by Tara West
She glared at him so hard, she feared her eyes would cross. “What you mean to say is you need me out of your way.”
He brushed his lips across her temple. “We have to go. I love you.”
Nice save, Thelix said and snorted.
She rolled her eyes. “You sure?”
His smirk faded. “That’s unfair, Serah.”
She stepped away, needing to distance herself from him and his tempting smell. “Don’t lecture me about fairness.”
He kicked at the dirt. “Don’t make this a bad goodbye.”
Damn him! As the alpha brother, it was mainly his idea to go against the dragon king. Tormung had almost killed all of them during their last confrontation. Draque was a fool, thinking this would be easy. Emotion welled up in her chest as she turned away, unable to stand the censure in his eyes.
Joining them, Teju placed a small velvet pouch in her hand, flashing a weak smile as his gaze darted between her and Draque. “I was going to give this to you at Maiadramas, but you have more use for it now.”
“What is it?” she asked, opening it. A silver butterfly fluttered out.
Teju gently closed a hand over the butterfly, which was attached to a leather cord. A magical illusion, no doubt.
“It’s a remembrance necklace.” He draped the cord around her neck.
The butterfly fluttered against her chest and then stilled, its wings reflecting prisms of color.
“It’s beautiful.” She kissed Teju on the cheek, her lips lingering overly long as her heart nearly shattered from the thought of losing him.
“Break off a wing,” he said.
She snapped off a wing at the hinge, then laughed when it expanded into another butterfly and flew to Teju.
He caught it, kissed it, and it fluttered back to her, reattaching itself to her charm and becoming a wing once more.
Ohhh, Thelix said. He gets an extra blowjob when he returns to us!
“If you need us,” he said, “break off a wing, and it will find me and lead me back to you.”
She threw her arms around his neck and peppered his cheeks with kisses. “I love it.”
He held her at arm’s length, brows drawn down. “If you feel threatened or unsafe, don’t hesitate to use it.”
“I won’t.” She bit her lip and pressed the charm to her heart. “But you need not worry about me here. I’m not the one trying to kill a crazed dragon king.”
“We will return to you,” Ladon said, moving up behind her and slipping an arm around her. “Take care yourself and our eggs.”
“Of course.” No way was she ever taking her eggs for granted again. As far as taking care of herself, she wasn’t so sure staying with Brayne was the best thing for her mental health, but she wasn’t about to lay another guilt trip on her mates.
Ladon and Teju strapped the eggs to her, and her heart sank. They were really leaving her.
“You should wear the remembrance necklace,” she said to Teju, but he snickered and shook his head.
Their temerity will get them killed, Thelix bitched.
I pray it won’t.
Me, too, Thelix said. Then who will lick our pussy?
LANDING WITH HASTE, Rem stumbled over his tail and hit the ground with a grunt. Struggling to sit up, he spit out a mouthful of dirt and blood, oblivious to his pain. He dug around in his ear, relieved by the hiss of protest from the worm. He needed the creature to relay to his master what he’d seen.
Staggering to his paws, he hobbled to his master, who was feeding his new babies from a goat bladder. He pushed aside a pang of jealousy. Master had once looked on him with fondness, back before the other griffins and Katherine and the dragon bastard had turned his skin into a black hide full of burn scars and boils. But as Master had repeatedly told him, he was his experimental baby, a mistake made before he knew what he was doing. Now was not the time to dwell on the past or to wallow in self-pity. Master needed to know what had happened. Now that Katherine was dead, perhaps Master would look upon him as his special child again.
“Master, Master, Master!” he screeched and slid up to the mage.
Master smacked Rem on the side of the head with the heavy bladder, and he fell with a cry as blinding pain shot through his skull.
“Stop squealing, you foul, smelly creature,” Master demanded, making a face of disgust, “and speak plainly.”
Hanging his head in shame, Rem wiped a drop of moisture from his eyes. He couldn’t help that he smelled. The exertion of his flight had caused him to sweat profusely, but he had to get the message to Master.
