by A C Wilds
“This is true, but the Changer has a task as well.”
“Well, what is it?”
“When the battle is underway she needs to put some of her essence in there as well. Not as much as the witch, but enough to power the blade. She needs to pull it from her mates. It’s basically a one-shot chance that she has with keeping this blade powered enough to kill both Michael and Lucifer. It wasn’t made to kill two powerful rulers, so her magic needs to be at its strongest for it to work.”
I take a seat at his little kitchen table and rub my eyes. This just keeps getting worse and worse. At least this time he was honest about what we need to do. Our last step. I’m afraid for the Changer. I’m afraid of how she will react. She has only had her mates for a short time, and I feel for her. I would give anything to be with my mates. The guys are my everything. I’m so grateful for the decades we’ve had together. It’s been worth every argument and every tear.
“Will you tell her? Will you let her know that this is something she can’t possibly win?” He asks, turning toward me for the first time.
“No, I’ll find the diamond first, and then let her in on your little secret.”
“Now, Izel, if I didn’t know better, I would say that you sound a little like me right now.”
“Fuck you,” I say, as I get up from the table to make my way out the door. I breathe in the fresh night air, before walking back to our rooms. This fucking war just got a hell of a lot harder to win.
Chapter 13
Dragon Hunting
Azra
It’s confirmed. The diamond is with the dragons. The only thing is, no one knows where the dragons are. Lore has them in the Greenfield mountains, but that was centuries ago, before the courts were divided.
“I vote for trapping one. I saw it before, I’m sure it’s here somewhere. There’s no way the fucking thing fled. It was looking for something, and don’t dragons get fixated on an object and don’t give up till they find it?” Grey asks, sitting in one of the chairs in the operations room.
“I don’t think they behave like they do in the movies, Grey,” I say, with a chuckle. All eyes turn to me with blank stares. “What?”
“They do exactly that. I guess your movies got that part right,” Shax says, squeezing my hand. I roll my eyes and look to someone else to take over. I’m not good at this strategy stuff. Besides, I’m still pretty out of it. I feel like shit.
“I’ll send out some scouts to see if we can get any idea where it may have headed or if it’s sticking around,” Izzy says, nodding to Patli who is already giving the order through his special device that he always carries around. I have no idea what it is.
“I’m going,” Grey says in a non-debatable tone.
“No, you’re not. I need you here with me, safe,” I say, putting on my best pout face. He comes over and sits down next to me on the couch that they put in here, especially for me.
“I’m going. I’m sorry if you don’t like it, but I’m the only other person in this whole town with wings. I can scout from the air while the others are on the ground. It makes sense. You know it does.”
“Ugh, I hate when you’re right. It’s still dangerous, though. What if he tries to breathe fire on you?”
“Shield, remember?”
“You don’t have to have a perfect answer for everything.”
“Of course I do, that’s why you love me so much.”
“You better come back to me whole. Every last feather in pristine condition. I don’t want to have a charred mate who looks like one of those birds that pick their feathers off.”
“You’re hilarious,” he says and turns toward Izzy. “When do we leave?”
“I’ll leave that up to Patli. He’s going to get a team together, and then you can head out.”
“Azra, do you mind if I go with him? It would make sense to have two of us there, especially since my magic is the strongest,” Gunn asks. He has such concern in his eyes. It would make sense for him to be there. Grey has a tendency to get out of control without supervision.
“Yeah, I like the idea of the two of you having each other’s backs. But I want you home in one piece too,” I respond, holding my hand out to him. He comes over and takes it. Twisting my arm a bit, he places a kiss on my wrist. Tingles of lust run down my arm, and I can feel my need seep out through the bond. It’s been too long since I’ve been with one of them.
“Yes, my love. I’ll return to you in one piece, and then we can explore that reaction you’re having,” he says, making me turn a bright red. Someone clears their throat from behind us, and I see Patli poised and ready to go.
