by Tara West
When her tantalizing perfume tickled his senses, he rolled onto his side away from her. It did little good. Her scent was everywhere: on his skin, his tongue, even ingrained in his mind. It was going to take one strong memory spell to forget her. Sadly, she’d probably forget him and his brothers much more easily.
Chapter Four
Serah woke up the next morning to the sound of a rooster crowing. She jerked upright, startled. When she saw the smiling stud next to her, memories came rushing back.
Merlin’s balls! Did I seriously have sex with three dragon shifters?
Yes, you did, Thelix answered, and you’re going to do it again and again.
Teju leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Good morning, beautiful.”
Heat crept into her cheeks, and she pulled a blanket up over her bare chest. “Good morning.” She winced. That stupid rooster kept crowing, the sound like a wand scraping a chalkboard making her insides rattle.
Ladon sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Turn that damn thing off.”
Teju waved his wand, and the crowing stopped.
“What was that?” Serah asked.
“Our alarm clock,” Teju said, pointing at a rooster-shaped clock hanging beside the flat-screen TV.
She kissed Ladon, then looked around the room for Draque. The sound of a toilet flushing, followed by running water, revealed his whereabouts. When he appeared, looking far too sexy in a navy dress jacket, tie, and tan slacks, she gave him a bright smile and patted the space beside her. “There you are.” She’d had no idea a guy could look so hot in a school uniform.
He stopped as if he’d run into an invisible wall, giving her a look that was part confusion and definitely part disgust.
“Bro,” Ladon asked. “What’s wrong?”
Draque gave each of his brothers hard stares, and she knew they were telepathically speaking. Was it about her?
There was no mistaking the hurt in Ladon’s eyes when he turned to her. “Did you tell your fairy godmother you’ll tire of us in a few weeks?”
Fuckity fuck! Draque had been listening.
You and your big mouth, Thelix cried.
All three brothers stared accusingly at her, and feeling self-conscious, she wrapped the blanket tightly around herself. “I didn’t mean it.”
“Then why did you say it?” Ladon demanded, sounding as if an arrow was lodged in his heart.
“I had to.”
Teju knelt beside her. “Why?”
She scooted back, uncomfortable under the weight of his stare. “Because my grandfather doesn’t approve of me dating shifters.” She felt ten shades of gargoyle dung when Teju winced.
“Why not?” Draque asked accusingly. “You’re a shifter.”
She technically wasn’t, since she hadn’t seen her fish scales in ages, and she doubted she ever would again. “Look, I don’t want to argue.”
“Why doesn’t he like shifters?” Ladon asked.
Of all the brothers, she hated hurting him the most. He was the most sensitive and the most kind. “I don’t know.” Unable to gaze into his sad eyes a moment longer, she picked imaginary grime from under her nails. “He’s got some old grudge against the late dragon kings.”
“Our grandfathers?” they said in unison.
Her head shot up as if she’d been shocked by a bolt of lightning. “You’re the Firesbreath princes?”
Draque’s scowl deepened. “We are.”
Well, shit. That changed everything. Her grandfather wouldn’t just disapprove of their union, he’d probably disown her if he found out about their tryst. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she snapped, jumping to her feet and snatching her clothes off the floor.
Teju stood, giving her a look hot enough to melt her wand. “It didn’t come up when my face was planted between your legs.”
Heat raced through her as that exact image of his tongue buried in her girl parts popped into her mind.
Her knees weakened. Thelix groaned. Why did they have to be such amazing lovers?
“How many dragons do you think there are?” Teju asked her mockingly.
“How am I supposed to know?” She definitely should’ve paid more attention in her magical creatures courses.
“Not many. Most dragons live with the fae,” Draque said wryly. “Who is your grandfather?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she mumbled. Hugging her clothes to her chest, she eyed the bathroom door. “I need to freshen up.” And by “freshen up” she meant hide in the bathroom until it was time for class.
Draque stepped between her and the bathroom door, blocking her escape. “It does.”
