That I’m sorry for signing that contract and dooming all of them.
I just wanted to help my sister. I know it isn’t fair, but…
I guess I had hoped Lee wanted to bring us all together. I didn’t realize I was just part of his revenge.
The fairy tightens his hold around us and begins to mutter something ominous. I don’t understand the words, but my head goes droopy as he speaks.
I’m trying to stay conscious, but it’s hard to keep my eyes open. The last thing I see is some kind of beam of light coming down from above us like a pillar of dark sparks and white light.
I can see us beginning to disappear, feel the world get a little darker.
Is this what Griffin meant by teleporting fairies?
I pass out just as the world around us vanishes.
Chapter 16
“Anna. Anna, you need to wake up.”
I blink at the glowing green eyes above me, wondering how they can be real. As my vision clears, I see the rest of the face they belong to and sigh in relief. “Seth.”
Seth grins at me. “Glad to see you didn’t hit your head or something. I was worried when I saw you passed out.”
I rub my forehead drowsily. “He was muttering something that made me pass out.”
“Maybe some fairy spells work better on humans,” Seth says.
He’s sitting next to me on the bed, and when I look down, I gasp, seeing gossamer, iridescent sheets beneath me. “Where are we?”
“A fairy castle,” Seth says. “Well, they call them towers because they have these huge spires where the fairy prince stays, but it’s a castle.”
I blink. “Prince?”
Seth rubs the back of his neck. His hair is slightly damp as if he’s been sweating, but he’s pale and looks tired. “It’s what they call the really big, powerful ones that protect the rest. They’re more like warriors.”
“Is that what fought the dragons?”
Seth nods. “Some people think we are descended from fae blood. That it’s what causes the magic in shifters, especially dragons. But I don’t know.”
“Wow,” I say, pushing off the bed and walking to a nearby window, which is covered with iridescent drapes with a sheet of some kind of silver fabric under them to block the light. I pull it back and am almost blinded by the sight in front of me.
Everything is glistening. Buildings rise around me, made of light-gray rock with speckles of iridescent glass. The windows shine in pastel rainbows of color. The lines joining rocks together are shimmering.
The roads are made of cobblestones, but instead of mortar between them, there’s that odd, glistening, iridescent substance flowing around, joining every stone.
Like liquid pastel rainbows.
Some buildings are iridescent glass entirely, and I can make out some robed people walking in them. I can’t make out better details.
Seth walks forward, shutting the blinds for me. “There’s enchantment everywhere in this city. You need to be careful. It’s made for fae, no one else.”
I turn to him. “How do you know that?”
“I’ve known a couple fairies in my day,” he says. “One of them warned me about it. The fairies I’ve met weren’t like Nerrenth.”
“That’s good, I guess,” I say, rubbing my head. “How long have I been out?”
“Only a few hours.”
Seth walks back to the bed, and I follow him. The floor beneath us is creamy marble, interspersed with threads of gold and silver, like regular stone.
Only the curtains and sheets give away that I’m in another world where the rules I’m used to don’t apply.
“The others are going to come for us,” Seth says. “I guarantee it.”
I shake my head. “I don’t even want them to. I never should have signed with Lee.”
“All of us understand how good your heart is,” Seth says, brushing my hair back. “It makes sense you would do anything to help.”
“It wasn’t only for her, though,” I say, feeling even guiltier. “It was for me too. I wanted an adventure. I wanted an escape. I’d been trying for so long to make things work, but I wanted something to change for once. I guess it did.”
Seth nods. “That’s not a bad thing.”
I feel like I’ve lived more fully in the Blur than I have at any other time combined. I’ve had brushes with death, been braver than I knew I could be, and gotten to know many complex, amazing men who will always be part of me.
But I might have screwed everything up when I came here in the first place.
“It’s going to be okay,” Seth says. “Everything always is. We think things in life are a catastrophe, but sometimes they end up working better than we think.”
He should know. He was banished. He hurt someone. And he seems to have made the best out of being in the Blur.
Still, I want a happy ending for him.
“They wanted you to put this on,” Seth says, handing me a pile of clothing that shimmers like the drapes. “I don’t feel anything odd about it like I do when I look down at the city, so I don’t think it’s enchanted.”
“Ah,” I say, pulling out a set of undergarments and a robe in silver fabric that has accents of iridescent silk.
I study Seth, who is still wearing just a black tee shirt and jeans. “What about you?”
Seth shrugs. “I don’t think they care what I do. I think they know I’m going to die.”
The double doors leading to the huge bedroom creak open, and Lee walks in, still in a blue robe.
He stops to look at me, putting his hands on his hips. “I can’t take you to dinner looking like that. Get changed right away.”
I swallow. “No.”
He raises a dark eyebrow. I used to love the way his dark brows and lashes accented the most amazing blue eyes I had ever seen.
Now I only notice his cruelty.
“What do you mean no?”
I shake my head. “Not until you heal Seth. I’m not leaving him until then.”
Lee’s blue eyes narrow. “That wasn’t part of the deal.”
