Free Mate of the Dragon by Harmony Raines Page A

from him. She wanted to return his words, but it felt odd, out of character. She had never loved anything or anyone for such a long time, and despite knowing she loved him too, she lacked the nerve to actually say those words to him without sounding lame.
    As the thunder sounded again, she saw how ridiculous she was, not wanting to sound lame, when they were almost certainly about to die. Dòmhnall looked up at the sky and let go of her hand. She hunkered down as he moved away from her, shouting, “I love you, Dragon Lord of Spellholm.”
    He grinned at her, wicked, determined and hers. Then he disappeared from this world and she was alone. For one eternal moment, she thought he had gone forever, that she had been wrong and he wouldn’t return to her. Then he was there, the great beast, the part of her mate she had missed, the part that made him complete.
    Clawing her way along the ground, she made her way to the green dragon, his scales glinting in the sun, his eyes flashing red, and revenge on his lips. Managing to curl her fingers around his huge, talonlike claws, she pulled herself next to him. He bent down and stood patiently while she climbed up his short leg and onto his back.
    Holding on tightly, she ducked down to prevent herself being pulled from him by the wind, and then he began his slow walk to the rip in the worlds. He had wanted to fly, but she had persuaded him that this way was best, his four short legs more sturdy and strong than two wings in this weather.
    One giant step at a time, he took them to the place where they had entered this world. The wind was tremendous, flowing like a river that had burst its banks through a tear in the sky. Here the azure blue was split in two, and when Tara looked up, her neck straining to support her head against the onslaught, she caught glimpses of darkness and stars. She was sure they were looking at the heavens, but of where?
    She felt Dòmhnall bend his legs, ready to take off. Tara knew she had to stop him. That was not their way back. They had to find the touchstone. “Dòmhnall. Stop, let me down, it has to be here somewhere.”
    She slid off his back, holding onto his leg to stay upright; this was not going to be easy. Certainly not when she looked into the distance and saw the pack of wolves from her vision descending on them.
    Closing her eyes, she sought out her magic. It was here somewhere. The split in the sky was letting the real world in; even as she worked, she could see it getting bigger. Soon this world would implode, and they needed to be out of it when that happened.
    Fixing her mind on the small dragon figure they both touched to get here, she tried to use a spell to locate it. Her magic flickered on and off like lights in a power cut. Trying harder, she pictured it again, not allowing herself to be distracted by the sound of their attackers getting closer.
    There. It flashed into her mind. And then was gone. Damn it! She looked around, but the whole clearing looked the same, especially with the wind blowing dead leaves and branches their way. While she worked, she held on to Dòmhnall, who had begun to move, positioning himself to face the attackers head on.
    “Come on, stupid magic,” she shouted to herself.
    At that moment, high above them, the sound of thunder rang across the sky. She clutched her dragon’s leg as though it was the only thing anchoring her to this world, which in some ways it was. The ground moved beneath her feet. At least it had slowed down the wolves, but the sky above them grew darker, and seemed to be sucking the light out of this world, the blue sky being pulled out from around them.
    She had to get this right.
    Making the most of the burst of magic that accompanied the thunder, she closed her eyes. This time when she saw the touchstone, she let go of Dòmhnall and followed the pull of it. The dragon turned to watch, but almost immediately, he advanced forward to engage the wolves, who came at him like a swarm, ten of