Gabriel sighed. “The one that got away.” He dragged the second guest chair to his side of the desk before Raven could sit in it.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Tobias chuckled. “Mated male dragon. He doesn’t want you to sit next to me. He’s afraid our pinkies might bump.”
Gabriel growled. Raven squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. I’ll sit with you. I’m right here.”
Tobias rolled his eyes.
“Seriously, what is this all about?”
“I’m dying, Tobias.” The room grew quiet enough that Raven could hear herself breathe. “A local witch cursed my ring. If I don’t break the curse, I will run out of protective magic by Mardi Gras.”
“Fucking witches. Do you need me to help you deal with her?”
“Not exactly.” Gabriel leaned back in his chair, his fingers still threaded with Raven’s. “It is too dangerous for us to attack the witch herself. She’s too powerful and too careful. But Raven is more than my mate. She can absorb magic.”
Tobias’s eyes locked onto her, and then he was out of his chair and across the room. “She’s a witch. You mated a witch.”
Gabriel flattened his lips into a straight line. “Yes. Although I’m not sure witch is the right word for what she can do. Sorceress, maybe.”
“Under Paragonian law, I would be expected to kill both of you. This is an abomination.”
“We’re not in Paragon,” Gabriel said. “And she is not the type of witch the law was written for. She is not from our world.”
Tobias paced the office a few laps but eventually returned to his seat. “What do you want from me?”
“I believe that if Raven is given access to mother’s grimoire, she can absorb her magic and make me a new ring. Although the curse will not be broken, it won’t matter. I’ll have a new ring.”
“But Mother’s grimoire is in—”
“Paragon, yes.”
Tobias laughed louder. “You must be joking. You want me to help you return to the world where our mad uncle wants us dead, to raid a heavily guarded palace and find our murdered mother’s grimoire, all so that a witch, in a forbidden mated relationship with you, can steal our mother’s magic and use it to make you a new ring?”
“Yes.”
Tobias rose. “I’m sorry you are dying, Gabriel, but the curse has gone to your head. I cannot help you.” He turned to leave.
“I would owe you,” Raven blurted. He turned to look at her. “I can absorb any magic. There must be something you want that you can’t do for yourself. Maybe I can help you in return.”
The muscles in his jaw tensed. She’d struck a nerve. “Can you heal?”
She licked her lips. She wasn’t sure. She’d never tried it before. “If you give me the spells, I am sure I can wield them.”
Gabriel flattened his hand on the desk. “If it’s healing you want, I have Maiara’s amulet. I will lend it to you.”
The look Tobias gave him might have cut through iron. “You recovered it?”
“I did.”
Raven had no idea what they were talking about, but it didn’t seem the time to ask.
Gabriel sensed her confusion and explained. “Maiara was an indigenous guide four of us befriended in the early days. She helped find a place for each of us to settle in what is now the United States. She left her amulet to our brother Alexander before she was taken and killed by a warring tribe. But when her people recovered her desecrated body, they took it from him and burned her with it. I recovered it from her ashes, but by that time Alexander had left our group and has never been found. I’ve had it ever since.”
“You don’t know where he is? Even now?” Raven asked.
Gabriel’s eyebrows rose. “We don’t know where five of our siblings are.”
“Our mother ordered us to remain separate. We came here in 1698. All eight of us arrived in Crete. Mother left us a message to spread out across the globe. Four of us migrated north. We assume they are still in Europe somewhere. The other four came to the New World. But we lost track of Alexander. Only Gabriel, Rowan, and I keep in touch at all.”
“Rowan?” She looked toward Gabriel.
“Our one and only sister.”
“Oh.”
Gabriel glared at Tobias. “The amulet for your help. I would do it myself, but with the curse as far along as it is, I’m not strong enough to hold open the portal.”
Tobias leaned forward, cupping his face in his hands. “This is suicide.”
