I flashed a smile at him and threw a hurter. It erupted in pink smoke and silver sparkles while I turned and ran. I pulled up sharply as teeth snapped in my face. Teddy vaulted over his midnight dragon’s nose to land in front of me. I took another step back, away from my targeted exit.
“She’s very fast.”
“Unnaturally so. You’re going to stay here until the battle is over and the winner declared. You should get comfortable.”
I scowled at him. “I don’t want to.”
“You don’t want to talk to my dragon? I should tell you the story about how we got our dragons. You like stories, I’m sure.” He sounded like silk and the way he stared at me, the way his dragon stared at me, I wouldn’t be able to get past them unless I very clearly demonstrated my own mysterious darkness. Even then, I’d been channeling Pitch and my hands were starting to shake. I needed to get back to the limo and break down there. Maybe in the trunk where no one would see me.
I sat down and put my hands on my knees, over the black silk. “I’m easily bored.”
He inclined his head. “I’ll do my best to keep your attention. Once upon a time…”
“Already bored.”
He laughed and sat down, leaning languidly against his creature’s neck. “Drake agreed to help me on my quest to find dragon eggs. I was going through a dragon crazy stage, ten years old or something, and I read everything I could find about them, about the rock nests in the burning land of Darkside. All the omens lined up. I was spending some time visiting my father in Darkside, bringing him some comforts of home like a dutiful son, normal food that doesn’t talk back to you, books to read, blankets that aren’t caked in blood and magic, when I saw Drake for the first time. He looked bored, practicing with a slingshot, and when I told him about the dragons, he said that he’d get the supplies and we’d go at midnight.”
He sighed. “Ian came because Ian was always hanging around Drake in those days, like a lost puppy looking for a master. Were we eleven or twelve? None of us had our full magic, and none of us had the slightest idea how to survive in Darkside, much less the burning land. We travelled for days by magic carpet, then foot when the rug caught on fire from the wyvern. Finally, we reached the rock nests. Imagine stacks of stones the size of small houses piled a hundred feet high.”
“You guys climbed up the piles of rocks?”
He gave me a smile so sinfully black, I couldn’t breathe for a moment. “We climbed fifty of them before we found one with a clutch of eggs. They looked like rocks, brown, dull, but when Drake touched the biggest one, it turned green in his hand, and then Ian’s gold, and mine black.”
“Why did Drake get to pick first?”
“He’s the one who found them.”
“But you’re the one who…”
“Biggest doesn’t make best. It was Drake’s magic carpet, Drake’s magic food bag and water skin, Drake who fought off the wyvern, came up with the plan to defeat the rock guardians and in general, led our sad band of misfits.”
“He sounds awesome.” Drake. How was I going to get out of this without succumbing to the darkness Teddy offered me with each glance of his blacker-than-sin eyes?
“I’m going to blush.”
I spun around to see a shadow that seemed slightly greener than the rest of the place. Neon sparks were in his eyes as he slid closer, lounging on the back of his dragon, one knee up on the spiked brow-bone of the serpentine creature. It seemed smaller than before, maybe because it kept its wings tightly furled.
“Drake. I wondered if you’d bring Jello,” Teddy said, putting an arm around my shoulders, his forearm over my throat. “How is this going to go? It seems like I have a hostage.”
Drake waved airily. “I should warn you, Jello considers Penny his. I personally don’t care what you do with her, but Jello will eat you if either you or Princess mar her imperfect skin.”
The black dragon, Princess, put her head between me and Drake. And Jello. What a beautiful creature. He had a much larger head than Princess, and his movements were more powerful, more present.
In a flash of purple accompanied by the scent of sulfuric bananas, another mage appeared. Mitch. Poppy’s traitor.
I bared my teeth at him even as he said, “I believe I already called dibs on her skin.”
Teddy pulled me against his chest and darkness swirled around us. I slid my hand up his cheek and drowned in the darkness, letting it grow and swell around me. I took it until I was full to the brim with it then turned to ashes in his arms.
