Because one thing was certain. The vampires wanted Camden’s blood, and were willing to do anything to get it. The weapons they carried were very dangerous and very real. They no longer held Sage in chains, but they didn’t have to, because Sage was almost ridiculously outnumbered. He hadn’t even known that covens of this size existed. Clearly, the Wyverns would have to reassess their data on vampires and the threat they posed to the rest of the castes.
A while later, the door opened and a vampire brought them Camden’s meal, food rich in iron to help regenerate the blood. Sage didn’t look at the man and didn’t even move until he was gone. Finally, once they were alone again, he threw the blanket off and shook Camden a little. Camden slowly opened his eyes and gave him a bleary look.
“Come on,” Sage told him. “You need to get something to eat.”
Camden nodded and slid from underneath the blankets as well. They both knew Sage didn’t have much time left here. Fallon allowed him to stay with Camden for an hour or so, in return for his good behavior, but after that, he would be taken to a separate cell. It was yet another measurement Fallon had taken to prevent their escape.
As if summoned by Sage’s thoughts, Fallon burst into the room, scowling. “Time to go, draechen. Your mate can eat on his own.”
Sage gritted his teeth, feeling more helpless than ever. So many times, he’d wanted to kick Fallon’s ass, and now was no different, but Fallon was never on his own. He always had several other vampires with him, and if Sage tried anything, he’d be risking his mate’s life.
Those rational thoughts dissipated when the doctor joined them in the room. “You must rush to feed yourself,” he told Camden. “We have more tests later.”
More tests? More abuse on his mate? No way. Sage had withstood it for as long as possible, but he wouldn’t allow it, not anymore. He’d rather die.
“I think not,” Sage replied in Camden’s stead. “You’ve done enough. I won’t allow any further tests today.”
“Allow?” Fallon repeated. “You must be joking. You’re not in any position to order us around, draechen. Remember your place.”
“I do,” Sage answered. “I’m Camden’s mate, and it’s my job to protect him.”
Already, the vampires were withdrawing their weapons, but Sage didn’t stand down. Camden didn’t ask him to, but neither did he push him into defending him. “Be careful,” he warned through their bond. “I’m not sure we should challenge them now.”
Sage wasn’t sure either, but he had to draw a line somewhere. Obviously, though, the vampires’ patience was running out. Narrowing his eyes at Sage, Fallon gestured his guards to approach. “Take him away. Doctor, you can proceed with whatever tests you need.”
Out of nowhere, the medic retrieved a syringe, obviously prepared to gather more blood. Just like that, Sage snapped. All of the walls of his composure that he’d carefully forced around his tortured heart collapsed. With a roar, Sage shot a bolt of magic at the doctor. The man screamed and collapsed, his body pierced in several places by icicles. Fallon and the rest of the vampires scattered, their weapons still on Sage. And Camden was right there, still weak from blood loss and vulnerable to the bullets.
Not hesitating for a single second, Sage wrapped his arms around Camden and pushed his mate to the floor. A shower of bullets flooded the room, most of them hitting their mark—Sage.
Pain exploded over him, but he forced it back. Thankfully, none of the projectiles were aimed as carefully as the shot that had once immobilized him. They did tear through flesh, muscle, and arteries, though, but Sage was thankful that they didn’t pass through him to hit Camden.
Of course, he realized he’d been rash in attacking, but his anger had been building up for the past weeks until it had become unbearable. Gritting his teeth, Sage tried to suppress the pain. He didn’t want his mate to feel it, no matter what they did to him.
From that point on, anything could have happened, except, out of the blue, a loud explosion shook the building. All of the windows broke, and Sage hissed as a rain of glass fell over him and his wounds. Still, he considered himself lucky for the distraction. The vampires turned away from him and Camden as the sound of battle erupted outside. “What in the world is going on?” Fallon asked.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Sage crawled to his feet. He was still a soldier, no matter how many bullets he had in him, and he might never get this chance again. He had to act now.
It was unwise to shift with the projectiles still inside his body, but Sage needed the dragon right now. Taking a deep breath, he clung to his connection to Camden and summoned his beast.
