by Zoe Chant
He was glad they'd nearly made it. Even though his leg was mostly healed, he still felt weaker than he'd been before. Every now and then, there was a scratchy sensation in his chest, as if some of the ash he'd breathed in was still in his lungs.
Maybe the salty air would help. In any case, another night's rest should have him back to new.
And there were more important things to worry about right now. Like his mate's safety.
She'd be safe on Wing Island. Timothy's little ocean town was a peaceful place, and it was far away from the mountain where Steele had gone underground.
Former mountain—I guess it's a volcano now.
All that mattered right now was that Steele wouldn't find her there. Eventually, Braeden would have to leave again, he knew that. His mission had been to take out Steele. That was what the chimera, the master of the council of elements, had demanded of him.
Steele's more dangerous than we thought. If his fire can harm me, the master of fire...
He'd have to return. As soon as Alyx was safe and had recovered from her ordeal, he'd have to search out Steele again.
And the next time, Braeden wouldn't flee. He'd make an end of this threat to his mate, no matter what it took out of him.
He could feel Alyx's rising excitement as before them, the ocean came into view.
The sun was shining, and the water was calm. In the distance, they could see white dots bobbing on the waves, small sailboats and yachts making use of the good weather.
For a while, Braeden followed the coastline. Eventually, there were fewer boats to be seen, and fewer houses and cars.
At last, there was only one narrow road—and it lead straight to a small peninsula.
Except for the narrow strip of land and the deserted road that connected it to the mainland, Wing Island was surrounded by the ocean on all other sides. White beaches gleamed in the sun beneath them, while the center of the island was a verdant green.
Here and there, mansions and smaller houses had been built on the beach. And in the center of the peninsula, there was a cluster of buildings: the small ocean town that housed the bakery with the best donuts Braeden had ever tasted, and the coffee shop where Liana, the ocean dragon's mate, liked to hang out and talk about movies Braeden had never seen.
For a moment, he felt a small wave of jealousy rise up in him.
Wing Island was a real home, with a real community. But he wouldn't be able to give his mate anything like this. He had no home. He'd left the world of the fire dragons behind.
He'd grown fond of the other dragons of the council of elements. He'd even made friends with them and their mates, and for the first time in his life, he'd started to feel as if he was part of something good.
But for most of his time with them, he'd been their prisoner. Even now that he was free and a powerful elemental dragon himself, he didn't have a house he could invite her to.
Wing Island had lots of vacation homes for shifters, so he was sure that they'd have a place to stay. But never before had he felt the lack of a home of his own so keenly.
Fire. Smoke. Dark caves. The bitter taste of ash on his tongue.
Braeden exhaled, then took another deep breath of the bracing air. It smelled of freedom and sunshine and days spent playing in the waves. This wasn't the time to linger on those dark memories.
You can't leave it behind. The darkness is your home. Those gloomy caves raised you. You'll drag her back into the darkness with you...
Braeden shook his head to get rid of the insistent thoughts. Where'd they even come from?
He and Alyx were free. They were safe.
No, he wasn't going to think about what they'd left behind now. He'd found his mate. Steele was still a threat, of course—but that could wait. First, he'd show Alyx everything that was beautiful and peaceful in the shifter world.
So what if he didn't have a home of his own? They'd given him one of those plastic cards humans used instead of gold. He'd learn all about human treasures, and then he'd build her a home fit for a human queen.
Fit for the Lady of the Fire.
Beneath them, Wing Island had quickly come closer. He heard Alyx laugh in amazement when she got a good look at it when he dipped his wings and descended.
His leg felt nearly fine now. His throat felt still scratchy—but he was no longer in pain. And he'd be completely healed in no time, before he'd have to face Steele again.
Below, a stretch of white beach shining in the sunlight came closer and closer. In front of them, a large mansion rose, built half above the ocean on wooden poles, with balconies that led straight into the water.
