Xander cleared his throat. “I said let’s go kick some dragon ass.”
“But how—”
Xander ignored him, walking into the apartment to grab his coat and throw it over his shoulders. “We’ll work out the how later. Right now, let’s go get your mate.”
Tristan took a deep breath. He didn’t know exactly how he was going to deal with this, but he knew he was going to at least save the woman he loved.
The dragon inside him was certain, and Tristan was finally willing to hear him roar.
Chapter 19
Kelsie hadn’t meant to listen in on Tristan’s conversation, but the dragons were pretty loud talkers. The ones at the doorway, that was.
Both men had been tall and handsome in an almost otherworldly way, like Tristan and Xander were.
But all she’d been focused on was saving Tristan.
He’d been right to hide. The dragons in his area had meant him harm. They thought he and Xander were abominations.
She intended to try and convince them otherwise.
She didn’t know if Tristan was going to come for her. She suspected he would, but she knew it was dangerous for him.
If he did—and she wouldn’t hold it against him if he didn’t—she wanted it to be safe for him when he came.
She was currently sitting on a velvet chaise lounge in a house that made even Tristan’s look plebeian in comparison.
With an eighteen-bedroom mansion, some dragons really knew how to live it up.
“It’s more about the land,” the man with purple eyes said.
Purple eyes. Kelsie never would have believed it.
“Yes,” the man with gold eyes and hair that was almost bronze said. “Acres and acres of space is the most important part. As you could probably gather from our talk with Tristan, privacy is of utmost importance.”
“You’re wrong about him,” she said. “Xander too. They’re good people.”
“You said that,” the gold-eyed one said sharply. “That doesn’t make it true.”
She glared at him stubbornly. “It is, though. Anyway, what do you plan to do with me?”
“That’s up to you,” the purple-eyed one said. “And please, my name is Chadwick, but you can call me Chad. It’s easier than ‘purple eyes.’”
She blushed. “Sorry.”
“This is Trevor,” Chad said calmly. “My partner. I don’t know how much you know about dragons.”
She folded her arms. “I’m not going to say.”
“Well, Trevor and I lead the region here, and we’re looking for a dragon heart to join our triad.”
“What?” She stared at him. “Join?”
Trevor walked over and sat down by her on the chaise lounge, and she scooted away, ensuring they didn’t touch. He leaned toward her, and while she could feel his sheer animal magnetism, due to the beauty of his handsome face and his huge, muscled body, she felt cold.
He was nothing compared to Tristan.
Trevor sat up, looking vaguely disappointed. “You might as well give up on him. He’s not coming.”
“He is,” she said defiantly, though she wasn’t sure. Tristan might have just run with Xander so they could be safe. But she didn’t think so.
Her heart was still waiting for him to show up.
“You’ll be waiting forever,” Chad said. “Those brothers are red dragons. They know they can’t take us on. If they come, they’ll just end up dying. And you aren’t going to be hurt at our place.”
“You’ll let me go, then?”
“No,” Trevor said. “We can’t. You know about our world. At the very least, we’ll need to try and inform the oracle. See about erasing your memory.” He reached forward, lightly brushing away a curl. “But we could avoid all that if you’d like to be our mate…”
She pushed him away and stood up from the chaise. “No, I’ll see this scary oracle you’re talking about. I’m not betraying Tristan.”
Chad pushed his glasses up on his long, pointed noise. “I’m sorry, what is scary?”
Trevor looked lost as well.
“The oracle,” Kelsie said, waving a hand as she kept her distance from both of them. The marble floor beneath her was cold on her stocking feet. “I know she hurts people and dragons, but—”
Trevor snorted. “No. The oracle? Absolutely not. She protects all shifters and humans. And she helps us dragons know where to go and what to do.”
Kelsie blinked. “But then… why is Tristan so afraid of her?”