She hated how all eyes were on her. They’d been so sweet and passionate last night. Surely, they wouldn’t hurt her now. “You’ll judge me.”
Or burn you to a crisp, Thelix said.
She did her best to ignore her siren. She didn’t need her neurosis making things worse.
“Tell us, Serah,” Draque demanded, clutching his wand in a white-knuckled grip.
She didn’t like his smirk or the way his hand twitched when he raised the wand. She knew damn well he was conjuring a compulsion spell, so even if she tried to hide the truth, he’d pull it out of her. Bastard.
“Nathaniel Goldenwand,” she said through tight lips, refusing to give him the satisfaction of forcing the truth out of her.
“Holy fuck!” they exclaimed.
“You’re the Goldenwand heiress?” Draque’s wand was in danger of being snapped in two.
She refused to be intimidated. “I am.”
“Are you aware that your grandfather is the most evil wizard who’s ever lived?” Teju asked, eyes flashing bright gold as his voice dropped to an ominous rumble.
Hiding her sudden fear, she did her best not to let him see how much he’d offended her. “You don’t know him.”
“Oh, we know him.” Draque chuckled. “We know he’s brainwashed most of the magical world, and he’s trying to control all five realms through his wand.”
“Four realms,” she corrected, mentally slapping herself when they all growled.
“Five.” Draque pointed his wand at her chest. “And the fact that you won’t acknowledge our race’s ancestral home as a sovereign realm just goes to show that he’s brainwashed you, too.”
These dragons were so ignorant, and to think she’d wanted to be their girl. “The Grotto isn’t a realm. It’s a wasteland.”
What are you doing, stupid girl? Thelix cried.
Draque let out a roar so loud, the breath whooshed from her lungs when she stumbled back against the sticky bubble wall.
He advanced on her, waving the wand over his head, which smoldered like a lit cigarette. “Only because your grandfather has cut off all trade in an attempt to starve our people!”
“Hey!” She swatted the wand when it came close to burning a hole through the top of the bubble. “He manufactures wands. He doesn’t control trade.”
Draque threw up his hands, his face contorting into a golden mass of scales while his nose flattened. “He controls everything!”
Fuck, he was shifting. If she wasn’t careful, he’d fully turn into a dragon big enough to burst their bubble.
“Then why am I, his only heir, stuck in this shithole and not at a posh school?” When her voice cracked, she bit down on her knuckles to keep from losing her cool. She wasn’t about to put up with his animosity toward her grandfather.
“Because he’s a heartless bastard, Serah,” Ladon said. “He only cares about himself.”
She turned to Ladon, who was watching her from the sofa with his big, sad eyes. Ladon’s comment cut deeper than Draque and Teju’s insults. She expected Draque to be a major asshole, maybe even Teju, but not Ladon.
Blinking back tears, she forced herself to speak calmly. “I need to get dressed. If you’ll excuse me.”
Refusing to make eye contact with them, she brushed past, holding it together until she reached the bathroom. Only after she shut the door behind her did s
he give into her tears. Standing in the shower, she hung her head and cried, muffling her sobs. When she heard Thelix wailing, she wiped her eyes.
They got to you, too? she asked, shocked to see this level of emotion from her siren.
Of course, Thelix sobbed. Teju won’t lick our pussy now that he knows we’re a Goldenwand.
SERAH SAT ON THE CLOSED toilet, gazing blankly at the faded floral paper on the walls and waiting for detention to end. She worried about what would happen if Dame Doublewart discovered her with the Firesbreath brothers. Would she make her serve another detention with the sharks? It didn’t matter, though. After she told her grandfather about the conditions in this school, and that the Firesbreath Kings’ sons were students, he’d get her out of here.
She didn’t want to take the chance of getting caught with the shifters, so it was best she left their bubble. Squaring her shoulders, she stood, getting up the nerve to face down the dragons.
A knock on the door startled her.
“Serah,” Ladon called, “are you okay?”
