Stolen by the Dragon (Storm Dragons Book 1)

by Riley Storm

  Anna bit her lip. She’d noted the same reluctance from Damien, the refusal to speak up and to fight for her when they’d been caught, and she didn’t know what it meant, what it signified. Truthfully, she hadn’t been able to give it much thought, having been too concerned for her own predicament, but now she did.

  Was it possible Circe was right? That Damien wasn’t what she’d thought, that he’d simply felt she wasn’t worth fighting for? That didn’t feel right, but it fit the situation. But maybe it was the truth. Maybe he just wasn’t that serious about her. It was always possible he’d only wanted something physical from her, and that he wasn’t willing to get into trouble over her for it.

  After all, there was no end to other women at Winterspell that he could attract interest from. What with that smile and those muscles… if she’d fallen for it, then so many others would as well if he tried to charm them.

  “I don’t know,” she admitted at last.

  “Precisely. We don’t know about them, and I’m reluctant for someone as young, and, no offense, inexperienced with men, as you, to be the guinea pig for the dragons,” Circe said gently. “That is why I forbid any fraternizing between you and them. We can learn more about them without getting physically involved.”

  “You have others looking after their young, feeding them, spending time with them on a daily basis to educate them about our world,” Anna pointed out.

  “All of whom are either older than you and more worldly experienced, or too young for the dragons to worry about,” Circe pointed out.

  Anna clamped her mouth shut. She hadn’t noticed that, and now she felt like an idiot for opening her mouth.

  “It’s okay, Anna,” Circe said gently. “We all make mistakes from time to time, let our emotions and, if we’re honest, our hormones get the best of us. We are, after all, still human despite our gifts.” She smiled easily.

  Besides her, however, Master Loiner was glaring with barely restrained anger, the hand with her wand twitching, ready to use it to administer a punishment. But Anna was starting to wonder how much of a punishment was really coming her direction. The Circe seemed to be educating her on the reasons behind the rule, without much intention to punish.

  “I want you to go back to your quarters and think on what we’ve said here today,” Circe said. “Everything that we’ve said here,” she added emphatically with a knowing look.

  Anna swallowed the lump in her throat. “Of course, Circe.”

  “Go,” she said.”

  Master Loiner exploded. “What about her punishment? Circe, there must be repercussions for disobeying orders!”

  “What? Oh,” Circe said in a very obvious pandering to the Master. “Right. Of course. Um. Let’s see. A week of confinement to quarters outside of either class or the meal hall should do it. Yes. Go on now.”

  Anna got up. “Of course, Circe,” she said, bowing her head as Master Loiner sputtered helplessly, her wand twitching in Anna’s direction.

  She exited the Circe’s office and ran for it, wanting to put as much distance between her and the door as possible before Loiner exited it, not trusting the Master not to add her own punishment on top.

  After all, the Circe had given her plenty to think about already.

  Plenty to think about indeed.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Damien

  It was with more than a bit of trepidation that he showed up to their rendezvous the next night. What was he going to say to her? How was he going to explain himself?

  Damien just wasn’t sure what to expect, but he wasn’t going to not show up. No matter the risk to him or his people, he had to be there, had to see her again. The call was coming from more than just his dragon, but his entire being needed to see Anna, to hold her, to tell her that he was sorry, and to explain why he’d not spoken up.

  After that, it would be up to her if she chose to believe and forgive him, or if she’d been too hurt to continue on. There was nothing he could do about her choice, but he wasn’t about to bail on her.

  But when he opened the panel and ducked inside, he found the corridor empty.

  “Anna?” he called quietly after the door had slid upward behind him, sealing off the passageway.

  There was no response. She wasn’t there.

  Damien was gutted. His stomach tightened into a ball of anxious nerves. Maybe she was just late. Perhaps it had taken her longer to slip away tonight, ‘cause she was being more cautious. That would make sense.

  He waited in the passageway as time ticked by, but still Anna didn’t show. Was she being punished, then, for seeing him? Was she unable to get out and come to their rendezvous?

  “I know,” he snarled, his dragon telling him to go find her. To track her down and make sure she was okay. “But they’re not going to kill her just for seeing me. That’s preposterous.”

  He knew it. Even his dragon knew it. Yet the siren call of everything that was Anna was strong, and Damien didn’t know if he could resist going to her. He had to see her. The longer she went on not knowing the truth behind his actions, the worse it was going to be.

  Resolve strengthening, he headed off into the passages, slowly winding his way back down through his building and across toward hers. He knew that path fairly well, having spent some time exploring the passages without Anna after she’d shown him how to access his from the outside.

  Once he got closer to her building, he started heading upward again, but otherwise he was lost. He couldn’t recall which passageway she’d taken him when he’d accidentally wandered into the dormitories; his mind had been too pre-occupied.

  Now it was focused on a single thought, a single task. Find Anna.

  Realizing that he didn’t know which way to go, Damien made a choice. Carefully, very carefully, he opened himself up to his dragon, availing himself of its finer-tuned senses. Especially its sense of smell.

  It didn’t take long for him to pick up her trail. She had frequented the passages often enough in coming to visit him, and now he followed her scent back, his heart beating faster as the trail grew stronger. Eventually, it led him to one particular piece of wall.

