beyond. Jagged rocks jutted out at odd angles, some coming dangerously close as he navigated the twisting tunnel.
    “Bastian…I can’t see anything! I can’t—”
    “Easy, bellmia .” He kept his voice low, hoping to soothe her. “Hang tight. We’re almost there.”
    It was a no-go.
    She whimpered as the darkness became absolute. The small sound of distress cranked him tight, but he couldn’t stop…and didn’t blame her for panicking.
    The first time he’d entered the cave had been a little eerie for him, too; the scent of damp earth and musty air almost suffocating. But, he’d chosen to enter the underground passage instead of setting her down in the driveway for a reason. He wanted her to rely on him to keep her safe. And trust wasn’t something a male demanded. It was something he showed his female, taught her with actions, not words. Yeah, she might not be able to see, but he could. His night vision was perfect, and the more he showed her how trustworthy he was, the faster she would accept him.
    He navigated another corner. Myst’s breath hitched, and he murmured, “I can see, baby. The darkness will not last.”
    Right on cue, light reached through the blackness. The soft glow was fuzzy at first, a mere echo of yellow illuminating slick rock and narrow ledges along the tunnel sides. Bastian searched the craggy wall face, looking for his brothers-in-arms. Sometimes, when the pressure got to be too much, his warriors took dragon form and slipped into the passageway to rest. A bed wasn’t always the answer to a good night’s sleep for his kind. At times, the only thing that helped was to turn inward, to acknowledge their difference—the side that made them unique and set them apart from other living creatures. Their very dragonness.
    Tonight, though, the many ledges were empty.
    Thank God.
    The last thing he wanted was an audience. Bringing Myst around—hell, getting her out of the car—was going to take some finessing, and a pack of Dragonkind…
    Yeah, so not what he needed right now.
    Rounding the last bend, Bastian stretched his wings wide, slowing his flight as he entered the enormous cave. Powered by magic, a thousand floating globes hung like strings of LEDs, hugging the domed ceiling, illuminating smooth sides. Beneath the glow, the LZ—landing zone—ran from wall to wall, taking up one-third of the cavern’s interior. Flat, wide, and deep, the plateau counted as one of nature’s more masterful miracles.
    Bastian loved the LZ all the more for it. It was damned practical, big enough to land or launch four dragons at a time. A definite plus, considering the constant state of war he and his warriors suffered through day after day, decade after decade. And yeah, if war wasn’t reason enough to get with the program, the LZ was a sign—yet another reminder why Dragonkind needed to sire sons.
    They needed to increase their numbers. Be ready to launch a whole platoon on a moment’s notice.
    Bastian sighed. Hell, he