THE SIGHT BEFORE HIM CAUSED Rumal to forget the mangled arm hanging at his side for a moment. The shape looked like Kassie but the figure with its back to him glowed a brilliant deep orange gold. The air around the Elemental felt thick and responsive, wrapping around and swirling out. Rumal's syren energy allowed a hint of the ecstatic murmurs of the winds to reach his ears while they swept around Kassie, whispering greetings, and evidently informing her of his presence. The figure jerked around and he watched in awe while the energy dissolved back into her, the golden eyes changing to Kassie's amber green shade.The marked look of horror on her face reminded him of the arm and she rushed forward then stopped short, both hands held back while she examined the damaged limb. Before he could speak she reached up, placing a hand on the shoulder and he felt the warm spread of her gift swell out.They watched the rich gold colour envelop the arm and the visible section of broken, protrudin

'OH FUCK! OH GOD, SITO!''Take it easy, Pix! The rocks will still be loose. How close is Kassie?'Daron caught her arm when she made to race to the dragon that lay crushed under a massive rock fall, just part of his tan muzzle and a forearm visible. With a choked sob at the sight of her beautiful boy lying there in agony, Sian shook her head, trying to focus and threw a thought out.Kass! Where are you?Close, we're just trying to spot you.Hurry! Sito's under a mass of rocks, it's awful!Hold on, nearly there.Daron moved cautiously toward the dragon, body tense while he watched the rocks at the top.Sian followed his footsteps and just when she reached him he jolted. 'What?''Nesha's under there too!''Where?''Under Sito, there's not much air. Dammit where are they?' Daron twisted, looking high and Sian moved over to Sito's muzzle, placing a soothing hand on it.'Hold on, honey. We'll have you and Nesha out soon, I promise.''Hurts, friend.' The pitiful reply caused t

THE PATTERING OF RAIN ON Loushka's wing lightened and Cat whimpered. In the dark Alek rolled onto his side, leaning over her and brushed a hand gently across her forehead and hair. Any sound she made wrenched him out of sleep, no matter how deep, and exhaustion combined with worry kept trying to drag him back down. He could feel she still burned hot and he tried again, letting his gold energy smooth over her while gently stroking her hair.'Kitten, love, can you hear me?'She made no obvious response, just the restless smacking of lips and he reached for the damp rag, keeping his energy bright enough to see to wet her lips. She murmured at the touch of the cloth, her closed eyes twitching.He kept dreaming of when she found him in the dark; the joy and terror at seeing her there. The weeks of torture, of being Jenviet's plaything while she experimented with various ways to extract his energy, it all seemed worth it when Cat arrived. He could hear her voice broken with tears and that

THE CATERWAULING SHRIEK SCRAPING THE insides of her skull vanished and Kassie sat up, swaying at the sudden silence and looked at Alek embracing Cat. The dark-haired man's energy started to resonate in gold waves, his outline shimmering and before Kassie could blink a shockwave exploded out from the couple, flinging her over the rough ground. Her head connected with something solid and it all went black.Sometime later Kassie woke.Both her body and head rang with pain and she blinked, wincing at the sensation. Both eyelids felt like they'd been sandpapered on the inside. The action of blinking sounded shockingly loud against the thumping of her head and her stomach lurched. Twisting to the side she retched, throwing up the contents of her stomach, then tipped onto her back with a moan, closing both eyes again. Being sick didn't improve the pain in her head and she cried out quietly when the thumping increased, her skull feeling like it might separate.Reaching within, Kassie discov

AFTER HAVING HER SO OUT of it for the trip back to the ships, it felt fantastic to see Cat really awake. Alek held her hand high while helping her up the stairs but before she could step out onto the deck, jerked her back so her chest hit his.'Behave yourself,' he growled in mock anger and with a quick glance over her shoulder to check the others weren't within view, scooped her up so to kiss her firmly. She flushed, nearly sparking with annoyance and frustration when he set her down and smacked at him.'Damn you,' she grumbled and he grinned, squeezing her ass.'Payback.'The voices of the others caught her attention and her small hand found his. Alek lifted it to his lips, touched to see the glimmer of tears at the gesture.'No, kitten,' he said softly. 'No tears now. We've won. It's all done.'They walked out onto the deck, fingers entwined and rounded the corner to the open area of the main deck. Loushka, sprawled in the evening sun with Kerak, and Phroma, lifted her head an