The second Braeden landed, the door was flung open and Timothy rushed out. His dragon must have felt that another dragon shifter was intruding on his land.
Timothy's look of alarm turned into one of amazement a heartbeat later, and Braeden quickly shifted back into human form.
“Braeden,” Timothy said in surprise when they approached.
Then, breathless, wearing only a bikini and her tawny skin still gleaming wetly in the sun, Timothy's mate joined him.
“What happened? Is everything all right?” Liana asked. Then her eyes widened when she saw that Braeden had brought company.
Braeden felt a proud smile tug on his lips. “This is Alyx—my mate. Alyx, this is Timothy, the ocean dragon, and his mate Liana.”
“Your mate?” Liana asked in amazement, and Timothy sputtered, “No way!” at the same time.
Braeden couldn't stop grinning, his dragon curling around himself in pride as Alyx shook their hands.
“I have to say, this is a lot nicer than the fire dragon housing,” Alyx murmured. “Next time, I want to be captured by beach dragons serving me tropical cocktails.”
“Captured?” Liana repeated, her look of joy turning into one of horror. “What happened? Braeden, weren't you supposed to find Steele?”
“I was,” he said darkly, “and I found him. And that's also where I found her. A prisoner of fire dragons. A human woman, imprisoned deep beneath a mountain.”
Again, that terrible memory of darkness rose up inside him. He could nearly hear Steele's laughter in his mind.
Determined, he forced the sensation back.
“I didn't know they'd started to capture innocent humans,” Timothy said, sounding shocked. “So far, they only attacked us—”
“They also attacked me,” Liana pointed out.
“Because you were my mate.”
Liana raised a brow. “And Alyx is...?”
“The fire dragon's mate,” Timothy completed, his face darkening. “How did they know?”
“They didn't,” Alyx cut in. “I'm pretty sure of it. They would have mentioned it. And anyway, they didn't care about me. They did some sort of experiment that involved drinking horrible, disgusting potions. Sometimes it felt like drinking liquid fire and smoke. But whatever they were trying to do didn't work. I was useless. I'm pretty sure they would have just killed me. But the firebird needed a servant, so I got to play maid instead.”
“Experiments? And—a firebird?” Timothy held up a hand. “Wait. That's a lot to take in. Come in, have a drink and some food, and then tell me everything you know from the beginning.”
Braeden met Timothy's eyes and then nodded, not surprised by the shock he saw in them.
It was worse than they'd expected. Steele had to be taken out—if only so that this wouldn't happen to anyone else.
And he'd promised Alyx that he'd keep her safe from now on. She wouldn't be safe until Steele was gone.
I'll never be gone, the memory of Steele's voice seemed to growl in his head. Darkness follows day. It cannot be destroyed.
Annoyed, Braeden shook his head again. Why'd he let Steele get so under his skin?
“I could use a drink, actually,” Alyx said with a wry smile. “I feel like I've just escaped hell and been carried straight to paradise.”
***
Braeden took a sip of the cocktail Timothy had prepared for them. He'd thoug
ht it would be too sweet for his liking—but Liana had sprinkled something on it with a wink at him, and now there was just the right combination of cherry, rum, vanilla, and chili. It ran down his throat with a pleasing burn—almost like swallowing dragon fire.
Alyx was holding a cocktail that was a milky blue, the same color as the ocean stretching to the horizon in front of them. She stared at it with the awe a dragon reserved for gold and diamonds.
“There's even a little paper umbrella in it,” she said. “Is this really real? Why couldn't I have been captured by the nice dragons? The ones with beaches and cocktails?”
Timothy grinned. “It's because we don't capture people. Sorry. But you're welcome to visit any time!”
Alyx took a deep sip of her cocktail, and Braeden watched her eyes close as she made a sound of delight.
“Okay,” she said, keeping her eyes closed, “you've convinced me. Not all shifters are evil. This is divine!”
