by Lili Zander
“A ward?”
Mateo looks uncertain. “Zyrian is a lot more powerful than I am,” he murmurs. “The ancient dragon mages used to be able to dream-walk, but I thought the skill was lost in the mists of time. I can cast a ward around Aria, but it will only slow him down.” His expression is strained. “I can’t stop him.”
“Alone,” Casius says grimly. “But we’re stronger together. We will do this, Mateo. We will break the curse. We will destroy the Dark Dragon.”
Casius’ words are brave, but I can see his eyes, and I can hear his voice. He’s afraid. Not for himself, but for Aria. As am I. I’ve never felt as helpless as I do at this moment. I can fight magicals. I can out-maneuver Norms. For five hundred years, I have amassed treasure and power.
I would trade it all to keep her safe.
Now is not the time to give into the fear. She needs you to be strong.
I gather Aria into my arms. She’s shaking, and tears are streaming down her cheeks. I kiss her forehead. “Mausezähnchen, I’m right here,” I say softly. “We’re all here.” Please let Silas be okay.
The mattress dips as Mateo sits down and runs his finger down Aria’s cheek. Her cut knits together under his magic. Erik chooses that moment to re-enter the room, and Aria looks up. “Silas?”
“Is fine.” Erik smiles at her reassuringly. “A little grumpy about being woken up.”
She takes a deep, shuddering breath. “Thank heavens,” she whispers, squeezing her eyes shut in relief. “You didn’t tell him… I don’t want to worry him…”
“I pretended to be drunk,” Erik says, a slight smile curling at the corners of his mouth. “Asked him if he wanted to do a shot of tequila with me. He told me to drink a glass of water and go to bed.”
She smiles faintly, and the color returns to her cheeks. “Silas prefers scotch anyway.”
“What happened, love?” Rhys asks her. “Tell us what did this to you.”
“Not what. Who. I was in the Dark Dragon’s castle again. I had Endellion in my hand, and I was searching for someone. Silas.” Her eyes stare into nothing, and her body is stiff in my arms. “The wraiths tried to stop me,” she continues. “But I wouldn’t listen to them.”
She would walk through fire for Silas Archer. And now, Zyrian knows that.
“Then I found them. Zyrian knew I was your mate.”
“Do you remember his precise words, Aria?” Mateo prompts. “It could be important.”
She wrinkles her nose. “So you’re the mate. The Norm who is something else.” She swallows hard. “He was trying to figure out my identity. He was intrigued by me.”
“He found out you could do magic?” Casius asks.
She nods. “Yes. I tried to throw a net of magic around him, but he was too powerful. He turned it back on me, and the threads choked me, the way I choked Dr. Brown at the hospital.” She shudders. “It felt wrong.”
“Dark magic,” Mateo says. “It won’t stick to you, tesoro. You are too bright, too pure.”
She is that. She shines so bright. Her love for her family, her loyalty, her courage, and her strength—she is light, and her very existence mocks Gideon Zyrian. The Dark Dragon will know that Aria brings us something we haven’t had in a long time.
Hope.
He will come after her, again and again, until we figure out how to stop him.
“I thought he’d kill me, but he said I’d stay alive until he figures out who I am.”
I push away the veil of terror that presses down on me. I have to assume that Raedwulf and Zyrian are working together, and that Zyrian has the diary. The real question is, is the secret of her identity hidden between its pages?
“What now?”
Mateo takes charge. This is his realm, after all. “Can one of you fetch Endellion?” he says.
Rhys nods, uncharacteristically serious, and fetches the sword. Mateo takes it from him. “I’ve never asked you this, Bastian,” he says quietly. “But now is the time. Endellion keeps appearing in Aria’s dreams. Do you know why? What is its significance?”
I don’t have to search my memory. “I grew up in Castle Jaeger alone, brought up by my parents’ servants. I learned to fight with this sword. Halla Northridottir, who was my mother’s midwife, told me that Endellion was a courting gift from my father to my mother on the day she agreed to be his.”
