Queen of Jade: a dragon shifter fantasy (The Dragon Mage Book 2)

by LJ Andrews

  “Don’t touch me,” he snapped, backing behind me as though I would protect him. “I’m a fae. I know magis exist. I know . . . dragons were once a thing, it’s just . . . holy forest gods.”

  “Frenrir,” Sapphire called over his shoulder “Dispose of it.”

  Frenrir shook his great head and unhinged his jaws. The fire engulfed the dead serpent. Burning flesh hit my nose again and I groaned.

  Mitch looked pale and off balance when Sapphire clapped his strong hand on his shoulder. He didn’t back away—most likely because Sapphire was much stronger, or he thought he’d die.

  “Come on, Mitch,” Sapphire said. “Let’s get back to the house. We won’t hurt you.”

  “Don’t erase my memory,” Mitch shouted, surprising me. “Or whatever it is you do. Please, I just want to know the truth for once. I’ve lived a dishonest life. Everyone around me lies, either to hurt me or protect me. For once, please tell me the truth. Even if you’re going to kill me, tell me the truth.”

  Sapphire glanced at me, his blue robe caked in snow as dawn brought a storm.

  I leaned on Jade as my energy continued to seep from my system and shrugged. “We’re not going to kill you, Mitch. Don’t you think we would have done it by now?”

  “I didn’t see your secret before.”

  I smiled and shoved his arm, though it tugged awkwardly on my skin. “We won’t. I promise. Let’s just get out of here, or I might pass out.”

  Jade strengthened her hold on me and helped me mount onto the back of Frenrir. Mitch shook his head, but finally took his place behind me on Frenrir’s ridged spine after Sapphire practically tossed him on. Jade and Sapphire joined Frenrir in flight and we shot toward the reform house.

  The entire way, Mitch muttered prayers under his breath.

  My mind was foggy, and I had no idea how I would explain any of this, or how much knowing the truth might put him in danger.

  Chapter 7

  Awkward silence was one of my least favorite things. I hated the way it thickened in the room like smoke.

  I’d lived through my share of awkward pauses, most with Aunt Liz when someone from the Magis Police Force showed up for my latest screw up.

  I empathized with Mitch. He stared blankly at the rug. Not so long ago, when Jade told me the truth, I’d looked at her much the same. At least he was fae and not human. He knew magic, but to everyone—human and magis across the globe—dragons and mages have been dead for centuries. In truth, the powerful fae led most of the magis districts. Mitch’s kind were now knocked off their rung of power.

  My ribs burned with each breath. I’d stripped my shirt, so Jade could press her hands to my body. Her healing touch helped ease the ache, but sharp bolts of pain shot to my head anytime someone shifted on the couch.

  Mitch studied her curiously, and though Jade’s back was toward him, she grinned at me.

  “He has so many questions,” she whispered.

  “Yes, I do,” Mitch said. “First being, what is that on your back? I’m starting to think those aren’t normal tattoos.”

  I chuckled, then winced through the pain. Jade scowled at me and focused more attention on my wounds. I flicked my gaze to Mitch. “You’re right. They aren’t normal.”

  Mitch swallowed the steaming drink Sapphire made for us all. It wasn’t coffee or tea, and I’d meant to ask what it was, but the wyverns gulped the bittersweet drink like it was their life source. I’d come to love the smooth taste as well.

  Mitch was already on his second serving. Eisha arrived, and Mitch eyed her with caution. “Ms. Drake . . . are you . . .”

  Eisha smiled, though I sensed her hesitation in bringing another outsider into the fold. She nodded and Mitch paled, watching her find a place near Frenrir on the window bench. Jade had created a barrier to dissuade anyone else in the house from entering the room and the night staff wouldn’t arrive until three this afternoon.

  “I don’t know if this is wise. We should consult the council,” Frenrir muttered.

  “What council! No, I won’t tell anyone,” Mitch begged, seeming to sense the danger of the wyvern elders. “Really, I just want you to tell me what I saw today.”

  Sapphire cleared his throat and inched closer to Mitch. It was progress when Mitch didn’t shy away.

  “Mitch, you saw Teagan kill something called a lindworm. Teagan isn’t defective.”

