The Dragon Mage Collection

by L J Andrews

  “You are detracting from my question,” I breathed. “Don’t think I’m falling for your methods.”

  “Really,” he murmured against my skin, the strength of his arms holding me tighter. “Then why aren’t you stopping me?”

  I chuckled, my fingers tangling with his along my middle. “I said they were distractions, I never said I didn’t like them.”

  He laughed and kissed my hair before releasing me and unsheathing the two swords on his back. “I figured you’d be angry, so I had grand plans to seduce you into forgiving me for going without you.”

  I sighed, creeping along the quilts and padding used as the bed. “I had every intention of being angry.”

  “But…” he grinned, sprawling on his stomach next to me, his fingertips sparking something to life in my chest when they brushed my cheek.

  “Don’t think you’re off the hook, Teagan Ward,” I grumbled. “It’s just, I rather like you—so seeing you sort of dissolves anger.”

  “Hmm, I like that idea. I can get away with a lot, then,” he teased, brushing his mouth against mine.

  Pressing my index finger over his lips, I shook my head. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t go that far. Remember, I am a fire-breathing dragon.” He laughed, bringing his mouth to mine. The kiss was breathless, but much too short. Trapping his face between my palms when he pulled back, I studied him. “What’s wrong, Teagan?”

  He smirked, wrapping some of my golden hair around his fingers. “Nothing is wrong, there’s just something I need to tell you. But it has to stay between us. No one can know.”

  When Thane said a feast, he meant a feast. I felt like a royal, except no one was left off the table. And no one singularly prepared the feast. Ruby had stood by Onyx, gathering fruits and meats. Raffi and Dash had eaten half the bowl of jerky before placing it on the table. Thane and Gaia had stood shoulder to shoulder, slicing, mincing—everyone in the cave was equal for the night.

  Warriors and mages laughed—shared memories of battle, or of their adventures before the divide. Mitch and Aunt Liz answered questions along with asking many. I leaned against Teagan’s shoulder, breathing in the sweet night. We did not have many moments where calm embraced everyone. Even after what Teagan had told me, and the nerves it jabbed along my spine, I felt calm.

  After a long while, Thane stood from his place. His booming voice shook the space, and silence dissolved all the conversations.

  “We had success today,” he said, nodding at Sapphire, who held up the blue stone. The table roared, and thrilling energy burst from each mage. “We know what is to come, but today we should have hope that we are not going into this fight defenseless.” Thane nodded at Raffi, who immediately stood, along with Onyx and Sapphire. Ruby slyly glanced at Amber, and I suddenly felt very cut off from my fellow royals.

  Thane smiled, his eyes drifting toward Teagan and me. “We have something else we’d like to do—just to make this day even sweeter.”

  Gaia’s brow furrowed and she nudged Teagan, who was trying to stifle his smile. “What have you two hidden from us?” she whispered.

  “Just wait,” he replied.

  I turned over my shoulder when Sapphire stepped back into the dining cavern. Onyx and Raffi had wide smiles. Thane cleared his throat and took what Sapphire was holding in his own hands. “At the divide, you all know I was tasked with hiding the elemental stones. With help, they were hidden. We took a blow when the fire stone was recovered by our enemies, but I’m confident there will never be another opportunity for them to take it again.” Thane glanced at Gaia, and I caught a glimpse of his hands. He seemed to be holding some sort of necklace.

  “I told you I hid the stones, but I must confess something,” he spoke so softly to his mate I hardly heard. “I did not hide them all. There was one…one I dared not take from my sights. Then when you were taken from me—I kept it even closer, hoping someday I could find a way to use it to bring you back to me.”

  Gaia smiled gently, but seemed as confused as I felt. “Thane, what are you talking about?”

  His eyes drifted toward me, and Teagan stood. It was a necklace, I saw it when Teagan took it from Thane.

  Thane took Gaia’s hand and looked to me when Teagan stepped behind me. “My queen, we—all of us—would like to give you this. It was made from the metals of your father’s sword he bestowed to me before his death. But, since you are the queen your parents would be proud to call their daughter, you should take back what rightfully belongs to the throne.”

