by J. L. Weil
“From what you’ve seen, I believe so, and if we go straight for the star without a plan of extracting it from the volcano, she could interfere. We don’t know where in Titan Mountain the stone is. So many unknown variables.”
“There has to be a way,” I insisted. We were so close.
“I’m working on it, just as you should be working on your ability to kick ass. Again,” he directed, crooking his finger at me.
Craning my neck to the side, I started again. Swipe. Pivot. Lunge. It was like a lethal dance, except I had two left feet. Swipe. The blade sliced through the air, coming close to Jase’s golden skin, but on my next pivot, my heel came down on a rock and the world slipped out from under me. My hold on the dagger slacked, and the blade clattered to the ground, me along with it.
“Shit,” was all I could say, my body unable to take the sweltering air and physical activity any longer. I didn’t move but lay on my back staring up at the blue sky.
Jase leaned over me, dragging a hand through his hair. “Are you hurt?” He crouched down to inspect for himself.
I took a moment to catch my breath, and sat up, letting my arms fall at my side. “How am I going to learn any of this in a few weeks?” That was all we had before the curse was permanent, trapping them here forever, and eventually, killing the dragon line. For when the curse reached the summer solstice, the spell that kept them suspended from age would no longer exist, and none of us knew how fast time would catch up to them, if at all. “It’s useless.”
Impatience rippled across his features, those violet eyes flaring. “I never want to hear you say you’re useless. It is anything but the truth. You are everything.”
Whoa. My belly fluttered at the words. What girl didn’t dream of an insanely gorgeous guy telling her she was everything? “I bet you say that to all the girls.”
He blinked. “What girls?”
I smiled, placing my hand into the fingers he extended toward me. “Don’t give me that. We’re surrounded by girls that you’ve brought here,” I pointed out the obvious.
His eyes took on a look of roguishness right before he tugged me to my feet so our bodies were flushed. “But none of them are you.”
“Is this what you call training?”
My head turned toward the clipped male voice. Zade was lounging against the base of a tree with his arms crossed, head angled to the side as he regarded Jase and me with traces of skepticism.
Jase’s fingers at my waist tightened, keeping me against his body. “Shouldn’t you be doing something other than bothering me?”
“Probably, but I heard something interesting today.”
“This better be important,” Jase grumbled.
“Regardless, it looks like our savior could use some rescuing,” Zade countered roughly.
Jase growled, the depths of his violet eyes glowing.
I stepped out of Jase’s grasp—much to his chagrin. “What the hell has gotten into the two of you today?”
“We’re done for the day,” he snapped, glaring at Zade.
Jealousy seemed to taint the air between us. Why had I ever thought juggling four dragons would be a piece of freaking cake?
God, I could really use a piece of cake. Chocolate with strawberries in the middle.
I positioned myself in between the two nostril flaring dragons. Not exactly smart for a human, but whatever this was, it had to do with me. “What the hell is going on? Why are the two of you puffing your chest and acting all territorial? I’m not a goddamn toy you can pass back and forth to play with.”
Zade’s glare skirted from Jase to me. “Everything was fine until you decided to play favorites.”
“Explain,” I demanded.
Fire rippled over his features. “You picked Kieran. Why, because he’s been moping around with his guilt? Did you feel sorry for him, so you told him you loved him?”
Jase’s face went taut. “Is that the talk you had?” He added air quotes with his fingers to be dramatic.
Well, fuck my life. This was not supposed to happen.
I stifled a groan, before tossing my hair into a messy bun to relieve the mounting stress. “First off, I did not choose anyone. Yes, I told Kieran that I loved him, but the truth is I have feelings for all of you. I’ve never pretended otherwise. I’m in love with every single one of you. There. Are you happy now?” The words came out in one big long string, leaving me winded afterward.
“Yes,” Zade and Jase both sighed, seconds before I found myself sandwiched between two walls of dragon shifter muscle. One sticky and sweaty and the other hot as Hades, literally. I didn’t mind.
