Ride The Wave: Her Elemental Dragons Book Four

by Briggs, Elizabeth;

  As night fell across the quiet town, I wandered through the small harbor, eyeing the various boats docked there. I spotted Reven sitting on the end of the pier, his legs hanging over the water, the breeze teasing at his black hair. He was so handsome it took my breath away, even after all this time, and I couldn’t help but be drawn to him.

  He didn't look up as I sat beside him. We sat in silence for a few minutes, simply enjoying the sound of the waves, the feel of the wind, and the way the stars appeared as night crept over the ocean.

  His voice finally broke the silence. “The Water Realm brings back old memories.”

  “Good or bad?” I asked.

  “Both.”

  I nodded, understanding what he meant. “This village reminds me of the place where I grew up. A tiny fishing village like this one. Until Sark came and destroyed it all.” I turned toward him, watching the profile of his face. “Where did you grow up in the Water Realm? A town like this?”

  He shrugged. “All over.”

  “You moved around a lot?”

  He fell silent, and I worried he wouldn't answer. Reven hated talking about his past. I knew almost nothing about it, and every time I’d tried to ask him, he’d ended the conversation and made it clear he wouldn’t say anything more. When he did give me some tidbit about his past, I hoarded it like treasure and pored over it for days. He’d gotten his twin swords from his father. He knew how to sail a boat. His parents were members of the Resistance and had been killed by Sark. But the rest? It was still a mystery.

  “I grew up on a ship,” Reven said, surprising me.

  “Were you a pirate like Doran?” I asked. It would explain the swords and how his father had trained him to use them so expertly.

  An amused smirk made Reven even more gorgeous. “No. I was in a traveling carnival, actually.”

  I blinked at him. Of all the things I'd expected to learn about Reven's past, that was not one of them. “You what?”

  “My family’s ship was part of a performing troupe that sailed from one island to another, putting on a show in each one.”

  I had a hard time imagining Reven growing up in such a life. “What kind of performers?”

  He shrugged. “Jugglers, acrobats, magicians, animal tamers... We had it all.”

  “Your family did all that?”

  “My parents were known as the Twirling Blades, and they had an act where they danced with their swords, threw knives, and performed other stunts that few could believe.” He ran a hand over one of his swords at the memory. “They raised me to be one of them. I never knew any other life. Until Sark took it all away.”

  “I thought your family was killed because they were in the Resistance.”

  “They were. Our role as traveling performers made it easy for us to carry messages and to transport or hide people. The carnival was the perfect front for what they were truly doing. I had no idea at the time.” His face turned grim. “One day I got into a fight with my parents over something stupid and ran off. I left the boat and went into the city to try to get into trouble. When I got back, all our ships were destroyed. Every single one of them. My parents. My sister. My aunts, uncles, cousins... In one blow, Sark had taken everything I had ever known.”

  I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “I'm so sorry.”

  He kept going, as if he hadn’t heard me. “I didn't know what to do. I blamed myself. I told myself if I’d stayed behind, I could have stopped him, or helped some of them escape, or something.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Ten.”

  “Oh, Reven. There was nothing you could have done. If you were there, Sark would have killed you too.”

  His hand tightened around mine. “Yes, I know. But the guilt of surviving is hard to get rid of, even if logic tells me there was nothing I could do to save them.”

  “I understand. I have the same guilt.” I leaned my head against his shoulder. “What did you do after that?”

  “I fled back into the city, but I knew no one there and had nothing but the clothes on my back and my father’s swords, which I’d managed to save from the wreckage. I ended up living on the streets, trying to use my skills to make money, but no one wanted to pay a kid to play with swords. I became a thief in order to survive.” He tilted his head back and stared up at the stars. “Turns out those same skills that made my family a good group of performers also made me a good criminal.”

  “Is that when you become an assassin?”