The dragon answered, rushing out of him, eager to deal with the men who’d dared to lay a finger on Camden. A different time, Sage would have fucked himself over through this process, but now, he found that Camden’s blood inside him was working its own brand of magic. Sage’s body expelled the bullets, leaving only healing wounds behind.
The shift took longer than Sage would have liked, and it left him a little dazed. When he recovered, though, he was in dragon form and far more able to handle the situation. In spite of everything Camden had been through, the naga had shifted as well, his lower half now snake-like. Sage could honestly never get tired of seeing Camden like that. While that form had looked monstrous on draechen, Camden made it so very beautiful. He had a deadly grace that Sage could have never pulled off.
But now was not the time to admire his mate. With another roar, Sage blew an ice blast at the vampires still in the room. Fallon swore, taking refuge behind a fallen table. He kept shooting his gun, and given his size, Sage was a sitting duck… or a sitting dragon. He shielded himself with his wing as he swept his claws over another of Fallon’s cronies. Meanwhile, Camden had already slipped past the rest of Fallon’s companions, using the huge distraction Sage represented to get behind Fallon. With a swipe of Camden’s powerful tail, the vampire dropped his gun. He turned toward Camden with an angry hiss and pounced him, claws extended. Camden didn’t fall, his tail giving him a balance he might not have had in his legged form. He dodged, slithering aside with striking speed.
The remaining vampires had guns, too, and kept trying to fight Sage. But in this form, it was actually easier to handle the bullets. They did penetrate his hide, but Sage had a higher tolerance for pain now, a more than acceptable trade-off for his poor evasion abilities. He could also take more than a vampire at a time, so they didn’t get the chance to shoot him all that much in the first place.
Naturally, if not for whoever was attacking the coven, the vampires would have received countless reinforcements by now. This meant that the battle below was likely quite difficult for the vamps. Perhaps they were losing it. Sage certainly hoped so, because his instincts felt something familiar about the force that had come to his aid.
Obviously understanding the seriousness of the situation, Fallon waved at the vampires who remained conscious. “Leave the dragon,” he shouted. “Grab the naga. We need to go.”
Retreating away from Sage, the vampires pounced toward Camden. Sage roared, casting another spell and managing to hit two more vamps. The rest crowded Camden against the wall, and while the naga put up a good fight, they managed to restrain him. Sage wanted to use his magic on them, but if he wasn’t careful, he’d hit his mate in the process.
“There’s a good dragon,” Fallon said, grabbing Camden and already slipping out the door, now holding a gun to Camden’s temple. It seemed that he had recovered it during the scuffle. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to your mate.”
Sage knew Fallon had no real interest in harming Camden. The vampire needed Camden alive to achieve his plans, whatever they were. However, it was entirely possible that Fallon would temporarily forgo the importance of his ploy, just so that he could escape. His survival instinct—and the knowledge that he needed to get through this alive so that he could actually use the blood he’d already taken from Camden—could push him into shooting the naga.
Fortunately, Sage and Camden were no longer alone in this. Just as Fallon stepped out of the room, a roar sounded to his right. Sage felt the energy wave before it even struck. All of the other vampires fell like flies as their energy was drained out of their bodies. However, Fallon remained standing and turned calmly toward the source of the spell.
Taking advantage of this chance, Sage shifted back into his human form. He knew without having to look who was the opponent Fallon faced. And Sage had never thought he’d see the day, but it seemed that his general had at last met someone unaffected by his powers. He didn’t want to think about Fallon being immune to Karein’s abilities, although he could guess the reason. Overlords only knew how the vampires had used Camden’s blood, but it had clearly boosted Fallon’s powers more than Sage had expected.
For all his calm demeanor, Fallon looked surprised at this result, too. “You can’t touch me, Dog-Catcher.” Fallon actually laughed. “Your power is useless.”
As the vampire spoke, Sage slowly started to make his way toward Camden and Fallon. This situation was dangerous. Sage would have tried to hit Fallon with magic, but they risked Fallon’s finger jerking on the trigger and killing Camden.