  Leaning in close, he listened to the other side, trying to detect the presence of anyone there. It was late at night and the interior of Winterspell was mostly shut down by this time. Only those watching the walls and those who worked overnight were up. Most of the students would be fast asleep by now, which was why they’d planned their meetings to occur at this time.

  Steeling himself, Damien fumbled around with the stones until he found one that moved when he pressed it. The panel slid downward as silently as all the others, the sound obviously muffled by some sort of magic. Peering cautiously into the hallway beyond, he confirmed it was empty, sighing with relief.

  He tiptoed out into the corridor, testing the air before moving off to the left. In no time at all, he was at the door that had to be Anna’s. He could smell her, and if he listened quietly, could hear someone on the inside.

  Smiling to himself, he knocked quietly on the door, doing his best to minimize the noise.

  The door opened and a face appeared, but Damien heard someone coming, so he waltzed right in, pushing the door open and closing it behind him.

  “Anna,” he said. “Listen, I’m sorry I’m here, but I just had to come and see you, and make sure that you were okay and…” He trailed off as he noticed Anna looking at him from across the room, where she sat on one of the beds in the room. One of the beds.

  Damien turned around slowly. A young ebony-skinned woman stood at the door, jaw wide open as she stared at him in shock.

  “Umm,” he said quietly, looking back and forth between the two women.

  “Courtney, this is Damien. Damien, Courtney,” Anna said. “Now, do you mind explaining to me why the hell you’re in my quarters?”

  “You share a room,” he said.

  “Yes. I do.”

  “But how…how did you…”

  “I’m a heavy sleeper
,” Courtney said. “If that’s what you mean by how did she sneak out to meet you?”

  Damien gaped at Anna. “You told her?”

  Anna rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows now, you idiot. After we got caught, there was no way that wasn’t getting out.”

  “I…” Damien didn’t really know what to do now. “Um.”

  “Why are you here, Damien?” Anna asked.

  “Are you okay?” he asked. “I went to our meeting. You weren’t there. I didn’t know if you were okay, if you were in trouble. I needed to come see you, to make sure you were okay.”

  Anna didn’t respond. Instead, she looked down at her hands, fiddling with her fingers uncomfortably.

  Suddenly, Damien knew.

  “You weren’t prevented from coming,” he said quietly. “You chose not to come. Didn’t you?”

  Anna continued to look down. She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t have to. He understood.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, more pain shooting through his chest than he’d ever thought possible. “I’ll go now.”

  He headed for the door, trying not to grasp at his chest.

  Why does this hurt so much?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Anna

  She nearly faltered in her resolve as his face crumbled, worry dissolving into pain before he turned to go. Anna’s heart ached for him, for what he must be experiencing.

  Something occurred to her in that moment.

  If she truly didn’t matter to him, then why would he be so hurt that she hadn’t shown up that night? Wouldn’t he just be more resigned? In fact, would he have come looking for her, risking everything, just to ensure she was okay?

  Have I just made a huge mistake?

  Anna couldn’t shake the thought, and her worry grew exponentially with every passing microsecond.

  “Damien,” she said, getting up from her bed. “Wait.”

  The big dragon shifter paused in front of the door, but he didn’t turn around. “You don’t have to justify it,” he rumbled. “It’s okay. You’re allowed to do what you want.”

  “What?” She frowned. “Of course, I am. But that’s not what I’m trying to say.”

  “Well, what are you trying to say?”

  From beside her, Courtney gave her a forceful look. The two of them had talked about this thoroughly after her friend had found out—and after Anna had convinced Courtney to forgive her for not telling her from the start about sneaking out. Courtney was of the opinion that while Damien might be a nice person, Anna didn’t need the distraction or potential drama in her life right now. She should be focusing on the Apprentice test, which she’d been working toward her entire adult life.

  And she made some very compelling points.

  “I shouldn’t have just not come tonight,” she said quietly. “You deserved better than that, at least.”

  “So, you are ending this.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Damien, you have to understand,” she pleaded, not wanting him to be mad at her. “I’ve been working so hard for this, for so long. I’m right there, and I need to focus on studying magic, not studying you.”

  Off to the side, Courtney rolled her eyes and stifled a groan. Anna glared at her, but it just washed off her friend who clapped her hands over her face as she began to laugh silently at Anna’s cheesy line.

  “That doesn’t mean you need to stop with me,” Damien pointed out.

  “Maybe, maybe not,” she agreed. “But with the way things are right now and with all the unease, I can’t risk my entire future over a—” she stopped, realizing what she’d been about to say.

  “A what?” Damien challenged, finally turning, the hurt in his eyes slowly giving way to anger. “A fling? Over a bit of fun? That’s what you were going to say, wasn’t it?”

  Anna shook her head, but Damien just stared at her, his gaze icing over.

  “Don’t give me that,” she snapped, losing her cool, all her doubts bubbling to the surface. “It’s not like this was anything more than that to you either!”

  Damien’s jaw dropped. “What the hell are you talking about? You need to explain.”

