Destined for the Dragon

by Zoe Chant

  There was only dappled sunlight in this forest, but still, it wasn’t long before he spotted a flash of bright yellow between the greenery.

  Please – please let it be the right one.

  Magnus knelt in the dirt, thrusting his fingers into the soil.

  Lifting the plant up, he examined it, barely daring to breathe.

  It was hard not to let out a sigh of relief as he identified it as the plant he needed. He still had several more ingredients to gather yet.

  I have pale jewelweed. What’s next? Quickly!

  It was almost as if he could see the second hand of a clock, counting down the remaining moments of Alanna’s life.

  Winter grape, his dragon hissed back at him, writhing frantically. Find it! Now! She’s dying!

  A moment later, Magnus was on his feet again – and a moment after that, his hands were in the soil, pulling up the winter grape by its roots.

  Liverleaf, burningbush, columbine...

  The glowing golden rope within him guided Magnus unerringly. Within him, his dragon roared and cried out the names of the plants he needed, one by one, until finally, it fell silent.

  What’s the next one? Magnus asked it frantically, standing with a handful of plants bunched in his fist.

  There is no next one, his dragon snarled. That’s all. The only ingredient left is dragon’s blood.

  Magnus nodded as he began racing back to where he had left Alanna. Somewhere within himself, he had always known that dragon’s blood was the most important ingredient in the antidote. Nothing could heal faster than a dragon, after all – they just needed some help where manticore’s venom was concerned.

  Alanna, please hold on just a moment longer. I’m coming.

  Magnus tried to reach her mind with his once more, and encountered nothing but the same wall of pain as earlier. But this time... this time it felt weaker.

  As if slowly, Alanna was slipping away from him.

  Putting on a renewed burst of speed, Magnus leaped over a fallen log, shoving his way between low-hanging branches.

  Please, Alanna! Hang on! Listen to my voice!

  I... I can hear you, Magnus.

  Magnus caught his breath as Alanna’s voice, weak but definitely there, drifted to him.

  Please... please hurry...

  Magnus’s heart pounded as at last he burst into the glade where Alanna lay. Her body was limp, her breath almost still in her throat.

  “Hang on, Alanna, I’m here for you,” Magnus murmured as he knelt by her side.

  Without a moment’s hesitation, he ripped the leaves from the various plants he had collected, crushing them into a paste with his knuckles against his palm. As he worked them together, Magnus took a moment to look up, checking that Benedict and Casper were where he’d left them.

  They were – Benedict was still unconscious at the foot of the tree, and it seemed that Casper had long since passed out from the manticore’s venom, his head slumped against his chest.

  Gritting his teeth, Magnus clenched his fist, though he was careful not to let too much of the juice from the crushed leaves escape between his fingers.

  Standing, he ran to where Casper lay. The knife he had used to threaten Alanna was still where he had dropped it.

  Snatching it up in his free hand, Magnus returned to where she lay.

  “Only a moment longer, Alanna,” he said soothingly – though his dragon cried out to see her so still and pale.

  There wasn’t a moment to lose.

  Raising the knife, Magnus stabbed it quickly down into his palm, his blood immediately welling up to mix with the crushed herbs. The pain didn’t matter to him – the only thing he could think of was saving Alanna. He drove the knife deeper in, wanting to make sure he had enough.

  Now! It has to be now! She doesn’t have a moment longer to wait! his dragon howled, fire rising from its jaws. Do it now!

  Gently, Magnus lifted Alanna’s limp form so her head tilted back. He raised his hand to her lips, tipping the antidote between them. It trickled from his palm and into her mouth – and, he hoped, down her throat.

  He could only hope that he had remembered correctly – that he had gathered the right plants, that in his haste he had mixed them thoroughly enough to be effective.

  Come on, Alanna, he thought, searching again for her with his mind. He had heard her voice through her agony just moments ago. Surely she could hear him now?

  But there was nothing. Alanna was limp in his arms.

  Please, Alanna, Magnus thought desperately, running his thumb over the high arch of her cheekbone.

