The Dragon Mage Collection

by L J Andrews

  “Quite a while Raffi, I’ve heard so many things.” Mitch cackled when Raffi’s jaw dropped. Teagan hadn’t disappointed. His head cocked slightly, and I felt his fury softening before Teagan spoke again. “You honestly believe my mother is fighting with Bron as his spy or something? After everything we’ve told you?”

  Nuka cleared her throat, her eyes drifting toward Thane, whose gaze had severely narrowed, before landing on Teagan again. “I just thought it…it is worth noting she once had a deep connection with him.”

  “You think I was lying about being Thane’s son? That I’m really Bron’s? Do you think I could fool a warrior about something so huge? I’m pretty sure he would know if he could be my father. Unless you believe Thane’s in on the ruse.”

  Nuka shook her head furiously, and I wondered why she seemed so concerned with Thane. She hardly met his eye now. “No, I wouldn’t do the warrior the disservice.”

  “But you would toward my family?” Thane asked.

  “You don’t believe I’m a dragon mage?” Teagan offered.

  “Well, I do sense some differences between you and…those mages,” she admitted, nodding toward Athika, Rochelle, and Donovan, whose face reminded me of jagged granite by now.

  “And there’s this little issue that he can hear dragon thoughts,” Sapphire mumbled, obviously not pleased with Teagan’s secret.

  “You hold a lot of respect for my dad, but not my mom or me,” Teagan continued. “Is it because he’s the dragon—you can’t accept that a mage would be enough? You have this strong opinion of him, I can feel it. I’m curious why his family wouldn’t get the same respect?”

  Nuka curled back, her shoulders noticeably hunching forward. She hurt. Even with weakened energy, I could feel her struggle to find her words. “I have regard for Thane for other reasons.” Teagan furrowed his brow but didn’t continue. Nuka smiled sadly at Thane, her voice soft enough it was difficult to hear. “You don’t remember, but I do. Konrad, you asked why I am alive. Well, it has a great deal to do with this warrior.”

  Thane’s expression matched Teagan’s, and he shifted to a stiffer stance. “What do you mean?”

  “As I said, I left the tower, but was caught in the fighting below. I was still so young, and I couldn’t find my family. There was a blast against the wall I hid behind—from the dark High Priest. I was practically trampled by lindworms when they burst through the castle. Then you found me. I was covered in so much ash and dirt, you most likely didn’t recognize me. You were with another warrior—he held the young queen. Although it was clear you were wounded, you grabbed me and dragged me to safety, tucking me in a passage in the castle. All you had time to shout was to run to the wall, to stay hidden. Then you were gone. I did as you instructed, and eventually the common wyverns found me. I didn’t know your name, but when you arrived here, I recognized you immediately.” Nuka swallowed with effort. “Despite my reservations, I offer my thanks to you for saving me. I do not mean any disrespect to your mate or your son.”

  Words were lost among us, Thane most of all. Eventually, he nodded and took a step closer to Teagan. “I am glad I could be in the right place that night. I hope it would give you the confidence that we have no reason to lie about what we’re saying, and that I have complete faith in the mages.”

  “It is difficult to release years of resentment,” Nuka said.

  “Nuka, you don’t believe any of your fears, admit it. The mages are not a threat to us anymore. You haven’t seen how they fight with us—how they defend us.” Sapphire grumbled.

  “Then where is your mage, brother?” Nuka snapped, her weak tone strengthening quickly.

  “She’s dead,” Sapphire snarled, the catch in his voice breaking my heart. “She died protecting me against Bron when he attacked us. After such a thing, you can imagine why I chose to put my trust in the mages again.”

  “What do you think of me, Nuka?” I asked when a break in the conversation presented itself. “You said something that bothered Teagan.”

  Nuka shifted uncomfortably, but her powerful eyes found me from across the space. “I don’t mean any disrespect, it’s just…there’s something odd about your connection with the jade mage. And, if I may be bold enough to say, there’s something not quite right about your energy, my queen. How can you protect our people when I…feel your…weakness?”

  “Nuka,” Sapphire warned, his eyes flashing in defense.

