by Brenda Trim
Izzy grabbed Troy’s hand and squeezed it. “I will keep my eyes and ears open. Crap, I forgot my knives. Are you armed?”
Troy cocked his head and lifted one corner of his mouth. “I can protect you with these.” Allowing his dragon to the surface, Troy shifted his fingers into talons.
“Wicked,” Izzy said with a smile.
Troy puffed up his chest and threw his shoulders back. “I’m stronger than Donovan and way more talented.”
Izzy rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Would you stop trying to beat him? There’s no reason for you to compete. You’re both gaining strength and becoming more powerful every day.”
For a split-second, Troy clenched his jaw and thrust his hands on his hips. His talons were still out and cut through the bottom of his shirt. Oh crap, Izzy thought as a notion popped into her head. Troy would have to get naked to shift. The idea made her stomach twist and churn in a funny way.
She wasn’t so sure having him fly them to the mountain was a good idea anymore. “Hey, can I try and teleport us to the mountain. I want to practice my powers, anyway.”
Troy kicked a rock, and it sailed through the air and lodged into the trunk of a tree a few feet away. “I thought you wanted to fly there.”
“I do, but we can always fly back. I never get a chance to practice my teleportation, and this is the perfect opportunity.”
“Do you know where we’re going? I don’t want to end up in the middle of the ocean,” he teased with a nudge to her arm.
Izzy shook her head and rolled her eyes. Boys were so dramatic. She would never understand what drove young males. They were highly irrational creatures. “We aren’t gonna end up in the ocean. Mack described the area to me several times, so I’m sure I can get us there.”
Troy was shaking his head before she finished talking. “No way. That doesn’t sound like a good idea to me. I’ll fly us there.”
Izzy smacked his shoulder and grabbed his hand all while concentrating really hard. “I will get us there. I thought you believed in my abilities.”
Troy’s face fell, and he rubbed her shoulder. “I do. You’re the most powerful female I know.” A smile broke over her face when she sensed his sincerity.
She focused on the image her aunt described to her. It took a few seconds, but then she felt the familiar teleporting tingle right before mist surrounded them, telling Isobel they were traveling.
The second the mist cleared Izzy whooped with joy. She was standing on a dirt road with the mountain not too far to their east. “Look for a cave opening. My aunt told me large boulders hid it.”
She headed toward the base of the mountain and began walking around, searching for the opening. She couldn’t have been that far off. That had to be the large tree Mack mentioned. Seeing a large rock, Izzy raced forward, but slumped when there was nothing behind it. Perhaps she was off, she thought as she continued to look around.
“Hey,” Troy called out, making Izzy turn around. “I see an opening.”
On fast feet, Izzy raced over and jumped up and down before hugging Troy close. “This has to be it,” she squealed then ran ahead. “The gems are in here somewhere.”
Troy’s footsteps were loud behind her. Izzy’s heart raced in her chest as she wondered what she’d find. “Has a dragon claimed this for their hoard?” he asked.
Izzy stopped so suddenly that Troy collided with her and sent her flying. Arms flailing, Izzy braced for impact. Strong hands grabbed her upper arms, and before she knew it, she was pressed against Troy’s chest. On one hand, she was very thankful for his quick reflexes, but now she was close enough to count the scattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. His faceted brown eyes darkened slightly, and she wondered why.
Izzy squirmed out of his hold. “Um, I don’t know. Mack said they talked about claiming it for the crown. Will we be stealing if we take any?”
Troy nudged her into motion and started walking before she got her feet moving. “If they claimed it, then yes. But, no one is here to see us.”
“I’m not going to steal anything,” she called out incredulously.
Troy turned around to face her but continued walking backwards. “If you’d give me a chance to finish, I was going to say no one knows we’re here so that you can look to your heart’s content. If a dragon claimed this as part of his hoard, then you would face untold dangers. The first thing my parents taught me was to set traps with my dragon smoke.”
“You have a hoard? Where do you keep it? Do you have lots of gems?”