  “No.” He scowled and pushed himself to his feet. I could tell by the shuttered look on his face that he was done talking, and probably regretted revealing so much to me. “I think that’s enough reminiscing for one night. We have another long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

  He began to turn away, but I was tired of him always pushing me away. We would be at the Water Temple soon. Something had to change.

  I jumped up and caught his arm. “It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about your past. I know it can be painful. But don’t shut me out, please. In a few days we’ll be pledging our lives to each other and I have to know that you’re serious about this.”

  “I told you I was.” His eyes narrowed and he jerked his arm away. “You want to know how I became an assassin? Fine. I thought I’d spare you the dark details tonight, but since you insist…”

  I sighed. “Reven—”

  “A man named Harman found me and convinced me to work for him,” Reven said, his voice menacing as he spat out the words. “He had a whole gang of street kids and he made us do terrible things. Stealing was the least of it. He sold our bodies to monsters who liked children. He murdered anyone who disobeyed or questioned him. But at least we were fed, and we had each other. I found a new family. A girl.”

  I wanted to take Reven into my arms and hold him as he spoke about what was obviously a painful tale, but I kept my distance. I worried if I made even the slightest movement, he’d get spooked and run away again.

  He stared across the dark waters as he continued. “Her name was Mira. I was fourteen by then, and she was a year younger than me. It was innocent, or as innocent as it could be for two kids who had been forced to grow up way too fast. She was beautiful and kind, and I told her I'd do anything to protect her. When Harman decided he’d sell her off to a man five times her age, we made a plan to run away…but we didn't get far. Harman’s men caught her, and she was killed while trying to escape them.” His hands clenched at his side. “At the sight of her blood, I lost it and murdered them all with my father’s swords. They were the first lives I took. And then I went back and killed Harman too, along with everyone else I could find. I hunted down every single man and woman he had ever worked with and made sure they'd never prey on children again. That's when the Assassin's Guild invited me to join them.” He met my eyes again and spread his arms wide. “And now you know everything. I’ve been a thief, a whore, and a killer. There’s only darkness and death in my past. Forgive me if I don’t like talking about it.”

  Reven’s voice was cold and his face was hard, but I could sense the pain inside him. I wrapped my arms around him and held him silently, until some of the tension in his body relaxed and he reluctantly embraced me in return.

  “Thank you for telling me,” I said. “I’m sorry you went through all that, and I know it must have been difficult to talk about. But your past shaped you into the man you are today. A man I love.”

  “Don’t say that.” He took my face in his hands and stared into my eyes. “Don’t say those words.”

  I gazed back at him defiantly. “I’ll say them if I want. I don’t care if you don’t say them in return. But I love you, and I know you care for me too.”

  “Dammit, woman.” He covered my mouth with his and kissed me hard. I melted against him, my curves molding against his strong body, trying to get closer. His tongue glided across my lips, parting them, as his hand gripped the back of my hair to hold me tight. He claimed me with this kiss, branding me as his, showing me how much he c
ared, even if he couldn’t speak it out loud.

  When he released my mouth, his voice was rough. “I’ve lost everyone I’ve ever loved. I told myself that love made me weak and swore to never do it again. But when you were kidnapped and that cave fell on me, the only thing that kept me alive was the thought of you. I might not be able to say those words, but I feel it too.”

  “I know,” I said, kissing him over and over. “I know.”

  Reven may not be able to tell me he loved me, but I knew his heart belonged to me. His face was tormented as he stared down at me, and I ran my thumb across his lips, wishing I could get him to smile. Enough with the bad memories. Maybe I could remind him of some of the good ones now.

  “I see now why you’re such a good assassin and fighter,” I said. “Did you learn anything else while working as a performer? Something fun?”

  He looked confused for a second, but then he smirked. “I’m a damn good juggler, actually.”

  I laughed. “I don’t believe it.”