“Because he’s bad,” Chad said. “A lot of experiments have been going on with dragon blood. If he’s a bad dragon, made by those trying to hurt us, then of course he’d be afraid of the oracle. She’s the one who shuts down bad dragons.”
Kelsie still couldn’t quite put it all together. She looked up at the tall, vaulted ceiling and the crystal chandelier hanging overhead.
Like everything she’d seen so far in the mansion, it was cold and luxurious and over the top.
“Sorry it doesn’t suit you,” Trevor said, standing and pacing anxiously. “Anyway, do you know anything about the red dragons? How they came to be?”
She didn’t want to say anything. That was Tristan’s secret. “No. But I know they aren’t bad. And I know they are dragons. I also know that people like you keep chasing and hunting them.”
“We aren’t hunting or chasing them,” Trevor said, looking annoyed. He was wearing a crisp white dress shirt under his wool coat. She guessed he liked to look sharp a lot. “We’re just trying to keep our territories safe while staying out of sight. We can’t do that with rogue dragons.”
“They’d never hurt anyone,” she said. “They just want to be left alone.”
Chad rolled his eyes. “That just means they are bad dragons. If they can really be happy just sitting there being selfish when they could help people, there’s something wrong.”
She sighed. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, if they just let any of the dragons who found them take them to the oracle, she’d probably just put them in a pairing anyway. If they actually aren’t bad. The fact that they won’t see her says they are.”
Kelsie’s mind was racing. Was Tristan wrong about the oracle? Had his stupid parents screwed up his whole perception of the shifter world?
“So if he was a good dragon, the oracle would help him?”
“Probably,” Chadwick said. “But I’m not her, so who could say? I’m not aware of any twin dragons existing. It seems like some kind of setup to me.”
“Setup?”
“Someone made two of them. Like they are clones.”
“They’re twins,” Kelsie said, feeling angry tears bite at her eyes as her hands balled into fists. All she wanted was to see Tristan again, to tell him it was going to be okay. “And I don’t want to mate you. So just let me go.”
“I told you,” Chad said, looking bored now. “We have to talk to the oracle.”
She paced back and forth on the marble. “Then where can I go lie down? Is there a spare bedroom?”
But before the dragons could answer, they heard a loud thump shake the ground outside.
Trevor’s lips curved up in a cruel smile. “Well, what do you know? At least one of them isn’t a total coward.” He cracked his neck side to side and stretched his hands out, popping the knuckles. “Fine by me. I could use a good fight. Plus, if we knock them unconscious, they’re easier to deliver to the oracle.”
“No,” Kelsie said. “Please don’t hurt them.” She tried to grab Trevor by the arm but was stopped by Chadwick, who placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
“I’m afraid I need to put you where you won’t interrupt the fight,” Chad said. “For your own protection.”
Kelsie struggled against him, wanting to get to Tristan, but Chad simply bent down and put his shoulder to her waist, then stood, lifting her up.
She pounded his back. “Let me go. This is kidnapping!”
He ignored her, humming as he carried her up the stairs. When he
reached a side door, he opened it and pushed her inside. “You’ll be safe here. Please don’t worry.”
Then he was gone, and Kelsie’s heart fell as she heard the click of a key locking the door from the outside.
She jiggled the handle, but it wouldn’t budge, so she ran over to the window. When she tried to pull it open, she realized it was sealed shut. Perhaps for safety?
She looked around the room, not yet ready to give up.
Chapter 20
As Tristan walked up the sprawling, perfectly groomed lawn toward the gigantic mansion in front of him, he hoped his disguise would work well.
If Kelsie saw him, he knew she would probably laugh, but as long as she was safe and happy by the time she was rescued, that was okay with Tristan.
He’d flown as a dragon but shifted as soon as he landed, hoping to get the dragons’ attention and talk to them while Xander snuck in and got Kelsie to safety.
The mansion was surrounded by miles of sprawling, isolated farmland and forest, so if Tristan needed to fight as a dragon, he would.