“Just get us there, brother. I’ll do the rest. You can stay safely outside the city. If something happens to us, you can flee.”
The way Tobias rubbed his palms on his thighs, Raven thought he must be a dragon at war with himself. His fear was unsettling. Going to Paragon was a risk, she knew, but clearly it was even more dangerous than Gabriel had led her to believe.
“Tell me again why you can’t go after the witch who did this to you? Have Raven absorb her magic and break the curse?” Tobias said through tight lips.
Raven frowned. “I tried that. The curse Crimson has placed on this ring isn’t normal magic. It is the absence of magic. It’s a black hole, a spreading nothingness. When I shook her hand, it was more of the same. She was hollow, for lack of a better word. I don’t know how she’s doing it, but I can’t absorb it. It’s just not there.”
“So, what you are saying is I am your last resort.”
“Yes,” Gabriel agreed.
“Would you give me Raven in exchange?”
Raven’s eyes widened. She felt Gabriel tense beside her, his magic gathering like a storm around him. If looks could kill, Tobias would be writhing on the floor. By the smug look on his face, Tobias knew exactly what he was doing. Raven glared at him.
“If I let you have Raven, there would be no reason for me to live. I’d let the curse have me.”
Her blood ran cold. The admission broke her heart.
“What about you?” Tobias asked Raven. “If I asked you to leave him in order to save him, would you do it?”
Tears gathered in her eyes. “You’re an asshole.”
“Answer the question.”
“Yes.” The word came out like a croak. “It’s more important that he lives.”
Gabriel growled.
“Relax, brother. I apologize. My comment was in bad taste. It was a test to see if this mating was both real and mutual. All I want is the amulet and I will help you.”
Beside her, Gabriel’s muscles relaxed.
Raven wasn’t satisfied. “Why would you question the mating bond? After the chair and Gabriel almost flying across the desk every time you look in my direction, I would think it was obvious.”
“Obvious that he’s bonded to you, not the other way around. Our compulsions don’t work on witches. I needed to know you are invested.” Tobias blinked.
“I’m invested,” she snapped. She tucked herself into Gabriel’s side. “When do we go?”
“I would recommend today,” Tobias said. “Time in Paragon flows slower than here. We will lose Earth days on this mission, if we are lucky enough to keep our heads attached to our shoulders. If we’re going to do this, we get in, have you touch Mother’s book of spells, and then get you out as quickly as possible.”
“Sounds good to me,” Raven said.
Tobias turned his attention on Gabriel. “She’ll need something to wear and a bit of cosmetic enhancement to pass as a Paragonian.”
“I packed a few outfits.” She pointed at the bag. “What’s the weather like there?”
Both dragons looked at her as if she was out of her mind. “Any clothing made here would stand out, I’m afraid.” Gabriel’s fingers tapped beside her, and she stopped them with her own. “I have one of Rowan’s dresses in a trunk upstairs. She left it with me. She couldn’t bear to look at it.”
Tobias lowered his chin and gave Gabriel a hard look, but neither said a word.
“Enough talk, let’s get on with it,” Gabriel said.
> Tobias adjusted the sapphire ring on his finger and rose from his chair, a wicked half smile twisting the corner of his mouth. “Would you like me to help Raven get dressed?”
Another feral growl escaped Gabriel’s chest.
Tobias grinned at her and laughed under his breath. “It never gets old.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Every part of Gabriel’s body was crawling with the need to shift. With his ring’s power diminished, the beast was always at the surface, and it didn’t help that Raven’s beauty seemed to be growing exponentially by the minute. If Tobias kept looking at her, Gabriel was going to gouge his brother’s eyes out with a spoon.
Some logical part of him recognized that this was his mating instinct kicking in. She had finally given herself to him. She was his. When a dragon came upon something of exceptional value, they guarded it with everything they had: mind, body, soul, and magic. He wouldn’t hesitate to injure his own brother to protect her.
