by Sammie Joyce
“We’ve come to rescue you.”
“I’m dead, Rose. I can’t be rescued. Soon, I’ll go to my place of eternal rest. I’ll see you again very soon. Time moves differently here. It’ll be but a few moments to me.”
“It won’t for me!” Rose bit back tears. “It’ll be a lifetime for me, Gavin! You surely can’t want to die?”
Gavin’s calm faltered as distress crossed his face. “In life, I hurt you, betrayed you. My brothers never did. You will be better off with them.”
Rose couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “You can’t seriously believe that. I love you, Gavin! My life will be miserable without you.”
“Gavin. Gavin, look at me.”
Gavin refused to look at Jagger, keeping his eyes trained on Rose. “You should go.”
“Gavin! Can he not see me?”
“Gavin? You do realize Jagger is right in front of you, right?”
Finally, Gavin reluctantly turned his gaze to his brother. He seemed able to make eye contact only in brief bits, his eyes continuously flicking down to his knees. “I’m sorry.”
“About what? Leaving? We’ve already been over that.”
“You know what I did. I made an alliance with Hellith.”
“Rose explained that. It wasn’t your fault. She had you under a spell. The same would have happened to any of us.”
“No, it wouldn’t, because none of you would have left. This whole mess is all my fault. I put everyone in danger, and I got what I deserve for it. I know I’d never forgive anyone who hurt Rose the way I have.”
“That’s what you’re worried about? Gavin, I forgive you. You’re my brother. I was pissed when you left, but I love you. I’d forgive you anything.”
“Even if you do, Asher won’t,” Gavin mumbled to Jagger’s knees. He looked so dejected that Rose ached to comfort him, but she held herself back. This was why Jagger had come. There were some things that only a sibling could do. As much as she loved Gavin, she couldn’t convince him that his brothers would forgive him.
“I was there when you left, remember?” Jagger stepped closer, forcing Gavin to look at him. “He was mad, yes, but he missed you. Right now, he’s hurting more than he’s ever hurt in his life. So is Mace. They will forgive you. They love you too, you know, just as much as you love them.”
That, Rose realized, was the crux of the matter. Gavin didn’t believe that the people around him loved him as much as they loved others. If they couldn’t get him to believe it, they had no chance of convincing him to return with them.
Rose opened her mind to both Jagger and Gavin. Jagger caught on and did the same.
Feel us, Rose urged Gavin. What we feel for you is here, in our minds. I don’t know why you haven’t allowed yourself to delve this deep before, but if ever there was going to be a time to do it, it’s now.
Gavin hesitated. I don’t want to invade your privacy.
It’s not invading if I invite you in.
Rose seldom did this. It was a strange and slightly uncomfortable experience allowing people into the innermost workings of her mind. Mostly, her dragons skimmed through her thoughts and her most obvious emotions. Now, she had to get Gavin to go deeper.
In you go, brother. Jagger added the force of his mind, pulling Gavin further inward. The three of them spiraled downward, to the very core of their emotions.
Love. Rose could feel it from Jagger and Gavin, and she recognized it inside herself. In its purest, simplest form, she showed Gavin the love she had for him and his brothers. She saw the love Jagger had for his twin, and the knowledge that Mace and Asher loved Gavin the same.
Gavin tried to shy away, but Rose wouldn’t let him. She could feel his shock as he came face to face with just how loved and needed he was. Rose wished she’d realized sooner that he needed to see this, but she was just grateful that it wasn’t too late.
Slowly, the three of them separated back into their own minds. Rose found herself on the ground, wrapped up in a dual embrace with Jagger and Gavin. All of them had tears on their cheeks.
“I didn’t know.” Gavin gazed wonderingly between her and Jagger. “I had no idea.”
“Now you do. Now you know why you have to come back.”
“I do.” Gavin got to his feet, giving Rose and Jagger a hand up. “I’m sorry I’ve caused you so much trouble. I’ll do my best to make things right.”
“Coming back with us is all we need to set the record straight.” For once, Jagger didn’t have a joke to add. He just smiled at Gavin.
