by Ariel Marie
“Which way first?” Jodos asked, coming to stand next to Vander. He turned to his longtime friend and found him dressed similarly. He glanced around, but didn’t see much. The land was not plush and thriving as it probably should have been.
The trees were dying. Where there should have been rows of plush greenery, were rows of trees, spotted with brown leaves. They looked like naked skeletons, and were past saving. The land was sick, and it wouldn’t survive long. Vander knew the source of the destruction of the land.
Gamair.
“Let’s go up. There are a lot of hiding places in this area.” Vander closed his eyes and tried to place Faye. He could sense that she was near.
They began the hike up the hills, through the dense woods. No words were needed as they began to search for Faye. Vander tried to focus on her and the pendant. He just needed her to call on it again as she did before.
If only he would have explained the pendant to her. It was a way to link a human mate to their dragon shifter; a way to communicate between mates. The pendant would show any other dragon shifter who the human belonged to. But, more importantly, it acted as a beacon to allow him to find her.
As soon as they found her and got her to safety, he would lay it all on the line and tell her that she was his mate.
“Come on, Faye, speak to me,” he murmured as they came to a clearing.
“Over there.” Jodos pointed. Vander’s eyes turned to where his friend pointed, and he saw a small cave. He doubted that Gamair would hide in such a small area, but it was worth a shot.
His heart sped up with the thought that she would be stashed in the small cave opening, cold and alone. He jogged over to the opening and peered inside.
Faye grimaced as she tried to move her arm again. Gamair had taken her immobile body and stashed her inside a dark, drafty cave. Her clothes, hardening as they dried on her, caused her skin to itch, and just about drove her insane. Her hand rested a couple of millimeters from where her leg itched. She let loose a curse.
It still wouldn’t budge.
What type of magic was this? she groaned to herself. Didn’t it wear off?
She grunted as her head fell back against the rock wall in defeat. She swore the minute she was free, no one would stop her from taking a shower and scrubbing the muck off. She just prayed she lived long enough to get that shower. She glanced around the empty cave, and could see the sunlight fading.
Gamair had left her alone, and she hoped that Vander would kick his ass and free her. She had faith in her dragon warrior. He would come for her. Her head fell forward and rested on her chest. The pendant beneath her shirt rested beneath her chin.
“Vander,” she whispered, rubbing her chin against the hidden pendant. Warmth radiated from beneath her shirt and against her chin. Again, calmness came over her. She just knew that everything would be all right.
Vander was near.
A shadow at the opening of the cave caused her to gasp. She looked up and all hope was dashed. Gamair strode into the musty cavern toward her. Her heart sped up at his narrowed look. Was this how she would meet her end? Her entire life seemed to flash before her eyes. Flashes of her life raced in front of her as he approached her.
“Change of plans,” he snapped, grabbing her by her arm. Immediately, she felt the release of her limbs. She breathed a sigh of relief as she regained control of her body as he dragged her to her feet.
“What’s going on?” she squealed as he pulled her behind him.
“Your boyfriend and his band of warriors are too close,” he announced as they left the hideaway. She glanced behind them as he led her up, higher into the wooded hill.
She knew that he would come for her.
He didn’t let her down.
She grunted as her foot hit a stone hidden in the dirt, causing her to almost crash to the ground. Gamair growled as he snatched her arm. She yelped at the sharp tug.
“You’re going to pull my arm out of the socket,” she snapped, trying to pull her arm back.
“That’s going to be the least of your worries,” he growled, pulling harder as he continued to rush up the path.
She couldn’t let him get to the top of the hill. She was sure if he shifted and took off with her, she would never see Vander again. She glanced behind her into the woods and knew what she would have to do.
Scream.
“Vander!” She screamed as loud as her lungs would allow her to.
“Bitch!” Gamair bit out. Swinging his arm at her, he caught her on the side of her face. She tumbled back, falling on her ass. Her cheek stung from the slap. She turned and found him glaring down at her as he approached her. She grinned through the pain, knowing that Vander would have heard her.
If he was going to take her, she would have to put up a fight, long enough for Vander to reach her.
Her smile faded as the ground began to rumble beneath her. She looked around, thinking it would open up and swallow her, but everything around her trembled. She found Gamair staring up at the sky.
“See what you’ve done?” He sneered at her. “Now I must kill your mate in front of you.” He took off running up the path and disappeared into the woods. She looked through the trees, and saw a massive shadow flying overhead.
Her mate?
Is that why Vander was going above and beyond for a woman he just met? Was she his mate?
“Vander,” she whispered, her heart pounding. She’d never seen his dragon, but knew deep down that it was him. The roar of a dragon filled the air as the ground rumbled again.
She scrambled to her feet and almost fell again as the ground shook beneath her. She gained her footing and took off running in the direction that Gamair had disappeared. She could hear a second dragon roar fill the air. This one’s roar was so powerful, the wind blew the trees back and knocked her back a few steps. She knew she was close as she pushed forward, keeping her eyes on the sky.