Her heart did a little backflip. Why was he asking if she was okay? Did this mean he still cared about her?
She cleared her throat. “I’m fine.” Wiping her eyes one last time, she opened the door and her heart skipped a beat.
Ladon’s thick, black hair was pulled back into a queue, and he wore a suit and tie like his brothers, but instead of khaki pants, he’d donned a plaid kilt, revealing thick, muscular legs. Holy gargoyle shit on a shingle, he was one hot shifter.
How could you give all this up? Thelix demanded.
Shut up, she said, then stiffened her spine, determined to put her sexy shifters out of her mind. As soon as this detention was over, they’d all go their separate ways, and she could nurse her broken heart in private. How could they think her grandfather was evil? He’d brought many helpful advances to the magical world. He should’ve been praised, not reviled.
“Our detention should be ending soon,” she said haughtily, hoping they didn’t notice how much she was dying inside. “You need to drop me off in my dungeon.”
“Our alarm will go off before they come for us,” Draque said, refusing to look at her. He sat at the bar, looking at a steaming cup of tea.
“Would you like tea?” Ladon asked so cheerfully, it appeared forced.
“No, thanks.” She refused to look at him, knowing his big, sad eyes would be her undoing. Great Goddess, she had to get away from these shifters. “What time is it?”
Ladon pulled a rusty bronze pocketwatch from his vest. “Half past eight.”
Teju paced. “Advanced Sorcery and Spells is about to start. I have a test.”
“Did they forget about us?” she asked. She couldn’t imagine being stuck with them for another day.
Ladon frowned. “They haven’t before.”
“Check the monitor,” Draque said to Teju.
Teju waved his wand at the flat screen, pulling up an image of charred walls and smoke rolling across the decrepit graveyard that adjoined the school.
Draque slid off his barstool with a slackened jaw. “Fuck.”
Ladon went to stand beside his brothers. “What the hell happened to our school?”
Teju scratched the back of his head. “Is the whole thing burned?”
“Looks that way,” Draque said, then swore again.
You and your lovers are fucked, Thelix said.
Which means you’re fucked, too, she said, pleased when Thelix went silent. Serah hugged herself, rocking on her heels. Had her fairy godmother been right? “Is everyone okay?”
Ladon shook his head, but didn’t turn around to look at her. “I don’t see anyone.”
Her legs felt encrusted in sludge as she walked over to them. “My godmother told me dragons burned down our school.”
Draque spun on her, twin thunderstorms brewing in his golden, elongated eyes. “And you’re just now telling us this?”
“She was drunk.” Her veins turned to ice as she stepped back, trying not to show Draque how much he unnerved her. “I didn’t believe her.”
He growled and turned to his brothers. “We need to check for survivors.” He pointed at her accusingly with his wand. “You’re staying here.”
She leveled him with a glare. “No way in seven hells am I staying alone in this dungeon.”
“No way in seven hells are you coming with us,” Draque said, though it sounded more like a snarl.
She didn’t think twice before summoning her siren voice. “You’re taking me with you, and that’s final.” She prayed it would work, since it wasn’t always reliable. She didn’t want to bewitch them, but no way in Hades was she being left behind.
All three brothers gave her blank stares, then shook their heads as if trying to clear sprites from their ears.
“Fine,” Draque relented, shoulders slumping, “but we’re taking the lead.”
She was relieved her power of persuasion had worked. “Whatever.”
As if she wanted to go first anyway. As soon as they got out of there, she was calling Grandfather and asking him to take her home.
AFTER HER FORMER LOVERS used their wands to transport them out of detention, she trailed them, cursing when she stumbled over a pile of rubble. Nobody offered to help her, not that she blamed them. They were too consumed in digging through the charred remains of their school. She prayed they wouldn’t find any bodies in the wreckage.
Who could’ve destroyed their school and why?
Thelix had gone quiet, other than the occasional sniffle, refusing to offer Serah any comfort. Pissed that her wand had been taken by Doublewart, she searched the rubble for another one she could use to call her grandfather, but the place was a pile of ash and dust. She’d have to call Hestia, who’d probably cause a scene when she saw Serah in the center of the destruction.
