by Ginna Moran
The bastard grins, showing off his straight teeth before playfully sticking out his tongue at me, showing off a glittery barbell.
If a whisper of a swear word from Rowan didn’t sneak into my mind, I might’ve continued to watch Theo’s obvious attempt to impress and distract me. And then I feel a blip of pain coming from Maddox next.
I tense, my heart sinking into my stomach. I was right about something being wrong. Theo was trying to distract me, but why? I need to find out.
Seeing the change in my expression, Theo releases a small growl and slides down the sturdy beam. I spin and dash away, not even giving him a chance to reach the floor. I have no idea where I’m going, but my feet carry me along at a pace fast enough to stay ahead of Theo.
“Nova, damn it!” he shouts from behind me. “Stop! The Drekis asked me to keep you away until they’re done.”
Done? Done with what?
I don’t stop to ask, letting my instincts and need to find my mates lead me to the grand black metal staircase, spiraling to what I think is the ground level. It’s hard to tell with the way the palace seems to be set up for our human and dragon forms.
A loud whistle rips through the air from behind me as Theo unleashes some sort of warning. I expect a dozen men to come charging at me from the shadows. I expect to get tackled and dragged to a dungeon to be held prisoner just like I was in Max. But what I don’t expect is for a wave of dragon fire to explode a dozen feet in front on me. My human rationale betrays me, my body freezing in panic like it’ll burn me alive, and I halt in my tracks. A silhouette blocks out the soft light emanating from above as a black dragon roars above me. Tilting my head back, I catch sight of Tiernan transforming into his human form midair. He freefalls from thirty feet above and lands on his feet amid his flames.
“You called, brother,” Tiernan says, stretching his naked body in front of me. “Need some help taming our mate?”
And damn my eyes. They devour every damn tatted and pierced inch of him, wanting to imprint his muscular body into my mind.
“She looks a bit wild. In need of some attention to get her settled down,” he adds.
I shock the hell out of him by flinging out my hands, shooting an unexpected burst of dragon fire at him, knocking him onto his naked ass.
Theo swears from behind me, but I ignore him and run in the direction my body wants me to go. He releases another whistle, and Tiernan growls, trying to knock me off my feet again with his fire. My hair blows in front of me, veiling across my face. My heart races to beat my legs, trying to escape me to reach the Drekis first.
“Maddox?” I call, my voice sounding like a gasp. “Rowan? Kash?”
Silence greets me, but I can feel them. A blip of their pain sneaks through me, igniting fear in my heart. Shit.
“Nova, stop!” Theo yells from behind me.
Tiernan releases a guttural noise from his throat. “Just blast her. You’re being too gentle. She’s tough.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Grinding my teeth, I brace for the explosion of dragon fire to consume me. I have a feeling if Theo doesn’t do it, Tiernan will. He doesn’t share the same bond that I have with his brother. He won’t feel my hatred like Theo would, and it makes this more complicated. If he can’t empathize with me, he has nothing to lose in trying to put me in my supposed place.
I reach the spiral stairs and wonder if I should just risk running down them or test my ability and transform into a dragon...definitely not transform. Knowing my luck, I’d falter and crash to the floor. I’ll have a better chance at just hustling my ass.
Swinging my leg over the railing, I test my luck and begin to slide. Tiernan dives from the landing beside me, transforming into a dragon. He lands gracefully near the bottom of the stairs, blocking my path.
I do the only thing I can think of.
Jerking my weight to the side, I throw myself off the railing and do my best to flip in the air. I can’t get enough force to prepare to land on my feet and end up landing on my shoulders. I see stars, the air heaving from my lungs. But it doesn’t stop me from getting to my feet and bolting away. Neither does Tiernan.
His massive dragon form only makes it harder for him to move as I dodge right under his belly and toward a gleaming corridor. The fucker blows another hot breath of fire at me, not caring that he scorches a decorative table and the back of my clothes in the process. And fucking hell. Cool air drifts across my ass cheeks, giving Tiernan a peek at my naked skin.
