by J. L. Weil
That had never happened before. Ever.
With my arms out in the warrior pose, I pressed my palms to their chests. This was becoming a much too familiar situation—me between two guys. I should be grateful it wasn’t all four.
Fire leaped quickly into Zade’s eyes. “Get out of the way, Olivia. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“That wouldn’t be a problem if the two of you stopped acting like imbeciles,” I argued, blowing a strand of hair out of my face.
Zade’s response was to pick me up by my shoulders and move me off to the side, out of his way, but I wasn’t having it and started squirming to break free. That was how I fell on my butt.
Fortunately, I landed on a patch of softly packed soil, instead of the twig beside me. I shuddered to think about… a stick up my ass. Wouldn’t that have been my luck? Four concerned dragons hovered over me, all offering a hand. It was ridiculous—so much so that I started to laugh.
“Are you okay?” Jase asked, those violet eyes studying me with concern.
Breathless, I grabbed the side of my stomach and smiled.
The sky above us turned black, and I squinted, alarm suddenly chasing away the warmth in my cheeks. “Is that a—?”
“Wraith,” Issik hissed, his cold eyes having followed the line of my gaze. He slipped his hand around my waist, pulling me to my feet. “We must get her to safety.”
“Lead the way, Ice Prince.” I winced. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.
He gave me a funny look, but my nickname for the shifter was the least of his concerns. The wraith screamed a sound that made my ears want to bleed, and its obsidian shadow fell over our heads, skirting the treetops. “Run!” Issik ordered me.
Shirts were flying off for the second time today as two of the guys immediately shifted and took to the sky. This was my chance to escape. I didn’t know why the thought popped into my head at that moment, but once it was there, I couldn’t get rid of the idea. I had made a promise to myself, if I didn’t break the curse, I would find a way off this island. However, I hadn’t factored in the feelings that had bloomed for the four descendants over the last few days. There might never come another opportunity like this when I was left alone, and if I had any real chance of going back to my world, I had to take it while I could.
But I’d underestimated the Veil and its penchant for danger. I had been warned, and I should have listened.
Chapter Ten
Running was something I could do. I might not be a track superstar, but these legs could sprint as long as there weren’t fallen branches, tangled ivy, rocks, or basically anything I could trip on.
It just so happened that the woods were full of all the above.
Fricking awesome.
Did I mention it was also growing dark?
I was so screwed, but it didn’t stop me from hauling ass. Sticking to the dirt path as much as possible, I headed deeper into the woods, uncertain where I was going. It wasn’t long before my feet began to blister from rubbing against the slip-on. Branches and sharp leaves cut into my arms and legs, but I didn’t stop, afraid of who would find me or who wouldn’t.
Clenching my jaw, I bared the pain, and pushed forward. My heart beat rapidly from exhaustion and adrenaline, but through the treetops, I could hear the battle between the dragons and the wraith.
Out of nowhere, Kieran pinned me against a tree, shielding me with his body from the wraith that dove from the sky and through the treetops. Holy crap. Where had he come from? It was evident that Kieran didn’t know his own strength. Pain seared through me, and I felt like a china doll that could shatter at any moment.
Everything about the dragon overwhelmed my senses, from the feeling of his muscular body pressed against mine, to the light scent of his woodsy aroma surrounding me. I could have easily forgotten the danger above.
His eyes swept over my face, and I stared back. “Are you okay?” he said.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak.
“Stay here,” he commanded me and then ripped his clothes off, shifting into a glorious dragon, taking off to help Jase and Zade in the sky.
Like hell I will.
My brain cells were just settling down after being shaken, when I pushed off the tree.
Finally, an opening came into view. Pale moonlight splashed onto the grass as I stumbled into the clearing, nearly falling and eating dirt. That would have been a hell of a look, Olivia.
I glanced around. Now what?
Did I keep running? Did I hide? And then what? I didn’t know how to get off this island. I had been utterly foolish to think I could survive on my own. How long would I last out here? A few days? A week?
