by Kimber White
The rest of them saw an attacker neutralized. I knew later they’d report different things. A smoke monster. It must have been a dark wind mage. Some saw only Gemma’s fire. But, they all believed they’d been attacked by a foreign coven. Of course, that’s what it had to be.
My Gemma. Only six years old. She’d declared. She drew from the Source and came into her power that night. The last of her kind. The most powerful fire mage in a generation. And all she’d done is take back the power her so-called friends had stolen from her family.
Chapter Twenty
Gemma
Jonas’s eyes snapped open. They were gray and cloudy at first, then the pupils grew dark as his vision came into focus. He looked straight at me.
“Gemma…” he started.
Finn let out a roar that blasted the front windows outward. His fire gathered strength. He reached for me, clasping my hand with his. He pulled me away from the couch to the far end of the room.
One touch. One breath. I saw it all.
Jonas. Nick Landry. Paula. So much hate. So much dark power. At the last second, my father’s eyes widened with horror as he must have realized he just sent his only daughter running into the arms of danger.
“No!” I screamed.
“It’s a lie!” Paula shrieked. She threw herself in front of Jonas. He was getting stronger behind her. Sweat poured from his brow, but he got his legs under him.
“My God, he’s done it!” Benny shouted. He didn’t know. None of the rest of them knew. They only saw Jonas wake up. They didn’t recognize the danger right in front of them.
“You,” I said, my voice shaking. I lifted a finger and pointed it straight at Paula. “This whole time, it was you. You let me believe it was my fault. You let me think if only I hadn’t run.”
“It’s a trick,” Paula said her voice growing desperate. “It’s all a trick.” She turned to face the rest of them. They still had no idea what she was talking about. “Don’t believe anything those two say.”
Finn tried to push me behind him. I stood my ground. This was my fight. My coven. And I would make the traitors within it pay.
“We saw it all,” I said. “Through Finn’s magic, yes, but there was no attack by dark mages fifteen years ago. Not from the outside. It was the Landrys the whole time.”
“What are you talking about?” Timothy asked.
“Think about it,” I said. “Where were you when the attack came? You told everyone to gather in the town square. You were there, weren’t you? The Landrys weren’t. You didn’t see them until after my parents died. You saw them when the smoke cleared. The smoke from my fire. They didn’t stand with you. Think!”
Benny and Timothy exchanged a desperate look. They couldn’t counter me. Delia rose slowly from her chair. Her eyes darkened. She remembered. She knew.
Paula saw it too. She sent a blast of air straight at her. It would have thrown Delia against the wall and maybe cracked her spine. But, Delia saw it coming and had enough power to counter it. Now, Paula had shown her hand.
“What’s going on?” Benny said. “She can’t be right. This can’t be right.”
But, it was. Paula grabbed Jonas’s hand. He was up. His movements steady. The moment his mother locked hands with him, both of their eyes went cold and black. Dark magic. Failsafe. The ground rumbled beneath them. It all happened in a split second. I thought she would go for me, but she centered her attack toward the fireplace, where Timothy and Benny stood.
Timothy pushed Benny out of the way. Before Paula’s blast of air hit him, Benny ripped a hole in the floor, churning dirt upward and throwing it straight in Paula’s face.
Jonas rose off the ground, levitating a few inches. My breath left me as he sucked the air out of the room. Benny, Timothy, and Delia collapsed to the ground, writhing, struggling to breathe.
“Oh, shit,” I whispered, realizing Jonas had dragon’s blood in his veins now. It made him stronger than he was before. And now, he had nothing left to lose. The roof lifted from the house and a cyclone touched down, spinning wood and furniture. Finn grabbed me and we dove to the side.
“Don’t do this!” I shouted above the wind. “Don’t make me do this!”
Of the Five, only Miles was still on his feet. He struggled to come toward me. Shards of flying glass sliced his cheek. His hair flew straight up.
