Zarin

by Sarah J. Stone

  Zarin

  Cole (Bonus)

  Alexander (Bonus)

  Peter (Bonus)

  Nicholas (Bonus)

  Spencer (Bonus)

  Aris Preview

  Exclusive Book

  Zarin

  Stratham Dragons Book 3

  Sarah J. Stone

  Copyright © 2017 by Sarah J. Stone. This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Exclusive Book

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  Other Books in This Series

  Aris (Book 1)

  Ilias (Book 2)

  Chapter 1

  “I told you to close your eyes, picture the flame, and feel the rush of the heat running through your body. Own it!” It was taking too much time, and as much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t feel well. Zarin turned away from Ilias’ mate, Andrea, and placed his hands on his hips, trying to catch his breath. The more stressed out he became, the worse he felt—at least they’d figured out that much in the last month. Learning about their dragons was tough when they didn’t have anyone who had experienced it helping them. It was all a matter of guessing and seeing what happened. Not a fun way to live life, but there was no other choice.

  He knew he’d promised Ilias that he would help Andrea, not only with her addiction but with her magic, too; he just wasn’t sure he could handle it anymore, and that wasn’t something he liked admitting. Just because they were both Red Dragons didn’t mean he was the best to help her, considering he hadn’t used his fire magic in over two years and for good reason. He shook his head and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, just like he did when he practiced his yoga. He needed to find his calm, or helping her was going to be the end for him. Maybe quite literally, too. She was a pain in the ass.

  “I am feeling it!”

  His body tensed at her high-pitched whine. He didn’t know how Ilias put up with her. She was understandably hard to handle as she battled against her addiction, but it was almost like she didn’t want to learn how to overcome the beast, both figuratively and literally. If she would focus, it would be the distraction she needed to be able to move on in her life.

  If she didn’t want to learn, then fine; then she needed to stop wasting his time. He really had better things to do, like find his damn mate so he didn’t keep feeling this shitty all the time. Yeah, that’s what he could be doing instead. He hated how weak he felt. It wasn’t all the time, but right now, it decided it was time to kick him while he was already down. Strange flutters chased through his skin as if something was using his body as a maze.

  The heat kicked on, keeping out the icy chill of the storm that raged outside. He looked up through the skylight and watched as ice and large flakes of snow pelted against the glass. That had to be the problem. She hadn’t wanted to work today—it was too cold, she said. But he didn’t care how bad it was outside. That was the point of this building.

  He studied the large room and smiled at his designs. He was thrilled when Aris took his plans and brought them to life. For two years, he’d settled in the basement for his training, or he’d go to the gym where he worked, but now he had his own space that rivaled the gym he worked at. It hadn’t taken as long as he thought it would to build either. Aris had somehow managed to get the team of builders to work nearly fifteen hour days every day for two months. Then bam, he and his tribe had a proper place to work out and release their beasts’ aggressions and stay fit, no matter what type of weather Mother Earth bestowed on them.

  When he glanced her way, she stood with her feet shoulder width apart, her hands were at her sides in tiny balls, and she squeezed her eyes shut so tight they might actually pop out. He blew out a breath and stalked toward her. He grabbed her hands, ignoring her yelp of surprise and peeled them open. They were stiff and cold. He massaged her fingers, relaxing them; she’d never pull it off holding on to so much anger. Andrea’s eyes shot open. She was pissed off, but oh well. This was what she asked for. The flames did nothing; they were meant to intimidate. They didn’t. He shifted his eyes easily and glared at her.

  “Stop it. You’re not relaxed. That’s the problem.”

  She hissed. “I’m trying.”

  Zarin rolled his shoulders, praying for patience. He lifted her hands to show her the claws that had sprung from her fingers. “This right here means you’re not relaxing. I know it’s hard, especially with the other things on your mind, but if you want to learn how to control the dragon—or, rather, work with her—then you need to practice.”

  “I don’t see you practicing. Maybe if you showed me—”

  “No!”

  Andrea yanked her hand away, and he hissed when her claw cut his palm. “Then there’s no point. I’ll never learn if I can’t see what it’s supposed to look like,” she cried.

  That was it. She’d done nothing but complain. She promised she wouldn’t, but she was by far the worst student he’d ever had. He threw up his hands and planted them on his hips. “That’s it. You just don’t want to learn. All you want to do is bitch that you’re not getting it. Well, if you would actually put effort into anything you did maybe you wouldn’t be such a failure.”

  Her eyes brightened, and her body went rigid. “I’m not a failure!”

  “You give up too fast. As soon as something gets hard, you bow out. Just like you did how many times with Ilias? How many times did he have to save your ass? If that’s not a failure, then I don’t know what is.”

  Andrea was not the least bit intimated by him, or at least, she didn’t show it as she stalked toward him with a clawed finger pointed at him. He didn’t move even as the flames swirled in her eyes. He was more dominant than her. And she was a fledgling. She had no idea what he could do to her if he lost control. Hell, she had no idea what she was capable of if she trained correctly.

  “Yeah, well, at least we’re mated. You’re all alone, and you’ve got some stick up your ass. For some reason, you don’t have the balls to show me how to use the fire. I’ll bet you don’t even know how!”

