She scoured the room again and then shut her eyes, focused on her dragon instincts and tapped into them.
The sword was here.
The sword was treasure.
The most beautiful treasure.
The ultimate treasure.
Her senses tingled, her feet drawn towards something in the far corner, near the open flap at the front of the tent. She opened her eyes, everything around her shimmering as her desire for treasure took hold.
Treasure.
She obeyed her feet, allowing them to carry her towards it, lost in the desire running through her, the excitement and need. She was close. The treasure would be hers.
She squatted in front of a low long black box. Her hands shook as she reached for the gold clasp on the polished stone lid. She flicked it open with her thumb, held her breath as she raised the lid. That breath shot from her as her hungry gaze fell on the black sword. She ran trembling fingers down the blade, feeling the engraving on it, the power that flowed through it.
Intoxicating.
A roar sounded, closer now.
The ultimate treasure.
Not the sword, but the male who had birthed such a feral powerful call.
Her mate.
She closed her fingers around the hilt of the blade, pulled it from the box and rose to her feet.
She raced to the back of the tent, tugged the black material up and rolled under it, coming to her bare feet on the other side.
Her entire body froze.
Gaze slowly edged to her right.
To the male there.
Tenak’s lips peeled back off his fangs as he snarled at her, his violet-to-white eyes flashing dangerously. He went from a walk to a sprint, long violet-leather-clad legs eating up the distance between them. Her heart shot into overdrive.
Bleu reared up behind him and swept his left paw down, caught her brother in his side just as he closed in on her and sent him flying across the camp and slamming face-first into the stone wall of one of the abandoned buildings.
Before she could say or do anything, that same paw closed around her and lifted her off the ground. Bleu tucked her against his chest, cradling her as his heavy footfalls shook the earth and Tenak roared in the distance. The hairs on the back of her neck rose on end and she didn’t need to see to know her brother had shifted.
Bleu snarled and launched into the air, his huge black wings beating it hard as he tried to gain some distance between them and her brother.
Taryn clutched the sword, pulse pounding as she called her violet leathers and white corset, and her boots. As Bleu banked, she looked back in the direction they had come, and her eyes widened as she saw not only Tenak after them but the three other dragons too.
The red male and emerald female broke away from Tenak, coming around to flank Bleu.
Bleu snarled, jowls peeling back off his razor sharp teeth, and dove, twisting in the air at the same time to drop beneath them. He straightened at the last second, spread his wings and glided over the heads of the warriors clashing on the battlefield.
In the distance, the garrison came into view.
It stuttered, darkness flickering over it, before the world came back. Bleu snarled and she felt his frustration, knew the cause of it. He had tried to teleport with her but he wasn’t strong enough to use his portal when he was in such a large form.
He jerked forwards, a pained cry tearing from between his teeth, and dropped hard. He pulled his paw up, pressing her against his neck, and she shrieked when she came face to face with her brother. His enormous violet eyes narrowed on her as he sank his fangs into Bleu’s left flank and dug the talons of his front paws into his wing membranes.
Pain exploded across her back as they crashed together, hitting the ground hard, and rolled. Bleu lost his grip on her and the world twisted around her as she flew through the air, tumbling and turning. He snarled and flashed across her vision, a broken image of him shifting back. The pain. Her brother had bitten him to drive him back into his weaker form.
Taryn grunted and cried out as she slammed into the ground and tumbled across it. The sword she clutched stabbed into her right thigh, sending white-hot fire blistering across her flesh from that point. The scent of blood filled her nostrils. She growled as she came to a halt face down on the grass, the tip of the black blade still sticking into her thigh, the angle of it pulling at the wound.
She rolled onto her back and bellowed as she pulled it free of her flesh, breathed hard as she let it fall to her side together with her arms and fought the pain back.
The sound of the battle was dim in her ears, her senses telling her they had landed a good distance from it, in a clearing in the valley.
A roar curled around her.
Her mate.
Taryn rolled onto her front, pressed her hands into the grass and pushed herself up. Blood pumped from the wound on her thigh. She gritted her teeth, grasped the sword and shoved onto her feet, wobbling as her entire leg burned beneath her weight. She had to fight.
Her hazy vision cleared as she blinked, revealing the brutal fight between Bleu and her brother. The three dragons on her brother’s side circled lazily overhead, watching the two warriors as they clashed, both in their mortal forms.
A mighty war cry off to her right and the sound of thundering footsteps said they wouldn’t be alone for long. The battle was coming to them.
Taryn’s grip on the sword tightened and she kicked off, heart filled with resolve and every instinct she possessed screaming at her to protect her mate.
Bleu clashed hard with Tenak, sending her brother staggering backwards, and lashed out with the serrated claws of his black armour. Tenak leaped back, barely evading the tips of them, and kicked off the moment he landed, throwing himself at Bleu while he was still following through with the strike. Her brother slammed into his side, driving him down, and landed on top of him on the ground.
Her mate threw his head to his right, dodging the punch coming at his face. Tenak’s fist smashed into the earth and her brother snarled as he drew his arm back and struck again. Bleu growled and bucked up, sending her brother off balance. Tenak fell to his left, tried to right himself but it was too late. Her mate was already breaking free from beneath him.