“Stay down!” I screamed at him. But, he turned to fight. He let out a blast of fire that broadsided Paula. She flew up in the air about ten feet. Jonas caught her, then pushed her out of the way. He was still airborne, his eyes black as tar. He had a smile on his face that made my blood run cold. He wasn’t afraid.
“Run!” It was Delia. She was on her knees next to the rubble of the fireplace. Lightning cracked all around. She screamed it again and again. But, I was done running. I would never do it again.
I threw my own fireball, sending it straight toward Jonas’s head. He tried to bat it away, sending it back to me on the wind. Finn threw himself in front of me, taking the force of it with his shoulder.
Jonas rose even higher in the air. Paula was chanting something. Jonas tilted his head to the side, listening. Then, his smile grew and my heart stopped. Delia’s screams broke through.
Jonas had the dragonstone in his hand. He lifted it, smiling. He brought it to his lips as if he meant to kiss it. Then, he inhaled, sucking the air to him.
“No!” I screamed, realizing what he was about to do.
Dragonstone. The only substance in the world that could kill a dragon. Jonas exhaled, launching the stone with the force of a gunshot. If it struck Finn, it would kill him instantly.
Primal instinct drove me. I reached up and locked hands with Finn. He shifted in an instant and I was on his back. As the stone hurtled toward us. I closed my mind to everything but Finn. At that moment, we were one. His fire and mine.
One blast of living flame. The ground shook and a great rumbling came from overhead. I looked up to see Avelina’s dragon swoop down, flying at the speed of a jumbo jet. She let out a great roar that sounded like steel on steel. She throttled back, breaking midair, then let out a targeted blast of flame that joined with mine and Finn’s. Dragon and mage. Fire on fire.
We struck the stone together, turning it to ash on contact. What remained swirled in a centrifuge then funneled back, heading straight for Jonas. Paula threw herself in front of her son. The dragonstone ash hit her squarely in the chest, ripping her apart. But, we’d unleashed such force, she couldn’t stop it with just her body. As Jonas sucked in his last breath, he took in the ash.
There was a moment, frozen in time as Jonas realized what was to come. His power had been turned in on himself again. But this time, there would be no dragon’s blood to save him. The last of his magic dissipated, sucking him into a swirling tornado, then leaving nothing behind.
He was gone. Paula was gone. It was over.
Chapter Twenty-One
Gemma
There was nothing left of the Landrys but a giant crater in the ground where their house used to be. Timothy was on his back, unconscious, but from where I stood, I could see him breathing. I shot a glance back to Finn. His eyes blazed hot, but he let go of my hand. I ran for Delia.
She was on her knees, clutching her chest. I slid next to her and got my arms around her. She put a hand up, nodding.
“I’m okay,” she said through hacking coughs. “Gonna take more than some old windbag to knock me out.”
I hugged her to me. “Miles!” I shouted. “Did anyone see what happened to him?”
The whole town was out now. Avelina hovered above, but shimmering and fully cloaked.
Those with magic knew something bad happened here. We’d need to hold a meeting soon to explain to the coven. But, most would already know. They would have sensed the darkness coming from Jonas and Paula Landry. God, why hadn’t I before today?
The non-magic users in town would have only seen the damage from a rare but deadly tornado that had touched down and swallo
wed the corner house on Palmer Lane. Then, they would go about their business, chalking it up as just one more strange thing to happen in Durness, California.
My heart soared as I saw Benny and Miles holding each other up arm in arm as they staggered toward the rest of us. We’d made it. We’d all made it.
“I think it’s time to get to the gift shop,” Miles sputtered. “We’ve still got a debt to settle.”
I felt Avelina’s heat far above. Finn looked up. They shared some unspoken mother to son message. He gave her a nod then came back to my side.
“You sure you’re all right?” he asked as I helped Delia to her feet. Her cane had been incinerated. She leaned on me for support. Finn offered to carry her, but she wouldn’t hear of it. It was only three blocks to the shop.