The trees finally thinned out, and she came to a halt at the edge of the woods. At the top of the hill was a large clearing that held two dragons circling each other. Her eyes widened, taking in the black dragon, but it was the newcomer that held her attention. He looked just like his statue, but even more fierce, much larger, and more dangerous.
A deafening screech grabbed her attention as the black dragon attacked Vander. With nowhere else to go, she slid behind a wide tree as her heart jumped in her throat as the battle began.
18
The sound of Faye’s scream echoed in the back of his mind. He knew he had been close to her from her voice whispering in his head, but once he heard his name screamed, his dragon burst free. It was no longer willing to sit back. The shifting in the middle of woods wreaked havoc on the already dying forest. His dragon was too large for the area, but it didn’t matter. Faye was in danger.
He could sense her close by as he circled Gamair. His dragon was in pure beast mode. Gamair thought that he was impossible to defeat. The Death Lord thought that he was too powerful for Vander, but that was where the black dragon was wrong. He had never fought Vander, The Warrior, who was protecting his mate.
Even Vander couldn’t control his beast this time. Gamair came in for the attack, but Vander’s dragon was in control and able to bat him off, twisting around and going for Gamair’s neck. He knew that he had to stay on the Death Lord, and not let him use his energy. Vander’s teeth sunk into the dragon, causing him to bellow out in pain. The dragon kicked him off, causing him to lose his grip on him.
Gamair took advantage of the kick and advanced again, trying to knock Vander down, but Vander recovered quickly. With a quick, deep breath, he blew out his scorching flames from his mouth.
Gamair let loose a scream as the flames danced along his scales. He tried to turn and run, pumping his wings as if to take off.
He was not getting in the air. If he did, there was no telling where this battle would end. Vander couldn’t risk any more innocents getting injured or killed at the hands of the Death Lord.
&
nbsp; A sound of a dragon’s roar in the air echoed around them.
Feno.
Vander pounced on the tail of the Death Lord, halting his flight into the air. The dragon turned, trying to swipe his sharp talons at Vander.
Feno flew overhead and breathed his fire down onto the dragon. Vander did the same, knowing that a dragon’s fire was one certain way to kill a dragon. Not many knew this, and dragons did not share this information. Normal fire did nothing, but it was the magic that was laced into a dragon’s fire that was deadly to another dragon.
Gamair tried to fight them off, but he was getting weaker by the second, as they continued to breathe their flames onto him. Vander let the dragon’s tail go as he concentrated on sending his flames. Gamair was quickly losing his fight as he slowly tried to crawl away. Another roar came from the sky, signaling the arrival of Jodos in his dragon form. He, too, joined them in sending flames onto the black dragon as he hovered in the air alongside Feno.
Finally, the Death Lord’s fight went out of him. His body collapsed to the ground, unmoving. Feno and Jodos landed as they waited to see if the black dragon would move.
“Is he dead?” Jodos asked, breaking the silence through their mental link.
Vander’s dragon released a growl as he moved closer to the burnt dragon. Vander couldn’t sense a heartbeat from Gamair.
“He’s dead,” Vander informed them. His dragon huffed, pissed that it was that easy to kill the Death Lord. He would have preferred to draw out the death and torture him slowly, until he faded into nothing, but this would have to do. Short and sweet.
The villagers would now be avenged.
Dalma would be avenged.
Faye would be—
Faye! He turned his head, and his eyes frantically searched the area. He had to find her. His eyes landed on the wooded area that was at the top of the hill, which led to where Gamair had appeared in the clearing. A slight movement from behind a tree caught his attention.
He slowly began to walk in the direction of the woods, his eyes on the small human that was peeking from behind a tree.
Faye.
“Go to her, brother,” Feno said. “We’ll take care of the body.”
Vander moved toward the trees, knowing that his brother would do as he’d promised, as Faye moved from behind the tree she had been hiding behind. It was the first time that he had revealed his dragon to her. He had to pull back on his dragon. His beast was ready to dash over to her and scoop her up, but Vander was sure that would scare the shit out of her.
Gentle, he scolded his dragon. We don’t want to scare her.
He could instantly feel his dragon calm down slightly as they stopped just yards away from her. She stood there, eyes wide, staring up at him. She appeared so tiny as she stood next to his massive dragon.
“Vander?” she whispered. Her voice was faint, but he would recognize the sound of his name on her lips anytime.
He nodded his head as he bent down to her. His nostrils flared as he took in her scent. No fear, just the scent of his woman. His dragon loved that she was not afraid of them. Her small hand touched the tip of his nose. He closed his eyes briefly, before opening them to find a small smile on her lips.
“Can you understand me?” she asked.
He nodded his head to her. Even though his dragon was in the forefront, he was still aware of everything. He gently pushed against her hand. She had asked him before if he would take her for a ride in the sky.
Now that Gamair was dead, he would be able to finally concentrate on making her his. He leaned his head down to the ground.
She gasped as she looked at him.
“A ride?” she asked, her bright smile lighting up her face. He nodded his head as she ran to him. It was time that he gave her the world.
