Siren Redeemed: Paranormal Prison Romance (Thief of Hearts Book 4)

by C. R. Jane

  "Consider it real," he answered, darkly. "Now, let's talk about the dra-"

  "Everything is real?" Nova continued, her eyes widening. "Even the part where you have two dicks, along with horns, and you love to fuck girls with your horns?”

  That shocked me, and my mouth fell open. I looked from Nova then to Keon, stunned and a little curious to know whether this gossip was true. Well the horn part anyway, since I knew he didn’t have two dicks… unless he was somehow hiding one? My gaze fell to Keon’s crotch with that thought.

  Keon barked a laugh, throwing his head back. "Haven’t heard those rumors yet, but I like them."

  Nova rolled her eyes, seeming almost disappointed. "Yeah figured they were lies. You know half the girls here fantasize about you, and would kill to spend a night with you, right?"

  "Let's focus," I insisted while bristling at her words. All the while, Keon grinned like the Cheshire Cat.

  "I'd like to hear more," he teased.

  I elbowed him, and he laughed in that way that made me melt, that called to me. I noticed he affected Nova too, who stared at him with desire in her eyes. A spike of jealousy rose within me. Except I knew Keon loved me and was just teasing me.

  I cleared my throat, refusing to be baited by him when I saw him wink my way. "Sooooo," I continued. "Nova, we need a spell, please."

  She didn't seem to hear me, but studied the way Keon was flexing his bicep.

  When she finally looked at me, she feigned shock at being caught gawking at my boyfriend, then smirked and a strange look flashed in her dark eyes. But it was gone just as quickly as it came.

  "A spell you say?" she asked.

  "Only if that's ok? I'll pay you.”

  She made a raspberry type sound with her mouth, and rolled her eyes. "Don't be crazy. I still owe you for saving me, so let's have it. What do you need?"

  "A sleeping spell," Keon responded.

  "For a dragon," I clarified, figuring that would be a different type of enchantment.

  Her eyes widened, and her mouth slipped into an enormous smile, her white teeth on show. "What are you two up to that involves a dragon?"

  "It's a super long story," I said. "Once it's over, I promise to tell you all about it. So, is that a yes?" I pleaded, looking at her with eagerness.

  "Heck yeah, anything for my girl and..." she glanced over to Keon. "And maybe seeing you around this sector a bit more often would be good. Guards don't come here often, and it's not the safest section, you know."

  The way she eye humped Keon didn't seem to match her plea for protection, but I decided to let it go as long as we got the spell. Keon was mine, after all.

  "I'll check my schedule," Keon answered cockily. I wanted to roll my eyes. Was he actually flirting? He clearly loved the attention.

  "Okay, let me get that spell for you then," Nova said. "Wait here, and I shouldn't be long. I keep my ingredients in another cell."

  "You're doing it now? Doesn't it take a while?"

  She laughed at me, and patted my arm. "You've been watching too much Harry Potter." Next thing I knew, she sauntered out of the cell, and vanished down the hallway.

  I turned to Keon, who just shrugged and leaned a shoulder against the wall, studying me from head to toe. "You think she'll be gone long enough for a quickie?"

  I snorted a laugh at him. "After you were flirting with her, nope," I teased him back.

  "Babe." He snatched me by the waist, and I was in his arms in a heartbeat. "I only have eyes for you, but you saw the way she looked at me. So, I played the game to get her to help us."

  His kiss stole my response. His touch slid across to my back, one hand on my ass, and his arousal nestled against my stomach. “You are the world to me," he whispered against my lips, then licked them. “I've never felt this way about anyone before, and I will destroy whoever stands in my way to hold onto the only thing I need...and that's you, my beautiful girl."

  Pressing closer to him, my hands curling around his neck, I said, "You know how to sweet talk me, don't you?"

  He winked again in the way that weakened my knees, and this time I pulled him closer and kissed him back to show him exactly how much he means to me, half considering the quickie.

  "Can I watch?" Nova suddenly asked.

  I jumped away from Keon, breaking from our kiss as I wasn't expecting her back so quickly.

  "Already done?" Keon asked.