Bleu tackled Tenak, landing on top of him now and gaining the upper hand.
Until the red dragon swooped and forced him to roll off Tenak to evade his massive paw as it swiped at him. Bleu’s head shot up and he snarled through his fangs at the male. The dragon turned in the air, dove right back at him. Bleu disappeared, leaving a shimmering ghost of him behind that the talons of the dragon disturbed as they raked through it.
A hot shiver coursed through her when Bleu appeared behind her.
She ran at Tenak, raising the sword as she roared a battle cry of her own. Strength flowed through her, determination that made her blood run hot and her courage rise. She would end this now.
Tenak’s head lifted, his violet-to-white eyes wild with a hunger for violence, thick ribbons of blood painting the right side of his face and dripping down his bare chest to soak into the waist of his purple leathers.
He shoved to his feet and his gaze swung her way.
Landed right on hers.
Familiar eyes that gained an edge of sorrow as they locked with hers.
All of her strength left her and she stumbled to a halt just metres from him, her hands shaking, rattling the black blade that suddenly felt too heavy in her grip. It dropped to her side, her shoulders slumping as she stared into her brother’s eyes.
Her brother.
Tears filled her eyes as she stared at him, fighting to convince herself to move, to do what was right and end him and spare all of Hell his wrath.
Bleu’s steady gaze on her heated her back as the sound of battle fell away, silence stretching around her, and she felt only her mate and her brother on her senses.
Her future was behind her, not in front of her. Her past stood there, a male she had loved once, but
no longer.
It was hard to force herself to accept that as she stared at him, caught in his gaze. Such a familiar gaze.
Such familiar eyes.
Those eyes had laughed at her, had shown her the deepest love and greatest affection, had comforted her when she had hurt and lifted her heart again, restoring her faith in the world whenever it had faltered.
The tears filling hers blurred her vision and she blinked to clear it, drew down a breath to steady her heart, pushed against the tide of the memories that felt as if it was going to carry her away, sweeping her back to her past rather than forwards to the future she wanted with all of her heart.
That future stood behind her, waiting for her to claim it.
With the stroke of a sword.
It would be hers.
She tried to move her hand, to raise the blade that felt so heavy in it and claim that future she wanted with her mate, putting her past to rest, but it refused to respond as Tenak turned to face her.
Her brother.
Taryn looked down at the sword and then up into Tenak’s eyes.
She wavered, torn between dropping the blade and using it against him, her heart on fire as she battled the pain ripping her apart.
A roar sounded behind her.
Darkness rushed past her on black wings.
CHAPTER 38
Tenak shifted in an instant, becoming a dragon and rearing onto his hind legs just as Bleu hit him hard in the chest, sending them both to the ground in a tangle of wings. Bleu didn’t give him a chance to lash out at him. He struck hard, sinking his fangs into the white line down the front of Tenak’s long neck, puncturing his scales and tearing a pained roar from him.
Taryn’s hurt pounded in Bleu’s veins and beat in his heart, driving him on.
He hadn’t been able to stand there and watch her suffering, to sit back while she wrestled with herself, torn and hurting. When the pain in her heart had grown so fierce it had brought tears to his own eyes, he had known exactly what he had to do.
He had to deal with her brother for her.
He couldn’t allow her to fight Tenak, because he knew it would destroy her. At the risk of her despising him forever, he would fight her brother and would end him.
Tenak rolled with him, pinning him to the ground. The male beat his wings, driving his full weight into Bleu’s stomach and pushing the air from his lungs. Bleu snarled and lashed out at him with his tail. The barbed tip sank deep into Tenak’s hindquarters and he yanked it back, slicing through Tenak’s violet scales and ripping a pained cry from him.
The second Tenak threw his head back on that cry, Bleu struck again, snapping at his chest and scratching long grooves in his thicker white scales with his fangs. Tenak shoved off him, beating his broad wings to lift him into the air.
He called to his three dragons and they dove towards him, coming to his aid.
No damned way Bleu was going to let the bastard escape.
He lumbered onto his feet and kicked off, reached out with his left paw and just missed Tenak’s front right one. Tenak spotted him and snarled, and the barbed tip of his tail smashed into Bleu’s wings, slashing the black membrane. He dropped hard, beat his wings to try to decelerate but it was difficult when his left wing had taken heavy damage.
His hind paws hit the ground hard just as Tenak’s army of demons and fae reached them, and Bleu growled as they hacked at his paws and tail. He turned on them and lashed out with his tail, sending males flying in a wave through the air as it ploughed through their ranks. Terrified screams rang out from them and he turned his head and snapped at them, caught one between his jaws and bit down hard. The male’s garbled cry cut short as one of Bleu’s fangs punched a hole right through him and the two parts of his body dropped from his jaw, spiralling towards the demons at his feet, spraying blood over them.
Bleu kicked off again, weathering the storm of swords and spears that pierced his scales, gaining enough height to evade them. Some of the fae hurled spears at him.
He went to turn on them.
An invisible wave cut through the horde, sending them shooting into the air, coming down hard on their own ranks. Bleu cast a glance towards the source of the blast.
