by Tara West
Draque was feeling Serah’s forehead. It wasn’t like him to play the role of mother hen. He had to be scared, which only upset Ladon more.
Ladon projected a thought into his head. If King Tormung suspects Grandmother is trying to poison him, he’ll burn her to a crisp.
Draque stiffened. I know.
What do we do?
Draque rolled his eyes. What can we do?
Ladon swallowed a lump of granite that had lodged in his throat. He’ll come after us next, probably the entire family.
Draque nodded.
Ladon shivered as an uncontrollable chill racked him. How do we keep Serah and the eggs safe?
Draque rubbed his bearded chin. Is King Tormung afraid of anyone?
Ladon thought back to the confrontation at the gate, when his grandmother warned Tormung about the fae queen’s wrath should he hurt Serah. The fae queen.
Draque grimaced. That means sending Serah back to the fae realm. To her father.
Ladon feared that would be his brother’s answer. Serah was going to hate them. She won’t like it.
Draque sat back on his heels. She’ll have no choice.
“Flaming troll turds. My head.” Teju was awake.
Draque helped him sit up. Teju was a mess. Yellow dust coated his clothes and blades of hay were stuck in his long, black hair. Dark circles cupped his eyes and his glasses hung askew. Ladon had wiped most of the yellow stuff off their skin, but the clothing would need to be washed.
“Hey, brother.” Ladon handed him a cup of water. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”
Teju took the cup, blinking at his brother. “What happened to us?”
“Long story.” Draque folded his arms. “What matters is you’re safe.”
Serah moaned, and Draque held her hand. She opened her eyes. “Where am I?”
“Safe.” Draque stroked her cheek. “We’re all safe.”
“Including the eggs,” Ladon added, knowing that would be her next question.
She heaved a groan, her hand flying to her forehead. “My head hurts.”
Grandmother gave her a goblet. “Take a few sips of this. It will help.”
Serah looked up at Grandmother, a question in her eyes. When Draque nodded for her to drink, she took a few sips before Grandmother handed the cup to Teju.
“Grandmother?” Teju gaped at her while pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “I thought you were dead.”
“Yes, yes. We faked our deaths. We’ll explain it all later.” She pushed the cup to his lips. “Drink.”
After swallowing several gulps, Teju and Serah were aware enough to gaze at the cave’s dark stone walls.
Grandmother stroked Teju’s cheek. “Better?”
“Much.” Teju sat up, then struggled to stand. “What happened? Where are we?”
Ladon nudged him back on the hay. “Easy. No need to get up yet.”
“We’re in Valhol with our grandparents,” Draque said as his grandfathers joined them.
“How are you, grandson?” Domov asked.
“Confused.” Teju chuckled. Then his eyes widened. “That angry dragon king?”
“Let us go, thanks to our grandparents,” Ladon said.
“He’s a menace, and not fit to be a king.” Serah crossed her arms belligerently.
“We know,” Acheron answered.
Her voice rose several octaves. “Something should be done to stop him.”
“Something will be done.” Grandmother patted her hand. “You need to rest and gather your strength.”
“I would if I could hold my eggs,” Serah said.
“Here you go.” Ladon’s heart swelled with joy as he wrapped the sling around her neck. He’d been worried these past few months that Serah wasn’t showing enough interest in the eggs. Perhaps losing them had made her finally appreciate them.
Teju leaned into her, and they laid down, propped up on the hay, and cradled them.
Ladon sighed in relief as the noose of tension around his neck slowly unraveled. He hadn’t realized until that moment how worried he’d been over his mate and brother.
After kissing Serah’s forehead and patting Teju’s shoulder, he and Draque joined their grandparents in an alcove, where they huddled together, sharing a bottle of wine.
Leaning against the cool stone wall, Draque said to his grandmother, “When will you do it?”
She frowned into her goblet. “Soon.”
“What do you want us to do?” Ladon asked, for he didn’t want his grandparents battling the mad king alone.