Casius frowns. “A sword?” He takes it from Rhys and examines it. “Johannes Jaeger was a warrior, it’s true, but why would he give Maija Essen a weapon like this? She was a mage. She would have never needed a sword to defend herself.”
Erik shakes his head. “That’s not what Johannes Jaeger gave her,” he says. “My parents were at the betrothal feast. Maija Essen was the most powerful mage in the world, and Johannes Jaeger wanted to give her a gift worthy of her power. He gave her Gungnir.”
Aria looks up, her eyes wide. “The spear of Odin? The spear so perfect that it will strike any target?”
I smile at the note of enthusiasm in my mate’s voice. “If you like Norse mythology, you’re going to love Castle Jaeger,” I tell Aria. Turning to Erik, I ask, “Are you sure?”
“Dead sure,” he replies. “My mother kept a diary. The Jaegers guarded their treasure jealously, and the council didn’t even know that Johannes had Gungnir in his vaults until he offered it to Maija.”
“So what’s Endellion?” I close my eyes and the centuries roll away, and the past unfolds in front of me, vivid and clear. A wrinkled and grey-haired maid, Halla Northridottir, kneels in front of me on the day I reached my majority, holding out the sword to me. Telling me that Endellion had been my father’s courting gift to my mother, and it would be my courting gift to my mate one day.
Mateo holds out his hand, and Erik gives him the blade. He hands it to Aria, hilt first. “I don’t know how to stop Zyrian from dream-walking,” he says. “Maybe in Castle Jaeger, in Maija’s library, we will find something useful. But until then…”
He removes his signet ring from his finger. “Cut me,” he instructs Aria.
She stiffens, and the color drains from her face again. “What the hell?”
“I’m fashioning a protective spell to keep Zyrian out of your mind, tesoro.” His smile turns teasing. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t stab with all your might,” he quips. “I could heal myself, but it would drain me. Just slice my palm open.”
“Okay.” Biting her lip, she touches the sharp blade to Mateo’s hand. A thin red line appears on the mage’s skin. “Is that alright?”
“Perfect.” Blood begins to seep from the cut, and Mateo drops his signet ring into his palm and closes his hand around it. Golden threads of magic surround his hand for an instant, and a soft hum fills the air, and then the melody fades, and the light softens and dies.
“Give me your hand, tesoro.”
Aria sticks her left hand out, and Mateo slides the ring on her finger. “As long as it’s on your finger,” he tells her, “Zyrian cannot enter your mind. For this, my magic is strong enough.”
“Thank you.”
She yawns loudly, and I realize it’s the middle of the night. “Go back to bed, mausezähnchen.”
“Will you stay with me?” she begs. “Please? I don’t want to be alone.”
Whatever she wants, if it is in my power to give her, I will. “Of course, Aria.”
“I’ll stay too,” Mateo says. “Just in case.”
Just in case Zyrian tries to attack her again.
55
Aria
Blood magic.
The familiar song sings in my heart, the familiar tug toward Mateo. His blood is in the ring on my finger, and though I think I’m prepared for heat and desire to wash over me, I’m still taken aback by the strength of my need.
This time, I don’t fight it.
Every single time I’ve felt the magic tug me toward my mates, I’ve fought it. I’ve resisted. I’ve thought of my desire as something that must be overcome.
Fuck that. Life is not
a battle in which there are winners and losers. Earlier this evening, I kissed Mateo on the dance floor. Not because of magic or the mating bond. Just because I wanted to.
Zyrian is powerful. More powerful than I could have imagined. The ease with which he penetrated my mind has left me shaken. I don’t know what the future holds, and there’s no guarantee that all is going to end well. There’s no guarantee that we’ll be able to break the curse and end the Dark Dragon’s stranglehold on magic.
I want them, and this time around, I’m going to embrace my need. I’m going to take what I want.
Bastian closes the bedroom door and flicks off the light. The room is cast into shadow, lit only by the light of the moon. I take in his leanly muscled body as he makes his way to the bed. I’m so distracted by the hotness on display that I don’t realize Mateo has joined me on the bed until he pulls me against his body.
My blood runs hot through my veins at his touch, and instead of pushing it away, I embrace the heat. I pull my gaze from Bastian and turn my focus to Mateo.