Five more minutes?
A twig snapped behind me, and I swung around, casting my eyes to the edge of the woods where I had come from. I found myself face to face with a wraith.
Holy shit! What’s the plan now, smartass? Scream for help?
The shadowy creature shrieked, blowing my hair off my face. Its breath smelled of rotting flesh. Someone needs a Tic Tac.
Up close, the wraith was scarier than I’d imagined. Under its hooded cloak of rags, the creature had no face. Where I expected to see his eyes was nothing but darkness. Completely freaked out, I sprang into action.
Turning, I ran, but I barely got a few yards before cold, bony hands latched onto me. Grabbing ahold of my wrist, the wraith wrestled me to the ground.
I hissed in pain as my head hit the ground. Son of a bi—
My breath evaporated as coldness stole into my lungs, snaking its way into my chest and throughout my body. I shivered. And I couldn’t stop.
What was it doing to me? The world around me seemed to turn gray, losing all color, and my only thought was of death itself.
Paralyzed by fear or something else, I wasn’t sure how long I lay there on the grass with the wraith on top of me. When all hope seemed lost and I could feel the life vacating my body, the wraith was suddenly ripped off me.
Still, I couldn’t move.
I no longer felt connected to my body, unable to wiggle a toe or finger. Everything that made me human and alive was fading away, piece by piece. Growls and shrieks resonated in the clearing, and I knew my dragons were fighting the wraith. A white film had moved over my eyes, washing out the clarity of the world, just as someone sank to his knees beside me, and whispered my name. I thought I might have gasped, but I couldn’t be positive it was me.
Sensing motion, I struggled to clear my vision and blinked rapidly. I was pulled into a man’s arms—one of my dragons—but I didn’t know which one, not until I felt the heat. He exuded heat like a bonfire. Zade. The fire dragon cradled me against his chest, and slowly the feeling came back into my fingers, my toes, and my lungs. My hands buried themselves into the hair at the nape of his neck, and I pressed my cheek against him, the coldness inside me melting into the warmth of him.
But it wasn’t enough. I opened my mouth to tell him I needed more, but I didn’t know what to ask for.
“Shh. Don’t speak,” he whispered in a terse baritone.
I could just barely make out the features of his face, but I took comfort in it, thinking I might not die after all.
Zade gently pressed his thumb to my chin, prying open my jaw and placing his lips to mine. This wasn’t exactly the perfect time to make out, but once his soft mouth touched mine, it was all I wanted. Heat filled my body, and I finally understood what he was doing. His dragon’s breath burned inside me, chasing away the lingering effects of the wraith.
His lips remained pressed against mine until they tingled. Everything tingled really. Zade pulled away. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I-I think so, but don’t let me go just yet.” I still felt a little wobbly, but that could have been from his kisses.
“I wasn’t planning on it.” He brushed the hair off my face, keeping me tucked into his arms. “I’m used to girls freaking out, but you’re not going to faint, are you?”
I wasn’t p
lanning on it either.
Much to Zade’s disappointment, I didn’t faint. Three naked dragon shifters stood around me. Thank God Zade had clothes on, because that would have been the height of my embarrassment. I didn’t know what to say. “Are you guys always naked this much?” I mumbled, the words popping out of my mouth.
“Does it bother you?” Kieran countered as if the idea of spending more time in the nude with me appealed to him.
“How do you feel?” Jase asked, ignoring Kieran.
“She’s… annoyed,” Zade answered, while staring at me with a thoughtful expression.
How could he possibly know that? I wasn’t miffed at them, but me. I had almost just died, and all I could think about was the four glorious shifters surrounding me—proof I needed my head checked. “And how would you know what I’m feeling?” I directed my question at Zade.
“I don’t know. I sensed it.” He rubbed at the center of his chest like what I was feeling was right there inside his heart.
“Is that something you guys do?” And failed to tell me about, I added silently.