Acheron’s eyes shone a brilliant gold. “Leave.”
Draque straightened. “We won’t leave you here to deal with this alone.”
“I won’t be alone.” Grandmother let out a shaky laugh. “I’ll have your grandfathers.”
Ladon fought back a curse, but Draque let out a bunch of colorful words. Ladon loved his grandparents, but they were not as strong as they once were.
“What if the other dragons turn on you?” Ladon asked.
“Oh, they will.” Jagua chuckled. “Many are just as prejudiced as their king.”
“Half of them are,” Grandmother said. “The other half are tired of King Tormung, as we are. We should be able to rally enough dragons to our cause.”
“Count us in, too.” Draque balled his hands. “We’re not leaving.”
“You are,” Grandmother said. “You have to find Thaddeus.”
“We looked for him all summer.” Draque’s frustration with the situation made him itch to do something, anything, to resolve it. “Our other brothers still look for him.”
“They won’t find him.” Grandmother clucked her tongue. “Whoever took him is using powerful concealment spells to keep him hidden.”
Ladon laughed harshly. “Then what makes you think we’ll find him?”
She brushed past him on her way to a stone dresser laden with herbs and bottles. “Because you have access to the Phoenixfire flower.” She poured a prodigious amount of yellow powder into a bottle.
Draque scratched his head. “The what?”
After pouring liquid into the bottle, she capped it and vigorously shook it. “With the flower you can see through magical barriers.”
“Where do we get it?” Draque asked.
Ladon already sensed the answer. Phoenixfire was Serah’s father’s house name.
“The fae have it.”
Ladon grimaced, casting a surreptitious glance in Serah’s direction. Luckily, she seemed to have fallen back to sleep in Teju’s arms. “Serah won’t want to go back.”
“She has no choice if we want to keep her safe,” Draque said. Remember our discussion, brother, he projected to Ladon.
Grandmother set the bottle down. “There is only one Phoenixfire flower in the world, and it belongs to the House of Phoenixfire.”
“Great.” Ladon made a disgusted sound. “Now we have to kiss her sperm donor’s ass.”
“It’s your mate’s by right.” Grandmother wagged a finger at him. “It’s passed down among eldest children. She is the eldest, isn’t she?”
Ladon had no idea how she knew so much, but he nodded.
“So we’re just supposed to storm into that man’s house and demand the flower?” Draque asked.
She flashed a triumphant grin. “That’s exactly what you do.”
An uneasy feeling twisted in Ladon’s gut. “I don’t think he’ll go along with it.”
Draque’s smile had more than a little dragon in it. “If he doesn’t, we’ll just have to steal it.”
Chapter Seven
“I’M NOT STAYING WITH my sperm donor.” Glaring at Draque and Ladon, Serah crossed her arms. She couldn’t believe they would ask her to return to that deadbeat’s home.
“Serah,” Ladon pleaded as he knelt beside her, “we need to know that you and the eggs are safe.”
We can defeat the dragon king. Thelix’s voice was sharper than a finely honed steel blade. We will be ready.
/> Teju sat beside her for support, but he still looked as if he was in a trance. Pulling her knees to her chest, she brushed hay from her jeans. Had the thin mountain air gone to Ladon’s head? “Why would I be safer with that man than in The Grotto?”
Draque knelt and took her hand in his, his calloused thumb skimming her palm. “Because the fae are the only beings with power strong enough to fight the dragon king.”
Though she instantly missed Draque’s touch, she jerked her hand back. Why would he stroke her palm? Did he think she’d cave if he turned her on? “If that’s the case, why don’t they assassinate him?”
“Because they won’t.” The elderly woman Draque had introduced as his Grandmother Adora handed her a crude wooden goblet filled with swirling blue liquid. “They consider themselves above the realms of witches and shifters. They won’t care if he burns the world.”
“Can’t you say he threatens their world, too?” she asked and sniffed the liquid.
