by Rinelle Grey
Lisa turned to look at her, and knew as soon as she saw the tight-lipped expression on her face, that Karla had something to say.
And that she probably wasn’t going to like it.
Lisa bit back a sigh. “What?”
“Are you sure you’re up for this, Lisa?”
Lisa gave a sharp laugh. “Bit late to ask that, isn’t it? I’m well and truly in it now.”
Karla was silent. When Lisa looked up, there was pity in her eyes.
That was the last thing Lisa wanted to see. She hated anyone pitying her.
The expression helped her square her shoulders and glare at Karla. “I can do this just as well as you can.”
Karla’s expression softened. “I chose this, Lisa. I know you didn’t. No one would blame you if you want to find somewhere safe to wait it out.”
Karla hadn’t outright said Lisa was usually selfish and self-centred, she didn’t have to. Lisa knew she was. That didn’t mean the subtle accusation didn’t hurt. Lisa felt tears well up in her eyes.
“I made a choice, same as you,” she said fiercely. “Maybe Verrian and I didn’t swear to love each other, or have a big mating ceremony like you and Taurian did, but that didn’t mean we didn’t choose this. I chose to save Verrian, even though I knew the consequences. You think I did that for myself?”
Karla regarded Lisa thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. “What you did was very noble. Worthy of being a dragon mate.” She hesitated. “Doing the right thing always pays off in the long run. I know you can do this, Lisa.”
This time, Lisa couldn’t hold back the tears.
Karla’s reply was totally unexpected.
Karla thought she could do this? Lisa wasn’t sure if she meant be a princess, Verrian’s mate, or just hold it together for long enough to get some sleep, but it was touching that Karla had faith in her. No one ever had before.
Well, aside from Verrian.
A tingle up her spine alerted her to her mate’s presence before he entered the room, giving her enough warning to swipe the tears from her eyes.
Verrian’s eyes were searching though, as he scanned her face. “Are you all right?”
Lisa managed a nod. “Of course.”
She could see it in his face. He was looking at her, but his focus wasn’t there. Something else was going on. Her heart started pounding, adrenaline flooding through her. “What is it?” she demanded.
Verrian hesitated only a moment. “I volunteered us to go with Bruce while he wakes my sister, Princess Lyrian. But if you’re too tired, I can go alone.”
As if.
“No, I’m coming,” Lisa said firmly. “Like I’d let you go alone. You’d probably go and get yourself killed, and then where would I be?”
She’d meant it as a joke, a light-hearted tease, but both Verrian and Karla looked far too serious.
“You’d be dead,” Verrian said softly.
“You knew that, did you?” Karla asked, her voice just as gentle. “That’s part of the mate bond. If one of you dies, both of you do.”
Someone must have neglected to mention that bit to her.
She’d thought never feeling the urge to sleep with another man was a big step. It was nothing compared to this.
If Verrian was an ordinary man, it would still make her pause. But he was a dragon. A dragon with a predilection to fighting other dragons. Even if he wasn’t, his clan was at war. He had dangerous enemies.
The chances of him living a long and safe life were slim.
Would she have still made this choice if she’d known?
Lisa couldn’t help feeling glad she hadn’t. No matter how much she might still have wanted to, she would have felt irresponsible and careless to have mated with him anyway, knowing it was putting her life at risk. Yet somehow, she couldn’t make herself regret it after the fact.
Either way, it made no difference now. It wasn’t like she could go back and undo the choice. So she shrugged. “Even more reason for me to come then.”
“Are you sure? I won’t think any less of you if you feel the need to sleep. If your plan has worked, and the humans are distracting Ultrima, this task should not be taxing.”
Verrian’s words in her head were gentle. He really did think she might prefer to stay here.
With a jolt, Lisa realised that a couple of weeks ago, she probably would have.
She remembered how scared she’d been that first time with Karla, going to rescue Taurian. But the memory was dim and distant.
She wasn’t that person anymore. She wasn’t sure if it was loving Verrian, or the mate bond, but she just wasn’t scared.
