“Lia…” I started, trying to wrap my brain around my thoughts. “The magick that you did…you know, to create the portal?”
“Yeah.” Lia nodded while Zeverini undulated to the beat of the music around her neck. “What about it?”
“Do you…do that a lot?”
“Sure. Every day.” Lia shrugged. “That’s how I get in and out of the dragon valley. It’s sort of its own special place, if you haven’t noticed. You can’t just waltz between realms.”
This was quite true. I thought about how I’d had to enter using the magick of the golden bracelet. And about how much I’d fought it. “You don’t mind it?”
Lia gave me a strange look. “Of course not. All dragons are born being able to do magick. Some choose to use it while others don’t. Like, think of the green dragons…they use it to heal others all the time. What would we do without them?”
I nodded, knowing very well how Jackson’s touch was not only swoon-worthy, but also genuinely healed people. A brief caress of his fingers always sent me zipping off into pure bliss.
“Fertility energy is magick, too,” Lia said. “Like the energy of the orestaia. And the energy of the breeding cave. How would dragons reproduce without it?”
“But that’s different,” I protested, a momentary pang of hurt feeling like a kick to the gut. “Fertility magick isn’t the same at all. Not like the magick of the bracelet. Or of the dark arts.”
The Oracle shook her head. “Magick is magick. It all comes from the same place. It’s how we use it that matters. And how good we become at it with practice.”
“Even dark magick,” I said quietly, wondering how adept my sister had really become at the magick. How much control did she have over it? Or, did it have control over her?
I certainly knew how much control the light magick of the bracelet had over me. Always yanking me in and making me feel things. Good things, mostly, but…still. Ugh.
Lia glanced down at my wrist as if reading my mind. “Where’s the bracelet?”
“In the chalice still, unless the guys have moved it. That’s where I left it.”
Lia’s eyes seemed ready to pop out of her head. “Okay. Please tell me it’s not true. You didn’t try to offer the dragon goddess her very own bracelet, did you?”
“Yeahhh…I actually did. It’s a magick artifact. I’d thought she’d like it. Why?”
“Oh. My. Gods.”
Zeverini momentarily stopped his snaky movements to hiss loudly at me.
I glanced at both of them in confusion. What was the problem? “We gave her the dagger of Baldur, too.”
Now Lia’s jaw dropped at least an inch. “Gah! The dagger of Baldur? You. Crazy. Fuckers. You re-gifted the dragon goddess her own gifts? I mean, re-gifting to someone else is fine, but you can’t ever return a gift to the giver. That’s crappy form at its finest.”
Well, when she put it that way…
Fuck. Triple fuck.
“Tomorrow morning, give the goddess something else,” Lia instructed. “Just…anything. And tell her you’re sorry that you all decided to lose your brains.”
“Okay.” I nodded, a bit subdued, normally quick to retort with a sassy comment whenever anyone else pointed out I’d lost my brain. But the Oracle was right. What had we been thinking? And what else could we give the goddess?
“What are you going to do with the bracelet?” asked Lia.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “I don’t want anything to do with it, or magick at all. Dark or light. None of it. I’m never letting it take control of me like it did my sister.”
The Oracle studied me for a long time. Finally, she shrugged and gave me a pat on the shoulder. “Dark magick. Light magick.” Her focus flicked away from me as a few dragons came over to dance in front of us. The guys had taken off their shirts, and their sweaty, chiseled chests glistened in the firelight. “It all comes from the same,” Lia continued, her gaze now plastered on the sexy dudes. “Who’s to say one’s good and the other’s bad?”
I guffawed. “Clearly dark magick is bad.”
Um…hello. Hadn’t this woman been alive for seven hundred years? Apparently sweaty man abs were making weird nonsense spew from her mouth.