Flapping his wings, Rem stumbled to his paws. “I have come with warning, Master. Witch deceived us.”
Master arched a brow. “Which witch?”
Rem tapped his eye. “Witch with eyes like amethysts.”
Master’s eyes widened. “The slave?”
Rem nodded eagerly. “She deceived us and escaped.”
“Impossible.” He frowned. “She’s blood-bound to Katherine.”
“Kat’rin dead,” Rem said plainly, unfazed by the look of horror in his master’s eyes.
“No.” Master clutched his chest and slowly lowered himself onto a stone bench.
As if they sensed his turmoil, the other griffins buzzed away, leaving Rem and the mage alone.
“It true, Master.” Rem knelt beside him and placed the worm in his hand. “He showed Rem everything.”
“Katherine’s familiar?” He scowled at the squirming little blob in his palm. “This makes no sense.”
“Dragon man kill Kat’rin and hide body,” Rem said, working hard to look sad, hoping to please his master. “Witch drink potion with Kat’rin’s blood to make her look like Kat’rin. She and dragon man escape.”
Eyes turning as red as the lava on Mt. Olion, the mage stared straight ahead while crushing the worm in his grip.
Rem jumped back, pointing at the dripping goo. “Master kill worm!”
“Why not?” He shook his hand. “It’s useless to me now.”
Rem trembled. The crushed worm was a grim reminder of his master’s cruelty, even toward those who were most loyal. He feared his master would do the same to him one day. “What we do?”
Master let out an enraged squawk so powerful, it shook the dagger-like rock formations hanging above them. “Assemble my army.”
DRAQUE WAS TROUBLED. He and his brothers flew in half dragon, half human form, toward the golden gates of Elysan. Ignoring the stares and gasps of the fae, who passed in a blur, he couldn’t get the image of his unhappy mate out of his head. Though he didn’t want to part with her still angry, they didn’t have a good goodbye. She’d been as stiff as stone when he’d kissed her, even when his lips lingered on hers, trying in vain to soften her as she usually did, melting so easily into his embrace like warm butter. She’d responded better to his brothers, which was cruel and unfair. Why was she punishing him?
They had just landed at the golden gates of Elysan when the dove found them, slamming into Draque and bursting in a cloud of magic and fae dust.
Stay where you are, grandsons, his grandmother said. We will find you when it’s over.
The dust disappeared and her voice faded.
Draque looked to his brothers, anger and disappointment heating his skin. “Our grandparents lied to us. They don’t want us there.” First Serah and now they thought them incompetent? Their lack of faith was crushing.
Ladon’s jaw slackened. “Why don’t they want our help?”
Teju shrugged. “They think we’ll get hurt.”
“We’re grown men,” Draque said. “That’s not their call.”
“We’ll probably always be hatchlings to them.” Teju chuckled.
Draque growled at his brother. “This isn’t funny.”
Teju eyed him through sideways slits. “I never said it was. Ease up, brother.”
“Ease up?” Snarling at his brother, Draque balled up his fists, frustration and rage blaring a siren in his skull.
; “Yeah.” Teju looked pointedly at Draque’s fists. “I’m not your enemy. Remember who we’re fighting.”
Draque snorted. They weren’t fighting any one according to their grandparents, who could at that very moment be in a fight for their lives. Meanwhile their mate took out her anger on him. And he was supposed to ease up?
A loud roar rent the air, so powerful it shook the heavy gold gate.
“That sounded like King Tormung,” Draque said.
Ladon swallowed, a visible knot working its way down his throat. “I don’t think the poisoning went well.”
“What do we do?” Teju asked Draque.
Another bellow shook the gate even harder.
Draque shifted into dragon form and took to the air. “Like hell we’re abandoning our grandparents.”
He didn’t need to wave his wand as the gate opened with a hiss. Either it automatically opened when someone wanted to leave, or else someone on the inside wanted them gone. The thought didn’t settle well with Draque and he fought the urge to turn back as he thought about Serah and the eggs alone with her father. Then he shook his head, inwardly chastising himself for his paranoia. The cowardly fae wouldn’t dare harm them and risk the dragons’ wrath.
