Dragon Mated: Supernatural Prison #3

by Jaymin Eve

  The king roared and strode forward. His beast was almost twice the size of mine as we barreled toward each other.

  I’m going to kill you, I mentally projected.

  You’re mine, Jessa. That dragon young you carry inside of you is mine. And I’ve come to take what’s mine.

  That jovial nice-dude persona he’d worn around me was gone. I could hear the cold oppressor in his tone and I knew the real Larky was finally rising to the surface.

  We clashed, and even my dragon winced at the weight behind him as he slammed into me. I shook myself, long neck swaying in an attempt to get my wits back. I couldn’t go at him front-on like that again; he’d just about knocked my head off. Rising to my full height, the two of us starting to circle around, I could feel Louis’ magic at my back, along with some familiar scents.

  Cardia and Grace had found us.

  I continued circling, keeping Larky as my main focus, although I was catching glimpses of more familiar faces. The dragon recognized them as friends and therefore was careful not to hurt them with her sweeping tail or bursts of flames.

  Fiery anger clearly swirled in the eyes of the dragon king. I wondered what had him so extra roiled up. His voice slammed into my mind.

  You should have been controllable like the rest, but as always those damn shining ones somehow knew this would happen. They knew that after I cursed the most powerful dragon soul and sent it out to be dragon mated to a shifter, together you would be stronger than my command.

  Thank the gods for that. Imagine if I’d just capitulated. We’d all be screwed.

  You should be at my side, standing against those quads, not carrying a bastard dragon child. We were destined to rule them all. I waited a thousand years for you to be born and unlock the mark. A thousand years for the perfect dragon mating which would produce shifter babies. A thousand years! His voice rose, his cool and calm demeanor disappearing under his rage.

  He was losing control, and I was glad about that. Anger would have him make a mistake. Loss of emotions was the worst thing to happen in any fight.

  I’ll rip that young from your belly and dump it in the barren prison of the shadow spawn. They’ll torture and control your dragon shifter child and then unleash him on the shining ones. Faerie will fall to the rule of the shadow spawn and Earth will be ruled by me.

  Yeah, because the shadow spawn will be satisfied with just ruling Faerie.

  He didn’t answer me, but I sensed that my words had struck a chord with him.

  What a fucking idiot. He was going to release the shadow spawn, and let them annihilate the one race who could have fought against them, and then he expected they would contain their destruction just within Faerie. Sure. Not a single thing wrong with that plan.

  He lunged toward me again, clumsier this time, almost as if he couldn’t help himself – like that time in his castle. I knew it was the tie between us. It called to the king.

  As he stumbled another step, I thrust my wings sideways and pushed myself up and over the top of him, landing heavily on his back. Immediately my four claws dug in and I tore against his armored hide. He roared and bucked. I didn’t have enough traction to keep my footing and ended up flung free, claws full of scales coming with me.

  I had to get beneath him. It was where he was most vulnerable, and the easiest access to his heart. I was wasting my time anywhere else.

  Louis and the girls caught my attention. The sorcerer had his hands joined with Grace, their lips moving as they cast their spell. I felt the magic; it was strong, starting at Louis and extending outwards. More sorcerers joined in, all linking their magic, trying to offer me a shot at taking down king dick.

  A black and gold flecked netting flung from the circle of magic users, skimming across my head before settling over the dragon king. He roared, and slashed out, but the spelled mesh held for that moment, the magic infusing it with an unbreakable bond. I ran at him, lowering my head at the last second to crash into his side, hoping to knock him over and expose that underbelly.

  Our two beasts went down in a mass of dragon, and despite some pain from the tumble I started blindly ripping into him. The netting was holding him down on his side, his powerful wings restrained. This was my best shot.

  I dug at the dirt surrounding us, and was able to get in under the barrier with my two front claws. My talons sank easily into the softer belly flesh, but before I could get in far enough to smash through the ribs to his heart, the netting flickered and disappeared.