“The guard is being suited up. We should be ready to leave within the hour,” he says before he walks out of the door.
“It’s going to be torture that I can’t go with you,” I say, shifting so I can ease my body up from the couch. All four of my mates come rushing at me and offer a hand to help me up. “Thanks, guys, but I need to regain my strength to get back to normal. If you are carrying me all the time, then how am I going to get better?”
“That will come in time, but you need to take it easy. Try not to do too much at once,” Cass says, pulling me toward him and keeping me steady on my feet. We walk toward the door and into the hall. The manor is a flourish of activity. I don’t know what all these people do all day, but there are a lot of them.
“Does anyone know where Red is?” I ask. His bond has been a bit weird lately; I hope he isn’t mad with me.
“He and Ash went to find out what they could about your vision in the scrying pool. Apparently, they know an ancient Fae who could possibly help. They should be back in a few hours,” Shax says. A bit of sorrow comes over me. Makes me wonder why he didn’t come and say something to me first.
“Oh, okay. Well, let’s hope they can bring us something back. I hate that we have to be separated,” I say, trying to climb the first step.
“This is going to take forever, can I just carry you?” Grey asks, dancing from foot to foot.
“No, I’m going to walk up all the stairs so I can build back up some of the muscle in this leg. If I’m going to fight, I need to make sure I can stand first,” I reply. I’ve always been a determined person, and this is no different. I’ll get back to fighting shape. I have to, I’m the only one that can bring them down.
Greyson
We left a little after dusk. It should be dark soon, but that’s not a problem for most of the Fae. I took flight as soon as we hit the forest, and so far nothing. The sky is empty, except for me.
The air is crisp and has a bit of a bite to it. The wind rushes into my face, and I blink my eyes a few times to adjust to the speed I’m going. Out of all of the sick shit that has happened to me since I’ve found Azra, flying is definitely one of the best. The sex is just a bit better than that.
I lazily pump my wings up and down and glide through the night air. It’s a weird feeling, being so far up. My body adapted to the flying positions quickly, but it’s something that I still have a hard time believing I can do.
All is quiet on this side of the forest as I touch down by the rest of the guard. Gunner rides up to me. He’s an annoying Fae, but he fits into our group.
At times, I’d still like to punch him, though.
“Find anything?” I ask, waiting for him to dismount his horse.
“Nope, not even a down tree or broken branch. I’m a pretty good tracker, and there isn’t even anything the earth can help me with. They may have a cloaking spell on them,” he says, looking out into the forest. He’s pissed that he can’t find these dragons, I get a sense of annoyance through the bond.
“I didn’t see anything up there either. It’s weird how quiet it is. I mean, on Earth the forests are never this quiet at night. There are sounds of animals, trees rustling, and just forest sounds,” I try to explain, even though it’s not something I’m good at. I’m good at taking action, not telling stories.
“Forest sounds?” He asks. It’s not reall
y a question though; it’s more of a thought. He’s onto something.
“Yeah, you know, like birds chirping and deer rustling around. Other nocturnal animals and owls. Maybe the wind rustling in the tree, all that shit.”
“But there is none of that here?”
“Would you stop asking questions that you know the answer to already. Get to the point.”
“Always so impatient, it’s going to get you in trouble one day.”
“It already has, and I haven’t changed a thing, so let’s get on it.”
“Magic, that’s my point. If nature isn’t behaving like nature, it’s because someone or something is using magic to suppress it.”
“What do you do about it? Cast a spell or something? Commune with the spirits?”
“Impatient and a smartass, something I’ve always wanted in a mate.”
I chuckle at his response because he’s always so uptight. The corners of my mouth curve up as I retort, “Well, I didn’t ask for your assassin ass either, so we’re even.”
He moves away from me then, standing a little into the clearing that we are going to set up camp in. The guards have tents up, and a fire going. I know nothing about camping, so I’m glad that there are guards able to help with that.
