Dragons of Eternity Collection

by Alexandra Ivy

  Tayla glanced toward Vex. “Is that true?”

  Vex nodded. “Pretty much. I feed on the electricity that is generated by a demon’s brain, and I can use my powers to control that demon’s mind for a limited time.”

  “So you’re a cerebral succubus,” Tayla said.

  Vex looked momentarily shocked, as if she’d never thought about her gift in those terms. Then without warning she tilted back her head to release a deep belly laugh.

  “I suppose that’s true,” Vex agreed, a portion of her tension easing.

  They turned into the corridor that led to Synge’s private quarters. Torches flickered, revealing the elaborate tapestries that hung on the walls.

  “How did you escape the harem?” Levet demanded.

  The warm scent of cherries spiced the air. “A male dragon bought my contract and released me.”

  Levet sent Vex a startled glance. Dragons weren’t known for their generous natures. If a male used a part of his precious hoard to buy a beautiful female, it wasn’t just to release her.

  That was how Tayla had ended up a prisoner to Baine, although she now claimed that she was happy to be his slave. Or mate, as she preferred to be called.

  A pity. But not every creature could have the exquisite taste to choose a gargoyle as their lover.

  “Did you barter for your freedom?” he asked Vex.

  Color touched her cheeks. Was she blushing?

  “He offered to claim me as his mate.”

  Levet widened his eyes in shock. “You are mated to a dragon?”

  She gave a slow shake of her head. “No. He disappeared before we could complete the mating.”

  Levet sensed the deep sadness that always lurked beneath Vex’s kick-ass exterior. He had assumed that it was because she had been evicted from the Guild. He knew from painful experience that it was a wound that never truly healed. But now he realized that she’d had more than one betrayal in her life.

  “How does a dragon disappear?” he demanded.

  Vex’s features abruptly hardened, but she couldn’t disguise her lingering pain. “He clearly decided that I was unworthy.”

  Levet reached out to lightly touch her arm. “You are more worthy than any stupid dragon. Do not let the idiot make you turquoise.”

  Vex forced a smile to her lips. “Blue. Make you blue.”

  Levet wrinkled his snout. “Turquoise is blue, is it not?”

  Tayla interrupted their conversation as she pulled open a heavy door and ushered them into the bedchamber.

  “This is where Blayze was last seen,” the imp said, pointing toward the bed. “She was lying there.”

  Vex nodded, moving forward to perch on the edge of the bed.

  “Okay,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Char paused to smooth the short strands of his hair and to ensure that there was no dust clinging to his clothing before he returned to the throne room. Then he forced himself to count to one hundred.

  He’d learned from a young age that dragons missed nothing. Even if they acted like they were entirely focused on Synge and his mate, Ravel, not one of them was blind to what was happening in the room behind them.

  Including the fact that Magma had disappeared and recently returned.

  The last thing he wanted was the dragon’s return to be associated with his own.

  Finally, he casually strolled through the doorway and along the edge of the crowd. He kept his gaze lowered as was expected for a mere half-breed, and used his sense of smell to direct him to Blayze.

  Not that he actually needed her scent.

  There was something deep inside him that would always pull him to her side. Like a homing pigeon.

  A terrifying realization—that was tucked in the back of his head along with all the other terrifying realizations. Eventually they were going to cause a blockage in his brain, but until then he could pretend he didn’t know they were there.

  Halting next to Blayze, he offered a proper nod of his head.

  Not that Blayze was equally discreet. Instead of treating him with the appropriate disdain that most dragons offered their servants, she reached to grasp his forearm, pulling him closer.

  “You discovered something,” she said, the words more a statement than a question.

  Char grimaced. “So much for my poker face.”

  She furrowed her brow. “Poker face?”

  “Never mind.”

  “What did you learn?” she pressed.

  Char cast a covert glance around the swelling crowd. It seemed impossible to believe that they could stuff additional guests in the room without the floor collapsing.

  There was no way to speak without someone overhearing them. Plus, the air was becoming uncomfortably hot. A danger when you had too many dragons squashed into the same space.

  “Let’s get a breath of fresh air.”

  Her lips parted, as if she was going to demand an immediate explanation. Then, seeming to realize there was no way to have a private conversation surrounded by so many demons, she gave a small nod. “We can return to my nursery.”

  He allowed her to usher him from the room, his head once again lowered as they left the throne room and walked down the corridor. He remained silent until they at last entered the room where they’d first arrived. He hadn’t forgotten how easily they’d overheard the conversations between the two female dragons who’d been walking down this same hallway.

  Once inside the room, he shut the door and headed toward the back wall.

  “What are you doing?” Blayze demanded.

  “I need to make sure there aren’t any tunnels behind the walls.”

  “There’s no need,” she assured him.

  He turned, his heart skipping a beat as he caught sight of her luminous glow in the dark room. By the goddess. She was so lovely. Like an angel.

  Well, an angel who could breathe fire and kick the ass of nearly every other demon in the universe.

  “How can you be sure?” he asked.

  She waved a hand. “Just beyond this room is my father’s hoard.”

