Unexpected Mate (Dragon Goddess #2)

Chapter Twelve

A bead of sweat ran down the length of my spine. It was only mid-morning, but the sun was already beating down on the earth mercilessly. Deep breath in, deep breath out. I worked to steady my frantic heart, which was currently attempting to slam out of my chest. Within hours, I would be at home with my mates, snuggling and eating pizza.

Let’s bring the house down, so we can get back to our house and go down!

I choked on my own spit. Mithraheal let out an unmanly squeak next to me, and I knew Beasty had once again sent her thoughts into the bond for all my boys to hear.

It gives them a reason to hurry this up , she whispered conspiratorially, while still projecting her every word in the bond .

I wanted to scold her, but frankly, I had missed her ridiculous remarks the past few weeks and it was a relief to have her nonsense cut through the tension.

Aw! I love you too, Teacup!

Okay, I was going back to ignoring her. I closed my eyes, allowing my magic to sweep across the ground unseen. I had discovered that my dragon magic differed greatly from other magic, meaning Draven wouldn’t be able to detect it as I sent out subtle tendrils.

With my eyes closed, I mapped out everyone’s location; my dragon giving me a rough grid-line guide of the area surrounding me, and energy signatures for the living things nearby. Each of the men were in position, simply waiting for my cue to move on the building and guards. Focusing on the members of my team, I spoke directly into their minds.

It’s time. Stick to the plan and don’t take unnecessary risks. Move. Now!

I ducked out from the thick hedges that had hidden me. I grabbed Gregor’s arm and, using my dragon strength and speed, I flashed to the building, hauling the wizard with me with Mithraheal right on my heels. We were careful to stay out of the cameras’ line of sight as we moved swiftly down the side of the wall.

I touched Levi’s and Luke’s minds to check their progress. They had taken down the guards with ease, and their wolves were nearly salivating to have more of a challenge. I moved to Leo, butterflies fluttering in my stomach at the intimacy of touching minds with my new mate. My life had been utter chaos, and I was nearly desperate to have time alone with each of my mates to learn more about them. Leo and I had spent less than seventy-two hours together and had only exchanged broken bits of conversation before that. The soulmate, or fated mate, bond was incredible, allowing me to feel closer to these men than I had felt to anyone in my life. They were literally a piece of my soul. But now, I wanted to know them, not just their bodies.

Leo’s mind brushed against mine, much like how his hand brushed my hair away from face. I startled, not realizing he had the ability to physically react in the bond. We had so much to learn about our abilities as mates.

Reassuring myself that Damien had gotten him safely settled into the guardroom, and that he was now typing away with a ferocious speed, I checked in on the wizards. This neat trick was possible because I had clasped arms with them only hours before; it was a newer ability and I had yet to figure out the specifics of how it worked.

They were all uninjured, and in position. I lingered for a moment in Elani’s mind.

She was whispering furiously to Lars: “Can you believe that? It isn’t fair!”

He whispered back: “Now’s not the time, Elani. You are out of line.”

“I’m out of line?” she hissed.

“It’ll be over soon. We have all worked for this day, let’s finish this mission so we can return home. I miss my own bed.”

“It better be.”

It seems I was not the only one eager to have this day over. Everyone was sick of the chronic stress and grueling training .

We made our way in through a side door, the guard absent thanks to my wolves. Moving deeper into the depths of the building, I focused on one thing and one thing only. Stopping Draven before he destroyed more lives.

The dark hallway stretched in front of us, seeming to have no end. The utter stillness in the air was unnerving. There was no way he could’ve known we were coming, could he? My magic slithered under the crack in the door and tested the room. Draven was sitting at his desk. I carefully unsheathed my knives, finding strength in their familiar weight. Glancing to Mithraheal and Gregor, I waited for their nod before twisting the knob and throwing the door open. I spun to the side quickly out of the way of a possible attack. But none came.

I have watched plenty of action movies, and I spend most of my time screaming at the scream at them to stop talking and just take down the villain. I wouldn’t make that mistake. In the blink of an eye, I sent my beautiful blades singing through the air to embed with a sickening thud into Draven’s chest. He moved at the last second, my blades just barely missing their intended lethal target.

He screamed in pain, but remained sitting at his desk, looking for all the world like he had been waiting on a business appointment. I had learned enough about him to know he had developed powerful skills with magic and couldn’t understand why he wasn’t wrapping it around himself now or using it to make an escape.