  For a long moment, there was nothing.

  No movement – perhaps not even a breath.

  But then, Alanna’s eyes shot open. Coughing, she heaved for air, convulsing slightly in Magnus’s arms.

  “Alanna!” Magnus called to her, holding her tightly. “It’s okay, Alanna, I’ve got you. It’s all right. I promise you.”

  For a moment, Alanna simply looked around wildly – and then pulled an absolutely disgusted face, gagging slightly as if she was trying to get a horrible taste out of her mouth.

  “Magnus,” she said weakly, her voice rough. “What – what—”

  “Antidote for the manticore venom,” Magnus said softly, cradling her head in his hands. “I guess it doesn’t taste so good.”

  Alanna lifted her hand to her lips, scrubbing them. “No, it definitely does not,” she said. “Effective, though.”

  Magnus frowned. “Did it work? Are you still in pain?”

  “A little,” Alanna said. She lifted the hand that had been in contact with the venom. Already, the blisters had started to heal, though the skin was still angry and red. She stared at it in wonder. “I... I didn’t know it would do that,” she said. “I figured as long as I didn’t eat any, or let it get into a wound...”

  “It’s a lot more powerful than that,” Magnus said. “Human skin is no defense against it. Even a dragon’s hide won’t protect them for long.”

  Gently, he helped her to sit up. Blinking, Alanna glanced around her. “Where are—”

  “Casper and Benedict?” Magnus finished for her. “I knocked Benedict out – not by hitting him, just by cutting off his air for a moment. And Casper—”

  Is still affected by the manticore venom.

  The thought was in his mind at once.

  Magnus looked down at the palm of his hand. He still had enough antidote left over to cure Casper too.

  Don’t do it, his dragon howled within him. Would you save the life of the one who hurt our mate? He deserves to die.

  Magnus closed his eyes. He wanted to argue with the dragon, to tell it it was wrong – but to be honest, part of him truly didn’t believe Casper deserved to live after what he’d done to Alanna.

  But that wasn’t what was right.

  Casper deserved to face justice. There was no doubt of that. He had tried to kill an innocent woman, and was part of some plot that could have destroyed them all. But letting him die now wasn’t justice.

  And besides which, Magnus had sworn he’d never harm a human. Letting a human die when he had the means to save him was just as bad as if he had killed him with his own hands.

  Alanna nodded, as if she’d read his thoughts.

  “You’re a good man, Magnus,” she said, her voice still croaking slightly. Then she smiled. “A good dragon.”

  Magnus paused only long enough to press a kiss to her forehead. Then he stood, striding over to where Casper lay slumped.

  Hatred welled up in Magnus as he looked down at the man’s face – but he pushed it aside. That wasn’t useful to him right now.

  Taking a handful of Casper’s hair, Magnus tipped his head back, and then poured the remaining antidote down his throat.

  Again, it took only a moment to be effective: Casper seemed to stop breathing for a moment, but then he coughed, his eyelids flickering open.

  “What – how—” he began to say, before his eyes focused on Magnus standing in f
ront of him. “Dragon filth,” he hissed, the word filled with hatred.

  You should have left him to die, Magnus’s dragon spat, flames rising from its jaws. Ungrateful worm.

  I wasn’t expecting a thank you, Magnus replied to it, gazing coolly down at Casper. I did it because it was the right thing to do.

  The dragon flicked its tail dismissively, clearly unconvinced. But it didn’t argue any further. Instead, it curled up and glowered, clearly intending to sulk.

  “That dragon filth just saved your life.”

  Magnus turned at the sound of Alanna’s voice. She had risen unsteadily to her feet and was leaning against a tree.

  He was by her side in a moment, his hands around her waist to support her. “Don’t move too much,” he said, feeling her warm weight against his side. “You’re still weak. You shouldn’t—”

  “A dragon? Saved my life?” Casper’s eyes were bugging wide open. “What are you – that’s impossible—”

  “It’s true,” Magnus cut him off. He didn’t care about getting the credit for saving Casper, but he had the feeling knowing that he was responsible for it would make the man squirm. “I made the antidote. You would have died without it.”

