The Dragon's Lover (Elemental Dragons Book 2)

by Emilia Hartley

  Quinn stood a few feet away, purposefully looking anywhere but at Isaac. Beside her, the wing-less dragon had assumed his human form and his lips were pressed into a tight line that said more than any words would have. Isaac grabbed the bag he’d dropped in the fall and resumed his place beside Dane, trying his hardest to forget about the woman that made the storm inside of him calm.

  Instead, Isaac found himself surveying the housing around him. At first, he’d thought they’d managed to purchase a newly constructed, gated community. While it was newly constructed, it was also barely constructed. Some houses were finished while others stood in a half-assembled state. The wood board exterior didn’t have any window panes or, even, doors. Yet, people still moved in and out of the structures as if they lived in them.

  Isaac’s brow furrowed. This was the state the family was content to give their people? While dragons were hardy, it did not mean they shouldn’t want for comfort and the security of a home. It made Isaac’s teeth grind in his head until an ache began between his temples. This wasn’t right.

  Kenji and Quinn led them to one of the finished houses, the windows reflecting the midday sun back at them in a blinding glare. Isaac looked back before entering the home, giving one last glance at the dragon family squatting in unfinished homes.

  “It’s sad, right?”

  Isaac’s heart clenched. He would never be able to mistake that voice for any other, even if they had only exchanged the bare minimum words. Quinn stood to his side, lingering while her own eyes moved over the town. The others had already gone inside and left them alone.

  “If you asked, I’m sure my family would help make the homes livable. We could finish them.”

  Where was her mate? Wouldn’t he want her by his side? Isaac looked around, but found them alone. That sense of freedom brought his gaze back to the woman beside him. Her hair fell in messy waves around her face, barely contained by the hand that tucked it behind her ear. The streaks of blue and green wove in and out of her blond tresses like a peep show just for him.

  Was he being selfish, Isaac wondered as he took in the already mated woman’s features? Selfish, or stupid. Either one made sense as he took in the light sprinkling of freckles across her nose and the pale innocence in her eyes. He could move only half a step and have her in his arms. He could wrap her lithe body in his grasp and lift her small chin so that he could claim her mouth.

  What would those rose-colored lips taste like? What would this woman taste like? Isaac stole a breath and scented the air. It smelled like mechanical oil and mint. It was an odd combination, but the scent stirred something inside of him. It made his stomach tight and his beast rose to the surface to fix its eyes on the woman, on Quinn.

  Thankfully, Isaac was able to control his urges because the wing-less dragon appeared behind them. Kenji stood in the small foyer of the finished house, his eyes darting between Isaac and Quinn. Isaac watched the man’s eyes flash with thoughts and emotions, a quick assessment barely hidden. Could the man see what Isaac was feeling? Could he tell how badly Isaac wanted this man’s mate?

  Isaac bowed his head and pushed past them. From the hurt on Kenji’s face, there was clearly a conversation to be had in that moment. Isaac would leave them to it. He had some programs to dismantle and files to reveal. That would occupy his mind enough to push Quinn from it for a small while. After, he didn’t know what he would do.

  He would have to leave, he told himself. There was no way he would be able to trust himself around Quinn for too long. The way he felt, the way she called him like he called storms was unavoidable. It was imminent, like a blackened cloud marching overhead.

  Inside, the house was teeming with older dragons. In the room that was most likely a dining room, there was a man with familiar, bronze skin sitting in a lawn chair. The card table at his elbow was a little bent and looked as though it had seen a number of moves, some probably quick and harried. Isaac knew who the new dragon was without any introduction, he’d lived with this man’s sons long enough to see the resemblance.

  “Mr. Avila,” Isaac said in greeting.

  The man’s brows rose in surprise. Isaac didn’t care. He was still a little upset this man did not want to see his children. Isaac was hurt on behalf of his brothers. So, he said nothing more as he claimed another lawn chair and reached for the thumb drive on the card table.

