Tristan

When the small black dragon hollered, I felt sudden pull towards Stealth. She was fighting for us, and I wanted to fight by her side, even if it was the last thing I'd ever done. I ran towards her without a second thought, shooting a vessel that harassed Mist in passing. I saw Mist and Madison disappear into nothing and forgot all about the others in an instant.

It was like a dance, I took three steps forward, pivoted and shot down a vessel who intended to tear my back open, I jumped over its still steaming body and rolled to the left as a huge armored black tail swept over my head hitting the incoming vessel straight in the stomach and squashing it like a fly. I stood up and shot two vessels harassing Stealth's wing and jumped to the side when a plume of dragon fire shot past me and chased me until its source got obliterated by an enormous black talon. My senses were enhanced, I saw the enemies behind my back, I felt an urge to dodge right before a vessel pounced at where I just stood. I knew which targets to shoot and which I better left to her.

Slaying dragons was a highly synchronized effort, soldiers trained their timing together all the time, when they weren't actually fighting. But this was different.
I felt as if me and Stealth were one creature in two bodies. She always shielded me from the attacks I couldn't manage to face or dodge, and I knew she would, without a drop of doubt. I felt when some of the small lithe vessels were actually getting to her, and taking them down was my first priority.
I hid under her belly and shot from behind enormous legs, switching directions. I could easily stand under Stealth's body, she curled her tail around her legs to shield me from attacks from her left where she snapped enemies from the skies with her jaws.
I covered her right as well as I could. Then a group of four vessels simultaneously attacked the first joint of her right wing. I shot them down one by one as fast as I could, but the fourth managed to hook its talons around Stealth's wing and started clawing and biting with frenzy. I felt pain and worry, when I shot it, careful not to shoot the wing. My shot hit the mark and the wing shook violently shaking it off.

There were more than twenty bodies around us, yet still Stealth was entirely surrounded by them, they couldn't all get too close without getting in the way for each other so every now and then groups of three or four made a dash for her body, while the rest gave them cover of dragon fire and mock attacks. I shot one more down and was out of rounds...
Suddenly Stealth crouched pushing me down slightly.

We fly

I shouldered my gun, crawled from under her and climbed onto her back. I held on to her as she leaped into the sky effortlessly and much smoother than Riley and Mist have ever done. I guess a hundred and ninety pounds of soldier wasn't much for her.
I was aware of Riley pursuing us, but didn't pay him much attention and didn't think much about it when he disappeared.

Stealth banked and gripped a vessel with her front talons, her jaws clamped around its head and ripped it off. She barreled and caught another one, and another. We could easily have escaped them but she kept on flying just in front of them picking out two, three at the time and dispatching them within seconds. Blood sprayed from torn bodies, I felt heat from fire raging around, but somehow rarely hitting me and never more, than my armor could deflect.
I gripped my knife and waited, a part of me enjoyed being in the middle of the fray, riding on the most powerful creature I have ever met, that didn't try to kill me. I felt safe and happy. I was aware how stupid it was, but I didn't care. Some part of me recognized the truth of this. This was real and I was a part of something greater.

I remembered that Ember had carried Garret away from western chapterhouse, the day he was to be executed. Was this what he had felt? No wonder he still longed for her after she's fucking issued an order to kill us all. I understood now, what he meant when he asked me and Riley to keep an eye on him. Right now riding Stealth seemed worth more, than anything else this world had to offer. Was I compromised too? Would I turn on my brothers if she asked me to? On Madison? I snapped to attention. Thinking about Madison while in a fight was a sure way to get myself killed.

Stealth sped out of reach of the remaining handful of vessels.

"We touch down by these rocks and kill the rest."

I nodded knowing she would somehow get my answer. Without my riffle I felt a bit useless, I took in the gathering of rocks, that we were diving towards. It could be used as a shield, Stealth could lean her one side against the side of rocks and use her teeth, tail and talons to take care of attacks from the other side.