Fucking Tobias. This particular brother always did have the face of an angel. Human women flocked to the man, and unlike Gabriel, Tobias had developed a taste for the species. He’d had a few long-term relationships over the decades, although he admitted to Gabriel that he’d never revealed his true nature to anyone. He’d never trusted anyone enough. Yeah, if he looked at Raven again, Gabriel would punch him in the balls.
“How do I look?” Raven asked. She emerged from the bathroom dressed in his sister’s gown. It was red, perfect for Pyre Night. Tight around the waist and flaring from the top of her hips to the floor, gauzy material covered her breasts and gathered at the base of her spine where it flowed like a train behind her. The dress was backless to allow for wings that his love didn’t have. She carried the matching elbow-length gloves in her hand.
“You look stunning,” he said. His tapping fingers and crawling insides stilled. With everything he was, he focused on her. “One more detail.” He grabbed the box he’d fetched from storage and opened it. The red ruby inside was the color of blood and as big as his thumb. He removed it from the box and tied the gauzy strip of fabric it was attached to around her neck.
She touched it lightly with her fingers. “Thank you. It’s lovely. And… big.”
“It’s from Paragon.” How did he explain to her that jewels there were part of the landscape? He’d have to let her see for herself.
“I have a mask for you too, for Pyre Night.”
“What’s Pyre Night?”
“A celebration of renewal in honor of the Goddess of the Mountain. At the end of our Paragonian year, the citizens of Paragon remove old or worn things from their homes, things they don’t want anymore, and burn them in the streets. They wear masks to hide their identities, lest someone see the sadness of releasing old things or be offended that they are purging themselves of a past gift or a shared remembrance. It’s a popular holiday, similar to New Year’s Eve here.”
“It sounds exciting.” Raven lifted the skirt of the red dress and watched it flutter out from her legs before settling around her feet. “I know what you and Tobias meant now about the difference in clothing. This material is as light as spiderwebs. It’s like wearing a whisper.”
He grinned at that. “It’s called vilt. This material was woven from the nests of vilt worms that are about the size of your cattle. We raise them for this.”
“Like silk.”
“No. Not exactly. Silkworms in your realm are destroyed in the making of silk. Vilt worms are cherished. They spin the nest and the nest is used for the cloth, but the vilt worm lives on. They can live thirty years or more if cared for properly. It’s one of our top industries.”
“You talk about Paragon like you still consider it your home. After three hundred years of exile, you still used ‘our.’”
Gabriel ruminated on the notion. “I suppose it will always be my home in a way. I know we are going back there for a specific purpose, Raven, but I can’t pretend I am not excited to show you where I come from.”
“I’m excited to see it.” She took his hand. “You look very handsome, by the way, in your costume de rigueur. I love the sash. It’s different from the human version but equally as sexy.”
“You find me sexy?” He pulled her against him and kissed her, her red lipstick smearing beneath the pressure and intensity. She didn’t complain or try to stop him. Her body melted into his, and the scent of her arousal was a brand upon his heart. He knew she could drain him within an inch of his life, and still he was ready to mount her. Death be damned.
“Are you two ready?” Tobias said from the door. “We are wasting daylight.”
Gabriel pulled back, panting.
“Give me a minute to freshen up,” Raven said, ducking into the bathroom.
Gabriel wiped his mouth, his fingers coming away red. He walked into the kitchen and wet a towel to clean up.
“Are you sure about this, Gabriel? You know it is dangerous, for all of us.” Tobias leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.
“There’s no other way.”
“I’m concerned. You are newly mated. That makes you volatile. Whatever you do, no matter what happens, you cannot reveal yourself for who you are. That would be disastrous.”
“I’m not an idiot, Tobias.” Gabriel tossed the towel on the counter.
“No. You’re a dragon with a permanent hard-on for his female.”
“I’m ready,” Raven said, emerging from the bathroom and looking as radiant as he’d ever seen her.