  "Yep." She stepped into the prison cell and lifted her fist, holding a small string-tied bag.

  "Wow, that was fast. Are you sure it's going to work against a dragon?"

  She nodded. "I have a batch of sleeping potion pre-made since it's my biggest seller here. So, I just added more of my mojo and additional ingredients to match the strength of a dragon." She opened her palm, and I stared at the small black bag. "When you reach the creature, pour the contents in your palm, and blow it in his face."

  My mouth fell open. "I wasn't really expecting to get that close to his face or his huge teeth," Keon added.

  "He has a point," I said.

  "The beauty about this is that I added a pinch of ground-up pixie wings, and with a small sprinkle of my power, you can do this from across the room, and the powder will swish to the dragon. Just whisper the word, dragon, before you blow the ingredients toward him."

  It seemed to make sense, I guessed, but what did I know about magic? Not much.

  "But," she continued, and that was the sucker punch I'd been waiting for.

  "But?" I asked.

  "Dragons are unruly beasts, and there are no guarantees how long this potion will last. That’s why anyone crazy enough to face a dragon is never seen again. But I'm sure you know what you're doing."

  I swallowed over the boulder forming in my throat, and I glanced up at Keon. He shrugged and took the magic pouch from Nova before tucking it into his pocket. "We'll be fine." Taking my hand, he then swiveled and began pulling me from the room.

  "Thanks, Nova. I'll come see you afterward."

  She nodded. "I hope so." The worry in her voice troubled me. Once outside in the hallway, I cut Keon a concerned look. "Maybe we should have asked for a different spell. Like one to tie up the dragon, bind his mouth or something stronger than a sleeping potion?"

  "Your friend was right, in that the spell may not last long so we have a short time to get this done. But with dragons being such powerful creatures born from the ashes of magic itself, any spell we used would be just as limited. So, I'd rather take my chances sneaking around a dragon who doesn’t see me, than taking him face to face if he snaps out of his restraints."

  I nodded hesitantly. "So, we get Alaric and Laz to join us?"

  He paused mid-step and spun toward me. "Selena, you aren't coming."

  "Yes, I am." I stood my ground, lifting my chin. I wasn't backing down. "None of you can take on a dragon, so this mission has nothing to do with brawn. It's about lots of eyes searching for the scroll as quickly as possible. So, the more of us there are, the faster we can get out of there before the dragon wakes up. Maybe we should even see if Seth can come along, too?"

  He didn't respond right away, his lips pinching. Clearly, he hated my suggestion about me coming along, but he also couldn't deny I was correct.

  "I don't know if I can swing Seth joining us, but I'll see what I can do. For now, I'll leave you with Alaric while I go roundup Laz, then we can all work out our plan of action."

  "Laz is starting to grow on you, isn’t he?" I asked, smirking, loving to see the guys getting along.

  "As much as a mushroom grows in the darkest corner of a cave."

  I nudged him. "He's a decent guy, you know."

  Keon nodded, but didn't respond. His hand squeezed mine, and we were off again, moving without pause. The whole time, my stomach grew tighter and tighter about tackling a dragon. As much as I fought to join the others on this mission, a shiver kept tracking down my spine that we were walking into a death trap.

  Standing in the dark hallway, I couldn't s
top shaking. Wisps of smoke curled out from under the door as we neared. It smelled like an entire forest was burning.

  A thunderous roar sounded, shaking the floor beneath my feet.

  "Shit!" I murmured under my breath, unsure about this plan.

  "Are you certain the scroll is in there?" Laz asked.

  "Seth said it might be, and it's the only clue we have," Keon responded. “So, we’re going to follow through.”

  "It makes sense, though. Where else would you hide something you don't want anyone to find but under a dragon’s ass," Alaric said.

  "Yeah, well, as long as it’s not in his ass, or ends in us being barbecued," Laz added.

  Keon narrowed his gaze at him. “Fuck man, why did you have to say that ass bit? Why would a scroll be up a dragon’s ass? Now I can’t get the image out of my head.”

  Laz shrugged, focusing on the smoke wafting out from beneath the door. “Have you forgotten where we are? Anyone could get to the treasure, but if it’s inside the animal, well…don’t forget where the key was hidden.”