  Black flickered in front of his eyes. That was it. He clenched his jaw and ignored the ache in his head. He tried to convince himself to calm down; that she was only goading him. But she went too far. She knew how worried he was about finding his mate, or if he even had one. They’d talked about it that first night she had cold sweats and she needed to get high. It was too painful for Ilias to watch her go through withdrawals, so as his best friend, he offered to help her through the first night. He held her hair back as she vomited, and he told her of his fears, hoping to distract her. He’d thought they bonded, but that was just a lie. It didn’t take long for her to throw it back in his face.

  “I see,” he said. He voice was low and monotone. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of anger. Oh no, he was too far past the anger; she’d betrayed him already. This was exactly why he didn’t like her. He’d show her just how much he did know how to use the fire. His mind reeled and screamed at him to stop, but his dragon had other ideas.

  His dragon, so long neglected jumped up from his hibernation. ‘Let’s show her just how much balls we do have.’

  He stood like a statue, staring at Andrea, but at the same time, he shot his hand into the air toward the target. For the first time in two years, he let his dragon into the driver’s seat. As soon as he did, the warmth of the fire that he always used to feel—the warmth he locked up and filled with the chill of his stone-cold heart�
�rushed through his veins, his limbs, and his heart. It settled in place as if it hadn’t been locked away for so long. The magic knew where it belonged; it knew him, his body, and his mind as it soared through his arms and shot right out of the tips of his fingers.

  A wash of yellow and red flames incinerated the target, and expanded. He didn’t stop, not even when he heard Andrea scream. His mind went blank, and the scent of burning propelled a thrill through him. He chuckled, allowing the fire to grow.

  ***

  He heard the roar right before he was tackled to the ground. He fell and landed with a heavy thud, the flames extinguished, and he blinked before looking into the golden eyes of his king. Instinct was all he had in that moment. He shifted back, put his dragon to rest, and cried out. The heavy body on him moved, and Zarin huddled into himself sobbing. He couldn’t go down that road—not again.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Andrea whispered to Aris, but he could still hear her.

  “You pushed him too far is what happened. What the hell were you thinking, goading him like that? He’s already told you he won’t do the magic.”

  “I just wanted to see—”

  “And now you’ve seen, haven’t you?!”

  Zarin heard Aris storm out of the building and the door slammed shocking him out of his huddled position. His body ached from being slammed to the ground, but it was better than the alternative had Aris not been able to kill the flames. He felt Andrea close in on him. She tiptoed toward him. He glanced at her—not really seeing her, just her behavior, and he noticed how timid and submissive she was.

  ‘Good.’

  His dragon snickered, proud that they’d scared her. That was the point after all, wasn’t it?

  “How could you?” He hadn’t felt this hurt in so long. His eyes filled with the tears he’d never shed, and the betrayal rocked through him. He looked down at his hands and felt the same shame he’d felt before. It had been a long time since he’d felt this level of betrayal. “I told you I’d help you without using my magic. I told you I had my own reasons that maybe someday I’d explain if you earned my trust, but all you’ve done is shatter it.”

  Andrea went to speak—probably to apologize—but he didn’t want to hear it. He held up his hand. “No, do not talk to me—at all.”

  Zarin pulled himself up from the ground and shoved his hands in the pockets of his gym pants. He shook his head and walked away from her.

  “I’m sorry,” she said just as he pushed open the door and strode into the frigid cold. He’d rather freeze than hear her voice.

  He shivered as he stomped through the snow. He hadn’t realized how far they’d gone in such a short time, but it was what he needed. The cold air hit his lungs, waking him up from his daze. He cut through the bushes and winced when a thorn ripped his shirt and pricked his side. The sting wasn’t enough to slow him down. He pushed through and sighed when he climbed the hill. Regardless of the snow and ice, Zarin plopped onto the ground and wrapped his arms around his legs.

  So, he’d used his fire magic. He shuddered when he remembered how good the warmth felt as it flowed through his body, how strong and powerful he’d felt when the flames emerged from the tips of his fingers. It was like a long-forgotten memory rushing back. The seed of power was planted inside of him. His heart raced, his palms began to sweat. It was the same as before. He was back at square one.

  ***

  Zarin wasn’t sure how long he sat staring at the clouds. His body had long since gone numb, and even his dragon was cold. But he didn’t care. He’d broken his vow, and nothing else could have filled him full of such regret. His hands shook from cold—or something much worse? Was the power of the magic already taking over?

  “It won’t be like before,” Aris said.

  Zarin hadn’t heard him coming. He needed to do a better job of keeping his guard up, because in the snow, he should have known Aris was there. “You can’t be sure of that.” He didn’t move or turn toward his king.

  “You’re a different person than you were then, and I think you know that Andrea is suffering, and sometimes the only way to overcome a problem is to poke at someone else’s.”

  “She crossed a line today.”

  “Yes, she did, but she’s also new and overcoming an addiction. Plus, better than anyone, you understand what it’s like to have a Red Dragon inside of you.”

