Dragon in Love

by Bolryder, Terry

  “You didn’t send me those visions,” Chadwick said. “You couldn’t.”

  “He’s chaos,” Boreas hissed. “We don’t know what he has done.”

  “Right, and you don’t know who I am either,” Zareth said. “But you’re about to.”

  He stood and snapped his fingers, and his entire being changed.

  He was now wearing black leather and metal armor covering every part of his body, including his hands. He was tall, taller than Chadwick even remembered the fae being.

  His ears were long and pointed, and his dark eyes seemed to glow with malevolent black fire.

  His hair was straight and long, and it floated around his shoulders as he paced in front of them. “Only five of you weaklings? I won’t even need my wand.” Then he reached behind him and pulled out something long and ominous from behind his back and held it at his side. “But I’ll use it anyway, just for fun.”

  “Wand?” Chadwick asked, totally lost.

  “Put that away,” Boreas snapped, turning into his own fae form as he stepped forward. Instantly, he was transformed into a fae prince. Only, he had wings out instead of the large staff Zareth was holding.

  His ash-blond hair flowed over his shoulders, and he was at his taller height. But his bright-blue wings were glowing, stretching ten feet up to the sky. He looked like an avenging angel, and the other fae stepped back to let him through.

  “As the purest bloodline prince of order, I will take care of this,” he announced. He pointed at Zareth. “Put the wand away. We are not fighting for our heart bond.”

  Zareth laughed meanly. “You don’t know that.”

  Boreas’s glittering, icy white and blue armor was a perfect contrast to Zareth’s dark armor as they circled one another in the dark.

  Chadwick wanted to step forward, to be the one to protect his mate, but Boreas clearly knew more about what he was doing.

  Chad had been lost since the mention of wands.

  As long as Isabella ended up safe at the end of this, that was all that mattered. Even if she was still mad at him, even if she still left him, as long as it was her choice and not just her need to run from a madman, that was fine.

  Well, fine in the way that Chadwick could survive anything if he knew his mate was okay. Not fine in any other way.

  “You’re the one she’s resonating with, dragon?” Zareth asked, ignoring Boreas as he tried to block him from the rest of the group.

  Chadwick knew not to take any of this lightly, as he had seen Taylor go against a chaos fae, and the results could have been very gruesome.

  It had taken six dragons to take down the last chaos prince before that.

  Then again, they hadn’t had a fae with them to fight him.

  “Duel me, then,” Boreas said as his wings went down and he pulled out a long staff from behind his back. The long, cylindrical body was blue, frosted with little white lines of crystal. At the top, there were white crystals in a little cluster, making it a scepter.

  Someone needed to tell the fae that wands were small things you held in your hands. Not… whatever those giant, crystal-covered fighting sticks were.

  “I didn’t want to do it this way because I’m not strictly fighting for Isabella, but I’ll do it if I have to,” he said, pointing his wand at Zareth.

  “I’m honored,” Zareth said coolly, taking a few steps back. He pointed his wand back at Boreas. “The usual rules?”

  Boreas nodded sharply. “You face only me. We match magic. First one down will show mercy. Since we are in a different world, you’ll be taken back to our realm. They can deal with you there, and—”

  But mid-speech, while Boreas was listing all the rules and emphasizing them with his wand, Zareth pointed his wand past him at Flint.

  A bolt of darkness laced with light shot through Flint, crackling as Zareth held the wand on him.

  Boreas froze, watching the stream pass him as Flint let out a scream and fell to the ground, rolling in agony and holding his side.

  Zareth lifted his wand and pointed it at Boreas again. “Did you really think the future king of chaos would follow rules in this lawless world?” He threw back his head and laughed, and dark wings shot out of his back, rising even higher than Boreas’s.

  He paced, and Chadwick wished for Trevor’s shield as Tynan and Ivar tried to help Flint and Boreas faced off with Zareth.

  “Fix him,” Boreas said sharply. “Take it back.”

