Hidden Mage

by Sophie Stern

  “Try me.”

  Felix sighed and shook his head. He wiggled feet again in the water. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. Her feet were wet, wiggling against the dirt. The ground was going to cling to her and turn to mud, but she didn’t care. She’d deal with that later. Besides, why should she care if she got Felix’s shoes a little dirty?

  “I lost my entire family,” he said.

  She knew that much.

  “I was taken from them.”

  “What?”

  He nodded.

  “I was taken from them, and I can’t ever find them again, okay? So, I know what it means to hurt. Tabitha, believe me.”

  She reached for him and tugged, pulling him to his feet. There were tears streaming down his face. That surprised her. She didn’t often get to see men cry, especially big, strong men like Felix.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “I am, too. All I want is to find them.”

  “You will.”

  “I can’t.”

  “Why not, Felix?”

  “Because I can’t leave the island,” he whispered. “I’ve been cursed.”

  “What?”

  “I’ve been cursed to stay here.”

  She didn’t know what he meant. How could someone be cursed to a specific place? Did he mean that he physically couldn’t leave? Or did he mean something simpler? Maybe he meant that he had nowhere to go. Yes, that must be it.

  “I’m going to help you.”

  “By killing the witch?”

  “That’s a start,” Tabitha said.

  She wasn’t sure why she liked Felix so much. She wasn’t sure why she was so certain she needed to help him, but she was.

  “Kiss me.”

  His words were certain and sure, and she knew perfectly well that she wanted that, too. She grabbed him, bringing her lips to his, and she did. She kissed him. Over and over, until everything else faded from view, Tabitha kissed Felix.

  He deepened the kiss, grabbing her hair and pulling her close, and a wave of desire washed over her. She’d been with him just last night, but she craved him more. He was powerful, she knew. She could sense that within him.

  Tabitha wasn’t really sure what was going on, and she wasn’t particularly sure why she was so certain there was something strong inside of Felix. It was just an inkling. Her trainers at the Mage’s Guild had taught her to always trust her instincts, and she had. They’d never let her down.

  Even when everything else let her down, her gut never did, but as she deepened the kiss, she tried not to think about Felix’s secrets. He had plenty of them. Of that, she was sure, but she wasn’t going to let that ruin the moment.

  When his hands roamed, moving to her breasts, she sucked in a breath.

  “You’re gorgeous,” he whispered.

  “Not as gorgeous as you.”

  He pulled back and smirked.

  “No one has ever called me gorgeous before,” he told her with a chuckle. He flicked her nipple through her clothing, but she didn’t mind. The sting just made her nipple hard, and the feeling made her more excited.

  “There’s more where that came from,” Tabitha promised Felix. “I could call you pretty or handsome or about a million other things.”

  “What I really want you to call me is sexy,” he murmured, stepping closer and kissing her neck. “You can say Mr. Sexy if you want to be polite.”

  “Mr. Sexy it is,” she agreed, throwing her head back to give him more room to run his tongue over her neck. He dragged it down slowly, teasing his way to the collar of her shirt. Then he reached for her top and tugged up, pulling it up and over her head.

  She gasped as the air hit her chest, and he raised an eyebrow.

  “Why, Tabitha, your nipples are hard,” he murmured, tracing them over the bra.

  “Maybe they are,” she nodded. “Why don’t you take off my bra and see for yourself?”

  “Taunting me already, little witch?”

  “You like it. I wouldn’t do it if you didn’t like it.”

  “That’s true,” he shrugged. He reached for her bra and in one swift movement, he had it off and on the ground. She wasn’t used to being topless outdoors like this.

  Yes, they were in a secluded area, but it still had an air of openness. She still had the feeling that anyone could walk by and see them. That wasn’t true, most likely, but she still felt a little bit daring, a little bit wild.

  “Lovely,” he murmured, bouncing her breasts.

  “You’re always so full of compliments,” she whispered.

  “Well, you’re always hot as hell,” he laughed, and then he dropped to his knees.

  “What are you doing?” Tabitha whispered.

  “Something I should have done the first moment I laid eyes on you.”

  Before she could protest or say anything else, he tugged her pants down to her ankles. Then, without hesitation, he started licking her pussy hard and fast and wonderfully.

  “Fuck!” Tabitha grabbed his hair and pulled him closer. She wasn’t one of those girls who was embarrassed by her body, and she definitely wasn’t going to turn him down.

  Nope.

  Not at all.

  She wanted this.

  Needed it.

  Craved it.

  She was absolutely loving the way he was touching her, and she wasn’t going to let him stop until she’d come on his face. She could tell by the way that he was licking her that he liked it, too, and it didn’t take long before she felt an orgasm welling up inside of her.

  He grabbed her bottom, squeezing with both of his hands. Even now, on his knees, she knew that he was in control of this moment. She wanted to think she was the one with the power, but he exuded it. She knew that he could stop or keep going, and she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.

  “Felix,” she whispered.

