Ward of Wyvern: A dragon shifter fantasy (The Dragon Mage Book 1)

by LJ Andrews

  “So, what does it mean that the sanctuary accepted him?” Sapphire asked.

  Mini smiled with a new excitement when Teagan met her eye. “It means he’s one of us. He’s honorable. He’s a ward of the wyverns. How many stones did you see, Teagan?”

  “Tons,” he muttered. “I was surrounded by them.”

  “Don’t lie to me,” Mini said quickly. “It’s very important I know the truth.”

  “I’m not lying! I was in a circle of stones.”

  Mini didn’t speak for a moment, but she leaned closer, her face inches away. I wanted to shove her away from Teagan, but something stopped me. I believed Mini wanted to help, despite her odd methods.

  “Don’t just stare at him,” Sapphire said. “We all want to know what that means.”

  “I see three stones, Kon. Whenever I go to the sanctuary, I see three stones. And I’m not push-around mage. Teagan if you saw the full shrine, it can only mean you’re destined for greater power than I can fathom. Who are your parents?”

  “I didn’t know them. They died—but they weren’t mages, they were witches who worked at the coven bank in Hamilton,” he said.

  “Sure they were.” Mini scoffed. “Look, my family has bonded with Konrad’s royal line for thousands of years. I know how bonds work, okay? The jade stone bloodline was severed, Teagan. A bond when destroyed is never repaired—it has never happened. So when some rebellious guy shows up sporting the armor of jade, we’re all going to be a little suspicious.”

  “Then don’t believe me,” Teagan said a little like a lament. “I don’t know what else I can tell you.”

  “Cool off,” Mini said. “I’m simply explaining why people are suspicious, it doesn’t mean I don’t believe you. I trust the sanctuary more than I trust what has always been. Desperate times, and all.”

  “I have a question,” I said, holding up a hand. “You mentioned the bond to my bloodline was broken. I’d like to know how.”

  Mini leaned back, her eyes flicking toward Sapphire.

  Konrad leaned over his knees. “Jade, I don’t know what you’ve told Teagan, so he may not understand, but there was a mage who defended your grandfather, and one who defended your parents and you. The bond of jade was indefinitely severed when your grandfather’s mage betrayed your family to King Nag.”

  I held my breath, my heart throbbing painfully as I remembered my father’s warriors hiding me in the walls of our home. The memory had faded slightly, but I would never forget the reek of blood and flesh; the screams and horror of the night King Nag invaded my family’s palace.

  “So it’s true then,” I said. “The war began because a mage betrayed us.”

  Sapphire and Mini nodded, but it was Mini who spoke. “King Nag has a sweet tongue. I’m ashamed to admit one of my people was corrupted and cursed his line forever. Severing a bond comes with consequences for wyvern and mage. Wyvern lives were lost, but the mage who betrayed us all undoubtedly lives a despicable existence, only attracting dark powers for the remainder of his wretched life. It can be dangerous to face a dark mage, but with enough strength of the elemental powers, the darkness cannot overpower the light.”

  “Eisha said the jade mages betrayed us.” I didn’t look at Teagan, but he stiffened.

  Mini fiddled with her fingers in her lap. “Yes. The High Priest. The most honored, most powerful mage severed your bond with our kind completely.” She glanced at Teagan. “So, again, the fact you have the jade armor is a mystery to us all. Think about what I’m saying: The High Priest mage broke the bond; no ordinary man could repair such a disaster.”

  Sapphire’s dark eyes locked with Teagan, and Teagan stiffened. Seeing Sapphire return to his wyvern form was thrilling and filled me with hope, but I tried to imagine what it would be like to be Teagan. He came to Wyvern Reform without the slightest knowledge this was possible, and now he’d defeated a zomok and seen a royal elemental dragon all in a matter of moments.

  “You fear me, Teagan?” Sapphire asked.

  Teagan cleared his throat, his fingers tightening around my hand. “Would you be offended if I said yes?”

  Sapphire smiled. “I can’t say I blame you. I assure you, if I was going to bring you harm, I’ve had many opportunities.”

