“Thank you for both.” Rayne set the beer on the side of the grill and began placing the steaks on a huge stainless steel monstrosity the likes of which Drago had only heard about. He knew it was a grill from previous conversations but he had to admit to being impressed. His last experience with grilling meat had been with an iron grate over an open fire.
His nephew must’ve seen his surprised look because he started to explain. “There’s propane, a type of fuel, in there.” He pointed to a white tank mounted to the bottom of the stainless steel housing. “All I have to do is push this igniter,” Rayne pointed to a large red button on the front of the grill, “and a flint is struck and the fire is lit. It takes mereminutes until it’s hot enough to cook. It’ll go about five hours total before I have to refill the tank.”
“Pretty amazing.” Drago shook his head. “I’ve missed so much.”
“You’re catching up pretty quickly,” Rayne answered over his shoulder while placing the meat on the grill.
“Yes, I know it will take time but I’m looking forward to learning. Alicia tells me to slow down, take it easy, rest and recuperate, but it’s not in my nature.”
“That’s the damn truth.” Rayne laughed as he turned and took the seat next to his uncle. “You never let any grass grow under your feet.”
“Not gonna start now either…”
Drago never got to finish his statement as Rayne stood and looked up. Following suit, the Assassin was thankful the sun was already setting on the other side of the house because he never would’ve been able to see the three blue dragons descending from the sky even with his dark lenses. It did his heart good to see dragons in flight after so many years, even though he could feel the huge amount of magic they were using to keep from being seen.
No sooner had the dragons touched down than a tiny platinum blonde the Assassin knew to be Royce’s mate all but flew off the back of the big man’s dragon. He’d met her right after waking from his healing sleep and thanked her profusely for all she’d done to help Alicia and her family free him. The Assassin had been shocked at how much like a fairy she looked and even more surprised by the power contained in her petite frame.
In the next breath, the O’Reilly brothers appeared in place of their beasts. Not wasting a second, Royce called to Rayne and Drago through mindspeak. “Kyra thinks we’ve found Cleland’s hiding spot.”
“He was at the end of the tunnel?” Rayne asked while Drago stood and moved to stand beside his nephew to watch the approaching Guardsmen and Royce’s mate.
“Sure seems that way. Kyra and the McKennons battled some serious demon powered black magic to remove roadblocks the likes of which I haven’t seen since the old days. Several of them even took our dragon magic to crack, but after we got through another of those damned stone walls, Kyra felt Calysta’s presence. It was just for a second but she said it was strong. So, it’s just like we figured—the Dorcha has the Grand Priestess.”
Royce paused and Rian, the older of the O’Reilly’s and the Head Elder of the Blue Thunder Clan, continued. “Sarah Beth confirmed what Kyra felt and also said she would know Cleland’s stench anywhere, so I’m positive we’ve got the bastards.”
“Yeah, we’ve got ‘em, but we have about another five feet to dig out and if I’m not mistaken, which I rarely am, another stone wall to get through,” Rory, the youngest of the O’Reilly’s, added.
Alicia joined Drago and Rayne on the patio and he’d just barely had a chance to get her up to speed with what was happening before Royce, his mate, and his brothers arrived. Kyra looked like she was ready to spit nails and her comments confirmed the Assassin’s thoughts. “I swear to the Goddess I will turn that stupid son of a bitch into a toad and keep him in my kitchen window for the next hundred years if one hair on my mom’s head is harmed.”
Drago could feel Kyra’s power building and knew it was just a matter of time before the very powerful witch unleashed her wrath on the very deserving Grand Draoi. He wanted to be there when it happened. The Assassin wanted to be part of the fight…needed to be part of the fight. It was the final step to putting the last hundred years behind him and getting on with his new life with his gorgeous mate.
Nothing would stand between him and beating the life out of every Dorcha wizard he could get his hands on. His eyes may not be what they used to be but his other senses were razor sharp and he would not be denied. Drago could feel Alicia’s eyes on him, could feel and hear what she was thinking. His mate knew what he was planning. She didn’t approve or agree, but she supported him and that meant the world.