No, that wasn’t quite true. She was still scared. She’d be stupid not to be, they were going up against an unknown and powerful dragon.
It was just that now, she had something stronger than the fear.
Her feelings for Verrian seemed to block out all the fear. It was still there, but distant enough that she could ignore it.
The tiredness too apparently. Or maybe that was the adrenaline.
“I want to be with you,” Lisa said firmly. “My place is at your side.”
Verrian smiled. “Thank you, my princess. I would be honoured.” He followed up the far too formal words with a kiss that left Lisa breathless.
Karla had said to put aside her personal feelings, but Lisa wasn’t the one who had instigated the kiss. Karla could hardly argue with Verrian choosing to kiss her.
Not that Lisa cared if she did.
Because when his lips were on hers, his dragon voice crooning her name in her head, all her confusion melted away.
She knew she was exactly where she wanted to be.
Together, she and Verrian could do this. They could help wake his sister, and help his clan win this fight.
Then, after all that, maybe they might have some time to be together. To figure out if they had something real here.
Chapter 54
Adrenaline sung in Lisa’s veins. When Verrian had first suggested going out to wake up his sister, she’d wondered how she was going to manage to stay awake. But right now, she knew there was no way she’d have been able to sleep.
When you were a dragon’s mate, something exciting was always happening.
She wouldn’t swap it for anything. She stared at Verrian, deep in conversation with his brother, and couldn’t help feeling a surge of love.
Verrian was an amazing dragon, and somehow, he was her lifemate. How had that happened?
Oh, that’s right. He’d had no other choice.
The thought left a sour taste in her mouth. Her excitement at the adventure dulled a little.
The change was only emphasised by Karla stepping up to Verrian’s brother, Taurian, and putting a hand on his arm. Taurian instantly broke off his conversation, their eyes met, and Lisa could see the love passing between them.
That was what a real mating was. What she and Verrian had was only pretend. It didn’t matter how much she loved him, he didn’t feel the same way.
Oh sure, he glanced over towards her and smiled, but it wasn’t the same.
Lisa gave herself a shake. It didn’t matter right now. They had bigger things to worry about. They were about to go and wake Verrian’s sister.
Well, they weren’t going to wake him, that job went to Bruce. Her eyes went to Karla’s ex-boyfriend, whose face looked determined and a little apprehensive. Hopefully he was up to the task.
She stepped up next to Verrian, and made herself pay attention to the conversation.
“I think we’re better off taking as small a force as possible,” Verrian said. His hand reached for hers and gave it a squeeze, making Lisa feel instantly better. “We have to hope Lisa’s plan to distract Ultrima by sending the police to his lair has worked, and that Ultrima is too busy dealing with the humans to be watching for us. If we do face opposition, I’m hoping it’s going to be small. And a small group of us is going to attract less attention than a large one. If we take half the clan, and the humans
show up…”
Lisa gave a shiver. He didn’t have to finish that sentence. Everyone in the room knew that would be bad.
Taurian was nodding slowly. “Chase and Wayrian aren’t going to make it. They’ve already had police show up at the cattle station. Goodness knows how they figured out that Chase was involved. He managed to put them off the scent, but if they move now, they’ll be outed. So we don’t have any backup anyway.”
“All the more reason to keep this small,” Verrian repeated. “Lisa and I can keep Bruce safe.”
He spoke with such assurance, such certainty, Lisa couldn’t help feeling concerned. Just the two of them? Could they really manage to keep Bruce safe?
Verrian seemed to be learning what his powers could do, and he was great at improvising, but she wasn’t sure that she was the greatest backup. She wasn’t sure what she could even do. She’d left her bow and arrows behind somewhere, so she didn’t even have that.
Not that they’d been that effective against dragon scales anyway.
What could she do to help?
How could she keep Verrian safe if a Trima dragon attacked, much less Bruce?
She was just wondering if she should speak up and say that to Verrian via mind speech if nothing else, when she noticed Taurian frowning.