  Dane stood awkwardly, trying to keep his status in a house full of dragon leaders. More of them came to linger in the space, watching Isaac with both wariness and curiosity. His eyes moved across them with something like hope. He knew what he was looking for, but he also knew he wouldn’t find it.

  While Isaac enabled the programs he’d written to decrypt the files, Kenji and Quinn appeared in the doorway. Her arms were wrapped around her middle and her eyes had a faraway look that sent a sharp pain through Isaac’s heart. He was halfway to putting the laptop on the card table and moving to her when he caught himself. Isaac had to force himself to focus on the task at hand, but it was difficult when he had nothing to do other than wait for a program to do its work.

  “Tell me,” Dane commanded, his gaze on Mr. Avila like he, too, was angry on behalf of the brothers. “What are you planning on doing with the information once Isaac frees it for you?”

  The bronze skinned man, as old as he was didn’t look much older than Dane, stared Dane down. Perhaps they were closer to the same age than Isaac had thought. Dane was nearly their father, having raised the three, homeless boys. Neither dragon seemed to want to give.

  “We will take the records of their painful, murderous experimentation to the modern media and hold them responsible for their actions.”

  Dane shrugged. “What then? They’re responsible, great. But, what about after?”

  The bronze skinned dragon’s brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. He clearly didn’t understand the meaning behind Dane’s words, but wouldn’t admit anything. Not in the face of his fellow dragons.

  So, Isaac picked up for him. He didn’t care about status or niceties. Not when honesty and transparency was so important. “My leader is asking you what you expect to happen after you reveal this? Do you want money? Do you want to shut down the Guardians here in America? It’s great and all for everyone to know what has happened, but we need to figure out what we fully want to come of this.”

  “We want them shut down,” a surprising voice said.

  Isaac’s gaze whipped toward Quinn. She stood taller now, her arms braced in front of her ribcage, instead of protecting it. Her eyes held his, strong and immovable in her statement.

  “Imagine we do get a fraction of a global organization shut down, what do you think the humans will do? Do you think they will suddenly rally to our sides? You aren’t thinking of all the ramifications of what you want.”

  Her lips pressed together, brows lowering ever so slightly. Isaac realized it was her contemplative face. It was an expression he would have paid to see every day of his life.

  Keep her, the beast hissed in his ear.

  Isaac shook his head to dispel the voice ass it tried to repeat the words over and over. Quinn gave him an odd look, but didn’t question it. Instead, she pressed on in their debate.

  “We know that your family has set up an Embassy. It’s still very new and untested, but it could take the place of the GOE facilities.”

  That was optimistic, Isaac thought. “It’s a dragon controlled entity. No dragon shifter fearing human is going to trust it. Before you know it, GOE supporters will be rallying around the building day and night. Humanity will be afraid of us and before long, some idiot will get his hands on silver rounds.”

  “So, what do you propose then? Are you telling us we shouldn’t take our information to the media?” There was anger in her voice and it struck out at him.

  Isaac didn’t flinch. Instead, he smiled. It wasn’t that he wanted to make Quinn angry. If anything, he was reveling in the depth of her emotions. She was strong and, he knew, there would be a fury insi
de of her. He pitied the person she unleashed it upon.

  Isaac took a moment to rally his thoughts. He put them one behind the other until a plan became clear. “We need to rebuild the GOE institution here in America. We’ve already had a good start on it at the local level. One of our dragons mated a woman whose father is the new head of the nearby facility. If we can get the corrupt out of the facilities and put into place people we can trust, then GOE will become something we can work with instead of around. It will become an institution that we won’t have to fear.”

  “That is wishful thinking,” a deep, male voice with a melodic accent said. Mr. Avila pushed himself out of his chair and stood tall. Isaac could see where the brothers got their height from. “We will shut the facilities down and then worry about the ramifications.”

  Isaac opened his mouth to argue, but was cut short by Mr. Avila’s sharp gaze. There was an angry fire burning in them. This man was angry at the world, angry at everything that stood in his path. Isaac feared the day when the old man realized he stood in his own path.

