by Jaymin Eve
My first instinct was to rumble out: I'm her fucking home. But there was no time for me to stake that claim now. Truth was, part of her home was in Faerie, and maybe he had the right idea taking her back to the jeweled lands. If anything could restore her from the ruby coffin, it was the land that she was borne from, the land of the rubies.
The dragon continued to fly almost straight up, and I was still questioning his sanity when a shimmer crossed the air in front of us. The world flashed for a moment, like a strike of white-hot light, and then we were on the other side.
Darkness covered the land of Faerie.
The ley line is restored. The other beast has fallen.
I had to laugh at the dragon's confidence. He must not have been sure this would work, but he’d thrown us wholeheartedly into it.
How did you cross like that? My brothers can’t.
There was a pause as the dragon oriented himself, before heading off toward the ruby lands. I could see them in the distance—it wouldn't take long to reach them at the pace we were moving.
They will be able to now. The bond between the eight of you has changed everything. You can now draw on the power of your four mates, and especially those with abilities tied to the great ley line.
Holy. Fuck. So the bond hadn’t been destroyed, it just … morphed into something new. More powerful in a way, even if it felt different.
Now I just had to figure out how to save my mate.
Her parents must have felt us coming; they were waiting at the entrance to the lands, their faces drawn. Jepati had his arm around his mate, holding her close … holding her up.
Shifting my wings, I slowed, gliding down to land before them. It took a few minutes, and when I hovered just in front of them, the king reached out to take his daughter. I wanted to warn him about the weight, but he didn't need the warning. His magic was strong here, and the rubies helped him carry Justice.
When I landed, I shifted back into my human form, and, somehow, clothing wrapped around me.
We have new magic.
The dragon was pleased, but now that I was fully in my supe form, all I felt was overwhelming grief and pain. The dragon had been blocking it for me, but he could no longer.
"What happened?" Deloria cried.
Rubbing a hand across my chest in an attempt to ease the burning there, I forced myself to focus on the facts. “A wild dragon and his human ally set this all in motion,” I growled.
Deloria’s hand covered her mouth as she gasped, but thankfully didn’t interrupt me.
The rest of the story was relayed to them, quickly and precisely, finishing with finding Justice like this. "I don't know the specific details of what happened when she left the barrier, and the fact I wasn't able to be with her is my greatest regret. She shouldn't have had to fight them alone. But she saved us all. Saved the world, because if that ley line or Stratford’s power was taken…"
We all knew what would have happened.
Deloria stroked a hand across her daughter. "My darling. I'm so sorry that I didn't support you. Please don't leave us."
The royal couple were touching the ruby, and I felt their power as they tried to find a way to free her, but whatever had her encased, it was beyond their knowledge. We needed someone who had dealt with this before, we needed…
"Josephina," I murmured, nodding as the idea grew stronger. "Yes. We need to get her to Josephina." And hope like hell it wasn't too late.
The king and queen jerked their heads up, staring at me wide eyed. "The queen of the dragons?" Jepati asked.
"Yes."
He was already shaking his head. "No. No, it's far too dangerous."
I didn't want to fight them on this, because Justice wouldn't want that, but to save her life, I would not hesitate. "She has freed me from a ruby tomb before," I told them. Already moving forward to retrieve my mate. "It might be her only hope."
Deloria’s face was wreathed in stubborn lines, just like her daughter's when Justice set her mind to something. "The ruby fields are our best bet. If they can’t free her, they will return her to the great mother in the sky."
Yeah, that wasn't happening. Not on my watch.
"I'm not asking permission," I said, working extra hard to keep my voice even. "She's my true mate and I will do everything in my power to save her before she's surrendered to the fields."
Deloria opened her mouth and barked, "You don't get to make this decision—"
She was cut off by the king, dropping a hand on her arm. "Love, we have to let her mate try and help her. This is his duty now."
Tears sprinkled Deloria’s eyes, trailing silently down her cheeks as she fought against motherly instinct to release her daughter to the world again. Every single time she had done that, the world had hurt her child.
I understood this motherly love and would fight for it to be part of Justice's life now, but I was her mate. I needed to do my part as well. True mates fought to the bitter end for each other, and I hadn't even begun to fight.
With a tearful kiss to the opaque ruby over her daughter's face, Deloria released her hold, relinquishing her greatest treasure into my hands.
"I'm going to have to transport her in dragon form," I said. "Unless you know a quicker way to call the dragons?"
The royals exchanged a look. "It was rumored that if we rang the largest stone, in the ruby fields,” Jepati said, “it would send a signal to the original shining ones."
I can get us back there, my dragon whispered to me, and I felt his need to fly in the lands of his ancestors. Again, I decided to trust him. One undeniable lesson I’d learned recently was that I needed to reduce the emotional and mental distance between us. It was time to take the steps forward as a single unit.
"My dragon believes he knows the way, and it will be quicker for us to fly,” I told the royal couple. “Let's save the ruby bell for another time."
They nodded, stepping back.
