The Dragon Shifter’s Desire by Harmony Raines

Chapter Thirty-Eight – Ivan

“How do we get around this?” Ivan focused on the blocked trail up ahead, aware that they were running out of time.

“When was the last time anyone used this trail?” Elise puffed to a stop beside him.

“I have no idea,” Silas admitted. His usual calm expression slipped as he glanced at the sky.

“Dawn is only an hour away. We’re not going to make it.” Ivan raked a hand through his hair. If they didn’t make it, Larisa would be in danger.

“Not unless we shift.” Fiona voiced his thoughts.

His dragon fought for freedom, but Ivan stopped him from bursting out and flying the rest of the way. They had to keep their presence secret. Unless there was no alternative.

Silas sighed, turned around, and paced back and forth along the trail. “Check the map.”

Ivan pulled the map out of his pack and unrolled it just enough to see that the dot had not moved. “If the spell is working, then Argothorn is still in his tower.”

Elise and Caleb exchanged wary glances but didn’t speak. They didn’t have to. They were all thinking the same thing. What if Larisa had failed?

What if she hadn’t managed to convince Argothorn to come to the pits? Or worse. What if he’d seen through her pretense and captured her?

“Someone’s coming.” Fiona’s eyes flashed a deep amber as she stared into the distance, her view blocked by the fallen rocks.

“A dragon shifter.” Ivan turned his head from side to side. “Two dragon shifters.”

“Do you think they know we’re here?” Caleb stepped closer to Elise.

“What if this is a trap and Egan told them we were coming?” Elise gazed over her shoulder toward the ocean. But there was no use running, they would never escape dragons.

“Perhaps it is time for you to shift.” Silas looked up at the sky. “If we make a run for it, I doubt the dragons will follow us to Wishing Moon Bay.”

“No!” Ivan ground out. “I’m not leaving Larisa here.”

“You’re no good to her dead,” Silas replied.

“It’s Egan.” Fiona suddenly jerked her head back. “Egan is one of the dragons approaching.”

“He’s looking for us.” Ivan’s heart hammered as relief flooded him. “He must have been getting worried that we were not going to show up.”

“Or it could be a trap.” Caleb didn’t like Cairnnor, he’d been uneasy since the boat dropped them off on the beach.

“We have to trust Egan. If not, we could blow this whole plan.” Ivan locked his senses onto the dragon shifter. “He’s sensed us, too. They’re coming this way.”

“Okay.” Caleb pointed at Ivan. “But at the first sign of trouble, you need to shift. We’ll figure out how to get Larisa back after.”

“Agreed,” Fiona replied.

“No,” Ivan replied. “If we have to shift then Fiona can carry you all back to Wishing Moon Bay and I’ll stay here.” He pointed at the ground.

“I’ll stay with you,” Caleb told his brother.

“No, you need to go with Elise,” Ivan said firmly.

“Ivan...”

Ivan cut Caleb off. “I know you want to help. But I’m better on my own. I can shift and fly without having to wait for you to get on my back.”

“They’re close,” Fiona warned, and the small group clustered together as they waited for the dragons to arrive.

Ivan watched in awe as they appeared in the sky. Small at first, the dragons grew bigger and bigger before they disappeared from view as the rockfall obscured them.

His dragon thrashed his tail, wanting to meet the dragons head-on. Not because he wanted to fight them but because he longed to feel the freedom of flight. To experience their homeland for himself.

The first dragon to land was the smaller of the two and he instantly shifted. “We’ve been waiting for you at the fire pits,” was Egan’s only greeting.

“The trail is not good for two feet,” Fiona complained. “It’s taken us hours to get here.”

“I don’t know if anyone ever uses the trail anymore,” Egan confessed. “The fire pits are unused. A few dragons come here to reminisce about the old times, but they fly in.”

Silas stepped forward. “I had no idea. Last time I was here, this trail was well used.”

“When was the last time you were here?” Egan asked.

“Do we have time for small talk?” Elise asked. “You can have a whole history lesson once this is over.”

“Who is the other dragon?” Silas asked.

“Lorelis, he’s the first member of the council I contacted. I trust him completely.”

“He was a friend of my father’s.” Ivan stared up at the sky, his senses fixed on the elder dragon.

“I thought you didn’t know any of the dragons from Cairnnor?” Egan gave Ivan a suspicious glance. He’d risked a lot for them, and he must be afraid he’d been betrayed.

“I was told they were friends,” Ivan replied quickly. “I was also told Lorelis was searching for my father’s treasure.”

“I expect he was trying to find out if Argothorn had confiscated it,” Egan explained.

“Confiscated it?” Ivan’s eyes narrowed.

“Yes. Argothorn passed a law that stated he could confiscate the treasure that belonged to those he deemed traitors. People like my father.” Egan’s eyes glittered with tears but beneath the tears was an amber glow, a sign of his anger toward the dragon lord.

“So Lorelis wasn’t trying to steal my treasure?” Ivan asked, needing to be sure before he put his trust and the lives of his friends in his hands.

“No. Lorelis would never do that. He helped me and my mom when we were left with nothing…” Egan glanced around nervously but said no more.

“Again with the talking. We don’t have the luxury of time.” Elise grabbed the map from Ivan’s pack and unrolled it. She stared at it and then lowered her head closer.

“He’s finally on the move?” Ivan asked.