  “You tried to hide the truth from me,” Teagan began slowly, holding up his arms. “You knew what these were, but kept it from me. You told my aunt I screwed up—that hurt her! I had to go through this alone. The only one who helped was Jade, and you kept the truth from her, too.”

  Sapphire nodded, glancing at me. “I couldn’t believe it was happening. Jade, you told me you sensed a connection with Teagan, and then when the writings appeared on him, I truly didn’t know how to react. I knew the bond was severed, what was I to think?” He paused as though he had to gather more words. Slowly, Sapphire spoke to Teagan. His voice soft and without accusation. “As you probably saw tonight, I believed my own mage was dead. Mages were a distant memory. The only evidence we have that our races were once connected is the willow.

  “I was certain we would be bound in this form forever,” he signaled at his body. “The royals were concealed after the war because lindworms have an astronomically harder time sensing our energy when we’re in our human form. The only way we can shift is with the help of our mage because they have the power to unlock the enchantments over our bodies.”

  “I never was told a mage could release us from our human form,” I whispered. “I thought it was a wyvern enchantment. So, you all believed I would never shift again since my mage bond was severed.”

  Sapphire nodded, a regretful expression on his face. “We took a vow to keep you safe because we did believe you would be in this state forever. I always hoped I would find Mini again, but after so long I shared similar feelings as you, Jade. I was a worthless royal who would forever depend on wyvern warriors to protect me. I battled the lindworms, I faced King Nag myself as he tried to flee. As he killed my family. Yet, here I was locked in a weakened state always waiting for Nag to find us again. I never told you how I felt because it gave me some purpose helping you. Forgive me for keeping things from you—I can see it was a mistake.”

  “So, if Teagan . . . if he’s my mage, can he release me?”

  “I doubt it,” Mini said. “At least not yet. He obviously doesn’t know what he’s doing. You were lucky commanding a zomok to shift is simple, even the lowliest of mages can handle it. You need help learning your power so you can use it to do what you’ve been called to do—keep Jade and her bloodline safe.”

  “I’m defective,” he said, but all I heard were the voices of others telling him the same thing all his life. “How can I have power when—”

  “Get a clue,” Mini said, irritated. “You aren’t defective. You were blocked until the bond took hold. Welcome to magic, kid. Your power is alive now.”

  Teagan was about to speak, but all four of us nearly jumped from our seats when the front doors of the house burst open. Raffi and Dash rushed into the entryway, their shoulders heaving, and each one with a fiery expression in their eyes. It seemed they were prepared to shift on a moment’s notice and only calmed when they found me and Sapphire sitting calmly in the living room.

  “What’s happened? We knew something was wrong,” Raffi asked, noticing the damage to Sapphire’s office. I blocked other magis from seeing the wreckage—forgetting to worry about fellow dragons seeing the truth. Raffi’s gaze landed on Teagan sitting next to me, and his lip curled in defense. But it was Dash who nudged his shoulder, pointing at Mini.

  “Mage, Raffi,” he breathed out.

  Mini chuckled. “These are your warriors, Kon? Hey, you’re late boys. It’s a good thing I was here, my friend.”

  Sapphire barked a laugh when Raffi balled his fists at his sides and snarled at Mini. “Jade has a way to manipulate our senses, mage. It took some doing to find them. Now, I’ll ask again, what has happened, and why is he here?”

  “Raffi, Teagan lives here. And so you kno
w, he protected me, thank you very much,” I said. “The zomok returned. We were just coming to the conclusion that I have a mage.”

  Dash shook his head. “No, that’s not possible.”

  “Ugh, must we repeat this,” Mini said with a groan. “That’s what we all thought. Now, we were in the middle of a conversation. You’re welcome to join, warriors, or we’ll kindly ask you to allow us to finish.”

  Dash rolled his eyes. “I remember Konrad’s mage had a sharp tongue.”

  “That I do.” Mini crossed her arms over her chest. “I was telling Teagan he needs help harnessing his abilities. I will help you. Everyone should help you.”

  Dash and Raffi shared a suspicious look.

  “Is no one else concerned the last mage betrayed the jade bloodline? Or has that minor detail escaped your memories?” Raffi snarled.

  “We won’t ever forget,” I retorted. “They were my parents, after all.”