  “Shit,” Alaric growled.

  Laz continued like he hadn't just put the worst image in all our minds. “We put the dragon to sleep, and then rush around like crazy searching for a scroll in there?"

  "Pretty much," Keon said.

  I curled my hand around the pouch in my pocket. "So, if we see the dragon stirring awake, we all get out of there," I reminded them.

  "Like fucking rockets," Alaric said, smirking.

  I wanted to laugh, but I had sweat rolling down my spine from the dread curling around me.

  Keon stepped up to the door, glancing back down the hallway from where we came, then reached for the keypad on the wall. "There is an inner protective room where we feed the beast from. We go in there, then I will open the food hatch and, Selena, you use that opening to cast the spell, okay?"

  I nodded, my stomach knotting badly. I had no idea what to expect, and part of me felt like I might pass out from how much I shook.

  With a click, Keon unlocked the door, and pulled it open.

  None of us moved at first. We were all paralyzed with fear while trying to look inside and work out what we were dealing with.

  The room was dimly lit. In front of us, I spotted a section encased in plexiglass keeping us safe from the dragon.

  "Hurry," Keon ushered us, and we all hurried inside, after which he shut the door.

  Only once I'd stepped inside did the true magnitude of the dragon's lair come into view. We were standing on a platform with metal steps running down from our right into the enormous cavern. So big that I couldn't see where it started or ended in any direction. It just kept going and going, swallowed by shadows. Sporadically, I could see huge stone pillars that looked charred and battered. Hell...how were we going to search this place quickly? We needed at least another hundred people.

  The ground was littered with what I could only describe as junk. Appliances, furniture, a bathroom tub, and lots of picture frames in varied metallic colors. In fact, everything had that in common. They were burnished in silvers and golds and bronzes.

  These weren't treasures. As I surveyed the area, I noticed I couldn’t see the dragon.

  "Where is it?" Laz whispered.

  Suddenly, the platform beneath us shook, and I fell against the railing in front of me.

  Alaric's strong arms whipped around my middle, steadying me. He drew me back to stand against his rock-hard chest, while we all stared out, not saying a word.

  An explosive blur swept past us from the right, screeching before spitting flames and disappearing into the darkness. It came so fast, and it was enormous, I gasped and lost my breath.

  With a thunderous roar, the dragon reappeared from the left and landed in front of us, its head level with us... My knees shook at having a beast whose one eye was the size of my head staring right into my soul. Its dark scales glinted a silvery blue and green color against the wild campfire in the middle of the room, seeming to burn some of the junk in its treasure cave.

  Its nostrils flared at the end of his long snout, steam curling upward from the corners of his mouth. Lips curled back, incisor teeth exposed, promising instant death. Curved horns sat amidst a messy mane of black fur that sat around its head, and deep blue hooked claws tipped its leathery wings. It drew its wings tightly against its sides as it studied us.

  "All I can think about is that scroll being up its ass," Keon growled. "Thanks for that, Laz."

  Laz chuckled, finding amusement, while I couldn't stop looking into the eyes of death. The animal pulled its head back, a torrent of smoke streaming out between razor-sharp teeth.

  "Okay, so are we ready?" Keon asked.

  "No. I'll never be ready to confront that," I answered truthfully.

  The beast drew in an abrupt, deep breath, and in a heartbeat, he roared, the sound ear-piercing. Just on the back of his screech, an explosion of fire burst out from his mouth.

  Instinct took me over, and I screamed while covering my head and ducking. I ended up smacking into Alaric who held me in place. "You're safe," he told me.

  Like fuck I was... Fire encased the whole enclosure, the heat unbearably painful, and for those few seconds, it felt like the dragon had swallowed us, and we were inside its belly.

  When the flames died and the dragon pulled back, none of us said a word.

  I sucked in each rushed breath, and I looked around to see the ashen look on Laz and Alaric's faces. Keon seemed more in control, but then again, he knew what to expect. I was still coming to terms with... with that beast!

  "We don't have much time," Keon reminded us.

