Fated to the Grumpy Dragon (The Dragon Overlords #6)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Rhyse

T aking momentary advantage of my stunned reaction, Dillon sank his teeth into my front shoulder.

Pain stabbed deep as his powerful jaws ripped away flesh and scales, turning the water a murky red around us.

With the agony came clarity.

I’d been wrong all along. It wasn’t Killian behind the sinking of the human ships. He was still an asshole, but he wasn’t the evil mastermind I’d him pegged to be.

All along, it was Dillon. Cool, distant but respectful Dillon.

Of course it was.

In hindsight, there was no way someone like Killian could have kept his mouth shut about this operation. That took someone disciplined, someone organized.

Someone like Dillon.

Which meant I had two enemies who’d threatened Emma that I needed to settle with.

Only one of whom was here right now.

Shoving aside the pain in my shoulder, I swirled around, twisting up and over Dillon before diving and raking my front and rear claws on the left side over his flank. He twisted, trying to come after me, which was exactly what I’d hoped he would do.

Because as his jaws came at me, wide open, ready to rip another huge bite from me, my tail came across, slapping against his jaw with tremendous force.

Dillon reeled from the blow, and I ripped at his back where the wings met the shoulder, tearing deep into the tendons and muscles of his right side, rendering it immobile.

Before he could recover, I was gone, darting away into the depths once more. Circling, I came at him from another angle. He reacted fast, and I was only able to dig one claw into his leg, ripping a few scales free, before I was out of range once more.

This time, he gave chase, but in the water, there was no catching me. I dove and weaved around him with ease, avoiding his attacks without issue. I landed few of my own, but I was wearing him down.

Which was why Dillon decided not to fight alone. A dragon crashed into my side without warning, driving the air from my lungs as I reeled, momentarily motionless, all my speed bleeding off quickly in the water.

Dillon came at me, but I flexed a wing, managing to present him with a face-full of claws at the last second.

But the move exposed my belly. I roared underwater, oxygen blasting from my lungs as the third dragon ripped into me.

Flexing my wings and whipping my tail, I shot away from all the dragons in a random direction, desperate to put distance between us. I needed time to recover, to formulate a plan so I could save Emma.

The others gave me no such time or space. All three of them came on together, pursuing me as I tried desperately to make a beeline for Emma’s ship. If I could just get her off it, I could take us out of here. It wouldn’t be easy, but I had faith I could do it.

Dillon, unfortunately, was smart enough to recognize that. He had Isaac and Sven hold back, maintaining position between Emma and me. Forcing me to go through them to get to her. Knowing full well I would have to either fight them or abandon her.

And I was not abandoning her.

Fine, you want a fight? Let’s fight.

Ceasing my circling, I drove straight toward the merchant ship holding the woman I intended to fully claim as my mate.

Dillon was caught by surprise when I changed direction, likely thinking he had a few more minutes before I made my move. That meant Isaac was the first to move into my path. He opened his mouth, exposing his teeth, expecting me to charge right at him and collide.

Instead, when we were merely feet apart, I discharged all the electricity I’d been gathering to me into the water.

The shockwave raced outward in a sphere. Lightning smacked Isaac in the snout, running across his teeth and down his body. Muscles twitched and writhed on their own, unable to respond after taking such a massive dose of energy.

I shot by the floundering dragon and made a beeline for Rikell’s ship.

“Jump!” I hollered at Emma, surfacing. “There’s no time, jump!”

But Emma didn’t come jumping over the railing. Instead, she appeared at the edge, chin held high, her skin white as the clouds in the sky.

Because Rikell had a dagger to her neck.

“She can’t,” he said calmly. “Now, stand down, or I’ll be forced to carry out with my threat.”

I glared daggers at the captain. “What are you doing, Rikell?”

“What I must,” the captain said coolly. “Please understand, Rhyse, this is nothing personal. It’s strictly business.”

“Of course,” I growled as Dillon and the others surfaced warily in a circle around me as I floated, rendered immobile by the danger to Emma. “They needed someone to sell the stuff they stole from the ships they sink. Who better than the man who can pawn it off to human smugglers, the types who accept it no questions asked.”

Rikell smiled.

At that moment, I almost unloaded with a bolt of lightning to fry his ass. I couldn’t, though, because the current would carry through the knife and into Emma. Even with my scales adhered to her, she wouldn’t survive that blast.

I had to give in.

“Don’t hurt her,” I said, making no threatening moves.

“I won’t,” Rikell said.

I knew he was lying. Their plan was exposed. Dillon would have no choice but to order both our deaths. It was obvious on Rikell’s face as well. The man was no poker player.

Which meant I had to act first. I had to do something before—

Rikell jerked forward abruptly as the tip of a harpoon blade emerged from his chest, spraying blood everywhere.