Dragon's Heart

by Marly Mathews

  She turned to him. “If my father is right in the head, as you try to impress upon us, then he is a madman.”

  “Oh, sure, this world has seen plenty of those. There’s been Hitler, Peter the Great... Countless men of power have let it go to their head and done horrible unspeakable things. Evil things.”

  She sat down on one of the chairs that Kayla had conjured. The pews in the abbey had been knocked over or destroyed during the battle. To think that the battle had reached the inner sanctum of this holy building was beyond comprehension.

  “I think you should go and leave my cousin and me in peace for a few minutes. Go and see if there’s anyone that requires medical attention.”

  “Leo and I can help we have our magical medic training.” Kayla nodded at him, gesturing for him to follow her. David slunk back into the shadows and trailed along behind Kayla and Leo.

  “Do you know what happened to Nicholas?”

  Blaze looked up at the sound of William’s frantic voice. “I think he escaped. I don’t know, in the entire hubbub of activity it’s hard to say. I wasn’t exactly keeping that close of an eye on him, once my family was put into the line of fire. All I could think about was keeping them safe. My sisters are still back there! They must be frightened to death.”

  “Your sisters will be fine. We forget how enduringly strong the young dragon shifters are. They also share a twin bond, they will prevail.” She managed to speak without having her voice wobble, even though her heart was racing at the thought of her young cousins left alone, vulnerable to her father’s influence. He could be awfully charming when it came to young children. He had a way of twisting their minds, molding them to believe his every word.

  “If that’s what you think.” Blaze turned sullen. She didn’t know how to snap him out of it.

  “You have to get your head together, Blaze. Like it or not, you are the leader of the royalists. You are their prince. You must be their shining beacon of hope. As the Prince Regent, you have a duty to show them that the way is not lost yet, and they will need your guiding hand when my father strikes again. Make no mistake. He has not been beaten. He will try again. He will attempt to catch us off guard and strike while the iron is hot.”

  Blaze nodded his head. “I want you at my side, Grania.”

  “Hey, she’s my wife. Don’t forget that, Blaze old boy.” William gave Blaze a sarcastic smile, but his eyes were deadly serious.

  “I would never think of Grania that way. Don’t worry, my family dispensed with marrying their cousins in order to keep the bloodline pure long ago.” He gave William a smart-assed grin, taking great delight in goading him to the breaking point.

  “Don’t fret, William. Even my bold cousin here couldn’t disrupt what we share. You’re my pain in my ass, for life.” She gave him a quick grin. His eyes lit with good-natured humour. She knew he could take her quip and run with it. Their verbal sparring would never grow dull no matter how long they both lived.

  “My father won’t strike in the same spot again, so I feel fairly confident that Tewkesbury and this Abbey are safe from insurrection.”

  She sighed. The chatter of the many warriors holed up in the abbey met their ears. “I pray that we haven’t suffered many casualties.”

  “I second that prayer.” William walked over to stand by her side. Blaze flanked the other side. He looked a few years older than he had yesterday. She completely understood why.

  “We have the casualty list, here. Many were magically transported back to our headquarters.” David’s voice reached them.

  “Thank goodness for that.” She breathed a sigh of relief.

  David now walked side by side with Leo and Kayla. He had transformed himself back into his native form. She was surprised how warm hearted he looked. He had a face that was easy on the eyes, and yet, his personal charisma gave life to the room.

  The beleaguered troops trailing behind him had an extra spring in their step. He’d certainly done wonders to their morale. Whatever he’d told the beleaguered masses had to have been good for the spirits. He also had an air of leadership about him. William and he seemed to be on equal footing when it came to the chain of command, within the witch and wizard hierarchy.

  “How are you doing now, Your Highness?”

  Blaze gave him a piercing stare. “I am much better.”

  She searched the large crowd for faces that she’d recognized. She knew quite a few of the dragon shifters that were walking side by side with the magic kind. They all looked as if they’d forged quite a friendship. Winning a strategic battle against enormous odds had that sort of effect on comrades in arms.

  Hope shined on the faces of the dragon shifters. Finally, they felt as if they could beat back their oppressor. From being beaten onto their asses for so many years only to have to get up and keep on going, this victory was all the sweeter.

  “Earth is safe…for now," Blaze's voice boomed out to the crowd

  Gasps rang throughout the crowd. They were all worried that Blaze was still being inhabited.

  She stepped forward. William released her hand as she did so.

  “I realize that everyone here is worried that my cousin is still being used as a puppet by my father. I will attest that he is free from my father’s mind control. We have four other witnesses to vouch for him as well.”

  The mood in the crowd shifted. They all started to clap their hands.

  “Our two peoples have been united today through Grania and William.” Blaze’s voice was weak, but it endured as he continued his speech. “They have married each other, giving into their bond as predestined mates, and sealing our bonds of friendship for all time. Never again will the dragon shifters and magic kind live with hatred for each other. This day marks a new beginning in our history. It marks our foray into being forever friends.”

  More applause came from the weary crowd. Their faces shone with exhaustion, but their spirits were lifting with every word that Blaze spoke.