  I gaped at Thane, then my eyes finding Sapphire. Now, I saw how all the four remaining royals beamed. They all knew about this. Teagan wrapped the necklace around my neck. The table was silent. The chilled gems and metals sent a thrill along my skin, but there was a shocking power that embedded deep into my heart. Glancing down, I was breathless. My lungs simply did not know how to work. In the center of the necklace was a gleaming emerald, cut and polished to the finest quality. The power that whispered from the depths of the gem was all-encompassing. Everything from the skies, the forests, the deserts radiated. I clutched the gem, my body trembling with its energy. “The jade stone,” I whispered.

  Thane nodded, but it was Gaia who clutched at the emerald, her shock written in her golden eyes. “How…how did I not know you had it all this time?”

  Thane took his place back at her side. “Your bond was severed, I suppose you couldn’t sense it the same.”

  “Why have you waited this long to give her the stone?” Gaia muttered.

  Sapphire chuckled. “Blame Ruby and Amber. Thane wanted to give it to her the moment we returned after finding her, but they insisted it look better—according to them.”

  “Well it did need to look better. Now, she can always keep it with her,” Ruby muttered. “It was Thane’s idea to use your father’s sword. That just made it amazing.”

  “You are the queen, Jade,” Teagan whispered. “You rule over the elements; it’s fitting you should have your crown, in a way.”

  I wiped at my eyes, feeling an overwhelming confidence locking into my spirit. “You don’t know what this means,” I said to the table. “We have one more stone to retrieve. We will defeat Nag and the dark High Priest!”

  Warriors shouted their agreement while the mages slammed their goblets along the wood. I believed the words I said. The radiant strength from rejoining with the jade stone, holding the hand of the jade mage, and my ascension to the throne was palpable.

  “I helped make it, Jade!” Mitch shouted from down the table, pointing to his head.

  “He made the clasp,” Raffi muttered.

  “I said I helped,” Mitch shoved the warrior, sending the pair into a new demand of duels—though Raffi still had to face Mitch with the knives.

  After more time had passed, Thane stood again. This was the part I’d expected, and my stomach plummeted. The table quieted once more. Thane took a deep breath, and I sensed he was just as concerned. “There is one final thing. This decision was not made lightly, but we must better understand our enemies. Consulting with all five royal bloodlines, it was decided unanimously.” Thane paused, and Teagan gripped my hand tighter. I didn’t want to find his face, but I had to know. Tao and Leoch were several chairs away from me. Leoch smiled innocently, but Tao’s smile was fading as Thane spoke. “We are going to allow our lindworm prisoners to live among us. In the cave.”

  Most warriors didn’t know how to react. There was silence, which turned to groans, which turned to questions, then onto a few protests. After a few offerings from Thane, Sapphire, Onyx, even Amber, the room’s energy complied. Warriors nodded their agreement, the mage seemed prepared to defend everyone against the unseemly guests, but there was one face I couldn’t drop my eyes from. Tao swallowed the drink in his goblet in one gulp before his dark eyes locked on me. There was no respect—no, there was only disdain.

  Chapter 16

  The Mage

  The breeze was warm and breathed freshness into my lungs. Though the cave was high in th
e cliffs, the pure scent of melting snow and new life budding along the mountainside was refreshing. Spring would be welcome. I knew the warriors wouldn’t complain if the temperature in their frosty cave rose. Dragons were always warm, so a little chill could soothe the blood, but frostbite didn’t suit wyverns in the least. I could understand—my blood constantly felt like it was at a slow boil. Having Thane as my father answered that phenomenon easily.

  Even with the beauty of the day, there was a heavy mood settling around the mouth of the cave. Warriors stood stalwart in an unbreakable wall, each clutching tight to deadly weapons. The mage huddled behind Gaia a ways off. I watched Donovan as his sour face pulled into a pucker, and his fingers danced at his sides like an old western show-down. How could I blame them? The lindworms were coming.

  Prince Ced seemed thinner than the last time I saw him. His hands were still bound in front of his body. Raffi and Dash led him toward the mouth of the cave, their faces unreadable. A handful of elemental warriors led the remaining lindworms. I didn’t understand why the prince was bound when Magnus, Laina, and the others were free to move about—well, small distances between the lock of warriors holding them under close watch.

