The Dragon Mage Collection

by L J Andrews

  “I would never force a mate. I am not my father, despite what you might think,” he insisted, taking a step toward Amber.

  Amber looked at me incredulously. I had the strangest sensation I was missing something—obvious, too, by the way Laina chuckled behind her hand.

  With a frustrated sigh, I breathed in a bit of compassion and met Ced’s eye. “Are you planning to mate with Jade—like you’ve always said?”

  “No,” Ced declared. “No, I am not. However you heard me speak of such things, you misunderstood.”

  “But you said…I heard you speak of the royal,” I snarled.

  “Goodness, Teagan,” Amber hissed. “Is Jade the only royal who could appeal to a mate?”

  My throat tightened, and I noticed for perhaps the first time how close the prince stood to Amber. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I sheepishly took my blade Laina now held out. As Thane said—the true story is needed before action. I wasn’t sure I liked that my father had been right in this sense.

  “So, you…” I began, glancing at the ground. “You don’t want Jade?”

  Ced scoffed and shook his head. “As I told the queen when she first came to my father’s manor, I would not risk my life to mate with someone who was not mine alone. I’ve been screaming this in your face since we met. I am not your enemy.”

  “But you two…” I drifted my blade between Amber and Ced.

  “When this is all over, yes, Teagan,” Amber whispered, her eyes drifted toward Ced, whose jaw pulsed in genuine nerves. “I hope the prince might find me a worthy mate.”

  Ced’s smile said a hundred words all at once. He released a nervous breath and kissed the top of her hand. “I found that out long ago. I’m confident there will be a time when an alliance with me will not cause so much…anger.”

  Ced finished by looking at me. I shifted, suddenly wishing mage power could make me disappear. I was angry still. I hadn’t given up my grudge at Ced for putting Jade at risk around Nag and Bron, but this…well, it helped.

  “Well, then,” I mumbled slowly. “I’ll just…I’ll go. Amber, do you…do you want me to keep it a secret?”

  Amber chuckled, her shoulder brushing against Ced. “Why?” she asked sincerely. “How will we ever find peace if we continually behave as though the lindworms are a dark secret that must be kept?”

  I offered a curt nod. “Right.”

  As I left a singular royal alone with the lindworms, I should have felt protective, but instead I was confused. I hated Ced, yet was grateful he’d returned Jade unharmed. I wanted him to leave, yet the power of the night was strong and gave us an edge. Shaking my head, I rushed toward the dining hall where Jade stood next to Johan, Liz, Gaia, and Mitch. Johan was creating amazing displays with ice.

  Wrapping my arms around Jade’s waist, she startled, but soon leaned her head back against me. I clutched her tight, with a new, desperate gratitude for her—all of her. She didn’t say anything at first, but must have sensed my frenzied heart and clasped her hands around my arms. Burying my face in her neck, I breathed the vanilla citrus scent that came naturally to Jade. Gaia smiled, but drew the others attention toward Johan.

  “You inspire me,” I whispered against her skin, leaving a trailing kiss against the nape of her neck.

  Jade chuckled. “I can’t imagine why?”

  She faced me, folding into my body as though we fit together perfectly. Resting my forehead against hers, I felt a calming relief. There was one less thing threatening to take her from me. “I want to be more…compassionate…like you. Just know, I’m working on it—and you are the inspiration.”

  Jade trapped my face in between her palms and offered a watery smile. “I have never met another with the depth of feeling as you. Your loyalty inspires me. I would not be who I am without you, Teagan Ward.”

  I brushed my mouth over hers, forgetting—or simply not caring—that the others were in the room. Nothing mattered in the moment. Only Jade.

  Chapter 19

  The Queen

  “It’s time, we cannot wait any longer,” Onyx insisted as he paced around the pit of flames. Thane leaned back, Gaia’s arms wrapped around his neck. Everyone seemed more relaxed tonight—I was grateful only those I trusted most had stayed awake.

  “I get to come again, right?” Mitch asked. His fingers were still wrapped in linen cloth from his injury. Gaia had been just as surprised as me at how long a wound from the jade swords took to heal. Teagan had apologized for two days until Mitch tossed a knife past his head to quiet him—reminding everyone he was no ordinary human.