  They had found their new leader.

  Chapter Thirteen

  William pulled her away from the crowd.

  “We should get to London, soon.”

  She hesitated, watching Blaze start to embrace his followers. Her heart thrilled with pride.

  “This is his hour,” she said proudly.

  “It seems to me that it should be your hour. You are the one that forced your father out of his body. You are the hero in all of this, and it seems to me that you should be the one running things. You have a level head. He is ruled by his emotions.”

  “Blaze needs this. I don’t need to be a leader in order to have the will to live another day. I’m in this for the long haul. Besides, I never signed on to be a leader of two peoples.”

  “My mother is our leader.”

  “Of course, she does. But this group of witches and wizards has found a new sense of respect for Blaze. They honour his leadership, and they know that when they follow him into battle he will be there for him. After all, they did successfully scorch the asses of the first wave my father sent to Earth.”

  “Indeed they did,” William sighed. “Where do we go from here?”

  “We prepare for the next onslaught. It’s only a matter of time for my father to lick his wounds and get back to the drawing board, so to speak. As we stand here talking about him, he’s probably making my aunt’s life a living hell.

  How broken hearted she must be. I can only imagine the pain of losing someone so dear to me. I can’t bear to ever lose you, William. I think you should remain here in Tewkesbury. Better yet, return to Cheltenham and Aurora. Your mother was right in wanting to keep you there…”

  He held his hand up. “We’re not going to get into this again, are we? I’m done trying to convince you that I can take care of myself. Sometimes you make me feel like such an incompetent fool.”

  She looked away from him. “Excuse me then for looking out for your best interests. I only seek to keep you safe.”

  He reached for her hands
. “I am safe with you. As long as we are together we are strong.”

  She nodded her head.

  The air lightened. She valued the insight that William brought out in her. When she was with him she thought about everything right down to the most miniscule detail.

  Blaze came toward them. “We have decided to return to Cheltenham. The magic folk tell me they were given explicit orders to return to their nearest base before taking any other plan of action.”

  “That’s a good idea. We wouldn’t want William’s mother to bring her wrath down upon her warriors.”

  David came up behind Blaze, and chuckled when he heard Grania’s remark. “She is quite the fury when she puts her mind to it. Mild mannered and meek is only her ruse to lure you in, then she snaps with her magical jaws.”

  “I’ve been privy to her mild and meek side, and her take no prisoners side as well. And I’ll take the meek and mild side any day of the week.” William let out a nervous laugh.

  “Once we ensure that Earth is safe from invasion, David tells me he might be able to convince Aine and the council to send out troops to Dragonia. We certainly could use those troops,” Blaze sighed, his eyes lighting with hope.

  She knew how important this was to him.

  “I’m happy that the magic kind have proven to be so worthy when engaged in battle. My father will definitely be reassessing his strategies.”

  “Battle magic is hard to counter attack, especially when you don’t have the full mastery of the Craft.” David nodded his head.

  “My father does use the Craft.” She looked at David, wondering at something that had shifted in his tone of voice.

  David nodded his head. “I know, in my time with him, I studied the sort of magic he practices with deep intensity. Your father knows practical magic, but he certainly doesn’t know how to use the kind we wield when in battle. Besides, he dabbles too close to the dark arts for my taste. I was sincerely spooked a few times when he was dabbling.”

  She shivered. “I apologize for my father’s proclivity to dance in the darkness that resides within his soul.”

  “He lusts for power, and unfortunately, he seems all too ready to make incredible sacrifices to obtain that power.”

  “My father will be stopped. It’s only a matter of time.”

  “Time doesn’t seem to be on our side. I’m going to suggest we all return to base and rest. We’re going to need all of our wits about us for whatever else your father decides to throw out at us.” David gave her a stern look.

  “Stop it!” She threw her hands up in the air. “I insist that everyone stops referring to him as my father! He might have made me with my mother, but he failed in his role as my father! I have totally broken all ties with him. No matter what he might try to say to the contrary, I’m never going to think of him as my father again, don’t you understand? He’s Draco to all of you, and he’s Draco to me.”

  David’s eyes wavered. He seemed unwilling to accept what she was saying.

  “I’ve seen how connected dragon shifter children are to their parents. You might think you’ve broken away from him, but I wouldn’t put all of your eggs into one basket so to speak, Grania.”

  “You just don’t get it! I’m done with him! And for the last time, we don’t hatch out of an egg! We are warm blooded. We are born just as human and magic kind children are born!”

  William moved forward. “I think you should knock it off, David. You’ve done quite enough as it is. Grania told you already she doesn’t have any sort of loyalty to her father. She could have allowed him to stay in Blaze’s body…she didn’t. So just drop it—end of story.”

  David chuckled. “Okay, okay. Don’t go for the jugular, mate. I’ll leave it be. I never was one to go on like a broken record.”

  “You weren’t? That’s not the way I remember it.” William’s eyes narrowed. “You need to learn that Grania is one of us now. She didn’t kill you earlier, you should take that as a good sign, and she defended you to Blaze. The way I see it, you should be bowing at her feet. You should be begging for her forgiveness. Just don’t doubt her again, or I’m going to do more than just calling you on it.”