  “I thought I’d mentioned, the queen and her mage are mates,” Garwin said, speaking for the first time in a while. I’d nearly forgotten he was there.

  “Mates?” Nuka whispered, though her lips were spread into a smile. “Strange, but I suppose if he is a dragon mage, it isn’t the first time. I can accept that, but it still doesn’t change the fact that I fear you are not well. Is there something you aren’t telling us about your ability to lead, Queen Jade? I knew your father, your grandfather, your mother. They were powerful and had the confidence of the people. If I am to join with you, I will need to have the same confidence.”

  “Jade is perfectly capable of leading,” Raffi grumbled before I could respond.

  “Then why are you so weak?” Nuka asked.

  Again, I opened my mouth to speak, but Amber answered instead. “Can’t you see she is carrying a new dragon mage?” The agitation and protectiveness in Amber’s tone would have been humorous if the situation were different. It seemed our child already had an entire army of wyverns ready to defend them. “I’m certain if you carried a child with such powerful energy, you might feel a little ill too.”

  The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as Nuka and Garwin studied me. I folded my arms over my stomach when Nuka’s gaze left my eyes and seemed locked on my middle. “I did not realize,” she began slowly. “I sense the difference in energy now.”

  “I have a family too, Nuka,” I whispered. “I will do anything to protect them and our people. I never want the divide of families to happen—ever again. I’ll die first.”

  Teagan didn’t like how I’d finished the conversation by the way he shifted on his feet, but he didn’t say anything. Nuka paced in front of us, her eyes focused ahead as she rattled her own thoughts around in her mind.

  Then she stopped. We all stopped.

  My heart thudded in my chest. There was a roar in the distance. It was a warning.

  “Who is that?” Nuka breathed, her eyes locking with her brother.

  “That’s Ced,” Amber gasped.

  Thane had already rushed to the edge of the rocky room when Ced’s roar came again. With a quick glance at Teagan, Thane nodded. “We’re under attack. The lindworms have found us.”

  Chapter 17

  Raffi and Leoch changed forms quickly, their roars answering the call of Ced and the lindworm warriors. I darted out of the back room, keeping pace at Teagan’s side only to find the common wyverns in chaos. Families in full form tried to cover their young ones, their mates, their friends, behind stone boulders. Some revealed underground chambers where children in human form took cover.

  Nuka shouted commands for the people. “Hide yourselves, conceal any energy,” she screamed. Her regal attitude wasn’t lost in all her years away from the royal court. Garwin stood stalwart at her side, but he turned to Thane as he spoke.

  “I am no warrior, but I gladly fight at your side to defend my people.”

  Thane nodded briskly, and in an instant, Garwin’s smaller form took shape. A guttural cry released in the night. Although I was in human form, I knew the sound. Garwin was extending the call to take up defenses for their home. One by one, more common dragons took to the edges of the red sandstone and drifted to the outer rim.

  “Who called to you?” Nuka snapped at Sapphire before he shifted. “You’ve attracted dark power to us.”

  “Prince Ced, the son of King Nag.”

  Nuka shrieked like a dying creature. “You brought the lindworms to us!”

  I startled when Sapphire gripped his sister’s shoulders tightly a
nd pressed his forehead against hers. “These lindworms are not our enemies. They fight against their own people at great risk to their lives. You must trust Ced and his warriors tonight if you wish to keep these people safe.”

  His voice was so powerful, Nuka was rendered speechless. Sapphire’s strong arms shifted to powerful haunches. His shoulder blades burst into his cerulean wings. Without a backward glance, he shot to the sky after Ruby and Amber. Athika and Rochelle sat atop the royals, blasting the night sky in brilliant energy surges. Like dying stars, the mage energy, when truly powerful, burst against the black satin sky in a sea of colors.

  Nuka was lost in her stun when Teagan darted toward the center of the haven. The tips of the jade swords stabbed the soft stones, and in a matter of moments, rigid walls shook from deep beneath the surface of the earth. Donovan joined Teagan. The onyx mage knelt along the rocks, holding the dark stone he’d kept close to him since its recovery, and placed his palms along the ground. With Teagan clutching the jade stone and Donovan molding the energy that commanded water, the earth responded. Instantly, I felt the seal of the two powerful mage energies surround the area.

