by Rinelle Grey
Olivia stared at her for a moment, then answered the phone on speaker, holding it up near Lisa.
“Lisa?” Barry’s voice asked, concern in his tone. “I know you said that your friend wasn’t a dragon, but in light of recent events, I’m going to assume you were lying. Are you okay?”
Lisa couldn’t help a slight smile at his immediate concern. Trust Barry. “Yes, we’re fine. I’m going to have to take a few days off though.”
Barry’s reply was immediate. “Sure. Whatever you need.” There was a short pause, then he added, “If you ever need legal advice, say to prove that these dragons need to be treated as human beings, or, you know, if you end up in trouble, I hope you’ll call me. All on the house of course.”
Lisa felt tears prick at the inside of her eyelids. “I’ll remember that,” she managed to say without crying. “Thanks, Barry.”
She realised, of course, that there was more to his offer than just kindness. Being the first firm to offer legal counsel to dragons would be quite a feather in his cap. But it still made her feel good.
There was just one other thing. Lisa hesitated. “They’re probably going to come and question you,” she warned.
“Of course,” Barry agreed. “I can’t avoid telling them what I know, which isn’t much, but I’ll hold out as long as I can.” He hesitated. “You might want to ditch this phone.”
Good catch. They could track it all too easily. “I will, thanks.”
“Just let me know if there’s anything I can do,” Barry repeated. “And take care, Lisa.”
“Thanks,” Lisa managed, then nodded to Olivia to hang up the phone.
Lisa hesitated. There was so much of her life in her phone. All her photos, her texts, everything. Yes, it was all backed up, but who knew when she’d be able to access the backup? Ditching it wasn’t easy, but there was no other choice. If the police caught up to them, she risked losing far more than memories.
“Here, give me that,” she said roughly.
Olivia handed the phone over.
Lisa stared at it for a few moments, then she hit the button to reset to factory defaults and threw it out the window. Even with how slowly the traffic was moving, it didn’t take long for it to be crunched under a car tyre.
At least the data from it would be unrecoverable. Lisa hoped.
“What did you do that for?” Olivia asked in shock.
“They can track it,” Lisa told her.
Olivia was silent for a few moments, then heaved a sigh. “I suppose I should ditch mine too.”
Lisa winced. She’d had enough trouble giving up her own phone. Her concern for Verrian had made it a simple choice. She couldn’t make herself ask Olivia to do the same.
She didn’t have to. Olivia heaved another sigh, rolled down her window, and pitched her phone out onto the road.
All was quiet in the car for a few moments as they inched their way along the crowded road.
Lisa glanced over at Verrian in the backseat, his face pale and his eyes closed. Was he still okay? Would he make it as far as Raven’s?
It was too late for second guessing her actions. This was where they were, and the only way was forward.
If only there weren’t so many cars in the way.
Ahead of them, Raven swerved into a side street. Lisa followed.
The backstreets were a lot less crowded. Even though they weaved around a lot, it felt much better to be moving.
The further they got from the city, the less crowded it became, although the odd siren still set Lisa’s nerves on edge. Lisa hadn’t realised Raven lived so far out of town. That was going to come in handy.
Raven pulled into a long driveway, the house pretty much hidden from the road, and Lisa’s nerves calmed a little. The house seemed private, hidden, safe. They’d be okay here for long enough for Verrian to heal.
So long as Raven’s friends didn’t give them away.
Lisa pulled to a stop as close to the front door as she could, then came around to Verrian’s side of the car. Blood was starting to seep through the robe now, hard to hide, even though Lisa did her best to wrap a clean section over the wound.
Verrian managed to open his eyes. “Thank you, Lisa,” he said quietly.
For some reason, his words made Lisa’s eyes fill with tears. Was he ever not polite? “Nothing to thank me for. Just stay alive, okay?” she insisted.
Verrian nodded shakily. “Sure. I’ll do my best.”
The fact that there was still some strength left in his voice gave Lisa hope, but the way he leaned heavily on her and seemed to be struggling to put one foot in front of the other, concerned her again.
Somehow, they managed to make it inside without further incident.
Lisa paid little attention to the interior of Raven’s house. The musician stood in front of her, looking nervous. “What do you need? Where is the best place for this?”
“We need to lie him down,” Lisa said. “Do you have a guestroom?”
Raven quickly showed her into a neat and tidy bedroom. Lisa felt a little bad that Verrian was going to bleed all over the black embroidered doona, but at least it probably wouldn’t show the stains.
The effort of getting inside had taxed Verrian. He barely moved as they eased him onto the bed, then just lay there, his face pale and his eyes closed.
Lisa’s heart constricted. Had the move hurt him more? Were they too late?
Was there any way he could heal from this without assistance?
“Do you need anything?” Raven hovered in the doorway.
Lisa could barely hear his question over her thumping heart. Ignoring Raven and Olivia’s curious eyes, Lisa sat gingerly down on the edge of the bed. “Verrian?”
He didn’t answer. His eyelids didn’t even flicker.
Panic hit Lisa, but when she laid a hand on his chest, it was still rising and falling, if faintly.
He was still alive, but he seemed to have slipped into unconsciousness.