  “You already know the answer, delicate flower,” Raffi grumbled with a smirk.

  Mitch offered the warrior a rude gesture, but seemed genuinely disappointed.

  “The onyx stone is perhaps the most guarded and will be the most difficult to retrieve.” Donovan muttered. The onyx mage was stern, and it had become my life’s pursuit to make him smile.

  “I beg to differ, you forget the fire stone is lodged in the dark High Priest’s blade,” Ruby replied softly.

  Teagan stiffened, and I knew he was thinking the same as the rest of us—it seemed impossible to take the fire stone back.

  Donovan huffed. “Well, all I’m saying is I don’t think an injured human would fare well on such a journey.”

  “It’s nothing personal, Mitch,” Onyx insisted. “We just want you healthy for the fun part—when we actually fight with the stones.”

  “Yeah, I get it,” Mitch mumbled, leaning back in a huff against the wall.

  “It’s been long enough since we retrieved Sapphire’s stone,” Donovan continued. “We should go. If the lindworms know we’ve taken back three of the stones, Bron will direct all his forces for the onyx stone.”

  “I don’t disagree,” Thane said. “I just have concerns because we will need to take less to dull our energy from Nag and Bron, but it also leaves us at risk of attack without a full army.”

  “Well, we can’t just leave it there,” Amber offered. Amber didn’t voice her thoughts often, but it seemed lately she had more to say. Now that Teagan had discovered the truth of Ced and Amber’s relationship, I wondered if her desperation for this war to end had more to do with the prince than anyone else.

  “You’re right,” Sapphire muttered, tapping the flat side of a dagger back and forth on his knees.

  “Then we go,” Onyx declared.

  Thane scrubbed his face with his hands and leaned forward on his knees. “I have concerns leaving the cave.”

  “We will be fine,” Gaia urged, her lips brushing along his ear. “You returned within a day last time. Work swiftly, do not take risks, and you will be back before anything could happen. You forget at times, I am not a helpless creature.”

  Thane offered a booming chuckle. Everyone grinned. Teagan’s hand found mine in my lap while he watched his parents. Thane drew Gaia’s lips to his quickly. “That, I will never forget.”

  “You are coming?” Teagan whispered.

  I smirked, tugging on the powerful stone around my neck. “Yes. I will not stay behind unless my presence is more of a risk.”

  “I’m afraid at least three royals will join us on this journey,” Donovan interrupted, obviously overhearing our private words. “From what Celeste has told me, the sapphire stone will be of use. Of course, the jade stone would never be turned away.”

  Konrad glanced at me, his eyes smiling though his lips never fidgeted.

  Thane stood, his pale eyes locked on the fire. “Then we leave just after dawn.”

  “There is tension in the air,” Gaia whispered. “Take care, all of you, and return quickly. This fight will not be long before it is at our door.”

  The others took the words as motivation, but instead of fueling with fire to stand against our enemies, I was filled with dread.

  I soared next to Thane. Teagan didn’t ride on my back—I think it was strange for him at times—though I never minded. Celeste, the mage who had hidden the stone years ago w
ith Thane, rode behind Donovan astride Onyx. She’d led us past the shore, and now we flew across the wide, gray ocean. The air was deliciously salty and fresh, and there wasn’t a glimmer of land in sight beneath the clouds. When Donovan explained the onyx stone used water to conceal its power, I didn’t think middle of the ocean.

  Celeste patted Donovan’s shoulder wildly as the sun lowered to late afternoon. Donovan nodded, and Onyx roared us into a halt.

  We’re here, I said, hoping Teagan would hear. It seemed to work, because he nodded and smiled.

  “It will take energy to open the cavern!” Donovan shouted through his cupped hands. “Teagan, I will need your strength and Celeste to keep it open.”

  Teagan nodded, and I saw him bend down by Thane’s eye. They must have said something between one another, because Teagan chuckled and patted the side of his father’s neck before drawing both his legs to one side of Thane’s shoulder blade and tucking the extra weapons securely on a harness around Thane’s neck.