“I’m fine,” I said, smiling up at him. “I don’t know how I am. Maybe this will all hit me later. I’m sure it will. But, for right now, I’ve never felt better.”
I couldn’t explain it. I’d just found out two of the most important people in my life had betrayed me. Murdered my parents. But somehow, it felt like I’d always known or that there had been some black curtain around my heart, shrouding the truth. Now that it was exposed, things felt in balance.
“There was a cancer in the coven,” Delia said, giving voice to my feelings. “And we’ve just rooted it out. That makes this a good day. Now, let’s get going. Miles is right. We still have one last debt to settle.” She shot a sly wink to Finn.
It took us a few minutes to walk to the gift shop. By the time we got there, Avelina was waiting. She wore a flowing, black robe, her white hair falling in shimmering waves around her shoulders. When Delia saw her, she straightened her back and moved away from me. I realized the two of them had some history together. And knowing them both, I’d probably never hear it.
Broken, bruised, betrayed, and a little battered, what was left of the Five assembled in the back room of the gift shop.
“First things first,” Miles said. As the oldest member, protocol dictated he run this meeting. And I realized that was about to change.
“We’re short a member,” he said. “Delia, will you serve? It’ll make things a hell of a lot easier.”
Delia answered by taking the seat at the head of the table. She was now in charge. She shot a look to Finn and Avelina behind me. Normally, we wouldn’t do this with outsiders present. But, these weren’t normal times.
“I suppose that deed burned up in the fire,” Delia said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Finn said. “I recorded it with the county this morning. The wilderness belongs to the coven.”
Delia arched a brow, realizing he’d done it even before we performed the spell. She nodded, impressed.
“The stone,” Avelina said. She grew impatient, almost breathless. “It’s gone for good.”
Delia put up a hand. I took my seat at the end of the table. “Suppose that’s for the best, anyway. That thing could have killed your boy.”
“I’m sorry,” Miles said. “We tried. All we saw was fire.”
Avelina took a staggering step back. Miles was blunt. She hadn’t expected to hear that. In all the chaos, I hadn’t had a chance to sort anything out yet. But, Miles was right. All I saw in that circle when we performed the spell was fire.
Delia put a hand up. “Now, just hold on. You’re all lucky I was there. At least one of us knows what the hell we were looking at. I’m sorry about one thing. I should have figured out Paula Landry was a snake. She held back. She tried to sabotage that spell. I didn’t recognize it for what it was.”
“Then it’s over,” Avelina said, distraught. “There’s nothing left.”
“I said hold on,” Delia said. “So impatient. You’re right. I didn’t see as much as I hoped. And I’m not sure what I did see is what you’re after. But it wasn’t nothing. That stone, I felt the magic in it. Avelina, you and I go way back. So, you know that I’m not going to lie to you. You might not like what I have to say, but at least you’ll know it’s the truth. And I’m truly sorry about what happened here today. We should have cleaned up our own house long ago. Your boy almost got hurt because of it.”
“I don’t hold that against you,” Avelina said. “And I trust you’ll do what needs to be done to ensure that kind of dark magic doesn’t find its way to Durness again. But, now all of you know a secret that you must keep. You cannot let the other covens know about us.”
“That won’t happen,” I said. “I’m a member of this coven. But, Finn is my mate.”
“She’s right,” Miles said. “Like it or not, you’re family.” He had a devilish smile on his face that warmed my heart.
“All right then,” Delia said. “That’s settled. Your secret is safe. It’s always been safe. I knew there was something special about you all along, Avelina. It’s nice to finally understand it. Now, about that stone.”
Avelina trembled. She took an empty seat beside me. Finn stood guard behind me, his hands on my shoulders.
Delia reached across the table and took Avelina’s hands in hers. “It was a very old stone,” she said. “But, the magic in it. It was released recently.”
“What do you mean, recently?” I asked.
Delia caught my eye, then she looked back at Avelina. “Whatever came out of that egg,” she said. “It was no more than a generation ago. Twenty years give or take a few.”