  He was about to point out that his hoard might have been in a different area of the lair during this time period, only to snap his lips shut. Now that he actually paid attention to his surroundings, he could feel the heavy throb of magic that pulsed through the air. It was far enough away that it wasn’t an in-your-face punch of power, but he sensed he wouldn’t have to walk very far down the corridor to hit a wall of magic.

  “No wonder your father chose this spot for your nursery,” he said, crossing the floor to stand in front of Blayze. His hand reached to brush a strand of her ebony hair behind her ear. “He must have assumed that it was the safest place in the entire lair.”

  She stilled, her eyes vibrant with pinpricks of color. Heat seared through the air, sizzling over Char’s skin. At the same time the scent of exotic spices teased at his nose. But even as his gaze dropped to the plush temptation of her lips, she was taking a tiny step backward.

  “Tell me what you discovered,” she said.

  Char clenched his teeth. His dragon roared deep inside him. It was becoming almost impossible to keep his beast restrained. Only the knowledge that Blayze’s enemies were lurking just beyond the closed door allowed him to battle through the sharp-edged hunger that threatened to cloud his mind.

  That and the knowledge that Synge would roast him alive if he discovered that Char was aching to kiss her from the top of her head to the tips of her tiny toes.

  “The dragons I followed are plotting against your father,” he finally managed to say.

  “Why?”

  “Because Magma fears that Synge intends to challenge him for his seat on the Council.”

  She gave a slow nod, as if she’d already suspected what he was going to say.

  “Do you recognize Magma?” she asked.

  “No. I had limited contact with the Dragon Council. When I was in the service of my father, and then Synge, I was kept in
the servants’ quarters,” he said. “And after I was sent to Baine we spent most of our time searching the various dimensions for rare manuscripts. He had no interest in the constant power struggles between dragon clans.”

  Baine’s lack of ambition had been shocking to Char, who’d been sired by a dragon who lusted after power. And it’d taken Char several years to truly believe that Baine was more interested in learning than collecting a vast hoard.

  Over the centuries, however, Char had developed a deep respect for his master’s cunning. Baine might not seek power or riches, but his vast knowledge of the various worlds and the creatures that inhabited them made him a formidable adversary.

  “What does Magma intend to do to my father?” Blayze asked.

  “Not your father.” He held her gaze. “You.”

  She stiffened. “The curse.”

  Char grimaced. “He didn’t say it in those words, but he made it clear that he intended to distract your father by hurting his daughter as soon as she was born.”

  Her jaw clenched, but there wasn’t any hint of fear on her beautiful face. Instead, her features hardened as she abruptly pivoted on her heel. “Then I’ll kill him.”

  Char reached out to grasp her arm, gently turning her back to face him.

  “Hold on, sweetheart,” he murmured.

  She blinked. “Sweetheart?”

  He ignored her surprise at the endearment. What could he say? That he wanted to call her sweetheart, and baby, and darling, and all those other silly names that he used to make fun of males for saying?

  “First we need to find the servant who has the curse,” he said, well aware that his words would distract her.

  He was right.

  She was instantly focused on his revelation. “Magma used his servant to bring the curse into the lair?”

  “Not one of his servants,” he corrected. “He used one of your father’s servants.”

  Her eyes widened, her breath hissing between her clenched teeth. “That’s why my mother couldn’t discover who was responsible. No one would suspect that it could be a member of my father’s household. Not when they must know that he would destroy them if he discovered the truth.” She gave a disbelieving shake of her head. It was rare to find anyone stupid enough to betray a pureblood dragon. “We need to get to the servants’ quarters.”

  Char scowled. “Not we.” His fingers tightened on her arm. “Me.”

  She narrowed her opal eyes. “Can you sense the curse?”

  “No, but I can…” He considered the proper word. Torture. Rampage. Brutalize. “Encourage the servants to tell me who the traitor is.”

  She snorted. “My way is faster.”

  He shrugged. He couldn’t argue, but that didn’t mean he was going to allow her to waltz into danger. “My way is safer.”

  Her expression tensed. Not with anger. But with something that was perilously close to disappointment.

  “My mother nearly smothered me with her need to protect me,” she said in soft tones. “I won’t be caged again.”

  His heart dropped to his toes. He had a vivid memory of walking into this precise room when Synge had commanded he protect his daughter.

  Blayze had been lying unconscious on the bed, wrapped in magic that was meant to protect her. She’d been pale, and as still as death. A prisoner in her own mind.

  It was an image he never, ever wanted to see again.

  He heaved an unsteady sigh. “You’re killing me,” he muttered.

  She reached up to lightly touch his face. “I’m sorry.”

  It was her touch that did it.

  He’d been behaving. Hell, he’d practically been a saint. What other dragon could have resisted the urge to strip off her sparkly gown and breathe fire over her luminous flesh?

  Now his hands reached to cup her face as his head lowered. He pressed his lips against her soft mouth. Passion blasted through him. Immediate, white-hot and shockingly vast.