  “Yeah, got that,” Mitch said. “Honestly, I sensed he was powerful myself.”

  Sapphire offered a soft grin. “I didn’t know until he arrived. The lindworms are of the wyvern race—a dark type of dragon.”

  Mitch found my eye across the room as I slipped my shirt back over my head.

  He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You’re . . . all dragons? Not dead, but very alive. Why didn’t you tell me, man? By now I hope you’d know I’d be cool about things.”

  “Teagan isn’t a dragon,” Jade said. “You know of the Dragon Mage wars, right?”

  “I follow fae folk more, but yeah. Everyone does. Mages are the original magis—” Mitch’s eyes widened. He gaped at me. “You’re a mage?”

  “A very powerful one,” Jade went on.

  I rolled my eyes and kissed her knuckles. “You tend to embellish.”

  “I do not. You are the High Priest, are you not?”

  I sighed, meeting Mitch’s eye. “Look, Mitch. I’m new to all this, too. I really believed I was defective. It wasn’t until I met Jade and whatever blocked my power broke away. How much do you want to know? You look overwhelmed.”

  “That’s just my face. I want to know everything.”

  I glanced at Sapphire. He seemed impressed. Eisha was stern, but nodded. Frenrir was the only one who seemed sickened at the idea, but he didn’t protest.

  “Fine.” Sapphire pulled a wooden chair and sat in front of Mitch. “We’ll tell you everything, and then we’ll decide if it’s safe to allow you to keep the truth.”

  Mitch didn’t argue, but I sensed his fear for Sapphire. I didn’t blame him. The shock at seeing the shift for the first time, how it was one of the best and most terrifying moments to witness, fear deserved to be there.

  With all Mitch’s questions the conversation took nearly three hours. At the end, my magic hummed strong again, but my eyes screamed for sleep.

  Mitch gulped his fourth helping of the drink and rubbed the sides of his head before his eyes bounced between me and Jade. “So, you’re . . . her mage?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I’ll protect Jade with my life, and she’ll do the same.”

  “And you can’t help it?”

  “Well, I can’t speak for Teagan, but I don’t want to help it,” Jade said through one of her sly smiles.

  Frenrir rolled his eyes, but the easiness of her tone helped Mitch relax.

  “We are all learning when it comes to Teagan’s power and the strange bond between them, just like you, Mitch,” Sapphire said, voice rough. Sapphire mentioned Mini during the tell-all. Hearing the man speak of his friend and mage with such reverence had unavoidably cast the room in somber remembrance for a time.

  “Interesting,” Mitch replied. “I mean, I grew up on stories of dragons versus mages. It was a stupid board game when I went to live with the fae after getting kicked out. Sorry, Teag, I always picked dragons.”

  Raffi puffed out his chest. “Because they’re magnificent.”

  I laughed, then winced against the pulpy swelling around my healing ribs.

  “And you,” Mitch said to the warrior. “This explains a lot. Always so volatile and arrogant and—”

  “I get it,” Raffi grumbled. “I am that way because I am superior to changelings like you.”

  Mitch chuckled a little wickedly, a little like they were the best of friends. “We’ll see. Hey, if one of these days you forget how to get dressed in the morning, just remember—” He wiggled his fingers. “Changeling.”

  Dash laughed and punched Raffi’s shoulder.

  Mitch’s eyes brightened. He
scooted forward on his chair. Fear long gone, replaced by total intrigue. “But this guy, Bron, he’s going to come back? He’s like your dad, right Teagan?”

  “We don’t know for sure,” I said.

  I didn’t want to talk about Bron, so when Athika burst into the room, I welcomed the distraction. Mitch startled back, his eyes locking onto Athika’s exposed arms with the crimson markings along her skin.

  “Who is this? She has the same things on her arms.”

  Athika glared at Mitch before stomping toward Sapphire.

  “Ruby is awake,” she said, her eyes scanning around the room before landing on Jade, whose hand was clasped tightly in mine. “If you aren’t too busy telling a faerie all the secrets of our world, she would like to see Queen Jade.”

  “Changeling to be exact,” Mitch said.