  “Can’t,” Zareth said with a shrug. “That would be a radiant fae’s job. They’re the only ones who can cure or counter chaos.” He cocked his head. “Oh wait, they’re all dead. That’s why you all have to guard your world so much.”

  Boreas scowled, striding over to check on Flint.

  The minute his back was turned, Zareth aimed his wand at him, hitting him with another black bolt that made a crack as it landed.

  Then Boreas was on one knee, holding his side and looking incredulous.

  “You still don’t get it!” Zareth said. “You still don’t get that this isn’t your carefully controlled world where you keep us all beneath you, and when we try to break in, you fight us back down. When that happens, you control everything. The way we fight, where we fight, how we fight.” He narrowed his eyes. “Not in this world. Not anymore. Now we see how the order fae line up against chaos. And if you turn your back on me, you’ll pay.”

  Boreas was gasping, looking down at his armor where black was beginning to leak out, coloring everything. “Stop it! I order you to stop!”

  “Ah, well, that would work if I took your orders. You don’t rule here, Boreas.”

  “You don’t rule anywhere.” Ivar snarled. “I know you.”

  “Yes, you were all ready to pull your wand out before, weren’t you? Are you in love with her?”

  “No,” Ivar said. “But I knew I would try to kill you if I got the opportunity.”

  “Only a wand can kill a fae in one shot,” Tynan explained. “But fae don’t want to kill, unless they are chaos fae.”

  Boreas looked down at his chest again, then let out a cry of rage as he lunged toward Zareth. “Fine, then! I’ll fight you on your terms.”

  Not as affected as Flint had been, Boreas charged forward. Zareth twisted his wand, but instead of striking Boreas, they all heard a shriek from Flint.

  Flint was twisting, his back arching and his teeth clenched in pain, like Zareth was controlling whatever he’d shot him with.

  “Go ahead. Attack me,” Zareth said. “I’ll have fun hurting him while you all try it.” He twisted his wand again.

  “Stop!” Boreas said, sounding desperate. He looked like he clearly didn’t know what to do.

  Chadwick hadn’t thought about the fact that most of the fae were nonviolent, despite being raised to fight. That they were used to fighting on their own terms.

  Boreas looked conflicted as Flint finally calmed again, Zareth watching him with cold eyes.

  “What should it be, then? More torture? Or will you bring her to me?” He aimed his staff at Flint again, and all the fae flinched.

  Chadwick remembered Ivar telling him that the fae were bonded. They drew strength and gave strength to those they cared about.

  If Zareth hurt one, he hurt all.

  Plus, this was their first encounter with chaos, and it wasn’t going well. They hadn’t even realized they wouldn’t be able to duel as they had in the other world.

  “I don’t know what to do,” Boreas said in a hoarse voice. “I can kill him easily, but he might kill Flint first.” He shook his head. “I never should have let him take that shot.” He looked down at his side where the darkness was slowly disappearing. “I’m going to be fine for the most part. But what about Flint?”

  Ivar shook his head. “I have no idea.”

  Flint was moving back and forth, clearly in agony, but he managed to shake his head. “No. Just kill him.”

  But Boreas hesitated, and Chadwick couldn’t help but be touched by the care the stuck-up fa
e showed for his friends when the cards were down.

  Chadwick himself was still trying to figure out what to do. His powers weren’t meant for this kind of fight.

  Zareth had disabled four powerful fae almost instantly, and while Chadwick knew they would never let it happen again, he also knew none of them wanted to attack while it would hurt Flint.

  Not until there was an even worse threat.

  Chadwick had tried his mind attack almost from the moment the fight started, but it appeared to have no effect on the fairy once he was in true form.

  It appeared he’d have to do it the old-fashioned way.

  He changed into his dragon, feeling darkness in the air crackle around him as he changed.

  “Oh, I’m so scared,” Zareth said in a singsong voice.

  Chadwick lunged forward with his huge jaws, trying to snap the fairy up. Zareth flew back, hovering off the ground with his wings. Chad shot fire, and the fairy easily flitted back and forth, dodging all of his attacks.