“I’ll deal with you later,” I hissed as I spun through him and his dragon until I reached Mitch. I pounded against him with the swirling darkness I’d taken from Teddy, from his dragon. I tore his throat with my nails, scoured his skin with my breath, and stole the beating of his heart with my fear.
Sudden energy pulses wrapped around me, tying me to my flesh, forming me together, bound, whole and in Mitch’s hands. His bloody, ripped hands.
“You and I, witch,” he whispered. “We owe each other a world of pain.”
Pain. His pain became mine as my skin shredded and my throat tore. He twisted his fingers and lasers of energy pierced through me. He dragged me closer to him, his face a mask of rage and happiness. So much confusion.
Then Señor Mort sank his fangs into his hand and for a moment the connection was severed. That’s all it took for hands to drag me back, out of the swirling vortex of oblivion, back into the greenhouse.
Drake’s hands slid up my throat, pushing back the blood while Teddy fought Mitch. Mitch was winning. How was that possible? Oh, I’d taken Teddy’s darkness, his dragon death magic.
There was a swirl of honey yellow and then Lester joined Teddy to face Mitch. Mitch disappeared as soon as he saw Lester, the oddest expression on his face when he looked at him. Could they possibly know each other?
“You are an idiot,” Drake said the moment the yellow smoke cleared.
I sneezed. “Why does he smell so bad?”
Drake smiled fiercely and brushed my cheek with his thumb. His hand was shaking. Why was that? “You were almost gone.” He pulled me against his chest, heart pounding a song that made me want to dance and sing and stay there for the rest of forever.
“Drake, be careful. Señor might bite you.”
He held me tighter before he pushed me away, gripping my shoulders. “Do you hear the screams?”
He dragged me over to the green dragon. Jello watched me come with a show of teeth in a wide grin. I swallowed as Drake mounted the dragon, holding me firmly on his lap.
I felt a wave of strength and calm as I leaned against him. The dragon leapt into the air and its beating wings pushed us up while Drake’s palm spread over my stomach.
He bit my shoulder, his breath warm before he pulled away to mutter in Darksider. We didn’t hit the glass roof, instead it vanished as Jello emerged into the night sky and into a flurry of Creagh, Blackheart, and Rosewood witches.
The sky was lit with hurters, a lot of them my signature pink heart shrapnel. The scent of black cherry swirled around us as Jello dove and spun, diving between witches. Cold wind bit my cheeks, sweeping my hair back over Drake’s shoulder. I felt him in my bones, deep and true, the dragon echoing the raw power and strength I found in him.
We were attacked by a body of Creagh so thick, even the dragon’s massive jaws couldn’t capture them all. I felt something so right and perfect, like I was back with Poppy, us against the rest of the world, but it wasn’t just Drake and his dragon. I saw Viney’s pale face as she spun through the night with sparks at her fingertips as she ripped through witches with a delightful, bloodcurdling scream.
I laughed and spread my arms feeling the bite of Creagh fingers before I twisted my hand and ripped them off. I slipped out of Drake’s arms, standing behind him on the dragon’s sinewy body, scales slick and sharp beneath my bare feet. They would cut me to ribbons. I laughed and spun as I plucked witches from the sky, impaling on the dragon’s spikes or ripping
through throats with darkness and death that mingled with Pitch. I rode Jello like a surfboard, my black silk gown spinning around me as I traveled the length of the dragon, plucking off Creagh.
The swamp below was lit with explosions and screams. So beautiful. I laughed as I danced up and down the length of the dragon, sometimes crouching to grip the body as it spun. Four Creagh gripped me with ropes of energy that I danced with even as they burned into my skin. I dislocated a jaw, broke a knee and shattered a spine. That would hurt. I should stop, but with Drake’s dragon beneath my feet, I couldn’t help myself. I felt a particularly vicious thrill at each death.
Surrounded by Creagh, I felt no fear, only anticipation then utter delight when Drake joined me with his green fire sword. He smiled at me over the Creagh, eyes bright and beautiful. He loved me.
Throughout the battle, the swirl of darkness and death, Drake’s green eyes held me to this world, this sweet life. I didn’t need to touch him to feel his strength and love. I could do anything with him beside me.