  “Yesterday, when the master found us. She was just laying into me and where were you? What did you do?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I don’t recall Damien standing up, doing anything to try and calm the situation, to prevent me from getting in trouble. If you’d really cared, you would have fought for it.”

  His normally smooth face grew sharp and angular the more she talked as Damien’s anger bubbled up. Hard lines were visible as he shut her out, looking at her now as if she was something else.

  “Fought for it?” he echoed. “Is that what you want? Me to fight for it? Would you have preferred I blasted that idiotic bitch from the top of the tower? Impaled her with a lightning bolt? Maybe you wanted to see me roar like a barbarian and rip her limbs off one by one and beat her into a pulp with them? Is that what you want? Is what it would take to convince you that I care for you? To stand up and proclaim to all of Winterspell that you are mine, and anyone who tries to stop me will suffer my wrath? Fine. I can do that,” he snarled, spinning to go.

  “What?” Anna yelped when she could finally get a word in. “That’s not what I meant at all!” She flicked a hand out, casting a spell on the door before he could open it.

  Damien turned the handle and pulled, but the door didn’t budge. He growled and pulled harder.

  “What the hell are you doing now?” he bellowed. “How dare you use your magic on me!”

  “I didn’t,” she said, not backing down as he took a step toward her. “I used it on the door, so that you wouldn’t go storming off to do something stupid.”

  “Well you wanted me to do something stupid last night,” he retorted. “What’s the difference in doing it now? Nothing.”

  “Listen, will you two just calm down,” Courtney interjected, speaking up at last. “You’re shouting and it’s loud.”

  “Be quiet,” Damien growled, leveling a finger at her.

  “Okay,” Courtney said, retreating to the back of their room, hands up high as lighting flickered around the tip of Damien’s finger.

  Anna stepped forward, putting herself between the two of them. “Don’t you ever do that again!” she snapped.

  “Or what?” Damien roared. “What are you going to do to me? Can’t be worse than the hurt you’ve already inflicted!”

  Anna blinked. “What are you talking about?!”

  Damien slashed a hand through the air between them. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter now!”

  “You’re not making any sense!”

  “And you’re only thinking of yourself!” he all but spat. “You haven’t thought about everything I’m doing for you. Sneaking around behind my own people’s backs. You think just because Altair doesn’t mind us talking that the others are okay with it? If Rokh found out, he’d come down on me like a ton of bricks! Or what about tonight, hmm? You think if I just wanted your body that I’d have snuck all the way up here, risking my entire species being chucked out of Winterspell, just so I could bend you over? Are you really that dense?”

  Anna bit her lip, his words sinking home. She hadn’t considered his angle. At all. Not the risks he would be taking, not just for himself, but that he would be exposing all the other dragons too if he was found out.

  He’d been risking everything to keep seeing her.

  “Damien, I—”

  There was a knock at the door.

  She looked past the broad-shouldered shifter at the door in alarm as someone tried the handle.

  “Sturgis! Bonnes!” a shrill voice shouted from outside the door. “Open this up right now!”

  Anna moaned. Of course, someone had called Master Loiner!

  From behind them, Courtney sighed heavily. “I told you guys you were too loud.”

  Magic sizzled and Anna’s spell on the door died, giving way to Master Loiner’s push as she opened the door.

  To
Anna’s surprise, she wasn’t alone though. A tall male was with her.

  Damien groaned in recognition.

  “Hello, Rokh.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Damien

  We are in so much shit.

  “You are in so much trouble,” Master Loiner snapped, looking past him at Anna.

  Behind her, Rokh’s eyes lit up at the sight of Damien in the room, promising much the same but without the verbal additive.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Damien grumbled, purposefully blocking the doorway, not allowing Loiner to get past him while he talked with Rokh. He’d had enough of the diminutive woman and her attempts to get Anna in trouble. He couldn’t squeeze the life from her spiteful little throat, but he could be an irritant.

  “He’s here because I called for him to be here,” Loiner said.

  Damien ignored her, looking over the witch’s head at the fire dragon. It surprised him to see Rokh working with the woman, instead of fighting one another. What had compelled him to do such a thing?

  “You’ve put us all in danger,” Rokh growled, finally speaking when it became apparent Damien wasn’t going to acknowledge the witch Master. “Your actions could lead to us being thrown out of Winterspell, Damien.”

  Ah. That was it then. Loiner had threatened Rokh with eviction of everyone else if he didn’t come control his ‘wild, wayward, threatening subordinate’, or something like that, he was sure. He could just imagine Loiner trying to find the worst ways to describe him, not realizing that she was probably insulting all dragons in the process. What an idiot.

  Still, she’d been smart enough not to threaten Rokh directly, but the rest of the dragons, especially the young. These was the very ones Rokh would do anything to protect, even allying himself—however temporarily—with the hateful witch.

  “You know that this is ridiculous, right?” Damien said, crossing his arms. “The way the two of you are treating us?”

  “You were given specific orders not to—”

  “I’m not talking to you!” Damien roared, finally looking down at the witch as he took a step closer to her. Lightning sparked across his skin and he let his eyes take on some of the yellow of his dragon, making him that much more threatening.