by Kimber White
Heat clouded my vision. I felt my wings pressing beneath my skin. She was testing me. Could I keep my beast in check?
“I know I won’t let Gemma take the fall for something that’s not her fault. It’s no one’s fault.”
Slowly, on unsteady legs, Delia Bradbury started to rise. Instinct told me not to offer to help her. She grabbed her cane and stabbed into the ground as she took her first shaky step toward me.
When she reached me, her fingers sparkled. She had fire magic of her own, of course. Her light played around my head, testing the edges of my own power. Her wizened face crinkled into a scowl as she read what she needed to.
“I think things haven’t been what they seemed for a very long time,” she said. “I didn’t want to think about it. Still don’t. But, it’s time to air it all out. This coven is changing. Been coming on for a long time.”
I clenched my fist and tried to control my breathing. I didn’t have time for cryptic riddles anymore. Gemma was somewhere dark and cold. She was scared.
Delia snapped her fingers and her flame extinguished. “Maybe it’s you,” she said. “Maybe it isn’t. But tell her to ask herself, was it fire? Or was it something else?”
“I don’t…” I threw my hands up. Maybe it was better to just play along. “I will.”
Seeming satisfied, Delia nodded, turned, and hobbled back to her chair. She took great effort to sit. Then, she pointed her cane toward the door.
“They’re probably still at the Landrys’s,” she said. “They wouldn’t have wanted to move the boy.”
I gave her a nod. It was all I could do. Then, I stormed out the front door. The Landrys. Jonas was a Landry. I closed my eyes and turned my head, listening for the wind.
Every cell in my body ached to shift. My mate was in danger. My dragon rebelled. But, I knew I had one chance to make a good impression. My mother’s words echoed through me. We still needed them.
Jonas Landry’s house was easy enough to find. It was the only one where the trees stood still, though the wind raged everywhere else. Terror gripped my heart though; if Gemma was inside, I should have been able to sense her more strongly. Whatever they’d used to hide her was strong. Very strong. If they’d done any permanent damage, I couldn’t trust myself not to shift.
The door stood wide open. I walked in. It was a simple living room with a couch, matching leather chairs, and a curio cabinet filled with teacups in the corner. The place was deadly silent. They were all hiding.
I closed my eyes and tried to take in the smells. It was the absence of Gemma that drew me the most. She was everywhere else in town. Just the tiniest scent of her lingered on the sidewalks, in the store, past Mrs. Harris’s house. But here, there was nothing. It could only be magic at work.
“I’ve come for her,” I said. Of course they already knew I was here.
The kitchen door slammed shut. I shook my head. An old parlor trick meant to scare people on Halloween. Surely that wasn’t all they brought.
I moved through the house, checking every room, every closet. They were all empty. I realized with cold horror why. If they meant to attack me, it would be easier to do it outside. They could each draw on their elemental magic there. Wind. Earth. Water. Fire.
Calling Gemma’s name, I went out the back door. It lead to a huge yard bordered by the woods. Durness Wilderness was beyond it. Of course, they’d lure me to the very lands they thought I meant to deprive them of. If they hurt Gemma, I knew in my heart I would scorch it all to ash.
I ran down the path, again, forcing my dragon down. Not now. Not yet. I had to see Gemma first.
I reached a clearing. My skin pricked. They were here.
Timothy and Benny came from the left. Paula and Miles from the right. They held their arms in front of them, pushing back and joining their magic in one pulsing band of light. They had no idea what they were dealing with.
“Where. Is. She?” I asked. “No more games. No more hiding.”
“You’re the enemy here,” Miles said. “We’ve fought your kind before. Or have you already forgotten?”
I reared back. Had Gemma told them what I was?
“You tell your coven you failed,” Timothy said. Coven? Things started falling into place. They thought I was a witch. Some kind of dark mage. My chest swelled with pride at Gemma’s strength. She’d kept my secret, but at what cost?
“I’ll do nothing until I see Gemma. Whatever you think of me, she’s not your enemy. She’s tried to protect you all.”