Soon, Drake’s armies filled the sky along with Zach’s jets. Jello dove down, into the trees, crunching a few more Creagh on the way.
Drake caught me around the waist so I didn’t fall from that sudden extreme movement. His hands were coals on my skin, my shredded gown hanging from my straps.
“How are you staying on?” I asked right before he jumped, dragging me with him, down through the trees that whipped my face and feet until we hit the ground. He had his arms around me, breaking my fall. I wanted to stand like that forever, with him, but we still had to fight our way through the Blackheart forces, while fighting Creagh and other horrific monsters. Drake fought so beautifully, witch and mage alike. And monsters. He was particularly proficient with monsters. He was used to this kind of thing, out-and-out battle with terrifying foes.
Zach crashed through the bushes ahead of us then pulled up, blue eyes wide and wild. “They’ve taken the limo. We’ll need to take emergency exit number two.”
Drake growled then swung around, cutting to the right while Zach fell in on my other side.
Zach glanced at my clothes and muttered, “It’s like you don’t have a battle worthy outfit or something.”
“I don’t want to mess it up.”
“It’s so much better to rip apart your skin than clothes.”
“Exactly.”
Zach sighed as he brought up his gun and lasered a Blackheart girl. She didn’t evaporate or anything, just kind of shuddered a few times and fell to the earth. “Drake, tell Penny that I’d rather craft a new shirt than heal a broken Penny.”
“Zach would rather craft a new shirt…” Drake paused to dive into the arms of this monstrous two-headed beast, impaling him on his green sword. “…than heal a broken Penny. But what can you do about sympathy pains?” he asked.
“Empathy,” I corrected, smiling at him. He was so beautiful and his death would taste so sweet. I paused because that had been the wrong thought. Others joined us, Witley, Oscar, Rhoda, until we were a serious band of chaos and destruction.
With every step I felt this thing grow in my chest while darkness clouded my vision.
I finally brought Drake into focus. He winked at me while my blood drained from my extremities. For a second the world flickered and I saw my father’s face above me, his hand dripping with my blood while he held my little, infant ribs in his palm.
I gasped and dropped to my knees in the mud, head between my knees, trying not to throw up.
“What’s wrong with her?” Witley demanded.
Viney’s glare was audible. “Shut up, Wit. Penny, are you okay?” I felt her arm around my shoulder and she kind of squeezed.
I licked my lips while the taste of ashes filled my mouth. I was going to kill them all. Every beating heart would end in blood, flowing into the swamp mud, piles of bodies…
I bit my arm until I tasted blood and kept biting until I came back. Bonbons and macaroons that wasn’t exactly the way to treat a bunch of people who fought to liberate your weasel.
Zach rubbed my lower back and murmured like I was Henrietta. I gasped and trembled while he stopped moving his hand, just resting it on my spine.
Ding dongs and éclairs, I was going to pass out. Yep. I totally did.
Chapter 21
Mage
Teddy and Ian were in my room by the time the swamp rumble was finished. Rosewood was declared winner, mostly because we got the weasel. It was hard to decide who had actually won after the Creagh joined the fun. What was up with them? How could they attack me after I’d given them a pinkie and everything? Not that it was the right pinkie, but like I was going to trust those scheming killers with something so possibly valuable.
“She took my death,” Teddy said from where he paced behind my couch.
“And my lust,” Ian said with a smile. “The only reason you haven’t ripped apart Stoneburrow and any other mage who has looked at your witch is because she took your violence as well.”
“She got lost in your death. You should keep it to yourself.” I glared at Teddy.
He shrugged. “The impulse to self-destruct is stronger than anything else. She’s invaluable. You need to protect her better than this. I saw her, ripped to pieces like she isn’t the most precious thing in any world.”
I growled at him and opened my mouth to tell him that she was my witch and he didn’t need to worry about such things, but she wasn’t mine. She was Zachary’s. I was only backup. “Are you offering your services to protect her?”
He hesitated, but his eyes burned and he glanced at Ian then back at me. “If she’s willing to take Ian’s lust then why not my death?”
