Leah's Hero - Miranda Martin Page 0,65

hides them if they are trying.

Leah shivers violently. The wind is colder, and it makes my muscles sluggish and they ache. Finding shelter and waiting it out would be best but it’s not the smart move. We can’t be here where the Order knows we came down or anywhere near it. They may not try the cliff again, but they will work their way around.

If the Eye wants the females, they aren’t going to give up. Returning to the Eye, empty-handed, when they had one of them in their sights will not go well for them. A fact I know too well. The Order is corrupt at its core. The ideals I joined it to support are given only lip service by those who lead.

I hold out my hand, and Leah takes it. As my hand closes on hers it hits me fully for the first time. My disfigurement hasn’t stopped me from protecting her.

I’ve cared for my treasure, protected her, kept her safe in the most extraordinary of circumstances. I have tamed an anzilu, the most dangerous predator of this continent. We’ve escaped the Order. Every threat imaginable has come our way and she is safe.

I am a male.

A sensation burns through my body like fire racing through my veins. Pride swells, my one wing opens wide and my tail rises between my shoulders. Leah looks at me and her face is beaming, alight with love.

My love for her is boundless. The dragon roars and I can’t contain it. I throw my head back and let out my triumphant roar, giving the dragon its voice. I throw my arms wide, the pain of the broken one barely noticeable.

Leah places her hands on my chest and I scoop her up with my good arm. Her lips, soft and succulent, press to mine. My cock pounds, ready to explode at her touch. She wraps her legs around my waist and then she leans her head back too and we roar together.

She laughs and I am laughing with her. The rain pours down, soaking us through, but nothing matters because we are together. We are one.

19

LEAH

My head is throbbing. All I can do is focus on this moment and keep pushing forward. I can’t believe what I’ve been through, what we’ve done. My muscles quiver with exhaustion, but they keep working.

I’m sure that Urukol can’t feel any better than I do. He carried me down that cliff with one arm. It’s unbelievable, I don’t know if the other girls will believe me when I tell them. Unreal. Incredible.

It’s love.

Warmth deep in my belly pulses, and I’m drawing all my strength from it. What else do I call this? I’m a nurse, it’s not a physical thing, no organ or body part that feels like this or creates these sensations. It’s much, much more, the human spirit maybe. Or, more accurately, love.

I love him, and I know he loves me too.

So we keep moving. Climbing over loose rocks as the ground inclines back up. Rivulets of water speed pass, joining together and becoming a stream. The rain keeps coming harder. Every time I think it’s reached a peak, it figures out a way to rain harder. The wind isn’t as bad as it has been, but I know that can change in an instant.

Head down, hair plastered to my face, clothes sticking, it’s one foot then another. One step, the next, and the next. I’m too tired to look up, and only glance behind us when the itching on the back of my neck becomes too intense to ignore.

Urukol has his arm around my waist giving me support, and I hate it, but I’m leaning against his strength. We travel until the gray world becomes dark, and still we continue. I’m so tired I can hardly stay upright.

The rain beats against us, the wind is howling louder. We’ve made our way back into the jungle, and we’re no longer climbing at least. Urukol stops, raising a hand to shield his eyes. I do the same, but his eyesight is far superior. All I see is dark jungle which doesn’t allow me to see very far at all.

“LEAH!” Ziva’s voice emerges from the blackness.

It can’t be! My breath catches in my throat as my heart leaps into double time. I stumble forward. I’ve lost it. It’s my imagination.

“Oh Leah!” Ziva calls again, and a shadowy figure carrying a torch runs around a tree.

“Ziva?” I ask.

The continuously pouring rain hides my tears of relief and