“He doesn’t.” Grandmother Adora shrugged. “Not as long as the fae queen controls the amethyst scepter.” She gestured at the goblet. “Drink. It will clear your mind.”
“The dragons wouldn’t try to attack Elysan,” Draque said. “There are too many magical shields in place, which is exactly why we want you there.”
She frowned and swirled the liquid in the cup, inhaling the minty steam. “Why can’t I come with you? I can help.”
We will bring that mad king to his knees, Thelix hissed.
“No,” Grandmother Adora said. “He will be ready for your tricks. Besides, his death will be subtle. If we’re lucky, there won’t be a battle.”
Serah wasn’t ready to depend on luck. “And if there is?”
“We can rally half the dragons of Valhol to our cause. Grandmother Adora turned up her chin, flashing a triumphant grin. “We know how to be persuasive.”
So do we, Thelix said.
“Will that be enough?”
“Grandmother Adora and Teju are powerful witches,” Draque said. “Between their spells and our might, we do stand a chance.”
“But we can’t focus on battling the king if we’re worried about you and the eggs.” Ladon’s tone was far too patronizing. Had he forgotten she’d brought an entire zombie witch army to their knees? She popped out a few eggs and suddenly she was a fragile flower?
As if he were reading her mind, Draque added. “If he captures the eggs, he can use them as leverage. You need to guard them.”
She fought the urge to roll her eyes. They were leaving her out of the action when they knew her siren voice was what they needed to bring down the king. Sure, he’d knocked her out last time, but next time she’d be ready. Ladon could guard the eggs.
“Besides,” Ladon added, “we need you to get the Phoenixfire flower from your father.”
Her siren gasped but said nothing.
Teju shook his head as if he was waking from a dream. Then he tilted his head and patted his ears like he was trying to expel water. “The what?”
“It’s a rare flower,” Draque said matter-of-factly, as if they discussed rare, magical flowers all the time.
“The only one in the world,” Ladon added. “With it we can find Thaddeus.”
Thelix giggled. Let’s steal it from the deadbeat.
Serah perked up at that. Loath though she was to be stuck with Brayne, she wasn’t so selfish that she’d pass up a chance to save her mates’ brother. Dragon balls! “Where do I find it?”
“We’re not sure,” Grandmother Adora said, “but your father has it.”
Serah flinched at that. He wasn’t her father in her mind, but now was not the time to argue semantics. “How long must I stay?” With a heavy sigh, she resigned herself to the mission. Though she didn’t want to see Brayne, she did feel badly for the way she’d left Lily. Maybe she’d be able to spend time with her sister. Maybe her brother would return from his travels while she was there.
Draque reached for her again, and this time she didn’t pull away.
He squeezed her hand as a soft smile tugged at his lips. “We’ll send for you when it’s safe.”
As she looked into his eyes, her heart caught in her throat. “I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.”
“STOP.” THADDEUS LEANED against the wall, feeling faint and sick. How he loathed Katherine for poisoning him all this time, and he wondered, not for the first time, if her plan had been to kill him. “I need to rest again,” he said apologetically, refusing to look at Violet.
That Violet had transformed into Katherine was more than unsettling. Every time he saw her, he was reminded of Katherine riding him, her large breasts heaving while her screams echoed off the cave walls. Violet had walked in on them a few times during their feral mating, which had only made Katherine scream louder. The pretty witch must have been so disgusted by him. Shame flamed his face and made his weak heart pound faster.
“Thaddeus, we’re not even halfway there.”
Avoiding eye contact, he gazed somewhere beyond her shoulder, at one of the flickering wall sconces hanging on the uneven dark stone of the tunnel wall. Extending his talons, he made fists, not caring when his nails broke skin. “I’m not backing down.” He spoke through clenched teeth. “Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” Jutting a hand on her curvaceous hip, her eyes nearly crossed as she glared at him. “Do you understand you’re a stubborn ass?”
“Okay, I’m ready.” Ignoring the irregular thrum of his heart, he continued down the tunnel.