If she didn’t do something, now, he could die.
Lisa’s heart skipped a beat. There was only one answer now. She was going to have to sleep with him. Anticipation fluttered in her stomach, along with a healthy dose of nerves.
She and Verrian would be bonded for life.
Her knees trembled. Part of her wanted this so much. She ached to be with him again. She wouldn’t even hesitate if it weren’t for the longer term implications.
Mated for life.
Lisa shook her head.
She was going to have to do more than just sleep with him. The sex came later, after he was healed.
How did she do the first part?
She didn’t even know where to start.
Karla. Karla would know what to do. Lisa fumbled in her pocket for her phone, then she remembered.
It was gone. And she wasn’t even sure she could remember Karla’s phone number.
Chapter 3
Lisa paced back and forth in front of the bed where Verrian lay. There had to be a way to get Karla’s phone number. All her data was backed up to the cloud, she just needed a way to access it.
“Is something wrong?” Olivia asked, her voice worried.
Lisa stopped pacing and stared at them. “I need to call Karla, but I lost her phone number when I ditched my phone.”
Olivia’s face cleared. “You backed up, right?”
Lisa nodded.
“Then we just need a computer.” Olivia looked at Raven.
“Sure.” He disappeared for a few moments, then returned with a laptop. Lisa didn’t want to leave Verrian, even though she wasn’t sure that her presence achieved anything, so they set the laptop on the bedside table. Olivia fiddled with things for a while, then asked for Lisa’s login details. A few minutes later, she had Karla’s phone number.
Raven brought her the phone.
Lisa hesitated, she didn’t want to be rude, but…
“Give us a while, please,” she said. “This could take a couple of hours.”
&nb
sp; Raven nodded immediately, though his eyes were curious. Olivia hesitated longer, looking disappointed. When Raven picked up the laptop, she heaved a small sigh, retreated and shut the door.
Once she was alone, Lisa dialled Karla’s number.
“Hello?” Karla’s voice was cautious.
Lisa was suddenly at a loss for words. “Hi,” Was all she could manage.
It was enough.
“Lisa? Is everything okay? I’ve been trying to call you, but your phone’s been ringing out.” There was a note of panic in Karla’s voice. “We’re seeing reports and photos of what looks like Ultrima flying over the city, but it’s so jumbled it’s hard to work out what’s going on.”
She didn’t know the half of it.
“No, we’re not okay,” Lisa said flatly. “Just about everything that could go wrong, has. Ultrima attacked Verrian, and I had to ditch my phone to be sure no one followed us. We’re safe for now, but I need to know how to help Verrian enter the Mesmer. He’s injured. Badly.”
She bit her lip. In reality, she should be asking whether there was some other way to heal him. But it was easy to excuse her lack of further questioning. She already knew there wasn’t. He could apparently heal a small amount of damage, but this was far worse than his last fight.
She had every excuse to not look for another option.
There was complete silence on the other end of the phone. Had they been cut off? Lisa’s heart skipped a beat. What if someone was listening in on her call? It seemed surreal, but then, nothing about this day had been normal.
Karla’s voice came back in a rush. “Are you somewhere safe? We need to come and get you. Where are you?”
Lisa didn’t want to say. Not over the phone. “We’re safe,” she said. “For now. But I don’t think you should come anywhere near the city. There are police everywhere, and it’s only going to get worse. What I need to know is how to heal Verrian. He might need his magic, or his ability to fly, maybe both. He definitely needs to be not dying. But I don’t know how. You need to tell me.”
“You’ve only slept together once, haven’t you?” Karla asked.
Lisa winced. She didn’t want to get into this. She already knew the risks. Had already decided it was worth it to help Verrian. But there was no avoiding the direct question. If she did, Karla would guess anyway. “No, twice,” she said quietly.
Somehow, saying it out loud made it seem far more real. Lisa’s heart thumped, and she wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or fear. Maybe it was because of the lure of the forbidden. That had always led her into trouble.
“Lisa,” Karla said earnestly, “you can’t sleep with him again.”
“What, do you think I’m going to let him die?” Lisa demanded. Her eyes filled with tears at the words. The thought of Verrian dying filled her with more dread than any of her fears of being tied to one person ever had.
Her voice shook, no matter how hard she tried to make it level. “Verrian and I will sort it out later. Just because we’re bonded doesn’t mean we’re, like, married. It’s just a magical tie, right? If we both agree to see other people, it doesn’t matter.”
“It’s not like that, Lisa,” Karla said, her voice so even and calm it drove Lisa mad. “You can agree to see other people, sure, but you won’t want to. It’s not just the physical bond, it strengthens the feelings between you. You won’t be able to think of anyone but Verrian like that ever again.”
Lisa swallowed.
Ultimately, she should have known that. What did she think a mate bond would be? She’d already experienced the Mesmer bond and seen how it could affect her feelings, but she hadn’t stopped to consider what a mate bond might actually feel like.
Part of her wanted to know. What would it be like to be totally certain that this was the person for you? To not even want anyone else, ever again? That had to feel good, right?