“Liar!” Paula screamed. Her magic faltered. Overcome with emotion, she was the weak link. I made a note of it. If it came to it, I’d exploit it.
“I have something you want,” I said. “You have something I want. This seems a fairly simple solution.”
Paula broke through the line. Her grief and fear poured off of her in waves. She was a mother trying to protect her son. I could respect that. Only, Jonas wasn’t in any danger from me or from Gemma. And no matter how noble the source of her anger, I would tear her down to get to my mate.
She sent a blast of wind straight at me. I neatly dodged it. Thunder cracked.
“Hold the line, Paula!” Benny shouted.
“I’m going to ask you one more time...nicely. Where is Gemma?”
“She’s not your problem anymore,” Miles said. His fire swirled around him. Oh, he was strong. But I was stronger. I had a decision to make. If I threw any fire of my own, Miles would be able to tell I was no mage. Was I ready to give away that secret? Was there some way to protect my family without risking my mate or the other way around?
Paula charged into the woods. Benny and Timothy tried to stop her. I took a step back as the brush parted and Paula came back out. She dragged Gemma along with her.
My heart twisted. Gemma was bound with thick gold chains, her hands and feet tied together. All color had drained from her face. I didn’t have to touch her to know how cold she was.
Paula shoved her cruelly into the center of the clearing. I let out a roar as she fell to the ground.
Gemma’s eyes locked with mine. She was in there. Thank God, she was in there. With no words, she still managed to plead with me. Her message clear.
Stay calm.
I couldn’t. Seeing my mate in pain, her magic dim, set off a powder keg of rage within me. There was only one substance on this earth that could have restrained her like that. They were using dragonsteel. Likely stolen or forced from some poor, lone, enslaved dragon ages ago. I picked up the mantle of my mother’s ancient rage.
“Let her go,” I said, surprised at my own ability to remain calm on the surface, at least. Inside was another matter.
“You want her?” Paula shouted. “Take her. Let’s see what you’re really made of.”
Then, Paula Landry lured me into her trap. It all happened in a split second, but there was never any doubt. With the flick of her arms, she made the wind shift, sending a ripple of energy straight at Gemma. It might not have been enough to kill her, but it would have broken every bone in her body.
My dragon reacted. I pushed back, blowing a column of flame. The fire knocked Paula to the ground.
My magic struck the spellbound steel chains. They disintegrated. At the same instant, Gemma got to her feet, her own magic pouring back into her.
She was safe. She was whole.
And yet, her look of terror struck me to my core. The Five had moved in, forming a protective circle around her. Each of them took a ready stance, aiming their magic right at me.
I hadn’t even realized I’d done it. But, the moment my fire came out, my dragon did too. Now, I hovered above them, fully shifted, uncloaked. They each stared up in shock at me as my wings unfurled and my tail beat the ground.
Chapter Eighteen
Gemma
“Oh, shit!”
Finn’s dragon arched his head and blasted out a column of fire that seemed to reach the stars. Timothy, Benny, Miles, and Paula linked hands and began to chant. Their magic spread out,
curling its way around my feet.
I felt pulled in two directions. My mate was exposed, uncloaked. His fire could be seen for miles. But, the coven was under threat. Finn’s thoughts reached me. Primal. Feral. He would burn to ash anyone who tried to hurt me.
I don’t know how I did it. It wasn’t like words formed in my head or that I consciously called on it. My fire bubbled up. For almost a year, it had controlled me. Today, this night, it was part of me again. I cast no spell. My fire did not move through me or go outward. One moment, I had my feet on the ground, pushing against the defensive magic my family summoned. The next, I was airborne.
I shot straight up as if propelled by rocket fuel. No, not rocket fuel. Dragonfire. My fire. Finn’s eyes blazed as his massive wings beat, creating a tornado of heat. Paula countered it and tried to draw from it, but she was no match for Finn. I reached for him, then settled on his back.
Far below, Miles staggered backward. For an instant, I could see myself through his eyes, or at least imagined I could. I was high above them, a dragon rider, the most powerful fire mage in a generation. No, in a millennium.