The three of them held hands. “Any idea how to get back, Rose?” Jagger asked.
“No, but—”
She didn’t have time to finish her sentence. The world abruptly started spinning. Colors and sounds crept in, almost overwhelming her after spending so long in that silent, colorless place.
Rose gasped as she slammed down onto the ground. Maria was leaning over her. “Rose? Are you back with us? You and Jagger just collapsed—we’ve been trying to rouse you for over an hour.”
Rose brushed away Maria’s cautioning hand as she sat up. “Gavin?” She scrambled over to him. He was lying so still… what if it hadn’t worked?
Rose pressed a hand to his chest.
Under her fingers, she could feel a steady heartbeat.
She fell forward, her arms around him, laughing in relief. “Gavin, it’s time to wake up now.”
Maria was looking at her as though she were insane, but Rose didn’t care. At the sound of her voice, Gavin stirred. “Rose?”
“I’m here.”
He opened his eyes and sat up with Rose’s help.
Maria fainted.
Everyone else cheered.
Mace, Jagger, and Asher crowded around Gavin. All five of them were caught up in a many-armed hug that Rose never wanted to end.
She kissed Gavin, then Jagger. She couldn’t believe they were back, that it had worked. Her necklace was cool against her skin. Rose was never going to let it out of her sight again.
The excited babbling of the witches and dragons around them finally broke through her bubble of bliss. Rose knew they would have questions, but she’d deal with those later. It turned out that going to the world of the dead and back was exhausting. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were in quite possibly unstable territory—the ground was tremoring slightly—she’d lie down and go to sleep right there.
“Is everyone okay?” Rose directed her question to Maria, who was propped up on an elbow, gaping at Gavin.
“Is… everyone…?’
Rose grinned at Maria’s disorientation. It wasn’t often that something threw her, but she supposed that a healer seeing someone come back from the dead was enough reason for confusion.
“Is everyone who was injured in the battle healed?”
“I—yes. We’re all good. I’ll have to do some follow-up healing on a couple of people in a few days once I’ve gained some strength back, but I don’t think any permanent harm has been done. Now that Gavin… how did you do it?”
“To be honest, I’m not entirely sure. I think the necklace did most of the work. I’ll tell you about it sometime. For now, I think we should get back to the coven. Can everyone fly?”
Most of the dragons nodded and spoke up that they could. Gavin insisted that he could fly, though Asher wisely didn’t let him take Rose on his back.
After flapping a drunken arc across the sky, Gavin crashed to the ground. Jagger was rolling on the ground laughing. Fortunately, Gavin wasn’t hurt, just exhausted. Jagger had been smart enough not to volunteer to fly, but it seemed Gavin still thought he had something to prove.
Rose knew that Gavin would win back his self-respect in time. He didn’t need to win Rose’s or his brothers’ love; at least he knew that now. It would take time for him to forgive himself, but Rose knew he could do it. She’d never really lost faith in him.
Rose rode on Mace’s back with Gavin. Asher had Jagger and wisely kept a large distance between himself and Mac
e. Jagger was teasing Gavin mercilessly about his nose dive. Gavin glared daggers at his twin, but Rose knew better than to take them seriously. She felt nothing but good-natured annoyance in Gavin’s mind.
They made it to the coven easily enough. Everyone was tired and filthy, but after a shower and some rest, they would all be as good as new.
There was no one to meet them at the gates, not even sentries. Rose sat up straighter, worried that Hellith somehow escaped their spell.
Don’t worry, Mace told her quickly, sensing her thoughts. There’s no one to meet us because everyone is here.
Everyone came to rescue me? Rose felt a lump rising in her throat. That so many people would risk their lives for her was both terrifying and achingly touching.
No one wanted to stay behind. I know we were supposed to leave a few people guarding the coven, but Asher wasn’t exactly arguing for the rescue party to be any smaller. Maria made a token objection, but she agreed within about fifteen seconds.