Troy chuckled and turned back around while he pulled a light from his pocket. The cave darkened as they walked deeper into its cavern. They reached a crossroads, and she had no idea which way they should go. Troy pointed the light down each path and shrugged before he headed left.
“Yes, I’ve started my collection. Every young dragon does, and I’m not telling you where it is. It’s a secret. I have a diamond my dad gave me and a ruby from my mom. The rest are things I found, which isn’t much.”
Izzy adored anything that sparkled. She used to want glitter all over herself every day. Now that she was getting older, she wanted diamonds and rubies and sapphires. Gemstones were so much prettier than glitter. “That’s so cool. I wish I had a cache of diamonds…or even a pair of earrings. I want to start a hoard of my own.”
“You’re not a dragon.”
Izzy slapped his arm playfully. “I have the heart of a dragon. I’ve always loved anything sparkly.”
“You’re female. Of course, you love jewels,” Troy said on a snort.
“Hey. Females don’t only think about jewelry. We’re warriors, too. My Aunt Mack can kick anyone’s ass. I bet she’s leading the killboard back home.”
“Killboard? What’s that?”
“It’s a running tally the Dark Warriors keep of the number of kills each one has. Gerrick is usually in the lead, but Mack is determined to be at the top,” she explained as they trekked through the cave.
“You have a strange family. Does this look familiar to you?”
Izzy looked around as she considered their second fork in the road. Troy shone his light down one side before moving it to the other. It was getting hot in there, and she had to blink through the sweat stinging her eyes.
“It looks like what she described except I don’t see the glowing stones. Let’s go right,” she suggested as she wiped her forehead with her sleeve.
A few minutes later, she pointed when she saw something shining in the distance. “Look, I bet that’s the chamber she found. C’mon.”
“Wait, Iz. Don’t get too far ahead of me,” Troy called out, but she ignored him. She was too excited to see what was glowing on the wall.
She didn’t slow until she entered a larger area that was the size of her bedroom. There was water on the walls, and it glowed green. It was trickling down the rock in this area. She glanced up at Troy and nearly screamed.
The green light cast shadows across his face that made him look dangerous. Before she could remind herself that he was her friend rather than someone out to do her harm, a loud noise echoed down the tunnel at the opposite end.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered a second before a humongous grey creature entered the room. It bellowed, and spit flew from its mouth. How did she keep getting herself into these messes?
Izzy froze, unable to believe what she was seeing. “What in the heck is that? It looks like it’s a rock giant!”
Troy’s claws extended from his fingers. “That’s a Foawr. I’ve heard stories about them living under Mt. Batia, but I thought they were just dragon tales.”
“Can we run and get away from it?”
Troy looked at her for a split second with wide, disbelieving eyes. “Are you kidding? We don’t know this cave system, and it does.”
Without waiting for her reply, Troy ducked low then struck out at the beast and sliced the back of its right leg. He had to roll away from the big, meaty fist that swung in his direction. The fist co
llided with the wall and sent rocks flying into the air.
Dust filled the air and confused the creature for a second. It didn’t seem phased by the injury at all which terrified Izzy. Chancing a glance between its legs, she saw blue blood trickle from the wound Troy managed to inflict on it.
The beast roared in rage and swung its arms in a circle trying to connect with their bodies. Izzy danced out of the way without being hit. Troy ran toward the creature, making her heart stop. Before she knew what was happening, he slid onto his side and kept moving across the dirt floor. His action kicked up more dust, but she still saw when Troy ran his claws across the Foawr’s thighs.
Troy rolled to his feet, then rushed to Izzy’s side, grabbing her arm. “Teleport us out of here.”
Izzy shook her head. “I can’t. I’m afraid we’ll end up in the volcano.”
“The volcano!” Troy called out to her.