“I know,” I say, stroking Seth’s hair back as he lies on the bed, looking weaker than ever. His expression is defiant and I can tell he doesn’t want me to go with Lee, but he’s definitely losing the ability to even stand up straight. “It wasn’t part of the deal, but I made that deal because I can’t just let him die. So if you’re going to take me away from him, you need to heal him.”
Lee shakes his head and comes forward, grabbing me by the wrist and dragging me off the bed.
I dig in my heels, fighting him.
“What are you going to do with her?” Seth rasps, struggling to pull himself off the bed, looking like he’s going to try and fight for me.
Lee turns to him, not letting me go. “It’s none of your business. She and I have a contract. She’ll go where I want her to go.”
Seth lets out a hiss as he falls back on the bed, his eyes still glowing ominously. Slowly, painfully, he pushes himself onto his side so he can glare at Lee again. “If I’m going to die anyway, I have nothing to lose. I’ll take you and her with me before I just let you take her out of my sight.”
Lee stares at him, then sighs and releases my hand, walking over to Seth as he rolls up the sleeve of his robe. “I’m not a dragon any longer, but I still retain some of my healing factor.” He holds up a hand, and I see a sharp blue talon extend from his nail. He uses it to draw sharply into his forearm, and I gasp as blood wells up.
He holds his arm up to Seth, and I gasp as I watch Seth draw back, considering it.
“For fuck’s sake, I’m not going to hurt her,” Lee says. “She’s part of my plan.”
Seth just glares at him, looking like he’s still considering whether to just use his poison.
“I won’t hurt her,” Lee says quietly, holding his arm out again. “Now show me one of your insertion points. It should work just like the serum I hear you’ve been using.”
Seth finally acquiesce
s, and I turn away as they do the exchange. I’m not sure if I’m squeamish or if I can just tell Seth hates all of this, but I can’t watch.
Not until I hear Seth let out a sigh of pure relief and turn around to see him lying back on the bed, eyes closed, color better than I’ve ever seen.
Like he actually has enough blood. His cheeks even look almost rosy.
“He’s asleep,” Lee says, putting away his arm, which is already healing. It’s amazing he kept some of his abilities, considering his dragon died. “He’s only used synthetic blue serum, which is much less powerful than mine. Even though mine would be more powerful if I still had my dragon.”
“Ah,” I say, torn because I want to stay with Seth, but I have to keep my promise. “Just let me change real quick.”
I look around for the bathroom, but Lee just sighs and turns around.
“There’s no real need for modesty, Anna,” he says. But nonetheless, he doesn’t look at me until I’ve finished changing.
“Why do I need to wear different clothing?” I ask, though to be honest, the dress-like robe and the underwear and the bra might be the most comfortable, pretty things I’ve ever worn.
“We don’t need you drawing attention with your human clothes,” Lee says. “And I want to take you to another part of the castle for dinner.”
“Okay,” I say, following him as he opens the door and leads us out into a hall that’s full of marble with odd, old-fashioned portraits on the wall.
As we walk, the place feels peculiarly empty. So quiet.
“Just because you can’t see the fae, it doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” he says carefully.
“Then how do you know if they’re there?” I ask, holding back a shiver.
“You can feel it,” Lee says. “Like the light changes. And something feels almost… like static.”
“So what, they can spy on me at any moment?”
“No, there are rules. They won’t invade private chambers. And they can’t enter houses that aren’t theirs.”
“Ah,” I say. “But they could be in the hallway.”
“It’s possible,” Lee says. “But I don’t feel them. And I’m getting used to knowing how they feel.”
“How long have you been in the fae world?”
“I go back and forth. But ever since you’ve been in the Blur, I’ve been staying here to keep tabs on you and come up with the next parts of the plan. The fae are the ones who allowed me to show up sometimes when you needed to hear from me.”
“Great,” I say. “So I was tricked all along.”
“I never made any promises,” Lee says. “You signed a blank contract.”
I stop walking, my hands in tight fists. “But you promised to help my sister.” I look up at him, accusing. “How can you do that if you aren’t a full dragon?”
Lee’s lips turn up at the corners. “I’ll be a full dragon soon. Once I keep my deal with the fairies.”
“And what’s your deal?”
He doesn’t answer me. Just grabs my hand to force me to walk faster and pulls me down the hallway past portraits that seem to watch us as we walk.
Chapter 17
We turn into a small room with a white door, and there’s a round dining table just big enough for two. Two shiny white chairs are waiting for us, and the table is set with two sets of dishes.
I hear people coming in, carrying trays, but when I look at them, they aren’t much different than humans. Maybe a little shorter. A little more delicate-looking.
They are wearing gray robes that shimmer when they walk, but it’s more subtle than other fabric I’ve seen.
They have white hair, varying skin tones, but all have pointed ears that elongate upward.
They set down our meal wordlessly and then go out, shutting the door behind them.
I glance at them, perplexed. “Um, that’s not what I expected after the other fairy.”
“He’s a prince,” Lee says easily, cutting into his steak. He sighs. “It’s human food, prepared especially for us. You can eat it.” He waves a hand. “If you end up poisoned or something, I’ll heal you.”
