We took off at a run just as fire began to spew from Sark's mouth and an icy chill permeated the air as Doran fought back. As much as I wanted to stay and help my father, I had a duty to my mates and everyone else. I only prayed I would get a chance to speak with Doran again later.
My mates led me through the dark, musty sewer tunnels, and by the time we emerged we were all drenched and smelling like rotten eggs...or worse. A cart with two horses waited outside, and we climbed into it.
I made sure my mask was securely fastened as Slade urged the horses forward and the cart began to move through the city. I glanced back and saw the tall spires and black arches of the palace, where I'd been held all this time without even knowing it. The main tower rose high in the center, giving Soulspire its name. That was where the Black Dragon was said to live, at the top of that tower. I shuddered at the memory of the last time she came to see me, when I’d learned her true plan.
Jasin wrapped an arm around me. “It's okay. You're free now.”
Auric passed me a blanket, which Jasin helped wrap around me.
“The things I learned...” My voice trailed off, and all I could do was shake my head. I had to tell them everything Nysa had said, but the horror was still too great to speak it out loud. In time I would be able to tell them, once we were safe and everyone was healed. But not yet. I was still coming to terms with it myself.
Slade drove the cart through the streets of Soulspire and I gazed about in a daze, taking in the colorful decorations, lively music, and amorous couples. It was hard to believe I'd been trapped in a cage made of bones while all of this joy was going on outside the palace walls. Somewhere in the city Nysa and the other Dragons were making a speech. What would Nysa do when she learned I escaped? Would she hurt Doran?
I leaned my head on Jasin's shoulder, the weariness finally taking its toll. At first, I worried someone would recognize us, but no one cared about a few dirty looking people in a cart, not with the festival going on all around us. Auric grabbed us a few pieces of meat on a stick, which I greedily ate along with some of the apples and oranges in our cart, and then we pulled up at the gate to exit the city. The guards barely even glanced our way as they waved us through. Slade urge the horses forward, and then we were free. I let out a relieved sigh as we left the city behind.
8
Kira
We traveled by cart for the rest of the day, worried we would be spotted if any of my mates shifted into their Dragon forms. Isen’s golden body flew overhead at one point, but he passed us by without slowing. I watched the sky for the sight of dark blue wings, but never saw them. At least I never saw red ones either.
While we traveled into the Earth Realm, the others filled me in on everything I’d missed while I’d been held captive. I healed Jasin while snacking on the apples and oranges in the cart to keep my energy high, then took a long nap between him and Auric. I avoided questions about what happened to me during the days I’d been in the bone cage. I wasn’t ready to talk about it yet and would rather wait until Reven could join us for that conversation anyway.
By the time we stopped to rest for the night, we were all exhausted. Slade found us a cave that would offer us shelter and protection from the Dragons’ eyes, and we spread out inside it and prepared for bed. There was a smaller cave in the back of it, and I followed Slade there once Auric and Jasin had settled down to sleep. I’d noticed that Slade had seemed especially quiet and distant today, and I wanted to make sure he was all right.
I moved behind him and slid my arms around his strong chest, nuzzling my face against the back of his shoulders. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too,” he said, although his voice was gruffer than normal, and he pulled away from me.
“What’s wrong?”
His jaw clenched. “It’s my fault you were kidnapped, and my fault that Reven is injured.”
“How could that be your fault? The Dragons attacked us, and you defended us the best you could.”
He stared at the wall of the cave, which had a thin trickle of water running down it. “Reven stayed behind so I could go after you. He sacrificed himself for us, but I failed to save you. When I went after the Dragons, I couldn’t fly. I had to watch them take you away while I stood there, completely useless.”
I moved beside him and slowly rubbed his back. “We’d just completed the bond only moments before. No one would expect you to be able to fly so soon. It took Jasin some time before he could fly as well.”
“Only a day. And Auric could do it immediately.”
“Auric can control wind. He doesn’t even need wings to fly. And Jasin was able to practice on our boat with the ocean around us in case he fell. You tried to fly off a mountain to rescue me the first time you shifted into your dragon form. That’s bravery, not failure.”
“I doubt Reven would see it that way.”
I grasped his hands with mine. “Reven would understand. If your places were switched, I know you would.”
Slade let out a long sigh. “What if I can never fly? I’ll be useless to you as a Dragon.”
“If Heldor can fly, then surely you can too.” I squeezed his hands. “The Earth God picked you for a reason and he believes in you. I believe in you. The others believe in you. Maybe all you need is to believe in yourself.” He scowled in response and I pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. “I promise once we heal Reven we’ll do whatever it takes to help you fly. You will get there, I’m sure of it.”
“I hope you’re right.” He slid his arms around me and dragged me against his chest, resting his head against mine. “I was so worried I might never see you again, that I’d finally bonded with you only to lose you forever.”
“I’m here.” I tilted my head to press soft kisses to his neck. “You rescued me. Nothing can keep us apart for long.”
His large hands splayed across my back, holding me close. “I want to feel you in my mind the way the others do.”
