Oh, My Dragon

by Lani Lynn Vale

  We’d stayed on the grounds of the mill, and that’d been our biggest mistake.

  A, because when we were on the grounds of the mill, that also meant that we were detached from the world. No cell phone coverage. No phones. No television.

  Old man Eldridge didn’t believe in modern amenities. When he came to work, he expected to be at work. There was no taking away from work, either. Not even emergency phone calls.

  If they need us, they’ll send a car. If they don’t, then they don’t need us.

  B, because something was draining us. Something was making it to where we were weak, and all of us but a select few were literally too weak to move.

  I’d been getting sicker and sicker since, too.

  It hadn’t started off that way, but by the time the forty-eighth hour passed, I was becoming lethargic and I could barely stand.

  “We need to get him to a doctor,” someone said in a thick Cajun accent.

  My eyes followed the sound of that voice, and I stared across the apartment like office at the man who’d said that.

  Jean Luc.

  I didn’t know him.

  Hell, I didn’t know any of these men.

  But our bond, one I knew we shared, pulsed inside of me.

  I had some sort of connection to them, and that was keeping me from kicking them all the hell out of my mill.

  Especially since they seemed just as confused as I was on where they were supposed to be.

  It was as if the last ten years of our lives had been erased.

  Poof, gone like a snap of the fingers.

  “We’re not going anywhere,” Keifer said. “There’s something here that fucked us the moment we entered the parking lot, and we’re going to find it. You know it, and I know it.”

  The big man was sitting down on the couch across from me, his head hanging loosely between his arms that were resting on his knees.

  His eyes were on the floor, and it was more than obvious, even by my sick eyes, that something was wrong with him.

  He wasn’t, however, at my level yet. Nor the level of his brother, which was in the recliner directly next to mine.

  “Listen, Keifer,” Derek, another of the men that’d shown up, said. “You know, as well as I do, that something more is at stake here than we’re both realizing. We need to get out of this place and head for your shop or something.”

  “I’m okay,” I sat up, slowly, and looked around the room.

  “No, you’re not.” Keifer shot back. “But we can agree to disagree.”

  I swallowed and stood up, a wave of nausea taking over my belly.

  I hadn’t eaten in well over forty hours, nor had I drank anything.

  Likely that was all that was wrong with me, but the idea of anything to eat or drink was enough to make my stomach heave.

  “I’m going outside for a few,” I gritted out, pushing through the door.

  The moment I stepped outside, the feeling in my belly got worse.

  So much worse, in fact, that I nearly turned and went back to the chair.

  The only thing moving me forward at this point was sheer force of will.

  Something was wrong.

  Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the strawberry blonde from the picture. I saw flashes of memories that were literally making me crave something I had no clue how to find.

  “Ian?” a soft voice called.

  I turned the corner and found my sister there, leaning against the building.

  “Hey, Buttercup,” I called roughly. “What are you doing outside by yourself for?”

  She smiled sadly at me.

  “I’m confused,” she whispered.

  I leaned against the metal side of the mill and looked at her.

  She’d grown up to be beautiful.

  Every time I looked at her my heart constricted.

  She looked just like our mom used to look.

  “Confused about what?” I questioned.

  She turned to look at the chain link fence that separated the mill’s property from the corn field on the other side of the fence.

  “Why you left,” she whispered. “Why you’re back? Why you let me think you were dead all this time? You had a cop tell my foster parents that you died.”

  I closed my eyes.

  “I knew you weren’t dead, you know.” She picked up a gravel rock next to her thighs that were lying out straight in front of her, and tossed it at the fence.

  It struck the metal with a soft ping, and she did it again.

  “I wanted you to have what I couldn’t,” I said. “There was someone that wanted you. Not me. When they said that they found a home for you, I was happy. I would’ve killed you, and we both know it.”

  She picked up another rock, and my eyes lit on the drain spout that was directly beside my foot.

  “I had a good life,” she said. “They paid for my college. And are still paying for my college.”

  Mattie was in school again, this time to get her masters degree. I was so fucking proud of her and everything that she accomplished.

  I tapped the drain spout with my booted foot, and blinked when something that looked like a crow’s foot fell out of it.

  “I know they are, because I’m forwarding the money for it to your foster parents,” I admitted. “I follow you to school sometimes just to make sure you’re happy. I went to your graduations—high school, associates, and your bachelors. I went to your prom and saw you walk down the stage with your boyfriend at the time.”

  “I know that, too,” she said, picking up the crow’s foot and holding it between two pinched fingers. “I know I have more questions for you, but my brain feels fuzzy.” She bent forward to pick up the black thing that’d fallen from the downspout. “What the hell is this?”

  I picked the thing up, and letters started to swirl in my mind.

  Unconsciously, my hand tightened down on the little trinket, and the brittle thing snapped, cracking completely in half.

  Then, without me doing a damn thing, a light pink trajectory started to filter through the air, like a trail of some sort.