Lowering Justice to the ground once more, I moved away and shifted. Within seconds, she was in my claws, my wings flapping powerfully as we zoomed away. I heard shouts of “Goodbye,” and “Good luck,” fading as I left them behind.
We started off at a fast pace, and somewhere just past the jeweled lands, entered another shimmer. On the other side was a familiar place. I'd only been to these wide-open fields a few times, but it felt like home.
The queen is waiting for us.
He moved faster with not an ounce of fatigue. I had a sense that the dragon, if he paced himself, could fly for days through this land made up of rolling plains, light warm breezes, and a sense of eternal sunshine.
It was the sort of world my beast longed for, and as much as I wanted to allow him the time to frolic in a land built for dragons, we had a precious bundle that needed all of our attention.
When the huge golden body of the queen came into sight, we coasted down, the wind catching us as we drifted to land gently, keeping Justice just off the ground in our front claws.
Josephina lowered her head, despite being the one who technically ruled us. The dragon side anyway.
Welcome, my pack mate. Please, tell me everything.
Using our mental connection, we told her about the wild dragon, the ley lines, the jeweled president, and the consequences for Justice.
You already knew all of that, though, right?
Josephina nodded, her huge head bobbing gently. Yes. We have closed the gateway for the wild dragons. No more will terrorize Earth. I apologize for the pain that this caused you. We realized too late, and then it was too dangerous to the worlds for us to use the lines and cross.
I felt her true sorrow at this, and the worry she’d felt knowing that her most beloved Jessa, and the pack she had claimed as her own, were beyond her help.
Can you help Justice?
I'd almost been avoiding this question, because if she said she couldn't, the agony that was tearing at my chest would rip me completely in two, leaving me to bleed out on the ground with my mate.
I wasn't bei
ng dramatic; I felt the certainty of that.
I don't want to promise you anything, but I will try.
When I released my mate, Josephina leaned down, pressing her snout to the ruby coffin.
I started to pace in dragon form, rumbles rocking my chest as flames spewed from my mouth in random intervals.
We were not handling this well; I just needed Josephina to give us our heart back.
I have good and bad news.
Everything inside of me stilled, my bones literally chilled by this statement, despite the fire that nestled deep in my broad chest.
Tell me.
I felt her sympathy, and her sorrow.
I can free her from the prison, but right now the rubies are the only thing keeping her alive. She was hurt badly. Very badly. There's barely a flicker of life. I'm not sure she can come back from this.
My roar split the air, everything around us going up in flames, Josephina and Justice the only beings protected from my wrath.
There's a chance, Jacob.
This halted me briefly. What is it?
The ruby fields.
I listened without moving or breathing.
If we remove the ruby around her while she's in the fields, they may choose to rejuvenate her essence and power. It's going to be up to the power of that gem, and how they feel about Justice, but it's the only chance she has.
This was the point where our mate bond might be the catalyst to her death. If they didn't accept me, then they'd never bring her back into their fold. Just as her parents had feared.
There's no other option. Nothing?
Josephina was silent, and that said everything I needed to know.
Let's do it.
If they didn't accept our bond, I would end it to make sure that Justice lived. This world, it needed her, and I couldn’t survive knowing she wasn’t part of it.
I would sacrifice anything, including my own life to save her.
We just had to hope that the ruby fields didn't reject us outright. All I needed was a chance.
Josephina opened the doorway this time, getting us right to the large slab of ruby that made up the fields. No other creature could have done that, but Josephina was guardian of the gold.
Place her on that large stone there, Josephina directed me, and I gently released my mate. I was already praying to the gods … to the land of Faerie itself.
And to the ruby stones, their ancient energy as old as this world itself.
Save her. Please. I will forever be in your debt.
Josephina hovered over the tomb, her scaled body glistening, despite the dark sky. There was a light of power glowing around her, strong enough to send shudders across my body.
I'm going to release her now. Then we must have faith that the stones will save their princess.
As much as it killed me to not stand right at her side, I moved back and gave Justice room to be with her gems.
The glow increased around Josephina. My dragon wanted to thrash at the sensation of that much magic coating us, but we knew better than to move. The peak was a bright burst of illumination, making everything look eerily red.
It's done.
Josephina stepped back, and I barely stopped myself from rushing toward the prone form of my mate.
This was it. Our one chance.
40
Justice Winter
I was trapped in a prison.
Unconscious, even as my mind remained alert, the ruby held me in stasis, stopping me from passing on to the next world. No matter how much I begged the stones to release me, they would not.
Dying would have been better than being contained this way.
As I drifted, I felt Jacob near me. I felt power, the rubies, my parents…
I felt them all and could touch none of them.
Stay with us.
That was the first whisper of a voice, tinged with the strong power of the ruby fields.
Join with us and protect your lands.
The supe side of my brain, the small sliver still functioning, didn't really comprehend what they were asking. It took forever of their whispers for me to finally understand.
Forever a ruby.
Oh, okay. Uh … how to politely decline…?