“Didn’t you try to lure her away to the dark side?”
“While under Princess’s influence, of course. I would never do such a thing in my right mind. I forgot what it was like to have one of those.” He rubbed his scalp like he was experiencing all kinds of thoughts he’d never had before.
“You’ll have to ask Zach. He’s her mage.”
“Don’t say that, Drake. If you aren’t her mage, then there is nothing to stop me from taking her.” Teddy didn’t make it a threat, just a fact, cold and irrevocable.
Ian yawned. “I need to get back to work. I’ve been in contact with Narcollo and the Devil in Darkside, along with the Prince of Darkness. They’re all ridiculously eager to agree to terms. It makes me nervous.”
“You’re working on a treaty?” Teddy asked, puzzled for a moment before his expression cleared. “Ah, you are once more capable of rational thought. I should go into scholarship.” He shook his head. “Extraordinary. She opens up a world of possibilities. How much can she take without it causing her harm? Are there limits to what she can take? She could make an extremely lucrative career out of it.”
“She would undersell her services, like she does with the Prince of Darkness.” I tapped my lips while I considered my two friends and myself. “I suppose I should have a conversation with her. What are the side-effects of taking dragon vices? I saw the death in her last night. She is Zach’s witch and they are both mine. Does that make you feel better about it?”
Teddy sighed. “I understand why you signed that marriage contract, she clearly needs worlds of protection, but if I were you, I’d be cautious. Sharing a witch has never been any mage’s talent.”
“I can share witches,” Ian said drily.
Teddy snorted. “That’s convenient because you will have to share Miss Lane.”
Miss Lane. Teddy was still beautiful, supple-lipped, gleaming eyed, perfectly sculpted face, but he acted for the first time in years, like the polite and cautious boy I’d taken into the Burning Lands. I wanted to keep Penny far away from my poisonous and poisoned friends, but if I could fix my errors, if she could fix them, I might be able to breathe a little easier. Some things weighed on me, things I couldn’t fix.
I spent the rest of the evening drinking with the dragon lords and chatting about treaties and theories and business str
ategies, like we weren’t dragon lords at all.
The next morning, I waited for her outside her English class. She came out looking tired and sucking on a lavender and dirt lollipop. I fell in beside her, noticing the flip of her skirt when she saw me, flashing more of her extraordinarily long legs at me.
I bit my lower lip and the next thing I knew, I’d accidentally dragged her inside a closet, a small cleaning closet with a bare light bulb hanging between us.
Her eyes widened and her cheeks went pink then the color spread down her cheeks to her throat and lower. How low did she blush? I touched the top button of her shirt then forced my fingers to stay there, feeling the pulse beneath her skin, pounding rapidly, faster and faster as she gazed at me.
“Drake,” she whispered.
I took a step closer to her so my head brushed the bulb and my hand moved up to catch her chin. I was going to warn her about Teddy and Ian, convince her to write out a very clear and thorough contract, all the protective kinds of things I should do, but instead I raised her chin and as though I had all the time in the world, slowly, slowly, lowered my lips to hers.
She gasped beneath my mouth as though she hadn’t expected it no matter how long I’d taken to close the distance, how still she’d been, waiting for me. Ah, her lips. Soft. Sweet. Sharp-toothed and hungry against mine. She shoved me against the door, her hands in my hair, nails digging into my scalp, neck, chest. Had she unbuttoned my shirt or simply ripped it open? I couldn’t possibly care. I was dizzy with aching, with sweetness and delight and then she pushed away, hands to her heaving chest and mine.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, at least it would have been a demand if her voice weren’t quite so breathy.
I covered her hand with mine, over the name carved into my chest, my heart. “Teddy would like to have an alliance with you similar to the arrangement you have with Ian.”
She frowned, adorably confused. Her soft lips were parted, a sliver of her pink tongue visible. “That’s a bad idea. I almost slaughtered everyone last night.”
I smiled slightly. “Really? Even me?”
Deadly Morsel: Rosewood Academy of Witches and Mages (Darkly Sweet Book 5) Page 18