by Naomi Sparks
I want to kiss her again, but I can already feel myself getting close. I'm right on the edge, so close to losing control. Only a few more moments, then I'd be making her mine, would make her my mate.
Part of me wanted to slow down, wanted to try and stretch this out, but I couldn't. My body refused to listen to my commands. All I could do was continue to pound her pussy and hold on as long as I could.
The fire builds up inside me, welling up in my gut. No matter how hard I try to hold it back though, it just continues to build up until I can't take it anymore. I slam my hips forward one last time, leaning over and biting down onto Gabrielle's neck at the same time. As my cock throbs and pumps my seed into her pussy, my venom passes into her at the same time.
My entire body shakes as unimaginable pleasure rocks through my body. The world around me fades away, leaving only Gabrielle. In those moments, she's the only thing that matters. Amasis is gone. Yin is gone. Even Olivia doesn't register in my mind. It's just the two of us.
Seconds later, Gabrielle begins to shake as well. Her loud, echoing moans break through the fog in my head. Her pussy tightens around my cock as she comes, milking me for every ounce of my cum.
For a few blissful moments, the two of us stay suspended in our mutual pleasure. Those are some of the best moments of my life, as the bond forms and the two of us become one. I can feel my magic ebbing into her even as hers begins to flow and mix with my own.
Then, almost at the same time, the two of us both come crashing down to Earth. When I pulled away from her neck, Gabrielle is looking up at me. Her eyes are glazed over, her mouth curved up into a dopey smile. I have no doubt I look much the same as she does.
"I love you," I tell her. My heart swells as I look at Gabrielle. I will spend the rest of my days with her, protecting her, protecting Olivia. No matter what happens tonight, or tomorrow, or the day after, I will protect her with my life. I will not let Yin have her. I will not let anyone touch her ever again.
"I love you, too." Her voice is soft, but it echoes loud in my mind. It's a magical sound, hearing your mate profess her love to you.
No matter what happens, I will always remember this moment.
* * *
By the time the moon is high in the sky, no one has had nearly enough time to rest. Gabrielle is in high spirits, magic flowing strong inside her. Now that we've mated, I can feel her strength much keener now, and I know just how much power she has. It's no wonder Valetta and the others had bound her powers. With this much power, there’s no way Yin will let her just walk away.
She's far too valuable to him.
Which just makes me hope tonight's plan succeeds. If it doesn't, I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to keep Gabrielle safe. Not with her walking around with a giant target on both her and her daughter.
Everyone is waiting for us at the clearing near the edge of the camp. All the Fae warriors are scattered around the boundary line, staying just within Valetta's barrier, keeping an eye out for any sign that we've been found. Valetta had said her barrier will remain even once this spell begins, but no one is willing to take any chances.
I stand over to the side, cradling Olivia in my arms. She's so small and tiny, so fragile. How anyone can even dream of hurting something so innocent, I can't even fathom. She looks up at me and lets out a gurgling noise, and I smile down at her. She makes my heart skip a beat. Not in the same way her mother does, but the connection I feel with her is no less intense.
For her sake, as much as Gabrielle's I pray to whatever gods are listening that this works.
The coven arrange themselves around the telepaths, forming a five pointed start around them. When Valetta begins chanting, I can feel the surge of magic. A quick glance at the others shows me they're not reacting at all, and I wonder if they can feel it or if it's just because of my connection to Gabrielle that I'm able to.
I desperately hope it's the latter. If not, we might very well be sending up a signal to Amasis and the others announcing right where we are. The amount of magic that is flowing between the coven is considerable, and I have a feeling anyone sensitive to such things would be able to feel it from a long distance away.
My own power flows toward the group as well and Gabrielle taps into it. I know she's powerful but I can only imagine just how much it's going to take to allow Bren and the others to telepathically link with other dragons across the world.
Then, it's just a lot of standing around and waiting. The entire time, I watch Gabrielle, looking for any sign she might not be able to handle it. But she stands firm, her shoulders straight, eyes closed. Her power stays strong and steady.
