“The final figure?” I ground the words out in a low growl. It was all I could manage without losing my temper.
“Let’s say thirteen will cover everything.”
“Final number, no extra fees or other bullshit?”
“You have my word as a gentleman.”
The urge to insult him was strong, but I turned around to my brothers, and they discretely handed me the extra cash.
“Here,” I said, holding a brown envelope as I turned around. “It’s in there. Feel free to count it. If you come after Ava or anyone she knows, and I mean anyone, the next time I see you, I’ll kill you.” I let the dragon out to play in my voice, and it dropped an octave, sounding guttural and fierce.
It had the exact effect I was hoping for. It scared the shit out of Frankie. “Sure thing. Ava who?” He laughed nervously at his own terrible joke.
“Say the words,” I demanded, with the dragon still peeking out through my voice.
“I won’t come after Ava or anyone she knows.”
“Neither will your associates,” I said, glancing at the big guy.
“Of course, no one will.”
“Good.”
We headed back to our respective cars, and I started to drive toward the portal that was just outside Chicago. My phone buzzed on the dash, and the Bluetooth relayed a message to me via its weird robotic voice that made me slam on the brakes and do a U-turn. “She’s awake.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ava
When I woke up, something in me knew I’d almost died. My body ached, and my neck was sore, but I didn’t feel in as much pain as I should have been. Before anything else could pop into my head, my thoughts were consumed with if the guys were okay, if Scarlett was okay. How could I just pass out like that?
“Ava? Can you hear me?” Sebastian’s voice flitted through my disjointed thoughts.
I flickered my eyes open and saw his beautiful dark-brown orbs staring down at me, looking a little more shiny than usual. “Hey,” I croaked out.
“Shhh, the doctor needs to look at your throat before you go chatting away.” He smiled, but it was haunted, as though ghosts of his past were dancing in front of him.
I nodded, and we waited. After a moment, he took my hand and brought it to his lips, planting a soft, tender kiss on my knuckles before just holding it to his face.
“I—We were so worried about you.” He huffed out a breath. “You almost died, again. You need to stop doing that.”
The doctor thankfully chose that moment to show up and examine me. After pronouncing me well enough to leave, he asked if I would be interested in allowing them to do a couple more tests since I was apparently a medical quandary for not waking up when I was supposed to. What could I say? I liked to subvert expectations. Apparently, that extended to my subconscious as well.
Grayson, Logan, and Noah all showed up shortly after one another. They each came in the door and stared at me as if I were a queen and they were there to serve my every need. The four of them were clustered around the bed when Scarlett rushed in. Sebastian held one hand, Noah held the other, and Grayson held the toes on one foot.
She looked around the room, and when she saw Sebastian, she exclaimed, “I got your text!” She breathed heavily as though she’d run through the whole hospital to get to me. The guys parted and let her through so we could get a better look at each other. Tears shone in her eyes and quickly began trailing down her cheeks. She came to my side and gripped my hand over Sebastian’s as though both our lives depended on it; at least, until I asked her to go easy on me.
She pretend-slapped my shoulder as she said, “You have to quit scaring me like that!”
“I promise I didn’t do it on purpose,” my hoarse voice managed to get out.
Scarlett looked at me for a moment, and I knew she wanted to talk but didn’t want to do it in front of the guys.
“Can you guys give us a minute?”
“We’ll be right outside,” Sebastian said as he squeezed my hand.
I mouthed “thank you” at him as he let go, leaving Scarlett’s hand wrapped even tighter around mine. They all disappeared out the door like a small parade of hot men. I couldn’t help but sigh a little as my thoughts betrayed me. Even in a hospital bed, I wanted to do naughty things with them.
“Are you okay?” Scarlett asked.
“Yeah, just getting my bearings, you know?”
“Who are these guys? They’re acting like your own personal harem or something, and if they are, then you better be able to hook me up with my own version. I’ll have what you’re having, if you get my meaning.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it, and I immediately regretted it. The pain in my throat was still there.
“Sorry, sweetness. Your blond boy toy over there was messaging back and forth with Frankie. Are you okay with that?”
I nodded. “We had talked about it before everything happened.”
“Okay, good.” She looked at me and went quiet for a moment.
“Are you okay? You looked pretty beat-up when you opened the door.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Still have this, but it’s not a big deal.” She held up her splinted fingers and wiggled them slightly.
“At least you have a proper splint now, not just pens and rubber bands.”
“Yeah. I’m just still having trouble with how George left me to be attacked. I mean, I could have died. Then there are your boyfriends out there and how they were fighting with Frankie’s guys. It was all just so intense . . .”
“I know. Believe me, it’s all I’ve been able to think about since I woke up.”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to dump on you. I’m just so glad you’re okay and awake again.”
“Me too, Sarabi, me too,” I said, using the nickname we’d come up with for her as kids. We only used it on special occasions when we wanted to be super serious, or let the person know we really meant what we were saying. As kids, we loved The Lion King, always singing and dancing, pretending to be little lions. I kept teasing her, calling her Scar, which it turned out she actually hated, so we decided she would be the queen, wife of Mufasa, and I would be her best friend.