  “That will block them for a time. We must defeat them, for it will not last forever,” Donovan shouted. “Teagan, I feel as though I might be moving to one of my trances—it seems as though Onyx is near me.”

  Teagan scowled and shouted over his shoulder. “Keep your focus. We need you.”

  Nuka was standing closer to my side when Teagan wrapped his arm around my waist and leaned in close to whisper in my ear over the noise of the rising battle. “Take this. I have to go to Ced. I want you to stay and defend these people.” He forced one of his swords in my palm.

  “No, you need both swords. I will fight with—”

  “With what? Where is your sword, Jade?” he shouted. My stomach lurched. I’d left the blade created for me back in the dining area, now blocked by Teagan’s protective walls. Teagan’s furious blue eyes sent a bolt of fury through my blood. “Take it and use it—I don’t care who comes at you, you kill them.”

  “Teagan, you need this.”

  “I need you,” he practically screamed in my face. “Protect yourself, Jade. Swear to me.”

  “I will,” I responded breathlessly.

  Teagan nodded and pressed a furious kiss on my lips before running toward Thane, who shifted into true form. Teagan had hardly leapt from the ground before Thane was flying over the new protection walls to wherever Ced was surely already fighting.

  “What do we do?” Nuka gasped.

  A tumult raged inside my heart. These were my people. I was their queen. I would protect them. But there was more. The powerful energy boiling in my blood—I would protect my child. The lindworms would try to take me. I could only imagine what sort of torture Nag had planned for me, Amber, and Ced. But one thing was certain: my child would not be allowed to live should I be captured. It was a new sort of fury, one I’d glimpsed during training, but now that the threat was real, I knew in my deepest heart I would do anything to keep the innocent growing within me safe.

  “We fight, Nuka. We are the royals—it is our duty to protect our people. No matter the cost.”

  She swallowed hard and nodded. “Why are you not changing forms?”

  “I can’t,” I snarled, my eyes focused on the farthest wall. Roars and slashing teeth echoed in my head. I felt Teagan, his fury. I needed to stand with him. “It will harm my child. Now go, Nuka. Fight like you’ve never fought before.”

  The walls shook from a blast of energy. There were more mages—Bron’s mages. Their heavy, warped darkness spilled through my soul like knives along my skin. I heard Ruby shriek, and her crimson wings burst into the night sky from over the rim of stone walls. She dove again, disappearing behind the barrier. Though I knew Teagan would be furious, I couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling I was needed outside the walls. If I stayed, I was certain more lives would be lost—possibly Teagan’s life would be lost. A soft touch along my arm sent a chill so sharp I jumped back.

  “Mitch, what are you doing?” I shouted when he met my eye.

  “I’m on baby duty,” he muttered. His eyes gleamed in his playful way, but his tone was quite serious as he pointed to my stomach. “I can’t shift or use powers, Jade, but I swear I’ll be here to keep you and my little guy in there safe.”

  I smiled darkly. “And I will for you. Let’s go, Mitch. We have to get beyond the wall.”

  “Teagan wants us to stay behind his protections.”

  “I know what Teagan wants,” I snarled, holding up Teagan’s sword. “But there is something urging me to go out there. I need to help him, now are you coming or not?”

  Mitch chuckled. “Yes! I knew there was a reason I liked you so much. You tell Teagan just how it is. Let’s go.”

  We darted toward the wall. I was certain there would be an opening somewhere along the edge, but only steep, towering rocks surrounded the area. Cursing like Teagan under my breath, I thought of how I might get over the top without undoing the mage protections.

  “Whoa, watch out,” Mitch shouted, clutching my shoulder. Turning quickly, I swallowed my heart when a blue dragon rushed straight for us.

  I chuckled. “It’s Nuka, get on.”

  Nuka dipped her smooth head. Mitch leapt on first, clutching a knife in each hand. I scrambled onto Nuka’s neck, breathing in the energy of the wind as she darted upward. Once we reached the top and scanned the rocky cliffs, I forgot how to breathe.