She locked eyes with him and nodded. “We really need to get to the pits before he arrives.”

Egan nodded and then looked up, beckoning to the other dragon while Elise stuffed the map back into Ivan’s pack. “Two of you need to go with Lorelis. The rest of you are with me.”

The older dragon, the biggest dragon Ivan had ever seen, flew over their heads and then hovered for a moment. Slowly, he descended toward the ground, and they all stepped back to give him room.

“I don’t usually ride on the back of a dragon.” Fiona wrinkled her nose.

“I’ve never ridden on the back of another dragon,” Ivan admitted. “I suppose we’re both going to get a taste of what it’s like.”

“If we weren’t under pressure, I’d refuse.” Fiona held out her hand to Ivan. “Let’s do this together.”

They waited for Lorelis to land and tuck in his wings. As he lowered his leg, they ran forward and scrambled onto his back. Throwing his leg over the dragon’s wide back, Ivan adjusted his position, and gripped Lorelis’s dragon’s horn before he extended his arm to Fiona.

She carefully climbed onto the dragon’s back as if she were afraid he might explode beneath her. Was this how other people felt when they climbed onto the back of a dragon for the first time?

As Fiona sat down and wrapped her arms around Ivan’s waist, the dragon sprang into the air and flew away from the others, keeping low over the ground. His senses told him Egan had shifted and the others were getting on his back.

However, his attention was soon yanked away from them. Instead, he focused on a group of ten or more people huddled together about a mile away. This must be the rest of the council members.

He took comfort in Fiona’s presence. If this went wrong, then they would find a way out of it together. She would fly the others back to Wishing Moon Bay while he found his mate.

What then? That was one question he didn’t have the answer to.

Lorelis flew swift and true toward the group of people in front of them, while behind them the younger dragon took off and followed close behind.

Ivan stared into the distance, he had no idea what the fire pits of Tolarth were. But his first sight of the four spires rising in the distance took his breath away. They were like sentinels watching over a huge circular pit.

“Dragons used to come here to fight,” Fiona yelled.

Ivan adjusted his position and half-turned to face her. “Is this where you fought Argothorn?”

She nodded. “I should have spilled his blood here, but Silas warned me not to.”

Ivan didn’t ask her if she thought that was a mistake. The past was done, and they had to focus on the future.

Lorelis flapped his wings hard and raced toward the pits. He tucked in his wings and headed for the farthest side of the pits. As he landed near the edge, he dipped his legs so that they could scramble down. Then he shifted.

Lorelis was elderly, he looked like a man in his late sixties, but Ivan suspected he was significantly older and wiser than that. “No time for greetings.” His eyes rested on Ivan. “We need to join the others.”

Ivan hurried after Lorelis but kept casting a look over his shoulder scouring the skyline for Egan’s dragon. His relief when the smaller dragon skimmed the edge of the pits and landed was immense.

Elise, Caleb, and Silas dismounted and ran after Ivan before Egan had a chance to shift. They were running out of time.

Ivan didn’t need the map to tell him where Argothorn was. The dragon shifter was approaching. He was less than a mile away.

And Larisa was with him.

He should be relieved that the plan was working but he hated sensing his mate so close to Argothorn. She must be riding on his back.

It’s wrong,his dragon hissed.

“This way.” Lorelis ran toward a small open doorway in the rock wall. The stout wooden door was held open by a young man who was in his thirties, his features matched those of Lorelis. “This is my son, Matheus. You can trust him.”

“Does that mean we can’t trust everyone else?” Ivan asked.

Lorelis didn’t answer as he led them into the dark corridor. But perhaps that was an answer in itself.

“Won’t Argothorn be able to sense us all here?” Fiona paused in the doorway.

“He’s not as...astute as he used to be,” Lorelis answered.

“He drinks too much,” Matheus added. He rolled his eyes at his father’s expression. “It’s the truth. And everyone knows it.”

The others joined them in the corridor and Lorelis stopped as soon as there was enough room for them all to fit. “Egan told me the plan. You should wait here, and I’ll go get the rest of the council. When Argothorn lands, it’s up to you to get him to admit his crimes. The council will hear but they will not act unless they hear it from his own mouth.”

“Are they all with you?” Ivan asked.

“They will be. If Argothorn admits his crimes as Egan has described them to me then they will have no choice but to act. Killing another dragon is forbidden unless it is in self-defense.” Lorelis held out his hand to Ivan. “Good luck.”

“And to you.” Ivan shook his hand and Lorelis’s eyes misted with tears before he turned abruptly away.

“I’ll bring the others.” Lorelis hurried down the corridor, leaving Matheus behind.

“My father has worked tirelessly to help the people of Cairnnor. I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure he finally gets his dream of seeing them free of Argothorn.” Matheus looked toward the open door. “He’s here.”

“We should go.” Egan nodded at Ivan, who nodded. He wanted to go out and face Argothorn. He wanted to make sure his mate was safe and stop Argothorn from ever touching her again.

“Be careful,” Silas warned. “His senses might not work as they should but that doesn’t mean he’s not dangerous. If anything, the liquor he drinks makes him more dangerous because he’s unpredictable.”

“We’ll be careful.” Ivan inched past his friends, aware of the other council members approaching. Each piece of the puzzle was falling into place.

The end was close.

So too was his mate.