by test
“You are ordering me?” Nicholas laughed. “We aren’t in school anymore—you
don’t outrank me in this world.”
“That might be true—but I’m the great Dylan Lightfoot, saver of worlds … you
just heed my advice and rest that body and mind of yours. If you fuck up, it could cost us everything.”
“If you fuck up it could literally cost us everything. Think long and hard about it before you go and give that dishy little dragon shifter a screw. The consequences of that action will definitely come back to bite you in the ass, and I know you’re not into that.”
“Farewell, Nicholas.”
Nicolas smiled at him, and faded from view.
He stood up; somehow, he had to go upstairs and smooth things out between him
and Grania. He was going to have a time of it, since her stubbornness more than equaled or surpassed his.
“You can sleep downstairs tonight.”
He stopped at the foot of the stairs. “What are you talking about?”
“I don’t want you within a few feet of me. I can feel the blood rising inside of me. I need to sleep—and calm my passions.”
“Calm your passions? I don’t understand what the hell you’re talking about.”
“The Mating Fire—you do recall our conversation about that?”
“Oh, God. You were just wounded—how could you possibly be in the mood to
consummate our relationship?”
“It’s not that I’m in the mood, you silly bugger! It’s because I can’t help myself!
I’m being magnetically drawn to you—it’s like denying your want to drink water!”
“Well, I guess you’re going to have to call upon the deepest recesses of your self-control.” Cautiously, while she considered and deliberated on her reaction, he started to make his way up the steps.
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
“I don’t like your friend. He isn’t sympathetic when it comes to my kind.”
“I can’t imagine why—I mean, Nicholas’s father was murdered by a dragon
shifter.”
“Murdered? Impossible.”
“Possible. Quite. He has the proof. He doesn’t need you telling him he’s mad.
It’s been proven, and the dragon shifter responsible was brought to justice. Our form of justice.”
“Like the kind you meted out on James and Orion?” A catch entered her voice,
her face got even paler. She was still being deeply affected by his actions earlier.
“You have to learn to let go of what I did—if you don’t—you’re going to have
difficulty bridging the gap being erected between us! You will hate me and love me at the same time.”
“I can live with that. And, even if I couldn’t it doesn’t look like I have a choice in the matter. No one has ever been able to fight the mating fire—I’m not pretentious enough to think I can accomplish what my betters could not.”
He now stood directly outside of her bedroom.
“Your humbleness becomes you, Grania.”
“You can stop right where you stand, Dylan. Do you think I am an imbecile? I will not allow you to cross the threshold into my inner sanctum.”
“You talk like you are an actual dragon, and I’m the slayer crossing over into your cave.”
“I think not. You are not here to hurt me. Even I’m not that foolish—you are here to woo and hopefully in your mind, win me. I think however, that we’ve seen enough excitement for one day. I am exhausted. I need my rest now—the ointment is telling me to rest.”
“A magical healing agent like that was created by strong magic indeed.”
“You said yourself that we dragon shifters possess our own kind of magic—it
would seem that our healing enchantments might even rival the healing magic of your kind.”
“You know, when we have children, we will have to decide on a new name for
them.”
“Will we? You seem to be planning for the future. I advise you to not make any rash plans, especially when I am getting ready to take a shower and you stand waiting outside of my bedroom door.”
“I could easily break through the spells guarding this door.”
“And, then, you would be faced with a fire wielding pissed off dragon shifter.”
“I can conjure the hot flames as well.”
“Aye, but I can use them far more effectively.”
He hesitated, listening to the silence that draped between them. She had moved into the bathroom for he could no longer sense her presence. A moment later, and he heard the sound of rushing water.
He approached the door. She might have rigged it with her own form of magical alarm system—if she had, he’d be finding out soon.
He could hear her thoughts whispering against his temple. He watched in awe, as the door handle turned. The door swung inward—granting him access to her haven.
He wondered at the opportunity. She was a contradiction—and it troubled him to DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
no end. They had only known each for a fraction of time when weighed against their immortal years, and yet; he could feel how right they were.
If they did cross into the territory of no return, they would stay together for the rest of their unnatural long lives.
‘ Dylan? ’
She called to him telepathically. The voice in his head was akin to that of a siren’s song. He had to fight it … he had to control the riotous emotions battling for domination inside of him. They were both consumed by the same passion—on one side, they knew they danced with folly—on the other hand, they wanted to drench themselves in that folly and luxuriate in it. They were playing with fire—and neither one of them cared if they got burned.
“Time is a thief—did you know that, Grania?” He spoke aloud, rather than using telepathic speech.
No answer.
The water still roared. He inclined his head to the side. Worry crept into his heart. Had sleep overwhelmed her before she could finish her shower?
The door wouldn’t budge when he tried the handle. He directed his index finger at it. A few bright sparks shot out, making the lock click open. He used his magic to move the door aside.
