by Kimber White
The whole world seemed to shake. The Source pushed back. I pushed back harder.
Sweat covered me. Energy crackled along my spine. White lightning shot from my fingertips. It was erratic though, dangerous. My power rocketed out of me. Like a team of wild horses I couldn’t rein in.
There was something in the way. I felt the edges of a void. It nearly blocked out the sun. It was above me. It was everywhere. My heart raced as I tried to feel my way to the end of it.
Then, it took shape.
A shadow loomed above me. Two great wings pushing through the air. I was off my feet, suspended. I let out a primal scream as I tried to claw back my power. The air crackled. A whiff of ozone and a flash of light.
I was on my back. The shadow took shape then colored in. It was beautiful. Mesmerizing. It was as if the spectrum of light expanded, showing me colors I’d never seen before. Blue, gold, silver, red, green, and every band in between. The beast had rippling scales that shimmered as it...as he...banked left and soared closer to the ground. He had massive, gold talons, curved to grip the earth as he landed. His eyes glinted in the sun. They swirled with fire, then dimmed to the purest blue. He let out a screech that seared through me, bringing my own fire to the surface.
He landed with skill and grace, tucking his massive wings to his side. He stood on the other side of the stream, on a ledge next to the waterfall. He tilted his head, and those blue eyes swirled with fire again as he trained them on me.
I’d pierced through the void. My powers came racing back into me, lifting me off the ground again. I was falling. Melting. I reached out but felt nothing but empty space.
“Gemma!”
His voice was strong, deep. Those dragon eyes shimmered above me. First silver flames, then deepest blue. I knew them. They were Finn’s eyes.
Strong arms enveloped me. My breath went out. He rolled me end over end, putting the fire out.
I landed hard on my ass, gasping for air. Sweat dripped from my brow. Finn had his hands on my shoulders. He shook me gently, his eyes wild with fear.
“Gemma. Say something! Oh, God.”
“What? I…” My mind was half a beat behind the rest of me as I tried to sort out what I’d just seen. The dragon. Finn. They were one and the same.
“You’re...how did you…” I couldn’t get my words out.
“Don’t move!” Finn commanded. He let go of me. The absence of his touch left me cold. Then, crackling heat came at me again as my brain caught up to real time.
The forest was on fire.
Tongues of flame licked at the trees. I was no earth mage, but I could hear their terror. Trees can scream, you know. It’s a hollow, desolate sound, and it gutted me.
I did this. This was me. I’d lost control and sent a bolt of fire straight into the driest part of the woods. Elemental flame burns the hottest. Not even a hundred water mages could douse it. Left to burn, my fire could level thousands of acres.
Finn stood at the center of the inferno. I shielded my eyes. He should be dead, turned to ash already. But, the fire sluiced off of him, leaving no marks. He shimmered through the smoke. Half-shifting. His wings unfurled from his muscled back, but his face, arms, and legs remained untouched. He looked like a warrior angel, standing tall and fierce, facing the fire.
The air shifted. Finn drew a great breath. He let it out in a mighty wind that blew the trees back. In an instant, I knew what he was about. I didn’t have command of the air like Paula and Jonas or the water like Benny did, but I could whip up enough magic to change the direction of the waterfall for maybe just long enough. The water joined the air Finn commanded. For one horrifying second, the fire seemed to win. The flames arched high, as if they were mustering one last gasp of destruction. Then, they dwindled out, leaving a deadened circle of ash and smoke behind.
Finn took a staggering step back. His wings receded as he turned and ran to me.
“Gemma? My God. Are you all right? Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. “No. I’m okay. What...what was that? What...what are you?”
But I knew. In some deep part of my core, I think I’d always known. Finn Brandhart was a living, fire-breathing dragon shifter. My heart thundered with the truth as my body ached for his.
Suddenly, things began to make sense again. Finn’s magic had blocked mine. It was a powerful cloaking spell.
“We can’t stay here,” he said. “The smoke will draw attention. They can’t find you here.”