There was not much we in this, but it was done now. Stench of spilled intestines made me gag. The last ten vessels had no chance. Stealth was done with them within minutes. Now she stood completely still and watched their corpses littering the stones around her. I wiped blood off my knife on the leg of my pants and sheathed it by my belt. Stealth shook her horned head and flew away. I held onto her neck, feeling a change in her mood. Gone was the battle grit, I sensed sadness and anger and regret as the ground stayed far behind me and the air grew cold.
Stealth was lost in some huge and ancient thoughts that I didn't, couldn't understand, so I just hung on.

I didn't know, how long we have been flying, when I snapped to attention as she sat down on an empty sandy beach shielded by high cliffs.

I was stiff from clinging to her back and from sitting still after my body got all worked up during the initial fighting. I half climbed, half fell off her. She remained sitting in the sand looking at the ocean with bottomless distant eyes.

I started peeling off my armor and stretched relieved, that I could move freely again. There wasn't much to do here and I was hungry and thirsty, but none of this was critical yet. I took off all my clothes and waded into the water letting the ocean wash away the grime of battle and the smell of death. I swam for a bit, when a huge black dragon trotted past me to where the water was deeper.

tealth lifted her legs high and would have looked funny if she wasn't so terrifying. She dove into the depth with her wings pressed tightly to her black body, visible in the clear water. Then she jumped breaking through the surface and spread her wings wide barreling upwards before she fell into the water further away from the coast causing a huge splash and a small wave.
I watched her play for a while and then decided to go back to the beach. No need to get more exhausted than absolutely necessary.

I got dressed and wondered where we were, when Stealth joined me.

"It was a great fight Lieutenant, even if all was for nothing in the end. Thank you for aiding me." She said.

"Well, thank you. We needed your help more. Why was it all for nothing?" I asked, from where I stood, it looked as if we've won.

"I came for Adam Roth and the bastard got away." She said and I swear even if this form she pouted.

"The green dragon's name was Adam Roth?" I asked.

"Yes, Talon's senior president, a traitor and a major asshole. I have waited for decades for a chance to get him and I let him go, when he's sent vessels after you." She said regretfully but I sensed no accusation in her steady black gaze.

"Thank you for that." I said and her eyes gleamed dangerously.

I didn't ask why she'd let go of such coveted quarry to save us from vessels. I knew it had something to do with the feeling of connectedness I still had. I took a couple of steps and put my hand on her front leg as high as my shoulder.

"We'll get him." I said to her and was surprised by feeling of pure happiness, when I heard her laugh.

"So where do you want me to drop you off Lieutenant?" She asked.

I stood still for a moment. From where my hand rested on black scales I felt warmth entering my body, melting away the weariness and even thirst and hunger. I snatched my hand away.

"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously.

"Waiting while you're thinking."

"Not that, to me. That sensation of warmth spreading through my body and removing fatigue and thirst."

Stealth lowered her head to face me and I suppressed the urge to step away from huge dragon muzzle inches away from my nose.
She inhaled deeply sucking the air out of my lungs.

"You are not of dragon blood." She stated.

"What?"

"My husband could share my magic without touching my blood, he described it the way you do. Those of my blood can do that too, but you're not one of them."

"I thought you kept tabs on all of them."

"Nobody's perfect. You might be a descendant of some secret lost child. Or you could have descended from another dragon, but you haven't." She stated smugly.

I felt strangely disappointed that I haven't. What was wrong with me? I hunted dragons my whole life, I hated them. I was going to stand and watch my brother get killed for loving one of them, and now I was sorry, that I wasn't of their blood? Suddenly I remembered the other option.

"So I'm supposed to be your husband?" I asked.

Stealth laughed joyfully the sides of her neck shaking.

"Would you like to?" She teased.

"I... wouldn't mind." I said, carefully tucking away a slightly regretful thought, that I've never made a move on Madison.