His icy blue eyes burn with a desire as fiery as my own. He licks his lips, and my attention is instantly drawn to them. I’ve been kissing him all evening long, and I’m still greedy for more. Without hesitating, I crash my lips to his and drown in the sweet, smoky flavor that is Mateo.
The bed dips behind me, and a warm hand runs from my hip to breast. Bastian squeezes my breast, his thumb running circles around the stiff peak. His lips find my neck, and I moan into Mateo’s mouth as Bastian nips and sucks my sensitive skin.
Mateo pulls away, and I fall toward him, desperate in my need to keep contact. Bastian chuckles and holds me close, pulling me toward his chest, keeping me from tackling Mateo to the bed and kissing him senseless. “I don’t want you to stop,” I complain.
Mateo’s eyes are warm. “Tesoro, I didn’t stay behind to take advantage of you.”
“He’s right, mausezähnchen,” Bastian agrees.
The thick length of Bastian’s cock presses against my ass, and I wriggle closer to him. The hand cupping my breast squeezes harder, and I gasp. I reach for Mateo, silently begging for him to keep kissing me.
Bastian makes a little tsking noise. “Tell us what you want, Aria.”
“I want you,” I confess. “Both of you.”
A low groan of approval rumbles through Bastian’s chest. I can almost imagine his dragon making that sound—a fact that turns me on even more. Having a man as sexy as Bastian interested in me is enough to set my panties on fire. Having a man who turns into a badass dragon want me is enough to set my whole body on fire.
“If you’re sure,” Bastian says, giving me one last time to back out.
“I’m sure.” So very, very sure.
Within seconds, I’m stripped of my pajamas and laid out on the bed. Bastian settles himself to my left, and Mateo positions himself between my legs, pushing them open until his face is inches away from my pussy.
I’m almost embarrassed by how wet I am for these two men, but the flare of Mateo’s nostrils and the low growl of approval is enough to brush that embarrassment aside.
“Mateo is going to lick your sweet cunt,” Bastian growls, “While I suck on these pretty pink nipples.” His words stoke the fires that were already burning, threatening to engulf me. “You’re not to come unless I say you can.”
Wait. What?!
I pull my gaze from where Mateo is patiently waiting between my legs to look at Bastian. Whatever he sees on my face makes him chuckle. The rich sound sends a shot of heat straight to my core, but then I remember he just told me I couldn’t come. Without. Permission.
What the actual fuck?
“That’s right, mausezähnchen.” His words are full of dark promise, and his tone is wickedly amused. “I own your orgasms tonight. You’ll come when I say you can and not before.”
Mateo’s warm breath is my only warning before his tongue slides through my slick folds. My back arches at the contact. Strong arms wrap around my thighs, holding me open and in place. Warmth encircles my nipple as Bastian sucks first one and then the other into his mouth.
With firm flicks of his tongue, Mateo quickly brings me to the edge. Somehow the men sense this, and both pull back. I whimper in frustration, but they just chuckle. Bastian circles one nipple with his tongue while he lightly pinches the other between his fingers. Mateo’s purposeful licks turn languorous. When the fire burning inside ebbs, both men start working me up again.
Over and over they take me to the edge of release, but they refuse to let me tip over the edge.
“Please, please…” I beg, lost in a fog of need. At some point, Bastian has pinned my hands above my head. I tug them free, and grab Mateo’s hair, pulling him against me in an attempt to keep his mouth on my clit.
“You want to come, mausezähnchen?” His voice is smoky and silky, and another tight coil of desire twists inside me.
“Yessss…” I moan as Mateo sucks my clit between his lips, then cry out in disbelief when his mouth pulls away leaving me on the cusp of orgasm. The bed dips beside me as Mateo lays on his back.
“Ride Mateo,” Bastian commands.
Hell yes.
Quicker than should be possible, I’m astride Mateo, his thick, hard cock in my hand. I pump it once, twice, and am pleased beyond measure when Mateo moans. I’m tempted to continue stroking him, but I need to feel him inside me. Now.