A bit of green magic comes off of Gunner’s hands and disperses into the air. It floats on the wind for a second and then gets stuck on something. It doesn’t form a shape, but it appears to hang in the air.
“What is that?” I ask, moving over to where he’s standing. He looks at me in a bit of shock. His eyes look wild, and if I didn’t know better, the assassin looks scared.
“It’s a cloaking spell, but it’s also a beacon. They know we are here,” he says, gulping down some air.
“Well, isn’t that what we wanted to find a dragon? Why are you acting so strange?”
“It was one thing to find a dragon flying around in the sky, but a dragon or dragons with this much power is unsettling. We should notify Patli of this development. We have to ready the guard.”
“I think you’re overreacting. I mean, that last dragon had no shot…”
Just as I am about to finish the rest of my sentence, a plume of fire overtakes the clearing. I instinctively put up my shield to cover Gunner and me. Some of the guards aren’t so lucky, and I can hear their screams as they burn.
The beat of giant wings woosh around us. The wind picks up, and fear pumps through my system. I need to get in the sky, but I can’t leave Gunner to defend himself. A magical sphere comes around us, as I glance over at Gunner.
“Can this bubble hold while I take to the sky, or are you going to need me with you? Azra would kill me if you died,” I yell over the sound of more wings coming to meet us. I won’t be sure as to how many until I’m able to fly.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been fighting for a lot more years than you have been alive - Fae, remember?”
“Yeah, right. Ok, like I said, don’t die,” I respond, pushing up into the air. The cold air smacks my face, as I come away from the fire of the dragons. My wings take me up until I’m high above the scene. There are two dragons, one trying to take out the rest of the guard, and another concentrating on Gunner.
The guard looks like they know what they are doing, and Gunner is holding his own. I need to try to take one of these fuckers out while they are distracted. Pulling my sword from the scabbard on my hip, I fly to the closest dragon; the one fighting the guard. Thinking that I will do the same as I did to the last dragon. I position myself to land on it’s back.
My movements are swift as I touch down on the scales and spikes. My arm comes down, and I stab it right between the shoulders. A loud cry rings out, and the fire stops. He sways back and forth trying to get me off, but I use all of my strength to stay on. That’s when it happens, he starts to shrink.
I can feel the air rushing around me, but I don’t dare take the blade out. If this dragon is really a shifter, I’ll need to keep it in until the last minute.
“Greyson!” Gunner, yells . I can see he’s got half of the dragon’s wing pinned with some vines, and the guards I alleviated from the plight of this dragon’s fire, have gone to help him out.
“A little busy! Stab the fucker in the shoulders, they’re shifters!” I yell, across the clearing. The ground is fast approaching. I pick my feet off the shrinking back and let my wings land us a bit more gracefully than slamming into the ground. Once we touch down, I get a clear view of the dragon underneath me. Thinking that dragons were just guys, I’m surprised to see this is a female. She’s a lot bigger than Azra. More muscular too. Her blond hair is hiding her face, but I can see the rise and fall of her breath through her back. She’s hurting.
I slowly pulled the sword out, and she lets out a loud snarl, spinning her head to look at me. Good, she’s still conscious.
“Call off the other dragon, or I’ll cut your head off and then do the same to him,” I say, coolly looking for any sign that she understands what I’m saying.
“Call off the wolf, and I will,” she responds. Her accent sounds different than any I’ve heard before. Speech seems hard for her. I glance in the other direction and notice that there is a Wolf on top of the other dragon. What the fuck? It’s fucking huge, with eyes the color of emeralds that are glaring in the sun. Its coat is shadow black, looking like smoke drifting along in the night. All four claws are dug into the back of the dragon, but the jaws are clamped down hard on one of the spikes on its back. The dragon is spinning, trying to get the wolf off, but it has such a good grip it’s barely moving.