Chapter Eleven
SERAH SAT AT THE GARDEN table across from Lily, who was too busy licking cookie icing off her fingers to pay her any attention. Serah alternated between checking the eggs in the bassinet beside her and ignoring the mid-morning feast of scones, pies, cookies, potatoes, eggs, ham, and a strange yellow tea that smelled like exotic fruits. Brayne sat at the head of the table, piling salty potatoes on her plate and insisting she drink her tea.
Though she’d tasted a potato and nibbled on one corner of an orange cranberry scone, her favorite flavor, she couldn’t finish her food, and not just because the cranberries were bitter. She was too sick with worry to eat. How could she think of food when her mates were off fighting a crazed dragon?
Brayne waved to her plate. “Darling, you should eat something.”
She bristled at his endearment. She wasn’t his darling, and she never would be. She pretended his nickname hadn’t caused her distress, but it had. “You’re talking to me?”
His smile didn’t mask the cold gleam in his eyes. “Of course I am, darling.”
Setting down her napkin, she folded her hands in her lap. “Please don’t call me darling.”
“I’m sorry.” With the exception of a slight twitch above his lip, his face was stone. “I use endearments for all my children.”
He neglected us for almost twenty years. He doesn’t get to call us his darling now, Thelix said.
Serah agreed, but her heart was weary from all the tension these past few days. She didn’t want to fight with Brayne anymore. She just wished he’d respect her boundaries. “When will I get to see my uncles and brother?”
He released his spoon, and it landed on the saucer with a clank. “I don’t think you will.”
“I see.” She hid her hurt and the crushing feeling of rejection that gnawed at her. “So are they angry with you or with me?”
With a resigned sigh, he picked up the spoon and twirled it between his thumb and forefinger. “They’re not angry with you, dar—Serah.” He colored as he corrected himself.
She had no idea why he suddenly wanted to call her darling, but it sounded forced, as if the word left a sour taste on his tongue. She had the feeling she was anything but his darling. “Why now? Why would you want to see me after almost twenty years?”
He averted his eyes. “It’s a long story.”
Her heart sank. That wasn’t the explanation she wanted. What she wanted was for him to tell her how much he’d longed to see her and how sorry he was for staying away so long, but would she believe him if he said those things?
Lily cleared her throat, then reached for a cookie that was twice the size of her hand. It was in the shape of a beautiful flower and had yellow icing.
“Why would your mate and brothers leave Lily with you?” she asked, puzzled that they’d leave such a small child. Did fae women have no maternal instincts? If so, she hoped the same wouldn’t apply to her.
His gaze darted to Lily then back to her. “An even longer story.” He motioned to her porcelain saucer, filled to the brim with the sweet-smelling beverage. “Let us take tea together, and I’ll explain.”
She was in no mood to drink tea with him, but the scone had left a bitter taste in her mouth. Hopefully, the tea tasted better.
“This tea is imported from Sawran.” He lifted his cup to his nose and smelled it as if he was judging a fine wine. “It’s infused with pixie berries. It really is delightful.”
“It’s my favorite,” Lily said and broke off a piece of cookie, which she dunked in her tea.
He patted the girl’s hand with a condescending smile. “I know it is, dearest.” He leaned toward Serah with a wink. “You should try it.”
She suspected the tea was drugged, but then brushed off her foolish fear. Why would he poison anyone?
Because he’s a strange, creepy fae, Thelix said. He’s probably got a collection of pixie wings and gnome dicks somewhere.
Oh, yeah, he’s the world’s biggest turd bucket. Serah laughed. But I don’t think he’d poison us.
Don’t drink it, her siren warned as Serah raised the cup to her lips.
It’s fine, Serah chided. Stop telling me what to do.
Serah loved her siren. Over the past year, they’d come to know each other better and got along more as friends than rival sisters, but at the moment, Thelix was being a royal pain in the ass.
She took a small sip, pleased with the delicious flavor, which reminded her of the tropical wine she’d had at dinner.
