“We’re not quite done here yet.” Van’s voice cuts in, and Griffin releases me as we both look over at him. He’s dragging a very battered, very manhandled fae prince behind him, and when he tosses Nerrenth onto the ground in the center of our circle, Nerrenth groans in pain.
“Shut up, fae,” Van says, kicking him again as he folds his arms. I pass by Nerrenth to go to Van, and he looks down at me, purple eyes flashing.
“The purple dragon tends to be the leader. I’m going to insist on taking charge a lot. Especially with you, dragon heart,” he says with a wicked grin. His long dark hair is pushed back from his face, and he looks so handsome.
“I hope so,” I say, giving him a wink as I brush my fingers over his exposed arms. He grins deviously down at me.
“You human maggots.” Harsh words from behind make me jump, and I back up just as Van’s arms come around me, holding me close to him as the dragons all step back.
Nerrenth is standing somehow. I can hear bones popping as though they’re falling back into place, and slowly, the cuts on his face and arms are starting to heal.
“You pathetic, foolish creatures.” Nerrenth straightens, and the dragons surround me in unison, all standing between me and the fae. “So weak. So stupid.”
“Want another round, shithead?” Byron cracks his knuckles. “I’m game.”
“You don’t understand, do you?” He’s practically spitting now. “You’ll never escape me now. You can’t kill me, and I’m going to grow more powerful and then I’ll crush all of you.”
I notice Lee, then Seth, standing amidst our group. For the first time, Seth looks just as strong as the others, and the black tips at the ends of his shiny blond hair are somehow magically gone.
He looks radiant. Dangerous. Beautiful. And super pissed.
Nerrenth is still ranting. “I’ll come back stronger next time and destroy every one of you. You and that woman will never be safe.” His dark, soulless eyes look past the dragons at me, and Griffin moves in front of me, blocking his view.
Seth and Byron share a nod before Seth walks forward. Suddenly, a gold dome separates us from him, and I watch as Seth takes a huge breath, then leans forward to unleash his fire.
I expected a wide arc of flame like Griffin’s, but it’s like a swirling beam of glowing energy in green and black. Like he can concentrate his fire and send it only at one person instead of letting it explode into the maelstrom we all expected.
I avert my gaze just as the blast connects with Nerrenth, and the flames drown out whatever else I might hear.
When it’s over and I look back, there’s only a small pile of ash where the fae prince once stood.
The gold dome falls away, and Seth returns to join us.
“Finally. Finally, I get to use it,” Seth says, brushing his hands off and looking spryer than ever. “Couldn’t let him chase us forever, right?”
“What about those guys?” Byron asks, looking up at the crowd of fae standing at the edge of the stairs. They’re huddled together like frightened animals, waving their hands as if to tell us they won’t be a problem.
“I think with their sovereign prince gone, they shouldn’t give us any trouble,” Rainier says.
Then suddenly, I’m picked up into Griffin’s arms, and I feel like I can finally relax for the first time in a long, long while.
“What do you say we get our mate home safe?” he says to unanimous assent from the other dragons.
But then we all pause.
“Wait,” Van says. “Where is home exactly?”
We all stare at each other blankly because we hadn’t really gotten that far.
But as we’re thinking, a swirling, light-purple portal appears.
“That’s our answer,” Rainier says. “The oracle is calling us back.”
One by one, the dragons walk into it, giving me a smile as they go. Griffin and I are last, and as we get ready to jump into the portal, he carefully kisses my forehead.
“Wherever you are, that’s home,” he says. Then he jumps into the portal, taking us away from the Blur and on to our next adventure.
Wherever we go, whatever we do, we’ll have each other.
That’s all that matters.
Chapter 26
One month later
“Did we really need to buy our own island?” Seth asks, looking through the glass back doors on the deck at the water lapping the shores of our small dock.
It’s not what you’d call much of an island. It’s just a boat ride (or dragon flight) away from civilization.
It has gorgeous trees giving privacy all around the island, a grassy back lawn, a pool and hot tub, and even a little greenhouse solarium.
Before this, we were living in a rented house provided by the oracle. But once she made the dragons an official task force, she recommended we upgrade.
“Did we have to? Probably not,” Griffin says, joining Seth at the window. “But with a mate as precious as Anna, I like having the extra protection.”
“Please,” I say, giggling as Griffin comes over to pull me in against him, my back to his chest, so he can wrap his big arms around me and rest his head on mine. “I think six dragons is protection enough.”
“No,” Lee says simply, stretching as he walks in. He likes to sleep late most days when he isn’t needed on a mission. He says having his dragon back is a bit of an adjustment.
I’m just glad I no longer see pain or loneliness in his eyes.
“Mine for a minute,” Lee says, pulling me away from Griffin and into a bear hug. He takes a deep breath, kisses my forehead, and then looks at me before glancing at my lips.
I laugh, getting up on my toes to kiss him, enjoying the way his firm lips press lightly to mine and the way his tongue teases out just slightly to flick at my lower lip, making my breath catch before we pull away.
“There,” he says, brushing back his dark hair. “I had my taste of Anna, so I can start my day.”
