by Aidy Award
That sounded bad. And also like she should be dead. "There was? I don't remember that."
Yvaine touched her shirt again and sure enough, there was a hole about the size of euro coin right through the unicorn's head.
That's why I brought you here. The green dragons' breath is healing.
Yvaine giggled and quickly covered her mouth. It was rude to thank someone for healing you by laughing. But, seriously. Dragon's breath. She had that if she forgot to brush her teeth. The only thing that healed was the urge to kiss hot guys. The giggles burst out even though she was doing her best to hold them in.
"Uh-oh." The woman looked at her, gave a sympathetic smile which made Yvaine laugh even more. "Okay guys. Out you go. She's had all she can take for the morning. Shoo. I'll take it from here."
Jett and the green dragon grumbled but turned to leave. The green one shifted into a man while Jett just ducked his head and tried to fit through the same door. No way his big ole dragon butt was going anywhere, which was even more funny. Yvaine couldn't even contain her laughter with both hands now and she was out and out guffawing.
Jett turned to look at her with fire in his eyes. This isn't funny.
"But it is." She didn't want him stuck like this though so reached her hand out and waved Jett toward her. He glared at her but lowered his head and stuck his snout into her palm. The black light shimmered over him and he was once again her hot fantasy man, all broody and frowny-faced.
He took her hand and kissed the inside of her palm. "Try to stay calm. No getting startled. You're safe here and I don't want to be caught unawares by another shift. Got it?"
Yvaine nodded and pressed her lips together so she didn't let any more giggles out. They came anyway. She simply couldn't stop them.
"Go with Ciara, now. Maybe she can help you get a handle on your magic."
"Okay." Giggle giggle.
Ciara waved the men away. "Have fun storming the castle."
Jakob shook his head, clearly amused by his wife or girlfriend or matriarch, what have you. "No castles today. But the rogue and I will be discussing the battle he had with the Black Dragon. If he's back we'll need all the intel we can get."
The men headed back outside and Ciara led Yvaine into a really lovely kitchen. It had warm colors in a French country vibe, an island with comfy padded stools, and smelled like fresh backed apple pie. If ever Yvaine had wondered like home felt like, this was it.
She sat on one of the stools while Ciara rooted around in the big built-in fridge. "We weren't exactly properly introduced. I'm Yvaine."
"I know. Aha. Here's that bottle I was saving for the next girls night." She lifted a bottle of champagne over her head and followed it up with a jug of orange juice.
"You do? Jett told you?" Just how long had she been unconscious?
She set the drinks on the counter along with a container of juice ripe strawberries, and opened a nearby cupboard with glassware. "No. The White Witch did, sort of. I get a vision of a lot of the mates when they get their necklaces. Mostly it's the Wyverns and their direct connections, like their second in commands. But Jett is neither of those, so I'm not sure why she showed me yours."
"Okay, back up. You get visions of what now?" Yvaine fingered the necklace she wore. Something about what Ciara said niggled a vague memory.
"Sorry." Ciara shook her head. "You'd think I of all people would remember what it's like to get thrown into this world, but sometimes I forget what the rest of the world knows about the dragon warriors and what they don't."
"Dragon warriors?" That term suited Jett perfectly. Yvaine popped a strawberry into her mouth and chewed imagining Jett is a uniform, brandishing a sword.
"Yeah. See, like that. Okay, here's the quick and dirty. Dragons exist. They fight evil, mostly in the form of demon dragons, although more recently also the Black Dragon who is the King of Hell and his sidekick, Ereshkigal, the Black Witch." She lifted her hand and ticked tapped each. "There are four kinds of dragons, Green, Blue, Gold, and Red, plus Jett. He's a bit of an anomaly."
Kind of like Yvaine.
Ciara didn't stop. "The head of each dragon Wyr, which is like a clan, is called the Wyvern. You with me so far?"
Yvaine said "yes," but shook her head no.
"Let me keep going and then we'll go back and fill in the gaps and your questions. Here this will help." Ciara poured champagne and orange juice into a green champagne flute and handed it to Yvaine.
