Blood of Dragons

by Olivia Ash

  “Not kill you.” The powerful woman rolls her eyes in annoyance. “I asked them to bring you to me and discover your abilities. I was testing you.” She shrugs. “You passed. Let bygones be bygones, my friend.”

  Ha.

  We are not friends.

  “Since the other Bosses hate you so much, you didn’t get to hear my little speech,” I say coldly. “I’ll give you the same warning I gave them. Leave me alone, and we’ll be fine. Come after me, and—well, you’ve seen what I can do, Kinsley.” I smirk, even though she can’t see me. “You know what’s at stake if you piss me off.”

  She frowns slightly, the elegant slope of her lips almost imperceptible as she does a fairly good job of hiding her irritation.

  I’m tempted to rub my success in her face, to let her know I’ve made her bio-weapon useless, but I still need four months before the antidote disperses. I have to be patient, and unfortunately, that means I don’t get to gloat.

  “Bye, Kinsley,” I say curtly.

  As I reach again for the power button, she calmly leans forward. “Don’t you want to know what made Levi feral?”

  A bolt of icy dread shoots through me, and I pause.

  “Don’t you want to know how to fix him?” she asks, a nasty smile spreading across her face.

  I don’t answer. I can’t. I can’t let her know just how much that gets to me.

  “I know how he got that scar, Rory,” the Vaer Boss says. “Have you figured it out, yet?”

  Damn it.

  His scar is so subtle that I’m tempted to believe her. No one else has even mentioned it, and unless I’m standing right next to him, I can’t even see it. For her to know it’s there suggests that she does, in fact, know more about my ice dragon than meets the eye.

  But this is a Vaer. They lie. It’s what they do.

  “He was a tracker,” Kinsley continues, studying her fingernails with a bored expression. “One of the best, if not the best. Stealthy. Silent as a ghost.” On that last word, Kinsley’s eyes flit briefly toward the camera. Toward me.

  I frown at the subtle nod to my Spectre heritage, but I force myself to remain silent. She must know she has my full attention, even if she can’t see me. I’m waiting for this to all make sense, for the pieces she’s slowly handing me to finally fit together.

  She’s certainly milking it.

  “He never fit in, though,” Kinsley says with an exaggerated sigh. “He was never really one of us.”

  Oh.

  Oh, gods.

  Levi is a Vaer.

  In the silence that follows, I can barely breathe—and I suspect Kinsley somehow knows it. She smirks, all cocky arrogance as she weaves her fingers together in her lap. “Deep down, a Vaer never changes, Rory. Do you still feel safe around your precious feral dragon?”

  A knot tightens in my throat, and I truly do not want to believe this. Any of it.

  I’m tempted to blow this tablet to bits, to simply end the call, but I force myself to take a steadying breath instead. I need to keep my cool, and if I do, I might be able to get more out of her.

  “If that’s all the information you have, it’s hardly useful,” I lie, as if she hadn’t just splintered my world.

  Kinsley falters, a brief expression of disbelief cracking across her face as her composure shatters. “He’ll be dead any day, kid,” her voice goes dark. Icy. “Just wait. He’s going to snap, and when he does, I hope you have to watch as Jace Goodwin shoots him out of the sky.” She sneers and leans toward the camera, glaring with the full force of her hatred and spite. “Tick tock, little ghostie.”

  The call ends.

  I nearly throw the tablet at the wall in frustration. I nearly toss it out the window and fire a blast to destroy it.

  The only thing that keeps me from doing both things—in that order—is the memory of how much I regretted disintegrating the files Aki Nabal gave me. Begrudgingly, I simply turn the tablet off, resolving to give it to Jace and Drew before my rage gets the better of me.

  I toss the damn thing on a pillow and stalk to the window. With my palms on the windowsill, I take a few steadying breaths to calm myself.

  If Kinsley was lying to rile me up, it freaking worked.

  Or, worse, if Kinsley told the truth… Levi is a Vaer. The one dragon family who has relentlessly hunted me from the start.

