Dragon Vanquished: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (Dragon Gladiators Book 4)

by Zara Stark

  “Oh geez, Nevada would know this stuff better,” I walked over to Raiden and he placed a gentle hand on my lower back as I looked at the cart. The woman looked a little aback at the closeness. I smiled at her before looking back down at the cart. I tried to recall this nonfiction book I had read years back on natural remedies, that’s where I had learned about my turmeric tea. I always retained a lot of what I read but my brain wasn’t operating at full power at the moment. I swept my eyes over the cart a few times trying to think. I spotted a brown herb with a slightly purple hue. I pointed to it and looked up at Raiden.

  “I think that’s frankincense, that’ll help the swelling, I can make that into a tea too,” I looked back at pale yellow herb that had a hint of green at the front of the cart. I knelt down to smell it. It smelled sweet are the forefront but there was an after bite of an astringent smell like a cleanser. “I think that one is St. John’s Wort, I don’t know what they call that right now but I think it’ll help with the pain and muscle spasming.”

  Raiden nodded and started to speak to the woman again. She gathered two large grapefruit-sized bags and filled each one up. I blinked at the amount. Cobalt handed her over some gold pieces and her eyes lit up, giving Cobalt the spice bags. She bowed her head to us and smiled at me. I smiled back and Raiden gestured for us to carry on.

  “Thank you, Ray,” I told him.

  “No problem, I don’t really speak Ligurian but I guess gold speaks everyone’s language,” Raiden shrugged, leading us into an inn just down the road from the spice cart.

  Cobalt paid for the room after Raiden argued for one room, holding up one finger. The man at the desk looked at me and then the three men I was with wide eyes. I could practically hear his thoughts. One woman sharing a small room with these three giants. I wish I knew how to say ‘don’t kink-shame me’ in Ligurian. Instead, I smiled and shrugged at the man. He ran from the desk and came back with a large clay cup and a pitcher of water, handing them Raiden, he then gestured upstairs for us.

  Once we were in our room, Raiden handed the cup and pitcher off to Azar. Azar took them over to the small table in the room, he turned around to grab the spice bags from Cobalt and got to work on making my herbal tea.

  “I can do it, Azar, you don’t have to,” I told him.

  “No, let him do it, he’s going to do that while you take a bath, they’re going to send up some water and a basin for us to clean ourselves, you sit and explain to me what the hell happened after our battle,” Raiden growled, gently grabbing my shoulders and sitting me down on the fancy rug that covered the floor, he sat cross-legged right across from me.

  “Have you always been this pushy or was being in dragon form so long affecting you?” I asked him.

  “Both,” He growled. “Well?”

  Cobalt walked past us and sat down across the room, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. I really wanted a nap too.

  “Okay before I start, I need you to promise that you aren’t going to interrupt or get pissy at me for the decisions I had to make okay? I was fighting for my survival and I had to do what I had to do,” I prefaced and his eyes went wide.

  “Were you with another man or something?” He spat out, looking shocked.

  “What?! How did you get that from what I said? Of course not, you giant idiot,” I shook my head and sighed. “I’ve got enough on my plate with you guys-- err I mean, I only have eyes for you.”

  “Nice save,” Azar said from behind me.

  I looked over my shoulder to see him grinning before turning my head back. “Thanks. Not too much St. John’s Wort though, I think it’s poisonous in large quantities.”

  “Do you promise Raiden?” I asked, staring deeply and seriously into his eyes.

  He clenched his jaw. “Okay, I promise. Don’t make me regret it, okay?”

  I nodded and started to explain to Raiden everything that happened from the moment they shifted into dragons and flew away from me. Everything from my fight with the Concilium, Tartarus, Team Wildcard, my friendship with Mab and that identity of her mates, our escape, the cat-headed ladies of Alexandria, finding Cobalt then Azar, Vulcan, the trap, everything. Raiden opened his mouth multiple times like he was beginning to speak but he kept closing it.

  When I finished my tale, I smiled at him. “You didn’t interrupt me! Good boy!”