Faye didn’t hesitate as she ran to Vander. Her heart slammed in her chest at the sheer size of his dragon. Never would she have imagined that she would watch dragons fight to the death, much less ride one. The scales that covered his body were tough, but smooth to the touch. She was able to climb up on his shoulders, and rested right at the base of his neck.
She braced as his muscles bunched beneath her touch before they were thrust into the air by Vander’s massive wingspan. She gasped as she held on tight to Vander’s neck, with her eyes squeezed shut. Her hair whipped around her face as they flew through the air.
She released her grip on his neck and lifted her head slightly. With one eye opened, she glanced around and saw nothing but the night sky, filled with twinkling stars. Not a cloud was in the sky, and she was in awe of what was in front of her as they glided through the peaceful night. She had never seen a sky so beautiful. It was like she had a front row seat to a magical light show.
“This is beautiful,” she murmured, opening her other eye. Excitement filled her chest, and she wished that she could know what Vander was thinking. She didn’t dare move. She didn’t want to chance sliding off the large dragon’s back.
Vander’s dragon snorted, as if reading her thoughts.
“Where are we going?” she shouted around the wind. She knew it was silly to think that the dragon could respond to her.
But where were they going?
“Home.”
The word was whispered in her ear as the breeze flew past her.
She knew they weren’t heading toward Blue Creek. They were cutting through the sky at high speeds.
Was Vander speaking to her telepathically?
“Whose home?” she thought to herself. There was no way that Vander was speaking to her.
No way.
“Our home.” His voice was now clear, and she knew that she wasn’t hearing things. She sat back, amazed that they were able to speak to each other. Did this mean that they were truly mates? Her heart sped up at the thought. She cared deeply for him, and knew that there would never be another one.
“Hold on to that thought.” Vander’s voice broke through her thoughts.
Her eyes widened as the sight of the castle came into view.
Home.
He was taking them home. The large dragon circled the landing pad of the castle. She wasn’t sure what to do as he began to make the descent toward the pad. She held on tight as he made a soft landing. She looked around as the dragon turned and lowered itself toward the ground.
She slid off the dragon and backed away while keeping her eyes on him. She rode a flipping dragon! She was in awe as she stared at the dragon. The dragon stared at her, as it seemed to puff its chest out.
She barked out a laugh as she realized that he was showing off for her. Power radiated from the massive beast. He was beautiful, but she wanted to see his human counterpart.
“Such a handsome dragon. You are magnificent.” She smiled, clasping her hands to her chest. “But I need to speak to Vander now.”
19
Vander had to force his dragon to back away so that he was able to shift and come to the forefront. His dragon, finally able to strut in front of Faye, was having too much fun showing off. It wanted Faye to accept him as well.
He opened his eyes, and Faye came into view. His legs moved on their own accord, needing to get to her. She ran toward him, meeting him halfway, and threw her body at him. He caught her midair, bringing her flush against his body.
“I knew you would come for me,” she cried out, tightening her arms around his neck.
“Always,” he murmured, promising to never let her go. He refused to lose her, and was glad that Gamair was finally dead.
“Was that you in my head, or am I going crazy?” she pulled back and asked. He smiled down at the curious look in her eye. He knew without a doubt she was his mate. If he was able to communicate telepathically with her, then that proved beyond a doubt that she was meant to be his.
“Yes,” he admitted, pushing a strand of her swamp dried hair from her face. Even dirty from her ordeal in the Wetlands, she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. She smiled, and shyly looked down, then she froze in p
lace. “Over time, the connection between us will get stronger.”
“Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed, shock etched on her face. “You’re naked!”
He glanced down and chuckled. His cock appeared to decide to wake up at that moment and stood at attention.
“Ah, sorry,” he murmured. “Clothing doesn’t make it through the shift.”
With a wave his hand, clothing appeared on his body, covering his naked flesh.
“Wow.” Faye chuckled as she eyed him. “Can you make your clothes disappear like that too?” She cocked an eyebrow at him. He barked out a laugh.
He just loved her sass.
“Mine and yours,” he promised. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the entry door of the castle.
“So, what does all of this mean?” she asked as she followed behind him.
It was time for him to tell her everything. That she was his mate, and that everything he had ever collected in his castle was to prepare for his mate. Now that the threat toward her was gone, they could begin their life together, as long as she would have him.
“Hold that thought.” He quickly ushered her into the castle and pulled her behind him as he marched down the halls. It was late at night, and most of the servants would be off duty.
“I’m sure I look like death warmed over. If my clothes are a hint of what I look like, I don’t want to scare anyone—”
“You’re fine. This won’t take long,” he assured her as they came to the table in the hallway that blocked his horde room. He released her hand to push the sturdy table out of the way. He turned to Faye and blew out a nervous breath. His dragon had been collecting for years to prepare for this moment.
“Dalma told me that this room was off-limits—” she began. He placed a finger to her lips as he stared down at her.
“Come. I’ll show you what’s in there.” He motioned for her to follow him. He stopped in front of the steel door and placed his hand on the biometric hand scanner.
Over the years, he had built up quite the horde for his future mate. It would require top security, as technology had advanced over the years. The light over the pad on the wall beeped as it turned green.