by Olivia Ash
The dragon’s eyes snap toward me, and without wavering, I hold his gaze.
“I mean it.” It’s clear I need to shift gears and talk to his dragon, if only for a moment. “You need each other. You can’t live without him, and Levi can’t live without you. Do you understand?”
A soft growl builds in the dragon’s throat, and he shrinks away from me ever so slightly. His body tenses, and his wings inch open. Like he wants to fly off.
If the dragon flies away, he and Levi are done. They’ll keep fighting, and they’ll never heal. If they take off now, I’m going to lose them both.
I’m not really one for feelings. It’s never been my thing. But if it means saving Levi, I’ll rip my heart out, crack it open, and lay everything on the table if that’s what it takes.
“Wait,” I say gently, taking a careful step toward him. “Wait, okay? Stay here. Stay with me. Let me help you. You don’t need to do this alone, all right? You don’t ever have to be alone again.”
The dragon coos softly, the sound tortured and hurt, and he gently lowers his head as I walk nearer. He keeps flinching, like something’s rattling around in his brain.
This is it.
Every second here counts.
Every movement, every breath, every word matters.
“Let me help you,” I repeat softly as I set my palm gently against his forehead.
His eyes snap open, furious and full of rage, and I briefly wonder if I’m about to lose my hand.
But his expression eventually softens.
And, after a moment, he leans into my palm.
There’s a pull at my navel, and with a grateful sigh, I instantly give in to it.
The world darkens around me as I’m pulled into Levi’s mind. There are no fading memories anymore—just the endless black around me as I float through the vast nothing.
Before I can so much as call for him, two powerful arms hug me from behind.
Levi.
Thank the freaking gods.
I tilt my head backward to see Levi in his human form. He looks down at me with a tormented expression, like he has a hole through his gut. Eager to help him in any way I can, I twist in his grip and wrap my arms around his neck in relief.
“I thought I lost you,” I say softly.
He holds me tight, but he doesn’t reply.
“You can’t run from this anymore,” I whisper into his ear. “Tell me what happened.”
“Rory, I—” He sucks in a deep breath and presses his forehead against mine. “It’s too painful.”
I lean back and hold his face until he looks at me. When he does, when I’m sure I have his full attention, I kiss him.
Fiercely.
We stand there for who knows how long, locked together until I finally force myself to pull away. I gaze deep into those beautiful blue eyes of his, trying to find the words to tell him how much this matters to me.
“If it’s too painful,” I say softly. “Then let me face it with you.”
He squeezes his eyes shut and sighs. After a moment, he takes my hand in his and gently kisses my palm. “I’ll try.”
A hazy blur appears in the darkness before us. It’s a dim swirl of shadows among the black, barely visible. As we watch, they brighten, until they’re gray swirls of light in the nothingness.
They begin to take forms—people I don’t know, faces I don’t recognize. Soldiers, by the look of their dark uniforms.
Vaer.
“This ends today, Sloane,” the tallest one says with a sneer.
“She can’t even shift!” another one chimes in. “What are you doing, kid?”
In the swirling void, more shadows pop to life. A house. A window. A few pieces of overturned furniture. A terrified young woman, probably eighteen at most, curled and trembling in the corner.
The tall man grabs her by the hair and drags her out the door as she screams. She twists in his grip, doing her best to wrestle herself free as she claws at his arm, but she’s frail. I can practically see the bones in her arms. She resists, trying to kick and bite him until he lets her go.
This girl is a fighter at heart.
She’s just not strong enough to deal a blow.
The scene shifts, and we’re suddenly outside on a patch of dirt. The man throws the girl to the ground, and she whimpers in pain as she hits the earth. She looks back at him, scrambling to get away, but he stalks toward her.
And, as the memory stretches out before us, more soldiers appear.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
Thirty.
Fifty.
“My entire battalion came to our house that day,” Levi says softly. “Vaer Team One, the Boss’s personal hit squad. The best of the best.” He squares his shoulders defiantly, watching the scene before us. “To kill my sister.”