  Casper didn’t speak. His mouth opened and closed like a landed fish, but no sound emerged.

  “You – you—” he finally managed to sputter, his face turning red. But before he could say anything else, he clamped his mouth shut and turned away, clearly too furious to form coherent sentences.

  “That’s gratitude for you,” Alanna muttered, rolling her eyes.

  Magnus couldn’t help but laugh.

  His mate was here, standing beside him, breathing, warm, alive.

  And they had won.

  He heard the thought in Alanna’s mind as he leaned down to kiss her.

  We won.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Magnus

  Closing his eyes, Magnus inhaled deeply.

  Safe. She is safe.

  It was about the ninetieth time he had told himself that today, but he still needed to reassure himself that Alanna really was here sitting beside him.

  Her arm against his was solid and real, her hand on his knee sending waves of warmth through his skin. Alanna’s other hand was still wrapped in bandages where the manticore’s venom had seared her skin, but it was healing. It would take some time – not even a dragon’s accelerated healing could do much for a wound like that – but her life would not be in danger.

  My clever, strong mate.

  It was only due to Alanna’s quick thinking and fearlessness that they had survived the confrontation with Casper, Benedict, and the manticore. Magnus couldn’t stop himself from shuddering, cold dread winding through his gut, as he thought about what might have happened had she not managed to get free of Casper’s grip.

  He had once sworn he would rather die than return to being a collared dragon, his every movement and thought under the control of someone else. But to save Alanna’s life, he would have done anything, anything, even returned to that horrifying life of slavery.

  Beside him, Alanna squeezed his leg, as if she had sensed his unsettled thoughts.

  A moment later, her voice, sweet and soft as trickling water, drifted into his mind. It’s over now, Magnus. It’s over. And we’ve won.

  Nodding, Magnus sent a wave of gratefulness in her direction at the reminder. Not that he should have needed one: Casper, Benedict and the manticore – Gord, as he was named, apparently – were sitting subdued in a corner of the room in the home of Stefan and Holly, the leaders of the Novak Clan.

  Stefan himself – black-haired, green-eyed, and almost as impressively large in human form as he was as a dragon – towered over them, glowering, his face set in furious lines. His mate, Holly, sat on Alanna’s other side, with her three-year-old daughter Calla on her lap.

  “I’m sorry we weren’t here sooner,” Holly said as Calla, blonde like her mother and with green eyes like her father, hugged a plush rabbit close to her chest. “Magnus, you should have called on us for help. If we had known...”

  Magnus felt his jaw tightening.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” he admitted. “But the Novak Clan has already done so much for me – taken me in when I had no one, even after what I did to Isaak and Josie – I just couldn’t...”

  “Nonsense,” Holly laughed. “Stefan, stop glaring at those men and come here and tell Magnus he’s talking nonsense.”

  Stefan glanced over, before nodding and stalking his way across the room, though the tension in his shoulders didn’t entirely disappear.

  They had nothing to fear from either Casper or Benedict right now – drinking dragon blood might give them a small measure of a dragon’s power, but it also made them more susceptible to dragon magic. And Stefan, as the leader of the clan, had access to more powerful dragon magic than Magnus could imagine.

  He had used a Voice on Casper and Benedict – a command that could not be disobeyed. At the moment, they couldn’t have moved an inch, even if they hadn’t also been securely tied up. Stefan’s Voice command kept them where they were in the corner of the room.

  “You should take Calla to another room, my love,” Stefan murmured as he sat down beside her, though not before he had dropped a kiss on the top of her head. “They will arrive soon, and she’s too young for this.”

  Holly nodded, her lips tightening. “I’ll give her to Isaak and Josie to watch, but then I’ll be back. You’re not doing the meeting without me.”

  Magnus swallowed as she stood, heading toward the door, Calla in her arms.

  The meeting.

  Soon, the Lord High Hunter of the Loric Coven of Dragon Hunters would be arriving.

  The Lord High Hunter. Alanna’s father.

