Free Furee Born: The Dragon Mage Series Book IV by Kelly Lucille

creatures. 
Before he could touch her, Furee was there slamming between them and forcing
the great beast back and away from Riva.  She saw him take the first slash of
claws she had seen him suffer while trying to keep her safe, and the sight of
even that small wound had Riva hitching her breath in reaction.  She was a
healer; it was not the sight of blood that so distracted her, but the sight of
her mate’s blood, ending the idea that Furee was indestructible – an idea she
had not even known gave her comfort until it was gone.  Suddenly, she was less
worried about herself and more about her mate.  A second later, a giant bear
head went flying down the stairs, and Furee was burning and hacking the rest of
the creature to nothing in a frenzy she had not seen in any fight before. 
Whether it was the wound or how close the creature got to Riva, he became rage.
    Riva heard the wall
finally fall behind them, and before Adair was finished whooping their success,
Furee had her in his arms and had transformed into his dragon form, carrying
her away from both the fight and the other dragons. Riva could only assume from
where she was crushed to Furee’s scaled chest that the others followed.  Wherever
they were going, she was just grateful to be away from the horror that
Isolation had become.
    They left Isolation Mountain
far behind in a blur of snow-capped mountains and green fields.  Breathing the
fresh air, Riva choked and gasped until she could get a good lung full of the
clean air.  She sent her own powers down through her body, healing first the
laboring lungs, then the few burnt patches on her skin, and finally, her abused
and watering eyes.  She could see and breathe again when she came back to herself. 
Even with her eyesight, she had no idea where they were, only that they seemed
to be heading into the mountains, and not across wild forests and lakes toward
Forsaken.
    “Furee? ”
she tried calling, but the wind whipped it away as soon as it left her lips. 
Short of pinching his diamond-hard dragon scales, she would just have to wait
until they landed to find out where they were going.  After a moment, Riva
realized that Furee seemed to be getting hotter, not cooler, with the flight. 
That’s when she really started to worry.  Furee had never burned her.  Even
sitting in the heart of his flame, she had never felt more than a warmth and
power.  But she was beginning to feel like she had in the stairway at Isolation
with the blast of heat sticking her curls to her forehead and sweat beading her
clothes wet.  The cold air coming at her so high in the clouds was not enough
to cool down the heat that was Furee’s dragon form at the moment.  Something
was wrong.  “ Furee?!”
    ***
    Braedon knew something
was wrong when he saw Furee at full fire burst streaking across the sky.  They
had reached Isolation in time to see a great hole thrust through the walls and
the dragons pour out.  It was a grim parody of the last fight that Braedon had
witnessed at Isolation.  Only this time his sister was not safely away at
Forsaken.  She was clutched in the arms of a dragon who did not seem to notice
the force bearing down on him from his flank, which gave Braedon more than one
bad feeling.  Furee was not a warrior you could sneak up on at his worst days.
    Lux and General Solan attempted
to intercept the three dragon knights coming out of the hole behind Furee. 
Seeing the reinforcements, the other dragons turned as one and headed back into
the fray with General Solan and Lux circling around to come at the creatures
from the rear.  As much as Braedon wanted to follow Furee and his sister, and
not just because it meant taking his mate out of the danger area, Asha made the
decision for both of them.
    This is a battle Riva and
Furee must fight without us , she said in that dragon seer way of
hers that only bothered him when they were discussing his sister.  He gritted
his teeth against the irritation but knew she