“Silly dragon,” I say, blushing furiously as Griffin and Seth start discussing where the TV should go in the huge living room.
It’s been an adjustment, living with six dragons. But life is always an adjustment, and as adjustments go, making room for the people you love is always one that’s worth it.
“Where are Van and Byron?” Lee asks as he walks into the kitchen where Rainier is at the stove, our designated chef whenever Byron is away.
Rainier’s very methodical and does a fine job following recipes, but Byron took up cooking and has unexpectedly discovered he has a real talent for it.
The dragons have been complaining about their waistlines, but all I see is abs all around, so I think it’s just their awkward way of complimenting Byron.
Rainer flips one of the perfectly round pancakes on the griddle in front of him. “They had a meeting with the oracle about a mission. I think they’ll be back later this evening.”
“Great,” Lee says, slumping at the counter across from the stove. “And what if they get hurt out there? They should take me on more missions.”
I’ve noticed Lee has a fierce protective streak over anyone he cares about. It goes well with his ability to heal but makes him impatient to go out on every mission despite how tired he gets.
“Dragons don’t get tired,” he says, narrowing his eyes at me playfully. “So I’ll thank you to keep your thoughts about my sleeping schedule to yourself.”
I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “You know I don’t have any problem with anything you do in bed.”
His blue eyes widen. Then he grins. “All right. You win this time, dragon heart.”
I smirk at him as I walk to Rainier, putting my arm around his waist as I watch him flip a pancake. “Looks good,” I say. “Want me to watch them for a minute so you can have some?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Rainier says with a little sniff. His silver hair is back in a neat ponytail, and his sharp silver eyes are still focused on making the perfect pancake. “Chef eats last.”
&nbs
p; I get up on my tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek, then his jaw, nibbling lightly just how I know he likes it.
“Oh, for…” He trails off, smiling, then sets aside the spatula so he can lift me for a kiss. He supports my weight completely as he kisses me, and a strand of silver hair falls out of his ponytail. He ignores it as his tongue swipes inside my mouth, heating me deeply, making my legs feel so weak it’s good they’re not holding me up right now.
“I smell burning,” Seth says, coming in with a confused look on his face.
“Yeah, Rainier,” Griffin teases. “Maybe you should do something about that before you burn up our island.”
Rainier slowly lowers me, making sure I’m steady before he picks up the spatula, keeping one arm around my waist as he flips a slightly dark pancake. “That’s yours,” he says, scowling at Griffin.
“No, have mercy,” Griffin says as he sits at the kitchen table and collapses over it dramatically. “Not this poison.”
Rainier rolls his eyes as Seth joins Griffin at the table, and Lee chuckles, coming over to join them as well.
My phone rings with a special ringtone, and as always, I have to fight back tears as I think about who it is.
I walk up to Rainier and tap him on the back. “I’m sorry, I have to take this. Do you think—”
“I’ll make more when you’re back,” Rainier says quickly. “Take your time. This is more important. There will always be other pancakes.”
I guess he knows whom the ringtone belongs to as well.
My heart pounds as I walk down the hallway to my room. There are three master bedrooms, one for each of the dragon pairs, and then a room for me as well.
The dragons like sleeping in the same room in pairs because it means they are always there to alert each other to danger.
And I switch up which room I sleep in depending on the day and who’s on a mission and who wants or needs me around at the time.
It’s a unique situation, but it’s perfect for all of us.
I take a deep breath as I hit the answer button on my phone and close the door to my bedroom.
Though, bedroom is maybe the wrong word because, let’s be honest, I don’t do much sleeping on my bed.
“Hey, Gayle,” I say because it’s still so odd to me every time I get to speak to my sister. Odd and wonderful and amazing at the same time.
Lee took me to heal her. It was just the two of us because I didn’t want my dragons to meet Gayle like that. She still needs to recover from her coma.
Lee gave her a delayed healing factor so by the time she woke up, I was the only one in the room, though he was waiting outside in the hallway.
The other dragons were waiting on nearby buildings, watching for any sign of danger.
It was amazing to see her open her eyes, to hold her in my arms. Amazing to call my parents and tell them they needed to fly out.
It took a long time to tell her what had happened to her. How long it had been.
And after watching her for so long in a bed, I can’t say how much it meant to me to see her smiling and laughing.
Lee healed her brain, but she still needs a lot of rehab to regain muscle and learn to use her body again. She ended up deciding to move back home with my parents, who seem to be doing much better now that their daughter is back.
Gayle didn’t hurt me with her decision to move away from me. She said she needed a fresh start, and boy, do I understand that.
“Anna!” Gayle says cheerfully. “Just wanted to check in.”
I smile despite the tears trying to invade the corners of my eyes. “It’s always good to hear from you.”
“Yeah, I’m starting school this semester,” she says. “I even got my scholarship back. I can’t believe they honored it.”
“You earned it,” I say, wiping a tear off my cheek, glad she can’t see it.
“College,” she says. “I can’t believe I’m going to college. How are you doing, by the way? You keeping busy with that cute boyfriend I saw at the hospital sometimes?”