  I licked my lips and grabbed the pouch from my pocket, my hand trembling. Finding my bravery, I also found my voice. "Alright then. Let's do this." I didn't believe a word I said, but I wasn't exactly swimming in solutions either to avoid being killed by an inmate.

  I moved to join Keon, who was unlocking the food hatch. "It’s expecting food," he told me. "So, let's use this opportunity. As soon as I open it, then do your thing.”

  I wasn't completely confident in my ‘thing’ seeing I just had Nova hand it over to me with little instruction.

  Quickly untying the pouch, I poured the contents into my palm, then quickly stuffed the pouch back into my pocket.

  Sweat collected across my lower back. But I'd dealt with enough crap that blowing magic dust into a dragon's face was nothing in comparison.

  The dragon seemed to pace in front of the platform, each step pounding the ground. Keon used the moment when the dragon spun from us to pull open a half door, big enough to pass through huge meals, like half a cow, I guessed.

  Quickly, I lifted my cupped palm to my lips, my fingers unfurling from over the powdery magic, which was the color of the brightest sunset. With a lungful of air, I whispered, "dragon," then blew the contents out of my hand.

  Tiny particles took flight instantly, glinting and looking like tiny firebugs. They seemed to have a life of their own, moving like a swarm of birds in the sky, swirling with purpose, and in this case, the magic was darting toward the dragon.

  The beast turned at that moment, just as the magic dust reached its face. It inhaled and started choking and snorting, but the powder was already into its mouth, its nostrils, in its eyes and ears.

  Keon hastily shut the feeding door, and we all watched the dragon.

  One second it was standing, confused, looking at us. In the next second, he face-planted into the ground, sending a cloud of dust into the air. The cavern shuddered from the impact.

  No one said a word.

  We leaned forward to stare down at him.

  "Looks like it worked," I said. "Maybe we should wait a bit to make sure?"

  A flutter of cool air rushed across the back of my neck, and I glanced over to find Keon had already opened the plexiglass door toward the steps, and was rushing down into the cavern. Laz followed.

  "This is our chance," Alaric said, his hand in mine and taking me down with him
.

  "Where in the world do we start?" I asked.

  "How long do we have?" Laz added.

  "We were told it may not keep the dragon down for long, so quick as fuck is your answer," Keon said.

  "Great," Laz responded sarcastically.

  "Okay, we each go in different directions and are looking for a scroll case that could hold maps," Alaric explained.

  “It should be obscenely decorated, according to Seth,” I added.

  "Got it. Something long, thick, and highly prized." Laz winked at me. How could he still joke at a time like this?

  "Let's move," Keon ordered. Then everyone scrambled in different directions, leaving me on the right side of the cavern.

  Quick steps took me directly into the chaos of trashy treasures. I kept looking over my shoulder at the dragon, praying it didn't suddenly get up, and burn us to a crisp for touching his junk. I kicked something hard and looked down at a freaking toaster. Seriously, this dragon had no clue what real treasure was.

  But then again, what was meaningful was in the eye of the beholder, right?

  I hurried and started rummaging around, shoving a chair out of my path, my gaze scanning the place for anything that might glint. Anything long and tube-like.

  Time seemed to stand still, and I had no clue how long we'd been searching, but I was sweating up a storm. Occasionally, I caught a glimpse of one of the guys, darting through the junk, searching and tossing things around.

  I paused near a stone pillar and wiped the perspiration from my brow, staring to where the shadows stole the light. A sense of hopelessness flared over me at how immense the job was considering we weren't one hundred percent sure the scroll was down here in the first place. But while everyone one else searched, I wouldn't give up. I couldn't, so I went back to work.

  It wasn't long before I kicked the corner of a couch that stood in my way so hard that I swore I broke my baby toe. The worst pain in the world struck and crawled up my leg, my baby toe feeling like someone had just chopped it off. I muffled a cry, my knees giving out, and I rolled on the ground, reaching for my toe, rocking in place.

  Goddamn… stupid… fucking couch. Why the hell was a dragon collecting furniture, anyway? To decorate or to burn. Fuck! My toe throbbed, and it stung so badly tears pooled in my eyes.