“You will,” I promised, and then kissed my way up his neck to his jaw, my lips brushing against his dark beard. “And there is a way to speed it up.”
“Is there?”
I slipped my fingers under his shirt, stroking his smooth, muscular stomach. “I’ve been able to increase the bond with Auric and Jasin by spending time in bed with them. We could get started on that now...”
“Hmm,” he said, as his hands slid down to cup my bottom. “We were rushed last time, and I promised to make love to you all night long when I could.”
“Yes, you did.” I pressed against the hard bulge in his trousers and overwhelming need swept through me. I’d been separated from my mates for days, unsure if I would ever see them again, and the only thing I could think about was being close to them now. A primal urge took over, as if the only way to reassure myself Slade was really here with me was to feel him inside me. “And you can have me all night. Just take me now first.”
“You’re very demanding tonight.” He gripped my dark green dress in his hands and dragged it up my legs.
I gave him a coy smile. “Aren’t you meant to serve me?”
“And serve you I will.” His lips moved to my ear and his deep voice whispered, “Many, many times.”
My dress came off and hit the ground, and then Slade’s lips were on me, coercing my mouth open. As we kissed, he trailed his fingertips along the underside of my breast, making me arch my back to get closer. His hands were large and rough, the hands of a man who’d spent his life working a forge and a hammer, and I trembled as they moved across my naked skin.
I gripped his shirt and tugged it over his head, desperate to touch him back. The sight of his dark, muscular chest sent a pulsing surge of desire between my thighs. I pressed my palms against his rippling stomach, feeling the coiled strength inside him, before sliding my hands down to undo his trousers. As they fell, he kicked them off of him and stepped back, allowing me to take in the glorious view.
He gestured at the cave wall and the stone moved, forming a short ledge
that looked almost like a chair. He sat on it like a king on a throne and beckoned me forward. “Take what you need, my queen.”
How could I refuse such an invitation? I climbed onto his lap to straddle him, feeling his rock-hard cock slide against me. My breasts pressed against his muscular chest, my nipples tight with lust, as I lined our bodies up. Slade’s green eyes met mine as the anticipation made us both breathe faster, hearts pounding, and then I sank down with one hard push.
He groaned and threw his head back, exposing his thick, dark throat. I kissed the spot right where his beard met his neck and gripped his broad shoulders to steady myself. His hands gripped my waist, and together we began to move as one. I rocked my hips up and down, grinding against the spot where our bodies joined, and he met me with every thrust.
Each roll of my hips pushed his cock even deeper, and the friction of our buddies rubbed me in exactly the right spot to make the pressure build. Slade grabbed my chin and dragged my lips back to his, taking my mouth in a demanding kiss, as his other hand slid to my behind. He squeezed me there, encouraging me to move faster and harder, and I let instinct take over. The bond between us strengthened, allowing us to feel what the other was feeling, and it pushed us both over the edge.
We shattered at the same moment, our bodies so connected it was like one overwhelming orgasm that broke us both apart and then put us back together. Slade crushed me to his chest, claiming my mouth again, as the last tremors of pleasure rumbled through us.
We rocked together for a while, my arms around his neck, our lips dancing across each other’s. He held me close in his strong embrace, and I was content to stay in his arms forever.
But after a few minutes Slade lifted me off him, spun me around, and planted me on the ledge—which had now grown into the size of a bed.
“Now it’s my turn,” Slade said, as he began to move down my body with determined eyes, his mouth finding every spot that made me moan.
I had a feeling neither of us was going to get much sleep that night.
9
Reven
For a long time, there was nothing but cold, dark pain.
A burst of warmth broke through the chill. A tingling sensation spread through my limbs. Familiar voices echoed through the darkness.
“Not too fast, Jasin,” Auric said. “We only want to melt his hands for now.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”
That cocky bastard. My lips tried to twitch into a grin but didn’t move. Neither did the rest of me. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t even open my eyes. What was wrong with me? Where was I?
Soft hands slid into mine, and they felt so hot I would have hissed if I could. “Come back to me, Reven,” Kira said, her voice mournful. A wave of relief hit me at the sound, though I wasn’t sure why.
“His fingers twitched,” Slade said.
“It’s working,” Auric said. “Start on the rest of him, Jasin. Slowly.”
Memories returned in fragments. Kira being kidnapped. Lava striking my side. Heldor bringing down the Earth Temple on my head. And after that only cold, black death.
Except I was still alive.
The chill began to fade and suddenly a burst of air filled my lungs. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. My skin burned and froze at the same time. Agony spread through my limbs and forced my mouth into a scream, though no sound came out. I was alive but starting to wish I wasn’t.
Kira’s voice was the only thing that held me together, telling me to stay with her over and over. I’m trying, I wanted to tell her. I struggled to open my eyes, to get one more glimpse of her, but the pain became too much. I couldn’t hold on any longer.
The last thing I heard was the others raising their voices in panic as the darkness took me again.
* * *
My eyes snapped open and I jerked to a sitting position, reaching for weapons that weren’t there, the memory of pain still fresh in my mind.
