“There is when he now has all of your secrets and can turn them against you.”
“Don’t give up hope.” She smoothed my head softly, the touch so nurturing it surprised me. “You and your mates were chosen by the Gods to protect this world. I have faith that you’ll succeed.”
I leaned against her body, which looked frail but was surprisingly sturdy, especially considering she was a ghost. “I wish I didn’t have to kill my parents,” I whispered, giving voice to the thing I’d kept inside so long and was afraid to admit.
“I know. I wish the same thing.” She sighed and continued stroking my hair. “It’s a terrible situation the Gods have placed us in, but there’s no other way. If it makes you feel better, I believe by ending my daughter’s life, you will be freeing her. She wasn’t always like this. She was brave, and kind, and passionate. Sometimes a little too confident, arrogant, and reckless, but she took after her father, my Fire Dragon. Like him, she would do anything to protect other people, which is why she imprisoned the Spirit Goddess inside herself. Now she’s become corrupted and I don’t recognize her anymore, but I know my daughter is in there somewhere, screaming for all of this to end.” She took my face in her hands gently. “Deep down, Nysa wants you to win too. I truly believe this.”
I nodded slowly and she wiped away a stray tear I couldn’t hold back. “I’ll do my best to free her.”
She wrapped her arms around me. “I know you will. You’re the only one who can.”
With those words, she vanished.
I sat there for some time, listening to the sounds of forest, thinking about Enva’s words. I didn’t know if she was right about my parents or not. The more I learned about myself and the world, the less I truly knew for certain. All I could do was listen to my gut and hope it led me down the right path in the days to come.
A branch snapped behind me, and I sensed Jasin approaching. His strong arms slid around me, and I relaxed against him. He said nothing, simply held me close, letting me draw upon his strength until I was ready to talk.
“Now I know how you felt when your father betrayed us,” I said.
“It’s a terrible feeling, isn’t it?” He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “It’s horrible enough when your parents believe in something you know is wrong, and no matter how much you try to convince them otherwise, they won’t be persuaded to see your side. When they turn against you for those same beliefs, it’s like a dagger in the heart.”
I leaned my head against his shoulder. “You were right about Doran all along. I should have listened to you.”
“I wish I’d been wrong. Gods know I’d do anything to save you from going through this and from suffering the same hurt that I did.” He smoothed my hair away from my face and gazed into my eyes. “But we’re not defined by what our parents do. We make our own choices, and we can choose to make better decisions than them. Or we can try, at least.”
I turned in his arms and pressed a kiss to his lips. “When did you become so wise?”
“I’m spending too much time with Auric obviously.”
I snuggled up against him. “I like that the two of you are close.”
“We’re a family, all five of us—thanks to you. You brought us together, and you made us work out our differences and fight for a common goal. You made each of us want to be better people. And no matter what happens, none of us will ever betray each other. Or you.”
The truth of his words flowed through our bond. My adopted parents were long gone, my birth parents were my enemies, but my mates…they were forever.
30
Kira
As my dragons soared over the peaks of the mountains, the valley beyond it came into view, and with it, our army. It was the day of the Fall Equinox, and hundreds of men and women had come to fight for our cause. I was honored by their bravery and their belief in us, but also felt the heavy weight of their lives hanging over my head. I was responsible for all of them and would mourn every life lost in my name.
On the eastern side, Onyx Army soldiers were assembled, their scaled black armor decorated with the yellow markings on their shoulders that meant they were from the Air Realm. Mixed in with them were others in golden armor with the symbol of House Killian on their chest, representing the royal guard. The King had truly come through for us, and by sending his troops he was showing the world he stood with us against the Dragons. If we failed today, it would likely mean the end of his reign.
To the west, a more ragtag group of men and women had gathered, which I assumed was a combination of the Resistance, the Assassin’s Guild, and Cadock’s people. They wore common clothes and whatever armor and weapons they possessed. Some were bandits. Some were farmers. Some were assassins. Many were seasoned fighters, but many more were not. Yet they were all here, willing to fight for what they believed in. I prayed we weren’t sending them all to their deaths.
In the center, large tents had been set up, and that’s where we headed. Faces looked up at us and cheered or simply stared in awe as my four dragons flew overhead. As we descended, I heard shouts about the ascendants and cheers for the Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and Citrine Dragons. The men might not love the names, but as Brin had said, they’d already stuck.
People backed away as my dragons landed, giving us space. I slid off Slade’s back and nodded at everyone. I wasn’t used to so much attention and didn’t particularly like it, but I had to get used to this sort of reception. I’d spent so much of my life hiding and running, sticking to the shadows and avoiding being noticed, but those days were over. Everything had changed now, and soon the entire world would know who I was, no matter the outcome of this battle.
While Brin and Leni dismounted, a man in gold armor stalked toward us. I immediately recognized him as one of Auric’s brothers, even though we’d never met before. He was ridiculously tall, even taller than Auric, and wasn’t lacking in muscles either, judging by the way he filled out his armor. But where Auric’s face was chiseled perfection, this man was plain, with blond hair cropped short, pale gray eyes, and a square jaw.