She had no idea where the boiling lava was located in this mess. Izzy ducked to pick up some rocks and threw them with all her strength at the beast’s face, hoping to hit one of its eyes. The rocks didn’t garner any attention, but Troy’s flames did when they licked across its abdomen and groin. The giant wailed in pain and swatted at the fire. Izzy thought they could beat this thing with Troy’s dragon fire, but he got tired too quickly, and they barely managed to rush to the door opposite their position.
“Follow the heat,” she called out to him as the Foawr followed them into the narrow tunnel.
Troy pushed her in front of his body as they ran. “Exactly what I was thinking.”
Izzy glimpsed over her shoulder, and her blood froze in her veins. The creature was almost on them and gaining momentum. She turned back around and focused her energy on running toward the heat.
Troy grabbed rocks as they went and threw them back at the beast, but again they did nothing to slow it down. Just when sweat-slicked every part of her body and she thought they were close to safety, Izzy was suddenly airborne.
Her scream echoed off the walls as she sailed into a massive cavern. The orange glow told her they’d found the lava. Problem was she wasn’t sure they would make it out of the place alive. If she died in this place, her parents would never know what happened to her. They would be so disappointed in her reckless decision because she was essential to the Goddess and had a responsibility to her realm. She suddenly wished for the safe walls provided by the castle.
All regret fled from her mind the moment she slammed into a rock wall. A loud crack echoed through the cavern, and pain exploded in her head. Crumpling to the ground, Izzy barely caught herself before she rolled into the lava.
Looking around, she spotted the beast barreling her way. They had to knock it off balance and toss it into the glowing pit.
The giant creature reached out and tried to grab hold of Troy as Izzy pulled her body back onto solid ground. Racing toward Troy, she winced as each step made her head throb painfully. She was going to vomit. Troy saw her coming and distracted the beast by repeatedly stabbing his claws into its lower legs.
Izzy lunged into the air and landed on the Foawr’s back. Panic threatened to immobilize her as she wondered why the heck she did something so crazy when she recalled Mack telling her how Uncle Kyran used his vampiric claws to behead one of the Unseelie in these caves. It had to be the same thing they were fighting now.
Then it dawned on her. She was a vampire, too. When Izzy’s claws sprang from her fingertips, she almost laughed. They were tiny compared to the talons on Troy’s hands, but she cut them into the side of the creature’s neck as fast as she could. Blue blood sprayed her face and arms, making her gag. It smelled like a toilet.
“Jump off on my mark, Iz,” Troy called out.
A second later he shifted into his dragon. Clothes shredded and fell off his now massive body. There was no room for Troy to maneuver in the cramped space. No doubt the beast believed it could best the dragon. Sure enough, a second later the Foawr roared then lunged for Troy.
Right before jumping off it’s back, Izzy dug her claws as deep as she could and sliced the creature as she yanked her body away. Muscle and sinew tore apart, and she landed in an ungainly heap, hitting her head again on the ground.
Bile rose in her throat, and she couldn’t stop from puking while Troy jumped into the air and hit the pissed off Foawr with his wing. The creature fell toward the lava and snagged Troy’s ankle as he went down.
“No!” Izzy screamed and jumped to her feet. She slipped on her vomit but ignored that as she raced to Troy. No way was she going to watch him be pulled into the pit and die.
Troy’s dragon screeched and batted his wing at the beast, slicing through its wrist. The creature fell into the lava, making it splash up. Izzy jumped back and landed on her ass as she tried to avoid the boiling magma. The scalding on her calf told her she wasn’t entirely successful.
Using dirt to avoid further injury, Izzy rubbed handfuls onto her burning leg. It worked like she hoped and removed lava with it each time. She kept her eye on the boiling pit in front of her and watched the Foawr squeal and howl until it disappeared under the flaming orange waves.
Loud flapping blew her hair and cooled her leg then Troy landed next to her. In the next blink, he shifted to human form, and Izzy’s face lowered as heat suffused her cheeks. He was naked!
“How bad is it?” he asked as he inspected her leg.