Did I really admit to being in love with them?
My pink face buried into Jase’s chest. “If I had known the way to diffuse your tempers was to confess my love, I would have done so sooner.” The chest under my cheek rumbled as Jase chuckled, and I tipped my head back. “The last thing we should be doing is fighting. We can’t let Tianna divide us, or this whole thing falls apart,” I murmured.
Jase’s fingers ran over my hair, a lopsided grin on his lips. “Agreed.”
Zade slid his hand into mine from behind me. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. We knew this thing between us wouldn’t be easy. None of us expected to feel so strongly about you.”
“Is that your way of saying you love me?” I wanted to hear them say the words, needed to hear it or I would feel like a fool.
Jase bent down, skimming my ear with his lips. “Some things are worth waiting for.”
My toes curled at the sensual, dark tone of his promise, alongside a smidgeon of disappointment. Patience wasn’t a strong suit of mine, and waiting would allow doubt to weasel its way into my soul.
Zade wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me away from Jase. “You’ve had her all day. Go find something else to do.”
I rolled my eyes. “We’re not starting this again,” I moaned. It was a waste of breath. So, before either of them could start at each other again, I stepped away from them both, and strolled off toward the castle, toward a bath. Alone.
I took a quick shower to rid myself of the stickiness, of my own sweat, and the smell that surely came with it. Apparently, bathing multiple times in Crimson was the only way to keep cool.
Trudging through the main hall with damp hair draped over my shoulders, I went in search of something to eat, but found Kieran sitting at the table sharpening his blades. A beam of sunlight streamed in behind him, haloing around his form as he worked. His head tipped up at my approach, and he smiled in a way that made me forget why I’d come to downstairs in the first place.
I shook the mushy thoughts from my head and marched up to him, poking a finger in his chest. “Hey, dragon douche. Did you tell Zade that I was in love with you?”
He crossed his arms over his chest to prevent me from poking him again. Ha. He had plenty of other body parts I could kick, pinch, or knee. One particularly sensitive part came to mind.
“And if I did?”
My ass plopped into the empty seat beside him, shoulders sagging. “Why would you do that?”
Metal against metal echoed along the hall, as he resumed expertly sliding the blade over and over on the block. “I wasn’t aware it was a secret.”
Facepalm. I hadn’t been trying to hide my feelings but had wanted to spare the furniture from being destroyed. In seriousness, I had hoped to get the chance to tell each of the descendants individually how I felt about them. It wasn’t entirely clear in my own heart how I could love them so differently, yet similarly.
“It wasn’t a secret,” I sighed. “But that doesn’t mean you need to go rub it in the other’s faces. I’ll have you know that I also happen to be in love with Zade. And Issik.”
Kieran turned his attention to me. “Let me guess, Jase too?”
I nodded, folding my arms across my chest. “Do you have a problem with it?”
He rewarded me with a wolfish grin. “Only if you show favoritism.”
Start
led, I paused to stare at him. Each and every one of them never failed to surprise. “You’re really okay with sharing me between the four of you?” Saying it out loud was as strange as the concept was in my head.
His right shoulder lifted in a nonchalant shrug. “I don’t know. We’ve shared many things over the years, but girls were never one of them. I do know that I’m not willing to live without you.”
“God, this is such a mess.” I dropped my head onto the table.
A hand trailed down my spine offering comfort. “It doesn’t have to be.”
I raised my head to prop my chin on my hands and glanced at the table. It was covered in weapons. “Why does a dragon need seven blades?” I asked.
Kieran shrugged. “It doesn’t hurt to be prepared for anything, especially when there might come a time when I can’t rely on my other skills.” He was referring to his dragon and his poison.
“What will happen to me once the curse is lifted?”
“You’ll marry me,” he said matter-of-factly with a wink.
I sat up, unable to hide the smile from creeping over my lips. “Oh, will I? Don’t make me hurt you.”