"No. You're not supposed to be my husband. Humans are not supposed to marry dragons. But your arms are nice, I wouldn't mind keeping you company for a couple of decades. Just ask me when you're ready. " She winked at me.

"So where do you want me to take you Lieutenant?" She repeated.

"It's Tristan. Please." I said. I thought for a second. A part of me wanted to go with Stealth to the end of the world and beyond. But Garret was hunted by Talon and constantly challenged by Commander Knight and I had major crush on Madison... I couldn't leave now without even a goodbye.

"Call me by my name and take me to... Can you take me to London?" I was still undocumented and taking a plane would require a fake ID that I currently didn't posses...

"London." She mused. "Last time I've been to London, it was burning. But I have seen, they've rebuilt it nicely since. Many times actually..."
"How did the others disappear into the thin air?" She asked suddenly.

"What?"

"I saw Riley and his hatchlings do this thing."

"Ah! It's apparently something dragons can do, Riley called it glitching and described it as jumping around the time. Like you leap out of space at one point and appear in another at the same moment in time, or after as long as it takes for you to figure out where you're going inside of your head." I told her all I have understood from talks between Garret and the rogues. It seemed easy when they talked about it, as easy as breathing.

"I want to try that." Stealth stated. "We better get there now, when it's dark."

For a moment I considered telling her to try without me first, but in case she's failed I preferred being together with her wherever she'd ended up at, to being left here...

In the end we took a series of shorter jumps and I was slightly dizzy, when Stealth finally started spiraling down towards a dark patch of a park in the middle of a city. The city shone brightly in the darkness of the night, it buzzed and didn't seem to be sleeping at all.
Stealth landed in a copse of large trees spaced so, that they gave virtually no shelter from prying eyes. I climbed down and she shifted immediately.

I recoiled shocked. In front of me stood a pale brunette with thin red lips and empty black eyes. Her face was round and her body, hugged tightly by Viper suit was rounded too, at least more so than most dragonells I've seen. There was nothing of Cora in her. Smooth black hair framed a face with somewhat unpleasant smirk and cold gaze.

"You're staring Tristan." She said in deep voice that was slightly raspy, also unlike hers. Then the smirk became a crooked smile and she shook her head.

"I have two human forms remember? Meet Christy. Where do we go from here?" She came closer.

"St George headquarters." I answered grudgingly.

Stealth put her arm around my waist sliding herself in under my arm and pressing her body to my side. I suppressed the urge to shove her.

"Lead the way." Stealth said sending me a sultry smile with half of her mouth and leaned her head on my chest.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm making us look inconspicuous." She said smiling but there was no smile in her voice.
I eyed her, curves of her body were clearly outlined under tight suit, her pale feet were bare with painted nails. I myself wore boots, desert camouflage cargo pants and grey T-shirt. We definitely didn't belong together...

"What about your feet?"

"It's London, you can wear whatever you like." She smiled again and again the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Let's go."

When I didn't look at Stealth I didn't mind her being so close. Her body was warm and soft where my hand rested on her hip. Anytime I glimpsed her face though, a cold chill ran down my spine. Her other human form was, what I have always expected dragons to be. A decoy, a well-made replica with some creepy emotional coldness and expression delay that made my hair stand on end.

It was midnight and there we've met plenty of people out on the streets, once we crawled over the park's fence and rounded a corner.

I have never been in London before and had no idea how to find the address that was seared into my memory, so in the end I asked a group of passers-by for directions. They were confused for a moment, but after a short discussion, they came up with two possible routes one involving using the underground. Stealth watched them in silence from under my arm, but I noticed that people avoided looking at her. I chose to walk, the night was warm and bright.

"What is it about you?" I asked when we were alone again. Stealth giggled in her raspy voice, that should've been sexy but was just... scary.

"You know how dragons are always stunningly beautiful?"

I nodded, they were exceptionally good-looking.