“The Wolf…” I say, turning back to her. I can’t see Gunner, but I know it’s him. I can’t wrap my mind around another shifter in our bond, but I need to stop being surprised by these things.
“Call off the wolf, and we will concede,” she says, using a bit more brashness in her tone. Trying to see if she is lying, I go with my gut and yell out through the bond. Gunner picks up his muzzle from the dragon’s back, blinks at me and then jumps off. By the time he hits the Earth, he is human again. Fully clothed and with blood all over his face.
The dragon stops spinning and throwing fire. It stops mid-stride, and I look over at the dragon-woman whose eyes are closed. She’s resting her cheek on the earth, and tears are dripping from her closed eyes.
The dragon starts to shift, and the guard all back up, weapons still trained on it. When the shift is complete, a bloodied naked man stands before us.
“Rosalyn!” he yells and tries to come over to us. The guard all put up their weapons before he gets another step.
“Let’s stay right there, reptile. If you want your girlfriend here to keep her head, I need you to answer some questions!” I yell, nodding to Gunner, who escorts him a bit closer, so I don’t have to strain my voice. Vines grow up from the ground and are placed around his ankles and wrists. The guard relaxes their stance, but never take their eyes off of him.
“Eugene, just answer their questions. It hurts,” Rosalyn says in a whisper.
“Take that out of her back, and I’ll tell you anything you want to know!” he pleads, looking back and forth from me to Gunner.
“I’ll take this out of her, but you need to listen closely, one stupid move, and I chop her fucking head off. Understood?” I reply, looking at the fire blaze into his eyes. Excellent, he’s not a total fucking pussy.
“Agreed,” he grumbles out, grinding his teeth together.
I lift my sword out of her back, and her screams echo off of the trees. The wound is bleeding and doesn’t look so good. Gunner sees it and comes over to us. He gets down on his knees, looking it over.
“She’s going to die if I don’t heal it,” he says, looking up at me. The fuck if I care if this dragon dies, but we do need information.
“Heal her enough to keep her alive, if we get what we want, then you can finish it,” I say, watching the other dragon for any response. This female is apparently important to him, so I think we are in a pretty good position to have some qu
estions answered.
Gunner begins to work on Rosalyn’s back. His green magic forms over this hands, and it lights up the clearing in a weird glow. Magic pumps into her from the earth, and I can see the wounds start to heal themselves. Her color starts to return, and she opens her eyes for the first time since we touched down.
“Ros! Are you ok? Talk to me!” Eugene yells.
“Hurts like hell, but I’ll be fine,” she croaks out, trying to roll on her side.
“Why did you attack us?” I ask Eugene. He’s still glaring with anger, but I couldn't care less.
“You’re trespassing on Dragon Land. You shouldn’t be here,” he says, determined to give us as little information as possible.
“If dragons are supposed to be extinct, how would anyone in Faerie know about your horde? And think about the next thing you say, because if you continue to lie to me, we’re going to have an issue, and you don’t want to have an issue with me,” I threaten, taking a step closer to the female dragon.
“Fine, just don’t touch her. We don’t want any trouble, it’s just that we can’t have the Courts knowing where we are, so we kill anything that comes into our territory. It’s easier than people possibly stumbling onto our nest,” he says, no apology in his eyes.
“So, you are murders then? Well, that makes killing you a lot easier. Our mate has a thing with wrongful killings, and it will put her at ease knowing we rid the world of two fucked up dragons who kill without asking questions,” I say, with the same unapologetic tone.
“Why would anyone care what your mate thinks except for you? Unless she is the Queen?”
“No, our mate is the Fae who is going to kill the Queen.”
“The Changer is your mate?” He asks, awe in his voice. For a species who doesn’t seem to exist, they sure do know a lot.
“If she is?” Gunner asks, including himself in the conversation for the first time. I’ll have to give it to him, the ability to control himself is impressive. It’s like he’s the coldest assassin I know.