“Finn, stop,” I said. “They won’t hurt you if you don’t try to hurt them.”
No sooner had I said it before Miles gathered his fire. He formed a huge ball of flame and cocked his arm back, ready to launch it. I knew it wouldn’t do real damage. But, in Finn’s current state, he would counter any attack. If Miles threw a fireball, Finn would throw back an inferno.
“Stop!” I commanded. I meant it for all of them. I pressed my cheek against Finn’s neck. His scales rippled and blazed hot beneath my skin. His pulse beat strong and steady. Instinct drove me. I ran my fingers down his neck and over the triangular fins down his spine. They were razor sharp and deadly, but to me, they drew no blood.
I kissed him, bringing my lips to his cone-shaped ears. “Stop. I won’t let them hurt you.”
“I won’t let them hurt you!” he answered back in thought. I was amazed he had that much control. He felt all beast to me. But, I felt a little flutter in his pulse and he dropped a few feet closer to the ground.
“Stop!” I shouted to the four mages below. The wind howled, whipping Paula’s dark hair back. Her eyes had gone almost pure black as her magic poured through her. Benny and Timothy met my gaze. Benny gave an almost imperceptible nod. Thank God. He still trusted me. He said something to Miles that made his face go white with rage. Whatever it was, it worked. Miles brought his arms down. His fireball shrank.
Finn let out a breath. More of a sigh, really. He was watching Miles.
“Time to land,” I said.
Finn let out a guttural noise. But, he relented. He lowered us to the ground. His great, taloned feet dug into the earth with a seismic thud. I stood tall and straight, straddling his back. We stood like that, in a stalemate for a full minute before Finn finally lowered his head and let me slide off of him. He tucked his wings to his sides.
I kept a hand on him as I faced the Five.
“Finn didn’t come here to hurt any of us,” I said. “But he didn’t come here for completely benign reasons either. You know me. I’ve lived among you my whole life. I was wrong to keep certain things from you, but know that I would never do anything to betray the coven. My parents died for it. They died for me.”
“He’s cast some spell,” Miles said. “You’re not yourself.”
I let go of Finn and walked toward the group. Finn let out a grunt of protest backed up by a gust of hot air that blew my hair straight up. I kept walking. I stood directly in front of the members of the council. Finn couldn’t attack without going through me. The Five couldn’t either.
“I’m more myself than I’ve ever been. It’s not sorcery, Miles. It’s fate. Finn Brandhart is my fated mate. His fire is my fire.”
Miles’s jaw dropped. His color turned to ash. His pupils dilated to pinpoints. He wasn’t of my blood. We weren’t connected in that way. But, the source of Miles Marvin’s magic was as my own. Fire. As he stared at me and heard my words, he knew I was telling the truth.
“Fated mates?” Benny asked. “He’s a dragon. Since when have there been dragons?”
“Since always,” I smiled. Tempers cooled along with the temperature in the air. “And it’s a long story. One I hope I’ll get the chance to tell. At least the highlights. But, Finn is mine. I’m his. We are what we are. I’m of both worlds. His and yours. And I told you, he didn’t come here to hurt us.”
“Well,” Paula said. “It seems you’d better get to talking. It’s time we knew exactly what he does want.”
I turned to Finn. He blinked one huge dragon eye, then dropped his head in a nod.
I took a gulp of air. Finn was ready to trust me not only with his life, but perhaps the lives of his entire family. I turned my back on the coven and faced Finn head on. As he dipped his head, I reached up and pressed my palm to the rough scales of his face. I went up on my tiptoes and kissed his nose.
“It’s time to get the dragonstone,” I whispered. He let out a small growl, but offered no other protest. He took two slow steps backward, shaking the ground beneath his feet. Then, he turned and disappeared into the woods.
I turned back to the Five.
“We need something from him,” I said. “We need our land back. Finn’s willing to give it.”
“But he has a price,” Miles said, his voice dripping with anger.
“Yes. He has a price. And it’s not one he takes lightly. It’s as much a risk to him as it is to us. More maybe. I don’t know all the details. How he survived all these years. The last we ever knew was that dragons became extinct centuries ago. For all intents and purposes, they did.”