Lia’s gaze traveled the length of the guys’ bodies. “Why bad, though? Just because the dark is opposite from the light, does that mean it doesn’t belong? It’s like night and day. Or yin and yang. Or the yummy white filling with the dark cookie sandwiched around it. Together they make a whole. Having one without the other is like…”
The Oracle’s voice trailed off as one of the dragon guys gyrated his hips right in front of her face. She placed her hands on his abs and slowly caressed her way down toward his package.
The other dude approached me, no doubt thinking I had something very similar in mind. “Want to dance?” He began to move his hips like his body was a spoon and he was trying to scrape the inside of a peanut butter jar.
I was momentarily mesmerized by his flexibility and dance prowess before snapping myself out of it. Random man junk in my face? No thank you. I politely shook my head no, and the guy grinned and immediately backed off. Thankfully this particular Sedona dragon appeared to have very good manners.
Lia’s new man friend pulled her up to her feet and then yanked her close so their hips touched. They danced slowly in their embrace, and Lia quickly reached down to hand me Zeverini. “Here! Can you watch him for me, please?”
“Oh!” I exclaimed, finding myself holding the venomous pit viper. He raised himself up to see eye to eye with me. Crap. Oh crap. I swallowed. My heart pumped wildly. Then his tongue flicked out to touch me gently on the nose, and he slithered to sit on the rock next to me. He uncoiled himself to sway again to the beat of the music.
Ohhh goddess. Thank you.
I exhaled loudly and willed myself to relax. The earthy energy permeated me once more. The drums throbbed deep within my core, like a thousand heartbeats.
So ancient. Primordial. Raw.
“Come home with me?” I heard Lia’s man friend ask.
She smiled but shook her head, instead giving the guy a kiss on the cheek. He nodded and left, disappearing into the mass of dancing, writhing dragons.
Lia sat next to me, with Zeverini in between us.
“You didn’t want to…uh, hang out with him tonight?” I asked.
“Nah. It doesn’t really work out for me. I just come here to watch, mostly.”
I nodded, thinking about her horrible luck with the penises bouncing off her invisible chastity belt. So, we watched. Couples all around us danced sensually, and I missed my mates something terrible. The intense earthy energy and the beats of the drums filled me to the brim, but it wasn’t enough—an emptiness still hung heavy inside.
If I went home to my mates now, they’d only want to comfort me. Tell me everything was okay. Try to convince me that we’d figure all this out.
But I hadn’t been able to speak with the goddess. And now, my sister lay back home in bed, having high hopes for me that I didn’t know if she should have. Maybe sending Shay—stilettos and all—would have been a better choice.
I looked out at all of the dragons, so happy and sexual and free. They knew nothing about the inactivity of the orestaia. They had no clue that the future of the dragons was at stake, or that someone in their midst—me, to be exact—had the power to fix all this.
And already fucked it all up.
Let’s just go home, suggested my dragoness.
“Can you take me back, please?” I asked Lia. “And…do you mind if I sleep in your cave again?”
“Sure,” she said, her green eyes searching my face. “You okay?”
No. Far from it. But I pasted a bright smile on my face anyway. What else could I do?
20
Ryker
Sedona. Damn. It was hotter than Hades.
I hadn’t been here in ages, and now I remembered why. Being too toasty made my nuts uncomfortable. Kind of rubbed against
everything and I hated that.
It didn’t help being big and burly as a bear, either.
Hot as fuck aside, Sedona’s landscape wasn’t too bad. Rugged. Impressive. Somewhere I’d like to go during the winter.
Not balls-deep in the middle of July, though. I’d already been here for a couple of days, and man…I was ready to leave for cooler pastures.
I chugged the rest of my cold beer and lowered the glass to the dark, worn counter with a thump. The rest of the dive bar held the same kind of ambiance—rundown, dirty, gritty all over.
I liked it. Not as much as I liked the redheaded bartender chick I’d seen here yesterday, though. All legs and creamy skin and toned arms. Tonight’s bartender—a guy with blue hair and a nose piercing—didn’t strike me as nearly as sexy.