  As I stare out into the night, a familiar blue silhouette lands nearby. Levi perches on the wall below my window, scanning the night as he sits upright on a ledge.

  I know him. I know his heart. The Levi down there would never hurt me, no matter what family he comes from.

  But when he’s human again—because I’m determined to save him—will he remain my lovable Levi?

  Or will he become something dark?

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  In the early morning hours close to dawn, I creep through the embassy. I don’t need to—if any of the guards saw me, they would just say hello—but it helps me clear my head all the same.

  A fiery tug in my chest stops me in my tracks, and I set my hand on my heart as the sensation settles. I can’t tell if that was my dragon, or something else entirely.

  But as it hits again, it begins to feel oddly familiar. There’s a pull ushering me down the hallway, toward a balcony that overlooks the west side of the embassy. It’s a call to be near someone, like something within me is craving a piece of my soul that’s missing.

  I follow the feeling and silently slip onto the balcony, scanning the horizon as the sensation gets stronger.

  A conversation floats over me from somewhere down below. Just to be a devious little twit, I crouch down to hide myself and decide to listen in.

  “…and it’s unclear if he can, sir,” a man says, his voice deep and unfamiliar.

  “The answer is no,” Jace retorts.

  The flutter in my chest dances again, and I chuckle at my growing dragon’s antics. She must have been craving him.

  I’m surprised he’s awake, though. I debate getting the tablet, but as I rise to jog back through the embassy, I catch more of the conversation.

  “He’s getting worse,” the first man says, his voice urgent. “Surely you’ve seen it.”

  I frown, wondering who they’re talking about.

  “Listen to me,” Jace snaps, and I can imagine him leaning in as he scowls. “Levi is off limits. If any of you touch him, you answer directly to me.”

  I impulsively stiffen.

  Oh, gods. This isn’t good.

  “Sir, he’s begun snapping at the scouts.”

  For a breathless moment, Jace doesn’t answer. Eventually, he sighs in frustration. “Is anyone hurt?”

  “No, sir. Each time it happens, he seems to catch himself after the first few moments. This can’t go on, sir. It’s just a matter of time before he loses control. We need to do something before someone gets killed.”

  “Gods,” Jace mutters under his breath. “This is bad.”

  “He’s in the rear courtyard, sir,” the first man says. “If a few of us surprise him, we can—”

  “Shut your damn mouth,” Jace snaps.

  I smirk in victory, and a ripple of relief shoots through me at Jace’s protective tone.

  The soldier stutters. “Sir?”

  “You will not kill that dragon unless I expressly order it,” Jace answers. “You all are skilled warriors, and you can be patient. Levi is not to be hurt unless he becomes entirely lost to his dragon side.”

  “And when that happens?”

  “If it comes to that, well…” Jace trails off, so I peek over the railing. His arms are crossed as he stares off at the ravine. After a moment, he lifts one hand to rub his eyes in frustration. “Then I hope Rory can forgive me for what I’ll have to do.”

  “You mean when,” corrects the guard next to him. “Not if.”

  Impulsively, I silently snarl at the soldier, wishing I could punch him in the face for that little comment.

  Jace glares at the soldier, and th
e fury in his gaze mirrors my own. “Levi is stronger than any of you are giving him credit for. Stronger than you were when you first got here, in fact.”

  The soldier winces as if the comment cut him to the bone, and he quickly looks away.

  “Focus on keeping the dojo secure,” Jace commands. “Leave the feral dragon to me.”

  “Yes, sir.” The soldier rushes off, and I suspect he was anxious to leave the conversation.

  With a wary sigh, Jace walks beneath the balcony, no doubt into the embassy as he heads off to some other task. If he didn’t feel me nearby, I suspect he’s every bit as exhausted as I suspected he was.

  I run my hand through my hair, biting my lip as I think about what the guards must want to do to Levi. They fear him. A feral dragon in their midst is a threat to all of them, and they must resent Jace at least somewhat for allowing him to stay.

  Gods all freaking mighty, this just keeps getting worse.