  “I’m not a damn dog,” Raiden glared. “You’ve been through a lot, I respect you so much for surviving. Pissing off an Underworld God of Imprisonment wasn’t a good idea but it seemed inevitable. He’s Mab’s mate though and you two became besties as you said, I doubt he would kill his woman’s best friend. The sooner she brings him into the fold, the better off we’ll all be. Pissing off a war god, however, is another matter. A dangerous one.”

  “It’s our only chance, if we have to I’m not above saying Vulcan forced us to do it,” I told Raiden as Azar brought over the mug full of my herbal tea concoction. Steam curled off of the top of it and the smell wafting from it was strange. I sipped at it and smiled at Azar. “Thanks, Zar.”

  “No problemo,” Azar smiled. He plopped down on the floor next to me.

  “Azar, you seem to be in the best shape out of the four of us, in a little bit can you go to the market and get us some clothing?” Raiden asked but from the tone of his voice, it wasn’t a question.

  Azar nodded his head, not bothered by the request. Even sitting down for a moment, I could see he was already having a hard time staying still. He was a giant ball of energy. I leaned on his shoulder and sipped at my terrible tea. The tea tasted strange but not entirely unpleasant. The St. John’s Wort was not, in fact, a man’s wart but a yellow flower, it tasted slightly sweet but had an aftertaste that was a bit like floor cleaner. It was almost completely covered up by the aromatic scent of the frankincense. That came across as a spicy lavender taste with a hint of char and honey. All of those different notes should’ve tasted like crap but it was oddly soothing.

  “I’m exhausted,” I sighed.

  “I’m not surprised,” Raiden reached over and placed a hand on my thigh. “Finish that up and hop into bed.”

  “I’m still so dirty though,” I gestured at my blood and mud covered clothing. A knock at the door followed and Azar hopped up and ran to answer it. A woman stood at the door, eyes wide and doe-like with terror as she handed over a basin and rags.

  “There you go,” Raiden said. “Get cleaned up and get in that bed.”

  “Okay bossy,” I laughed, finishing my tea as fast as I could. I set the cup down on the table and went over to the basin. Azar left to go get us some clothes after getting a handful of gold coins from Cobalt. Raiden came with me over to the basin and helped me undress. It wasn’t sexual but it was still a level of tenderness I didn’t often get from Raiden. He ran the wet cloth over my back where I couldn’t reach.

  “Did you really think I would berate you for what you had to do to survive?” Raiden whispered softly, making a chill run down my spine.

  I ran the other rag down my stomach. “I did.”

  “I’m sorry if I made you feel like I constantly disapprove of what you do, it couldn’t be further from the truth. You’re the strongest and most level-headed here. I don’t think you could ever do a thing wrong in my eyes,” Raiden ran the cloth up over my shoulder blade, standing very close.

  “I promise you don’t make me feel bad, I just a expect a certain level of bossiness and know-it-all-ness,” I told him. “I don’t think you’re mean or anything.”

  “Good because you’re the last person I would ever want to hurt,” Raiden sighed, leaning in to kiss the top of my head, I could feel his breath on me but he stopped. “Your hair is a fucking mess.”

  I laughed loudly, making Cobalt jolt in his sleep for a minute before falling back into a deep slumber. I turned around to grin at Raiden. “Just noticed that did you?”

  Chapter 19

  The next morning, I woke cocooned between Azar and Raiden. Azar’s bare chest was pressed again
st my broken arm, working as a human heating pad for the pain. Raiden was hard against my back, his erection pressing against my ass and lower back. Someone woke up happy. I looked for Cobalt and found him across the room.

  “Morning,” Cobalt waved, the table was full of food already and he was fully dressed. I pushed Azar and Raiden off and sat up, stretching my good arm. I yawned.

  “Morning!” I smiled at him. “How did you sleep?”

  “Best I have in a while,” Cobalt grinned. “Ready for today? We should be able to fly to where Nevada is by midday, we’ll be able to find him today.”