  David nodded his head. Motioning to Kayla and Leo, he walked away from them. Kayla and Leo followed him. Blaze remained behind, though she could tell that he was tempted to follow as well. He was tempted to follow Kayla.

  “And what if I am?” her cousin asked.

  Blaze turned back to her.

  “You will have to stop reading my mind soon, Blaze. Or, I will be forced to push you out of it.”

  “You will? We never did play that game before Cousin Grania. You were always an open book to me.”

  “Not anymore. I feel like my privacy now.”

  “I supposed that is your newfound marital status.” Blaze thinned his lips. “I’m going to travel with my people and the magic kind back to their home base. I take it you and William will be coming with us?”

  “You take it wrong,” she spoke calmly, and with purpose.

  William gave her a surprised look.

  “I do? Where, pray tell, do you intend to go?”

  “William and I will be at my cottage. As far as I’m concerned, it’s still a safe haven for the two of us.”

  “Plus, you want to have your own space so you can go ahead and have some fun. Just don’t blow up the cottage in the throes of your passion.” Blaze winked impishly at her—a bit of his old self shone through.

  “I will take that advice into consideration.” She smiled. William still looked at her quizzically.

  “We’re really going to stay behind? I thought you wanted to put me in a protective little bubble?”

  “I might have, but I’ve reconsidered. The days ahead of us are going to be filled with harrowing danger and unspeakable feats of fighting prowess. I think we should have some time to ourselves before the next storm hits.”

  “I do believe you’re right.” William raised his eyebrow as Blaze slowly wandered away from them. “You also want us to forge the bond of the mating fire between us.”

  “I do. With my father closing in, we’re better off bonded than the way we are right now. This thin strand of a bond exists between us, but I want to make it a thick strand as strong as steel.”

  “My sentiments exactly, let the mating ritual begin.” He nodded over to the rest of the group. “Do you think if we leave, anyone will notice?”

  “Blaze might, but he’s too interested in Kayla’s tits and ass right now to even pay any attention to us.”

  “I think you’re spot on, as usual.” He gripped her hand. They walked toward the door of the Abbey. Opening it up, the sun flooded down on them.

  “I do believe we are in the other calm before the storm.” A shiver ran through her. “I should be feeling secure, but I don’t. I feel like my house of cards is going to tumble down around me tomorrow.”

  “In that case, your husband thinks we should make the most out of tonight.”

  She nodded her head.

  They made it to the cottage in no time at all thanks to Grania allowing him to transport them magically. She seemed tense. He knew what her father was doing was wearing hard on her.

  Her eyes were filled with a haunting pain that made him want to lash out at Draco with his full magical might. He wanted to turn the man into the beast that he was. He wanted to watch him suffer the way he’d made Grania suffer.

  They removed the magical rucksacks from their backs and plopped them in the small entryway. “It looks as if we didn’t need those.”

  “Nonetheless, we might need them someday. I doubt Aurora would have given them to us if she didn’t see a need. We should eat something.” She made her way to the kitchen. If he listened closely enough he could almost hear her heartbeat. It had to be the mating fire entering its final stage.

  “Can you hear it, too?” She glanced back at him fleetingly, still making her way toward the kitchen.

  He followed her. “Yes. I can hear it. It’
s the most beautiful sound. It’s literally music to my ears.”

  “You flatter me.” She smiled at him. Her emerald green eyes filled with unbridled passion. He could feel the air heating up between them. Soon, it would lash out and scorch them both.

  “I’m starting to feel a little hot under the collar.” He watched as she hungrily ate him up with her eyes. The disagreements they’d had earlier now seemed long forgotten. Forgiveness and trust shone in her eyes.

  “I think we should forego the meal. We can eat afterward.” Her voice turned hoarse, her cheeks flamed. He instinctively conjured a piece of ice in his hand.

  It cooled his lust down just enough. If they didn’t take care their combined abilities were literally going to make the house burn down around them.

  “Our jets are getting all fired up…” She looked longingly at the ice cube he held in his hands. Taking it from him, she ran it down her neck. “Ah, that does feel better. I must cool down my body temperature. It might be too much for you touch.”

  “I want to touch you all over.”

  Images of her naked body flared in his mind’s eye. He watched her eyes flare with arousal at his suggestive remark.

  “It’s the mating fire. It is starting to cloud our minds, and soon we won’t be able to see straight through the haze of passion.”

  “That’s fine with me.”

  “We’ll be ripping each other’s clothes off,” Grania murmured.

  “Again, that’s fine with me. I’m an able and willing participant in this love game.”

  She studied him searchingly. “When this all dies down, when we prevail against my father’s forces, what will that mean for us?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t get what you’re trying to say.”

  “This marriage of ours will no longer have a need to exist. We could leave each other and go off to become hermits, away from society we might just be able to quell the bond that we are about to ignite.”

  “Stifle our bond? I don’t want to do that. I want it to always be throbbing between us, buoyed by our passion and our love for each other. I don’t ever want my thirst for you to be quenched.”