  The computer in his lap dinged, the conversation cut short when the files opened across the screen. They were horrifically familiar and made Isaac’s stomach lurch just thinking about what they held. He was about to put the laptop on the card table when a rumble shook the building.

  Heads perked up, eyes wide. Dragon leaders tried not to show their fear, but Isaac saw them reach for the hands of the nearest dragon.

  It was Dane who whipped toward Isaac, an unsaid question on his lips. The only response Isaac could gather was a low, whispered curse.

  How far had they travelled? Isaac had lost count of the miles, lost track of the direction they moved in while his mind had been overrun by thoughts of Quinn. Another, thunderous rumble shook the building. It seemed that the storm he’d been watching had finally found him.

  Dane raised his hands to garner the attention of the dragons in the room and began explaining what was going on. Isaac’s stomach sank into the ground. He knew this would not end well.

  ***

  Quinn raced outside to see what was happening. It wasn’t what she first thought. Her mind had been plagued with images of GOE marking in on their settlement. She feared tanks and Humvees, her own imagination spiraling out of control.

  But, what she found was a sky darkened by an incoming storm. The clouds above rumbled ominously. The thunder carried on, the sound circling them like a predator. Her stomach did a flip. Storms, usually, were the least of their problems, but this one felt off. Quinn couldn’t put her finger on anything in particular other than the feeling roiling inside of her that this would end very badly.

  She wasn’t the kind of woman to dwell on mysticism, especially the brand that advertised omens and portents. This was just anxiety, she told herself. It wasn’t a sign of things to come. Quinn could only blame the feeling on the conversation she’d had with Ken. She could blame it on the disappointment and upset she’d harbored only moments ago. She could blame it on the rug that had been pulled out from under her, even if it was a rug that she’d only been half standing on at the time.

  The sky continued to grow darker and darker until the shadow that fell over them brought a false night. Thunder crashed on either side of Quinn and rattled her very bones. She continued to tell herself it was just a storm until lightning arched between the clouds. The bolt darted across the sky until it reached her and crashed toward the ground.

  The bolt slammed into a nearby building. The force of the impact sent Quinn staggering. Her back connected with a solid surface and her first thought was of the curly haired dragon. When she looked up, the building across from her was charred and burning. People, dragons and human mates, were running and screaming from the narrow doorway.

  Another bolt darted across the sky and plowed into the ground near Quinn. The hands holding her tightened uncomfortably. The hair on her arms and neck were standing on end, her heart racing. Looking back, Quinn was surprised to find Kenji holding her after the conversation they’d had. His eyes reflected the chaos around them, the flames and lightning.

  Beside them, the curly haired dragon, Isaac the leaders had called him, squeezed out the door. His head was tilted back to take in the monstrous storm. Quinn stole a moment to study the stern expression he tried to hide behind glasses. There was fear and guilt hidden behind the lenses.

  She didn’t have time to ask, because Kenji grew stiff and opened his mouth to lay blame. “This is your fault,” Kenji growled at the curly haired dragon man.

  Quinn watched Isaac’s shoulders fall. She twisted in Kenji’s arms to yell at him. Why would he blame the new dragons for a damned storm? It made no sense.

  “I met your kind in the experimental facilities. It didn’t matter what the so-called scientists did, the storms found those dragons. Those storms tore apart entire buildings to get to them.”

  Quinn’s jaw dropped. She turned back toward Isaac. That explained the guilt. He’d known about the storm, about how it would find him.

  “If I’d known where your settlement was, I never would have come,” Isaac whispered. Then, his shoulders rolled back and he forced himself to stand a little straighter.

  Quinn turned to find the two family leaders standing behind them. She ducked Ken’s touch and turned toward Hector Avila. “How can I help?”

  Hector looked toward the sky, his jaw tightening before his eyes fell to the dragon man standing on the ground. Isaac turned, as if he could feel Hector’s gaze. Hector’s eyebrow rose in question. He was deferring judgement to Isaac. It made sense, the storm dragon had most likely dealt with situations like this all his life.