Braeden couldn't stop smiling as he watched her. The hours running and hiding in the fire dragon lair almost seemed like a bad dream now.
“I'm sorry they got you,” he said softly. “I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again.”
“The chimera will need to know about this.” Timothy gave him a look.
Braeden nodded. “I know. And he probably won't be pleased I didn't take out Steele like I promised.”
“He'll understand,” Liana said. “You found your mate. Steele's dangerous, but what were you supposed to do?”
“What he did do,” Alyx said with a disbelieving laugh, “was to make a volcano erupt. Did he tell you that? Because that was the most incredible and absolutely terrifying thing I've seen in my entire life. And I hope I'll never see anything like it again. It was straight out of Indiana Jones, trying to run away from the rising magma.”
Braeden shrugged nonchalantly when Timothy and Liana stared at him. “It worked, didn't it? Every fire dragon down in that mountain will still be busy trying to keep the magma from flooding their home. I know they can do it. I didn't take them out. But it'll take all their strength.”
“Which means we're safe in dragon paradise, at least for a while.” Alyx stretched in the sunlight.
Liana had given her some of her clothes, and now that she was no longer wearing the scorched shirt and jeans they'd escaped in, Alyx was even more striking.
Instead of the fierce woman with angry eyes who'd risked everything to escape, he now saw Alyx the way she must have been before they'd imprisoned her underground and made her serve the firebird.
Wearing a thin yellow shirt and flowing skirt with confidence, Alyx lounged in the sun as if Steele should be afraid of her instead.
And he should be.
Braeden would have fought him anyway. It was his duty—to the council of elements and also to all vulnerable humans and shifters. He was the master of fire. Who but he could deal with that threat?
But now that he knew that Steele had captured his mate and imprisoned her underground, using her for strange experiments and then just throwing her away when she didn't prove useful...
His dragon hissed with rage, the flame at the heart of him burning high with protective anger.
He couldn't undo what had happened to Alyx. But he could make sure that it would never, ever happen again.
And from the way Alyx looked at him with sudden heat in her eyes, he knew that she'd only cheer him on.
Chapter Eleven: Alyx
“Time to explore your shifter paradise?” Alyx smiled at Braeden, nodding towards where the beach stretched away from the house.
Earlier, Braeden and Timothy had vanished for half an hour to update the council of elements they kept mentioning. Alyx had been glad to get a moment of quiet.
Especially as it meant that she got to chat with Liana a little.
The curvy black woman who seemed to go nowhere without her tiny laptop was refreshingly normal. Although Braeden had called her the Lady of the Water, Alyx wouldn't have been surprised at all to meet her in her favorite coffee shop back home, hacking away at her keyboard in her comic print shirt.
But for all that Alyx used to report on the latest fashion trends, right now she felt incredibly grateful to wear a clean shirt with a Captain America print on it.
There was a time for fashion and makeup and her unfortunate addiction to nail polishes. Escaping from an erupting volcano was not that time.
Still, it was good to be back in the real world. If the curious little shifter island counted as real.
But even though Liana had told her about bunny shifters, weregulls, and a pair of retired werewolves who lived around the corner, it felt real. It felt normal, the way the fire dragon caves hadn't.
Perhaps because the werewolves on this island seemed more bothered about how the fish weren't biting today.
“Here are John and James,” Braeden said when he waved to two old men in a small wooden boat not far from the shore.
“The werewolves?”
Liana had told Alyx about them, but the two men giving them a nod looked like any other retired couple she'd ever seen.
“The werewolves,” Braeden confirmed with a grin, clearly pleased by her bafflement.
It was nice to walk in the sunshine, werewolves or not. She hadn't even realized how much she'd missed the light of the sun.
In the caves, there had been the fake sun of dragon fire, and lamps and torches. But to feel the warmth of real sunlight on her face and her bare arms again was incredible.
“They've clearly got good taste if they retired here.” Alyx raised her own hand in greeting.