  Her lips were lush and soft and spiced with sweet temptation. The taste flooded his senses, as intoxicating as demon’s brew.

  There was a rustle of silk as she stepped closer, allowing the heat of her dragon to play over his body. Char groaned, his fingers skimming down the side of her neck.

  Her skin glowed brighter, her eyes shimmering with breathtaking beauty. The sight ignited his flames, and they danced around them as his dragon snarled in an effort to be let free.

  Danger. Danger. Danger.

  The word whispered in the back of his mind, and with a muttered curse, he forced himself to pull away.

  “Let’s go,” he rasped.

  He continued to play with fire. Literally.

  One of these times, he was going to get burned.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Blayze felt dizzy. Or maybe she was giddy.

  Hard to tell, since she had zero actual experience with desire.

  What she did know was that the quicker she could kill the treacherous servant who intended to curse her, the quicker she could drag Char into a private room and lock the door.

  She wanted to fully explore the sensations that were scorching through her body. And she wanted to make sure that the next time Char kissed her there was nothing to stop him from continuing with his seduction.

  Or maybe she would seduce him.

  It couldn’t be that hard to figure out, could it?

  The warm giddiness continued to flow through her body as Char steered her down a separate hallway that led away from the more formal area of the lair. It felt glorious, or at least it did until she noticed the tension that was humming around Char as he walked beside her.

  Turning her head, she met his brooding gaze. “Is something wrong?”

  He paused before abruptly speaking. “Am I the first?”

  She blinked, not entirely sure what he was asking. “What do you mean?”

  “Am I the first male to kiss you?”

  “Oh.” She blinked in surprise. It was a strange question, considering that he had to know she’d been cursed when she was just a hatchling. “Yes, you’re the first.”

  Another brooding glance. “Are you sorry?”

  “Why would I be sorry?”

  His hands balled into fists, as if he was struggling to contain some fierce emotion.

  “You’ve pointed out that I’m a half-breed more than once.”

  She frowned. She’d pointed out he was a half-breed because he was a half-breed. Why would that bother him?

  It took several seconds before she at last realized that he’d mistakenly assumed she considered his mixed heritage to be a bad thing.

  She came to a halt. She could already catch the scent of fairies and vampires and even goblins that seeped through the air. Which meant the servants’ quarters was just ahead.

  Right now, however, she was more interested in Char’s idiotic belief that she cared about his pedigree.

  “I’ve spent centuries locked away from the world,” she reminded him. “It allowed me to concentrate on what was important. And what was stupid.”

  His studied her face, as if searching for some hidden meaning in her words. “So what’s important?”

  She didn’t even have to think about it. “Loyalty. Trust. Devotion.”

  Fire briefly danced over his skin. Blayze’s heart missed a beat at the beauty of the silvery flames.

  “Yes,” he breathed.

  She smiled. She liked the dazed look on his face. Just as much as she liked the knowledge that she’d put it there.

  She tilted her head to the side, sending him a coy glance. Or at least she hoped it was coy. She might just look ridiculous.

  “You didn’t ask what I thought was stupid,” she told him.

  His eyes smoldered, the flames continuing to halo his body. “I’m afraid.”

  She allowed her fingers to brush up his arm, savoring the feel of his dragon-fire.

  “I think it’s stupid to waste your days pursuing power and riches.” She answered the question he refused to
ask. “Or judging others by the purity of their blood rather than the contents of their heart.”

  Something in his expression seemed to ease, as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Still, he studied her with a wary gaze.

  “I doubt your parents would agree.”

  Blayze shrugged. She would always owe her mother a huge debt. The female dragon had sacrificed everything to keep Blayze protected. But while she loved her mother, she was done having her life controlled by others.

  From now on, she was living each day precisely as she wanted to.

  “Thank the goddess I am finally allowed to make my own decisions.”

  His fingers brushed over her lips, but he didn’t lean down and kiss her as she hoped. Instead, he drew in a deep breath, and turned to continue down the corridor. “We’ll finish this conversation after we find the servant and destroy the curse.”

  Blayze shrugged and fell into step beside him. She didn’t understand why he was so suspicious. Did he expect her to change her mind? She’d had centuries to witness the world, even if it was through her mother’s eyes. She knew what she wanted for her future.

  And Char was becoming more firmly woven into her plans.

  Unless…Blayze frowned as she was struck by a sudden thought.

  “What about you?” she abruptly demanded.

  He glanced down at her in confusion. “What are you asking?”

  “You are a servant to Baine.”

  He nodded. “I am.”

  “Which means that if we return to our proper time he will have control over your life,” she said.

  He surprised her by giving a shake of his head. “No one controls my life.”

  “But—” She hesitated. This male was unpredictably sensitive about his half-breed status. “Isn’t he your master?”

  “Not anymore,” he said. “Baine offered me my freedom nearly a century ago.”

  She felt a stab of surprise. It was rare for a master to release a servant. They had a belief that every creature should be delighted to be their slaves for an eternity.

  “Why do you stay?” she demanded.

  A smile curved Char’s lips, easing his grim expression. There was no mistaking his affection for Baine.