  “I think so, I hope it’s easier this time, I don’t think I can handle near death two days in a row. I’ve had plenty over the last six months,” I shimmied down the bed and stood up.

  “You’re telling me,” His eyes raked up and down my body. “Sleeping naked are we?”

  I looked down and realized I was naked. “Yeah, my clothes were dirty and Azar wasn’t back before I passed out.”

  “Did he get gold from me? I kind of remember that” He rolled his shoulders, stretching out.

  “Yeah you woke up for a second then and also a little later to crawl into bed with me, I think Raiden and Azar stayed up for a little bit.” Completely shameless, I walked over to the table naked. I went to go take one of the seats but Cobalt patted his lap and I sighed, sitting on his leg.

  “Don’t start something we can’t finish right now,” I chided him, grabbing a large roll of my favorite brown bread and took a large mouthful.

  “I’ll try to control myself,” Cobalt purred against me, making his entire body vibrate.

  “Control what?” Azar sat up in the bed, rubbing at his eyes. His copper hair was sticking up in wild spikes that looked intentional. Lucky jerk was able to roll out of bed looking like a male model.

  “Octavia’s being a tease this morning, walking around naked and sitting on laps,” Cobalt tattled, munching on an apple.

  Azar got up out of bed, adjusting a rather obvious erection. He sat down across from us at the table and patted his lap. “Oh, she’s sitting on laps? Me next.”

  “Sorry Coba,” I stood and went over to Azar, sitting on his lap. His skin was scalding hot to the touch that felt strange but delightful on my bare ass. “You got me alone for a long time, gotta give the others some love too.”

  He wrapped his arms around me, careful not to jostle my bad arm. “Want some of that medicinal tea before we go Tavia?”

  “Probably a good idea, thank you,” I told him.

  Thankfully the water pitcher, cup and herbs were still sitting on the little table and he was able to make me my tea without having me move off of his lap. I washed down my thick bread with the concoction. We all tucked into our breakfast, waiting for Raiden to wake up. According to Cobalt, it was barely dawn so we had a bit of time to rest still.

  Giddiness filled me as I took in Raiden’s sleeping form and swept my eyes to Cobalt, feeling Azar’s warmth radiate through me. I had three out of four of my guys back. Everyone had doubted me, called me naive for thinking I could do this. But I had done it, we had done it. The gang was almost back together.

  Raiden woke up not long after that, he seemed a bit shocked that he was the last to wake up. He went right into drill sergeant mode and we all rushed to get up and ready. Last night Azar had gotten them all new clothing to wear, even a set for Nevada. Oddly enough he had chosen all red chilton for them to wear with black cloaks. My heart swelled, I had worn their colors in Rome but now they were wearing what felt like my colors. The colors of my card suits. Before going to bed, Raiden had helped me wash all the other cloth we had. The torn up black and gray cloth got folded and put in my bag along with the herbs and food. I used the gold fabric as my dress for the day and wrapped the red fabric around me into a cloak over one shoulder like the guys wore, covering my broken arm. Cobalt, the only other member of our group with long hair, took hair duty for me. He sat on the edge of the bed, with me between his thighs. I almost groaned at the feeling of his combing my hair. There was something so affectionate and yet oddly sensual about having a lover comb your hair and massage your scalp. He braided my hair into two long dutch braids, so they would stay out of my face. I ran my good hand over the raised braid.

  Raiden ushered us out of the inn, the townspeople rushed out of the way as we walked past again. Even clean and better dressed they were still afraid of us.

  I felt bad that they had only gotten to wear their nice new outfits for a few minutes before having to strip again but I really couldn’t complain about the view. Except that Azar didn’t strip.

  “What’s going on?” I asked him as Cobalt and Raiden shifted.

  “I’m going to ride with you, keep you warm, I guess it’s really cold where we’re going,” Azar shrugged. “I would have rather had you ride me but I guess Cobalt does that whole spike seatbelt on you that keeps you safe.”

  Cobalt the dragon glared at Azar.