I gape at the memory, speechless with the horror of it all. “But why?”
“She makes you weak,” the tall man says again, interrupting us. “You should never have been allowed to keep her.”
“Like she was some pet,” Levi says with disgust.
I hold him tighter, trying to ease his pain in any way I can. “This is awful.”
On the ground in front of us, a thick plume of smoke juts into the air and takes the form of a man on his knees. Thick shackles cover his hands as he fights the six men keeping him down.
Levi.
“Touch Daisy, and I’ll kill you!” the foggy memory of Levi shouts. “I’ll kill all of you!”
A ripple of laughter bubbles through the crowd of soldiers, the sneering men and women in their crisp black Vaer uniforms totally unfazed by the threat.
“Now, that just won’t do,” the tall man says. “You can’t threaten your Commander, boy.”
“I just did,” the memory-Levi snarls. “She’s done nothing to deserve this, Commander. Nothing! Let me take her to the hospital, let me help her!”
“She’s done nothing?” The Commander looks down at her with disgust. “She’s a disgrace. What Vaer can’t shift? What Vaer lets their dragon die?”
“He was so full of shit.” Beside me, Levi practically growls with his hatred. “She never had a dragon. Not all people born into shifter families even do. But stupid, vile people will always find someone to hate.”
I study the terrified girl on the ground, a frail human among vengeful dragons, and I wonder what her life must have been like. My heart twists for her.
For Daisy.
The Commander kneels beside the shackled Levi. “How many times have you tried to smuggle her out to some other family’s embassy, Sloane? Twelve? Today was supposed to be lucky number thirteen, wasn’t it?”
Levi grits his teeth, struggling harder against the soldiers holding him in place. “Don’t you dare touch her, you spiteful sack of—”
“I give the orders, boy.” The Commander grabs Levi’s jaw, his grip so tight that his thumb distorts Levi’s cheek. “I’m tired of wasting resources monitoring your home, your devices, your movements. You’re useful, kid. You’re smart. You’re fast, and you’re nearly as good as me. I want you to be my protégé, boy, I’ve trained you your whole damn life. Someday, you could take my job. You’re the best I have, but I’ve let you get away with far too much. We need you to focus on the cause and devote yourself to us, not some slimy mortal brat who doesn’t have a dragon to her name.”
“She’s my sister,” Levi snaps back. “She’s the only family I have left!”
“Family holds you back, kid.” The Commander wrinkles his nose in disgust. “I mean, just look at yourself. On your knees, fighting the people who feed you, all so you can save some weak link in the food chain? You need to rework your priorities, kid. You need to learn some respect.” The Commander stands, glaring down at the memory-Levi with disdain. “I should’ve done this years ago. It’s time you man up, Sloane, and I think this should finally do the trick.”
“No,” Levi says his voice panicked and urgent. “I’ll do whatever you want, Commander.
Please. Just don’t touch her. Don’t!”
The Commander cracks his neck, ignoring Levi’s panicked demands, and shifts his attention toward the girl lying in the dirt.
“No,” I say softly. “Gods, no.”
As the real Levi’s chest presses against mine, his hold around me tightens.
The Commander shifts, his form shivering and twisting as he lets his dragon loose. In moments, a massive black dragon snarls into the air, wings spreading wide as he glares down at the girl at his feet. The crowd of soldiers around them jeers, anxious for a show.
The dragon growls, lowering his head ominously as the girl desperately tries to back away. The wisps of shadow roll off of her like water evaporating from a lake, irregular and rough as she stares at the dragon above her.
“No!” the memory-Levi screams. He fights with his captors, but more soldiers pile on to keep him at bay.
“How can he get away with this?” I ask in horror.
“He was Kinsley’s lover, at the time,” Levi says with loathing. “She let him do anything he wanted.”