“Grania?” His words were of shallow comfort to him. His heart lodged in his
throat. The bathroom grew steamy not only from the heat of the water, but also from their combined ardor. “Grania?” He raised his voice, feeling uneasy at the frantic sound erupting in his voice. His eyes scanned the relatively small bathroom. Crammed into a tight space were a single tub, shower stall, sink and toilet. Steam furled through the air.
He felt suddenly sweaty and stifling.
She would have answered him by now—he felt as sure of that as he felt about his spells. Something was wrong. As his protector, she would have answered him even if she hadn’t wanted to. His eyes locked on the shower stall. He couldn’t see anything for the steam misted on the shower door.
“My love?” His heartbeat quickened again at the sound of the endearment
crossing his lips.
Summoning his magic, he effectively cleared the steam from the room. Fastening his eyes back on the shower stall, his heartbeat began racing in his chest. She stood frozen in the shower stall. Even though she remained upright, he knew there was something wrong with her. The water crashed over her—her flaming red hair drenched around her shoulders. She didn’t turn when he approached the shower. That added to his ill at ease feeling.
“Are you alright?”
She remained impassive and immobile. Had he somehow wandered into a
dream? Or was she truly struck down with something he could not detect?
He opened the glass door keeping him from stepping into the stall. Her
nakedness, - though a beautiful sight, didn’t not even deter him. So consumed by concern for her, he just wanted to touch her to tell himself that she was indeed sound in body.
S
he didn’t start when he gently gripped her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. Her vivacious green eyes were unusually lackluster. The dullness in her gaze DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
made his heart do another dance up into his throat. His stomach twisted with unease.
“Grania—you must snap out of whatever trance you have been consumed by!” He
had his voice at a fevered pitch, unconsciously hoping that it would somehow will her awake.
His mind wandered back to what she had said only an hour before. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen into a state of hibernation. Come on, Grania! You are my assigned protector … and whether or not I need your protection—I want it. You have my heart, you have my soul—don’t betray it, protect it with your fullest power! You wield a might that would stop most of my kind in their tracks. Let them wonder at your glory—come back to me!”
Her body went limp in his arms. He reached for a long fluffy towel and wrapped it around her body. Using his magic, he conjured a towel for her hair. He looked to the shower and stopped the water flow. Then, snapping his fingers, he magically cleansed his own body. He hadn’t realized how much the night’s activities had taken a toll on him. He now stood in a puddle of water. He directed his magic to the floor, drying it so that he would not fall flat on his ass while carrying her out of the bathroom.
Worrying about her seemed to plague him more than when he’d entered into
battle with the evil dragon shifters. Love was a chain—having someone like her in his life would cause constant anxiety.
“I’m so tired.” Her soft whisper made him jolt. When he looked back down into her eyes again, he saw recognition glinting in their beautiful depths.
“Don’t get too tired … that poison must still be in your system. You need to fight it. Rise above it.”
“Rising above a poison that can kill my kind in a concentrated enough dose isn’t as easy as you think.” Weariness stole into her voice.
“Kill you? You told me it would only put you into a coma-like state.”
“If the dose was as small as I thought it would be. I didn’t think that James would kill me—perhaps, I was a bit off the mark with that. At any rate, if you hadn’t come into the bathroom when you did—I shudder to think of where I’d be right now. I felt myself drifting away—it was the most peaceful and yet disturbing feeling I’ve ever felt. I know there are those of us that can literally transport our spirit from our physical bodies, but I have never wanted to be one of those astral walkers. If I leave my body, I don’t know if I’ll ever find my way back.”
“How do I help you?”
“You need to summon another one of my kind. I think this might be something
too big for the magic cream to fix.”
“How do I contact your kind?” His eyes searched her features. She looked as
worried as he felt. He believed her when she’d broached her worries about not being able to return to her body. If he’d actually almost lost her .…
“The crystal ball communication network. I know your kind use crystal balls .…”
“We do. Where’s the closest dragon crystal ball?”
“On my night table in my bedroom.” She shivered.
“You need to get some clothes on.” He finished drying her, and snapped his
fingers. She was instantly wrapped in a warm—albeit it not so sexy nightgown. “I called that from your wardrobe. Is that a good representation of the rest of your clothing?”
“Never mind. I’m fighting to just speak—please, Dylan, don’t be a smartass. If DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
you don’t act quickly, I will die—on the positive side, I’ll die fighting for a cause I believe in, and fighting to protect your life. At least this way, you won’t have to have the burden of me as your mate.”
“Hey, I’m no prize as a husband, either. Just hold on. Don’t you go and abandon me now—I’m becoming a bit codependent on you.”
He laid her on the bed, and then reached for the globe on her nightstand. Placing it on the bed in front of him, he looked over at her. “What now?”
“Allow me to touch it. It’s activated by telepathy … dragon shifter telepathy.”