“You could go home if it was what you wanted. The choice is for you to make, and yours alone.”
Home. The word echoed in my brain. This was my home. I didn’t want to leave, didn’t have anything to go back to. “If I go home, will you find someone else to marry?” A frown pulled at my lips. I didn’t like the idea of them marrying. Not. At. All.
“As the last dragons, it would be our duty to find a queen.” He kept his voice casual.
My stomach dropped like a bag of gold bricks, and it nearly made a loud thud. Despair hit me in waves, so I swallowed against the constriction in my throat. “Well, that settles it. I’m staying.”
Kieran laughed, tugging on a damp curl of my hair. “Good, because I would have come after you.”
Was it fair for me to expect them to share me, but not share them? The mere thought of any of the descendants taking a wife made me ill, and mad enough to spit flames.
It was my problem.
And I would deal with it when the time came. For now, they were mine.
Chapter Eleven
Something tugged inside me, waking me up from a deep sleep that I wasn’t ready to leave, but the tug was persistent, annoyingly so, giving me no alternative but to bat my eyes open. I didn’t do so without a grumble. It was the distant hissing and popping of lava, flowing over rock, and rumbling in my ears that pushed me over the edge.
I blinked.
A sleeping Jase lay beside me. Moonbeams streaked over one side of his face, casting him in silver and shadow. The tranquility dragon was breathtaking to behold. He had stayed with me last night and not a single kiss or touch. I wanted to curl up beside him and rest my head on the spot of his shoulder that seemed made for me, but that thing nudged me once more.
‘Olivia. Keeper. Claim me.’ That pull inside me whispered.
Shuddering, I flung off the covers and rose from the bed, the voice guiding me. A white haze filtered throughout my room, but I thought nothing of it.
Barefoot, I walked into the dark halls of the castle, the staff long since asleep. My steps were silent as I continued to tiptoe down the stairs, fingers running along the stone walls. I reached the main floor and listened. Nothing sounded, except for the voice.
‘Hurry. Find me.’
A warm breeze blew my hair off my shoulders when I went through the terrace doors, and into the night. Stardust gleamed overhead, bathing the grounds in a shower of silver. I crept through the garden and winced as I stepped on a shard of rock, a sharp edge lancing the arch of my foot.
Fabulous. Not only was I running around nearly half naked in the dead of night, but I was alone, and now I was also bleeding.
In a deep recess of my mind, I comprehended what I was doing was dangerous, but I couldn’t stop myself from moving further and further from the castle. The thread inside me gave a slight yank, urging me to the left, toward the volcano. I could be walking into a trap. Tianna could swoop in from the shadows and steal me away. Or I could fall into a river of lava. Take your pick. All sorts of threats were possible.
And yet, I was powerless to do anything but keep traipsing along. In the distance, dark smoke billowed from Titan Mountain. I tried to focus on the path laid out in front of me, but that white film made my vision unclear.
I needed to keep my wits about me. Whatever was summoning me, didn’t know me very well. The prospect of me getting to the volcano unscathed was slim to none. As though to prove my point, I stumbled over my own feet, going splat on the ground. Luckily, I caught myself a split second before my nose hit the earth. My palms stung, but I’d take a few scrapes and cuts over a broken and bloodied nose.
Son of a b—
The cord jerked, cutting off a string of curse words I had lined up in my head.
I shoved to my feet, no time to panic, or perhaps it was because of what summoned me, for there was no doubt in my mind, I was being controlled. But by whom? Or what? The only way to find out was to see this through, following the silent commands leading my body.
It sort of reminded me of when I’d been possessed by a ghost. My limbs and muscles were moving, but the orders weren’t coming from my mind.
‘Hurry. Hurry.’ The tug seemed to shout.
My heart was beating harshly in my chest, pulsing in my throat. I had the volcano in my sights. Sweat glistened over my skin, the nightshirt sticking to my boobs, my belly.