Olivia squirms in my arms as we watch, and I shush her. "It's okay, little one. Mommy will be done soon." I hope.
I have no idea how long we stand out there in that field, just waiting. It's nerve wracking, knowing just how much rides on this being successful but not being able to do anything about it. All I can do is stand there and support Gabrielle, to hope and pray nothing goes wrong. Because, if something does go wrong, I'm not sure what I'll be able to do about it.
I made sure to bring a few more pieces of gold, just in case I need the extra energy. I don't want to risk Gabrielle draining all of hers and not being able to replenish her. I know my energy will be harder for her to utilize, but it's better than her collapsing because she tapped out her life force.
When the coven finally lower their arms, everyone rushes over. Gabrielle stumbles, but I catch her, letting her lean against me. I want to scoop her into my arms and carry her back to our tent, but I don't. Not yet. I need to know if it was successful.
"Well?" Lex asks, looking from Bren to Farris to Saphira to Faith and back again. He's bouncing from foot to foot, clearly impatient and reminding me very much of a small child.
"The spell worked," Bren says. He and Saphira are both leaning against each other, supporting each other. "We were able to speak with some of the dragons and Fae scattered around the world. Some of them are sympathetic but they're scared, rightfully so. Others are sick of hiding and are eager for vengeance against the Clutch."
"The Fae are much the same," Faith says, leaning against her mate. "They're all terrified. They know Amasis is rounding up anyone with magic he can get his hands on and some of them are afraid this will be a trap."
"Two days," Bren says next. "That's what we gave them. Sunrise, the day after tomorrow is when we'll strike. That should be enough time for them to make up their minds and get here. Plus it gives us all some time to recuperate."
Lex lets out a sigh and nods. This is the best any of us could hope for, really.
Now, it's time to get Gabrielle back to the tent so she can rest. What happens next is up to Fate.
12
Gabrielle
I'm asleep the moment my head touches the pillow. My entire body had been sore and weak, and sleep was a welcome change. But what should have been a few hours of peaceful rest turns out to be almost as bad as the day.
Yin is there in my dreams, chasing me through the woods. No matter how fast I run, he's faster. He's on me, tackling me to the ground. But instead of terror, I'm giggling, looking into his eyes as he brings his lips to mine.
Then, abruptly, the dream shifts. I'm looking at my mother. She's lying against me, her head rests on my chest. It takes a moment. I'm seeing through Yin's eyes. We two lie in the forest together amid discarded clothes. Post-coital. Her eyes flutter open. I see contentedness there, not entirely happy, but she's satisfied.
The dream shifts again. This time I'm looking up into Yin's face with fear and anger. Yin holds on to my wrist, then his words reach my ears.
We are standing in a featureless corridor.
"Let me go!" I shout, glaring up at Yin. He's standing there, holding my wrist, frowning down at me, looking completely unconcerned. "I will not stay here any longer. I've seen what you're doing to those women. It's wrong, and I won't support it."
"You have no choice," Yin says passively. He tighte
ns his grip and pulls me along as he starts walking. "You will remain here, by my side, where you belong."
"No!" I shout, struggling against his iron grip. "I thought I loved you, but I was wrong. You're just like the rest of them, aren't you? You're just another monster."
This time, when the dream shifts again, I have no idea where I am. The air is so thick with smoke I can hardly breathe. It's noisy and I can't make out the words. I'm sitting on a dirty, cobbled street, my back pressed up against a stone building. I blink a few times, watching people shuffle by, wearing ornate, colorful robes.
None of them look at me as they pass, even as I look pleadingly up at them. My entire body trembles with pangs of hunger. I want to cry, but refuse to let the tears crawl. I won't. I'm better than this, stronger than this.
I glare up at the sky, cursing it silently, vowing to rise above this. I will not die in the streets, I promise it. Even if the gods have abandoned me, I won't give up. I'll burn it all to the ground if that's what I need to do.