“Don’t even think about it,” Fallon said, shooting another glance toward Sage. “I will kill him if I have to. There are plenty of other naga princes where he came from.”
“That’s not exactly true,” Camden said. “My blood is stronger than that of my siblings, because I didn’t have a twin.”
That information didn’t seem to surprise Fallon, but neither did it distract him. He started to back away, and Sage followed slowly, lifting his hands to show that he was harmless. “Just let him go,” he pleaded. “Don’t hurt him.”
With the corner of his eye, Sage caught sight of Karein, now standing in the hallway behind him, his dark eyes glittering with anger and shock. Sage had to admit he was pretty surprised, too. He hadn’t expected the vampires would gain such an ability from Camden’s blood, since the naga themselves weren’t immune to Karein’s powers. But Sage would worry about that later. Right now, he had to get Camden out of the vamp’s clutches.
Camden met his gaze, looking decided and unafraid. “You have to blast him with a spell,” he said through their bond. “I’ll move out of the way.”
“Beautiful, I can’t. You’d die.”
“Freeze his gun then,” Camden suggested. “That way, he won’t be able to use it.”
It was a good idea, but Sage wasn’t sure it would work. And if it didn’t… He didn’t even want to think about the possibility. Giving Fallon a pleading look, he insisted, “Don’t hurt him. You have what you wanted already.”
“You have no idea what I want,” Fallon replied fiercely. “Don’t you dare to think that you do.” He shrugged, still continuing his retreat. “It doesn’t really matter. You can’t do anything about it.”
“He might not,” another voice said, “but I can.”
Behind Fallon, two familiar figures appeared. Prince Talrasar and his mate, Prince Kaelezrin, looked just as majestic as the last time Sage had seen them. He hadn’t really expected them to get involved, since to his knowledge, they’d decided to leave draechen business to Emperor Hareematek. Apparently, they’d deemed this kidnapping important enough to change their minds, something Sage was more than grateful for.
Prince Kaelezrin wasn’t the one who had spoken, which seemed obvious. Likely, Fallon was immune to his abilities as well. But he certainly couldn’t fight Talrasar’s powers.
Sage felt the moment when the shield wrapped around Camden. Over Fallon’s head, Talrasar nodded at him, confirming what Sage had sensed. With no hesitation, he shot two spells, an ice bolt at Fallon’s shoulder and one at the gun. Fallon jerked and, in spite of Sage’s precautions, the bullet left the barrel. It bounced harmlessly off the shield around Camden, and the sound of it filled Sage with unprecedented relief. A part of him had feared that the bullets could pass through Talrasar’s shields too, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.
Camden elbowed Fallon in the stomach, managing to pull away. Sage growled, and was just about to lunge at Fallon, but then, the vampire’s shoulder exploded.
Karein’s twin, Prince Rachen, appeared next to Prince Kaelezrin. “Well, it looks like you’re not so immune to draechen powers after all.” He grinned darkly. “At least, not to mine.”
For a few moments, Fallon just blinked at the three new arrivals. “It’s all your fault,” he whispered. “And you’ll pay.”
Not giving any explanation to his cryptic words, the vampire collapsed on the floor. With his foe out of the way, Sage rushed to his mate’s side. He dropped to his knees and embraced Camden tightly, almost unable to believe that they were truly free. Camden fell in his arms, inhaling deeply. His forked tongue teased Sage’s earlobe. It wasn’t a sensual gesture, but rather, Camden making sure that this was truly real and not a strange dream. Certain areas of his body had nerve endings that weren’t present in Sage’s, and that evidence of the uniqueness of his mate soothed Sage’s racing heart.
When reality began to settle in, though, Sage’s aches and pains returned with a vengeance. With the adrenaline of battle finally leaving him, he groaned, exhausted, bleeding, every muscle in his body in agony. He breathed through it, struggling to contain it, but, in spite of his efforts, he found that the bullets had gotten to him after all. Brushing one last kiss over Camden’s temple, Sage fell into darkness and knew no more.