My dragons shifted to their human forms, sending a ripple of awe through the crowd, and Auric stepped forward. The two blond men clasped each other in a hug.
“Thanks for coming.” He turned toward me with a smile. “Kira, this is my brother, Garet. He leads the King’s Guard.”
“A pleasure, my lady,” Garet said, with an elegant bow.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I said.
“Garet will be leading my father’s troops,” Auric said.
His brother nodded. “Yes, we have men and women from both the King’s Guard and the Air Realm’s Onyx Army division. We’re ready to serve however we can.”
“We appreciate your help,” I said.
Brin moved to our side with a smile. “It’s good to see you again, Garet.”
The three nobles continued chatting, but my attention was drawn to another man approaching us. I walked toward him with a smile I couldn’t hide. “Cadock!”
The man I’d once considered my first love grasped me in a friendly hug before stepping back. He looked down at me with his bright blue eyes, while his tousled blond hair blew in the breeze. “You’re looking as beautiful as ever.”
I smiled but ignored the compliment. “I’m so happy you changed your mind about helping us.”
“I didn’t want to, but your man here is pretty persuasive,” Cadock said, nodding at Jasin, who’d come to stand beside us.
Jasin shook Cadock’s hand with a wry grin. “I did what I had to do.”
“How did you convince him in the end?” I asked. “I never got the whole story.”
Cadock smirked. “Jasin challenged me to a fight. If he won, I had to agree to support your cause.”
“And if you won?” I asked.
“He’d have to clean our outhouse for a week.”
“Don’t worry, there was no chance I was going to lose,” Jasin said.
Cadock chuckled. “So you say, but
as I recall it came pretty close there at the end.”
I shook my head as they continued to joke around, and spotted Faya speaking to some people, including Slade’s sister, at the edge of the crowd. I made my way over to her with a frown. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“Hello, Kira,” Faya said. “Of course I should be here. I’m the leader of the Resistance now.”
“You’re also pregnant,” I said.
“Only a few months,” Faya said, waving it away. “I’ll stay back during the fight, but I’m not going to send my people into battle without me. What kind of leader would I be?”
“And if the fighting reaches you?” I asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Faya touched the hilt of her sword. “I can still fight. And now I have another thing worth dying for—my child.”
Leni moved to Faya’s side. “Don’t worry. Brin and I will protect her with our lives.”
“I appreciate that,” I said.
“I don’t need protection,” Faya snapped, but then she sighed. “But I wouldn’t mind having two friends fight beside me.”
Cadock and Jasin strolled over. The bandit leader bowed before Faya, then took her hand and placed a kiss over her knuckles. “Why hello there. I’m Cadock, leader of the Thunder Chasers. You must be Faya. I’ve heard a great deal about you, but no one ever mentioned your beauty.”
Faya rolled her eyes. “Probably because they knew I’d cut them in half for speaking about me that way.”
A charming smile spread across Cadock’s face. “Beautiful and fierce. I love it.”
Reven caught my attention, bringing over an older woman with short, white hair and a tattoo of a dagger on her neck. She was dressed in all black, with a hooded cloak that didn’t conceal the numerous throwing knives at her waist. “Kira, this is Zara. She’ll be speaking for the Assassin’s Guild. She also helped train me when I first joined.”
“Is that so?” My eyebrows shot up. This was the first person I’d ever met from Reven’s past. “What was he like back then?”
Zara grinned. “Just as surly and brooding as he is now. A fine fighter though. I knew the moment we met that he was meant for something big. I had no idea it would be this though.”
“None of us expected anything like this,” I said. “We appreciate the help of the Assassin’s Guild.”
She shrugged. “We go where the coin is. And we’ve been promised a lot of it.”
“You’ll definitely be compensated,” I said. Assuming we made it through this alive.
Zara slapped Reven on the back. “We protect our own too. Reven is one of us, and now he’s a Dragon. We’ll do whatever we can to assist him.”
Reven looked surprised by this. “Thank you, Zara.”
“Don’t get too soppy on me,” Zara said with a grin. “We’re mostly here for the coin.”
“Of course,” I said.
Another familiar face emerged from the crowd. Calla, the High Priestess of the Fire God. She was a beautiful woman in her forties, with hair the color of straw, and she wore the red silk robe of her station. She started to bow before me, but I grabbed her in a hug instead.
“I’m so happy you’re okay,” I said. “Many of the other priests have been killed by the Dragons.”
“So I’ve heard,” Calla said, as she stepped back. “The Air Realm has been kind to us, although I do miss our home at the volcano. I pray we’ll be able to return to the Fire Temple once this is all over.”
“I hope so.” I chewed on my lower lip. “Although we’ve discovered everything is more complicated than we expected.”
I quickly told her about the Spirit Goddess and Nysa, hoping she had some advice for how to stop her.
“I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Calla said. “But if anyone can stop her, it is you.”
“Do you think the Gods will truly help us?”
“I cannot say. Sometimes the things they do seem confusing to us, but later on they make sense. They see a much larger picture than we do.” She touched my cheek. “Have faith, Kira. You were destined for this, and you will succeed.”