"Beauty is like magic. It radiates a different quality. How do you think we know which humans are beautiful? We are captured by the essence of beauty. Anyways, my human form is based on a couple of human women, mother and daughter, who were leaders of the community I was hiding in. They claimed me as their lost daughter and sister...
When Vipers became a thing... My human form attracted too much attention and was too memorable, not to mention it prohibited me access to many places, where my targets would have been.
So I was trained to shift into another form. It's beautiful, just fine you know, beautiful eyes, lips, cheeks, breasts and so on. But that's all it is. A sum of beautiful details picked up from different people. There's no connection, no love, no jai ne se quoi... it's a monstrosity really. But it turned out to be perfect for the job, humans dislike looking at it, as their intuition screams because of its strangeness and at the same time, there's nothing to put their finger on..."

I considered her story trying to relax my arm around her. There surely was something wrong with her looks, but when she talked to me, there was the same honesty that I got used to. And looking like a woman with too many successful plastic surgeries was definitely more inconspicuous, than looking like Pocahontas in flesh, or a mountain of black scales for that matter...
I was thinking about how strange her story was, when she shook violently.

I looked at her shocked as she retched and started to... blur!

"Stealth! Cora?" I had no idea what to do.

"Need... to... get... away..." She rasped out between heaves as she sank to her knees.

I glimpsed her face, that turned sickly green and looked positively terrified, before it got obscured by a cascade of black hair.
She prostrated herself on the pavement and kept on shaking and blurring.

"What is it? What do I do?" I kneeled beside her. I wanted to help her, but had no idea how.

A couple of young women stopped on the other side of the street and one of them asked if she should call emergency. I didn't know what Stealth would do to paramedics in her current state and I was pretty sure, they couldn't help her. I remembered a bench we've passed not long ago. We would look less dramatic sitting there and I would have time to contact Garret and get some help...

"Too much gin!" I grunted for the sake of the women, then I lifted Stealth under her arms and threw her over my shoulder.

I strode decidedly back towards, where I saw benches.
After less than fifty yards Stealth stopped retching and after few more steps she moaned.

"I can walk."

Carefully I put her down on her feet and held her in my arms, should she fall again.
She looked genuinely scared trembling slightly in my arms.

"What happened?" I asked again.

"Some kind of magic... I cannot go with you to St George headquarters, I bet it's the source of the magic." She took a shuddering breath and pushed off me.

She was still grayish, cold and shaky, I couldn't leave her here. I led her to the bench and sat beside her putting my arm around her shoulders. She just breathed as if it required all her strength.
I thought what to do. I was scared, back when she fell and I had no idea how to take care of a dragon that suffered a magical injury. Not to mention that her looks continued to distract and irritate me.

In the end I got up and led her around until we came across some cheap hotel. The receptionist was very displeased, that we haven't booked a room online and had no ID, but in the end she deducted huge deposit from the Order of St George credit card, that I happened to still have on me, and gave us a key card with an annoyed "check out is at eleven".

Inside Stealth shifted into Cora and went to bathroom. I have seen a Mac on the way here and decided, that since I was defrauding Order's money, I could just as well get us some food. I knocked on the bathroom doors and told Stealth I was leaving.

When I came back she was bathed and lay naked under the sheets, her damp hair wetting the sheets.
She looked exhausted and vulnerable like I've never seen any dragon do, not even Ember and Mist, when we were sure we were going to die down in the vessels lab...

I was exhausted. I handed her the food and sat on the floor beside her bed while we ate. Then I went to bathroom myself and showered. I hated the idea of putting the filthy clothes on again so I wrapped a towel around my waist and went out.

Stealth lay in bed on her side and looked absentmindedly at the wall.

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked hating to see her like this.

She shook her head slowly.

I pushed my bed to hers and lay down. I almost groaned, I was so tired I feared drifting into sleep instantly.
But I managed to spoon Stealth and squeeze her cold hand.

"You'll be fine." I whispered to the back of her neck hoping, willing this to be true.

I fell asleep before she answered.