“Do what you have to do but do not get hurt. I swear by the Goddess and the Universe I will nurse you back to health just to kick your ass.”
He looked into her eyes, letting her see the honesty as he spoke, “I would never do anything that would keep me from spending the rest of my life loving you, mo maite. I will slay the Dorcha and return to you. That is simply how it will be.”
The Assassin hadn’t realized he wasn’t shielding until Alicia’s eyes grew large as she looked over his shoulder. Turning around, Drago saw his nephew, Kyndel, the O’Reilly brothers, Kyra, and Declan and Kellan, who had also joined them, all watching him and his mate. Their looks said they’d heard every word and the single nod of solidarity they all gave him said they’d fight by his side.
“Well, what are we standing here for? Let’s eat this food and plan the fight. I need to get this over with so I can officially mate this beautiful woman.”
Grabbing Alicia around the waist, Drago lifted her off the ground and kissed her soundly.
Sealed with a kiss. Watch out, assholes, here we come.
Chapter Thirteen
Alicia was relieved when her mom, her sisters, Melanie, Jace, and Liam showed up. She’d began to wonder if they were still in the tunnel and was about to go find them. There hadn’t been a lot of time to connect with her family during Drago’s convalescence and she really missed them. Especially after hearing from Kyra, all they’d had to do to get through the spelled tunnel.
Everyone was talking at once, explaining what had been happening while Alicia was otherwise engaged. She tried to listen to all the different conversations going on around her but lost focus when she noticed Drago sitting to the side, all alone, deep in thought. Extracting herself from her family, the young witch made her way to her Guardsman.
“Whatcha thinking about?” she asked, knowing what was on his mind but needing to hear him say it.
“Just appreciating how different my life is now than it was a hundred years ago. Thinking about how, back then, I would have run off without a second thought, with no regard to my own welfare and battled the Dorcha to the death if that is what it took.”
He finally looked at her and the love she saw in his eyes was staggering. When he reached up, took her hand in his, and pulled her onto his lap, she went willingly. Alicia instinctively cuddled into his chest without a thought about her friends and family seeing their public display of affection. For the first time in her life, the young witch knew where she belonged and was going to hold on to her future with both hands.
Drago wrapped his arm around her waist before he laid his cheek on the top of her head and again started to speak. “Now, I have you. I have something to come home to. I even have the family I was sure would be dead and gone if I ever got out of that hole in the ground. It is an understatement to say my perspective has changed, but it has. So I was just sitting here thinking that I want to make sure we rid the world of the Dorcha once and for all.”
Sitting up so she could look her mate in the eyes, Alicia lifted his dark glasses to the top of his head. She was thankful the sun had gone down and they were in the darkest corner of the house so she could see the deep, dark brown of his eyes. Alicia put her free hand on his cheek and smiled. “Go do what you do best. Take down the bad guys. Make the world safe for the rest of us. Watch your back and remember…I love you.”
His smile was brighter than she’d ever s
een and when Drago kissed her, something inside her clicked into place. It was as if the final piece of the puzzle that was her life had been found. Alicia had heard Melanie and Hannah talking about what it felt when they truly accepted their mates, but nothing could’ve prepared her for what she was feeling in that very moment in the embrace of the man she was destined to spend the rest of her life with.
Their kiss went on and on. Alicia wished she and Drago were alone and was just about to suggest it when a round of applause and cat calls sounded behind them. Moving back just far enough to look into Drago’s squinted eyes, she chuckled, “Guess we better behave.”
Leaning his forehead against hers, he answered. “Only for now, mo chroi’, only for now.”
She put his glasses back over his eyes, winked, and jumped off his lap. Turning to everyone else, Alicia pretended to be annoyed, “Show’s over people. Let’s get ready to kick some wizard butt, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…” her brother-in-law, Liam, teased before ducking just in time to miss the throw pillow Alicia aimed at his head.