It wasn’t just you, you know. Asher’s voice was warm. We came for you too, Gavin. If Rose had been with us, we would have emptied the coven just the same.
Thank you. Gavin’s voice was thick, and Jagger wisely chose this moment to quit his teasing, at least for the moment.
They landed on the lawn, mostly not talking. There was plenty to say, but for now, everyone was tired.
“I’m glad each room has its own shower.” Rose slipped easily off Mace’s back, into Jagger’s arms. “Otherwise we’d be facing war worse than banishing Hellith for who gets to be the first to wash off.”
A number of people were covered in Hellith’s black, foul-smelling blood.
Jagger chuckled in agreement. “Good thing our shower is big enough for two. Though I suppose we’ll have to fight World War III to see who gets to share it with you.” He winked.
Rose rolled her eyes. You could always judge a situation’s seriousness based on Jagger. If they were safe enough for him to make jokes about the situation, then they were usually okay. Despite his usually lighthearted demeanor, Jagger could turn ruthless in an instant to protect her, just like his brothers.
Rose returned the flirty wink. “I guess you’ll all just have to fight over the right.”
“Hey! Some of us just died, over here. You’d think dying gives a guy the right to a little rest and relaxation with his girl.” Gavin scowled at Jagger, but he couldn’t hold back his smile for long. Soon enough, they were all laughing.
Chapter Fifteen
“I don’t know. Are you sure it fits right?” Rose tugged at the top of her dress, trying to get it to sit higher up on her chest.
Annabelle rolled her eyes, but replied patiently to the same objection Rose had been bringing up all day. “Trust me, just watch their eyes as you enter the room. It fits perfectly.”
Rose had no doubt that the dress would be to her dragons’ liking. It was everyone else she was worried about. She typically wore baggy clothing. She’d never had anything so form-fitting, or anything that displayed so much of her cleavage.
After everyone was healed and rested after the battle with Hellith, she and Annabelle had searched long and hard for the perfect dress. Rose had been on the verge of giving up on online shopping and hiring a tailor when they finally found it.
The dress was mostly a burnt orange, but going black at the edges of the sleeves and toward the bottom. The darker swirls on the fabric looked like autumn leaves. It was the perfect dress for the Autumn Festival. The dress had a bit of all of her dragons in it. The plunging neckline was daring, like Asher. The edges were dark like Gavin. The ruffles along the sleeves and hem added a sweetness to it, like Mace. The short, loose skirt that would be perfect for dancing in was fun like Jagger.
“I guess they will like it. I just feel self-conscious in front of everyone else.”
“Trust me, no one will be looking at you.”
“You do realize that half of the guests are guys?”
“That half is also Asher’s clan. Can you imagine what he’d do to them if he caught any one of them ogling your breasts?”
Rose giggled at the thought. That would definitely not go down well with Asher. She supposed she didn’t have anything to worry about.
She helped Annabelle put the finishing touches to her hair. Rose was wearing hers loose, and she had put in contacts for the occasion. Her face felt funny without her usual glasses, but it was only for an evening.
Annabelle adjusted the bangles she was wearing with her dress. “Shall we go?”
Rose nodded, leaping up at once. She was beyond excited. Now that Hellith was in hell, she wouldn’t have to worry about the party being crashed by an attempt on her life. Of course, Hellith may not remain trapped forever, but that was a problem for tomorrow. Tonight, she just wanted to enjoy herself.
Asher, Mace, Jagger, and Gavin were waiting for her in the entrance hall. She’d left the basement to get ready with Annabelle, and was pleased when she saw their gob-smacked expressions as they got their first full view of her dress.
To her surprise, though they were dressed in tuxes, they hadn’t stuck with the usual boring black and white. They were dressed according to the colors of their dragon forms—Asher in gold, Mace in green, Jagger in red, and Gavin in purple.
“My lady.” Asher leaned down to kiss her hand. Not satisfied with that, Rose leaned up to kiss him on the lips. Who cared about her lipstick anyway?
Asher kissed her back for a moment before regretfully pulling away. Gavin put his hands on her waist, pulling her flush up against him. “I like the dress.” Rose kissed him too, and he didn’t complain about the lipstick either.