They. Finn was no witch, but he got to the core of the problem in an instant. If anyone from the coven saw me here, they’d know what I’d almost done.
“Come on,” he said. “I know a place.”
I was dumbstruck. Thunderstruck. My body shook. But Finn’s eyes were clear, his tone commanding.
“Wrap your arms around me,” he said. “And trust me.”
I shouldn’t have. With every part of my being, I should have pushed him away and run for the safety of the coven. But, once again his fire called to mine. A craving so strong burned through me.
He stepped away from me, his body shimmering with a seamless shift. His mighty dragon dipped his head toward me. With a sharp intake of air and a prayer, I climbed on his back just as he vaulted toward the sky.
Chapter Nine
Finn
I had to resist the urge to fly straight to Scotland with Gemma on my back. Desire for her burned through me. Her fire stoked the deepest parts of mine. I’d been careless. What the hell had I been thinking letting my dragon out in the middle of coven lands?
The moment I thought it, I knew the answer. It was reckless. Dangerous. But, I’d tempted fate. I wanted her to find me. And she had.
A shiver of pleasure went through me at the erotic sensation of her touching my magic. She tested the boundaries of my cloaking spell, her heat joining with mine. Without even knowing what she was doing, she let me tap into her raw power.
Good God, she was strong. I’d never sensed a magic so pure. It skittered over my flesh even now. It should have unsettled me. It should have made it nearly impossible to keep my dragon in check. Instead, I felt more in control than I ever had. It was thrilling, intoxicating. I wanted so much more.
I landed softly on the roof of Mrs. Harris’s boarding house. It might be risky bringing her here, but I felt fairly sure my cloaking spell would shield her from the prying minds of any coven members who might come looking. At least for a little while. Plus, instinct told me Gemma would have an easier time if she stayed close to home and things that were familiar to her. What happened in the woods couldn’t happen again.
I set her down gently and opened the door leading off the airing deck. Gemma’s legs were shaky, but she got them under her and followed me inside. I kept a change of clothes on the shelf just inside the door. I slipped into a pair of jeans. I was aroused, being so close to her. I took one deep breath before I turned, getting myself under control.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked. She followed me into the closest bedroom down the hall. Mrs. Harris kept a pitcher and cups by the bedside. I filled one with water and led Gemma to the bed. She sank down and took the cup from me with trembling hands.
“I’m okay,” she said after gulping the water down. It worked to steady her a little. I wasn’t sure whether she still felt shocked at seeing my dragon or the magic she’d just unleashed. Probably both.
“I don’t,” I started. “I need to explain.”
The moment I said it, I realized how absurd that sounded. How the hell could I explain anything to her? I was just starting to figure it out for myself. But, one thing rang true. Her magic called to me. With every second I spent with her, I felt a gathering strength. I felt like myself again.
I wanted her. I needed her. I craved her. Incredible as it may have seemed, impossible really, there was only one answer that made sense. Gemma Hayes, a Circean witch, was my fated mate.
She shook her head. “You’re a dragon. You’re a dragon.”
“
Gemma…”
She put a hand up to silence me. “I knew it. I mean, I don’t know how I knew it. There was something. That first day. My fire? What I hit you with? It should have killed you. I wasn’t trying to, I swear. It just came out of me.”
“That’s been happening to you a lot,” I said. “Your magic is changing. I felt it.”
She locked eyes with me. Her skin had gone pale. “If you hadn’t been there just now, I would have burned that forest to the ground.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes.”
She set the cup down. Tears played at the corners of her eyes. More than anything, I wanted to go to her. I wanted to pull her into my arms, kiss her, hold her, protect her. I was born for it. The truth of that rang through me. It was Gemma. It was always Gemma.
“It’s getting worse,” she said, her lip quivering. “You don’t understand.”
“What?” I sat down beside her. I wanted to touch her, but Gemma was strung so tight. I still felt her crackling fire. She was so close to losing control again. It was one thing to douse the flames out in the middle of the woods. If she set fire to Mrs. Harris’s house, I couldn’t help her cover that up so easily.