“Alicia is right. We need to get everything decided and get back down to that tunnel before Cleland knows we’ve found him,” Rian commented.
The Leader of the Blue Dragons seemed unusually agitated even considering the fight they were facing, but Alicia decided not to worry about it. She had no doubt he had a hundred times more concerns than she could imagine, being the Head Elder of the Blue Thunder Clan at such a young age.
Drago stood next to her and asked, “So what’s the plan?”
“You’re not leading the charge?” Rayne questioned with half a grin on his face.
“No, I’m going to follow on this mission, but you can be sure I’ll cut down every wizard who dares breathe in my direction.”
Rayne nodded, as did all the Guardsmen, followed by every member of her family. Drago had given the call to action. The dragons and the witches were going into battle together to exterminate their common enemy. Alicia was nervous, excited, apprehensive, and more than ready to put an end to the ones that had taken so much from her.
“Are you staying here with Kyndel or going to your mother’s?” Drago asked.
“I’m going with y’all.”
Her mate turned, brow furrowed, his lips thin with a frown of disapproval, and shook his head. “No, you most certainly are not.”
Taking a step back, Alicia put her hands on her hips and started to argue. “What do you mean ‘I most certainly am not’? Of course I am. In case it has escaped your notice, I’m a witch, just like her and her and her.” She pointed to three of her sisters as she got madder by the second. “If they go, I go, and from what I heard it’s gonna take all the magic we’ve got to sneak up on Cleland, take out all the Dorcha in the place, and save Calysta. Not to mention, I’m hoping like hell we find my little sister, Mara, while we’re at it. Did you forget about her? Did you forget that I told you she’s been missing as long as the Grand Priestess? Well, I didn’t. I didn’t stand in your way when you said it was something you had to do. What right do you have to keep me from going?”
Alicia knew she was yelling by the time she paused to take a breath, but she was too pissed to care. She had absolutely no idea how she could love a man as much as she loved Drago and be so incredibly mad at him at the same time. Thoughts of kicking his ass and kissing him silly tumbled over one another in her mind, adding fuel to her anger until she was sure steam was rolling out her ears.
Her friends and family had become suspiciously quiet and her mate was just standing staring at her as if he wasn’t sure how to respond. All of that combined made Alicia even madder. Gearing up to start railing at Drago again, she lost all focus when her mate nodded and calmly said, “You’re right. I had no right to tell you what to do. You are a grown woman whose opinion and judgement I respect. All I will say is that should you get hurt, I will nurse you back to health just so I can spank your precious bottom every day of our very long lives together.”
Drago’s words took all the fight out of the young witch. Shaking her head, she chuckled, “And you had to use my own words, or your version of them, against me didn’t you?”
“Would you have it any other way?” The Assassin didn’t wait for her response before swooping in and kissing her until she couldn’t remember what they were fighting about.
Pulling back but turning her around and tucking her close to his side and then wrapping his arm around her shoulders, Drago asked, “Are we all ready now?”
“We’ve been ready, old man, just waiting on you,” Rory teased as he headed out the door.
“We will see who is the old man,” was Drago’s response as Alicia grabbed her knapsack and took his hand.
Here we go. Goddess protect us all.
Chapter Fourteen
“What are you doing, ceann beag?” Drago asked as Alicia sat down on the side of the crater leading to the tunnel where he’d been kept.
“I’m gonna slide down this hill on this burlap bag like I always do, why?”
“You most certainly are not,” he growled, scooping up his mate, laying her over his shoulder, and jumping to the cavern floor. Setting her feet on the ground, he grinned. “There are advantages to having a dragon as a mate.”
Attempting to tame her curls, Alicia huffed a few stray hairs out of her face and glared at him. “Yeah, but a little warning before the caveman routine would be nice.”