“No,” answered four unanimous, deep voices.
I was willing to brush it off. It didn’t seem like that big of a deal since it was pretty common to read people’s emotions. And then this happened.
“Okay, you’ve had her enough. Give her up.” Kieran reached for me.
I still sat in Zade’s lap, and although it had slipped my mind, it didn’t get past Kieran’s attention.
“Don’t get possessive. She’s ours to share,” Jase answered, pulling on a pair of jeans but leaving the top button undone as he bent to pick up his shirt off the ground.
Since when did I become theirs? I wasn’t having it. “You guys don’t own me. I’m not anyone’s. Especially not until you put some clothes on.”
“The four of us are responsible for you now,” Issik spoke up for the first time since the wraith attack. I was glad to see he had put on clothes… mostly. He was still shirtless.
I rolled my eyes. “And what does that mean? You’re going to pass me around like a joint to share?”
“She’s angry now,” Zade said, studying me oddly.
Do I have something on my face? Why is he looking at me like that? “I have a right to be upset. I’ve traipsed through the woods, been pulled into a cave at the bottom of a tree trunk, been bitten four times by dragons, and attacked by a wraith. I’m waiting for my freaking badge of honor.”
“Yep. She’s pissed,” Zade added. “I can feel her irritation rolling like waves. It’s making the fire inside me roar.”
The other three dragons all turned sharp eyes on Golden God. “What do you mean?” Jase demanded.
Zade forked a hand through his hair. “I don’t know. It’s like her anger is a part of me, simmering in my blood until it starts to build inside her.”
“Here, let me try.” Kieran pulled me to my feet and into his arms. Before I realized what he was doing, his lips were moving over mine. I touched his cheek and closed my eyes. I might be a virgin, but I’d fooled around before, and the venomous dragon knew how to work those hot lips. I sighed, leaning into him. My knees felt weak.
Kieran broke off the kiss, staring down at me with moonlight in his eyes. “I felt it too,” he said, wide-eyed, rubbing the same spot on his chest that Zade had.
What is going on?
“Well, of course you felt something,” Jase growled. “You just kissed her brainless.”
Kieran sucked on his lower lip like he wanted to savor the taste of me. “It wasn’t just chemistry, which there was plenty of. I could feel her passion inside me.”
Zade had straightened to his full height and glared at the green-eyed dragon shifter. “What the hell. Why does he get desire?”
Seriously. Were they now arguing over my emotions? What next?
I stepped out of Kieran’s arms before he decided to plant another one on me to test his theory some more.
“She might not have broken the curse, but something definitely happened in the cave.” The silky smoothness of Kieran’s voice had disappeared altogether, replaced by deep concern.
“I agree. When the wraith showed up, her fear was so strong inside me, all I could think about was finding her,” Jase admitted.
My hands dropped to my hips, and the bitch came out. “Wait. A. Freaking. Minute. Are you telling me the four of you can now feel my emotions?” Oh, hell no.
“It’s possible something happened when we took a drop of your blood,” Issik concluded.
Please tell me this is a joke. I shook my head. “This can’t be real. So I didn’t break the curse, but I managed to emotionally entangle myself with four dragons. Jesus. How does this crap happen to me?”
“She’s sad,” Ice Prince said, looking at me strangely.
“Okay. Enough! Stop.” I backed away from the four of them, not wanting any of the dragons to touch me. “I don’t want to think about this anymore. I’m exhausted. Can we just go home?”
Home.
The word echoed in my head. Home was Chicago, not Jase’s castle, yet it was the room in Wakeland Keep I had been referring to. This wasn’t my home, I reminded myself, I couldn’t forget it. This was only supposed to be temporary, but from the sound of things, the descendants weren’t going to let me leave.
“She’s right,” Issik said. “We need to get her to safety before anything else shows up.”
I didn’t like his intimation of other things. Hadn’t the wraiths been enough? What creatures should I be worried about, besides the four dragon shifters eyeballing me? I was getting sick of them constantly sharing glances that had double meanings. What were they keeping from me?