“He’s not the only one though,” Paula said. “Finn Brandhart. He has four brothers. They’re all dragons, aren’t they?”
I felt a lump form in my throat. I had a strong need to protect Finn’s brothers right along with him. Men I’d never even met. “They are.” I said nothing about Avelina. For now, they didn’t need to know.
“Finn is trying to find out if there are any other dragons left besides his family. We can perhaps help with that. If we’re willing to perform a spell. We’re the only ones who can, and it’s too powerful for any one of us to attempt alone.”
“This is insane,” Benny said. “A dragon. A full-grown, living, breathing dragon. And he’s here. In Durness. He’s your mate? I need to sit down.”
“No time for that, Benny,” Paula said. “Pull it together.”
The wind picked up behind me. The leaves parted and Finn walked through. He’d dressed simply in a fitted t-shirt and jeans. Somehow, he still looked as fearsome as he had in dragon form. His eyes blazed gold as he came to my side. He had the velvet sack tucked under one arm. Miles’s gaze snapped straight to it. It was as if he already suspected what was inside.
“That dragonsteel you used to chain me,” I said. The remains of it lay as a pile of ash just to the left of our circle. “You have no idea where it came from, do you?”
Of all of them, only Timothy looked even remotely guilty about that. “It was me,” he said. “I...uh...acquired it some time ago. In Nepal.”
As Finn let out a growl, I raised a hand. “You assumed...we all assumed that the dragon who forged it is long dead. Maybe he is. But, maybe not. Maybe he’s been enslaved somewhere like his ancestors before him.”
“Get to the point,” Paula said. “What’s in the bag, and why do I have the feeling I’m going to hate it?”
Finn untied the golden cords. The smooth, iridescent stone slipped out. Miles let out an audible gasp and moved toward it, his fire magic piqued. Finn stood rigid, but let Miles approach. Miles ran his fingers over the surface of the stone, his eyes glinting.
“Dragonstone,” he said. “My God. Where did it come from?”
“That doesn’t matter,” Finn said. “What matters is when. And that’s what I need your help figuring out.”
Miles stepped back. His eyes still wide, incredulous
, he looked at the others. He understood.
“We can do it,” Miles said. “I know what it requires. Gemma’s right. A spell of this nature, it can’t be cast by one mage. It will take all of us.”
“But you can do it?” Finn asked, his voice rising an octave.
Miles nodded. “I think we can. You want us to read it. See when it hatched. When its power was let out.”
“Yes,” Finn said.
“But why?” Benny asked. “What will that do for you?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “That’s Finn’s family’s business.”
“And coven lands are ours,” Benny said. “That’s your price? We do this spell, you give us the land?”
“Yes,” Finn said. “That’s the price.”
“It won’t be easy,” Miles said. “Spells like this can take on a life of their own. Magic like what’s inside this fossil? It has a tendency to want to be left alone.”
“I know what I’m asking,” Finn said. “And I also know what I’m offering in return. The coven lands, all of it, they’ll belong to you outright. No interference from the county or anyone else. You can spellbind it if you want. I can show you how. You can cloak it so no other mages can ever find it again. It’ll be hidden in plain sight.”
“That’s not possible,” Benny said. “Not even Circean witches can pull off that kind of magic long term.”
“Dragons can,” I said. “I’ve seen it. Finn’s ancestral home is spellbound in that way and it’s a hell of a lot bigger than the Durness Wilderness.”
“We need this,” Timothy said. “Let’s say yes.”
“No!” Paula said. “I can’t believe the lot of you. You’re willing to just bend over and let yourselves give this monster what he wants.”
“Paula…” I started.
“No! You say this man didn’t come here to hurt us? Well, tell that to Jonas. He’s lying in that house in a coma. One he may never come out of. He’s a casualty of your lies. I don’t care if it was an accident. I don’t care if you were just trying to protect yourselves. You did it. If you hadn’t come to Durness, if you’d left us all alone, I’d have my son!”
