by J. L. Weil
“Joy,” I mumbled.
I moved behind one of the elaborate columns, slipping off my grimy shoes and socks. Kieran guarded the door, leaning against the wall, but from where I stood, he couldn’t really see me. The shifter chuckled, knowing I hid from his eyes.
The heat in my cheeks heightened as I whipped off my hoodie and shirt, leaving me standing in my bra and jeans. My fingers fumbled with the buttons. I wanted to hurry up and get under the cover of the steaming, bubbly water. Slipping the rest of my clothes off, I stepped onto the first landing, the hot water floating over my toes. Closing my eyes and sighing, I took the next two steps in a rush. My foot slipped, and I belly flopped into the pool. Water rushed over my head.
That was one way to get clean.
I came up, sputtering and snorting, my drenched hair hanging over my face. Shoving the mass of blonde strands out of my eyes, I groaned. Kieran was crouched at the edge of the bath, shaking his head and smirking. “You gave me a fright. For a second, I thought you were drowning yourself.”
My lips seemed to be in a permanent frown ever since I got here. “I’m fine,” I assured him through my teeth.
“Jase really outdid himself this time,” Kieran added, as he walked back to guard the doorway.
I exhaled. His hovering made me self-conscious.
Along the side of the marble tub sat a tray of soaps, oils, and lotions that would have made Bath & Body Works jealous. The bottles and bars didn’t have labels, so I just plucked one up and began working it into my hair. As the soap foamed, the room was scented like coconut shells. The warmth and the exotic fragrance made me feel as if I was bathing in a Hawaiian waterfall.
I had just finished dunking my head underwater, rinsing the bubbles out of my hair, when a girl sauntered in. She had long golden brown locks, and lush red lips that made her creamy skin appear flawless. Without so much as batting an eye, she dropped the silk robe she wore, and like a swan, gracefully lowered herself into the bath.
I stayed as still as a statue, not pleased at having my privacy invaded, but at the same time, it was nice to see another face that wasn’t male.
She eyed me warily. “So you’re the new shade of blonde?” I detected traces of envy in her voice.
Her? Jealous of me? Was she insane? All she had to do was look in the mirror.
“I guess?” I replied, unsure how to answer. My hair was blonde, so…
She skimmed a slender hand over the top of the water. “I’m Harlow.”
“Olivia.”
“A bit of friendly advice, Olivia. I might not be the chosen one, but this is my house.” The implication came through loud and clear. She didn’t want me stepping on her territory. Nothing was welcoming about Harlow.
“Trust me, you have nothing to worry about.”
Harlow shot hazel daggers at me. “That’s what we all said.”
I frowned. “How many are there?”
She chuckled, and not in an approachable way. “Here in Jase’s kingdom? I’ve lost count.”
As long as she was willing to answer, I was going to pepper her with questions. Pressing my back against the wall, I kept to my side of the bath. “Why are we here?”
“They haven’t told you yet?” Hatred dripped off her lips while she dunked deeper into the water, resting her head back. I shook my head. “It isn’t my place to tell you. Besides, from the looks of you, there is no way you can be the one they are looking for.” Every word out of her mouth was meant to make me feel insignificant and naïve.
I’d had enough. It wasn’t my choice to be here. “What the hell is wrong with me?” I shot back. Thinking Harlow and I weren’t going to be friends, I let my irritation mask my disappointment. Hopefully, the other girls weren’t all as “friendly” as the viper Harlow.
She sneered, standing up and letting beads of water run down her perfect frame—not a shy bone in her body. “It doesn’t matter what I think. Just remember your place.” Then she stooped down to pick up her discarded robe and walked off.
And what place was that?
“Later, Kieran,” I heard her say in a husky voice before the door opened.
It was becoming clear that I had no allies, no one I could trust here in the Veil. I only had myself to rely on. At least that was not much different than my life in Chicago.
Chapter Six
“Let’s go,” Kieran urged, interrupting my perfect dream of lying on the beach, and soaking up the sun as the water lapped at my feet. “The others are waiting for us.” He held out a giant towel, stretching from one hand to the other.
My skin was as wrinkly as a raisin, but I couldn’t have cared less. Since Harlow’s disturbing visit, I’d been trying not to dwell on what little information I had discovered. I stared up at Kieran, crossing my arms over my chest. “Am I expected to go naked?”
His mouth tipped up into a one-sided smile. “I wouldn’t object, but I’m guessing you would. There is a closet of clothes just through those doors. Pick anything you would like.”
“Close your eyes,” I commanded.
The smirk on his lips deepened, but he did as I asked. Water splashed as I rose out of the bathing pool, quickly taking the towel and wrapping it around my body. I held it closed with one hand and squeezed the water from my hair with the other. Kieran opened his eyes, capturing me with his. I hadn’t noticed that his hands had moved to my hips until his fingers pressed lightly, drawing my gaze downward.
“You can release me,” I said softly.
The center of his bright eyes twinkled. “Promise you’re not going to fall and break your neck?”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you want me to lie?”
He only shook his head.