“Yes,” I say. And the other five boyfriends. Husbands. Mates. It doesn’t matter because they’re mine forever.
I still don’t know how I’m going to explain this one day to my sister when she insists on coming to visit me.
“Listen, Anna,” Gayle says, her voice uncharacteristically serious. “The parents have been telling me everything you did for me while I was in my coma. I… I want to say thank you.” I can hear her voice breaking slightly, and it only makes another tear fall. “Without you, I don’t know if I would be here right now.”
“No, it’s—”
“No, really,” she says with a sniffle. “You stayed with me so many nights. And you worked so hard to pay the bills when Mom and Dad were struggling. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”
“It’s fine,” I say. “I’m just so glad you’re better. Now it’s just up to you to have a kickass life.”
“Of course I’ll have a kickass life,” she says. “I have you for a sister.”
I chuckle. “Thanks. I’m just glad every day that you’re okay.”
“I know,” she says. “And thanks for being understanding about me coming to live with the parents.”
I smile. “Hey. I just want you to be wherever you’re happy.” Plus, if she wanted to live with me, I don’t know what I would have done since I live with six dragons. “Maybe I’ll come see you soon.”
And try to explain having six bodyguards.
“I can come during college break,” she says. “But no matter what, you’re my sister and I love you and I’m grateful. And I just wanted you to know that… I know what you did.”
I frown. “What?”
“The reason I woke up,” she says eagerly. “You were waiting right there for me, and I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That it was because you never gave up hope in me. That it was you who brought me back.”
I blink back tears again, thinking of all those lonely nights. That’s not really the reason she woke up, but I get what she’s saying.
All of this just makes me feel so grateful I found the dragons when I did.
“Well, I’m off to buy school stuff,” Gayle says. “But I just wanted to say I love you and you rock and I hope we’ll see each other soon.”
“Me too,” I say, knowing that I still need some time to prepare for that day. “I love you too. Bye.”
“Bye!”
Just as she hangs up and my heart aches slightly to see her, I hear a knock on my bedroom door.
“Who is it?”
“Seth.”
“Come in,” I say, and before I can stand up from the recliner to greet him, he walks inside.
“You okay?” He puts his hands on his hips. “I know phone calls are a little hard right now.”
“No, it’s fine,” I say. “I’m still just adjusting to being able to hear her, you know? Plus, I’m a little isolated from my family, though I think that’s best for now.”
“We can go see your family,” Seth says. “One of us can play the boyfriend. The others can just sort of… be invisible.”
I laugh. “That’s true. But no, it’s fine. I like my life here. It’s just sometimes, hearing her voice, it’s hard to believe this is all real.”
“One hundred percent real, sweetheart,” Seth says, picking me up out of the recliner so he can sit down and rest me in his lap instead. “Though, sometimes I can’t believe it’s real either.”
I relax back against him, and he begins to rock, drawing a sigh from me. “That feels amazing.”
His warm chest, heart beating beneath me, arms holding me closer.
“Why don’t you feel it’s real?” I ask.
“I don’t have my poison threatening to break out constantly anymore. I’m not in pain all the time or waiting to die. It’s an adjustment.”
I nod. “Like Lee adjusting to his dragon or Griffin adjusting to—”
“To not living with bears,”
Seth says with a laugh, making me giggle.
“Yeah,” I say. “But do you think everyone is happy?”
“Everyone is ecstatic,” he says. “Van is living up to being a leader. Byron is enjoying kicking ass all over the place. Lee is finally able to heal. Griffin is happy to have a home and a family. I’m glad I’m not dying. But most of all, we’re just happy to have finally found you.”
I grin, putting a hand on his chest. “Dammit, how are you so wonderful? You always know how to make me feel better.”
He kisses the top of my head, then pulls back to look over me, his blond hair falling rakishly around his face. “You know, I was thinking about taking you back out to get some pancakes, but I think there might be other ways to cheer you up.”
He kisses me, and I lean into it, closing my eyes and inhaling his clean, fresh scent. No hint of dread or anything like it.
When he pulls back, he smiles. “Or do you think you’d rather have pancakes?”
I shake my head, pulling him back down eagerly for a hungry kiss. “I’d rather have dragon.”
He smirks against my lips, then swipes his tongue deep inside. I cling to him as he explores, working me over expertly until I’m writhing with pleasure just from that kiss.
My eyes widen as I hear footsteps in the hallway, and he just laughs.
“Did you think I wouldn’t call for backup?” His green eyes sparkle wickedly. “I told you. The more the merrier.”
My eyes are still wide as we hear another knock on the bedroom door. “Come in,” I say, peering at Seth cryptically.
The door opens, and Griffin, Rainier, and Lee are standing there, all looking worried about me as well.
“Are you okay?” Rainier asks, stepping forward with an apron still tied around his tight waist.
Lee moves over to take me from Seth, holding me in his lap as he shifts over to the bed. As he strokes his hand through my hair, I feel his healing energy soothing me, and I mewl as I snuggle in close.
“Who made you upset?” Griffin asks. “I’m going to kill them.” His auburn hair looks extra red against his worried, handsome face.
Soul of the Dragons: Bad Dragons Page 18