The Monster's Caress - S.E. Smith Page 0,76

reach my mate. Please—release me,” he said, acknowledging that fighting against the bands would be futile.

The symbiot gold bands slowly released their grip and flowed back into the river. With the Gateway now closed, there was no longer any need to restrain Creon or Carmen. He grimaced when Zoran’s dragon crashed down the steps.

“Carmen!” he called in a loud voice.

He hurried over to his brother. Zoran shifted back into his two-legged form and groaned. Creon gave his brother an apologetic look.

“We should probably give her space,” Zoran grunted out, rather stiffly rising to his feet.

“Look out!” Creon hissed.

He tackled Zoran around the waist and pushed him back behind the boulder as Carmen released a long, furious stream of dragon fire. They kept their heads down as the rock heated and glowed. She was out of control with grief.

“Can you calm her?” Zoran asked, peering over the glowing boulder.

Creon glared at Zoran. “How do you think Abby would react if you stopped her from protecting Zohar?” he retorted.

Zoran grimaced. “Let me rephrase the question. Is there any way to calm her?” he asked.

Creon’s mate was formidable in a fight in any form, but her emotions always added fuel to her fire, enhancing her speed and power. Creon would be a deadly catastrophe himself if he let himself think about their lost daughter. Instead, he focused all his energy on the current problem. Carmen needed him.

Her dragon was now attacking the rock wall where Phoenix had disappeared. Long, bloodied claw marks coated the uneven surface. Her snarls reflected their combined grief, both Carmen’s and her dragon’s. If Creon didn’t do something soon, he feared Carmen’s dragon would completely take her over, and he would lose them both. Madness was an ever-present threat for dragon-shifters. He could feel it lurking in his own mind, contained by a lifetime of training.

He leaned his head back against the boulder and thought, then narrowed his eyes when he saw Harvey emerge out of the river and shake. There might be one thing that would calm Carmen’s dragon.

Harvey, I need enormous eyes and bigger ears, he silently requested.

“Stay here,” he ordered his oldest brother.

Creon slowly rose to his feet as the symbiot shimmered. Together they climbed the stairs to the platform. Carmen had already known the pain of losing a child before they met. He couldn’t fathom the agonizing fear she must be suffering at the thought of losing another.

“Carmen,” he called, slowly walking forward. “Love, look at me.”

Carmen’s dragon continued to tear at the wall. He jumped to the side when her tail swept back and forth with her distress. With a wave of his hand, he motioned for Harvey to go to her.

The symbiot trotted forward, stumbling on his oversized ears. He was in the shape of the old hound dog that Carmen had loved as a child. Carmen’s dragon turned around and snapped at the symbiot in warning. Harvey immediately dropped and rolled onto his back, four paws extended. The dragon froze, her wild eyes narrowing at the sight.

“Carmen, come to me, love. Let me hold you,” he murmured. “I need you, Carmen. Come back to me.”

Her dragon looked into his eyes, her turbulent expression gentling slightly. He kept speaking in a quiet, soothing voice. Once he was close enough, he caressed her wing. She shuddered and shifted back into her two-legged form.

He slowly enfolded her in his arms, holding on tightly to his sobbing mate. Her petite frame violently shook with the intensity of her heartbreak.

They held each other close, drawing strength and comfort from their embrace. He ran his hands up and down her back while Harvey pressed close against her leg.

“We have to bring her back, Creon. She’s our little girl. We have to find her and bring her back,” she said in a tortured voice.

Zoran carefully came closer and said, “Only a Goddess can pass through the Gateway, Carmen. I had to stop you. If you had gone through it—I would have lost both you and Creon.”

Creon looked at the King of Valdier over Carmen’s head. “Thank you, brother,” he said before he tenderly caressed Carmen’s cheek. “We will get our daughter back. I swear I won’t rest until we do.”

Chapter 25

Isle of the Monsters

Asahi let the rhythm of Tai Chi calm his mind and body. While researchers called it meditation in motion, his grandfather said Tai Chi unblocked and encouraged the flow of Qi, the energy force that flowed through the body and expanded outward. The movements helped balance