Vail stood just in front of Taryn, his clawed hand outstretched before him, his violet eyes narrowed on the enemies he had just sent flying. Those eyes lifted to Bleu, and Bleu nodded his thanks and twisted away, beating his wings as he went after Tenak and the three dragons.
The blood sliding over his black scales cooled as the wind rushed over him, stealing more of his strength as it made him aware of his injuries. His wounded wing ached as he flew, but he gritted his teeth and pushed onwards through the pain.
Behind him, the battle grew distant, becoming a murmur in his ears.
Ahead of him, Tenak turned.
Bleu snarled through his fangs and pinned his gaze on the bastard.
Big mistake.
He cried out as pain splintered across his right side like lightning, searing his bones. The red dragon snapped at him and he threw his head left, barely evading the blow aimed for his throat. Talons raked over his shoulder and his right wing, tearing through the membrane. The male dragon growled as he beat his wings, sending Bleu spiralling into a free fall with him. Bleu fought him, lashing out with his fangs, trying to seize the male’s throat to pull him away.
He snarled as he managed to get hold of the male.
Too late.
White-hot fire blazed over his left side as he hit the ground, the weight of the red dragon landing on top of him emptying his lungs on impact. His vision darkened and then slowly returned in time for him to see Tenak diving towards him, talons poised to strike. The red dragon kicked off, claws tearing free of Bleu’s flesh, and Tenak hit Bleu hard, sending darkness shooting across his vision and his mind.
Numbness swept in, a strange sort of emptiness that rang alarm bells in Bleu’s head.
He fought the encroaching unconsciousness and twisted beneath Tenak as the male rolled him onto his back, an agonised bellow tearing from between his clenched teeth as his wings bent awkwardly beneath him, bone snapping.
Bleu mustered all of his strength, pushed beyond the limit and reached for more. One last stand. One last shot.
He scrabbled at Tenak’s chest, clawed the bastard and tried to get his talons between the plates of white armour protecting his heart.
He was going to tear it out.
The tip of his right talons caught on a crack in Tenak’s scales, and his paw hung there limply no matter how fiercely he tried to convince his talons to press between the scales and plunge into his chest.
Gods damn it.
Weakness infested every inch of his body, throbbing among the pain, mocking him.
Tenak loomed above him, violet scales dark in the low light of evening, but his purple eyes shining like fire.
Thoughts of his mate filled Bleu’s mind and his aching heart, thoughts of the future he had wanted to claim for them on this battlefield, a future that was slipping through his weakening grasp, replaced with only darkness—the death that shone in Tenak’s eyes.
Gods damn it all to Hell.
It couldn’t end here, with him so close to securing the future he had dreamed of since he had been a boy, one where he would live forever with his ki’ara, could it? Would fate be so cruel?
“Get your fucking paws off him!”
Bleu didn’t have a chance to pull his wits together enough to recognise the feminine voice that had snarled those words in the dragon tongue before a blast of white-blue light blinded him, seared his scales and felt as if it was setting him on fire as it rushed past him.
A pained roar shattered his eardrums.
His own?
He felt as if he was burning to ashes in the fiery light.
The weight that had been pressing down on him lifted and the light faded, the world going dim for a few seconds before his vision adjusted and came back.
Revealing he still had al
l four paws when he was sure he must have lost some in order to make him cry like that.
The scent of singed flesh accompanied by low whimpers drew his hazy focus towards a point a short distance from him.
To the violet-and-white dragon who was limping backwards, a paw-less right arm tucked against his white chest and left wing grotesquely bent and dragging across the grass. Where the right wing should have been, there was only a smoking stump. Pale wisps curled from the shorn white horns on the right side of the dragon’s head too, wafting in the breeze that gently swept across the land.
Everything slowly fell into place as a female came into view, her violet-to-white hair billowing in the breeze, fluttering around her slender bare shoulders as she advanced on the wounded dragon, fire raging in her striking eyes.
She held a black sword point down at her side, and swirls of white-blue light rose off the blade, curling from it and catching the breeze. They brushed across the violet leathers that tightly encased her long slender legs, drifting up towards the small strip of toned stomach exposed between her trousers and her white leather corset.
Recognition sparked inside him, drove the haziness from his mind as his heart beat quicker and his instincts roared to the fore.
His mate.
His ki’ara.
His forever.
She didn’t take her eyes off Tenak as she advanced on him, no trace of sympathy in her eyes now or fear in her blood as she held her head high.
Tenak shifted back, snarling and growling in agony as his body shrank and distorted. He grunted as the transformation finished and clutched his right arm, pain written in every strained line of his bloodstained face. Crimson ran down the right side of it, darkening his short hair, the smell of it strong in the still evening air.
Silence reigned around them as he faced off against Taryn, both Bleu’s enemies and his allies collectively holding their breath as they waited to see what would happen.
“Sister,” Tenak said in a throaty murmur, edged with pain, and reached his left hand towards her, his gaze imploring.
Her face blackened, but a spark of agony lit her eyes and called to Bleu.
Possessed by a Dark Warrior Page 43