Jasin raised his voice, drawing our attention. “If you’d all head inside the tent, we can get started working on our strategy for tomorrow’s battle.”
I drew in a steady breath as the gathered people stepped into the large command tent to begin preparations. Jasin and Auric had made some changes to our plan after Doran left, but they wanted to get the input of the other leaders too. I watched them all filter in through the tent flaps, and then I followed them inside.
31
Kira
We spent hours going over every single detail of tomorrow’s battle, hammering out the plans until everyone was satisfied with them. Or as satisfied as we could be, considering tomorrow we’d be going up against a far more powerful opponent and many people would die in the battle. Worry gnawed at me, not just for the people I loved, but for everyone who would be fighting for us tomorrow. I wished there was some way to spare them all from this, but to save the world we had to go to war.
The hour was late and the camp was quiet by the time we retreated to the tent that had been set up for us. Originally, we’d been given five tents, but I’d asked for one large tent instead. This might be our last night in this world, and I was going to spend it with my mates at my side.
Five cots had been set up around the room, but we shoved them to the side and then covered the floor with blankets and pillows. We spread out on the makeshift bed, facing each other like we’d done beside so many campfires during our travels. Now our journey was almost at an end, and the feeling was bittersweet. Especially since we had no idea what the outcome would be tomorrow.
Slade’s large hands settled on my shoulders and he began massaging them slowly. “You seem tense.”
I leaned back into his touch. “Just worried about tomorrow.”
“We all are,” Auric said. “But we’ve done everything we can to make sure the battle goes our way. Now we just need to get some rest.”
Jasin rested his hand on my thigh. “We will, but not yet.”
“What are you planning?” I asked.
He brushed his lips against my neck. “We’re going to take your mind off tomorrow.”
I relaxed a little more and tilted my head to give him better access. “All I want is to spend the evening in the arms of my mates…in case it’s our last time together.”
“Don’t talk like that,” Slade said, his fingers tightening on my shoulders.
Reven took my face in his hands. “Tomorrow is not going to be the end, I promise.”
Jasin nodded. “Our close bond gives us an advantage. The other Dragons don’t stand a chance.”
Through the bond I knew they were worried too, but they were also confident we’d succeed. I focused on that certainty and nodded.
Auric began removing my boots. “You definitely need to release some tension. Otherwise you’ll never get to sleep.”
Jasin’s lips traced patterns on my neck. “I know the best way to do that.”
While Auric began rubbing my feet, the other three men slowly removed my clothes, lightly kissing every spot of skin they revealed. I melted into their gentle, comforting touches, and by the time I was undressed, I was little more than a puddle in their arms.
“We’re going to take care of you,” Slade said, as he lowered me down onto my back. “Just relax and enjoy it.”
From the pile of blankets and pillows I stared up at the tent while the four men surrounded me. Auric kissed his way up from my ankles to my knees to my thighs, while the others kissed the sensitive skin at the inside of my arms, the curve of my breasts, and the slope of my stomach. Their love wrapped around me like a warm blanket, easing all of my troubles.
Auric spread my legs wider and dipped his head between them, kissing me there. As his mouth moved over me and his tongue began to explore, the others continued their slow worship of the rest of my body. I reached for them, grabbing onto their shirts and trousers, wis
hing I could touch them too. My fingers brushed against the hard bulge in Reven's trousers and the rough beard coating Slade's jaw, while Jasin's lips found mine.
As Auric wound me tighter and tighter with the stroke of his tongue between my legs, my other mates removed their clothing. The sight of their strong bodies being slowly revealed made me almost dizzy with desire, and I tangled my hands in Auric's golden hair as the tension built inside me. He increased the pressure of his tongue and it became too much, making me gasp and moan as the orgasm gripped me.
Auric sat back and removed his clothing next, while I floated down from the place he'd taken me. My four mates gazed at me with lust-filled eyes and I couldn't decide which one I wanted first.
"I need you," I told them. "All of you. Don't hold back."
Jasin removed a small bottle of oil from one of his bags. "We won't. We're all going to be yours tonight."
My pulse sped up at his words and at what the oil meant. We'd used it once before, and I was excited to try it again with all my men. "Two at a time?" I asked, my voice practically begging.
"If that's what you want," Reven said.
"I do. Auric and Slade. Reven and Jasin. The opposite elements inside me at the same time."
"That can be arranged," Slade said.
I'd been worried he wouldn't be interested in sharing me like that, but he didn't even hesitate as he pulled me toward him and began kissing me, his hard, naked body pressing against my soft curves. Auric's hands fell on my behind, giving it a squeeze.
“I’ve always wanted to take you here,” Auric said, sliding his finger between my cheeks. “Ever since I saw Jasin do it.”
“Please,” I said, before Slade's mouth claimed mine again.
Jasin poured some oil on his hand and began to rub it against my tight entrance, while Auric laid back on the blankets and coated his cock, getting it nice and slippery. Jasin’s fingers slid into me easily, stretching me and preparing me for Auric, and then he moved aside.
Ride The Wave: Her Elemental Dragons Book Four Page 14