Reassured, I cut into my steak and groan when I take my first bite. “That’s really good.” I almost feel guilty for it tasting so good while my friends are home suffering. But then again, I am kidnapped. So I guess I got what was coming to me.
“I can’t believe you fell for all of them,” Lee mutters. His dark hair is pushed up and tousled but looks sharp with the short sides.
I shake my head. “It wasn’t intentional. I just did.” I think for a moment. “What is a prince? Seth mentioned it too.”
“He’s not really a prince. It’s what they call the strongest of their race. The ones born to protect the others.”
“Interesting,” I say. “So those were regular ones?”
“Yes,” he says, looking uninterested. “Normal fairies are even smaller than humans. They depend on the princes to fight and serve them in exchange.”
I frown. “Sounds super complicated.”
“It is,” Lee says. “I’ve learned a lot living among them, and even I am somewhat lost.”
“Why did they help you?” I ask. “What could they possibly want?”
“Oh, the contract?” Lee asks, looking somewhat smug. “Well, that’s kind of a long story.”
“How so?”
“Fairies of many kinds have been wanting to get into the human world for a long time.”
“Why?”
“Lots of reasons. Some want to get in to see if they can find magic. Some want to find humans for experimentation. Some wonder if a human female would be able to mate a fairy prince as long as she’s a special type.”
“What kind of special type?”
Lee eyes me. “A dragon heart probably.”
I gasp. “So what, you’re going to sell me to a fae?”
Lee shakes his head. “No. The fairy I’m working with isn’t like that. He just wants to cause chaos. It’s what drives him. He wants to go to the human world and cause chaos there. But basically, all factions of fairies are interested in the human world in some way.”
“If they are so magical, why don’t they just go there?” I ask.
“The oracle,” Lee says. “She keeps the world safe from outside forces like the fae. Some say she’s one of them. A rare queen instead of a prince. That she came to our world and created shifters. Though, our oracle could be only her descendent.”
“Wow.” I take another bite of steak, mind blown from everything he’s telling me. “So anyway, what does this have to do with me?”
“The dragons are the protectors of the human world,” Lee says. “There is one way for the fae to get through.”
“And what’s that?”
“Apparently, they just need dragon blood. A lot of it.”
“Why?”
“Supposedly, it breaks the seal between our worlds because the magic in the blood can nullify the work of the oracle. Supposedly.”
I eye him. “And what is your reason for going along with this? For risking everyone getting hurt.”
“Revenge,” Lee says. “And redemption. The fae promised if I could bring all the colors of modern dragons to their city together, then they would give me back my dragon. I’ll be whole again.”
“But will you have a world to go back to?” I ask, realizing the whole world could be in danger.
“I don’t believe Nerrenth will be able to cause too many problems. But if he makes trouble for the oracle, well, that serves her right for ripping my dragon out when she should have just let me die.”
I gape at him. “You’d rather be dead than just a human?”
He slams his fists down on the table, making it shake. His face is pale now, and his eyes burn like blue flames. With pure pain. “I’m not just a human. I’m constantly bleeding out as if half of me is gone. Like I’m a shell. Like my heart is gone. My soul. Like there’s no meaning to anything. I call out to a part of me that should be there
and hear nothing in return. I’m haunted daily by what I should have been but could not be. When I was in the world, I would heal as I could, but I would see the people I should have been helping. I would feel so much rage at those who took my ability. I used to have the power to heal whole crowds at once. Now I’m just a shell.”
I’m silent because I don’t know what to say to him. It hurts just hearing how much he has been hurting this whole time.
It doesn’t make it okay that he’s betraying the world and punishing the other dragons, but it does explain it somewhat.
“Oh, thanks for your understanding,” he says sarcastically, taking a bite of his steak.
“No, I really do want to understand you,” I say. “I mean, you have to get it out.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “Hm. Well, I’m only telling you because it involves you, so you might as well know anyway. Plus, what else do we have to do while we wait for your dragons?” He thinks for a moment, closing his eyes so that his long lashes rest on his cheeks. Then he opens them. “It’ll take at least a day or two for the dragons to reach us. Given the damage sustained.”
I raise both eyebrows. “How do you know that?”
“I was raised to be a healer,” he says simply. “I know about how much damage a dragon can take and how long it takes for them to get better.”
“That makes sense.” I frown. “So how did you end up with fairies since you were in the human world?”
“I came to visit Rainier,” Lee says softly, stirring his mashed potatoes. “I wanted to see the Blur, and he had created a makeshift portal for going back and forth. He didn’t want to help, but he understood I wasn’t doing well. None of us were, but I was the only one who was guiltless.”
Not anymore, I think.
Lee slants me a glare. “Well, anyway, I was in the Blur and ended up at a tavern in a bad area, drinking and hoping something terrible would happen to me because I’d heard the Blur was a really bad place.”
“You didn’t even want to live anymore?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “I couldn’t go on facing the people I couldn’t heal. I couldn’t keep hearing their cries, knowing I was useless, feeling the hole inside me that I did nothing to cause. I was going insane. Then Nerrenth found me.”
Soul of the Dragons: Bad Dragons Page 11