"A long time ago, I'm not sure how long ago we're talking, but I think several centuries. There was the First Dragon. He hooked up with this lady called the White Witch and they had a bunch of half dragon half human babies."
Yvaine took a swig of the mimosa. Ciara was right. It did help.
"Their children became the first dragon Wyverns. They were all living happily for a while until some weird ass creatures that were half demon and half dragon started popping up around the world."
Finally, something she semi understood. "Oh. That must be the batstriches that attacked us."
"Batstritches?" Ciara half laughed and took a swig of her drink.
"Yeah. Big black creatures with wings like bats that are mean and go around of flapping their wings and pecking at everyone like horrible ostriches. Bat-ostriches." That sounded better in her head.
"Uh, yeah. That term fits them perfectly if you also include they like to eat babies, live in hell, are the minions of the Black Dragon and the Black Witch and can spit fire."
Crikies. "Yeah. Those guys. I didn't know about the, uh, eating babies part though."
"Yup. Evil incarnate." Ciara frowned and shook her head. "Anyway. The original dragon brothers decided they needed to protect mankind from the demon dragons and trained to become warriors. Now all dragons are born into the warrior culture and they've been fighting the demon dragons for a hella long time."
This called for a refill. Ciara was right there with her and topped off Yvaine's glass with champagne. "Okay. I think I'm with you. Although this is honestly blowing my mind. But what's the whole thing about mates. Jett said something about that he doesn't get mates. He tried to explain it means soul mate or something."
If Yvaine was honest with herself, she already knew what a mate was, didn't she? She couldn't understand how anyone thought she was soulmate material. A lonely girl, with no romantic experience, no home, no family, no friends didn't fit the bill. Yvaine was nothing like the glamourous woman who sipped champagne on a whim and embodied the very essence of beautiful confidence. Ciara was comfortable in her own skin, knew exactly who she was and so obviously loved life and herself.
Yvaine didn't hate herself or anything, she just couldn't understand what anyone else would see in her. Especially not a mythical warrior who happened to be hot underwear model material.
"Mate. Just one." Ciara held up her finger to indicate the singular, but Yvaine didn't miss the wooden ring on her fourth finger. It was anything but plain. It sparkled with a million green stones inlaid into its intricately carved vines, leaves, and flowers. This was no mere trinket. It held power. "And that's exactly what it is. Jakob is my soulmate. It's some sort of destiny, written in the stars, fate kind of thing."
Destiny. Fate. "Wait. You didn't get a choice?"
So many of life's choices had been either taken away from Yvaine or made for her. She didn't like the idea of who she fell in love with, or married, or mated to be out of her control too. What if she didn't want to be someone's mate? Dog gone it. She wanted that choice.
Ciara pursed her lips and nodded. The look was one of empathy, the words were not. "Yeah. No. I kind of fought against the idea at first too. But so far, fate hasn't been wrong."
Yvaine drained her glass and set it on the counter a little too hard. "You think I'm Jett's soul mate?"
"You are." Ciara looked Yvaine straight in the eye. Her eyes didn't waver, her body language set in the pure confidence in what she was saying.
Regardless of what Ciara thought, it wasn't going to happen
. "I can't. I have to get to England, or Scotland. I'm not sure yet. I don't have time to be screwing around with some ancient war between mythical creatures."
The old feelings of being trapped were pressing in on her. This time it wasn't because of a small space, or even by monsters. She couldn't lose her cool. Jett would shift back into a dragon and be mad. Plus, if her disappearing act manifested, Ciara would see and look at her like a freak.
Little snowflakes appeared over Yvaine's head and drifted down. Each one that touched her skin and soaked in gave her a calming feeling. Well, maybe Ciara wouldn't think Yvaine was a weirdo, because she clearly had powers of her own. Still, Yvaine wasn't ready for any of this. She stood, knocking the stool over. "Sorry. Thank you for your hospitality, the wine was delicious. Please tell your dragon thank you for healing me. I'll be going now."