  His shoulders dropped as he realized Aris was right. Of course, he was. He wouldn’t have been made king if he didn’t know his shit. But Zarin didn’t want to admit that—not yet. For now, he wanted to be mad. He wanted to let the anger seethe for a while.

  “You should come home. You’re already sick. Why make it worse just because you’re angry?”

  “Is that an order?” he quipped, his voice dripping in dark sarcasm.

  Aris growled, and Zarin’s instincts said to apologize. He ignored them.

  “I’ll let that go, only because I know what you’re going through. Remember, we’ve been here before.” Aris sighed. “And no, it’s not an order, but as your friend—not your king—I wish you’d come home. You can’t afford to get sick. I’ve sent Ilias and Andrea out.”

  “Fine,” he muttered, and went to stand, but his body didn’t want to cooperate. His knees buckled as soon as he tried to put any of his weight on them. He fell to the ground and smacked his shoulder on a rock that had buried itself under the snow. He yelled in pain as the tip dug into his shoulder. It was sharp as hell.

  Aris was at his side in an instant, pulling him from the ground. Zarin put all of his weight against Aris’ large frame, trusting him to be able to support him.

  Aris huffed and wrapped his arm around Zarin. “Let’s get you home and see what the problem is, eh?”

  Zarin chuckled. “Yeah, that’d be good.” He was lucky he hadn’t decided to go to the spring instead of this hill. “You can handle it all right?”

  “Of course. I’m bigger and stronger than you.”

  Right.

  He didn’t believe that for a minute. Aris might be larger than him, but he wasn’t stronger. Aris didn’t train his body the way he did. As they made their way, he tried not to think about how good it felt to do magic again. There was a part deep inside of him that missed it every day. It’s why he stayed busy. Keeping busy was the only way, and that’s why he was trying to teach Andrea the same. If he could get her mind to accept distraction, then her body wouldn’t crave so much. Maybe trying to force his way on her wasn’t the right approach; maybe he was trying too hard to turn her into something she wasn’t.

  Aris hefted him up the stairs. Zarin tried to help, but tingles shot through his legs, sending a shock of pain through the muscles in his calf. “There’s…something…wrong,” he said.

  This made Aris move faster, nearly dragging him into the house. But instead of carrying him to the couch like they normally did (sadly, he’d been on that couch plenty in the last two years) he sidetracked to the garage. He yanked the door open as Zarin leaned against him. His eyes were heavy. He was so tired. His body wasn’t so cold anymore. Small warmth built inside of him, warming him, yet not. His mind wandered to distract him from what was going on with his body as it started shutting down for good. Oh, he knew what was happening. After all this time, he’d finally come to his end. It was a shame; there was so much he’d wanted to do.

  “Stay awake,” Aris hissed, and shoved him against the side of the SUV as he opened the door.

  Zarin wasn’t sure how it happened, but the next thing he knew, he was slouched over in the front seat with Aris reaching over his body to click the seatbelt in place. His large hand came down on his thigh, slapping him. The tingles shot to his knees, and he whimpered.

  Not his best moment.

  “I said, stay awake.”

  “I am,” Zarin replied, but he wasn’t. His eyes slid closed, and he fell into darkness.

  Right before he lost conscious, he heard Aris say, “Don’t freakin’ do this, Zarin!”

  He tri
ed to tell him he was fine, but in truth, he wasn’t.

  Chapter 2

  Aris sped along the road from the house to town as if the whole world rode on his shoulders. Zarin opened his eyes and watched as his king’s hands squeezed the wheel so tight it bowed toward him.

  “I’m fine,” Zarin said.

  The tension from Aris’ hands loosened around the wheel, and he studied him as if to see if he was lying. Zarin watched the road, and his faced turned pale when the curve was too sharp. “Slow down.”

  “You’re not fine. You’re pale.”

  Zarin chuckled. “Well if you would slow down, I wouldn’t be sick. You’re making my head spin.”

  “Oh, sorry.”

  Zarin laid his head back and closed his eyes. The cold had seeped into his bones, and even a dragon with the magic of fire couldn’t warm him up. It was ridiculous. He shivered and then lifted one eye open, just a slit to make sure Aris hadn’t noticed the movement. He didn’t need his king in a panic.

  Driving through town, his dragon rumbled and lifted his head, as if waking from another deep sleep. His nostrils flared, and the cold started to evaporate from his body. Aris pulled into the small emergency room parking lot. He was glad they’d built one in town last year. So many people in town couldn’t afford to ride in an ambulance to the city if they fell ill. At least this way they could have medical attention, and if they needed more, they could be transferred safely to the city. Best move the mayor of Stratham made, in Zarin’s opinion.

  Aris helped him out of the car, and he huffed in frustration. “I’m fine, I told you.”

  His king frowned but dropped his hands. When Zarin was able to stand on his own, he seemed shocked. “Something happened just now, but I don’t know what.”

  ‘Yes, you do,’ his dragon taunted him, but Zarin didn’t want to get his hopes up. If he was right, his mate was very close.

  “What is it?”

  Zarin looked around as if the people would be able to hear him. He leaned into Aris and whispered, “I think…” He shook his head. He couldn’t even say it out loud.