  He didn’t say anything, but he slid a finger inside of her, and that was enough to push her over the edge. She threw her head back when she came, opening her eyes, but she didn’t see the sun or the sky or anything at all because she was too wrapped up in the moment.

  She was too wrapped up in him.

  He laid her down on the grass and stripped out of his own clothes quickly, and then he slid inside of her, filling her. She’d just come hard, and her pussy was tight and achy. Every nerve ending seemed to be firing off at full speed as he made love to her there on the ground.

  “Fuck,” he groaned. “You are so fucking tight, little witch.”

  “Please,” she whispered, “come in me, Felix.”

  She wanted to feel it.

  She wanted to feel him come undone.

  They’d made love once before, but it was dark, and they were both tired, and it was cold and damp in the cave. Now she could see him completely, and the sun was shining down on them, and it was like nothing she’d ever seen before.

  She was right about his eyes changing colors. In fact, they seemed to be switching between red and black. It was wild. She grabbed his back, dragging her fingers down his skin, scratching him a little with her nails.

  When he came, he let out a growl so loud and feral she thought every animal on the damn island must have heard it. It was hot as hell: primal and wild.

  Tabitha sighed contentedly as he filled her with his cum. Damn. This moment was incredible. She’d come here for revenge, but she’d inadvertently stumbled upon a sexy man who seemed to love fucking her as much as she loved fucking him.

  He slid off of her, moving away from her body, and she opened her eyes to look at him.

  Only, he was gone.

  Felix was gone, and he’d been replaced with...

  “A dragon,” she whispered.

  Chapter 12

  “A dragon...”

  How could she have known?

  How could Tabitha have known that was what people called him?

  He didn’t plan to ever tell anyone ever again about that horrible nickname or about the way people seemed to be so inte
rested in him when they came to see Ursula.

  Felix opened his mouth to complain, to yell at her. Why the fuck did Tabitha say that word to him? Where had it come from?

  Only, when he opened his mouth, words didn’t come out.

  A growl did.

  Then a howl.

  “Felix, you didn’t tell me you were a shapeshifter,” Tabitha said. She was standing now, but she was looking up at him. How was she looking up at him?

  How was he looking down at her?

  And then he realized he felt different.

  Strange.

  Big.

  He looked down and saw that he no longer had his usual human body. His abs and cock...they were just gone. They’d been replaced with scales. He was scaly, and he had claws, and he...did he have wings?

  He flapped them.

  Yeah, he had wings.

  “Usually, people mention this a bit sooner,” Tabitha said.

  Felix looked down at her. She didn’t seem frightened. Why didn’t she seem scared? If someone turned into a giant dragon in front of him, he’d be scared. At the very least, he’d be a bit annoyed.

  Had she done this to him?

  Had she cast a spell on him?

  Only, even as he looked down at her, he realized this had nothing to do with Tabitha and everything to do with something locked deep within himself.

  Felix had never turned into a dragon before, but somehow, he realized that this monster had truly been inside of him this entire time.

  All of a sudden, a memory came back, rushing into his mind at full force: a memory long forgotten.

  A woman stands next to a little boy. She’s holding his hand. Together, they’re watching dragons circle the sky. The little boy knows these monsters are huge and incredible, but they’re not scary to him.

  “Someday, you’ll be one of them,” the woman says. “You’ll be able to change into a dragon.”

  “Can you change, Mommy?”

  “Yes. We all can.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we’re special,” she said.

  “Gerald says we’re freaks, Mommy.”

  The little boy didn’t like Gerald. Even though they saw each other during playdates, Gerald had never been very nice to the other kids. He’d especially never been nice to the little boy.

  “You’re not a freak, Felix. None of us are.”

  The little boy looked up at his mother and nodded.

  “Okay,” he said. He knew that she would never lie to him. He knew that no matter what happened, she would always be honest. She always had been.

  Felix stilled.

  His mother.

  He remembered his mother.

  He remembered her name, and he remembered his own.

  Felix Monster.

  That was who he was.

  The was the firstborn Monster child, and both of his parents were dragon shifters who lived on Sapphire Island. That was where he was from, and he’d been taken. Ursula had taken him, and she’d stripped away everything that had made him who he was.

  She’d taken away his family, and his heritage.

  She’d taken everything but his damn soul.

  Felix cried out in anger, in pain, in anguish, and the sound covered the island. He howled, crying as loud as he could, and Tabitha dropped to the ground, covering her ears.

  Shit.

  He’d hurt her.

  He’d found out the truth about who he was, and he’d hurt the only woman to ever help him.

  Fuck.

  He leapt up, jumping into the air, flapping his wings. He’d never flown before in his life, but somehow, he knew that he could. He flew up, rising from the found, and he started flying toward the castle.

  He knew the way by heart. He’d grown up here, after all. Ursula may have tried to steal his life and his future, but she couldn’t steal the map he’d buried deep in his soul. He knew this island like no one else. He knew the jungles. He knew the forests. He knew the traps and the pits and the scary places where no one was supposed to go.

  He knew everything about it, but he knew something else.

  He knew that she was well-aware of his dragon shifter status.