He was tired of running. Tired of being pushed from town to town. Tired of feeling like he would automatically lose against double dragons and had to flee them.
Today, he would take back his mate, and if they wanted a fight, they would have one.
It would give Xander time to get Kelsie safely away.
The gold dragon, with his dark-bronze hair, was walking down the stairs from the mansion, rolling up his sleeves at the cuffs. The purple dragon strode behind him, looking bored. When his eyes met Tristan’s, he cocked his head curiously.
Tristan was quiet until he was only a few yards from the other dragons.
Given how normal they looked, he almost wondered how he could have been afraid of them for so many years.
He’d assumed since his parents had abandoned them, they were broken. Less strong. Less capable.
But as he faced these two right now, the leaders and strongest in their territory, he felt not even a trace of inferiority.
His dragon wasn’t afraid of them.
Then again, maybe that was just adrenaline. Or that fact that as long as Kelsie got out, nothing else mattered.
He eyed the mansion, hoping she was comfortable wherever she was. He had to admit it might not be too bad to live in a place like this.
“You could have had one,” the gold dragon said. “If you and your brother had stopped being cowards long enough to face the oracle.”
“I’m not facing the oracle,” Tristan said, balling his hands into fists. “I’m facing you because you took my brother’s mate.”
He hoped the blond Xander wig he was wearing did a good job of concealing his true identity.
The gold dragon cocked his head. “I thought it would be your brother who came, considering it’s his mate we’re watching.”
“He ran,” Tristan said, hoping Kelsie wasn’t in the nearby vicinity to hear him. “He’s never been much of a fighter. Me?” Tristan did an exaggerated spit to the side, trying to mimic his brother’s swagger. “I’m here to kick your ass.”
The gold dragon cracked his knuckles. “That can be arranged.” He grinned, flashing white teeth. “I’m actually glad you came. I don’t like the idea of you two mutants running around out there.”
“We aren’t mutants,” Tristan said in a low growl. But then his eyes caught the flicker of something moving, and he saw Xander scaling down the wall with a rope, swinging toward one of the windows.
He snapped his eyes back to the gold dragon, knowing he had to keep them distracted. “Anyway, why do you want to take me to this oracle so badly?”
The gold dragon frowned. “Why do you want to avoid her so much?”
“I don’t know anything about her,” Tristan said. “I just want you to let my brother’s mate go, and I’ll leave and never come back.”
“Too bad your brother didn’t show up,” the gold dragon said, stepping forward. “I don’t know. Maybe the two of you could have had a chance against me, even though you are red dragons. But right now, it’s not even going to be fair.”
Tristan felt anger heat deep inside him. Now he understood better why Xander had to go out at night. It was hard denying what was inside you.
Denying your strength, your ability to be good, to do great things, just because other people doubted you.
The purple dragon walked forward, hands in his pockets, stance relaxed. “Look, we aren’t going to hurt your brother’s mate. And if you want to leave, we’ll still let you just get out of here. Clearly, you have some kind of problem with the oracle, but I don’t sense any real malice. So just go. We have enough people to fight without fighting you.”
Tristan used his sunglasses to do a side glance at the window where Xander was now cutting a hole in the glass using something in his hand.
He needed more time, dammit.
“No,” Tristan said, folding his arms and cocking his hip, doing his best Xander impression. “I think you assholes need to shut the fuck up and get me my brother’s mate.”
The purple dragon looked confused, then dismayed. “I had hoped this was a misunderstanding, but if you really want to fight—”
A sudden crash made them all look up to the window where Xander was helping Kelsie out, holding her in his arms.
They must have been trying to leave when the glass pane, compromised by the cutting, just fell right out of the window.
Xander sprouted red wings on his human form and pushed off the building with Kelsie.
The gold dragon narrowed his eyes, shooting a look at Tristan, who was slowly taking his wig off. “Trickery. Deceit.”