Ciara reached for her. "Yvaine, wait. I'm the one who should be sorry. I thought if I laid it all out for you it would be easier. Clearly I'm not as smart as I think I am."
Yvaine? Tell me what's wrong. You're safe. Everything is going to be okay.
No. It wasn't. None of this was okay. Why couldn't her life just be normal. Why couldn't she be normal? The magic inside of her pricked at her skin. For once she welcomed it, wanted to Houdini her way out of here. Where exactly did she think she would go? This lovely, warm, inviting kitchen wasn't a dark closet she'd been locked in at the convent. Ciara wasn't the Mother Superior that could never be pleased. Running away was not going to solve her problems.
She took a deep breath and consciously tried pushing the magic back down. She'd never done that before, but she also hadn't understood what it was or what it did either. Now that she knew there were other magical being in the universe, she didn't feel quiet as weird and freakish for having this ability inside of her.
"Wow." Ciara clapped her hands and smiled, wide-eyed. "Did you know you sparkle when you do whatever it is you were just doing? I've never seen magic like yours. It's beautiful."
Beautiful? Huh. "Umm, I didn't know. I've never seen it myself. I kind of thought it made me invisible."
Ciara came around the island and picked up the stool Yvaine had knocked over. She pushed it back, kind of like a peace offering. "That would be a cool trick. What else does it do? It doesn't appear to be elemental like mine. I didn't know there was any other kind of magic. Not that I'm and expert mind you."
Over and over Ciara had invited Yvaine into her world, never once making her feel like the odd man out. Yvaine was the one making herself feel like she didn't belong. Another thing she could push back inside. Okay. She could do this. No more running away. She sat back down and ate another strawberry like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. "I don't really know. I've only recently tried using it consciously. Normally it just does it's own thing and helps to keep me safe or escape when I'm in danger. What does elemental magic do?"
"You know, like the four elements. Earth, wind, water, fire." Ciara waved her hand and the little houseplant next to the sink doubled in size and sprouted big pink flowers. Then it lifted up and floated across to the kitchen island on some sort of breeze. A tiny raincloud formed over the top of it and sprinkled onto the leaves and dirt, watering the plant. "I'm not as good with fire, unless like you I'm in danger."
"That's amazing. I don't think my magic works like that though. Do the dragons have magic too?" She remembered how Jett had used the darkness to hide them and had spit fire at the batstriches. Maybe he wasn't a fire breathing dragon and it was his kind of magic.
"Each of the dragon Wyrs have domain over one of the elements. You can probably guess that reds have fire, blues have water, golds are wind and sky, and our Green dragons are earth. I think if Jakob didn't have his warriors to lead, he'd be connect rolling around in the mud all day."
She hadn't mentioned black dragons.
"I heard that, miláček." Jakob walked into the kitchen and wrapped his arms around Ciara, snuggling her from behind. "You enjoy a good mud bath as much as I do."
She laughed. "It does make my skin all rosy."
"As do the many orgasms I give you when we are cleaning up." Jakob nipped at Ciara's ear, then must have remembered Yvaine was standing right across from them. He raised his head from nuzzling the ornate green dragon tattoo at Ciara's neck. "Jett wishes you to join him in the garden."
He probably wanted her to turn him back into a human again. She'd pushed back her power a moment ago. Maybe she could also learn to control whatever it was that kept forcing Jett to shift into his dragon form when she got scared. She wished there was someone who could teach her. "Okay. I'll just go find him then."
Jakob nodded. "There is a woman in the nearby village who works for the dragons from time to time who goes by the name Mrs. Bohacek. I suggested to Jett that you two go see her. Perhaps she can help you learn to use your magic. But I have warned Jett that if the demon dragons who are seeking him show up that he must leave immediately. I will not have their evil threaten the people under my protection."
Mate Her, Dummy
Mark her.
Claim her.
Mate her.
The words kept going round and round and round in his head driving him more insane by the minute. Jakob wanted to grill him on everything he knew about the Black Dragon's movements, the recent attack, and why Ereshkigal would be acting on her own. That last part had been news to him.