  The magic users had been set upon by about a thousand marked. Shit. Larky had put out a call for help, and it looked like his second group of minions were finally here. There was no one left to hold them at bay. The Four were either dead or still stuck keeping some marked contained; our people were so vastly outnumbered.

  That didn’t stop Louis and his friends from letting loose. He and the magic users were brutal, smashing through the marked with graceful death. Cardia was also in her element, snarling with brilliantly white fangs as she pounced on a marked and ripped his head clear off his shoulders. Dammit, so much for trying to keep them alive; the marked were dying left right and center. But so were our people. There was nothing I could do, I was still locked in a deadly tussle with the dragon king, and one wrong move could end it all.

  Chapter 18

  Even though Larky was free from the netting, I hadn’t given up trying to gain traction against him. I clawed and bit, my mouth filled with flesh as I tried my best to inflict enough injuries to slow the king down.

  His wounds healed almost instantly. I couldn’t even keep them open long enough for decent blood loss. It was so frustrating, and a huge reminder that he was pretty much impervious to injury while still connected to the marked. I had to break that bond to stand a chance.

  Larky roared again, flames shooting skyward. Dragon dick was pissed and there was no doubt that things were about to go bad for me. He kicked out with those powerful back legs and I was flung far, my wings flapping to stop me from completely eating shit. As my adrenalin hit an all-time high, my dragon and I merged closer, more in sync than ever. Both of us had the same goals, and there was no way we were going to give up.

  I rolled to the side as Larky landed heavily in front of me, squishing about eight of his own marked supes in the process. The battle raged around us. It looked like my boys were back down to fighting two dragons, their group flying a lot closer to the ground now. As they lost strength, they lost elevation.

  My attention was diverted as Larky slashed out at me. I avoided the front set of claws, but wasn’t quick enough for the follow-through. His back talons sliced through my body, severing part of my right front leg. He was so much faster and more dexterous than me. I just didn’t have enough experience in my dragon form. The injury was deep. He’d severed my muscles, leaving me no way to hold my own weight.

  Jessa!

  Braxton’s voice filled my mind. I wanted to growl. He’d been keeping an eye on me, probably distracting himself in his own battle. Still, that rumbly tone was the best sound in the world, somehow drowning out my pain and the worry. The same way my dragon filled me with confidence, Braxton did also.

  I’m okay. Focus on your fight. Finish those bastards and then get back here and help me.

  I’ll be right there, my mate.

  I could hear the promise in his voice. He’d be there for me as soon as he could. I spun as Larky slashed at me again. I was already off kilter and could do nothing but flap my wings and take to the sky. My injury was already healing, but not quickly enough.

  Larky followed me, and despite wanting Braxton more than anything, I made sure to head away from the other dragon battle. I skimmed across the land, and as a large shadow crossed over me, I dropped down again, into a space at the back of the fighting. I wanted to be clear of the marked before we fought again. I wouldn’t kill more than I had to. They had already been dealt the shit-life hand.

  I landed heavily, front leg still useless. The king was right up my ass. I
couldn’t shake him, and I got the sense that he was going to finish this now – injure me badly, force me to shift back to human. Then he could carry me off to his baby-making lair.

  My leg was getting stronger and the bleeding had slowed, so when he dived on me I found the strength to roll away. Larky definitely had not expected me to do that. Slipping beneath him, I clawed straight up into his gut.

  Hells yeah!

  I clawed with all my strength, my jaws clamped onto his throat, tearing and fighting. He was trying to break free, but I held him down for as long as I could, ripping away at the layers of his underbelly.

  Louis!

  I mentally screamed for the sorcerer, hoping like hell he was close by with the necklace. There was no answer at first, and I was losing traction – and hope – when his voice echoed across me.

  “Jessa, you need to hold him for another minute.”

  Louis was close but there was no easy way for him to get between our fighting beasts. Larky freed himself from one of my claws, and as I struggled to hold him I heard a long, bellowing roar laden with dragon energy.