“Get out of here,” Tristan yelled to Xander, who was already cloaking as he started to fly away. “I’ll keep them busy!”
The gold dragon’s eyes went wide as he saw Xander about to escape. “Fucking… kidnappers! You really are trying to steal dragon hearts. You have no honor!”
The gold dragon roared, and a giant dome came down just in time for Xander to fly into the side of it as he tried to escape.
He fell, keeping Kelsie clutched on top of him as he took the brunt of the impact with his back.
It clearly hurt a bit, but he pushed Kelsie to the side, standing in front of her as the shield fell.
Then it appeared again, this time only trapping Kelsie in a small dome that was just for her.
It shimmered as she pounded on it, trying to get to Xander, who was lying on the ground, dazed, staring at the gold dragon who was now transforming, rising to his full height as a glittering gold beast.
Xander looked over at Tristan, and there was an apologetic look in his eyes as he put up a hand to block whatever the gold dragon was about to send at him.
Love burst through Tristan. Love for his mate and love for his brother who had stuck by him all along. Put up with all of his grumpiness.
Both of them believed in him, and he couldn’t let them down.
His body moved faster than ever, and in a flash, he was there, between his brother and mate and the gold dragon, who was already opening his mouth, a fireball forming in his throat.
Then Tristan shifted, and this time, he didn’t bother going invisible. It would be the first time he would let his dragon just exist in the world, not hidden, and he would take whatever came as a result.
He wasn’t going to run anymore.
When he’d risen to full height, he realized the gold dragon was a bit farther beneath him than he thought he’d be.
Tristan glanced down at Kelsie, wondering what she thought about his new form. She was smiling as she looked up at him, tears glittering in her eyes.
She looked so happy. And so proud.
He stood tall as he faced the gold dragon, who had closed his mouth and was taking a couple steps back.
“He’s huge,” the tiny human who contained the purple dragon said. “What is… What just happened?”
The gold dragon turned back into human form, scratching his head. “I don’t kno
w, but there’s no way we can fight him.”
Now that Tristan thought about it, he did seem a bit big. He hadn’t been around other dragons much, so he hadn’t realized it, but—
“We’re giant,” Xander said, shaking his head as he still fought to recover from the impact. “How did we not know we were giant?”
“That’s what happens when you hide,” Tristan said. Still, did this mean he was a monster? Was his form just proof he and Tristan had to be put down? At least it looked like they would be able to save Kelsie from anyone to came to find her.
The gold dragon paced in human form. “Should we call the others? Goddamn, that’s big. That’s not supposed to happen.”
“A throwback mutation? Like a dire but with dragons?”
The gold shook his head. “He’s not all… ugly, though.”
“I’m not sure,” the purple dragon said. “Maybe it has something to do with being twins.”
Tristan looked down at the shield holding Kelsie. At how small and fragile it looked. He reached down with one dragon hand and caught the bubble between two claws, pinching it hard in a way that was not going to touch Kelsie if he slipped.
The shield broke like glass.
“No one has ever done that.” The gold dragon looked furious. “He broke a fucking shield.”
The purple dragon looked thoughtful. “Interesting. So very, very strong.”
The gold dragon gave his partner an exasperated look. “How are we supposed to fight that thing?”
The purple dragon was quiet for a moment, looking from Tristan to Kelsie as she ran over to check on Xander and to Xander who still looked dazed.
“I don’t think we have to fight,” the purple dragon said calmly. “I think he only shifted to protect his mate and brother. Like any of us would.” He took a few steps closer to Tristan, not afraid of him despite his size. “Beautiful,” he said, looking up at Tristan’s dragon form. “So huge, with such amazing red crystals. Almost like…”
“Like the dragons that used to exist,” the gold dragon said. “In the oracle’s books.”
“Maybe they can be born like this sometimes.”
“Excuse me,” Tristan rumbled in dragon form. “But what the fuck is going on?”
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