Theo whistles once more, and a door on the right side of the corridor flies open. I summon dragon fire in my hands, the action now instinctual with the stress of the situation. Ambrose gathers his electric green magic in his palms. Tensing, I expect him to blast me, shocking me off my feet. Anger lines his brows, and he draws a circle in the air—not a circle, but a chain. Shit. He’s going to leash me again.
My mind screams to stop, to turn and run, to do anything I can to escape this asshole warlock. But my heart and soul holler to suck it up and be brave for the Drekis. I’ve survived a short time in Max. I’ve faced a scarier warlock. I’m a damn dragon, and this guy is a snack. I can’t let him intimidate me. I can’t.
A roar sounds from behind me, and Ambrose flinches and ducks, scrambling out of the way. Fear ignites inside me at the threatening call of an angry beast, but I push through it and race into Ambrose’s room. Surprising me, he flicks magic at the door, slamming it shut on Theo and Tiernan. I jerk my attention to the expansive room and cover my mouth with my hand.
I scream.
And then I scream again, tears welling in my eyes.
Blood stains the floor and spatters across the wall.
“Graulot momensi trevistitato!” Ambrose shouts.
Heat laces around my neck, stealing my mobility. All I can do is stare through my teary vision and silently scream at the three hulking forms on the floor.
This warlock is dead.
If only a part of me wasn’t dead too.
Chapter 11
A Life of Lies
“IF YOU CALM DOWN, I will release you from the spell.” Ambrose strolls closer to me, his presence igniting panic into my very essence. “You weren’t supposed to see this. The Drekis never wanted you to view them this way, nor did they think you’d agree with getting the Darkonian mark.”
The Darkonian mark? What the hell?
I dart my gaze away from Ambrose and to my mates on the floor. Each of them lies unmoving on their stomachs without their shirts. Expansive winged dragon tattoos cover their broad backs with an intricate design glowing red within the new, unfamiliar tattoos.
“The spell leaving them immobile will wear off within the hour,” Ambrose adds. “The act of such an alliance comes at a price, and the pain that comes with it is said to be the worst imaginable.”
I try to open and close my mouth, to push any noise free, but Ambrose continues locking me in his spell. I can’t even hear Theo and Tiernan in the hallway. They probably have no clue that they’re being used and manipulated by a warlock they trust as their guard.
“Erf eth og,” Ambrose whispers, waving his hand over my body.
The imaginary restraints release me, and I drop to my knees before falling to my stomach. My mind spins with dizziness, and I remain on the floor, trying to will my body to get itself together.
A cool hand touches my bare back, my skin exposed from where Tiernan burned the fabric. “I’m sorry I did that. I just—you’re wild and pissed off over things I’m commanded to do by your mates, and I don’t want to face your wrath. With it comes the protectiveness of fierce dragons, so don’t blame me for guarding myself.”
Turning my head, I rest my cheek to the floor. “You leashed me again.” It’s all I can manage to say.
“With good reason. I’d never use it to force you into doing anything, and I won’t apologize for controlling your unpredictable side. You’ve been put at a disadvantage by the traitor Litendrake heir and your mother for taking you into a world you we
re never intended to grow up in. I’m actually rather surprised your mother ever left you and allowed you out of her sight.” Ambrose’s words dig deeply into me, opening an ache inside me unlike anything I’ve felt for my mom since I was a child.
I lick my dry lips. “My parents died in prison when I was young...at least, that’s what Aunt McKayla told me. She raised me human with a man named Darius, who never said more than a few words and was constantly in and out. McKayla didn’t tell me she was a witch or that I was a dragon.” Calling a woman I now know isn’t related to me my aunt still feels strange. My whole life in the Mortal World and before finding Galaxy Gold almost feels like a dream. “But I don’t know what to think anymore.” Because the Darkonians mentioned my dad as if he were alive.
Ambrose kneels beside me. “I don’t understand. I knew that Delilah dealt with Dark Ones to hide you, but McKayla? McKayla Lioht? That doesn’t make sense. She was an outstanding witch and worked with the High Council.”