* * * *
A dim blue glow engulfed Sage as Talrasar poured healing magic over him. Camden trembled, watching the process anxiously and biting his lip. It took everything in Camden’s power to remain quiet and not interrupt, because this was all wrong, so wrong.
A strong hand pressed against his shoulder, and Camden found himself leaning against Prince Shtamakarein Tersain. It was so very strange to share anything with this man whom his parents had long ago considered the greatest threat to naga as a nation, and possibly all chimeras in general. But now, their affection for Sage brought them together, and Camden was thankful for the black dragon’s presence.
“He’s going to be all right,” Karein offered. “He’s strong, and he wants to come back to you. He won’t let anything stand in his way.”
Camden wanted to believe that. He trusted his mate’s abilities and he knew better than anyone how strong his lover could be. But at the same time, he had seen and felt the bullets that had pierced Sage’s flesh, and he realized that Sage shouldn’t have been fighting in his condition. What if Sage had pushed himself too hard? What if he couldn’t snap out of this after all?
It hurt physically to just stand around waiting, without being able to help. But Camden was no healer, and he felt thankful that he even had Talrasar here in the first place. Still, it seemed to take forever for the fae to complete his self-appointed task. Camden’s fear skyrocketed when Talrasar started to pull away.
“How is he?” Camden asked as the fae turned toward him. “Is he going to be all right?”
Talrasar shot him an unreadable look. “He’s exhausted, and his injuries did quite a number on him. My powers healed most of the damage, but he’s still weak. Personally, I think that it’s very likely that he will recover. He is young and stronger than most, both in body and in psyche. And there’s something else urging him on. Something not draechen, but still his.”
Hope warred with despair inside Camden. It was his blood that was helping Sage, but also his blood that had gotten them into this mess in the first place. It had certainly given Fallon some unexpected abilities and had a little extra kick because of the circumstances of his birth. But would it be enough to help Sage pull through?
“Thank you, Prince Talrasar,” he replied quietly. “Can I stay with him?”
“Of course,” the fae answered. “In fact, it’s recommended. Go ahead and talk to him. Reach out to him through your bond. I’m sure it will hasten his recovery.”
Camden crawled into the bed next to his ma
te. If he wanted to be honest, he was exhausted, too. He still hadn’t fully recovered from the bleeding, and he hadn’t gotten the chance to eat before the entire attack. Perhaps Talrasar had guessed it, because mere seconds later, Talrasar’s hand landed on his shoulder. Healing energy flooded him, chasing away some of the weakness, and also bringing with it a sense of peace. Camden almost resented it, because he didn’t want to experience anything like peace, not while his mate was still so sick.
Talrasar pulled away without a word. For a few moments, both he and Karein remained in the room. Camden was aware of their eyes on him, but he paid them no attention. Then, he heard the door open and both men step out. At last, Camden was left alone with his mate.
It was different this time, not like the last couple of weeks. They remained in the vampire headquarters, since the draechen forces were still busy gathering evidence and transporting prisoners. Also, Talrasar had deemed it unwise for them to transport Sage anywhere just yet. Well, Sage and Fallon. Apparently, Prince Rachen’s fire bolt had struck Fallon a little harder than they’d originally realized. Honestly, Camden couldn’t bring himself to regret it.
With a sigh, Camden swept his hand over Sage’s strong chest, monitoring the steady rhythm of his breath. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered brokenly. “I should have been stronger, a better mate. I should have found another way. This is all my fault.”
All of a sudden, another palm landed on his, squeezing tightly. “I thought we’d already agreed you’d never blame yourself for anything, ever again.”
Camden gaped and sat up, staring in disbelief at Sage. His mate offered him a tired, but warm smile. “What? You didn’t think I’d abandon you now of all times, did you?”
“I… I…” Camden didn’t even know what to say. He was utterly stunned by Sage’s recovery, although he probably shouldn’t have been. Prince Talrasar’s abilities were literally legendary. Camden should have had a little more faith in them, but it was hard to make himself trust when he’d seen his mate get shot and felt his body go limp in his arms.
Naga's Concubine [Chronicles of the Shifter Directive 4] (Siren Publishing Epic Romance, ManLove) Page 18