  Jade stood tense at my side. I knew she hated this. She stood firm in her convictions that there was nothing untrustworthy regarding Prince Ced. True, there hadn’t been any trouble with the lindworm prince since his arrival, but I couldn’t shake the tremble on the back of my neck that there was something wrong with trusting him. No, it wasn’t because I was holding a grudge against him for putting Jade in the sights of his twisted father. Maybe it was a little.

  “Why the sudden change of heart?” Ced grumbled with condescension. I thought he was talking to Jade at first before realizing his dark eyes were locked on me.

  Raffi tried to tug him toward the cave, but Ced jerked his shoulder and squared himself to me.

  I scoffed, trying to appear as indifferent toward the prince as possible. “How better to study our enemies than to have you close by? You’ve heard the saying, right—keep your enemies close.”

  Ced’s expression shadowed like a dark storm. For the first time, the prince seemed angry at our lack of trust. That’s what I wanted, right? I wanted his true thoughts to roll through his mind. Then I would know why the idea of the Prince of Night shot a jabbing pain into my chest.

  There was a shift of nerves back inside the cave when Raffi released Ced’s bindings under Thane’s command.

  “This is risky, man,” Mitch mumbled next to me.

  “Is he…is that the one who took Jade?” Aunt Liz breathed, her gentle touch rolling over Jade’s arm.

  “He was,” Jade answered plainly. “Though I am one of two, I think, who believe the prince is not the enemy we want him to be.”

  Jade stormed off, but not without a blast of her frustration filling every valve in my heart.

  “Just so you know, there’s no more room with me, Raffi, and Dash,” Mitch chuckled, watching Jade’s retreat. “So, you might be sleeping with mommy and daddy, like the widdle boy you are.” Mitch ruffled my hair, and I shoved him hard enough he bumbled over his feet. We both laughed, watching the lindworm warriors settle silently around Prince Ced.

  “Jade’s fine,” I muttered. “She just wants us to trust him. It will be fine.”

  “Do you trust him at all?” Aunt Liz asked.

  I shook my head. “Nope,” I growled. “I’m not sure there’s anything that could make me trust a snake.”

  The weather was too nice to spar indoors. Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, warriors filtered in and out of the cave, brandishing weapons and seeming lighter for the first time since the decision for houseguests was made. To me, the only thing that put a gray cloud on the day—the lindworms were stretching their wings in the distance. I wasn’t the only one who felt threatened when the dark dragons took their true forms—Leoch, Tao, and a dozen other elemental warriors plodded about, keeping a fierce eye on the prince and his army.

  A silver blade brushed past my ear, the force of it causing me to startle back to focus.

  “Wake up, dude. You’re insulting me,” Mitch pouted.

  “Sorry,” I offered, rolling one of the jade swords in my grip.

  “I never get to spar with you, and you’re not giving it your all. Let it be, Teagan. The prince isn’t going anywhere.”

  I scoffed, watching the towering sails of ebony skin raise to the sky. I could practically sense the desperation to take flight in their lindworm hearts.

  “Let’s get a little closer,” I suggested. “Show them what you can do. Right now, the snakes just think you’re a human pet.” I chuckled at the way Mitch’s cheeks boiled in red fury. “Prove them wrong.”

  Mitch didn’t need much convincing, and soon we were tromping toward the edge of the rocky cliffs, each clutching our weapons tightly. I’d learned to recognize Magnus, Ced, and Laina. The other serpents I didn’t know. Laina had large eyes, and her scales were smoother—softer even—than the shards of jagged glass on Ced and Magnus. Her heart still ached, but being free for the first time in weeks brightened her spirit—I could feel it rush through my veins as we passed.

  Ced spied on us when Mitch and I settled into our positions. I didn’t bring notice that I was watching the prince from the corner of my eye when I took the first lunge at Mitch.

  Raising my sword above my head, I slashed down without mercy, forcing Mitch to block my strike with a long dagger. The force of the jade sword caused the muscles in his bicep to tremble. His eyes narrowed, but with surprising force, Mitch shoved back. I slashed again, hoping the serpents would settle back into their ease when they realized we were there, but we planned to ignore them in every way.