  I was quite surprised when Donovan leapt off Onyx without a hint of instruction on what we were to do. The mage landed in the water from at least eighty feet. Now, I knew he wasn’t exactly human, but even if I were to take such a leap in my human form, it would feel like cement against my legs. Donovan sank beneath the soft waves of the ocean. The sky was clear, and I could hope there was at least decent weather for our attempt to get the stone.

  Teagan pointed toward the water where Donovan had disappeared. It swirled and frothed like a cyclone was forming in the center of the water. Celeste stood and glanced back at Teagan. “We must go help him open the way. It is too much energy to hold such a thing open for long.”

  You’re not jumping down there, I shrieked through my thoughts.

  I have to, you heard Celeste, Teagan responded, glancing at me.

  I’m going. I’ll be fine, don’t worry. He mumbled in response.

  That was impossible.

  Thane lowered more than Onyx had for Teagan to jump. Teagan landed in the center of the swirling water, Celeste just behind him. My heart panicked when I didn’t see him surface for several minutes. I swooped low, Thane flying around the space with notable agitation. The sky darkened. Strangely, the more powerful the water swirled about, the stormier the sky became.

  A burst of energy whipped against my scales, blowing me back slightly and disorienting my surroundings. Ocean spray whipped along my face, and I couldn’t grapple with what had happened with the dense water of the cold ocean. Where the water had bubbled and started to react to Donovan’s energy, now a funnel opened wide, creating a vortex of salt and wet down to the ocean floor. The wind fury pounding against my wings made it difficult to hold steady. Teagan and Celeste were at the bottom of the funnel, their hands pressing desperately against the slippery sand and coral. Donovan had his arm swallowed by a deep hole in the floor. He shouted painfully and the funnel faltered. The water spilling over their heads.

  Teagan was sopping, but I saw him concentrate more. Something was wrong. I could feel the urgency as they tried to take the onyx stone.

  What is happening, I shouted in my head.

  Teagan didn’t look up, but his voice had a level of panic in my mind as his hands dug so deep into the sand they were lost in the brown muck. Donovan says the stone is not releasing. It’s taking his energy as payment to take the stone.

  Why would Celeste make it impossible to get without sacrificing energy?

  They were guarding them from Bron, Teagan’s voice hissed. It seems all the mages were a little desperate to keep them hidden.

  I swooped my wings angrily. First, Teagan’s blood was required for Sapphire’s stone, now draining a mage of energy. I’d spent enough time with Gaia to know draining energy was the equivalent of bleeding out for a mage. It was quite possible Donovan would not be able to survive.

  Sapphire came in low by the opening of the funnel. The closer he came, the wider the opening spread. I grinned against the new furious wind that billowed beneath my wings.

  This is strong power, it is trying to prevent me from helping, his voice snapped through my mind.

  Keep holding, I pleaded.

  Onyx flew by Sapphire, his large black body hovering over the water. I hoped between the mages and the two royal dragons, more power could be added to keeping the ocean from drowning the one I loved most.

  Watching the struggle a little longer, a stream of panicked flames burst from my throat. Teagan! If he can’t keep his energy how—

  I didn’t get time to finish before Teagan’s voice shook through my brain. We can’t hold it. There’s too much energy locked in the water. Without Donovan—it’s beginning to drain me.

  I didn’t wait to explain to any of my fellow dragons. Thane shuddered next to me when I darted into the swirling funnel. Inside was amazing—and terrifying, all at once. Teagan wasn’t wrong, an odd suction caused me to feel weak the farther I darted to the ocean floor. The water along the sides of the funnel spilled in heavy splashes across Celeste and Teagan’s backs. Donovan was slumped over the hole when I shifted quickly, the burn of my scales still on my skin when I landed on the ocean floor. I grasped Teagan’s shoulders, pulsing as much of my own energy through the veins of our bond. The jade stone—I could command elements, I reminded myself. Teagan shuddered, his eyes blinking as though he were trying to keep himself awake. The water fell in buckets over our heads. As I signaled my command over water to remain open, I understood what Sapphire meant. The pressure to give way and abandon my energy was suffocating.