  And then more things started to drift through my head.

  A sense of urgency.

  Panic.

  Pain.

  Fear.

  All of the bad things that one never wants to experience by themselves, coursed through me all at once.

  And I exploded.

  Chapter 21

  Why is there a ‘9’ setting on the toaster? Who likes their toast to be charred?

  -Text from Wink to Ian

  Wink

  I knew the moment he realized everything. The very second he realized that I was gone, and I’d been gone for some time.

  It’d been the worst forty-eight hours of my life, and I was fairly sure that if I made it through the next hour, then I’d live.

  But the next hour was likely going to kill me.

  I never once doubted that Ian would realize what was going on. I never once thought he’d not be able to beat whatever Robert had done to keep him in the dark.

  I’d woken up chained to a bed, luckily still fully clothed, with Robert pacing the room behind me.

  “What were you doing there?” Robert asked again.

  I was shaking my head in confusion. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Robert. I was where I was supposed to be.”

  “This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. I was to take the healer, according to the files. He’s the weak link. Once the healer is gone, everything else goes according to plan. With nobody to heal the injuries, everyone dies. No heart equals no life. No life can only happen if the healer is gone. You were not supposed to be there,” Robert continued to pace.

  He had some sort of foot in his hand.

  A chicken foot or something.

  I couldn’t really tell from flat on my back on the bed.

  I had to pee like a race horse, and I knew any moment I wa
s going to lose the battle with my bladder. It’d been hours.

  “Robert, I have to pee,” I said. “I need you to untie me so I can go to the bathroom.”

  He stared at me with annoyance. “There’s a water proof sheet on the bed.”

  He looked around at the one room cabin, the same one that Ian had bought after Brooklyn had been found after her kidnapping.

  “Robert, please?”

  “No,” he refused.

  I couldn’t believe the balls that Robert had.

  He trusted his spell, or whatever the fuck he’d done, so much that it never even occurred to him that Ian would get out of whatever he was put under.

  He’s stupid.

  Ian’s voice back in my mind had me breathing deeply for the first time in two whole days.

  Where the hell have you been?

  The screech couldn’t be helped.

  I literally was at the point of breaking, and the only thing making me remain calm was the fact that I had another life to think about beside mine.

  A life that I could feel losing its fight with each second that passed.

  My body was shutting down.

  The longer I was away from Ian, the more energy that left my body.

  I’m coming. Hold on, I’m coming.

  The only thing that’d saved the baby at this point was the fact that we were so close to The Heart, the very thing that Ian had used to help save the others not too long ago.

  Twenty minutes passed, and I was just deciding that I would indeed have to pee on myself, when I felt the sudden change.

  It was subtle, yes, but I felt it nonetheless.

  At first I wasn’t quite sure what it was, but the longer I sat there, the longer it took me to realize that someone was in the room with me.

  A man.

  Nikolai.

  The touch of his hand against mine had me automatically closing my eyes and trying to read the traces of DNA that he’d left on my skin when he’d touched me.

  I’d opened my eyes and looked across the room at Robert, who was still pacing the room.

  “Robert, please,” I begged. “I don’t want to pee on myself. Please.”

  He looked over at me.

  “Please,” I persisted.

  He sighed and walked toward me.

  “I’m going to untie you from the bed, but you’re going to leave the ropes tied to your wrist. There will be absolutely no fooling around. If I even think that something is going wrong, I’ll crush you.” He proved his fact by holding the foot up that he’d been holding since I got here, and giving it a little shake.

  The moment he shook it, my entire body convulsed as if I’d been electrocuted.

  I stared numbly at the stupid foot, and realized then why he was holding it, and had never let it go in over forty-eight hours. It was tied to me.

  Like a fucking voodoo doll.

  “Do you understand me?” he asked viciously.

  I nodded my head, not wanting him any closer than he already was.

  The man scared me.

  He was a freakin’ psycho.

  How I could have ever slept with this man, I didn’t know.

  Though I hadn’t told Ian that little tidbit.

  I hadn’t been able to work up the courage.

  He’d been so understanding about knowing about the child that wasn’t his.

  If he’d realized just who the man was to me that’d gotten me pregnant, then he’d have had a shit fit. I still couldn’t believe my freakin’ luck.

  How could you have been so stupid? How could you have done this to yourself and Ian? You’ve doomed yourself and your baby!

  The words in my head wouldn’t stop, and it was getting to the point where if I wasn’t careful, Ian would hear every stray thought that I had.

  Shut up! I snapped at myself. I know I need to. But he doesn’t need to know right now. Not when we’ve spent the last forty-eight hours apart and he’s trying to figure out how the hell to get me out of this.

  Something’s wrong. Ian’s tense voice filled my mind. What is it?

  He’s untying me and letting me go to the bathroom. He has this foot of some sort in his hand that’s somehow controls my every action if he wills it to…kind of like a voodoo doll. Whatever he does to the token, happens to me. The moment I get out of hand, or do something he doesn’t like, he could hurt me. Greatly.