  Kinsley dangled how little time he has, and now even Jace is debating what he’ll do if Levi forces his hand.

  I quickly jog through the embassy, heading down a few stairwells on my way to visit my ice dragon. I need to see him. I need to come up with a plan, and I need to do it now.

  As I jog down the steps toward him, he’s curled in the rear courtyard. He lifts his head as I approach him, but quickly lowers it again without greeting me.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, brushing my fingers along his back.

  He snorts, mist swirling from his nose as he tilts his head away from me.

  “What, you’re mad?” I tilt my head in confusion. “About what?”

  He groans softly, his blue eyes shifting toward me, and his irises can’t seem to stay still. His pupils dilate and shrink in rapid succession, as if they can’t quite focus on anything.

  “Hey,” I say as softly as I can, trying to soothe him. “It’s okay. You and me, we’re going to solve this. Right now.”

  He moans, dragging his head along the black stone tiles beneath him, and looks up at the sky.

  “I mean it.” I kneel beside him and press my hand against his chest. “I’m here for you, Levi. Always.”

  As my skin brushes his scales, the connection between us opens. Emotions flood through, practically overwhelming me with the sheer surge of energy. Urgency. Hunger. Sadness. Loss. Pain. Despair. Anger. Rage. Hatred. Lust. Fury. Grief.

  The impending sense of doom.

  It’s almost too much to bear.

  I grit my teeth, struggling to keep my sense of self despite the surge of his dragon’s emotions. My first impulse is to break away—to snap the connection just long enough for me to regain my composure—but I refuse to make him go through this alone.

  I refuse to let him go through this at all.

  He and his dragon are at war, and we’re going to settle the fight.

  Today.

  “Levi, listen to me,” I say gently. “I need you to trust me. I need you to be willing to talk about what you’ve refused to—”

  His eyes shift suddenly toward me, and he growls. His lips curl up to reveal his dagger-sharp teeth, but I’m not going to back down from his dragon.

  Not when Levi’s life is at stake.

  There’s a tug on my navel, and I debate whether or not this is a good idea. If I let my guard down long enough to go into Levi’s mind, we might be able to think up a plan—but his dragon might not play fair in the meantime.

  While I debate our options, the pull on my navel becomes a push. It’s a concerning sensation, one I don’t like in the least. It’s like someone is trying to shove his way into my mind.

  And he succeeds.

  I can almost feel the fingers in my brain. It’s a prickly sensation, like pins and needles through my temples. I feel like someone’s sifting through my mind, picking at my memories.

  “Cut it—” I wince as the memory of Jett Darrington biting into me resurfaces. “Cut it out!”

  Levi snarls, his eyes dilating as his dragon takes over. The dragon pins my hand to his chest with one claw, and he only dives deeper into my mind.

  There’s Harper, sitting on the sofa in the cottage. Laughing.

  I tug on my hand, trying to break the connection. “Stop!”

  Another memory blurs into focus as Elizabeth glowers at me in the ornate bathroom. She shoves the diamond pendant into my hand and storms past me.

  The memories blur together. Next thing I know, Kinsley’s face smirks at me on the video call, those ruby red lips repeating the words that paralyzed me.

  “He was never really one of us.”

  As Kinsley’s wicked grin spreads wider across her face, Levi freezes. His body practically hums with anger.

  Only, this isn’t Levi. It’s abundantly clear that his dragon has completely taken over—and, try as he might, Levi is no longer in control. The dragon finally releases my hand and stands, snarling.

  I lift my palms and splay my fingers in front of me, trying to placate the beast who now controls one of the men I care so much for. “If you—”

  He roars, and I never get the chance to finish.

  Fast as lightning, he’s in the air. His wings cut through the sky, kicking up a gust that blasts through my hair. And just as I think he’s going to disappear again, he dives.

  At me.

  I curl my fingers into fists, summoning my magic on impulse. The white light floods across my skin, ready to devastate whatever it touches.

  But I can’t.

  I just can’t hurt him.