She circled the palm of her hand around the pinky colored crystal. “It will light up soon, you’ll have to speak to Blaze. He’s my cousin—he’ll come to help me.”
“I just bet this Blaze is the picture of perfection. All of the women fawn over him, and drool over him, don’t they? Does he have a harem full of sexy dragon shifter females?” he joked.
She gave him a serious look of chastisement.
“He has not found his mate yet—but yes, his female subjects adore him, however, to my knowledge he does not keep a harem full of women to satisfy his every carnal need.” She sighed, wincing with pain. “He is a most respectful, charismatic and chivalrous prince. His subjects would do anything for him—the loyal ones that is.”
“Subjects? Oh, no, I’m going to have to put up with a royal dragon shifter? Can you say Royal Pain in the Ass?”
“Don’t provoke him when he’s here. Talk to him politely and tell him I’ve been poisoned with Dragon Night Shade.”
“Okay.” He couldn’t help but sound a bit sullen. He knew he was a pratt, and
reveled in it—usually. Right now, the way she looked was striking the fear of bad magic into him.
“Grania?” The mists in the crystal cleared. “You aren’t Grania … where is she?”
Blaze demanded.
She leaned forward so Blaze would see her in the crystal. “Oh … my, Grania,
you look like you’ve been through hell. No doubt courtesy of something that git did to you. What do you need?”
“I need your healing help.”
“She’s been poisoned with Dragon Night Shade,” Dylan interjected.
“Shit. I’ll be right there … it will take me some time to open a portal without being detected. Just give me a second.”
“A second? You just said it would take you some time ....” Dylan's voice trailed off
“He’ll be here almost immediately. He won’t let me down, even if the capital is burning.” Grania's faith in him seemed rock solid.
“Capital? Are you telling me that Draco has almost reached your capital? That’s not good news for us.”
“That’s why you have to move your ass on getting the spell completed. We are in dire need of it.”
“If they’ve broken through your lines of defense and reached the capital, then, your civil war is almost over. Draco is the champion.”
“No—we will never give up hope, no matter how dark our world might seem.”
“I don’t mean to alarm you or anything, Grania, but our door is on fire.”
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
“Our door isn’t on fire—that’s the way we dragon shifters open our portals from this realm into our realm. Or, in Blaze’s case, from Dragonia into this realm.”
“Uh, huh. I get that. I shouldn’t have been so stupid. You have your own special kind of magic, the more I get used to that thought the better we’ll be able to understand each other.”
“He’s hurt as well. I can feel it as his proximity to me grows nearer.”
“How badly?”
“Not as badly as me—thank God. But it’s grim—this means he either left the
capital to visit the fighters at the front lines—or the capital ....”
“Has already been invaded. That’s just great. Should we be bracing ourselves for an all out invasion of Earth?”
“The last loyal to our side will fight until they no longer draw breath. They will attempt to disable the magical transportation link between Earth and Dragonia. If we are lucky they will succeed; which, in turn, will slow down Draco. Without the link, he will not be able to conjure a sustainable portal, with which to mount an all out incursion.”
“Then, my hope is that our two kinds are already working together. We do h
ave some very skilled operatives placed within Dragonia … if they have discovered the news about how this transportation link works then, they would contribute with all of the magic they wield.”
“That’s good news. Some of my kind have lost touch with the way of dragon
shifter magic, this will hopefully help us out.”
“He’s about to make his entrance through the doorway of fire.”
“Blaze always aims to help me. He’ll do whatever he can.” She’d started gasping for air. “Oh, man, my lungs are burning so badly.”
“Just hold on … are you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?”
“Just stay with me until Blaze arrives. I don’t like to be this vulnerable.”
“You aren’t. I have no intention of leaving your side.”
Finally, it looked as if someone was coming through the portal. The figure wore a cloak of dark crimson. When he came through the gateway he landed on his feet.
“Greetings, Wizard. I am here to see my cousin. Please, stand aside.”
“Well, I see you and your cousin share some of the same personality traits.
You’re both curt and to the point when you are on a mission.”
She gave him a wane smile.
“Dragon Nightshade, nasty bit of business that is.” Blaze shook his head, fire flashing in his cognac brown eyes.
Dylan stood up, allowing Blaze to gain access to Grania. Blaze stooped over,
gently feeling her forehead.
“Hmm … you’ve been injected with quite a lot of Dragon Nightshade. You’re
forehead is clammy and cold to the touch ....”
“And I’m burning up inside ....” Her breath caught on her last word.
“Indeed. The bastards that did this to you—where are they? I will tear the both of them new hides.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any dragon shifter tears on me. Fortunately, for you, I have a ready supply right here.” He tapped his temple.
“So, your tears will heal her?”
“They will draw the last vestiges of the poison out of her system, enabling her natural healing gene to kick in—then, she should be right as rain by dawn.”
DRAGON’S HEART Marly Mathews 170
“You can just turn on the waterworks?”