“I think I’d like it even more on the floor.” Jagger was eyeing her in a way that made Rose ache for the festival to be over and have her dress stripped off her.
The feeling only lasted for a moment, though. There would be plenty of time for that later. “Only if you’re lucky,” she teased Jagger. She took Mace’s arm and let him lead her into the ballroom, swaying her ass as she walked.
Jagger knew that there was no chance she’d pass up the chance to have him strip the dress off her, but he played along, swatting her ass lightly as she passed. Gavin took her other arm, smiling serenely. Any jealousy he felt over her relationship with his brothers seemed to be a thing of the past. She could feel in his thoughts that he truly was at peace, happier now than he’d ever been.
When they entered the ballroom, Rose saw that it wasn’t only her dragons who had departed from the traditional black and white.
“It’s a clan tradition to dress in our dragon colors for formal wear,” Gavin explained.
“It’s perfect. I’m glad the clan is merging traditions with the coven.” Rose hadn’t been sure how well the dragons would take to the witch celebration of the Autumn Festival, but she needn’t have worried. Some witches and dragons were already dancing, while others were chatting over drinks.
Rose would eat later. For now, she wanted to dance with her dragons. Gavin twirled her onto the dance floor, but relinquished her to Mace after one dance. She swapped partners with each dance, and had soon danced with all of her dragons multiple times.
One of the other dragons approached her, possibly to ask for a dance, but at a glare from Asher, he decided that he wanted a drink and hurried away. Rose didn’t bother to hide her smile.
Just when she was thinking she couldn’t dance anymore, Gavin spun her away from the dance floor, toward one of the huge pumpkins that lined the room. He led her around the back to reveal a door. Inside there was a large armchair, big enough for one person.
Gavin sat down and pulled Rose into his lap. She giggled and kissed him. “What is all this doing here?”
“Jagger and I set it up. All the pumpkins have something similar. We didn’t tell anyone except Maria and Asher, though. It’ll be interesting to see if anyone else discovers the modifications.”
Rose was less interested in wondering what other people would think than in wriggli
ng herself further down onto Gavin’s lap. He made an approving noise in the back of his throat, thrusting his hips up toward her.
An evil idea came to mind, one that Rose suspected was from Jagger’s influence. Rose wriggled her ass some more and kissed Gavin. He responded quickly, his cock rising underneath her. She undid his trousers and slipped a hand inside.
Gavin moaned into the kiss, grabbing her hand and moving it urgently along his shaft.
Rose waited until she could feel precome slicking her fingers, then pulled back, stepping off his lap.
“Rose?” Gavin looked dazed.
“I’m going to dance,” she said airily.
“What?”
“You know, dance. My nipples are feeling kind of tender. Maybe I’ll go rub them on Jagger’s chest while we do a nice, slow dance.”
“You’re not going to get away from me now.” Gavin had that sexy, dangerous glint in his eye. Rose danced backward, quickly exiting the pumpkin and closing the door behind her. Just as it shut, she got a view of Gavin standing upright, his cock erect and tenting his trousers. It was dramatically obvious.
Rose backed away, laughing. Gavin peered out at her from a small sliver of open doorway, but didn’t dare follow her until his erection had gone down.
Just wait until Jagger heard this. He’d be laughing about it for days. Rose would make it up to Gavin later. He’d insist on it, and she would be only too happy to comply.
Rose went to get a drink, fighting her own arousal. The idea of going back into that pumpkin and sitting down on Gavin’s cock was an appealing one. The only thing that stopped her was that she knew for sure that every single dragon in the ballroom would know exactly what they were doing.
She was just taking a sip of champagne when a wave of dizziness hit. Mace appeared out of nowhere, steadying her. “How do you do that?” Rose muttered.
“Do what?”
“One of you always appears out of thin air the moment I need you, even if I only need saving from myself. It’s uncanny.”
“You’re our mate.” As if that explained everything. She guessed that to her dragons, it did.