“So not gonna happen, Ally,” Melanie laughed as she walked by. “These guys thrive on caveman.”
“Hey! Not fair, mo ghra’, not fair at all,” Jace protested with a grin on his face.
“Whatever,” Melanie rolled her eyes.
Drago had to smile at the comradery they all shared. It was something he had sorely missed and was thrilled to have back. Looking around, he saw his nephew striding toward them with a look of command on his face.
“All right, time to get moving. I’m ready to put these bastards in the ground. What about you?” Rayne’s question was more of a command but it didn’t stop everyone from wholeheartedly agreeing.
Positioning Alicia behind Royce and in front of himself, Drago prayed she would be protected from whatever they were walking into. It wasn’t that he didn’t respect her power; the Heavens knew he could feel its magnitude coursing through every fiber of her being.
Alicia’s magic was amazing but she was his mate. His to protect. Knowingly letting her walk into danger went against everything the man and the beast believed in. His dragon chuffed in his head to let the Guardsman know he was most definitely not thrilled with their mate being anywhere near the black magic they had already sensed. Drago agreed but explained it was what they had to do.
All too quickly, the group arrived in the exact spot the Assassin had spent the last hundred years of his life. Lying to the side were the remnants of the silver coffin he’d been imprisoned in. Bit and pieces of broken chains and shackles littered the floor, haunting reminders of what he’d endured. Drago recalled Alicia telling him how Rayne had lost control when he saw his uncle, partially calling forth his dragon and ripping the silver collar from Drago’s neck and the chains from his chest.
The nightmare was over but the pain would live on. Drago knew killing Cleland and his minions wouldn’t give him back the years he’d lost, nothing could do that, but it would stop them from hurting anyone else. No, the reigning Draoi wasn’t the wizard that had locked the Assassin away but from what Drago had been told, Cleland was just as menacing, just as detrimental to anyone that opposed him, and that meant destroying him and all he stood for.
Alicia looked over her shoulder and reached to him. “You okay?”
Taking her hand, he smiled. “I am fine, mo ghra’. That is the past.” He glanced one last time at the broken coffin. “You are my future.”
Drago felt the love Alicia was pouring through their bond and for the hundredth time since waking thanked the Universe for the gift of his mate. The group continued through the hole in the c
avern wall the dragons had created. The air was oppressive. Although the black magic from the sigils had been banished, there was still the unmistakable stench of sulfur and brimstone. Demon magic was heinous. It left not only a mark on the soul of the user but a scar on the earth itself. It was an abomination against nature, against life itself, and brought only death. That Kyra and the McKennons had dealt with such an enormous amount of the offending magic was amazing. Drago hadn’t thought it was possible but he respected them even more than he had before.
Approaching the archway, the Assassin could see the excavation left to be done and grabbed a pickax. Starting toward the wall with the other Guardsmen, he watched Alicia make her way to where her family and Kyra were preparing more sachets. Drago couldn’t help feeling like his mate shouldn’t be anywhere near the Dorcha, demons, or black magic no matter how powerful she was, or that she had her own score to settle with the evil wizards and their leader. Shaking his head, he prayed for the safety of everyone present—but especially—his mate.
In less than an hour, Drago, Rory, and Rian had broken though the rock wall. Their sheer size dictated that only three of them could fit shoulder to shoulder in the tunnel and even at that, they’d bumped into each other almost as much as they’d hit their target.
The stench of black magic combined with sulfur and brimstone permeated the air around them. Sarah Beth quickly lit the copper pot full of herbs and roots she and her daughters had earlier prepared to dispel any ill effects the noxious fumes may have on them. It took only a few seconds for the witch’s brew to dispel the smog, but Drago’s still healing eyes burned and watered so badly his limited vision was even blurrier.
“Going to be depending on those dragon senses. You up for the challenge, my friend?”he spoke directly to his beast, who chuffed and pawed the ground in his mind. It was obvious the winged warrior was happy to be part of the fight in any way that he could.
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