“No, you’re not,” she said at his back, her voice dark and low.
She transformed into a griffin. He hadn’t known her potion would allow her to shift, too.
“What are you doing?” he asked as she dug her talons into his arms.
“Carrying you,” she squawked. “What does it look like?”
“You make me feel like an invalid.” When she lifted him into her arms, he didn’t fight, mostly because that took strength, and he had barely enough as it was.
“You are an invalid.” She laughed. “I must learn how to use these wings anyway. Besides,” she added, “if you really intend to shift into a dragon and burn the eggs, you need some fire in your tank.”
Thaddeus tried to think up something scathing to say, but he came up blank, so he said nothing and stewed, wishing the loud pounding of her wings would drown out the erratic beating of his heart.
“SERAH, YOU’VE RETURNED to me.” Brayne’s smile and twinkling eyes looked anything but sincere.
What a fake piece of troll dung, Thelix said disparagingly.
“I haven’t returned to you,” she said, clutching her eggs. “I’m here to get better acquainted with my sister and my brother, should he return.”
Brayne flinched, then plastered on a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Either way, I’m happy you’re here, and I hope I’ll have a chance to explain myself during your stay.”
She brushed past him. Lily stood behind him, looking like an angel, her red hair a wave of flame cascading down her back.
She knelt before her sister and took her small, pale hand, which appeared to be as frail as a bird’s wing. Her throat constricted as she looked into the child’s large, luminous eyes, which were dark brown touched with burgundy, though that was probably the candlelight reflecting the color of her hair. “Hello, Lily.”
The child was stiff and seemed to be judging Serah. “Are you going to leave me again?”
She thought she felt her heart stutter. She handed the eggs to Ladon, then held out her arms, pleased when the girl abandoned all reserve and threw herself into her embrace. She kissed the child’s curls, surprised by their softness.
You’re too sentimental, her siren warned.
Shut up, she answered, pleased when Thelix huffed and went silent.
“I’m sorry.” She hadn’t realized she’d feel such a strong attachment to the girl. She buried her face in Lily’s hair. Serah accompanied her to the garden, where they sat on a bench. She
was relieved when nobody followed them. “I’m sorry I had to leave. I was mad at your father.”
Lily blinked at her. “He’s your father, too.”
She searched for the right words. When nothing even remotely kind came to her, she decided the best course of action was honesty. “He’s never been a father to me.”
“I understand.” She played with a charm at the end of her leather necklace. “You’re not the only one mad at him. His mate and brothers are angry, too. They left him, and Alexi hasn’t come back either.”
Mate and brothers? Did fae bond in packs, like dragon shifters, and why did she get the feeling they were angry because of her? Perhaps Brayne had finally told them about her and the news hadn’t gone over well. “Why are they mad?”
“I don’t know.” Lily shrugged and grinned impishly. “Father makes a lot of people angry.”
The girl’s attention was drawn to her necklace charm again. Serah’s breath caught when she saw the bright red flower encased inside it. It burst into flame, then disintegrated into ash before sprouting again.
Her sister wore the Phoenixfire flower? She clenched her hands in her lap, fighting the urge to take it. But she wouldn’t steal from Lily. She had to find a way to make her give it to her.
Just take it, Thelix hissed.
“That’s a beautiful charm,” she said, fighting the urge to touch it.
“Thank you.” Her smile deepened, revealing two small dimples. “Alexi gave it to me before he went on his adventure. He says I’m to take special care of it until his return.” She stroked the charm like it was a living, breathing thing.
Perhaps it is, Thelix cooed, responding to Serah’s thought.
“Is that so?” Serah asked, suddenly jealous. As the oldest Phoenixfire sibling, the flower should have gone to her. She wondered if bastard children weren’t allowed to inherit.
Her smile faded, her brows pinching together. “I’ve never taken it off in two months. Isn’t it lovely?”
“Quite magical,” she breathed.
Use our voice to take it, Thelix said.
No. She must give it willingly.