I’m not a ruby. I’m a part of the greater, and that greater includes the stones, but that is not all I am. You don't own me. I don't own you. We are not one and the same. We are partners.
I sent these messages back, fighting against their pull for me to join them. Whatever was happening, I was teetering on the edge of being lost forever.
Jacob Compass.
No! I snapped, finding life and clarity I hadn't had a second ago. He is mine. I will never let him go, and he will not be a sacrifice in this war. We have sacrificed enough.
An echoing moment of silence as the rubies scanned my mind, memories, and power. They sifted through it all, weighing everything that I was and would be, and I felt it … the moment they let me go.
The stone shimmered around me, and I sucked in a deep breath.
The first I had taken in a long time.
Cool breezes washed over my skin; the first indication that I was no longer a prisoner of the stone.
Your sacrifices are noted, and your strength is admirable. Jacob is a match for you, and we welcome him into our power. He is bonded to the lands. We are bonded to you both.
I took another deep breath, over and over, letting the air fill my lungs. A song drifted on the breeze around me, and as my ears worked, the song grew louder.
My song. The one Jacob sang to me.
It drew me from the darkness, allowed me to return to the world of the living.
“Ouch,” I choked out, trying to move.
My body hurt like a motherfucker, but I was grateful to feel anything at all. Being numb and so close to death was no way to live. It did allow me to understand my family better now, even if I’d only experienced a tiny portion of what they had. It was enough to know that what they’d been through was no small sacrifice.
With each breath, energy flooded into me, the strength of the rubies rejuvenating my broken body.
Thank you, I said, finally finding the strength to open my eyes.
The song was almost deafening now, trailing across the field of rubies and filling my chest with a deep emotion. A dragon was curled protectively around me, and I blinked at the sight of Jacob’s beast. Part of the warmth that filled my body was from him, the heat that had helped me step away from death. When I lifted a heavy hand to place it on my mate, his eyes snapped open, the long neck lifting so his huge face was above mine.
Mate.
Our bond was strong, humming between us, filling me with strength.
Both of our energies were tinted with ruby power … even Jacob’s.
We were the true leaders of this land.
A huge drop landed on my cheek and I saw that the dragon had shed a tear, another running along his scaled snout. It broke my heart to know that I'd almost left him here alone.
"I love you," I said, reaching up to place a hand against his nose. "I'm sorry I scared you."
Warm air hugged across my face, and I was pretty sure that was a dragon reprimand for doing more than scaring me. His tongue flicked out, licking my cheek.
My sweet dragon.
He turned and moved far enough away that he had room to shift back. Clothing wrapped around him as he did, and I blinked at this new change. He hadn’t been able to do that before, right?
It was painful pushing myself up, but as more energy flooded into me, I knew I’d be as good as new in no time. The cuts from the talisman might take longer to heal than from a regular blade, but in the end the rubies would restore me to full health.
"Justice," Jacob rumbled, his arms around me as he helped me into a sitting position. "Baby, you scared the absolute fuck out of me." His voice was hoarse, and my heart hurt again at the pain I'd caused him. If the roles were reversed, I would have lost my mind.
"You got me
here," I told him, hugging him tightly. "You did everything to save me, even offering to sacrifice yourself so that I may live."
He pulled away, examining me. "How do you know that?"
The rubies told me. They heard it all. They honor your sacrifices and instead, decided that you are worthy.
Jacob’s relief was palpable. "I can feel them now, in my energy … in the elemental power. The two work very well together."
He kissed me gently, like he couldn't stop himself from touching me any longer, and the pressure that had been building behind my eyes broke free. I'd almost died and lost the chance to ever touch him again.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I could never repay this gift, not even if I lived a million more years, but I made a mental promise to never take it for granted.
When we finally stopped kissing, I gripped the front of his shirt, twisting the soft material between my fingers. "I don't remember much after the president, except what the rubies told me. Fill me in, please…"
His arms went under me, and with the utmost care he lifted my broken, tired body into his arms, cradling me. "I love you, Justice," he murmured, right by my ear, his lips tasting across my skin as he whispered it. "I can't believe I have you in my arms, alive and safe. I'm not sure what I did to deserve this gift, but I promise you, I will never take you for granted. Not for a single second of our very long life together."
We had to kiss again of course, but eventually we found the time to tell our stories. I gave him the details of what happened with the president, while he was being attacked from the shield, stopping at the point where my rubies covered me.
“His talisman was powerful. It sliced through my shield, draining me to the point of death.”
Jacob gently caressed every mark he could see on my skin, his face wreathed in thunder. “You should never have had to face him alone,” he rumbled. “I’m sorry, Ruby.”
“It’s not your fault. We both did our part to save the world, and we found our way back to each other.”
Jacob didn’t look convinced, but he refrained from beating himself up further, filling me in on everything I’d missed while encased in ruby.
“Josephina told me this was my only hope,” he said when he got to the part where he surrendered me to the ruby fields. “She left yesterday, and I waited, protecting you."