  Chadwick swung his powerful tail, covered in amethyst spikes, but it had no effect, and Zareth simply flew up over it, then hovered in the air over Chadwick, aiming his staff at him.

  “I do wonder what it would be like… having a chaos dragon for a pet. Especially one with fae blood.” His lips curved up in a grin. Black magic gathered at the tip of his wand, and Chadwick changed quickly back to human form to be less of a target.

  He closed his eyes, putting his hands up to block whatever was coming, and then stopped when he felt something like a warm flash light up the area so much that the color changed behind his eyelids.

  Pink. Pink was everywhere.

  He opened his eyes and saw a pink glow over the entire clearing.

  Landing in the middle of it, with giant pink, fluttering wings, was Isabella.

  She was beautiful, so beautiful, in fae form.

  Fae. The thought of Isabella being one made Chadwick feel slightly faint. Not as scared as he felt when she showed up, though.

  If she were hurt…

  “Turn it off! Turn it off! Stop!” Zareth was screeching as Isabella approached. “Stop!” His eyes bulged as he looked up at her. “You weren’t supposed to be a radiant fae! No wonder I couldn’t manifest you, you little bitch!” He raised his wand, shaking, and turned it, making Flint scream. “I’m going to kill your friend, all your friends, and your dragons, so turn it off!”

  She shook her head slowly. “You only know how to hurt people. I can’t let you live.” She glanced at Chadwick, who was still staring, aghast. “Sorry, but I need to kill this guy. And for some reason, I think I can.”

  She moved forward and lifted her foot, which was glowing pink, and stomped it down right in the middle of Zareth’s chest. Pink beams of light shot out, and he screamed as he disappeared from sight, the entire clearing going so bright Chad couldn’t see anything.

  Then Zareth was gone, and though a few dark wisps of something flew away on the wind now that the clearing was darkening, all that was left was his wand.

  As Chadwick watched, even that disintegrated into dust in the air.

  Isabella sent Chadwick a relieved smile but then turned and ran to Flint.

  She knelt by him, cupping his face, and he smiled up at her. “You figured it out, huh?”

  She nodded. “You knew?”

  Flint shrugged. “I might have suspected.”

  “That’s why you touched me, isn’t it?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Decontamination. Your type of magic can dispel chaos, and after the club, I was so chaotic inside. It was just instinctive since I knew it would help. We fae use touch constantly once we’re bonded.”

  “Like you gave me comfort before, touching my hand,” she said softly.

  He nodded, then looked down at his side where the darkness was already retreating.

  “Speaking of which, could you…?”

  She put her hand there, closed her eyes, and Chadwick saw her wings rise and fall, fluttering like fire fed by accelerant. To his surprise, the darkness spreading through Flint dissipated as he was bathed in pink light.

  Even Boreas was speechless as Isabella finished and the pink light faded away, leaving Flint lying more peacefully.

  Boreas, who looked completely unaffected by the chaos magic now, walked over to Flint and dropped to one knee. “I’m so sorry. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have been arrogant and— “

  Flint shook his head, looking amused. “You can’t have thought he would pull like eight illegal moves at once.” He pushed himself into a sitting position. “Though, I guess now we know.”

  Boreas looked at the trees around them brokenly. “I suppose we will have to break our own rules in this world. I wanted to always be honorable.”

  “That’s what’s supposed to separate us from chaos fae,” Ivar said, looking troubled. “We follow rules. We—”

  He was interrupted by the door to the cabin flooding open and men pouring through. That must have been Zareth’s trap.

  Some looked like fae serfs. Some looked like wolf shifters. All looked hungry. There must have been some portal inside the house that led to another area.

  There were dozens of them snarling angrily as Chadwick looked over at Isabella, who ran over to him and flung herself into his arms.

  “Fuck being honorable,” Tynan said, glaring as he stepped forward. He snapped his fingers, and the entire clearing went dark. But not dark like a normal night. Darkness so thick you could touch it. Darkness you don’t even want to breathe in.