  Ian’s curse was loud in the forefront of my mind, but I didn’t let that deter me. I would be leaving.

  I didn’t care if he broke me the moment he realized I was gone. It didn’t matter anyway. If I didn’t get next to Ian soon, I’d die.

  That was what I’d read in the book he’d so kindly provided for me. The book that was written by the previous king, for his sons, who would one day find their chosen mates.

  The female is fed by the male’s connection to the dragon. The two mates will forever have to be within the vicinity of the other, or they start to grow weak and eventually die if the separation goes on too long. Never stay apart for more than twenty-four hours. Trust me, it doesn’t go away. I know.

  That was it, word for word, from the book. Those were the words that kept repeating in my mind the entire time we’d been separated. Each moment we’d been apart, the weaker I grew.

  I never had a chance at leaving Ian. Even if I’d wanted to—which I didn’t. We were meant to be together, and would be for the rest of our lives…or we’d be dead.

  Which was a scary notion. We were still in Dallas. Ian’s shop was in Dallas. We were in the same freakin’ city!

  Should it really have been that bad?

  Yes. Mace’s clear understanding of the matter filled my head. Because if you’re not together, then the bond is not as strong as it needs to be.

  What do you mean? I asked him, freezing at the sink where I’d begun to slowly and methodically wash my hands.

  The entire point of destined mates is to have them feed off of each other. To make them stronger when they’re together. They’re meant to ride into battle together, not apart.

  My brows rose.

  That would be the total opposite of what I’ve witnessed between all the mated pairs so far. Keifer, Nikolai and Ian would never allow their wives to ride into battle with them.

  Mace’s curse had me freezing.

  And they would die if the threat were great enough.

  My brows rose.

  Explain.

  Story and Declan. They’re formidable on their own, but together…they’re unstoppable. Each and every dragon rider and their mate—if they’ve found their mate, could have something similar to that. There are very few mated pairs left in this world, and the only mated pair we have at our sanctuary is Story and Declan.

  How do you know so much about this? I asked.

  Sadness filled Mace’s mind. But before I could read any more into it, he shut his thoughts down viciously.

  So fast and quick that it literally hurt my brain to feel.

  You were mated? I asked softly, my heart breaking for him.

  I was. The cold, formal aristocratic tone of his voice made me wince. He only took on that tone when he was extremely pissed. And I hadn’t heard him slip into formal mode the entire time we’d been captive. But for his mate…for his mate he had and that was devastating.

  I debated whether to ask my next question, but he beat me to it.

  Daya was taken from me sixteen years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days ago.

  I closed my eyes.

  How are you still alive?

  Dragons are different than dragon riders. Where riders grow weak without their mates, dragons grow stronger. We share a single life force, and when one drops off that force, the remaining dragon gets the entirety of the force they shared. It’s almost as if the departed mate pushes their share to their mate to give them a fighting chance without them. Mace explained.

  Oh, God. That was terrible. Absolutely terrib
le.

  I’m so sorry, Mace.

  Nothing you can do, little one. It’s my burden to bear. I’m just telling you so you understand the dynamics of mating. If you worked together, instead of separately, life would be much different for all the mated pairs.

  I took his words to heart as I finally finished washing my hands.

  Once they were clean of the dirt and grime, I used the restroom, and then rewashed my hands.

  The moment I’d finished, I startled when I saw Nikolai standing in front of the shower.

  My mouth dropped open at seeing him standing there.

  He held up his hand in a silent order to stay, pointed at the closed toilet seat, and then mouthed ‘sit.’

  So I did, and then he disappeared before I could even think of something to say.

  Had he watched me pee?

  He didn’t watch you pee, Wink. Ian’s amused voice filled my ears. He did, however, instruct you to stay. He’s going to weave an illusion that should enable me to come in and get that thing he’s using to control you. When I have it, he’ll give us enough time to get out.

  Mace’s tied up in the…

  I have him. He’s safe.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, I took a deep breath of air when suddenly I wasn’t where I was supposed to be anymore. Instead, I was back on the bed tied up, but I didn’t feel tied up. I still felt like I was sitting on the closed toilet.

  Starting to panic, I lifted one of my arms and stared as it moved.

  Then, suddenly, I was back in my body.

  “Sorry,” Nikolai whispered through my thoughts. “It takes me some time to get control of the illusions when I’m tired.”

  Then I was sitting back on the toilet seat, waiting for whatever signal I was supposed to get telling me that it was safe to make my escape.

  It didn’t take but a minute before my signal became clear.

  In the form of the six-foot-three, muscled man who was my mate.

  My very pissed off mate.

  The moment he came into the bathroom, I was in his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist, with my hands circled around his neck.

  He didn’t give us a chance to reconnect, either.

  The moment I was firmly in place, he stood back up, and immediately started walking out the door.

  Mace waited for us, seeming no worse for wear.