  “He’s not happy about it,” Azar laughed as we walked over to Cobalt, helping me up Cobalt’s back. I was still pretty spry and able to scramble onto his back with one arm.

  “You really gotta stop breaking your arms, Tavia,” Azar tsk-tsked me as he climbed up behind me.

  “Yeah because I’m totally doing it on purpose,” I joked. I sat down on Cobalt’s back and Azar pressed up right behind me, wrapping his arms around me. Cobalt’s spikes shot out, wrapping around the both of us, locking us together.

  Cobalt didn’t waste any time taking flight and neither did Raiden, flying northward. The Alps were a large mountain range that extended almost eight hundred miles. Finding Nevada might be like finding a needle in a haystack but we had a hunch that he would be staying on the highest peak where it would be the coldest for him. I was vaguely disappointed to find out that the Matterhorn, the iconic fang-shaped mountain peak wasn’t the highest mountain but Mont Blanc instead.

  At the speed Raiden and Cobalt were flying, the trip there would take us about six or seven hours. While a bit worried about the low nighttime temperatures on the mountain, I knew that Azar would be able to keep me more than warm. The wind howled around us, too loud for us to hold a conversation. I hoped Azar would be okay up there. For ten years, he had been at a natural advantage being a hot, sunny climate like Rome, he was always the one at full power. Now we were heading back into a colder territory, Nevada would be at the strongest we had ever seen him. Nevada always held his own in our battles but he had been at a terrible disadvantage in Rome and in the past, he had hardly any way to feed his inner ice dragon.

  The flight to the Alps took forever, I felt like a little kid on a long road trip. I was so giddy and impatient, I just want to ask are we there yet? Are we there yet? After a few hours, the ground beneath us began to rise in a steady incline. Plains and farmland turned into rolling hills that turned into black and white mountains. Finally, we came to large stiff peaks of snow, the Alps. I did not know a lot about the Alps beside that were beautiful and many people skied and hiked them. I could see why in a few millennia, it would be crawling with people, vacation cabins and ski lifts but for now, I was getting a rare glimpse of the untouched and unmarred beauty of these mountains.

  As we flew higher up the mountain, our pace started to slow as the air grew colder. Azar’s upper body covered mine, keeping me so hot that I was sweating. I placed a thank you kiss on his bicep and he gave me a squeeze. I blinked as I stared ahead, trying to discern shapes in the stark black of the mountains and white of the snow. The stone that made up the mountains looked so dark against the stone but as we got closer you could see the many different types of rock that made up Mont Blank in gaps between the snow. It was beautiful. Mont Blanc didn’t have the unique shape of the Matterhorn but it was impressive in its height. My eyes darted up and down the snow banks, looking for any glimpse of bright cyan blue in the snow. Where would he be? Cobalt had lived in gold mines, Azar had lived in a volcano, Raiden lived god knows where, where had Nevada found r
efuge in dragon form?

  Raiden let out a loud roar, rumbling the mountain. Slow tumbling down the smaller peaks around Mont Blanc. I was twice as glad there were no people on it now, Raiden was going to cause an avalanche.

  We wait, to see if Nevada would show himself. In some weird way, in the way that lovers and best friends were connected, I had this eerie feeling he was hiding somewhere close by.

  “Nevada!” I yelled into the wind. Nothing.

  I could feel Raiden try to use his electricity to create and EMF but it didn’t work. Didn’t he know they didn’t work in the extreme cold?

  Cobalt roared next, still nothing. We flew in a circle around the mountain peak before Azar let go of me with one of his arms.

  I looked over my shoulder as we lifted his hand above his head in the air. With his palm facing up toward the heavens, he grew a bright orange fireball in the palm of his hand. Azar was smart when he wanted to be, Nevada might be ignoring the roars but a very temperature sensitive dragon-like Nevada couldn’t ignore a temperature fluctuation like Azar had created with his fireball. We heard a roar below us but we couldn’t see below us. We didn’t have to look to know who it was. Nevada!