  “I’ve turned the lights off so Isabella won’t see this,” Tynan said. “Boreas, did you want to do the honors?”

  “Hell yes,” Boreas’s deep voice said. The clearing got colder, and in the darkness, Chadwick heard the sound of things breaking like ice smashed by something large. There were screams, and there was running.

  Chadwick was shocked as he continued to hold on to Bella. He couldn’t see her. Couldn’t see his own hand if he held it up to his face.

  But for some reason, he felt utterly not in danger as he felt the fae fighting around him.

  He heard the shriek of wyverns, alpha bears, the worst creatures the world had to offer, but he knew the fae were handling it.

  They were the strongest thing in the world, and now they knew the cost of showing mercy or depending on an enemy’s honor.

  It was a hard lesson but one they had to learn.

  Finally, the fighting faded, and the clearing became quieter again, except for the sound of the fae breathing and the groans of those on the ground.

  “Flint, your turn,” Tynan said. “Clean the mess up.”

  Fire lit the darkness, burning everywhere over shapes too dark for Chadwick to make out.

  So he just held Bella and tried not to think of the smell of burning in the air. She was with him. She was safe.

  Zareth was gone.

  She was… a fairy?

  “Light!” Ivar said, and the clearing suddenly was bright like a clear morning, though it was the middle of the night.

  Ashes were blowing away, but the fae all looked normal again.

  They were trying to look innocent, but Chadwick had to laugh at how guilty they looked for committing so much carnage even though they’d had to and they’d done it efficiently.

  He’d been worried about the fae in the human world, but now he was sure they would be fine.

  He looked down at Bella. “Let’s go talk, okay?”

  She leaned up on her toes and kissed him, and he felt pink magic swirling around him, pulling something from him as well.

  “Resonance,” Flint said in awe.

  “The soul bond,” Ivar said. “I’ve never seen it.”

  “Guys, it’s kind of like you’re having sex in front of us,” Tynan said, flushing.

  “Get a room!” Boreas snapped, turning his back.

  Flint laughed and went to tease him, looking only a little weak after his ordeal, and as Boreas tried to swat him off, Chadwick knew everything
would be all right.

  “So you dispel chaos?” he asked Isabella.

  She nodded. “I guess so. I mean, it’s still coming to me as I go along, but it’s always been there somehow.”

  He touched her cheek. “I knew it felt different when I was with you. More than a mate.”

  “Purple dragons have fae blood,” Boreas said. “There. Now can we stop watching you two do something incredibly sacred and go home right now? You need some time alone.” His cheeks were bright red, and Isabella laughed at him before turning back to Chadwick.

  “I agree. Let’s go home,” she said. “I have things I need to talk about with my dragon.”

  Her dragon. That sounded perfect.

  Chapter 25

  “Will we have this place to ourselves once the fae leave?” Isabella asked as they walked up the stairs to Chadwick’s bedroom. “It’s so big.”

  “We could move somewhere closer to the city,” Chadwick said. “It is a big place. I used to only want privacy, but I don’t really care as long as you’re safe.”

  She laughed. “I’m good for now. I think I wouldn’t mind some time living here alone before we decide.”

  “At least they’re gone tonight,” Chadwick said. “But yes, I’d enjoy some time to decide as well.” He scooped her into his arms to carry her into the bedroom. “But again, I don’t really care as long as you’re with me.”

  “Devoted dragon,” she said, touching him lightly on the nose as he gently tossed her on the bed.

  Instead of getting on the bed with her and pushing her down to pleasure her as always, he pulled up a chair and sat at the side of the bed.

  “I wanted you to be comfortable because I’m sure you’ve been through a lot. But there are still some things we need to talk about.”

  She nodded. “Like me being a fairy.”

  “Yes.”

  She sat up against the headboard and looked down at her hands in her lap. She was glad he wasn’t on the bed, because she didn’t know how she would resist him if he was.

  The pink glow in her, which she now knew must be her magic, wanted to entwine around him and carry him straight into bed. Her heart wanted to recharge with him. It was hard to explain all the things she was feeling.