“I’m sure you are, Sarafina.” She smiled back at me, and I knew we were okay no matter what exactly happened with her and the other dragons.
I felt terrible about not telling her the truth, so much so that my chest felt constricted. Everything went white for a second. It was just a flash, and if I hadn’t had other . . . visions, let’s call them, then I would have thought it was an issue with the lights. When I knew what I wanted to happen, no, what needed to happen after that flash, I knew it was the spirit I had spoken to before, that she was guiding me.
“Could you give me and the guys a minute?” I asked, and noticed that my voice seemed to be a tiny fraction closer to normal.
She nodded and smiled. “I’m going to go find some coffee, and then I’ll be back, so make it quick.”
“Yes, boss.”
The guys all filed in when she left, and I was overwhelmed with how sexy they all were, and how good they smelled. Every nerve in my body seemed to come alive the closer they were. I just wanted to hug them all, kiss them and tell them how much they meant to me, even if it happened over a short amount of time. Whatever else happened, almost dying made it clear what I wanted, and I wanted them. All of them.
“How are you doing, my lady?” Noah asked.
“I’m feeling a lot better. Before we talk about anything else, I need to tell you guys something.”
They all tensed and took slightly more defensive stances, like crossing their arms over their chests. It was almost as if they knew what was coming.
I took a deep breath and said, “I want to come with you guys. I want to be your flamekeeper, but I have two conditions.”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow and perched on the edge of my bed, taking my hand in his. “Tell me.”
“The first and most important is that I want to ask Scarlett to come
with us. She was tortured because of me, and I’m not willing to risk that again. The second is that I want a dragon to check in on mine and Scarlett’s parents once a month. They don’t have to chat or become friends or whatever, but I need to know they are safe. Her parents were more like family to me most of the time than my actual parents were, so both sets are important.”
When I finished my little speech, my throat was sore, and the room was so quiet, I could hear the birds chirping outside. Since I was on the fourth floor, it meant that they were quite far below me, which only highlighted how quiet the guys were being. My heart began to gallop in my chest when they didn’t respond and just stared at me as though I’d grown a second head or dragon wings or something. “Well?” I finally coughed out.
Before anyone responded, Sebastian was pouring me a cup of water that I could sip on.
“I don’t think you know what you’re asking, my lady,” Noah said. His eyebrows had drawn together with a sharp wrinkle set between them.
“I think I do, and I wish I didn’t have to ask, but it is what it is. I won’t leave her again.”
“I say we go for it,” Logan said.
I didn’t miss the fact that he was the only one who hadn’t reached out and touched me, who had barely even looked at me. I appreciated his support, but part of me wondered what was behind it? Why was he supporting me and not his brothers?
“Mother will be so angry when she finds out about this,” Grayson murmured, sounding supportive as well.
“Do you want me to talk to your mom?” I asked.
They all chuckled, and it broke the tension, which was what I was hoping for.
“No, that wouldn’t be a good idea, love,” Sebastian finally got out between bubbles of laughter.
When it died down, the seriousness returned. I knew they were worried about outing the dragons to Scarlett and that she would flip out, but what they didn’t realize was how freaking excited she would be to learn that all the stuff she loved reading about was real.
I looked at Sebastian and pulled out my best puppy-dog eyes, which surprisingly seemed to work, not that they ever had done before.
“Okay, fine. She can come with us. We’ll give her the same demonstration on the roof as we gave you, except maybe Logan and Noah can shift this time? That way you can see their dragons, too.”
“Really?” I looked at each of them, excitement bubbling inside me. Grayson and Logan nodded. A crooked smile tugged at the corner of Grayson’s lips, and I wanted to kiss it. I pulled my eyes away in an attempt to prevent my mind from spending any more time than necessary in the gutter. When I looked around, I found Noah staring at me.
Eventually, he said, “I’m not so sure about this, my lady, but it appears I’ve been out voted. I will happily shift and show you and Lady Scarlett my dragon.” He dipped his head, and a small grin played about his lips. In that moment, I knew everything would be all right. We were all there together, and soon enough, we could go back to the penthouse and Scarlett would come with us. I had no doubt about that.
“What about the second part?”
Logan cleared his throat and made eye contact with me. His face almost looked pained as he said, “I’ll speak with the royal guard and make sure one of them flies out to check on your parents and Scarlett’s parents at least once a month. They’ll love having the opportunity to stretch their wings, and they are the best warriors we have—”
“Besides us, of course,” Grayson cut in.
“Of course,” Logan acquiesced.
“Good. Now, when can we break out of here?” I asked, eager to get going now that I knew all my loved ones would be safe, or at least, as safe as they could be.
Chapter Sixteen
Ava
When we arrived on the mountaintop, I couldn’t help but feel relieved. I was so glad to be out of the hospital and away from everything. The penthouse was one of the most peaceful places I’d ever been, and I hoped nothing ever changed that.
“What the . . . ?” Scarlett breathed next to me. “We’re on a mountain.”
“Yep. Told you magic was real.”
“Hol-ee shit.”