A shadow crosses in front of me. I have to blink a few times to get my eyes to adjust to the change in the light. When I do, I look up at a tall, powerful man. A foreigner. I'm not sure why that word comes to mind.
The man peers down at me for a long while, even as I glare up at him. "What is your name, boy?" he asks in thickly accented Chinese.
"Jia..." I say. "Jia Yin."
The man looks down at me and nods. "And your father? Where is he?"
"Dead," I say, glaring up at this stranger. I sense danger coming from him, but I am not scared.
"Well, then it seems I have come at the right time." He extends a dark hand out toward me. "Come with me, child. You shall never be hungry again. Our kind are not meant to wallow in filth. We're meant to rule."
I reach out to take the man's hand.
I startle upright, gasping for air. My heart is pounding. I look around the tent, looking for the boy and the man I'd just seen. But they aren't here. It's just me, and Ezra, and Olivia.
Ezra blinks the sleep out of his eyes, looking up at me in the low morning light.
"What's wrong?" he asks, even as I try to calm myself.
I shake my head, taking deep breaths. Ezra reaches out and takes my hand, that simple action goes a long way toward helping me calm down. "Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," I tell him. "Just a bad dream, that's all."
"Do you want to talk about it?" He gently pulls until I'm laying down beside him again. I curl against him and lay my head on his chest, letting him wrap his arms around me.
I don't want to talk about it, but I find myself telling him everything anyway. It feels good to share the dream with someone else. "Do you think they were real?" I ask him. I'd never had visions like that before, but these powers were brand new to me.
"I don't know. Maybe you should talk to Valetta about them?" Ezra suggests, and I immediately shoot down that option.
"If they really are visions of the past and not just dreams, I don't know how she'll react to them. I doubt she'll be pleased to know I have seen Yin's past. At least, I'm pretty sure that boy was Yin."
Ezra nods. He's frowning. Light teases through the tent, and I wish we'd been able to get a few more hours of sleep. "From the way you described him, it sounds like the man Yin met when he was a child was Amasis."
I shudder at that thought.
Things are tense around the camp. Everyone feels exhausted from the previous day. Some Fae scouts report that Amasis is looking for us, so everyone remains on alert.
Valetta assures us they won't be able to find us behind her barrier, but no one is willing to get caught with their pants down. The Fae warriors patrol inside the barrier, keeping on constant alert.
The dragons, on the other hand, spend most of their time back at their tents, resting and going over the maps of the compound, planning for the second strike. There's none of the confidence and bravado from the previous planning session. They all know what they're up against now, and no one is eager to go back.
But everyone knows we can't just sit here and do nothing. We can't just keep running and let Amasis continue capturing and torturing women. We need to put a stop to him, somehow.
Most of the day, I sit off by myself, cradling Olivia. It feels amazing to have her back in my arms, to know she's safe and sound. No one will ever take her away from me again. I will die before I let Yin or Amasis have her again, and I'll take as many of them down with me as I can.
By the time we retreat to Ezra's tent for the night, I'm thoroughly exhausted. With the dreams of the previous night, I hadn't rested as much as I needed. When I lay down next to Ezra, putting my head on his chest as he wraps his arms around me, I feel content. I wish I could just stay here in this tent with him and Olivia for the rest of our lives.
The thought doesn't last long. Because as much as I want to just spend time with my family, I can't help but think about the babies left behind at the compound. I can't leave them there. And I can't walk away, knowing they're still there. I got Olivia out. Now I need to save the others.
They may not be my children, but they deserve their freedom too. I'm not sure how I'll ever find their mothers, but I'll worry about that once they're safe. Maybe the coven can help me perform a scrying spell. Or maybe one of the Fae can teach me how to do it on my own.
As much as I hoped for a relaxing, restful sleep, I don't get it. My dreams followed Yin again. This time, he's a teenager. He's taller and more arrogant. I watch as he commands a battle for Amasis, fighting against Roman soldiers, his handful of dragons slaughter them all.