“Your power,” I said. “It’s incredible. Gemma, do you even realize how much power you have?”
“You’re a dragon,” she said. “Finn...how are you a dragon?”
I smiled. “It’s a long story.”
“You’re supposed to be extinct. I was raised on that legend. A thousand years ago, the last of the dragons died out.”
I felt an ancient rage rise within me. “We didn’t die out. We were exterminated. Witches and shifters played a role in that. I don’t suppose your council elders taught that part accurately.”
She tilted her head. “That’s always the way, isn’t it? Shifters blame us for cursing their line so they don’t have female shifters anymore. We blame them for escalating that war in the first place, killing our elders, destroying our grimoires.”
“And you both used dragon magic against each other. Killed us for our blood, forged your weapons with our fire, used our dragonstone to against us.”
She gave me a weak smile. “I guess we all have our own stories. And none of them matter anymore. It’s ancient history. None of us live in that world anymore. Shifters mate with witches now.”
There was one deeper secret I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. Shifters mated with dragons now too. If word got out that mating with a dragon could reverse the curse against female shifters, it would put my family in danger. And yet, as I sat there and stared into Gemma’s glittering amber eyes, my heart gave me answers I wasn’t ready to hear. I could trust her. She was born for me.
“No one can know,” she said.
“No,” I said. “I know I have a lot of explaining to do, but no. I need you to keep this secret.”
“No,” she said, her eyes widening. “About me, I mean. If the rest of the council knows what almost happened. If they know how much trouble I’ve been having controlling my magic...Finn...they’ll try to strip me of it. They’ll cast me out.”
I reared back. All this time, I’d been so concerned with keeping my own secret, I hadn’t even realized the danger Gemma was in. Rage bubbled through me. My dragon rumbled. No. They wouldn’t lay a finger on her. I would protect this woman with my life if that’s what it took.
She saw something change in my eyes. My fire swirled to the surface. Perhaps instinct fueled Gemma too. She put a light hand on my arm, settling one kind of heat inside me, while stoking another.
“I won’t let that happen,” I said. “I swear to you.”
“You can’t stop it,” she said. “And it has nothing to do with you. This is coven law. And I’m...I’m…”
“You’re what?”
“I’m a Hayes. I told you. The last of my kind.”
Again, I felt a kinship to her that went beyond what I knew was true in my soul. I wanted to tell her. Would she understand, or would it just frighten her? She wasn’t alone. She was mine. She hadn’t realized it yet. Twice now, when her fire raged out of control, it had been me who had helped her tame it. The same way being near her quieted my dragon. We belonged together. Like two halves of a whole.
Or was I just imagining it all? Was I so desperate to find a way to stop the mating sickness, that I was ready to latch on to the first fire witch that crossed my path? I wished my brothers were here at the same time I might have ripped them apart if they got too close to Gemma.
Xander would know. Gideon would know. They had each found the unlikeliest of fated mates. Shae was human, but protected by a spell so Xander’s fire wouldn’t burn her. Grace had wolf shifter blood in her that kept her safe from Gideon’s magic. And Gemma...her essence was elemental fire, just like mine. Would it keep her safe if we…
My dragon roared. It came out of me unbidden. Just the fleeting thought of mating with Gemma sent a flood of power and desire through me. Yes. This. She was mine.
“Maybe we can help each other,” I said. I felt the magic of the dragonstone hidden beneath my bed in the other room. It pulsed through me, as though it had animated and asked a question. Could I trust her? Should I tell her the real reason I was here once and for all?
I felt torn in two. Gemma was mine. I knew it. But, she was still Circean too. She was sworn to her coven. She wasn’t in full control of her powers. The safest thing to do was keep the dragonstone from her until the time was right.
“I don’t see how,” she said. “I told you before. If you really mean to go through with this land sale, the coven will take action. By even telling you this, I’m betraying them.”