  Levi’s talons wrap around my waist, kicking the air from my lungs as he soars off with me in his claws. He holds me so tightly that spots dance along my vision as the circulation slows in some areas.

  “Rory!” It sounds like several men shouting at once, from multiple directions. I can’t figure out who’s speaking.

  Seconds later, a red dragon races toward us—Drew. He snarls, fire building in his throat as his gaze narrows on Levi. Barely a breath or two behind him, Jace’s thunderbird cuts through the sky, his brilliant blue magic glowing in his wings and mouth.

  But Levi’s dragon is faster.

  He ducks and weaves, snarling as the two fighters tail him. He spins, and my world tumbles as I lose all sense of what’s up and what’s down. His natural skill and lifetime of training kick in, and he’s running purely on instinct.

  Levi’s dragon dives, and my stomach flies into my throat. After a moment, my world stops spinning—just as we disappear into the misty ravine. The cold fog hits my face like an icy breath.

  Within moments, we break through the fog—only to encounter a craggy floor. Rocks as sharp as spears jut out across the ocean water below us as it carves between the island and the mainland. Levi maneuvers expertly through the stones, doing everything in his power to lose the dragons behind us. A bolt of fire shoots through the fog above, dispersing some of it, but it’s not enough to clear the thin cloud cover.

  Levi and his dragon know these lands. Ever since they came to the embassy, they’ve been exploring them. Memorizing them. Little did Levi realize that would just give his dragon fuel to evade the very people trying to save him.

  As he dives into a hairpin turn, sliding expertly into a thin gap between two rocks, the wind bites at my face.

  When we land—if we land, and I don’t get hurled into the rocky sea below instead—I don’t know what Levi’s dragon will do. But I know Levi is still in there, and I’m going to do everything in my power to save him.

  I have to give this one more try.

  For Levi.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  With an ear-splitting roar, Levi’s dragon lands on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. His grip on my torso finally loosens, and I gasp as I suck in grateful breaths of air. The pins and needles begin to fade as my circulation returns to normal, and I lean on my elbows as I try to recover.

  I have no idea how far we are from the embassy. I’ve never seen the mountains now surrounding us, and as far as I can tell, there�
�s not even a path up to this ledge. It’s a platform that sticks out over the rolling thunder of the waves a hundred feet below, and that’s going to be one hell of a fall if I get knocked off balance.

  His dragon paces along the far end of the wide ledge, snarling at me with all the pent-up fury of a tiger locked in a cage. His wings curl around his sides, tense and ready to spring, and his tail slides aggressively back and forth behind him.

  “Levi,” I say softly, lifting my hands to gently soothe him. “Levi, I know you’re still in there.”

  The dragon snaps at the air, growling.

  “You would never hurt me.” I smile warmly, unafraid. I’ve battled dragon Bosses and the Ghost herself—facing off with a feral dragon doesn’t scare me.

  But the thought of losing Levi is terrifying.

  The dragon before me relaxes, if only slightly, at my gentle tone. He still paces, watching me warily, as if he suspects I’ll charge him at any moment.

  “You attacked an entire Vaer fortress just to help me,” I say, doing my best to remind him of who he is. “You did it twice, Levi, and both times, you gave me the cover I needed to go in and save someone who would have otherwise died.”

  Should I have let Zurie die? Yeah, knowing what I know now, that probably would have been the best move. But at the time, it made the most sense to save her.

  Lessons learned, I guess.

  Levi’s dragon pauses midstride, watching me with narrowed eyes. He’s still as a stone, barely breathing, but I know he’s still aware of me. I know he’s still listening.

  If anything, he seems slightly distracted.

  With a flicker of hope, I wonder if Levi is trying to take over once again.

  “You make me feel when I want to shut down,” I admit, doing everything I can to connect with the heart of the man who I so fervently adore. “You make me look inward. You make me want to be a better person. To deserve you.”

  The dragon snarls, shaking his head like he’s trying to knock something out of it, and I can see the internal battle take hold.

  “This war has to end, Levi,” I say softly. “You two have to heal. You can’t fight each other anymore.”