Izzy shook her head to dispel the image emblazoned on her brain. “It’s getting better, but I can’t teleport with the pain distracting me.”
“I can fly us back, but are you okay to ride? Should I go get help?”
“I think I can ride. The pain is getting better every second, but this will scar. No way I can hide this from Angus and Keira.”
“What are you going to tell them? I’ll be kicked out of training class if you tell them what happened.”
Izzy’s head turned his way at the wobble in his voice. Her gaze automatically lowered to his groin. She didn’t want to look, but couldn’t seem to avert her gaze, either. She knew her body was changing, and guessed his was, too, if the growing object between his legs was any indication.
As if he sensed her discomfort, Troy grabbed his ripped pants and tied them around his waist. She didn’t miss his reddened cheeks and was relieved this situation was just as uncomfortable for him.
She shook off her distraction and focused on her injury. “I can’t hide it. My leg will heal, but the burn is nasty. It will scar,” she confessed with a frown. The last thing she wanted was for Troy to get into trouble because of her.
“We can tell them it was an accident while we were sparring or something. They’ll accept me losing control of my fire before they will me taking you here,” Troy suggested.
Izzy wasn’t sure. Lying didn’t sit right with her. She made a wrong decision, and her gut told her to own that mistake and apologize for it. But Troy wasn’t part of the royal family and wasn’t given as much leeway as she and Blaze. It wasn’t fair, and she didn’t want to get her friend into trouble.
“Alright. I won’t tell them what actually happened.”
Troy scooped her into his arms. “Thanks, Iz. We will need to sneak into the training room, and I will burn part of the mats then we get you help for this burn. The truth will be our little secret.”
Again, she sensed something in the way he stared at her. He pulled her closer, and she thought he was going to kiss her. Wiggling out of his hold, Izzy decided walking on her injured leg was better than Troy carrying her. She winced and bit back a scream as pain assailed with every step she took as they made their way out of the cave.
She sent a prayer to the Goddess, asking for forgiveness. She was about to lie to Angus and Keira, and she knew it was wrong. Perhaps this knot in her stomach was what her mom meant when she talked about the difficult decisions grown-ups had to make. Not to mention facing the consequences of those decisions.
Chapter Eleven
Teagan couldn’t sit still. She was sitting in
a beautiful kitchen with a stunning witch that could wield magic. Her life kept getting stranger and stranger. She half expected to find herself in the upside-down, like from the popular show Stranger Things. Thankfully, in her real-life upside-down, there were powerful beings that could protect her.
Suvi Rowan poured a cup of coffee and grabbed the heavy cream from her fridge before looking at Killian. “I can cast a discovery spell, but it won’t pack as big of a punch without my sisters. The power of three can’t be beaten, but, hopefully, it won’t be needed for this.”
Teagan’s heart raced, and she swallowed past the nerves jumping in her throat. This was all so surreal. Killian explained to her that Suvi and her sisters were highly powerful witches and experts in Dark magic. He and his friends assumed she was under some spell. She had to agree given that she acted and said things she never would have otherwise.
Hell, she didn’t even know exactly where she received her knowledge of supernaturals and the realm they lived in.
A flash in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She stood and walked toward an enormous glass window overlooking the back yard. Small lights floated around the shrubbery outside. When a tiny, winged female hovered in front of the window, waving her hand, Teagan realized creatures like the one she was staring at were the source of the light.
A warm presence behind her told her Killian had followed her to the window. “Those are sprites. One of the few nice and loyal Unseelie creatures.”
“Yep, they are. My sisters and I gave them refuge from their tyrannical king, so now they give us beautiful flowers and greenery year-round.”
“I feel like I’m in a sci-fi movie or something,” she murmured.
“Discovering our world can be traumatic for humans,” Suvi replied. “Are you ready to see if there is a spell controlling you?”
Teagan winced. She hated the idea of being controlled and wanted to know so they could do something to remove it. Not that she expected to go back to a normal life after this. Killian had wormed his way into her heart. No way was she walking away from him now.