The Commander roars, and a thick stream of ice billows from his mouth. The girl screams. The shadowy Levi of the memory shouts in horror, pulling against the men holding him down. His adrenaline takes over, and he manages to drag them behind him as he tries to race to her aid.
He doesn’t make it.
The ice hits her, freezing her instantly. Her look of terror is locked on her pale face, one arm lifted in vain to protect herself as the ice solidifies around her.
Moments later, the black dragon lifts both of his front claws and, with a mighty roar, crushes the icy block before him. It shatters, shards flying in every direction.
“NO!” the real Levi shouts as he relives the memory that broke him.
Lost in his grief, he rushes into the wispy memory. The shadow swirls and twists around him as he drops to his knees, sliding the last few feet toward the dragon’s claws.
The crowd laughs.
These fuckers laugh.
My heart in my throat, all I can do for a moment is stare in horror at the scene. At the moment that fractured Levi’s soul.
Before us, the shadowy Levi of the memory begins to fade. He’s shouting, but the words are muted and unclear. The shadows comprising his body quickly dissolve, and in moments, he’s simply gone.
The laughter in the crowd quickly fades into worried chatter, and a moment later, screams.
The memory begins to shatter. The people in the scene begin to fade into dust, one by one, as the memory of the moment that made Levi feral starts to unravel. The soldiers all stare at the sky—at something I can’t see.
And they run.
The memory quickly becomes nothing but the roar of dragons and the scream of victims. After a few moments, the final wisps of smoke disappear. Levi kneels in the middle of it all with his back to me, his palms on the ground as he grieves his sister.
“I killed them all.” He doesn’t move as he speaks. “I killed all fifty-three of them, including the Commander. I left his corpse in the field by our house.”
“I don’t blame you,” I confess. I kneel beside him and cradle him in my arms, letting him pour his soul out. “I would have done the same.”
“That’s why I was on Vaer lands,” he continues. “I’m a Vaer. Kinsley was telling you the truth.”
My heart thuds nervously in my chest, but I don’t say anything. I just sit there as he leans into me, and I let him talk.
“When I was done…” He shakes his head, furious, hurt, full of hate. “When they were all dead, my dragon refused to give me my body back. It wanted more. More revenge. More justice. Nothing was ever enough. No amount of bloodletting would ever fill the hole. I decimated entire outposts and fortresses. Anything nearby became rubble. Any Vaer who crossed my path became dinner.” His nose wrinkles in hatred. “Kinsley sent unit after unit to get revenge for her lover, but I slaughtered them all. She never stopped hunting me, and I never stopped evading her.” He grimaces. “I guess my hatred kept my mind sharp for far longer than it should have. But I constantly felt myself slipping. I figured I was just prolonging the inevitable, and I nearly gave in. That day when the trap finally caught me, I thought this was it—if I’d managed to let my guard down enough to get snared, there wasn’t much of me left.”
He looks at me with those intense eyes, trapping me with his gaze, and his expression softens. “But then you saved me.”
The knot in my throat is so tight that I can’t even speak. I watch him breathlessly, not wanting to interrupt.
“You gave me another chance.” He shakes his head. “One I didn’t deserve. Not just a chance at life, but a chance to prove I could keep someone safe. You showed me not everyone was cruel, that some people were worth protecting. I felt like—” He pauses, grasping for the right words. “I felt like, maybe, my failure could be redeemed. You gave me purpose again, Rory, but I never expected…” He runs a hand through his hair, staring off into the darkness.
“What?” I ask softly, leaning in.
He tilts his head toward me, and after a moment, smiles warmly. “I never expected to fall for you as hard as I did.”
I smile through the pain in my throat and sit on the dark ground beside him, running my hand lovingly along his back. I want to say something, but no words come close to expressing the way he makes me feel.
“And now…” Levi’s shoulders droop as he stares into the darkness above him. “Now, I guess I’m trapped here.”
“You’re not.” I shake my head violently. “This is what you’ve needed to do all along, Levi. Face what happened—and forgive.”