“It’s okay,” Kira said, her arms wrapping around me. “Just relax.”
“Kira?” my voice croaked out. I barely recognized it.
“Shh.” She stroked my hair with the gentlest touch. “You’ve been through a lot, but it’s over now. I’m here.”
My arms wrapped around her and I held her close as I breathed in and out. It took some time before my body stopped trembling and I could let her go. Only then did I realize we were both naked and in bed together. An unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room, but none of that mattered. My gaze traveled down to take her in, and the sight of her lush curves woke me up more than anything. Not that I had the energy to do anything about it at the moment, but I still liked the view.
“How am I alive?” I asked, as I lowered myself back onto the bed. Sitting was too much effort. In fact, everything hurt.
Kira touched my face softly as she settled beside me. “You were badly injured during the fight at the Earth Temple, but you surrounded yourself with ice, which kept you alive in a sort of suspended state. Jasin melted the ice while I healed you.”
“I remember.” I touched my side and found it healed, though still tender. “How long was I out?”
“Over a week.”
“A week?” I shook my head, trying to clear it. “The Dragons captured you. Slade stopped them?”
“Not exactly, but I’m safe now. We’ll talk about it later. For now, you need to rest and recover. Then we can head to the Water Temple.”
Right, the Water Temple. Where we’d be bonded together forever.
I turned on my side to face Kira, grunting with the effort. Emotions churned inside me. Big, scary ones. The kind that made a man want to profess his love for a woman and beg her to stay with him forever. Strong feelings like this made me uncomfortable. So I did the only thing I could. I took her lips in a deep kiss as my hand roamed across her body, cupping her breast and stroking her nipple to make it hard, before moving down her stomach and sliding between her legs. If I turned this to sex, maybe the feelings would release their grip on me.
She gently took my hand to stop me and wove her fingers with mine, then pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Not yet. You need to recover more first. Just let me hold you.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to contain the emotions threatening to burst out of me. “It’s been a long time since I let anyone hold me.”
She wrapped herself around me, her skin sliding against mine. “You can tell yourself it’s for healing purposes, if that makes you feel better.”
“Is it?” I’d done something similar once when she’d passed out from giving Jasin too much of her strength, and I’d probably used the same damn excuse then too.
“Yes, but it’s not the only reason. The guys told me what happened, and then I saw you…” Her voice trembled as her arms squeezed tighter. “I realized how close I’d come to losing you. Now I don’t ever want to let you go.”
Dammit, those emotions were back and even stronger now. I couldn’t keep them in any longer. “Kira, I…”
That was all I got out. I tried to say the words. I wanted to, dammit. But I hadn’t said them in so long, and every person I’d said them to had died not long after. I couldn’t lose Kira too.
She pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “I know.”
I buried my face in her thick red hair, breathing in her scent, and just let her hold me. The turmoil inside me died down, and I relaxed against her. Our naked limbs tangled together, and even though we weren’t having sex, it was the most intimate moment of my life. I closed my eyes, and let sleep claim me again.
10
Kira
Doran arrived a day after Revan woke up. He strolled into the Resistance hideout as if he belonged there, and no one seemed to recognize him in his dusty traveling clothes and heavy cloak. I kept expecting someone to realize he was their enemy, but no one paid him any attention.
At the sight of him walking through Slateden, I was torn between relief and apprehension, unsure if I should run to hug him—or in the opposit
e direction. The only thing I could think to say was, “You’re alive.”
He smirked and tipped his head. “Sark and I can’t kill each other, though Gods know we’ve tried many times over the years. The bond with Nysa prevents us from doing anything other than roughing each other up a bit. But don’t worry, I made sure he couldn’t follow me here.”
“Thank you for helping us. I’m not sure I could have escaped without you.”
“Of course. Unfortunately, Nysa and her mates all know I’ve betrayed them by now. I can’t go back to Soulspire.” He chuckled as he pushed back his hood. “Guess that means I’ll be sticking with you for the rest of your journey. Now, where can I get some food around here? I’m starving.”
Sticking with us? I wasn’t sure how I felt about it, but I had more pressing things I wanted to talk about first. “I can have something brought up for us. I have a lot of questions for you.”
“I’m sure you do, and I’ll do my best to answer them all. While we eat.”
I gathered all my mates and my father into a room that Parin had once used to meet with spies and soldiers. Now that he was gone and Faya was busy trying to keep the Resistance running, the room had sat unused. Food and drinks were placed along the long wooden table, and although I’d asked for something simple, the kitchen staff had outdone themselves. I suspected many people in Slateden were feeling aimless without their leader and needed something to channel their energy into.
My mates sat around the table and none of them looked happy to be there. Jasin glared at Doran while loading a plate with food. Slade leaned back and crossed his arms, his face stony. Auric spread his journal and quill out on the table and prepared to take notes. Reven sat beside me and watched Doran closely, but his face was paler than normal. This morning I’d told them all about my time being held captive by the Dragons, and about how Nysa had stayed alive so long, and they weren’t particularly pleased with Doran right now.
Ride The Wave: Her Elemental Dragons Book Four Page 4