  “Everyone needs to calm down,” Isaac said. His eyes roved over the settlement before he pointed towards a finished building. “Get them into a basement that has its own doors. I’ll try to gather as many people as I can.”

  The skies above them opened up and rain fell. It started light, just a sprinkling that pelted their skin in the wind, then it grew heavier until it felt like rocks being dropped from overhead. Quinn disregarded the rain and her frail, human status and jumped down the stairs.

  Ken called after her, but she would not sit on the sideline and watch others help her family. These dragons were just as much her family as they were Ken’s. She’d only been a child when her aunt, her legal guardian, fell in love and mated with a dragon. Her mate was one of the experiment survivors, a dragon beaten and defeated that had risen above it. He’d been Quinn’s first friend. Then, Kenji earned her trust, and slowly she fell for the others as they came into the fold.

  Quinn grabbed arms and pointed toward the finished houses, trying to scream over the rumbling thunder and the pelting rain. It felt impossible, finding everyone. She feared some of them were still hiding in the mostly wood houses, cowering as they slipped into the memories of the facilities. She slipped, the dust yards quickly becoming mud.

  She caught herself. Her hand slid in the mud as her foot went sideways. The rain pelted her face. She wished this was one of those moments where the thrill of the danger moved her, but she was losing momentum. She was afraid for her family in this mess.

  A hand entered her field of view. She followed the arm up to the body and found Isaac standing before her. Without thinking twice, she gripped it and let him pull her to her feet. The world was new again, for her. Now, she could look at Isaac and explore the odd sensation that ran through her without guilt or shame.

  “You need to find somewhere safe to hide,” Isaac told her, clearly unwilling to move from her side.

  Quinn heard the concern in his voice, but it held none of the command that she’d become accustomed to when it came to dragons. Isaac wasn’t here to bark orders, expecting her to comply. He’d come to her side out of true concern. It would have made her heart do backflips if it hadn’t already been racing.

  Reaching out, she grabbed his arm. “Help me. I made a promise that I have to keep.”

  Isaac studied her face. She hoped that all he wo
uld find there was sincerity while she did her best to hide the storm Kenji had created inside of her. While they stood on the porch of the council’s house, he’d made a confession that had turned her inside out.

  It shouldn’t have affected her the way it did, but she found herself fumbling after in a way she hadn’t expected. It’d made her slow to react. It made her selfish. The home Ruby and Casper had taken among the half-finished settlement had barely been built at all. It was only a shell in the shape of a home. It would offer no shelter against this monster of a storm. If anything, the house was likely to collapse beneath the winds and rain.

  If it hadn’t been struck by lightning already.

  “What do you need?”

  Her heart soared. She didn’t say anything. Her words would have been lost under the roar of thunder above them. The storm was destroying the settlement, systematically ripping the houses apart as if in search of something.

  Quinn didn’t have time to wonder what. She needed to find Ruby and Casper. She’d promised Ruby that the two of them would be safe here. What she’d meant was that GOE wouldn’t find them here, but Quinn wasn’t about to let a storm hurt her friends, either.

  Mud squelched beneath her feet. She slipped and slid along the unpaved roads, Isaac’s hands on her waist to keep her on her feet. The rain was pelting their faces with a stinging force. Quinn could barely walk against the winds that raged around them. If it weren’t for Isaac’s hold on her, she might have been pushed back.

  Trees around them cracked and groaned. The wind picked up and they heard a booming snap. Quinn’s focus was on the path ahead, she didn’t bother to look around her as she made her way toward the house Ruby and Casper had called home. She didn’t see the heavy tree branch careening toward them.

  The muffled sound of a scream made her pause. Quinn scanned the landscape around them, her heart lurching in hope. Was it Ruby? Was Casper here?

  A body crashed into hers and she fell face first into the mud. Anger burned away the hope as she struggled to push herself back up. Behind her, Isaac grunted and groaned. When she looked back, there was a thick tree branch pinning them to the ground. It had landed on Isaac’s lower back after he’d pushed her out of the way.