“Now, where were we?” He beamed at her.
“Why did Lily’s mother leave her?” she asked, taking another sip, pleased when it washed away the bitter flavor of the scone.
“Maryne is not my mother,” Lily said, making a sour-lemon face.
“No?” She shot Brayne an accusatory look, not pleased when he avoided her eyes. “Then who is?”
“I don’t remember.” Lily shrugged. “It’s been a thousand of years.”
That didn’t make any sense. Fae lived a few hundred years, tops. At least that’s what she remembered from her magical creatures courses. “A thousand years? I thought you were seven.”
“I am in this lifetime.” Lily swayed in her seat, her pale cheeks flushing.
“Lily, are you okay?” Serah asked as she struggled to stand. Something was wrong. Her legs felt like they were weighted with bricks.
Lily frowned. “I have a headache.” Her speech was slurred as if she was drunk.
Serah tried to reach for her, but her arms were heavy, too.
The tea was poisoned, Thelix screeched. I tried to warn you!
Lily tumbled out of her seat and crashed to the floor. A green-haired servant flew to her. Serah worried about Lily, but she couldn’t move or see her under the table. Brayne sat as still as a statue, his expression impassive. Didn’t he care that his child had fallen?
A cyclone spun in her head as her hand flew to her temple. She shot Brayne an accusatory look. “You drugged our tea, didn’t you?” Her tongue was heavy, making her words come out garbled and slurred.
He’s going to kill us! Thelix cried. Chop us up and feed us to the gnomes!
Serah knew she should panic, but her senses were too dulled for her to feel anything other than disappointment and regret. She shouldn’t have let her mates talk her into returning to the fae.
Brayne stood and looked down at her with cool indifference. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice.”
She slid off the chair as her muscles went limp.
He picked up his cup of tea and dumped it in the bushes. “He promised he wouldn’t hurt you.”
She struggled to comprehend what he was saying. “Who?”
“The wizard who’s keeping your brother hostage, Nathaniel Goldenwand.”
You son of a serpent, she thought but couldn’t say.
Your butterfly charm, Thelix said. Break off the wing!
She’d landed with one hand on her neck, and though her strength was fading and her fingers were going numb, she thought she felt the cool metal of the charm under her palm. Pouring all of her energy into that small effort, she squeezed and heard a snapping sound. As she stared longingly at the wooden bassinet which held her eggs, she thought she saw a butterfly fluttering away.
“My eggs!” she cried as her wicked father reached for them.
Her world darkened.
TEJU AND HIS BROTHERS had just broken through the clouds when they saw a massive inferno in the sky. The mad king and his followers blew huge gusts of fire while dive-bombing a giant translucent bubble on a mountain ledge. Inside it were his grandparents, all in human form and clutching their wands. The ledge wasn’t big enough to support a full-sized dragon. His grandfather Jaqua’s robes billowed behind him as he held the bubble together with his wand, flinching each time they were assaulted by another wave of fire. That bubble wouldn’t hold out much longer, and then what?
Draque hovered in the air. “Brother, we need your magic,” he said to Teju.
Teju shifted into human form and floated down onto Ladon’s back.
Draque emitted a powerful roar. “Over here, you fools!” he called to Tormung.
The mad dragon king spun around and shot a huge ball of flame out of his mouth in their direction. Teju easily deflected it, sending it spinning back to Tormung.
The king’s eyes lit with fire. “Kill them!”
When his army advanced on them, Draque and Ladon were smart enough to fly away, diving into a narrow canyon with at least a dozen dragons on their tails.
Teju hit the dragons with thunderbolts, smiling when they dropped like flies. They were no match for his magic. Though he didn’t use the unbreakable curse, he used enough energy to disable them. If the fall didn’t kill them, they’d be injured enough that they wouldn’t pose a threat for a long while.
By the time Draque and Ladon circled back, there were only five dragons pursuing them. The dragon king joined in the chase, advancing fast on Ladon’s tail, his eyes glowing red like the pits of hell.