It was a huge revelation that the Cage, the Gold Wyvern and his mate, the mermaid from hell, had born twin babies. Throw in the fact that the Black Witch had shown up to steal said babies and Jett should care a whole lot. The first children of dragons in hundreds of years. A boy and a girl. Until now there were no daughters of dragons. It meant someone had broken one of Ereshkigal's curses.
Hell must be in chaos. His father's stronghold on the African continent had been destroyed. Ereshkigal's powers were weakening. Discord between the rulers of hell. All signs said this was the perfect time for him to strike.
It wasn't that he didn't care. He did. His brothers had suffered long enough. Jett had tried everything, given up everything to find a way to free them and kill the Black Dragon. Instead of continuing his search for the last key to making everything he'd scrabbled his way out of hell to make happen, he was day dreaming about a woman.
He couldn't concentrate even a little bit on anything but her scent, her eyes, her touch of magic. A day ago all he could think about was finding the cure for the curse so he could save his brethren from the pits of hell and their servitude to his father. He'd spent months avoiding the dragon warriors and hunting for the spell that would change everything.
Mark her.
Claim her.
Mate her.
Jett paced back and forth in the elaborate garden behind the Wyvern's villa. Yvaine had freaked the fuck out while talking to Ciara and he'd shifted back into his dragon form. Jakob had laughed at him. Once Jett confirmed that Yvaine wasn't in any danger he'd picked a fight with the green dragon. Jakob had been all too happy to oblige. They'd flown through the air clawing and lashing at each other, but not doing any real harm. Jett kept his fire to himself. He still needed the Wyverns as allies.
The exercise had blown off a little steam, but he knew something that would blow off a whole lot more.
Yvaine, under him, crying his name as he fucked her into coming over and over. The dragon part of him reveled in the thought. It wanted to do exactly that. To claim her as its own. As its mate. That pure instinctual part of him didn't understand that he could fuck all the women in the world, he could mark them all with his bite, he could declare for all of Dragonkind that she belonged to him, and none of it would make her his true mate.
Not without a soul to give to her. He'd even try to steal one if it would make a difference. He already knew from experience that it didn't.
"Jett?"
The tinkling sound of her voice pushed his mood even darker. Why did she have to be so damn beautiful. Even with dirt on her face, a stray p
iece of hay in her messy hair, and a fucking hole in her ridiculous unicorn shirt she took his breath away. He couldn't breath fire to roast a marshmallow if he wanted to.
What? He snapped at her. If he pretended to hate her he could distance himself from all these damn feelings.
She took a step back with confusion in her eyes. Good. Yeah, he was going to be that asshole. If she didn't like being around him she would be more motivated to figure out how to quit controlling his shift all the sooner. Then he could leave her behind and get back to plotting the demise of the Black Dragon.
"Jakob said we should go into town and see a woman who can help me figure out powers."
Then let's go already.
Yvaine frowned and narrowed her eyes at him, but didn't say anything. She walked away following the gravel path that led out of the estate. It was only a couple of miles to the town. Jett had seen that from the sky. Walking would take them much longer than he had the patience for.
Mark her. Claim her.
Grr.
Hurry the fuck up.
She stopped dead in her tracks and put her hands on her hips. "What's got your snoot in a root? I'm walking as fast as I can. If you hadn't noticed I missed breakfast, didn't get my coffee, and oh, yeah I was murdered earlier today. I'd like a little slack if you don't mind."
She was even more beautiful all riled up like this. Her breathing had ratcheted up, the breeze blew tendril of her hair around, and the rosiness she'd had in her cheeks the first time he'd seen her was back with a vengence. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and kiss the daylights out of her. He was so fucked.
Jett lowered his head right down to her eye level and bared his teeth at her like he was going to take a bite. He wanted to, badly.
"Back off, buster." Yvaine poked him right on the nose and he was back to man form in less than a blink. She continued to stare up at him, the fire in her eyes reflecting his own. Hers was from anger.
His was pure unadulterated lust.
"Stop doing that," she whispered. "You're confusing me."