Blue-haired Guy raised his eyebrows and I nodded. Universal guy-speak for hey, need another beer?
Sure. Why the fuck not?
While the bartender poured me another glass, I chewed on the bigger question…what the hell was Sven doing in town? And at the same time as Trey?
I’d gotten the call from Sven less than a week ago. Just randomly. Out of the blue. I hadn’t even talked to the guy in over ten years, not after…
I sighed. Not after all the shit that had gone down. I thought we hadn’t left things on very good terms, but then he’d called me.
He was right to the point. Did I want in on something? Something big, he’d assured me. He’d be in Sedona, and he knew that wasn’t too far from where I currently lived in Colorado.
My first instinct was to tell him to fuck himself. Right in the ass. Maybe I needed a job, but…I’d never go back there again.
But I’d played it cool. Nah, I’d told him. Thanks for the offer, but I couldn’t do it…I had some other stuff going on.
Which was sort of a lie. Actually, a complete lie, since my current day-to-day activities involved looking at job listings and drinking beer on the couch. Doing odd jobs here and there to make enough money to get by, and to keep my plane running. My last job as a bodyguard hadn’t panned out, and neither had the one at the private security firm before that.
What I did still have was my pride, though. So, really—Sven could just suck it.
But then Trey had called me, not more than twenty-four hours later. He needed help getting to Sedona fast, he’d said. Meeting a girl there. Could I help him?
Coincidence? No way. I’d had no doubt he was in on Sven’s stuff, too.
So, of course I said I’d help him. Not just because I wanted to know what was going on, but also because he was a friend. A true friend. I didn’t really have a lot of those these days.
But then I’d waited the entire trip for him to say something, anything to even hint to the situation, but nothing. Not a damn thing. Finally, I’d right out asked him, and he looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.
I knew Trey well. He honestly didn’t have a clue.
So, what the hell?
I took another big drink of my beer. Should I have told him about his uncle contacting me? I probably should have. But…I’d sort of frozen up. Hadn’t known what to say. Wondered if I should figure out what the heck was going on with Sven first.
For the thousandth time, I speculated whether or not I should run for the hills. Did I even want to get involved with this?
I glanced at my watch. Quarter past ten. If I left now, I would miss Sven completely. I could head back home. Get on with things. Find a new job to do.
Go. Just go. You don’t want to talk to Sven.
I began to chug my beer faster, planning on getting the fuck out of here. I didn’t need this, even though curiosity dug at me. Some things were better left buried. Don’t dig up the shit, Ryker.
I was gesturing to the bartender for the bill when I felt a hand upon my shoulder.
I knew without turning around that it was Sven.
Dammit. Always early.
He sat on the barstool next to me. He looked impeccably dressed in a gray suit, which matched his cold gray eyes. His silver-blond hair lay slicked back like a motherfucking baller.
His gaze flicked down to my dark T-shirt and worn jeans, and then lower to my scuffed boots. “Nice choice of bar.”
“Thanks,” I replied, not surprised by the silver dragon’s lack of niceties. “I like it, too. A little rough around the edges.”
A slight smile, not genuine by any means, hovered on Sven’s lips. “Just like someone else I know.”
I shrugged as the bartender brought me the bill. “So what’s the deal?” I may as well get to the point, since that was the way Sven liked it.
“Not here,” he said, waving Blue-haired Guy away when he asked him about a drink. Sven never drank. “We need to talk privately. Back at my hotel.”
I shook my head. Fuck that. “You know, don’t even bother. I don’t think I’m interested after all.”
Sven raised an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
“I just…do.” Seeing Sven brought back a lot of bad memories. Why had I even returned his call and offered to meet with him?
And something about it felt wrong. Really wrong.
“So you’re saying you’re not interested in a job?” asked Sven.
“No, I don’t want it.”
Ryker, you fucking liar. Sven can tell you’re full of shit. You need a job, bad.