  That was what he was: a shifter. He had the ability to be completely man or completely dragon. Right now, he didn’t know how to change back into his human form. He’d have to eventually, he supposed, but he felt strong for the first time ever. He felt powerful.

  He didn’t exactly have any interest in changing back into his weak human form.

  Not after this.

  Flying meant he could avoid the tricky parts of the jungle, and that was pretty nice, Felix thought. How the hell had he ever forgotten that he was a dragon? How had he not known?

  You’ve always known.

  Something inside of him spoke to Felix’s heart.

  His dragon.

  His dragon was speaking to him.

  Who are you? Felix asked the dragon.

  I’m you, the dragon said.

  Then how are we talking? Felix couldn’t remember ever talking to the dragon before. He soared, flying higher.

  Because you have two consciousnesses, the dragon explained patiently. Felix thought that sounded true. Two consciousnesses. He thought he might have remembered something about this before.

  Had his father explained dragons to him?

  Maybe his mother had.

  How come we’ve never spoken before? I’ve never changed into you, Felix murmured. He wasn’t speaking out loud. Only his heart was speaking. His mind.

  It was kind of an unnerving experience, but it didn’t scare him the way that he thought it should.

  Because you had forgotten about me. I tried to come out before. Don’t you remember all of the times you talked to yourself when you were small?

  Felix remembered.

  He remembered talking to himself in the darkness of the castle where Ursula kept him in a cage. He remembered whispering to himself when he thought no one else was around. Most of all, he remembered finding comfort in this.

  I was always with you, the dragon said.

  Why did you come out now? Perhaps that was the thing that surprise Felix the most.

  Because you found her.

  Her?

  Who?

  Tabitha?

  What did that have to do with anything?

  She wants to kill Ursula, Felix thought to the dragon. He was speaking using only his mind, and it was becoming a bit easier. He wondered if he’d be able to communicate with his dragon side once he shifted back, or if this was something he could only do when he was the dragon.

  She has no idea the witch is dead. You should tell her.

  Maybe the dragon was right.

  Felix wasn’t sure.

  He had a feeling that Tabitha probably valued honesty. She probably wanted someone who would be truthful to her, but he wasn’t that person. He hadn’t told her the witch was dead, and he hadn’t explained that he had been the witch’s captive for many years.

  Those were things he wasn’t ready to talk about.

  Perhaps that was another mistake that Felix had made.

  Maybe, Felix reluctantly agreed.

  She is our mate, the dragon continued.

  Mate?

  What the hell was that?

  What is a mate? Why is she our mate? Felix asked his dragon.

  Each dragon shifter is destined to find their one true partner. She is your one true love, Felix. She is the one we’re meant to be with. She awakened me when nothing else could. Your love for her awakened me.

  So that was it.

  The sex.

  Felix was man enough to admit it had been the most incredible sex of his life. Last night, it had been wonderful, and it had knocked his shields of protection down. Then this afternoon, it had been too much to bear.

  Watching her come for him in the middle of the woods had been the most incredible experience of his life. She’d fallen apart so easily. She’d come just for him, and he love
d that.

  Yes, something had changed deep inside of him.

  Something incredible had happened.

  He’d felt hot and like he was burning up, and then he’d changed. He hadn’t felt it happening. Not really. It hadn’t hurt, and he hadn’t controlled it.

  Now, he had more questions than answers, but he was silent as he landed at the castle and looked up at the building. It was hard to believe that it was only six months ago that he killed the bitch who lived here.

  Six months ago, Felix had taken this place by storm. Ursula’s magical energy stores had been completely depleted – apparently, from killing Tabitha’s family – and he’d taken advantage of that.

  Now, as he walked through the castle halls in his dragon form, he dragged his talon across the walls. He cut the stone, marking it with long, thick lines. He tore the paintings. He destroyed furniture.

  He caused damage.

  He made a ruckus.

  He didn’t give a shit.

  This was where he’d been hurt.

  This was the place where he’d been tortured. It was the place where his dreams had turned into nightmares, and it was the place where he’d finally found freedom to be himself.

  Well, almost.

  He’d almost found freedom.

  Felix found a room he remembered well: one Ursula had used to entertain guests. He took a deep breath and then started throwing things. First, he tossed a chair. Then another. He grabbed a cabinet that held important dishes, and he tossed it to the ground where it spilled open.

  All of the dishes cracked, broke, and shattered.

  He didn’t care.

  He kept going.

  The next room held books, and he left that one alone. Although he hated what Ursula had done, the truth was that he didn’t hate books. He’d simply never been allowed to use or read them. Maybe one day he’d find answers in this room, so he left it unharmed.

  Then he went into the kitchen. There were more dishes and more things that could easily break, so he started grabbing things and throwing them, tossing them from side to side.

  That’s it, the dragon egged him on. Let it all out.

  Felix did.

  Years of pent-up anger and frustration poured out of him. He yelled, hollering. His voice sounded different in his dragon form, and he couldn’t speak any sort of human language, but he could be loud, and he was. He was as loud as he possibly could be.