They hadn't come racing towards her to sniff her or bite her, or whatever it was werewolves did in fairy tales. They seemed way too preoccupied with staring at their fishing rods.
Truly the most boring hobby.
Not that she'd tell them that to their face. She preferred a fishing werewolf to a hunting fire dragon, in any case.
They kept walking for another fifteen minutes until they made it to the small town she'd been promised. Braeden kept telling her with gleaming eyes about a cat shifter who served handmade ice cream—the best she'd ever taste, or so he claimed.
But before they could even reach the promised ice cream parlor, Alyx was distracted by a sign swaying gently in the wind above her. It had bunny ears and said: Bunny’s Boutique.
“Look at that shirt!” Alyx pressed her face to the window where a gorgeous, silken shirt had caught her attention.
The shirt was red and gold—colors that went well with her hair. And she loved the feeling of silk against her body. Not that she was able to afford lots of silk designer shirts, but if there was one perk to writing about the fashion industry, it was that she often came home with a shirt or a dress or two after a fashion show.
One of the reasons she'd been hot on the trend of curvy couture.
By now, she knew a lot of people in the industry. Which meant that she got to be among the first to report on the latest trends. And she also got to help out the poor designers who didn't want to drag home suitcase after suitcase of their latest models after a fashion show...
“Silk,” Braeden said, interrupting her thoughts. “I like silk.”
She turned and raised a brow at him, impressed despite herself. “You've got a good eye.”
“I'm a dragon, remember? We're good with treasure.”
He grinned at her, and she found herself laughing in response.
“I guess your ancestors kidnapped a lot of princesses who only dressed in silk and velvet.”
“I wouldn't know,” he said, sounding affronted. “I've never kidnapped a princess in my life.”
“Just kidding.” She couldn't stop smiling at him. Walking with him through this lovely and utterly normal little shifter town felt like the best thing that had ever happened to her.
So much better than fire dragon lairs.
“I only rescue princesses,” he murmured.
There was a hint of roughness in his voi
ce, and he leaned closer. Alyx's heart immediately began speeding up, her body remembering the sensation of his heated skin against hers, the way he'd made her feel utterly alive and utterly treasured.
“Joke's on you,” she whispered. “I'm not a princess.”
Then their lips met, and for a moment, she completely forgot where she was as his strong arms wrapped around her body.
Warmth filled her from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair. It was like inhaling fire—only this was a fire that wasn't scary.
It didn't destroy.
Instead, it made her burn, her entire body yearning to be closer to him. If she opened herself to him completely...
She could see the golden light again. Like a thin thread, it hung between them.
It vibrated with her need and desire—and through it, she could feel the intensity of Braeden's own desire for her, wave after wave of his need rushing in like wildfire.
She'd always thought herself a shrewd, experienced player of the dating game. She'd done the dating apps, the matchmaking websites, the speed dating.
There just weren't many men who were willing to put up with the fact that she'd invested a lot of hard work and time into her career. She wasn't going to give up on it, not for anyone. Even if it meant that there would be limited time for a boyfriend.
Still, every now and then, when she woke up on a Sunday morning and spent a lazy hour or two preparing an elaborate brunch for herself, with eggs just the way she liked them, she missed someone to share that morning with.
Someone who'd go to see a movie with her, the rare evening she had time for that, and who'd hold hands when it got too scary.
Someone who wouldn't complain when she got home late from work, but who'd use the time they had together for a shared bath, with soft, relaxing music and a glass of wine.
Maybe even someone who'd take out silken blindfolds afterward.
But that sort of man was impossible to find. She hadn't been lucky with the apps and the speed dating, and she’d tried.
Until she'd run into Braeden.
Or rather, until Braeden had run into her...
“You do need new clothes,” he said.
Amused, she laughed and tugged lightly on the shirt Liana had grabbed from Timothy's wardrobe for him. It had an Iron Man print on it.