  Again, he felt Alanna’s hand squeeze his leg.

  “I don’t know how this will go,” she said to him, uncertainty in her eyes. “But what I do know is that you’re my mate. And I will always choose you. Forever.”

  Magnus felt a wave of love and gratefulness wash over him at her words.

  My mate. My love.

  Alanna drew in a small breath. “I want you to know, though, that my father has always wanted as much peace as possible with dragons. He wanted the treaty with the Novak Clan, since they had sworn never to harm humans. He’s never wanted war.” Her expression turned sour as she turned her eyes to where Benedict and Casper sat in the corner. “And that’s why they hate him. They can’t accept change. They can’t see that dragon hunters and dragons don’t have to hate and fight each other.”

  Magnus could sense the pain and betrayal that still roiled in her mind. Alanna was still dealing with the anguish that had come with knowing that Benedict, her friend and mentor, had plotted to kill her and make it seem as if Magnus himself had done it.

  And since I was on Novak Clan land, and under Novak Clan protection...

  Magnus shook his head. As dedicated to peace as Alanna’s father might have been, it was hard to see how he could have looked the other way if his own daughter had been killed.

  They had been lucky that Casper had been too incompetent and cowardly to finish his job, and had simply assumed Magnus was the kind of dragon who would relish killing a dragon hunter.

  And as for Benedict...

  The man had been mostly silent since his defeat, refusing to speak or look any of them in the eye. Alanna had tried to ask him why he’d done what he’d done, but he hadn’t answered her.

  But Alanna told Magnus that Bain – the man who had kept him collared for years – was Benedict’s brother.

  Perhaps that truly is the only reason, Magnus thought, drawing a deep breath, his heart heavy within him. Perhaps when his brother had been disgraced and exposed as a traitor, he had been unable to accept it, and turned against Alanna’s father as a result.

  His gloomy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. When he looked up, it was to see Stefan’s younger sister, Darklis, entering the room. They stood as
she approached them, her expression tense.

  “He’s here,” she said, indicating the front of the house with a jerk of her head.

  Magnus glanced at Stefan. His face was no less tense than his sister’s, but Magnus could sense the fact that he was as cool and in control as ever.

  “Bring him in, Darklis.”

  Magnus wished he could say that he felt as calm as Stefan apparently did. His stomach churned. The only thing he wanted to do was to take Alanna in his arms and – somehow – fly them both far away from here...

  No.

  This was their only chance to get answers.

  Answers about how any of this had happened.

  Answers about what would happen next.

  And perhaps answers about who he was, and where he had come from.

  You okay? Alanna’s voice was loud and clear in his head.

  I’m... I’m fine, he replied, swallowing, before turning to look at her.

  She was so beautiful. Trust and love shone in her eyes as she looked up at him. Below that, he could detect her apprehension, and for a moment, anger blazed within him.

  It shouldn’t have to be this way, he thought, his hand finding hers and squeezing. It shouldn’t be the case that she might have to choose between her father and her mate.

  Alanna had already made it clear that she would choose him. But Magnus had no illusions as to what she’d be giving up if it came to that. Not only her father, but the entire life she had known before they met.

  He knew what it was like to suddenly find yourself alone in the world, with no sense of place and no idea who you were.

  “But that’s not how it’ll be!” Alanna suddenly burst out, her fingers tight around his hand. Obviously, his thoughts had been clear to her. “I’ll have you. And you’ll have me.” She licked her lips, leaning in to him slightly. “And we’ll find a way forward. Together.”

  Magnus barely had time to hope she was right. Because in the next moment, Darklis had opened the door once again – and entering the room directly behind her was...

  Alanna’s father. The Lord High Hunter. Hadrian Carlyle.

  Magnus could see the family resemblance immediately. Like Alanna, he had gray eyes and dark hair, though his was threaded through with silver. He was wearing a dark suit, and if he’d been seen on the street he would have been indistinguishable from any other well-to-do businessman – the kind who had often passed Magnus by without a second glance during the time he’d spent living rough, his clothes ragged and with no home to go to.