  “It’s crumbling,” Celeste shrieked. “Donovan, we must leave it. I made it impossible with so few mages. We need help.”

  “I can…get it,” the older mage gasped,

  A wave of salty water struck my face, slipping me along the smooth underwater stones. “We must go. I will take you out of here. You’re all fading.”

  My fingernails dug into Teagan’s arm, but despite his power, there was something strange in this place. Almost as though the stone itself were reluctant to leave its haven. How could even Bron himself compete with the pure element of water if it did not want to be disturbed?

  The wide mouth of the funnel where the other three dragons hovered was closing. Thane dipped down into the funnel. They all knew—we were out of time. Water sloshed around my hips. Teagan held his breath and dipped forward again to try and keep the open water tornado wide. Donovan shouted painfully toward the sky and fell backward after another breathless moment. He was lost beneath the water, and Celeste released her energized grip on the ocean floor. More water dumped over us. She clasped the onyx mage beneath the shoulders when she surfaced. Donovan sputtered, but weakly held up his pale hand. Marks lined his dark armor as though his blood had been drained throughout his entire limb.

  Clutching Teagan beneath his shoulder, I shifted. The water spilled around my large body, my wings flapping but finding no air, only water. Teagan clambered onto my back as the funnel collapsed around us. Thane bellowed, and Donovan and Celeste swam desperately while there was still air to breathe and gripped Thane’s neck. Thane’s enormous skull nudged me free of the heavy weight from the flooding water, and I found a sliver of a breeze.

  The sides of the funnel weakened, the opening growing smaller. I pulsed toward the surface. I was not a water dragon. Panic bled with every pounding beat of my heart as pure oxygen was growing scarce the narrower the hole in the ocean became. I pulsed my wings faster, feeling Thane’s furious dart to the surface behind me. In all my frenzy, the only way I even knew Teagan was still on my back was the bond connecting us together.

  Like being free from a crushing prison, I burst from the deadly funnel and shot toward the sky as the waves thrashed about when they concealed the ocean floor once again. Thane was at my left flank as we rejoined Sapphire and Onyx.

  Teagan coughed sea water from his lungs and leaned forward on my back. I could feel his smile in his voice. “That was calling it a little close. Good thing I have my own personal dra
gon hero.”

  Onyx roared in pleasure, a stream of black flames bursting into the fading sunlight when Donovan held up the stone from where he’d sprawled out along Thane’s back. I beamed—even if my smile didn’t show in wyvern form—I was elated. We’d done it. We had four elemental stones. All we needed now was the fire stone. And that meant we needed to kill the dark High Priest.

  Chapter 20

  The Mage

  There was a burden lifted from our small group as we sailed away from the shore. Four stones—we had four, Bron and Nag had only one. I was sopping wet from nearly suffering the crushing spill of the ocean, but I would do it all over again to feel the power from Onyx, Jade, and Sapphire using their strengths to control the elements. Though they may not have noticed, I couldn’t help but feel the fury of the elemental royals surging together in one force. It had strengthened me, but then again, Celeste had proven she wasn’t a mage of small means. She’d created such a powerful sanctuary for the onyx stone it was intimidating; though she insisted I was stronger than her—it certainly didn’t feel that way.

  The moonlight cast along Jade’s scales gleamed like silver. I brushed my hand over her neck, feeling an even deeper sense of connection. The air from the humid, muggy ocean had changed long ago to the fresh, although biting, chill near the caves. We would return soon, and a smile broke over my face as I envisioned the response to our victory.

  Jade shuddered, and her wings billowed with air, slowing us slightly. The hairs on my arms prickled to life, and I shot up. Something was wrong.

  The others billowed their wings as well, and Thane’s booming voice filtered through my head.

  We can’t go forward. There’s warding, He practically shouted.

  Warding for what? Sapphire boomed.

  There was a pause. I felt something—it was familiar, but incredibly powerful. I didn’t feel the same barriers as the others. Mage warding—it was preventing dragons from going forward.