  “There was a lindworm, Athika,” I told her. She raised a brow, clearly unaware. I leaned back against the cushion when one side started to burn again. “Mitch witnessed me killing it. We figured that would take some explaining.”

  “How did it get in? I thought you banished them with the blades. And why didn’t you call for me?”

  “Well, it didn’t happen within shouting distance and you were a little busy with Ruby anyway.” The edge in my voice came from my need for sleep. I wasn’t really annoyed with Athika’s questions.

  “You can connect our powers and channel a summons for help. Don’t you know anything about being the High Priest?”

  Jade’s grip tightened around my hand, but with a quick smile I did my best to calm her temper. “Athika, you tired? Or do you piss and moan all the time? You know full well how much I know about being the High Priest.”

  She rolled her eyes, though there was a flood of crimson in her cheeks. “Well, for future notice, we should connect our powers as soon as possible. What of the banishment?”

  “It’s fading,” Eisha replied.

  “I must go to Ruby,” Jade said. Reluctantly, I untangled my fingers from hers and leaned against the arm of the sofa now that her buoying power left my system. Together Sapphire and Jade drifted out of the room with Eisha. Frenrir stayed, eyeing Mitch as though he’d become the single greatest risk to his royals, greater than even King Nag.

  Athika sauntered across the room, taking Jade’s place next to me on the sofa. “We must fight, then. If the banishment power is already fading, we cannot wait here for Nag or Bron to come again. I say we find them and bring the fight to them.”

  I clicked my tongue, squeezed the sofa arm when her movement shot a bolt of heat from my spine to my skull. “Two mages against the king of lindworms and the dark High Priest. Doesn’t sound promising.”

  “What is the matter with you? Your face is so pale when it wasn’t a moment ago,” she asked, her voice a little softer.

  “I expended a lot of energy killing the lindworm. Broke a few ribs. Jade’s energy helps heal and energize me.”

  “Well, here, she’s not the only one who can help. We share the same power. It will be even stronger,” Athika said.

  “Nothing is as strong—”

  But Athika didn’t wait for me to finish my protest before one of her palms was pressed against my shoulder. Instantly heat bubbled through my blood and filled me with a palpable rejuvenation. It wasn’t stronger than Jade’s energy, nor was it weaker. Just different. Athika smirked when I sighed a breath of relief.

  “See. Connections between mage are strong—if not more natural.” Her eyes penetrated mine. The temperature shifted in the room, thick and hot. After she touched me a moment too long, I drew my shoulder away.

  “Thanks,” I said. “That feels better. I’m good now.”

  Athika leaned back, satisfied. “Next time you should just come to me.”

  Frenrir nodded his approval, and for a moment, I wanted to snap his upturned nose. Athika ran a hand through her wavy hair before continuing. She seemed at ease without the royals. A strange mage, but I trusted her. Truth told, I wasn’t sure why. She kept things inside, I sensed them. Thoughts she didn’t want to admit and it irked me.

  “You said you wanted to find the High Priestess,” she went on. “I might know where to begin. She will surely have mage support.”

  “Yes, and what if she still supports Bron?”

  “I don’t believe that. I was there the night the elemental kingdom fell. The High Priestess battled against Bron. He was her husband. I cannot imagine the pain she experienced.”

  “Please explain what you’re talking about,” Mitch grumbled.

  With a sigh and exasperated glance at Athika, I leaned closer to my friend. “Nothing relevant to right now, Mitch. Athika is wanting to find other lost mages to fight against the lindworms. But she’s forgetting we don’t know who we can trust. We can’t just rush in.”

  “Rush in? We’ve been waiting for this for over two hundred years,” Athika argued. “The war never ended, and it’s time to finish it once and for all. Nag already has the fire stone, and we must learn about the weapon.”

  “What weapon?” Mitch asked.

  Frenrir cleared his throat, an arrogance in his tone. “There are weapons beyond your understanding. There are powers beyond what your mind can comprehend. That is what you should know.”

  “Frenrir, Bron has this weapon,” Athika said. “I heard him shout about it to Ruby when I arrived. Even more reason to find the High Priestess. She’ll know how to face the dark High Priest.”

