Page 80 of Fated Obsessions

“Tilly, we have to gonow. Trust me.”

She darted her gaze to Azar again, then back to me before looking at the field. I saw her body tense and followed her line of vision to see several of the field workers looking in our direction and pointing.

And then I heard the yelling and saw a horde of humans rushing.

Oh gods.

Azar made a low rumble of warning behind me, and I hissed out, “Now, Tilly. We need to leave now.”

She nodded and dropped her tool before rushing toward me, but when I heard a familiar sound in the air—wings flapping—followed by a vicious roar, I knew things had just gone from bad to worse.

Ryezan was here.

Azar had his tail wrapped around my abdomen instantly and pulled me in close to his chest. I still had my arms out, my hands outstretched to Tilly, who couldn’t seem to take her focus off the sky. Her eyes looked massive in her too-pale face, and her mouth was open in shock.

I could still hear the horde of humans running toward us, saw Bryce and Leland leading them. Those bastards. There was no way they would miss out on the violence, not with their dark, corrupted souls.

I could feel Azar tensing further behind me and knew he was about to take flight, but Tilly wasn’t anywhere near me. I couldn’t leave without her. I wouldn’t.

“No.” I almost screamed that lone word out, and I felt Azar still against my much smaller body. “I’m not leaving without Tilly.” My voice was firm, and I looked over my shoulder and up at him. He was watching me, one of his giant eyes unblinking, the dark pool so dark that it showed my reflection.

And then the great black-scaled dragon was swooping down and landing his huge body several feet from where Tilly stood… right between her and the rushing horde of humans. The very ground shock from his hard landing, his wings spread out as they moved up and down, the gust of wind fierce and vicious enough that if I hadn’t been pressed to Azar, I would have stumbled back from the force.

Tilly was now looking at Ryezan, her body seeming locked in this stony composure. And then when Ryezan looked over at her, their gazes holding, I knew without a doubt there was no way I could take her from him. There was no way he’d let me.

He’d come for his mate. Just like Azar had come for me.

Ryezan turned back toward the threat and roared out again and again, loud enough I wanted to cover my ears as they rang in pain. But the humans were stupid, led by Bryce and Leland, their weapons raised, their expressions violent. I’d never seen so many of the Pit guards together, all of them rushing toward us with harmful intent. It was like a wave of bodies. Although they seemed tiny compared to Dragao and Draco dragons—even when the dragons were in human form—there were so many of them that I was afraid they’d be able to use it to their advantage and inflict serious harm.

I was trying to get to Tilly, but Azar had a viselike grip on me. I wasn't thinking clearly, only wanting to go to my friend and get us out of danger. Azar positioned his body in front of mine,using it as a shield to protect me from any arrows that came too close. But I could still see around his dragon’s body, still watch in horror at the events that unfolded.

I wished I could do more to help, wanted to scream at the humans that the dragons weren’t here to harm but to protect. At least Tilly and me. Azar and Ryezan would have no issue decimating a threat to their mates.

And right now I couldn’t have cared less if they laid waste to all those who meant us harm.

I focused on Tilly, her shock keeping her in place as she stared off with the rushing barrage of humans storming forward.

I was screaming her name over and over again, but I knew she couldn’t hear me, not when it was clear by her expression she was lost in her own head. The Pit kept advancing, nocking arrows and letting them fly. A few landed in Ryezan, and he roared, his thick tail moving back and forth, the barb at the end a deadly weapon keeping everyone back.

Ryezan let out a stream of fire, liquid heat arcing through the sky. I was behind him and far enough away that I shouldn’t have been able to feel the heat… but fates, I did.

I felt bile rise up in my throat as some of the humans caught fire, their screams filling the air before they dropped to the ground and started rolling and slapping at their arms and legs to put out the flames.

More arrows were nocked and sailed through the air. I heard Tilly scream and stared in horror as an arrow was sticking out of her thigh, the material of her pant leg already turning crimson.

Azar lifted me off the ground and lunged for Tilly, and I knew he was seconds away from grabbing her and taking both of us to safety. But Ryezan snapped his massive head in her direction, peeling his mouth from his teeth, and roared a warning to Azar. Ryezan was in front of Tilly a second later, the rage-energyseething off Ryezan as he placed his big body in front of hers and faced off with Azar.

No. This would be a fight to the death as they each tried to protect their mates.

“No, Azar!” I screamed. “He won’t hurt her. He’s protecting her.” I was yelling so loud and hard my throat burned. “Don’t engage.” Because the truth was, I didn’t know who would come out the victor in this fight.

Ryezan gave another gut-wrenching roar, and Azar moved backward, his forelegs wrapped around me protectively, like a shield. I could see from this vantage point that although Ryezan was between Azar and Tilly, he used his tail to protect the other side of her—where the Pit humans were still coming.

It was clear that only when Azar was far enough back for Ryezan’s comfort, did he feel safe and turned and faced Tilly. My friend was staring up at him with those same huge eyes she’d had since everything had gone down. And when Ryezan leaned down and nuzzled the side of her body, mindful of the arrow sticking out of her thigh, I felt something clench in my chest.

Ryezan only wants to protect her.

There was this clarity covering Tilly's face.She’s not afraid of the Draco dragon.At all. She was just looking up at the beast’s visage, an almost content expression covering her face. There were more arrows sailing through the air, some hitting Ryezan, but his big body kept any and all from hitting Tilly.