Dragonfury 02 - Fury of Ice

else had. Fought like hell to get her back, away from the rat-bastard. Angela’s throat closed, thankfulness ripping her wide open. If he’d been one minute later…if Lothair had…
    She gagged as her stomach heaved.
    “Angela?” He cupped the back of her head. Concern tightened his features a second before he pushed to his feet with her in his arms. “How we doing, baby?”
    “I c-can’t…b-breathe.”
    “Hang tight…one more minute.”
    His footfalls echoed at a fast clip, jarring her with each stride. Too tired to keep her eyes open, Angela let them drift closed. Bad idea. Without the cavern walls to ground her, she went topsy-turvy, her mind cartwheeling into thick, gray fog. The tumble spun her around, and unconsciousness circled like a shark looking for its next meal. As it sideswiped her, she told herself to be strong, but the siphoning pull seduced. Whispered in her ear, telling her to relax and forget. And as her chest rose and fell, each breath became more difficult than the last.
    She wasn’t going to make it. Her body knew it, and so did she.
    “Rik-kar?”
    He dipped his head, brushing her hair with his mouth. “Yeah?”
    “D-don’t leave me, ok-kay…p-please don’t—”
    “I won’t, Angela.” Her ear pressed to his chest, she listened to his heartbeat, each thump a lullaby, the last one she would ever hear. “Just stay with me. Baby, please…stay with me.”
    Angela tried—she really did—but as agony gathered she saw the shark swim toward her through the mind fog. Sharp teeth bared, the dark shadow attacked, dragging her down before swallowing her whole.

     
    Rikar cursed as Angela went limp in his arms. Hitching her higher against his chest, he held on tighter, afraid if he let her go he’d lose her. Zip. Bang. Gone forever…just like that.
    Hurry .
    The word banged around inside his head. He ran faster, sprinting across the LZ, each of his footfalls booming against uneven cavern walls. The light globes’ bob-and-weave caught the beat, swaying against the ceiling, sending stone dust drifting in the damp air. A thousand sparkles lit off, each fine grain grabbing onto the dim light like leeches onto bare skin.
    God, why had he landed so far from the lair’s entrance?
    A vast space, the LZ could launch four dragons at a time. And like a dumb-ass, he’d set down on the corner farthest from the door. But after the rough flight through storm clouds to reach Black Diamond, the need to check her with human hands—see her through human eyes—had overpowered him. Now Angela was in serious trouble, her bio-energy so low she wasn’t even shivering anymore. Her body had tapped out, and even though he cocooned her with his magic—
    Christ help him, it wasn’t enough. And as her vitals took a nosedive, he felt her slipping away.
    A howl of denial locked in his throat, Rikar slowed his roll. Not the brightest thing to do under the circumstances. He needed to reach the clinic, but he couldn’t share his energy with her on the run. That was if he could feed her at all, but…shit. He had to try. If she took from him, she stood a chance. The question was: Would she accept the healing energy he offered?
    He’d never shared his energy with a female before. Had only watched from the sidelines while Bastian fed his mate, and honestly? The exchange freaked him out. But afraid or not, there was no other play. Angela needed him. So yeah, no matter how tricky, he would deliver. Would crack himself wide open, bind himself to her heart, body, mind, and soul through energy-fuse if it meant saving her life.
    Which was a total mind-fuck.
    Energy-fuse was a forever kind of commitment, a mating bond forged without the possibility of separation. Once he connected and she accepted, he would belong to her. Life without possibility of parole.
    Angela twitched in his arms.
    “Fuck it,” he said as desperation dragged him to the edge, then pushed him over.
    Closing his eyes, he sank deep into the rawness of the Meridian’s energy stream. Power crackled, making him tense as he connected to the uniqueness of Angela’s bio-energy. The electrostatic current that fed his kind surged, rising in a wave to meet him. With a twist, Rikar looped the band, wrapping them in magical splendor, refolding the stream, blocking the life-giving flow. The magic whiplashed. He grabbed its tail and reversed course, redirecting the healing current from him into Angela.
    She flinched, fighting the intrusion.
    “Please,