  Mitch frowned. “Teagan, don’t you want to find her?”

  I didn’t hear him the first time and he repeated my name. I blinked my gaze to his. “Sorry, what did you say?”

  “I asked why you don’t want to find the High Priestess. Mr. Sapphire believes she’s your mother.”

  Clearing the knot in my throat, I stood. “I don’t know. I have questions, and I think we need to find out what her connection is with Bron, but she’s not my mother either way. If she gave birth to me, then in my mind, her abandoning me sort of forfeited any say she has in my life.”

  “Teagan,” Athika interjected with surprising softness. “There could be many reasons if it is true. We can’t be certain of all that happened during the divide.”

  Jade peeked around the door, her arm wrapped firmly around Ruby’s waist. Now that the royal of the fire stone was standing she was surprisingly tall—at least a full head over Jade. Her eyes like smoldering embers, and her complexion a toasted brown.

  Athika hurried to her other side.

  “Hello,” Ruby said, her voice beautifully accented. Mitch shot to his feet and offered the padded chair for Ruby to sit. “Thank you. I had to get off that table. I couldn’t help but overhear what you said about finding the High Priestess. Although I agree with you, Athika, I must say there is something more pressing I must tell you.” Ruby leaned forward, allowing me a glimpse of the scars from her battle. There was a scabbed gash along the side of her neck, and along the back of her neck was an angry wound. My fists clenched. Bron struck her from behind, like a coward. “When Bron thought me dead, he foolishly admitted plans of King Nag to his dark mages. I fear King Nag isn’t our only concern, nor the dark High Priest.”

  I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, gripping the strands at the roots for a full three heartbeats before I looked at Ruby once more. “What else?”

  “King Nag has many sons, but one in particular. He is known as the Prince of Night. Nag will do anything to have his line reign supreme over the wyvern race.”

  “We have heard of no son that would have more power over night energy than Nag,” Frenrir hissed.

  “Well, obviously Nag doesn’t want it to be common knowledge. Lindworms control the darkest energy we simply call night energy. What king would want to admit they may have an heir with greater power?” Ruby said, firmly, with more energy than she’d entered with. “Bron spoke of the prince, explained his growing power and how alliances were the answer to victory.”

  “I don’t understand,” I said, unable to explain
the sudden tightening in my chest. “What is he talking about, alliances?”

  Ruby glanced at Jade, and I wished she had looked anywhere in the room. The tightening mounted, as though my ribs were snapping all over again. Ruby lowered her voice. “If the lindworms take the remaining royal stones, then you, Queen Jade, will be powerless to refuse their plans.”

  “What plans?” Jade asked.

  A rush of anger filled my veins. “Yes, explain. What are you talking about?”

  Ruby sighed, her forehead beginning to bead with perspiration. “King Nag wishes to align the queen of the elementals with his heir to the lindworms. The stones will naturally belong to the lindworms with their alliance, and the wyvern race will be united.”

  “No. You’re not saying what I think you are,” I said with a snarl. Jade was pale, and I had the frightening desire to run with her, to hide her away before any of Nag’s twisted schemes could come down on her.

  “But Bron tried to kill me,” Jade whispered.

  “Yes, and when he failed, Nag realized your strength. The dark king seeks power, and there is power in your bloodline, Jade,” Ruby said. “Imagine the heir of the elementals in his palm. He would be unstoppable.”

  “So, this prince . . . is going to try to . . .” Mitch stammered.

  “Take Jade as his mate, yes,” Ruby said.

  My fists balled at my sides. I didn’t see how the glass in the front window fissured in a web of cracks as my anger—and fear—grew heavier on my heart. One thing was certain: the pathetic, cowardly lindworm prince would have to do much more than steal elemental stones. I would never allow him to touch Jade. Never.

  If it happened, it would mean I was dead.

  Chapter 8

  Metal scraped over metal. I loved the sound. Each strike powered my body onward, bringing more strength, more energy into each blow. The jade swords gleamed beneath the brilliant sun. The winter air was frigid, but I was shirtless in the large training yard Raffi crafted for my use.

  I spun on my heel, one blade held in a reverse grip close to my waist. The other I rolled easily in my other hand.