I laughed as I watched her get out of the car and take a deep breath of the fresh mountain air. The place really was magical, both metaphorically and literally. I couldn’t wait for her to see the boys transform, though. I felt like a kid on Christmas, ready to see if Santa had visited. “Come on,” I said as I tugged on her hand.
When I looked over my shoulder, the boys were dutifully following behind as I led her through the penthouse to the other side of the roof. Once I opened the door, the wind rushed at us, blustering us back into the side of the house.
Logan stepped forward first. He bowed at me, actually bowed, and said, “Flamekeeper, my dragon is yours to command should you wish it.” Then he turned to Scarlett. “Please try not to scream, as it is painful for dragon ears.”
She nodded, looking more than a little nervous as Logan walked away to the large open space. The wind was strong enough that if it had been me out there, I would have been on my ass at least twice before I made it to the center. Logan was strong, though, and agile. When he stumbled once, it was barely even noticeable. The only reason I saw was because my eyes were fixed on him, scared that the wind would push him off the roof or something. I couldn’t lose him—I knew that in my gut—but then, I knew I couldn’t lose any of them.
He turned to me, stripping out of his shirt, pants, and shoes so he was left in some pale-blue striped boxers. My mouth watered at the sight, and I so desperately wanted to go to him and peel off those boxers, that I had to clench my hands into fists and tense different muscles to stop myself from moving.
I glanced over at Scarlett to find her watching slack-jawed even before he transformed. I could tell when he started, because she gasped and her hands came to her mouth. Her eyes were so wide, I was slightly worried they would pop out of her head, but as much as I wanted to keep watching her reaction, I needed to see Logan.
When I turned back to him, all I saw was a giant fiery-gold dragon. Two great big horns extended from the top of his head, while smaller almost thorn-like horns poked out down the sides of his jaw. His eyes were as black as coal, which was surprising. I had expected them to be lighter like his human eyes.
He spread his wings, and it looked as if the sun had emerged from behind a cloud. The light bounced off them every which way and made them look as if they were glowing. The beast slowly padded forward, and I walked out to meet him.
Maybe it was because it wasn’t the first time, but I felt as if I noticed more, like the rows of large, sharp teeth in Logan’s mouth. I knew he wouldn’t hurt me, though, just as he hadn’t meant for me to get hurt in the house. It was just instinct to duck when someone threw something, the problem being that I was standing behind him.
His dragon was in front of me then, the large nostrils inhaling my scent as it nuzzled against me. A sound almost like a growl crossed with a purr emanated from his throat and rumbled through me as he pressed his snout against me.
Just as quickly as he was there, he was gone, soaring through the sky on those golden wings. It was a hell of a sight to see, and I didn’t think I’d ever tire of it. My hope was that one day, I could watch them all fly together.
I stepped back to the relative shelter of the alcove in the roof where the door was, and where everyone else was waiting. Scarlett’s face, when I saw it, was pale, almost ashen.
“You okay?” I asked quietly, not wanting to alert the guys to her potential freak-out when I had been so sure that her reaction would be the opposite.
“Yeah, just a lot to take in, you know?”
“That I do, Sarabi, that I do.”
She reached out and clasped my hand tightly with her own as we both watched Logan soar through the sky a moment longer before he decided he was done parading about for us. In seconds, he was back down on the roof in human form and pulling on clothes over that lovely body of his.
Noah strode out to meet his brother. They were both smiling and seemed to be having a good time showing off. Logan was back with the rest of us in no time while I watched Noah strip. I could swear the man was staring right into my soul as he did so. I had never felt so hot and flustered in my life as when he started to unbutton his pants, which made no sense since out of all of them, I had been the most intimate with him.
The moment he was down to his red boxer briefs, his dragon emerged. He was substantially bigger than the other three, and his eyes glowed as if there were a fire burning in their depths. His scales were a vibrant red on his back and faded to gold on his belly and throat. The horns that jutted out from his head and jaw mimicked Logan’s, and when his wings extended behind him, he looked magnificent. They were thick blood-red wings. When he beat them to get into the air, the wind rushed along the ground to us in a way that it hadn’t with Logan, or with Grayson and Sebastian when they had shifted for me.
When he was in the air, he flew higher than any of his brothers, gaining altitude like a 747 taking off. He circled a few times and then let out a stream of fire along with a screeching noise that made me jump out of my skin. Scarlett gasped next to me, her hand going tight around my own. He was fearsome, and if humans knew they existed, I had no doubt they would be hunted, especially dragons like Noah. He was too beautiful and lethal.
He landed, and I released my friend’s hand to go meet the last dragon. The snout that came toward me was more intimidating than any of the others, as the teeth that I had glimpsed on Logan were small in comparison to what Noah had. His were big, thick points of pearly white that reminded me of the saber-toothed tiger skeleton I had seen in the Field Museum.
The nostrils on either side of me flared, and I rubbed my hand along the smooth scales up between his eyes, almost as I would do with a horse. He gently pushed at my hand, and the next thing I knew, a very naked Noah stood in front of me. My body froze, and my breath was stuck in my chest.
Once he was clothed again, I could breathe, but seeing a dragon turn into a man that close up was more than a little intense. “My lady, I think we should go inside. You’re looking a little cold.”
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