The entire time, there isn't an ounce of pity for the men he kills. He feels justified, fighting against these armies, these lords. But he doesn't kill indiscriminately. He kills on Amasis's orders, or those he feels have wronged him, people who don't show him enough respect.
He sees himself as better than humans, above them. He believes dragonkind should rule the world, not the weak humans or the Fae.
This time, I don't wake screaming. It's Olivia who's screaming, and I rush over to comfort hurt. Ezra rises only moments after me. I look over at him and smile, and he returns the smile. My heart skips a beat, and I wonder what it would be like to have every morning like this, just the three of us. A family.
He may not be the one who sired Olivia, but I have no doubt he will make an excellent father for her.
"Sleep better last night?" he asks, moving to sit next to me as I feed Olivia. Being away from her for so long has taken away my chance to breastfeed her, but Tyko provided me with a bottle of milk.
I shake my head, frowning as I remember the vivid images. There's no way they were just dreams. They had to be real. Otherwise, how would they have been so vivid? They'd showed Yin at various stages of his life, in completely different time periods. China, Ancient Rome, and what looked like Victorian England. Time periods I remember very little from my schooling. So either my subconscious is really good at remembering random historical periods, or I'd somehow managed to see into the past, through Yin's eyes.
"You should talk with Katia," he says after I describe each dream to him. He's frowning, clearly, no happier about these dreams than I am. "She might help you if you don't want to talk to the coven. If she can't help you, she can take you to the Fae who can. If these are visions, perhaps we can use them to our advantage. Help us find a weakness or something."
I nod. I'd been thinking the same thing. The coven has experience with visions, at least from what they'd told me, but I didn't feel comfortable talking to them about this. Not about Yin. Somehow, I didn't think they'd like me seeing into his past like this.
"I'll talk to her after breakfast."
Ezra smiles, then comes over to sit next to me. He put his arms around my bare shoulders and pulls me against him. I let out a sigh as I settle in, closing my eyes and once again wishing to spend every moment like this, just the three of us.
A loud crackling sound, like thunder, pierces the silence. Both Ezra and I sit up, freezing
in place. Even Olivia goes still in my arms, no longer suckling at her bottle. When I look over at Ezra, he's frowning, clearly worried about the sound, just as I am.
There's still bright light streaming into the tent. No way was that actual thunder we'd heard. Have Amasis and Yin found us?
Ezra and I dress, then I gather Olivia up in my arms before we step out of his tent. The other Fire Riders are coming out at the same time, all looking just as concerned as we are. It doesn't take us long to figure out what the commotion is, and as we look up, the sky is littered with dragons.
My heart sinks as I look up at the flying creatures, fearing the worst. The sound of their wings beating together in harmony is almost deafening for me. I can only imagine how loud it must before Ezra and the others, with their enhanced senses.
A Fae soldier comes running over, stopping before Lex to catch his breath. "It's the dragons you summoned," the soldier says between gasps for air. "Along with a bunch of Fae and a few witches too. They say they're here to help."
My heart skips a beat as I look up at Ezra. He looks back over at me and smiles. We've done it, I think to myself. We've found the allies we need. Now we can go back and kick Yin's ass.
Lex nods, his eyes flickering between the Fae soldier and the dragons above us. Then his eyes glance over to me. "Can you gather the coven? We're going to need to get these guys under a barrier quickly before they bring Amasis and his forces right to our doorstep."
I nod, and Ezra and I dart off to find Valetta and the aunties. I have no doubt Valetta is going to need my magic for the barrier again, and I'm ready to help. I may not have had the most restful sleep of my life, but I've definitely recovered my magic. I can feel it filling me stronger than ever.
It doesn't take long to find the coven, and we meet up with the Fire Riders at the edge of the camp. Instead of expanding the barrier, Valetta wants to set up a second one for the newcomers, rather than just letting them all into our camp. "It'll be safer that way, for those of us who aren't dragons," Valetta says, and Lex agrees.