“You have the wrong woman in mind then. Her coven deemed her a traitor when she helped my mom leave Magaelorum.” I shiver at hearing Rhett’s coven’s name, knowing that McKayla was his coven sister and they worked together at the Maximum Magical Penitentiary. “And after that, she went by another name: McKayla Fyre. The Drekis and I were trying to locate her in the Mortal World, thinking she could help us like she had with my mother, but we hit a dead end. That was right before you showed up.”
I know better than to spill our plans or anything about my life to someone who can use it against me, but a part of me hopes that maybe Ambrose isn’t as bad as I think or at least that maybe he can help us too.
Ambrose falls silent beside me, and I prop up on my elbow to look at him. Green sparks in his silvery eyes, his dark skin making the color of his irises pop. Rubbing his hand over his platinum bleached blond curls, Ambrose loses himself in his thoughts.
“I need to take you somewhere, but I know neither the Drekis nor the Darkonians will allow it.” He says the words like he’s contemplating with himself and not asking me if I will agree to such a thing.
“Where?” I ask, pushing upright.
He sighs. “Fuck it.” Locking his hand to my wrist, he yanks me onto his lap. “Yoque bavito lotuessa!”
Bright light blinds me.
The world disappears.
***
Heat swells on the tops of my hands, and I cringe and fling my arms out, trying to cool them off. Goosebumps prickle over my body. Blinking my eyes, I try to push the light away. Ambrose’s cool hand remains around my wrist, his grip the only thing stopping me from falling into darkness.
“Take a breath, princess. Nice and slow.” With Ambrose’s words, my body goes out of whack, my mind struggling to orient itself to the sudden shift in the world. “I need you to stay calm. The shield is fragile here.”
“Here?” My voice comes out as a whisper as my vision clears.
Oh. My. Fuck.
This can’t be real. I’m not back in the Maximum Magical Penitentiary. Ambrose wouldn’t betray five brutally beautiful, protective dragons, would he?
An alarm rings through the air, startling me, and I step closer to Ambrose like this fuckhead would protect me. Why did he bring me here? What are his plans? Shit. Shit. Shit.
Dread pours over me as inmates march from the building in single-file lines and into the prison yard. Electric magic hums along the high walls, lighting the dark yard. This isn’t the time of day for the shifters and fae, so I squint and peer around, hoping to catch sight of who is out here.
“No one can see us. I wouldn’t risk bringing you to Max if I couldn’t protect you. I know you don’t trust me, but you should know that I wouldn’t risk endangering the mate of my familiars. It’s why I act as the Darkonian princes’ guard.” Ambrose adjusts his hand, sliding our fingers together.
I’m too afraid to tug myself free. I have no idea how his shield works, and I don’t want to test my luck. “Oh, uh—”
“But none of that matters at the moment. We have someone we must see, who isn’t allowed visitors.” He cuts off my question before I have a chance to ask him what he means by calling the Darkonians his familiars. From what I know of witches, based on my limited Mortal World knowledge, is that a familiar is an animal who serves a witch or something. But the Darkonians don’t do that. “We have to hurry. I anticipate we have only a couple minutes before their security spell picks up on our magical residue. People usually try to escape and not infiltrate this hellhole.”
“Unless they’re Lazlo Infinity,” I mutter under my breath.
Ambrose lifts an eyebrow but doesn’t comment, choosing to tug me along with him and deeper into the prison yard. I tense, squeezing his hand tighter, the memory of my short stay here feeling more like a nightmare. Dozens of figures move and meander around the dry grass and dirt field yard, mingling together in small clusters.
We stroll past a woman with long, dark hair twisted into a braid, and she smiles and twitches her fingers in our direction. I inhale a sharp breath, my fear getting the best of me, but Ambrose doesn’t even glance in her direction. A man steps right in our path, causing Ambrose to halt and pull me into his arms. I bite my lip to stop myself from screaming out in surprise. Because the man doesn’t look at us. His eyes focus on the beautiful woman. With a smile, he flashes his capped fangs and closes the space to her, kissing her softly.
Ambrose groans under his breath and drags me around them, not letting me gawk at what I think are a witch and a vampire sharing a passionate prison yard moment for long.