The silver dragon’s eyes bore deep within mine, as if he could read every inch of me. Dammit. I wanted to look away, but didn’t dare lose my ground. What little I had left of it.
“What if I told you the job was involving the orestaia?”
The fertility stone? “What about it?” I asked, suddenly intrigued, but hoping my voice wouldn’t let on.
“That’s all I can tell you right now,” said Sven, easing out of his seat, “unless you would like to talk in private. I’ll be at the Ponderosa Lodge for the next several days. Call me if you change your mind.”
“Thanks. But I won’t,” I said, meeting his glacial gaze once again, before he turned to walk out of the bar.
I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t work for him again, no matter how much I needed a job.
But…what the fuck was he doing with the orestaia?
21
Lyssa
The breeding cave glowed softly with crystals. The walls moved…in and out, like a beating, pulsing heart. My dragons stood in a semi-circle around me.
Jackson. Ethan. Drake. Trey.
All naked, their long, thick cocks hard and ready.
I licked my lips, my own heart matching the pace of the cave’s vibration. It seemed like forever since I had been with my mates.
I glanced down to find the chalice in my hands. It was empty again.
“What do I do with this?” I asked Ethan, who stood closest to me. I moved toward him, but he shook his head. His body became translucent before he disappeared into thin air.
Where did he go? The rest of my dragons remained silent while the walls continued to pulse.
I turned to Trey. “I don’t know what to do. What do we offer the goddess? Please…help me figure this out.”
But Trey also disappeared, and I had barely looked at Drake before his body began to fade, too.
I rushed to Jackson, the only one left. “Wait! Come on. Don’t leave me.” But he also shook his head, his face devoid of its usual smile. No. Not Jackson, too. I attempted to grab his arm, but my hand went right through his body as he vanished from my sight.
I stared with desperation at the place where they’d just been standing. Why did they leave me? Because I couldn’t figure out the offering? Because I couldn’t…have a child?
My breath hitched in my chest.
From the seeds comes the fruit, rang a voice in my head, and it wasn’t my dragoness.
“Okay. So what does that mean?” I demanded to the cave. “I get it. Seeds. Fruit. But what goes in the fucking chalice?”
Silence. The cave didn’t answer, but instead, a splatter of a shimmering, c
reamy substance fell upon my arm. I studied it—sort of pearly and iridescent—and another few drops joined the first. In a few moments, a light shower sprinkled on me and began to fill the chalice.
The seeds…
Filling the cup, the golden vessel…
I awoke suddenly and sat up straight in my makeshift bed in Lia’s cavern. Unlike the previous night’s dream, this one had been so bright and vivid and clear.
Could it really mean…
Seeds? Not in the sense of a plant, but instead…a human? I rushed to pull on my shoes, because for the first time in days, I had an idea of what I needed to do.
* * *
I ran out into the early morning light and hurried to the breeding cave. There I found my mates, sprawled out on the cushions, sleeping. The chalice sat where we had left it, and just as I had suspected, the bracelet still lay inside.
An immediate desire urged me to put it on. “Nice try, mind-fuck bracelet,” I told it. It lay there in response, deceptively docile and pretending to be on its best behavior.
“Lyssa?” Ethan mumbled sleepily, rising from the bed. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, as he came up and put his arms around me. I melted into him even though I was still slightly annoyed about the Torm situation from the other day. He leaned down to kiss me and I let him, enjoying the arousal that pressed into my stomach.
“I’m sorry about what I did,” said Ethan. “I should have told you. Told everyone.”
I nodded, not quite ready to forgive him entirely, but I knew we had bigger fish to fry. “So I have an idea,” I said, while my other dragons began to stir on their cushions. “I think we should try something…a little different.”
“Something different?” asked Drake, sauntering over to scoop me up in his arms. Mischief glinted in his eyes. “Bella, I missed you. Did you get good rest in the Oracle’s cave?”
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