“So why have you?” I asked. I knew the answer as sure as I knew what she was to me. She knew it too. She just didn’t understand it yet.
“I don’t know,” she said quickly. “God. That’s the truth. I feel like I don’t know anything anymore. You can’t imagine what it’s like. I saw you. I know what you are now. The power you have...Finn...how would you feel if you couldn’t control it. If you realized it was controlling you?”
Her words hit me like a blow to the chest. She still couldn’t see it. I knew her heart was giving her all the answers. But, I had her at a disadvantage. I’d known about witches all my life. She was still processing the fact that dragons were real.
“I do understand. I’m not as in control as you think I am. At least...I wasn’t before.”
“Before what?”
One heartbeat. Two. I still couldn’t bring myself to say it. I don’t know why. Somehow, it seemed important that she come to the truth on her own. I didn’t want to blow this and have her turn against me in fear.
“Durness Wilderness,” she said with finality. “That’s it, isn’t it? You’re drawing on the magic there for yourself.”
“What...I…?”
She rose and started to pace. “You can’t. Finn, I’m sorry, but you can’t. We can’t let you take that from us. There has to be somewhere else you can go. I’m against this. Know that. It’s wrong for the coven to resort to...to what they’re planning. But, you can avoid it. Just go somewhere else.”
“There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be,” I said. Conflict raged within me. The deal hadn’t closed yet. We had no legal claim to the wilderness. No bargaining chip. Avelina had made it perfectly clear. Until that happened, I was sworn to secrecy. If I told Gemma about the dragonstone and what my mother needed now, I would be betraying my family. Keeping silent was a different kind of betrayal.
“Finn, you’re impossible. You’re strong. I feel it. But, if and when the coven acts, not even your power will be enough to stop them.”
Family loyalty and ancient battles made me bold. I didn’t blame Gemma for what her ancestors had done to mine. But, I felt the echoes of their pain. I rose to my full height. “And the coven shouldn’t underestimate my power.”
It surged through me, mixed with the desire I felt for this woman. It became almost a tangible thing between us. Gemma’s pupils wid
ened. She felt it. I know she did. Her breath caught and her pulse quickened. I felt her heart beating in time with my own. Her fire. Mine.
One of us moved. I don’t know who. But, before I knew it, there was no space between us. Gemma’s wicked scent filled me. I stayed stock still, afraid to move. Her lips hovered just below mine.
Then, she did move. She craned her neck, arching her back just a little. Her soft breath caressed my cheek. Her lips parted, inviting me. Then, I was on her. The kiss was slow and deep. The world fell away and the fire within me joined with hers. Just for an instant.
Power. Magic. Fire.
My heart quickened. My blood heated even more. She tasted like honey. So sweet. I wanted to devour her. She moaned against me and I felt her hard nipples press against my chest.
God.
Then, Gemma pulled away, gasping for air. She put the back of her hand to her lips.
“Finn,” she said. “I...can’t...I have to go.”
She left me speechless, breathless. It took everything in me not to go after her as she flew down the stairs and out the front door.
Chapter Ten
Gemma
Finn was closing on the land deal in one week. I tried to lay low and avoid the other members of the Five as much as I could. That wasn’t easy to do in a town the size of Durness. But, foot traffic at the gift shop picked up as we moved into October for whatever reason.
My magic was another matter altogether. I was afraid to go back to the woods, and it had me lying to Delia. She said unpracticed magic was dangerous. Though she wouldn’t come out and accuse me of anything, her suspicious looks weren’t helping. She sat in her chair like always, watching me try to pretend everything was normal.
Then there was Finn. He’d played a starring role in my dreams every night this week. I found myself craning my neck every time I heard voices in front of the store. Was it him? He’d begun a one-man PR campaign since the disastrous meeting with the town council. I’d catch glimpses of him strolling down the street, smiling at anyone new. The women in town seemed to appreciate it most of all. For the third time today, I had a customer ask about him.