  Raffi dropped his gaze to the carpet. “I didn’t mean to be inconsiderate.”

  “Listen, this is hard for all of us to believe,” Mini said. “I know my people harmed yours, but mages lost a great deal, too. The best thing we can do is help the new jade mage meet his destiny—because that’s what has happened. A fated bond. I would bet my life on it. For your information, Teagan, you don’t mess around with that sort of thing. If it’s ignored, it usually means either you, or Jade, or both, will wind up dead. You’re meant to strengthen one another—complement each other’s powers.”

  I smiled shyly when Teagan met my eye. His skin wasn’t pale any longer, and I thought as he squeezed my hand a current of electricity pulsed through my blood.

  Sapphire cleared his throat, eyes on our hands. “The bond between wyvern and mage is a loyal friendship and protection. That’s all.”

  I turned my eyes toward my fellow royal, catching his meaning. “I’m afraid that’s not what this is.”

  “Oh, you both are so young,” Mini said with a laugh. “You’re sensing your connection, nothing more. Don’t confuse the coupling with feelings of something else. Trust me, a new jade mage is hard enough to accept—you think the elders or the priesthood would allow . . . you know, anything more? You’d be crazy if you think they’d accept that.”

  “I’m not accustomed to allowing people who don’t know me to tell me how I feel,” Teagan said sharply. I flushed, wishing we were alone. There was no denying, the way my heart rampaged, that I didn’t view Teagan as my friendly defender.

  “Well, with all due respect, you’ve never met these people,” Mini insisted. “But that’s not my concern right now. We need to prepare you for what’s undoubtedly coming. The warding is fading from the willow. I’ve tried to keep it powered, but the more it fades in time, the more lindworms will slither in. Sapphire, old friend, I’m hesitant to say, but I think we may have more battles on the horizon.”

  “Then we prepare. We help Teagan,” Sapphire said, more to Raffi than anyone else. “Mini, you’ll need to teach him about the mage. We’ll help buoy the bond with Jade. We’ll be ready. I won’t hide from those snakes any longer.”

  Sapphire’s jaw clenched. Raffi and Dash locked eyes, grinning. Like a rush of strength, I knew the time of hiding was coming to an end, and King Nag would finally face the queen of the wyverns.

  Clutching Teagan’s hand, the warmth of power flowing between us allowed me to believe it would be the last thing the lindworm king did in this life.

  Chapter 18

  Teagan laid by my side, his cheek against mine as we stared at the sky. The willow beamed with power the longer we stayed close with one another.

  He traced my fingers, coiling the tips of his around mine. The wyvern marks on his arms were a beautiful green now that two days had passed since Graham’s true, disgusting form attacked the reform house.

  “Do they hurt at all?” I asked.

  “Not anymore,” he said. “Though, whenever I feel something—like when you touch them—there’s a shock. Mini said it fades as time passes.”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t touch you so much.”

  Teagan lifted his head, rolling onto his side and propping himself onto one elbow. He hovered over me, one hand holding the side of my face, eyes blazing. “No. Don’t ever do that. I like the shock, it makes all this feel real. I don’t ever want the feeling to go away.”

  I swallowed hard, enjoying the way his thumb brushed the side of my face.

  “We’re not the same,” I whispered. “As Mini and Sapphire.”

  He shook his head, and a subtle flash of green added to the blue in his eyes. “We’re not them, Jade. I can only speak for myself, but what I feel goes beyond keeping you safe.”

  It wasn’t possible for Teagan not to hear my heart thudding, but I didn’t care to calm the rush of heat in my veins. We hadn’t come close to the kiss we almost shared before Sapphire was attacked. Not because I didn’t want to—I think Teagan wanted to as well—but if I had to guess, I think we both had reservations for what a tender act like a kiss might do to the already harsh energy between us.

  The simplest touch sent my head into a frenzy. What would something so personal, so intimate do?

  “Teagan, emotion is part of my power. Wyvern feel, sense, breathe everything to the highest degree—and for as long as I’ve been alive I’ve never experienced this. You would do anything to protect me, but I would do anything to protect you, too.” I cured my arm around his neck, wholly unashamed with my body against his.

