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And then he had sacrificed himself to save her.
He’d told her that shifting, other than to protect the homeland, was prohibited by the Invicta. Because he had rescued her, he might never be part of the brotherhood of dragons again.
But that was probably a moot point after the hit he had taken, and the fall to the ground.
His glittering belly was moving up and down, so she knew he was still alive, but for how much longer? And how hurt was he?
Ella had no idea how to care for a wounded dragon, and she doubted anyone on this far-flung moon did.
“Jhon,” she murmured. “Please come back to us.”
She watched his face, but there was no response.
“Please,” she whispered, tears sliding down her cheeks.
Then the huge eyelids slid open to reveal dark eyes the size of rover tires.
“Jhon,” she cried happily, bending to press her lips to one of the cool scales.
The dragon made a sound like a purr in the back of his throat.
She leapt to her feet and backed up slightly so she could look into both of his eyes at once.
“What you did was very brave,” she told him. “And also very, very stupid. You could have been killed.”
The dragon blinked in surprise.
“Don’t you dare pretend to be surprised,” she exploded. “You could have died up there. And then what would…”
She trailed off as the dragon began shrinking down like a giant parade balloon with a hole in it.
Was he dying?
No…
No, he was shifting.
Suddenly Jhon stood before her, laughing his head off and pulling her close.
“Don’t laugh at me,” she retorted, even as she held him back, wishing she could touch every part of him at once to reassure herself that he was real.
“I’m laughing with you,” he told her. “Remember when I yelled at you for endangering yourself by going down the chute in the night? Now you know just how I felt. And I know how you felt.”
“You okay, solider?” Abbra yelled as she and the others jogged toward them.
“Knocked my shoulder out, but I’ll be fine,” Jhon said, frowning. “Dragons have a healing ability.”
“I meant your pride, man,” Abbra laughed. “I never saw a woman light into a full-sized dragon like that. Good thing you’re fireproof, or that might have burned you to a crisp. You’re going to have your hands full with this one. She’s fearless.”
She winked at Ella, who suddenly started giggling.
Bo, who was tucked into Abbra’s furry arms, began to chuckle at the sight of his mother and father laughing.
“Bo,” Jhon said, and it was all clear in his voice - the love, and the relief of knowing he was home with his family.
Ella squeezed him tighter.
Then there was a streak of furry limbs as Charl ran for his wife, wrapping his arms around her, Bo and all, as the two of them cried with the happiness of being together again.