  He pinned me with a dark look, then retrieved six throwing knives from his belt. With a grace I could never possess he launched them into the air, juggling them back and forth with movements almost too fast to see. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he was using air magic as he made the blades fly high, catching them mid-air and throwing them again with the flick of his wrist, before finally collecting them all in one hand and performing an elaborate bow.

  I clapped with a big, silly grin on my face. “I have to admit, I’m impressed. And surprised. I never expected that.”

  He gave me a wink. “What can I say? I’m good with my hands.”

  “Are you?” I pulled him close, my fingers gripping his black shirt. “I’m going to need a demonstration once we get to the Water Temple.”

  “I think we can arrange that,” he said, before capturing my mouth again, making desire race through me.

  Only a few more days, and then Reven would truly be mine.

  18

  Kira

  Doran’s talons hit the sand. “We’re here.”

  I glanced around from where I sat on his back. We’d landed on a small island, barely big enough for the three dragons to stand on together. There were two large rocks, a lone palm tree, and a cluster of seaweed that was being washed on shore. Water surrounded us in every direction, stretching as far as the eye could see.

  “What do you mean, we’re here?” Jasin asked, his voice gravelly in his dragon form.

  “I hate to agree with Jasin, but this doesn’t look like a temple,” Reven said, from Jasin’s back.

  Still a dragon, Doran strode to the edge of the island, where the waves met the land. “The Water Temple is below us. We’ll have to swim to get there.”

  I peered down into the crystal blue water but saw nothing. “How do the priests survive living underwater?”

  “The Water God protects them,” Doran said, as if it was obvious.

  “Here’s a better question, how are we supposed to get down there?” Jasin asked, shying back from the water before it could touch his claws.

  “We’ll manage,” Doran said. “Auric can shield himself with a bubble of air, while Reven can keep the water away from Jasin. I’ll protect Kira. Now, follow me.”

  He trudged into the water, his wings folding at his side, his tail swishing at the waves. I clutched onto his dark blue scales while Auric and Jasin trailed behind us. Auric didn’t seem troubled at all, but Jasin hesitated before entering the ocean. Reven muttered something to him, and the red dragon grumbled and stepped forward into the water.

  As soon as Doran slipped below the waves, I held my breath—but found it wasn’t necessary. He created a bubble around me by pushing the water back, forming a circle of air that allowed me to breathe. Even though the ocean surrounded us, I remained dry. Doran, on the other hand, didn’t seem to need air to breathe underwater. Reven copied him and shielded Jasin as they braved the ocean, while Auric created a similar bubble of air around himself and Slade.

  The three dragons walked across the bottom of the ocean, until it sloped down suddenly. The deep water below us was dark, and I couldn’t see anything down there. A trickle of fear ran down my spine as I gazed at the vast, deep darkness, filled with the unknown. What if our bubbles gave out? What if something horrible was lurking there?

  All I could do was trust my father as he launched himself into the dark depths of the ocean. He sped along the invisible water currents faster than I could have imagined, using his wings to propel him forward. The other two dragons followed, although they were not as fast or as sleek. Doran was in his element, swimming forward into the darkness with no light to guide him. Me, on the other hand, I couldn’t see a thing, except for the quick movement of a fish now and then as it darted out of our path. I summoned a bright flame in my palm, but it barely illuminated everything. After a few seconds, I gave up.

  Something appeared in the dark depths. A pale glow below us, which Doran led us toward. I caught sight of hundreds of silvery fish dashing back and forth in a cluster stretching far and wide, that almost looked like a busy road. Below them I glimpsed something that looked like the top of a tower, where the glowing light was coming from.

  A large, pale structure with towers and turrets slowly revealed itself as we moved deeper. The architecture was intricate, a beautiful thing of swirls and arches that flowed like water itself, somehow looking completely natural rising from the ocean floor. It was impossible to tell how old the building was, but I sensed it had been there a long time.

  Doran landed on the bottom of the ocean in front of a giant statue of a dragon at the entrance. As he stepped forward, we passed through a shimmery veil that rippled across my skin. He dropped the water bubble around us, which was no longer needed.