“Make sure you touch no one,” Ambrose says, keeping his voice low, “and help me keep a lookout. Witches don’t have their magic here, but they can still sense it. It’ll draw their attention.”
“Maybe you should just take me back to the palace, Ambrose.” Because I really fucking don’t want to be here.
“I need you, though. I doubt anyone from the Tenebris Coven will speak to me. They must hear it from you.” Ambrose picks up his pace and practically jogs with me toward the back of the prison yard where I know we’ll find the pits.
I should have terrible memories of being thrown into a deep, dark dirt hole, but all I can think about is my time getting banged by Maddox because he didn’t want to take me to see where he lived within the prison. And fuck, does my body set itself off now.
Ambrose clears his throat and flicks his attention to me, but I keep my eyes on the grate-covered isolation pits. Groans, swears, and even someone singing trickles through the air. A CO stands near the towering wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He looks familiar, maybe one of the few guards I’ve interacted with besides the Drekis. I don’t get long to think about it because Ambrose stops at the opening to a pit at the end of a long row.
“Nepo alliveta Tenebris sanctu vas,” Ambrose murmurs under his breath. “Tasha Tenebris, we’ve come from the Mountain Lands to speak with you. It’s about McKayla Lioht.”
A figure saunters into view, tipping her head back to peer up at us. “I have nothing to say that I haven’t already said. Leave me in peace, Dragon Tamer. I know who you are and your allies. You will not get anything more from me. Losing my coven and magic was enough.” The woman’s eyes flicker with a soft blip of purple magic that fades as quickly as I see it. “Do not come again. I will not help you.”
“Tasha, wait. I’m not seeking your help. All I want to know is who accused your High Priestess of her crimes against Magaelorum and High Priestess Lioht. The records have always been sealed.”
“Was it McKenzie?” I ask, my mouth speaking before my brain has a chance to realize that it’s me now talking. From my short time with my aunt’s twin, I can’t help but wonder. “She called my Aunt McKayla a traitor. She seemed like the type. She wouldn’t even help me after it was her coven brother responsible for—”
Ambrose slaps his hand over my mouth, shutting me up. “Too much, princess.”
“Let the dragon speak, warlock,” Tasha says, retur
ning to her spot beneath the grate. “I want to know her connection toward the coven who now claims the Tenebris power.”
“McKayla raised me in the Mortal World after my parents died,” I say, meeting the witch’s gaze.
She scowls. “Impossible. She’s why my coven burned.”
I reach up and touch my chest, my thrumming heart attempting to escape my ribcage. “What? Aunt McKayla wasn’t the sweetest, but I can’t imagine her hurting anyone. She raised me as family when I had no one.”
“A dragon clan would never allow one of their females to be possessed by a witch.” Anger lights Tasha’s eyes.
“No one knew. I didn’t even know. I barely found out a few weeks ago that my aunt had been lying to me all my life.” I suddenly feel so desperate for her to believe me. “She spelled me to suppress my dragon. It was Rhett Lioht who broke the protection spell.”
“Did you say Rhett Lioht broke the spell? He knew about you and what his prior High Priestess had done?” Tasha’s voice rings louder through the air, and I squeeze Ambrose’s hand at her anger. She might no longer have her magic, but it still feels as if she can summon it. And she’s pissed. “When was this?”
“Just a few weeks ago,” Ambrose says, answering for me. “He died in the process. Delphia was falsely convicted for his murder, which is why I need to know who your accusers were. Was it the Liohts? Are they acting against the High Council? If Rhett knew about Delphia, he had to have known that McKayla was alive.”
Wait, what? I frown and flick my gaze to his. “What do you mean?”
Tasha growls, dragging my attention to her. She grips the strands of her chestnut brown hair, yanking at them. Another blip of residual power lights her gaze as if she might still carry some sort of magic despite knowing that the High Council gave it to the Lioht Coven.
“Are you implying that my coven not only perished due to false accusations, but they were also burned by dragon fire for a crime that was never committed?” Tipping her head back, Tasha releases a high-pitched scream, the grief and anger in her voice penetrating my soul, sending pain through me.