  Slashing the blade across my middle, Mitch made an impressive dodge, the edge of his smaller knife knocking against the point of mine and sending my footing off balance. “I’ve got to hand it to you, man, you’re pretty good.” Sincere. The fact that I could say it meant the world, because if Mitch was helpless, I couldn’t stand the thought of him being here. Aunt Liz was hard enough. She was more interested in watching the mages perform tricks than learning to handle a blade.

  Mitch tossed a knife in the air, catching it in blade-down grip. “You keep forgetting I was a rough and tough nobody before you found out you had awesome magic.”

  Mitch lunged at me, the point of his knife coming dangerously close to my neck when he slashed a strike violently in the space between us. I threw my elbow, striking his forearm away, and sent an uncomfortable electric current into his body.

  Mitch cursed—something he rarely did—and backed away. “Not fair,” he mumbled.

  “You think Bron will play fair because you aren’t a mage?” I snarled.

  Why even train the human? He won’t stand a chance.

  I stood straight at the hissing voice. It took all my strength I could muster not to drift my gaze across the rocky ledge. The voice was a low, arrogant, bitter rumble. The sound wasn’t Ced, but I was positive Magnus was speaking to his prince. I was hearing private conversations again—just as we’d planned.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t see Mitch spin on his heel, drawing his elbow across my jaw.

  I think the human has meaning to them.

  Ced’s voice echoed in my head when I spit a stream of blood onto the damp rocks and pulled myself to my hands and knees. It was distant and fading, like a low signal. I couldn’t lose the connection. Thane had warned me it would take focus and concentration when we agreed to keep my new connection a secret. Jade was fascinated, but she wasn’t thrilled knowing I was keeping the talent to myself so I could spy on the lindworms.

  It wasn’t just Ced. No, there were more amongst us I wasn’t sure I trusted.

  “You okay?” Mitch laughed, holding out his hand. “I dropped you like a bag of rocks.”

  Curling my fingertips into the soil, I drew in the calming energy of the stones, the dirt, the melting snow. I’d started to really love the sens
ation of each unique energy as the hum of whispers filled my soul when permission was granted to use the energy of the earth for my bidding. The ground trembled, heaving just so that Mitch quickly lost his balance and slammed his shoulder into the rocks.

  Elementals, Magnus’s husky voice broke through my mind. They have no idea what power can be. If only they would accept the night. I suppose if you mate with the royal, it could be so.”

  My heart stopped. Full on, I couldn’t feel my pulse, stopped. The slow burn of anger rippled up the back of my neck. Trying to resist, my eyes slowly drifted along the rocks like a spreading shadow until I caught sight of Ced and Magnus stomping their long, thick bodies over the jagged stones.

  I don’t know if I have much to offer an elemental mate. Not with the present company always standing against us, at least.

  Magnus’s gurgling chuckle reverberated against the sides of my head. My grip wrapped tight around the hilt of one of my swords. Shoulders heaving, blood pumping, I was on the edge of bursting. Ced had no intentions of Jade walking free of his perverted snake hands.

  Give it time, my prince. She seems taken with you. I would not count on anyone here to tempt her away…

  A black fog settled in my head, and the connection was lost. The way my heart was throbbing in the center of my ribs, it was likely because all my focus had smoldered to blinding rage. My eyes snapped across the way, and I watched Ced’s enormous boxy head snap to attention and meet my eye. My eyes narrowed maliciously.

  “Teagan,” Mitch’s distant voice drew my gaze away from the Prince of Night. His mouth turned down, and Mitch glanced at the lindworms. “Come on, forget him. Let’s do this.”

  A final snarl at Ced drew his jagged black scales away, folding him back into a man. The dark robe glimmered around his shoulders. The prince met my eye, his head cocked curiously as he studied me. Oh, if he only knew what I planned to do when the sniveling royal was alone—he would make a frenzied run for it and choose death by King Nag. Taking a shuddering breath to cleanse my lungs of the suffocating anger, I raised both my swords over my head. Mitch prepared by crouching—knives at the ready. The energy bubbled against my arms, fueling my strength for the attack, while the lindworm conversation boiled against my brain. My lips pulled up into a knowing smirk. I scoffed at my friend, then attacked.