  A large dome of air surrounded the Water Temple, allowing us to breathe safely while we were visiting. Fish swam on the other side and high above us, coming right to the edge of the dome but not entering it. I stared up at it in awe, marveling at the Water God’s power.

  The other two dragons emerged behind us. Auric created a warm gust of wind that had him dry within seconds, while Jasin shook off the water like a dog as soon as Slade slid off his back. My father didn’t seem bothered by the water dripping off him at all.

  “This structure looks like it’s been here for hundreds of years,” Auric said, after returning to his human form. “I thought you said this wasn’t the original Water Temple?”

  “It’s not,” Doran said. “Long ago, when I first became a Dragon, there were many temples to the Gods across the four Realms. After Nysa came to power, we imprisoned the Gods in their largest temple, and then had some of the others destroyed. Others naturally became abandoned over the years as people lost faith in their absent Gods. This was one of those temples. The priests have been slowly restoring and preparing it ever since the Water God was freed. When it became clear that Nysa wanted all the temples destroyed, the High Priestess and her mates moved here for safety.”

  The tall stone door at the front of the temple opened with a loud rumble. A small woman with curly black hair and olive skin stepped through the door. She looked to be a few years older than I was and wore a shimmering blue robe with a necklace made of seashells. With her short height, round face, and warm smile, she was more cute than beautiful, and I instantly felt comfortable around her.

  “Kira, this is Opea, the High Priestess of the Water God,” Doran said.

  Opea bowed low before me. “It is an honor to meet you, and all of the ascendants. We’ve waited so long for this day.”

  “The honor is ours,” I said.

  She turned to my father. “It’s good to see you again, Doran.”

  “You too. How’s little Wella?”

  “Walking now and a real nuisance,” Opea said with a laugh. “Please, come inside. We have food and refreshments and have prepared some rooms for you.”

  We stepped into a large entry room with walls the color of pale sand and shiny sea
green tiles on the floor. Four handsome men waited for us, and Opea introduced us to her priests. One of them held a squirming toddler with the same round face as Opea but lighter hair, who I guessed was Wella.

  Opea escorted me to a bedroom, while the priests took the men in a different direction. As soon as the door to the room opened, I gasped. Inside was a bed larger than any I had seen before, easily wide enough for me and all my mates.

  “Does this meet your needs?” Opea asked.

  “It does. I’ve never seen such a grand bed before. How long have you been waiting for us?”

  “We’ve been ready for months now, ever since Doran informed us it was time to abandon the old temple. We weren’t sure how soon you would visit us, but we’ve been prepared.” She gave me a calm, pleasant smile. “Now please, rest and relax as much as you need. There’s a washroom attached to this room for your convenience, and I’ll have food sent up for you. Your mates are staying in rooms down the hall. The bonding room is ready for you, but there’s no rush. You’re welcome to take a few days to recover first, if you’d like. We’re quite safe down here.”

  “Thank you,” I said. Rest sounded nice. I felt like I could sleep for days, but then I remember Reven’s heated kiss. “I’d prefer to do the bonding sooner than later.”

  “Of course,” she said, with a knowing wink. “When you’re ready, you can proceed to the bonding room from the door in the back of the great hall.”

  She bowed once and then left me alone in the large, elegant room. The same curved lines from the temple were reflected here in the furniture, and the fabrics were soft and luxurious in colors of white, gray, and aqua blue. Glittering seashells and dried starfish served as decorations, along with a fern that looked like it should be growing off the ocean floor.

  I moved to the washroom, where I found a large round pool with clear blue water, which I realized was a natural spring that fed in from outside the temple. The water was cooler than I liked, but I used my fire magic to warm it up, and then stripped off my clothes and settled inside. The pool was big enough that my mates and I could all sit in it, and I allowed myself to stretch out and float on my back as the warm water melted away all the dirt and tension from traveling over the last few days.