Ladon veered off from his brothers, walking through the rusty iron gate until he reached the edge of the cemetery. Overgrown foliage covered the tombstones. “Hey, guys!” He waved his brothers over. “You might want to see this.”
Serah followed, halting when Draque swore and thrust a fist into the sky.
She cautiously joined them, noticing the enormous four-toed footprint that was easily three feet in diameter. A dragon print. “Whose is it?” she asked Ladon.
He gave her a dark look. “Ours.”
“What?” she asked. “You’re not making sense.”
He grimaced. “Only the Firesbreath dragons have four toes.”
“Could it have been your fathers?” she asked.
“Are you fucking mad?” Draque roared. “They wouldn’t do this.”
She held out her hands defensively. “Okay, chill.”
Draque turned to his brothers. “Is it a coincidence the Goldenwand heiress distracted us last night while we were being framed?”
Oh hell no. “You think I had something to do with this?”
He turned to her, venom in his eyes. “Did you?”
“No.” She shook a fist at him. “So much for that troll shit about your great instincts and my pure soul. You guys picked me up in your bubble of love and seduced me, not the other way around.” She was so angry, she was seeing red. What a major fucking asshole!
He flashed a condescending grin. “And your siren charms had nothing to do with why we seduced you? You said it yourself. We were reacting to your pheromones.”
“Merlin’s balls!” She threw up her hands, wishing she had a wand so she could turn that troll into a toad. “I knew sex with shifters was a bad idea.”
His lip curled back in a snarl. “There’s nothing more pathetic than a shifter who’s prejudiced against shifters.”
Ohhh, this guy was royally pissing her off. She was a vegetarian siren, but she’d make an exception to bite off his head. “How do I know you didn’t raze the school before you found me and you weren’t just using me as an alibi?”
Draque’s face hardened to iron. “You think us capable of this?”
“
No. After the intimacy we shared, I don’t think you’d commit this atrocity.” She crossed her arms, unable to keep the hurt from her voice. “Sucks to be accused though, doesn’t it?” How had their relationship gone from sensual, loving, and safe to this pile of dragon dung?
“Look,” Draque said and groaned, smoothing a hand over his face, “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” She turned up her nose. “I’m leaving.” Looking at the clear morning sky, she cupped her hands around her mouth. “Fairy Godmother,” she called, “I wish you’d get me out of here!”
A poof of pink sparkles exploded near a tombstone, and Hestia materialized, clutching her wand. Serah braced herself, expecting her to launch into a drunken tirade when she saw Serah’s surroundings.
“Ah, there you are.” Serah casually waved at the three slack-jawed brothers with a dismissive flick of the wrist and marched toward her godmother.
“Stay back!” Teju hollered, shoving Serah aside and aiming his wand at Hestia.
“What are you doing?” Serah screamed seconds before she hit the mossy ground.
“Stay down,” he said over his shoulder. “Something’s wrong with her.”
She brushed dirt off her hands. “What in seven hells?”
Hestia pointed her wand at Serah. “Kill the heiress,” she mumbled, eyes dazed as if she was in a trance.
Serah froze. “W-What?”
“Separatum!” Teju yelled and zapped her godmother with his wand.
Hestia shrieked when her wand flew from her hand and landed on a nearby tombstone. That’s when Serah noticed the wand was glowing ghoulish green. What the ever-loving fuck?
Hestia fell back, landing on a dirt-encrusted concrete slab with a grunt. Hanging her head, she let out a low moan. “Oh, my head. What happened?”
Ignoring her, Teju zapped the glowing wand. “Infernus!”
The wand exploded, shattering into a million tiny shrieking shards.
Hestia gaped at the hole left by the blast and then looked at Teju. “My wand? You blew it up!”
Ladon helped Serah to her feet. “You were going to kill Serah,” he spat.