Tobias slipped on his mask, silver with gold flames that gave his face the qualities of a bird, elongating his nose and bringing out the burnished quality of his blond hair. Gabriel donned his as well, a classic black with gold details. Raven’s was red leather, and when she tied it on, Gabriel’s cock twitched at the thought of her wearing it while he was inside her.
Tobias’s hand landed on his arm. “Ready, brother?”
“Ready.”
They each hooked an arm through Raven’s, Gabriel suppressing his aggression at Tobias’s touching her. It was strictly necessary in this instance. Then Tobias raised his ring and drew a large sapphire circle in the air.
And the way was opened.
When Tobias circled his ring, Raven saw the resulting magic as if someone had crossed two live wires. There was a crack, a rumble and hiss, followed by a blinding flash of blue. The room ripped down the middle as easily as tearing a sheet of paper. The edges curled, reality rolling in on itself. At last, everything around her changed.
The world had become a tropical jungle at twilight. It felt like New Orleans in August, hot and humid, like you could wear the air as a blanket. But she could breathe normally. The environment wasn’t killing her. That was a good sign.
“Welcome to Paragon,” Gabriel said. His smile was brighter than the sun—the two suns, now that she did a double take—currently setting on the horizon.
“Gabriel, your ring!” It was solid green again. Vibrant.
“I don’t need its magic here. The emerald is just an emerald. Don’t be fooled. The curse will return as soon as we do.”
“This is where we part ways,” Tobias said. “I will wait here for your return, as agreed. You have twenty-four hours. If you are not back by then, I’ll assume you’ve been found and leave without you.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Overflowing with brotherly love.” Raven sneered, but Tobias didn’t seem to notice.
Gabriel chuckled and pointed at the red, rocky mountain in the distance. Smoke bloomed from the top. The volcano was active. “The Obsidian Palace is built into the side of the mountain. We will have to journey through Hobble Glen to get there. It isn’t far.”
“It looks like the goddess isn’t happy with the current administration,” Tobias said, thrusting his chin toward the mountain.
Gabriel’s expression went flat. “The law is the law.” He offered Raven his arm.
She slipped her hand inside the crook of his elbow, and they started down the path toward Ho
bble Glen. The village in the distance was different from any human town Raven had visited. At first she thought the rustic cottages looked almost medieval with their slate roofs and stone masonry. But as they neared, her higher elevation gave her a bird’s-eye view. The cottages lined both sides of a network of streets that branched out in a circular pattern from what looked like a central square. She got the impression of standing on the outer edge of a pie.
The volcano rumbled ominously behind the backdrop of the quaint village.
“What did you mean when you said ‘the law is the law’?” she asked.
“Do you remember me telling you that our traditions are based on a law handed down from the mountain goddess at the beginning of time?”
“I remember.”
“According to our holy scrolls, no ruler may remain on the throne for more than two thousand years. Brynhoff broke that law when he murdered my brother and forced us into exile. The goddess is angry. That”—he pointed at the billowing smoke from the volcano—“is a warning. Tobias and I have never seen the volcano active. If it erupts, Paragon will be consumed.”
Great, Raven thought. One more thing that might kill us.
They descended into the valley. She was thankful that Paragonian fashion called for soft leather slippers and not high heels. She would never have been able to navigate the terrain in human footwear. These shoes were made for comfort and for walking, as was the dress, it turned out. The material provided its own air-conditioning, billowing around her legs and causing a faint breeze to caress her body under its folds. That was necessary in the heat. It had to be ninety degrees.
Gabriel tried to teach her about the plants and fauna lining the trail, but she couldn’t hold it all in her head. He claimed a yellow fruit they came across tasted like oysters and pointed out a small rodent with four sets of ears. There were green plants with tiny spiky leaves Gabriel said were used as weapons and others whose foliage could be used as an umbrella. Everything, including the flowers, was new, if not outright bizarre—both fascinating and overwhelming.
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