“I don’t...Finn...what does that mean?”
His face had turned to stone. Only a flicker near the corner of his eye conveyed the gravity of what Delia had just said. Avelina turned to me.
“It means,” she said. “That the dragon that came out of it is young. And may very well be still alive.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Finn
One week later
“All in all, I’d say she’s taken the news quite well,” I said. Gemma sat beside me, dipping her toes in the stream. We’d come to the waterfall where we first met.
“Well?” she asked. “She tore the roof off the gift shop!”
Gemma had a point. My mother had at least the presence of mind to take a few steps back before she shifted into her dragon right in front of the entire Durness, Circean council.
“You have to understand,” I said. “She had a mother’s desperation. If there’s even a chance there’s another dragon out there…”
“No,” Gemma said. She threaded her fingers through mine. I couldn’t stop looking at her. She was so beautiful like this. Stunning. I ran my hand down her shoulder. Her breasts were full, like ripe fruit begging to be tasted. Her scent lingered and I felt the heat between her legs grow. I couldn’t wait much longer.
“I do understand,” she said, turning to me. She stretched out on the mossy blanket of grass. Throwing her head to the side, her golden hair fell over her shoulder. She changed that night when we took down the Landrys, nearly coming into her full power. Now, she bore a silver streak at the crown of her head that blended in with the gold. She parted her legs, ever so slightly.
“Does it mean you have to go again?” she asked. “Is she going to ask you to help her find this dragon?”
“No,” I answered. “Not this time. She knows my place is with you.”
“Thank you. Finn, I know how much you wanted to go to Knoydart for this. And, we will. I promise. It’s just, this feels right to me.”
I crawled toward her. She parted her legs and I slid my body between them. Gemma leaned back on her elbows. God, she was so hot. She drew me in. I reached down and slid a finger into her silken wetness.
“It is right,” I said. “Your magic is part of mine now too.”
“Mmm,” she smiled, wrapping her legs around me, inviting me even closer. I shuddered with building desire. “Not all the way.”
“Are you sure?” I asked her. I’d asked her this a million times it seemed. She answered by leaning up to nip my earlobe.
“It’s time, baby. Think how much trouble we could have avoided if we’d have just done this t
hat first time I found you here. I should have. I wanted to. Did you know that? You were flat on your back and you looked so scrumptious. All those rippling muscles. And this…”
Her fingers closed around my rigid cock. Oh, I knew. I pulsed in her hand. She spread her thighs for me. I slid my way home.
God, she was so hot. So good.
“Will it hurt?” she asked. There was no fear in her question, just curiosity. I moved in her. She threw her head back and bit her lip.
“No,” I whispered, kissing my way along her shoulder, up her throat, teasing her breasts, until I found her lips again.
“Pity,” she whispered. “I do love the way you burn.”
I let out a roar of desire. I felt my scales ripple along my back, then settle. Oh, my dragon wanted this. Demanded it.
Gemma dug her fingers into the soft earth, bracing herself. Oh, yes. She knew I wouldn’t be gentle.
I quickened my pace, letting my heat rise. There would be no holding back for either of us now. Gemma arched her back, taking me in. The ground rumbled beneath us. It was as if we’d drawn upon the molten core of the earth. Her fire. Mine. Joining once and for all.
“Yes!” Gemma felt it. It moved through her. Her blood heated; her pulse quickened. The first tiny sparks danced from her fingertips. She was liquid heat. Her eyes shimmered gold.
I dug my heels into the ground, pressing into her as far as I could go. I would let her take her pleasure first. She was so close already. She threw her head back and breathed fire. It swirled around us, binding us together. I held back, letting her have what she needed. Her walls clenched around me as she came. Her skin glowed.
“Finn!” she cried. “Oh, yes! Baby!”
Then, it was my turn. I slid out of her. Gemma scrambled to her knees, going up on all fours. I drove myself home and let my fire out. Her skin still sparked with her flame. Now, it was time for mine to join hers all the way.