Keeping the towel secured around me, I padded around a white column to the doors Kieran had indicated. They slid open to reveal a small room, filled with everything from dresses to undergarments. Why do they have so many women’s clothes? I tried not to let it freak me out, but it was pointless. My breathing quickened as I scanned the apparel. Where are the yoga pants and T-shirts? My hand ran over the sheer fabric of what I thought was a dress, but it seemed to be missing some key parts. He didn’t actually expect me to wear this, right?
I grabbed the first thing my hand touched, resolving myself to look like a harlot because, obviously, that was what they were into here. Trying to figure out how to get it on was a joke, and I absolutely refused to ask the dragon for help—eventually I managed.
The soft seafoam material draped over my body in a Greek goddess style, leaving my sides exposed.
“Everything okay in there?” Kieran called through the cracked doors.
I bit my lower lip, searching a rack of shoes for something that would fit. Grabbing a pair of slip-ons, I stuck them on my feet and turned to push open the door. “No. Everything is not okay. I’m stuck in a strange land. I’ve been kidnapped by four hot guys. And I have no clue why.”
A smug grin split Kieran’s lips, his silver hoop twinkling. “You think I’m hot?”
Shit. Did I say that out loud?
His eyes roamed over my body, adding more color to my already flushed cheeks.
“I’m sure some girls find you good-looking,” I grumbled, crossing my arms over myself, but it did nothing to make me feel less exposed.
He gave a little jerk of his head to the side. “Come on. I think it’s time you learn what you’re really doing here.”
Took them long enough.
Kieran led me to a room that looked like what I would describe as a den from the Dark Ages. No windows made the room dim; the only source of light came from the flickering hearth. Jase sat behind a wooden desk, leaning lazily in an oversized chair. Issik and Zade were sprawled with their legs out on two chocolate-colored couches. All eyes turned to me as I walked in, and my cheeks brightened under their scrutiny.
They continued to stare at me with something akin to curiosity. What do they see when they look at me? I jutted my chin out. What does it matter what they think? The
ir opinion isn’t important.
And yet, I stood there, feeling awkward and self-conscious.
“Not half bad after a bath,” Kieran offered, grinning as he took a seat beside Zade, which left me the only empty spot in the room—next to Ice Prince.
Issik watched me with cool eyes.
“Are my looks that important?” I snapped, not happy about being put on display for them to ogle. I quickly sat on the far side of the couch, leaving as much space between me and Issik as possible. He shifted, taking up most of the couch, so that our legs almost touched, and he had done it on purpose.
I glared.
“No, it’s just unexpected,” Jase finally spoke up.
Did he mean that in a good or bad way? “I could say the same about the four of you.” I hadn’t expected them to turn into dragons. Life was full of surprises.
Kieran laughed. “What Jase is trying to say, but bumbling it badly, is you’re quite beautiful, Olivia.”
The color in my cheeks deepened. “Oh.”
“But then again, Jase is known as a collector of pretty things,” Zade added.
“Like blondes? I’m not your trophy,” I retorted, feeling a flicker of annoyance spark inside me.
Jase scowled at Kieran and Zade, his violet eyes darkening.
“Is someone going to explain why I’m here? Or are we just going to make faces at each other?” I asked dryly.
Jase sighed. “Fair enough. You know we’re dragon shifters. Our kind has existed for hundreds of thousands of years. We once lived among humans, fought beside them, until our world—and others’ like ours—were split from the human realm.”
“What do you mean ‘other worlds’?” I interrupted him.
“The Veil Isles isn’t the only land to house beings with extraordinary abilities. There are many others hidden from the human world,” Zade elaborated.
“Is that where the wraith came from?” I asked.
“Sort of,” Kieran replied.
“The Great War drove us to hide our world with portals, or we risked seeing it fall to destruction,” Jase continued, leaning forward so his elbows rested on the wooden desk. “Our fathers ruled the kingdoms within the Veil—Iculon, Crimson, Viperus, and Wakeland—and did so for many peaceful years until the uprising.”
I had no clue what Great War or uprising they were talking about. I had learned none of this in school during my history lessons.
“A supernatural war came to our doorstep, spilling the blood of our people, of our families, and our friends. To end the massacre, our fathers enlisted a witch by the name of Tianna, to cast a curse on the portal into the Veil before they were killed, but the witch had an agenda of her own. Her betrayal cost the dragon shifters everything.” A muscle along Jase’s jaw thumped as he talked about the witch. He definitely harbored some nasty feelings toward her.
As I sat and listened, I tried not to think about Issik’s cool leg against mine. His body temperature seemed to be set at freezing all the time.
Kieran clenched his hands into fists, tension lining his body. “Tianna sealed the portal as our fathers planned, but only to their direct lineage. Her treachery trapped us here, and while others could leave, they eventually never returned—either killed or enslaved by the wraiths that guard the portal. And there was nothing we could do about it.”
“We’ve been stranded on this island for nearly a hundred years. Never allowed to age, have families, or escape, except for a single night, twice a year, during the summer and winter solstices. We’ve spent the last ten decades trying to unweave the spell Tianna cast. We’re the last dragons in the world,” Jase explained.
A witch?
A dying breed?
A curse?