  Soon the moment passed. A brush of powerful wings approached, and it quickly drew Teagan on the defensive. I scanned the skies and sighed. This was a moment I’d been both dreading and looking forward to putting behind me.

  “It’s Eisha,” I said.

  “I don’t see her.” He hurried to his feet.

  Before he’d even finished speaking, ebony scales blazed over the willow’s clearing. Teagan’s eyes widened. Eisha was larger than Sapphire. Most guardian and warrior dragons were larger than the royals. Brute strength didn’t create the leaders of our kind—it was heart, valor, honor, strategy.

  The earth trembled when Eisha landed from her flight. I hadn’t seen her since she’d escaped through the wall of her bedroom. Her slow pursuit across the clearing offered me a longer moment to admire her greatness. Eisha was one of the wisest, purest wyverns I’d ever encountered. I would not be surprised if one day she was asked to join the council of elders—but she was still too young. Her skin was sleek like the midnight sky, the gleam of the sun sprinkling along her dark body like silver stars.

  Teagan stayed in front of me, but his body didn’t stiffen as it did during danger.

  I should have come earlier. Eisha’s voice filled my mind. She had the ability to speak with me even if I was in my human form. Most dragons could only speak together if both were in true form, but it was one of the things I loved about her. She had a way of reaching the truest, deepest parts of the heart.

  Eisha’s long, powerful snout shook as she offered her remorse.

  I missed you. Much has happened. I should not have commanded you in such a way, I responded.

  She shook her large head again, the two black horns atop her brow digging into the air as she disagreed.

  “Why isn’t she shifting?” Teagan whispered.

  “She wants to speak with me privately for a moment.”

  “I can step away.”

  “We’re speaking now,” I said, pointing to the side of my head. Teagan’s brows raised.

  You were right to command me, Eisha continued. You are my queen. I lost sight of that for a time.

  Have you seen Konrad?

  Eisha nodded her large head and Teagan watched on with fascination. Her glittering eyes looked to the sky and she took a step closer toward us. With each step her body seamlessly melted back into her slim, pale form. The scales had shifted to a dark gown, her dark hair was wilder than before, but it suited with the brilliance of her eyes.

  “I spoke with Konrad, Raffi, and D
ash. It would seem the mages have returned while I was gone. Forgive me for leaving you to face a zomok on your own, Jade,” she said softly, though her eyes continually drifted toward Teagan.

  “I wasn’t alone, Eisha,” I said. “What . . . what do you make of everything?”

  I wanted to tread carefully. I knew, out of everyone close to me, Eisha would have the most difficult time accepting the help of a mage. Eisha circled Teagan, her eyes scanning his body venomously. She even dared trace one of his marks with her finger, but he didn’t pull away.

  “Sapphire seems convinced he is on our side, especially now that his chatty mage has returned. I’m still concerned.” She stopped in front of Teagan. “I will help my family train you, Mr. Ward. But you should know I will be watching you very closely, and if anything happens to Jade, I will hold you personally responsible when I tear your body apart. Slowly.”

  Teagan didn’t falter beneath her gaze. He nodded stiffly and moved a step closer toward me. “If anything happens to Jade, I will hold myself responsible and offer you the first bite.”

  “You both know I can hold my own in a fight, too, I’m not entirely defenseless,” I said.

  Teagan grinned when he glanced at me. “You were impressive making that glass fly across the room.”

  I bowed my head. “Thank you, I thought it fitting.”

  “Who will be your grandmaster?” Eisha interrupted. Her granite eyes were harsh slits.

  “I don’t even know what a grandmaster is,” he said.

  Eisha sighed, and I sensed a new wave of concern wash over her. “Every mage—especially royal mages—must be prepared to harness their power to help the wyvern race. You do not know how to use your gifts. I can sense your turmoil—I sense so many unusual things about you. This is all very unorthodox. Trusting you with the jade bloodline without any training, without a full armor—I don’t know.”

  “Eisha, what choice do we have?” I asked. “Do we continue to hide behind the willow’s fading power and wait for more lindworm attacks? Without Teagan, I’ll never be me again. I will never be able to fulfill my duties as queen.”