  Dozens of lindworm warriors breathed blue flames against the elemental warriors. I found Ced, his body easy to find in the sea of serpents. His wings weren’t bent and bat-like—they were powerful. The prince soared above two fierce warriors. Flames erupted from his throat, but the pyre wasn’t the same as the other lindworms. Ced’s had an ebony hue. Even from where I stood on Nuka’s spine, I could feel the curling power of the night wrapped in every flame. The warriors screeched in agony against Ced’s breath, only to be met with Amber’s bright gilded flames from the side.

  “Jade! Get back,” Teagan’s voice bellowed.

  I caught his eye from the ground. He glanced up at us while slashing his sword against the dark mages. He’d strike strong and true with one hand, while his free hand blasted a rush of bright white energy. Teagan was bombarded in a maddening rage, I could feel it over every inch of my body.

  “Take us there,” I shouted at Nuka.

  She dove into the night, slashing her brilliant claws at a small lindworm who seemed to be fleeing an attack from Leoch and Raffi. Nuka’s strike drew the lindworm to pause just long enough for Raffi’s jaws to sink into the armored scales of its neck. The slender serpent was no match for the enormous power of the warrior, and soon the limp black body faded into the night below.

  Nuka was still five feet from the ground when I leapt off. My eyes were on Teagan, whose electric energy slashed through the heart of a burly dark mage as though the man were made of glass. Before I could reach him, a dark mage flung a serrated dagger against me. The blade struck my forearm. Mitch shouted my name and raced to help.

  I didn’t need it.

  The energy rushing through my blood was intoxicating. If I wanted, I was prepared to crack the earth and swallow up our enemies—at least, it seemed like it. Time moved quickly, but I was enrobed in such power everything flashed before me in crystal clear sharpness. I smirked at the mage who’d struck me. Rolling Teagan’s blade in my hand, it was as if I were holding tight to his hand. Everything Thane, Raffi, and Leoch had taught me over the weeks paraded in my head when I took my first strike.

  The mage cried out in pain when she blocked my sword. Sliding metal echoed in my ears as our blades freed from each other. I spun on my heel, the cutting edge of my sword barely missing the slender stomach of the mage. She hissed, waving her hand over her body, but I was ready. My energy pleaded with the smooth desert stone to come to my aid. The mage sent a wave of night energy aimed at my heart. I sent jagged stones flying throug
h the air. It was effortless, like the night I’d shot glass at the zomok in Sapphire’s old office. Three stones brushed past her head, while three more broken, sharp pieces lodged in her shoulder, abdomen, and thigh.

  The mage curled forward, shrieking in agony as she held her hand above her head preparing to block me with her disgusting manipulated power, but the jade sword took over. It was breathtaking, absorbing the wisdom of such a weapon. As strange as it might sound, the blade had seen enough battles that it seemed to know how to move. Before a glimmer of the mage’s power could escape through her palm, I drew the sword against her chest. She gasped as she fell to her knees, clutching the deep gash bursting with dark blood.

  Mitch gasped at my side and watched the mage fall to my feet. His face was streaked with steaming blood, and there was a dark mage with one of Mitch’s knives lodged in his heart. Ripping the blade from the mage’s flesh, Mitch grabbed my elbow and rushed me back toward Teagan.

  Thane pounded along the ground when a lindworm slashed his claws against Teagan’s bicep, but then the serpent took to flight when he noticed the warrior coming to his son’s side. Clutching his wounded arm, Teagan raced onto his father’s back in pursuit. Thane shot through the darkness faster than the lindworm. I watched, through a silent moment where no one seemed to notice Mitch and I had stopped fighting, as Teagan leapt from Thane’s back when they were well above the serpent. Teagan sailed through the night, his sword held firmly out in front of his body. I drew in a sharp breath when the blade sank painfully deep into the skull of the lindworm. The body flailed like ribbon in the breeze and Teagan fell with it. His blade was freed, and I found myself wringing my palms as Teagan lunged from the dead lindworm and fell into the oblivion of the night. Thane swooped in moments before Teagan would strike the ground and caught him behind his wings.

  “What are you doing out here? They need you behind the wall,” Teagan snapped when he rushed to my side. His lip was bleeding, and I saw the same wildness in his eyes that I felt in my heart.