My mind whirled. This was a heartbreaking and tragic story, but I still didn’t understand what I had to do with it. “What happens if you don’t return after the solstices?” I asked.
All four men stiffened.
“There was a fifth dragon heir: Tobias.” Zade spoke up, after a few tense moments passed. His cinnamon eyes swirled. “He tested that very theory, regardless of the warnings Tianna had issued before she departed from the Veil. We knew it was suicide, but he was foolish, and believed he had enough strength to resist Tianna’s hex. His might didn’t save him. When he didn’t return before sunrise the day after the winter solstice, his body burst into flames as the curse had forewarned, leaving behind only the bones of his dragon skeleton Tianna has taunted us with his death since.”
I suppressed a shudder. Being burned alive was no joke. “What does any of this have to do with me?” I asked.
“The curse Tianna cast can only be broken by a girl who holds the key to our freedom,” Kieran informed me.
“Are you talking about a tangible key or a metaphorical one?” I didn’t have any magical key in my possession. Hell, I had barely anything in my possession. My cell phone was the most expensive thing I owned.
“We don’t know,” Jase admitted. “Tianna used a blood curse to trap us, and we believe the blood of the chosen will set us free from this prison. We’ve spent years searching for the one who can break it.”
And they thought that person might be me—that was laughable.
I actually started to chuckle, until all four pairs of eyes pinned me with a look of, What in the actual fuck is wrong with her? “You can’t possibly think that it’s me,” I rebutted.
“That’s why you’re here,” Issik said, speaking for the first time. He left no room for questioning. His voice was firm with a bit of that arctic blast coming through.
They were serious.
“The sight of my own blood makes me faint. No, I can’t do it.” I shook my head.
Issik’s piercing eyes were directly on mine. “We’re not giving you much choice in the matter.”
Well, damn. “And if I’m not the one to break it, I’m stuck here. Is that what you’re telling me?”
“It doesn’t have to be all bad,” Jase said, drawing my eyes to him. His tone had softened.
“Shit,” I muttered under my breath. “Can’t you take me back with you at the next solstice?” I could agree to six months. That was reasonable. But forever? Uh. No.
“If only it was that easy. Our time is running out,” Jase explained.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Zade shifted forward, the leather groaning under his weight as he leaned his elbows on his knees. “We were only given a hundred years to break the curse—twenty years for each of us, including Tobias. Once the years run out, we are out of time.”
A hundred years seemed like a long time. “How many years has it been?”
“Ninety-nine,” Issik confessed.
I felt my blood go cold. What they were basically telling me was I was their last hope.
Damn.
They were screwed.
“B-but—” I stammered.
“Once the summer solstice arrives, the portal will never open for us again, and we will start to age.”
Geez. No freaking pressure. My body was tense.
I thought living on the streets was tough, but this burden was possibly more than I could handle. “Why me? What made you think it could possibly be me? Other than I have blonde hair. Because if that is what you guys are basing your selections on, then no wonder you haven’t broken the curse.”
Kieran’s lips twitched, but only his. Everyone else looked as if they wanted to wring my neck. “Jase has been our scout due to his ability. It’s the easiest way to persuade possible candidates to the Veil.”
Persuade my ass. “You mean by drugging them,” I said straightforwardly. Harlow had implied the other girls had been brought here for the same reason and failed.
Jase cleared his throat, and I swung my gaze from Kieran to the purple-eyed shifter. “Something about you pulled me in. If you hadn’t run into me, I wouldn’t have given you a second glance…”
I scoffed. Thanks for the backward compliment, asshole.
“…but the
moment I looked into your eyes, I felt it.” His stormy gaze captured mine, and for a moment, a zing passed between us, and I knew what he was talking about. “You feel it too?” he asked, seeing the flicker in my expression.
“I don’t know what I feel other than confused.” I answered instead, shifting in my seat. “Everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours seems more like a movie than reality.” A really messed up movie.
Jase blew out an aggravated breath as if tired of rehearsing the same speech in this same room countless times. He probably had I realized. “I can assure you, we’re very real. This place is very real. And the spell binding us is very real.”
Tilting my head to the side, I was suddenly aware that these four gorgeous dragons had lived over a hundred years. “Just how old are you guys?”
Kieran cocked a crooked brow. “Before the curse? Nineteen.”
My gaze appraised each one in turn, and I could see hope shimmering in their eyes, even Issik’s. How could I let them down?
I was their last chance.
This was insane. It would crush them when they found out I was nothing more than a homeless girl.
But what else could I do except agree to help them as long as it didn’t involve offering myself up as a sacrifice to the dragon gods? I had no idea where the Veil Isles were. No idea how to get home.
“What do I do?” I found myself asking.
Chapter Seven
The tense anticipation I didn’t know existed in the room until now dissipated, the four guys visibly unwinding. “For now, just rest, relax, allow yourself to enjoy being somewhere safe,” Jase said, leaning back in his chair.
If it were only that easy… Did Jase think he could just snap his royal dragon fingers and, like that, all my worries and fears would disappear? I could pretend to be on vacation? Have a little spa day? Read a book and swing in a hammock by the water? I must have snorted out loud, instead of in my head, because I drew curious glances from all four corners of the room.