“Can you guys put the rest of your clothes on? Button up the pants. Throw on a shirt. It’s very distracting.” My eyes couldn’t stop straying to certain parts of their bodies. I hadn’t seen enough naked men in my life to judge what qualified as va-va-voom, but the dragon descendants had all the working parts.
“We’re making her uncomfortable,” Jase said.
Argh. This emotion-sensing thing royally sucked ass. I’d never be able to hide anything from them again. I don’t think they’re sexy. Not one single bit, I told myself. “They’re not sexy,” I accidentally let slip out. My hands flew to my mouth, and I groaned. Tell me I had not just mumbled something about being sexy out loud. I glanced up at four very smug dragons and groaned again.
Damn them.
They were going to be the end of me.
Zade crossed his arms and gave me a look. “What are you muttering about?”
My hand pushed through my messy hair, but it was a failed attempt. The numerous knots made it impossible to manage. “Nothing. It’s not important.”
Issik strode back into sight, his jaw locked.
“Do the four of you ever get along?” I asked.
“Yes,” four deep voices answered together.
“Well, at the moment, I’m finding that hard to believe.”
“Come on, Cupcake,” Jase said as he started to move, taking me along with him. I didn’t even bother to fight him. Maybe I was becoming used to being manhandled by the four of them.
I waited until we left the clearing and ventured back into the woods before peppering them with more questions. “What did it want?” I inquired about the wraith.
“You,” Jase said in a very low voice.
Kieran slipped in next to Jase. “The wraiths are the dead of the Veil—our kings, our queens, our mothers, brothers, sisters, and fathers. Tianna’s spell prevents them from moving on. They are as tied to the island as we are.”
What was her deal? Why had she gone to such great lengths to curse the descendants and the island? There had to be more to the story. The dragons all walked with long, purposeful strides that I more or less had to run to keep up with. “What did it do to me?”
Jase’s jaw grew tight, his cheek ticking. “Wraiths feed on humans, stealing their souls. They know why we brought you here and will do anyth
ing to stop the curse from being lifted at Tianna’s command.”
“But I didn’t break the curse, so why would it try to kill me?” I asked, kicking a rock in my effort to stay with their pace.
Jase didn’t answer at first, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they were going to constantly keep me in the dark. How frustrating. I was here because of them and their stupid problems. The least they could do was tell me the truth.
“Because all hope isn’t lost,” Jase finally answered.
“I don’t understand.”
“The attack on your life, however distressing it may have been, means there is still a way to sever the tie that binds us to the island. You’re the key; we just haven’t figured out how you unlock the curse yet.”
“So I gave you my blood for nothing?”
“Not nothing. You can’t forget the link to your emotions,” Kieran so kindly pointed out.
Again. That wasn’t something I was happy about. “Is there anything else I should know about this spell?”
“There is one other thing,” Jase confessed.
“Don’t hold out on me now,” I retorted.
Zade glanced down at me, a flash of anger in his eyes. “It also forbids us from siring children. If we don’t find a way to break it, the dragons die with us.”
So it wasn’t just about their future, but also the fate of their race. “What do we do now?” I asked.
Jase shook his head. “There must be something we’re missing, something we haven’t thought of. And your blood…”
“What about my blood?” It drove me crazy when people didn’t finish their thoughts. I didn’t like suspense.
“None of us have ever tasted blood like yours. You are different, but it was more than the sweetness of it, it was as if you became a part of me,” Zade finished. His body was still lined with anger, but the resentment wasn’t directed at me.
“And the wraith’s attack on you only proves it,” Issik added.
So it wasn’t just Jase who felt this way. None of them had given up.
“Tianna has the wraiths guarding the boundaries of the Veil. If they are hunting us, then we are doing something right.” I could see flickers of fire and the promise of revenge in Zade’s expression. He wanted Tianna to pay for what she had done to them.