His look was worried, and his eyes were on Verrian. Lisa suspected he wasn’t so sure Verrian was up to this either. She felt both guilty and relieved.
“I think we need to send someone else as well,” Taurian said firmly. “Someone to specifically watch over Bruce. He has a big job to do. If anything happens to him, then who is going to wake the princess?” When Verrian opened his mouth to protest, Taurian held up a hand. “Hear me out. I’m not doubting your ability, brother, but if you and Lisa are fighting a Trima dragon, you won’t be watching Bruce. If there is more than one dragon or, god forbid, a human, hiding around somewhere, you could miss them.”
Bruce was watching them all, his face pale as a sheet. Or maybe that was his normal, British complexion. His jaw was set though.
He glanced over at Karla, his ex-girlfriend, and if anything, his expression grew more determined.
Lisa felt a little sorry for him. He’d come all this way with the idea of getting Karla to marry him, only to find out she was mated to a dragon. That had to be hard.
Lisa hoped his experience with a dragon princess was as wonderful for him as her prince had been for her.
Even if it didn’t turn out to be love.
She’d gone into this with such different expectations. All she’d wanted was to have an exciting night of sex with a dragon prince. It had never occurred to her she might fall in love. She would have scoffed at the thought.
Yet, here she was.
Lisa bit back a sigh. She wasn’t sure if this was better than her original plan or not. All she knew was, she wouldn’t go back and change any of it, even if she could.
“Who are you suggesting?” Verrian asked, his question bringing Lisa back to the present.
Taurian crooked a finger, and a young dragon woman stepped forwards.
Lisa wasn’t sure she remembered seeing her before. Her dark grey hair was pulled back in a severe braid, and her face seemed etched in a perpetual frown. She had a lean, muscled body, full of tension, like a coiled spring that looked like it might release at any minute.
Lisa wasn’t sure she’d particularly want to be friends with this woman, but she was pretty sure she’d be happy to have her standing next to her in a fight. Or next to Verrian.
Verrian didn’t look so happy. He was frowning, though he didn’t say anything. Both he and Taurian were silent for several long moments. Why weren’t they saying anything?
Then Lisa realised they were probably having the same sort of private, mind to mind, conversation she and Verrian often had.
She’d known he could do that with the other dragons, of course, but it still left her feeling a little excluded.
They weren't trying to exclude though, she reminded herself. It was the rest of the clan, standing around watching who needed to see their princes as a unified front.
Even if Verrian was probably arguing with Taurian that he didn’t need a bodyguard.
Feeling a little guilty about it, Lisa couldn’t help hoping that Taurian won this argument. She’d feel a lot better about having the grey haired dragon helping them.
Verrian gave a short nod at Taurian, and Lisa breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like Taurian had prevailed.
“This is Narrian,” Taurian said by way of introduction. He looked at Lisa. When she nodded, he turned to Bruce and continued. “She is a one of our warriors. A metal dragon. Her father gave his life to protect the princess on a previous attempt to wake her. I have no doubt Narrian would do the same thing if the situation requires it. Her job will be to stay by your side at all times. Except when you and my sister are alone of course.”
Bruce blushed furiously, and nodded.
Lisa couldn’t help wondering how he was going to go when he came face to face with his dragon. Was he too shy to go through with the Mesmer ritual? Then again, once he touched the princess, that would be all he’d be thinking about.
She felt a flush of heat herself at the memory.
Impatience welled up in her. Were they done talking yet? Could they get moving? She couldn’t wait until this mission was done, so she and Verrian could return home. Not to sleep though.
No, she had other things in mind.
Now she and Verrian were mated, there was no need for them to avoid sleeping together. They could do it as much as they wanted.
She was pretty sure Verrian would be as keen as she was.
Even if he wasn’t in love with her, there were a lot of advantages to this mating.