Another part of her wanted to run screaming. She’d never wanted to be stuck with one person. What if they fought all the time? What if the sex wasn’t good? Lisa had to laugh at herself over that one. She was pretty sure that was never going to be a concern.
What if they just plain didn’t get along? What if she wanted something different? What if she made the wrong decision?
Lisa took a deep breath, before the fear and panic ran away with her. She didn’t have time for this. The only thing she was certain of was that she couldn’t let Verrian die.
“Look, just tell me how to do it. We don’t have time to agonise over this.”
“You don’t have to,” Karla said.
Lisa bit back a sigh. Before she could demand answers again, Karla continued. “Taurian and I didn’t sleep together at first because I didn’t feel right sleeping with him. After waking them, the ritual can be completed by staying in close proximity for a couple of weeks. It’s much slower, but at least you won’t be bonded.”
“Why didn’t we do that when we woke Verrian the first time then?” Lisa asked pointedly.
“There wasn’t as much risk in sleeping with him then,” Karla said quickly. “You wanted to, so there was no reason not to. And with Ultrima around, we didn’t know if Verrian would need to come out of the Mesmer chamber fighting.”
“Do you think the situation is any better now?” Lisa demanded.
It was kind of Karla to tell her this information, but she knew it wasn’t going to help. The situation they were in was dangerous. Verrian needed to be at full strength. There was no getting around that.
Karla heaved a sigh. “Is there anyone else who could do it?” she asked quietly.
Olivia. Of course.
That would be the sensible option, and Lisa was pretty sure her friend would be more than happy to take one for the team.
But as soon as she thought of it, Lisa dismissed it. She couldn’t. She wouldn’t let her friend be with Verrian.
He was hers.
It hit her like a stab in the heart.
She loved him.
It had snuck up on her.
Well, no, it had been trying to hit her over the head for a while, but she’d refused to acknowledge it. She didn’t want to now. Her mind shied away from the possibility.
And luckily, there was plenty to distract her. “No, there’s no one else,” she lied. “I’ll deal with it. What do I do?”
Karla hesitated. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea, Lisa.”
“What other choice do we have?” Lisa demanded.
There was silence on the other end of the line. Karla didn’t have an answer.
There wasn’t one.
They all knew it.
“Just tell me what to do.”
After a short hesitation, Karla explained the process. It seemed simple enough. Lisa listened carefully, then took a deep breath. “Well, I’ll call you back in a couple of hours, when it’s done,” she said finally. “What are you going to do?”
“We need to speed things up,” Karla said immediately. “You guys lie low there, we’re going to gather the clan together again. It’s clear that splitting up is doing us more harm than good. Then we’re coming to get you. Once we’re all together again, we’re going to have to wake the rest of the dragon princes and princesses as quickly as we can.”
Her words warmed Lisa’s heart. “Good luck,” she said. “We’ll be waiting for you.”
Chapter 4
Lisa took a deep breath, staring at Verrian. There were no doubts in her mind, especially not after realising she loved him.
She knew she had no hope of resisting coupling with him after the Mesmer Ritual had begun.
She no longer wanted to.
She just needed to make sure she got this right.
Sliding down on the bed next to him, she rested her hand on his heart, listening for his heartbeat. For a moment, she panicked, thinking she couldn’t find it. But it was there. Weak, but there.
Feeling a little weird, she put her hand on her own chest, listening to her own heartbeat, firm and strong. Perhaps a
little faster than usual.
She took a few slow breaths, trying to slow it down to a normal speed. Karla had said she needed to sync Verrian’s heartbeat with hers. She didn’t think it was going to help him if hers was hammering at a million miles an hour.
Everything was going to be all right. She could do this.
Lisa repeated the comforting words over and over in her mind, until she almost believed them. Her heart settled back into its normal rhythm. That was better.
She focused on Verrian’s heartbeat again. Was it a little stronger now? It was still different to hers. Far slower and weaker.
How did she get them to be the same when they were so different? Her heart beat twice for every one of his, only out of sync, so almost never at the same time. Lisa listened, waiting for it, until there was a beat the same.
That made her feel a little better. Not knowing what else to do, she waited again for another one, then another. Slowly, more beats seemed to sync up, until suddenly Verrian’s heartbeat shifted to match hers exactly.
A warm glow filled Lisa. Their heartbeats thumped through the palms of her hands, matching perfectly, as though they were one.
The connection sent shivers through her. She’d done that.
This Mesmer ritual was heady, even without the magical connection she knew would come. But she couldn’t think about that now. There was more to be done.
What was next? That’s right, breathing.
Verrian’s breath was shallow and quick. Feeling a little like an old pro, Lisa slowed her breathing, taking nice, even breaths. She could barely hear Verrian’s breathing over her own, she had to strain her ears. Gradually, his breathing deepened and slowed, until it sounded almost normal.
If she could ignore the blood on his chest and the fact that he was unconscious, she might almost believe he was normal.
Now she had to ease him into a normal sleep. Lisa lay down beside Verrian, careful not to bump him, and curled her body around his as gently as she could.
Karla had said she needed to actually go to sleep herself, to ease his brainwaves into the right pattern, but Lisa was so keyed up, she didn’t think there was any way she’d be able to sleep.