‘So close—hurry—you must not—'
“Going on a midnight stroll?” A firm hand wrapped on my forearm, halting my progression. I tried to shake off whoever had a hold of me, but it was futile.
The culprit spun me around then, and I blinked. Jase, my entire body seemed to sigh, except for the thread. It pulled harder, over and over again, attempting to get me back under its enthrallment.
“Olivia,” he breathed my name, not letting me go. His other hand lifted to caress the side of my face, the pad of his thumb running along my cheekbone in a gentle butterfly touch. “Wake up.”
My eyes connected with his, and the thread snapped inside me. The film that had been blurring my vision cleared as those glowing violet eyes stared into mine. “Jase?” my voice quivered over his name.
“You gave me quite the startle when I woke up and you were gone.”
My gaze took in my surroundings, the bubbling brook of lava, the volcano towering above us. It all seemed like a distant memory. “I-uh. Why am I outside? In nothing but a T-shirt?” I asked, glancing at my skimpy attire.
“Shit,” he swore under his breath. “Did you have to mention your lack of clothes?”
I whacked the back of my hand against his exposed abs. He didn’t so much as flinch. I wasn’t the only one who was wandering around outside in next to nothing. “That’s all you can think about?”
“You brought it up,” he so eloquently reminded me.
I shook my head, pressing my forehead to his slick chest. “What’s wrong with me?”
His arms came to wrap around me, pulling me into his embrace. “Absolutely. Nothing.”
Sweet. But not the truth. Something was definitely wrong. I remembered getting out of bed, climbing down the stairs and strolling out of the castle, but every second of it had felt like a dream, foggy and surreal. Until I was staring into Jase’s eyes, and bam, the world came back into motion. We both knew something evil was at play.
I was still a prisoner. The witch still had me in her clutches, much like how she had the descendants trapped.
Find me, the star had called out again. At least I thought it was the star. It could have been a spell just as easily. My head lifted and I threw a sidelong glance at the volcano. Even now, I sensed the stone whispering my name like a lost song. “It wants me to find it,” I murmured, the words tumbling from my lips.
“The star?” he said, seeking clarity.
“Maybe. I’m not sure. It could hav
e easily been Tianna. How would I know the difference?”
He regarded me, eyes brighter than usual. “I’m thinking we might need to start tying you to the bed.”
“Are you getting kinky on me?” The words escaped me. I had no intention of flirting with him, but when faced with what might have happened tonight if he hadn’t shown up, I needed a way to lighten the fear that gripped my heart. It was easier to tease him, instead of dealing with my emotions.
“What am I supposed to do with you?”
I slipped my hand into his, twining our fingers together. “Take me home. I’ve had enough of the outdoors for one night.”
Bending down, Jase swept me up into his arms.
“I can walk,” I protested, trying to keep some shred of dignity.
“It’s faster if I carry you.”
I rolled my eyes but didn’t object further. He was right. It would be quicker and less hazardous for both of us if he carried me.
The fingers holding me flexed, and I peered up to see what was bothering him. He was glaring at my feet. “You’re bleeding.”
Lifting my toes in the air, I surveyed the dried blood on my foot. “Oh. It’s no big deal. I cut myself on a rock.”
A scowl marred his lips. “Of course, you did. I never knew how fragile humans could be until I met you.”
It was hard to fathom, considering the numerous girls they had brought to the Veil over the last ninety-nine years, but none of them were me—like the descendants were fond of saying. How right they were.
He stalked toward the castle and I rested my head on his shoulder, yawning. “I’ve never sleepwalked before.”
“How about we don’t make a habit of it.”
“What am I supposed to do? Not sleep?”
“Afraid that isn’t an option. You need a different type of sleep, one devoid of dreams.”
“Don’t. You—”
Too late.
Jase’s lips met mine, but not in just any kiss, a kiss punched with tranquility. I felt the cool, calm ribbon down my lungs.
“I hate you,” I managed to mumble, my body collapsing against his.