Chapter 55
Verrian’s eyes strained in the moonlight. He wasn’t game to leave the last stand of stunted trees and step out into the sand dunes until she was sure. Lyrian’s Mesmer chamber had to be somewhere around here.
The dunes, ever shifting in the wind, spoke to Lyrian’s wandering soul.
And made it hard to find her resting place.
Uncertainty nagged at Verrian’s heart. What if he’d chosen the wrong place? What if, in three hundred years, the sand had shifted so completely, he couldn’t find her chamber?
What if he failed?
He could sense Lisa’s impatience, but he wasn’t ready to move yet. As soon as they stepped out onto the sand, they’d be exposed. A Trima dragon could be anywhere out there, hidden behind a dune, just waiting for them. He needed to be sure before he made his move. Once they left the dubious cover of the trees, they needed to get to the Mesmer chamber as quickly as possible.
Narrian waited patiently for his orders, her own eyes constantly scanning the area around them. She didn’t push him to move, or even wriggle impatiently like Lisa had.
He hated to admit it, but Taurian had been right. She’d been an excellent choice for a fourth for this party.
When his brother had first suggested her, Verrian had thought it was because he didn’t think he could do this. That thought had stuck in Verrian’s throat, and made him feel even more like a failure.
He hadn’t been able to resist Taurian’s plea to accept her on this mission. His brother’s story, about how Narrian had never gotten over her father’s death trying to wake the princess, and her need to complete her father’s failed mission, had overcome his pride.
And Taurian had rightly pointed out that Verrian couldn’t be fighting a Trima dragon and watching Bruce at the same time. He’d assured Verrian that Narrian wouldn’t interfere in his decisions, and he’d been right.
Verrian glanced over at Bruce, who sat on a fallen log. They’d had to walk the last few kilometres, Verrian had been concerned the noise from the car would alert any nearby Trima dragons. The man seemed fit enough, but the heat, even in the early hours before the sun had risen, seemed to be too much for him.
Verrian wondered how he was going to h
andle dragon heat?
Not his problem though. His only problem was getting him there.
He scanned the dunes again, but nothing moved. He couldn’t sit here waiting all day. They needed to move.
He signalled to Narrian, who tapped Bruce on the shoulder.
“Time to move,” he told Lisa, mind to mind.
Lisa didn’t say anything, she didn’t need too. Verrian could almost hear her ‘about time’ in his mind. He couldn’t help smiling. For some reason, her impatience was cute.
He really was in a sad way. It didn’t seem to matter what she did, it just made him love her more.
Pushing that thought out of his mind, Verrian stepped out of the trees. He sent out some inaudible pulses of sound, searching for the deeper, more solid response that would tell him where Lyrian’s Mesmer chamber was.
He should have been able to sense it. That was why he had hesitated so long. But he felt nothing.
His sonar found nothing.
Verrian tried not to panic. It had been three hundred years. Of course the sand would have shifted. It had to be around here somewhere. He’d find it. No matter how long it took. Verrian struck out with a confidence he didn’t feel, keeping an eye on the sky and the surrounding dunes.
Narrian scanned the skies as obsessively as he did. Lisa too. Even Bruce glanced up once or twice, though most of his attention was spent trying to keep his feet on the shifting sand.
They walked for some time, Verrian sending out constant sonar pulses, searching for the Mesmer chamber. As they walked further and further without finding any sign of it, Verrian’s concern grew. Surely the sand couldn’t have shifted this far.
Could it?
“How much further is it?” Lisa’s voice in his mind was quiet. Surprisingly undemanding.
Verrian hesitated over admitting the truth. If her question had been out loud, he wouldn’t have even considered it, but Lisa was his lifemate. He trusted her, more than he’d trusted anyone ever before.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “It should have been back close to the trees. The sand must have shifted. I don’t know where it is.”
Lisa didn’t say anything, and for a moment, Verrian wondered if she thought he was a failure. He glanced over at her, but her face wore only a frown of concentration. “We need to stop and make a plan,” she said firmly. “No point just walking if we don’t know where we’re going.”