I slowly lower myself down. He’s thick, and the stretch is delicious. I slide up and down his length, letting my body adjust before I plunge all the way down. Then I freeze. “Hang on,” I gasp. “Dragon contraception. How does that work?”
“Can’t happen accidentally,” Mateo gasps, his hands on my hips. “Dragons have to choose to have children.”
That’s convenient, because I’m just twenty-four. Totally not ready for kids. Not yet.
I slide down Mateo’s hard cock.
“Fuck, tesoro,” he groans. “You’re so tight and wet.”
I close my eyes and slowly rock my hips, loving the feel of him deep inside me.
“Ride him, mausezähnchen. Hard.”
My eyes pop open in surprise. I had somehow forgotten that Bastian was here. What a terrible mistake that would have been. Bastian’s propped against the headboard, his boxers pushed down, thick cock in his hand as he fists his shaft. He’s looking at me like he wants to devour me.
I’m totally on board with that.
I hold his gaze in mine. “Do you like watching?” I ask him. I pluck my nipples between my thumb and forefingers. “Does this turn you on?”
A slow smile curves at his lips. “Very much.”
I follow Bastian’s instructions, riding Mateo in long hard strokes. The wet sounds of our bodies coming together should embarrass me, but they only turn me on. Bastian’s fist moves up and down his cock to the same rhythm. I get a small thrill knowing he’s pleasuring himself while watching me. Who knew I had such an exhibitionist streak?
“Squeeze your breasts,” Bastian growls between clenched teeth. “Pinch your nipples.”
I cup my breasts in both hands and squeeze my nipples between my fingers, crying out at the tiny hint of pain. I ride Mateo harder, faster, chasing the orgasm that’s been denied for so long.
Mateo reaches between our bodies, his fingers finding my clit and rubbing tight circles around the sensitive nub.
“Oh… Please…” I beg. Raw heat runs through me, and I can’t fight it any longer.
“Come,” Bastian commands.
My orgasm barrels down on me like a rushing freight train, and I scream my release. Mateo’s hands grip my hips and move me up and down on his length until he too throws his head back, my name a moan on his lips.
Then Bastian grunts, his cock spurting over his hand and stomach.
Holy shit. I slump against Mateo’s chest, utterly sated. I knew Bastian had a bossy streak, but that was crazy hot.
I fall asleep cuddled between two of my dragons. Bastian is spooned against my
back. My head rests on Mateo’s chest, and I can hear the rhythmic thud of his heart.
Why did I ever think fighting this attraction was a good thing?
Because you’re an idiot, Aria.
Ah, there’s my snarky inner voice. I’d been wondering where she’d run off to.
56
Erik
The next morning, I’m eating breakfast when Aria comes into the kitchen. “Erik, can I talk to you? Somewhere private?”
“There’s no one here, princess.”
Her lips twist into a wry smile. “Somehow, when you call me princess, I don’t think you mean it as a compliment” she comments.
She’s right. “Sorry,” I sigh. “This isn’t about you.”
“I know.” She pops a bagel into the toaster and pours herself a cup of coffee, holding the pot out to me with a raised eyebrow when she’s done. I refill my mug and wait for her to continue. “Casius let the cat out of the bag last night. He said Zyrian killed your mate. I’m so sorry.”
My emotions oscillate between anger at Slater and relief that the truth’s finally out in the open. “It was a long time ago,” I say after a moment or two of silence.
“And some wounds don’t really heal.” She butters her bagel, her head bent. “My mother abandoned me when I was two,” she says quietly. “I will always wonder why she left me. Did I cry too much? Was I too much trouble? It doesn’t go away.”
And so she clings to the family she does have. The family she’s made for herself. Her wolf-shifter father. Her Norm friend. I can relate.
“I was arrogant.” I stare into my coffee. “My skill on the battlefields was legendary. My honor guard was powerful. I thought nothing could harm Gisele.”
“But Zyrian did.”
“The Dark Dragon should never be underestimated. I learned that lesson the hard way.”
She takes a deep breath. “I never thanked you for paying Silas’ hospital bills.”
I lift my shoulder in a shrug. “It was nothing, Aria.”