“I will never forgive that sack of—”
“Not him,” I say with a shake of my head. “No, fuck him. I mean you. You need to forgive yourself—and forgive your dragon for taking over. Forgive its bloodlust.”
He opens his mouth to speak, but his voice cracks before he can say a word. He rubs his eyes, gently shaking his head through the pain.
“You did everything you could,” I say, tenderly holding the back of his head as I lean against him. “You are powerful, stealthy, strong, and a brilliant fighter, Levi, but you are not going to be able to save everyone every time. No one can. We might be dragons, but we’re still mortal. All we can ever do is our absolute best. All we can ever ask of ourselves is to be better than we were yesterday.” I suck in a deep breath as the words tumble from me, pouring from my heart. “Sometimes, the people we love are ripped from us, and no matter what we do, we can’t save them. But you cannot hate yourself if fate gets the better of you.”
He won’t look at me.
“I’m proud of you,” I add with a soft smile. “You did everything in your power to save her. You poured yourself into your revenge. But it’s time to forgive.” I kiss his nose. “It’s time for you to come back. To the world. To me.”
Levi gently lifts his head, his wounded eyes shifting back and forth between mine, and he takes a slow, steadying breath. He sets his palm against my cheek. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Yeah, you do.” I grin.
Though his eyes are still watery, he laughs.
“I know all about revenge,” I add, my smile fading a bit. “And if you want to avenge your sister, I’ll help you take down Kinsley. But we’ll do it together.”
“I don’t know if I can, Rory.”
“Try,” I say, brushing my nose against his. “For me.”
He holds me tightly, and we sit in the darkness with only our breaths to keep us company. My heart hammers in my chest, and I know I’ve done all I can.
It’s now up to him.
And I just hope I don’t lose my Levi.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The warm sun beats against my skin as it rises over the ocean. For a moment, I don’t know where I am.
Blinking rapidly in surprise, I glance around the rocky ledge, trying to get my bearings. I’m kneeling on the stone, and I run my hand through my hair in confusio
n. The ocean roars below as the horizon erupts with color. A cold gust tears past me, chilling me briefly to the bone.
“Rory,” a familiar voice says, his tone oddly surreal.
I pivot to see who spoke. Levi kneels with me on the rock, and we face each other. He lifts his hands, studying his human skin in disbelief. His dark hair curls around his gorgeous face, every bit as handsome as it was when I saw him in his mind.
With a rough lining of stubble along his jaw and the hard muscle covering every inch of his naked human body, his eyes go wide with shock.
“You did it,” I say softly, almost afraid to believe what I’m seeing. “Levi, you did it!”
His blue eyes flit toward me, and he smiles broadly. “We did it.”
Without another word, he grabs my face and kisses me deeply. We fall against the polished rock beneath us as my heart soars with gratitude and joy.
I lose myself in him, in the surreal happiness of it all. Weaving my fingers through his hair, I drink him in, almost afraid he might dissolve into dust beneath my hands.
His hands explore me with masterful strokes of his fingers, and I never want him to stop. My waist, my neck, my thighs—he investigates it all, his touch unrestrained and alluring.
The raw power of his embrace stirs parts of my soul I didn’t even know I still had. A carnal yearning springs to life deep within me, surging through me like an ocean swell.
As our hot skin brushes together, I can almost feel his emotions. His joy. His disbelief. His love.
Wait—I can feel him.
She’s perfect, he thinks. I want her. All of her.
Lost in the moment, he rolls me onto my back and straddles me. His strong fingers lift my shirt, tugging it off in a perfectly fluid motion.
“Levi, I can hear your thoughts,” I say through the kisses. “How can—”
“Later,” he interrupts. He nibbles my ear as he unhooks my bra and tosses it aside.
I grin, gasping with delight as he tugs on my pant leg. I suppose I can allow a little distraction. Within seconds, the pants and underthings fly off, and he gently sets me once more on my back.
His mouth tenderly bites my jaw, and my eyes flutter closed. I sink into him once again, lost and in love.