  Larky ripped himself from the rest of my claws and turned the tables on me, locking his jaws over my throat, lifting me up. I hung there for a split second before my fighting instincts kicked in and I thrashed out at him. I was slower now. I was starting to weaken from my injuries.

  The king’s voice sneered in my head. You know, I don’t think you’re worth the trouble. I can rule the supe world with the marked alone, and if I don’t have any offspring, the shadow ones will still be locked away, unable to exact revenge on me.

  He murmured like he was speaking to himself, but it was clear he wanted me to know I was no longer valuable to him, that he was preparing to kill me and my child.

  I fought harder, but that only forced his claws and teeth deeper into my body. I slashed out and tore into the ribs on his right side, inflicting an injury which might actually slow him down. In fact … his heart was visible. Shit. I didn’t have the necklace and I couldn’t see Louis.

  My head went fuzzy as Larky crushed my throat, and at the same time tore across both of my wing joints and shoulder blades. I tried to bellow but no noise emerged. The pain was everywhere and all encompassing. He’d completely disabled every avenue I had to escape.

  That other roar sounded again, and I tried to remain focused, needing to know which dragon was closing in. Usually I’d think Braxton, but for some reason it sounded different. A weight landed on us; the hold Larky had on me eased and I was flung free.

  I caught a glimpse of Louis as I sailed past. Air expelled from me in one huff as I hit the ground, my eyes closed, my dragon and I both struggling through our pain. I almost couldn’t handle it. Energy washed over me then, cool hands touching my side.

  Normally that would make this supe very stupid, touching an injured dragon, but I was in no position to fight now.

  “Jess! Girl, you have to change back.” I knew that voice, that scent. Grace. Her gentle energy wrapping around me.

  I opened my eyes, struggling to lift my head. Grace was disheveled, her hair everywhere. Dirt covered her face and there was a gash along her chin and down to her collarbone. Cardia stood protectively over her; it looked like they had been working together for most of the fight.

  The healer witch appealed to me again: “I can’t heal you in your dragon form, the magic just rebounds back to me.” Her large eyes were glassy; she was swaying on her feet.

  I’d say Grace was pretty much at the end of her ability to heal anyway. Still, I knew she was right. I had to change back to human and hope she could patch me up enough to give me another shot at the king. I reached for the magic, the shifter energy which made up the core of my being. My dragon had already let go of her control; she wanted me to shift and save both of our lives.

  Internally, I scraped myself toward the energy, trying to hurry because I was losing a lot of blood. Finally, by the tip of my fingers, I managed to yank a strand toward me, sobbing as the change washed over me.

  The shift back was brutal. My energy was low, and the agony of trying to change around massive damage had black dots dancing across my vision. When I was about halfway done, a shadow loomed over the back of the two girls. I tried to shout a warning, but my vocal cords were stuck between dragon and Jessa.

  Cardia sensed the marked at the last moment and whipped around so fast she was a vampire blur. But it was a second too late for Maximus’ mate. As the sword swung around, slicing clean through Cardia’s neck and partially severing her head, my vocal cords returned. Screams ripped over the battlefield as I watched on in horror.

  It was like the world was moving in slow motion. Grace, who was the gentlest of supes, suddenly went feral and blasted out at the sword-wielding marked with some sort of spell. By the time she was done, the vampire who had ended Cardia was a scorch mark on the earth. Grace then dropped down beside the vampiress, sobs ringing from her. Finally finished my shift, I dragged myself to them, willing to offer whatever energy I could to help heal the fallen supe.

  “No, no, no … too much damage.” Grace was murmuring through her sobs and I knew that it was too late for Cardia.

  There was no saving Maximus’s mate. My heart squeezed tightly in my chest, nausea rocketing through my gut. My vampire was going to be devastated by this. He would never be the same daredevil, carefree, over-protective, larger-than-life Compass again. This would ruin him, reduce him to a shell of the supe he was now.

  More energy flowed as Grace tried again; she hadn’t given up. I could tell how much she cared for Cardia. The two had probably spent a lot of time together while the rest of us were stuck in Faerie. Grace finished sealing the wound on Cardia’s neck, basically reattaching her head, then she sliced across her own wrist, feeding blood into the vampire’s mouth. I watched in silence, not surprised when there was no movement, no beat of Cardia’s heart and no signs of regeneration. She was gone.

  Still Grace wouldn’t give up, and as she bled her paleness increased to worrying levels. Finally, I shoved her aside.

  “Heal your wrist,” I managed to mutter, before taking Grace’s knife – I was naked and weaponless – and slicing my own wrist. I placed it against Cardia’s mouth.

  I was only doing this for Maximus, so he knew that we did everything we could.

  Despite my pain and injuries exhausting me, tendrils of panic thrummed through me. I couldn’t see anything through the mass of sorcerers which surrounded us and had no idea where the dragon king had disappeared to. Energy brushed against me, strong and ancient, and relief surged as Louis and some of his sorcerers pushed through the crowd.

  He dropped down at my side, laying both hands on Cardia. His eyes fluttered closed, and when they reopened the dull emptiness there confirmed what I’d already known. There was nothing more we could do.

  “She’s gone. Her soul has moved past this world and can no longer be retrieved.” He touched my wrist. Clothing covered me, followed by the burn of a healing. I almost collapsed as the warmth spread everywhere, accelerating the healing which I’d already started with my shift.

  Beside us, Grace was hunched forward, her hands on her legs, head hanging low. Tears silently dropped off her cheeks; the pain she was exuding was tangible. I was also mourning, and not because Cardia had been my friend, but because she had been mated to Maximus, and that made her important, made her my pack. I couldn’t stand to think of his pain right now. He would already know and was probably incapacitated; hopefully the boys had him, and wouldn’t let him plunge to his death in grief or something. It had been known to happen.

  As my body finished its repairs, with Louis’ help, I was able to focus on my task again. The king needed to die and he needed to die now. Where the hell had he gone? I thought for sure he’d have been here, trying to finish me off when I was at my most injured, but there had been that roar and then nothing.

  As the last of Louis’ power evaporated, a sense of rejuvenation filled me and I stumbled t
o my feet, before straightening to my full height. A sparkle of gold caught my eye.

  What the actual fu–

  Five dragons were fighting: two of the king’s black-as-night brothers; Braxton’s blue-black beast; Larky, who glowed black, red, and orange; and the last larger than all the rest, and pure gold.

  “She came,” I said, my nails digging into my palms. “That’s the queen of the dragons. She just saved my damn life.”

  She had torn the king off me before he could finish crushing me, saving my life, Josephina’s, and the young who resided inside of me. We might actually stand a chance now; she was stronger than any other dragon.

  “Should I shift?” I said, not really asking anyone in particular. “I could help.”

  Louis wrapped a hand around mine, and when he pulled away the necklace rested in my palm. “You’re still weak. I haven’t had time to heal you properly. I think if you shift one more time today you’ll probably fall into a healing sleep. You can be just as helpful down here, making sure you finish it off when the queen brings him down.”

  He was probably right. I could still feel the recent injuries, the weakness inside my blood and muscles. Louis normally would have fixed that right up, but the sorcerer was spent. He’d maxed out his energy today.

  “I need to get closer,” I said taking off at a stumbling run, my legs needing a few moments to get the blood flowing.

  I pushed through the marked, most of whom had stopped fighting and were all staring up into the sky. I thought at first they were just captivated by five dragons in battle, but then I noticed the dragon specters. They were swirling high, higher than I’d ever seen before, and linking directly to the king. He was calling on every ounce of power to beat the queen.

  “Knock out the marked!” Louis was yelling. “Knock out the marked now!” His power-laden words drifting through the crowd. All members from our side – those still standing – lurched into action. This was the perfect time, as the marked were all distracted assisting the king, and the more we took out, the less power Larky had at his disposal.