“You are a little ahead of schedule,” he said. “I’m impressed, little dragon. ”

I said nothing, drawing my swords and dropping into a fighting stance.

“No matter, everyone’s waiting. Let’s go.”

The room shifted, the floor beneath me rocking. I didn’t even have a chance to teleport us out of there as the oxygen was sucked out of the room and we were plunged into a vortex. I don’t know how long we were in that churning black hole before it sent us smashing into hard earth. Icy pain shot through my body, my bones groaning from the force of the impact.

Moaning in pain, I rolled onto my hands and knees, the world around me still spinning like I was on a carnival ride. My stomach lurched and then emptied its contents, leaving me panting and dry heaving.

Get up. Get up now! Beasty roared in my head.

I staggered to my feet, pulling my magic to me in an effort to heal some of my injuries. My ankle gave out under my weight, my teeth sinking into my lip to muffle my scream. I remained standing, but the grinding of my bones against each other had my stomach twisting again.

You will heal. Suck it up. If you don’t focus, you’ll be dead and your injuries will not matter!

I searched the clearing, studying my surroundings and trying to form a new strategy. My mates and the wizards were all struggling to their feet, some obviously dealing with broken bones, but at least none were dead. We were in a field: sparse green shrubs dotted the area, clinging to the cracked red dirt. As my gaze darted around, I noticed the shadows. No, wait. Those weren’t shadows; those were men, heavily armed men, and they were surrounding us.

“To steal a phrase from the current generation, how dope is this?” Draven threw out his hands, motioning toward my confused team and his men standing to attention. I said nothing, letting him continue to gloat while I attempted to figure out a plan to get my team out of here. I wanted to teleport them to safety, but I knew I didn’t yet have the strength to move so many at once. If they began disappearing, Draven would notice and no doubt order the others to be attacked. Think, Tia, think.

“I knew you would come from me,” Draven began. “You are smart, so it was inevitable. I too have spent the last months honing my skills, in preparation for your arrival. Today’s display required me to reserve my magic until it was time; transporting everyone here was no easy task. It’s also taking an incredible amount of power to maintain the spell that has nulled your wizards’ magic. You see, I’ve been planning this moment carefully, and now you will accept my terms—or watch everyone in this clearing die.”

Anger burned white hot inside me. How could we have prepared so hard for this, only to have the tables turned so suddenly? My dragon side had grown more powerful, and yet I felt powerless facing Draven. The answer hit me like a physical blow and I began searching each face of my team, looking for the traitor that had been leaking our plans.

“You can keep searching, but truth be told, I don’t even know who it is,” Draven said, as if reading my mind. “The crafty turncoat was very careful to not give any clues to his or her identity. Your progress as you gained additional talents was impressive. I quickly realized the only way I could survive your attack was to force you into a position where you had to choose between your life and those who had followed you. My dear, that is your pitiful weakness. You value all life and would give your life to save another. Such an idiotic waste of an extraordinary power, just to save someone beneath you. You could never rule while holding onto this childish ideology. It’s just as well though - it will make all this much easier for me.”

“I would rather die with my beliefs, then be a vessel for the evil inside you!” My voice reverberated, Beasty and I speaking as one. Unease skittered across Draven’s face, and he stepped back.

“So be it,” he said. “This is what will happen now. You will kneel on that altar, and I will perform a ceremony that will send your power into me. I have spent hours reading the forbidden scrolls to ensure nothing goes wrong. You need to be willing for the energy to transfer to me.”

“I will not kneel, and I sure as heck will never willingly give you my power!”

My skin crawled as he laughed; there was nothing pleasant in the sound.

“Let’s stop beating around the bush,” he said with a smile. “You will allow yourself to be sacrificed and the wizards will be allowed to go free, completely unharmed. I understand that, unfortunately, your vampire mate will not survive your death, but the wolves and your faux wizard mate will live. As he will become the next in line for the blood driven throne upon your mate’s death, Damien will be required to form an alliance with me. He too will be returned to his kingdom unharmed. Refuse this generous offer, and my men will attack immediately; everyone will die, and I will still take whatever power I can from your dying body as you watch those you love be slaughtered. I have ten men to each of your men, you cannot win today. Their blood will be on your hands.”

I thought I watched a lot of TV, but apparently Draven watched a lot more. He had me confused with idiot women who can’t see two minutes into the future and fall for the lies fed to them, believing their loved one will be spared. Idiots. If I agreed, he would take my power, and not only kill my mates and team, but then use my power to destroy countless other lives. It would be the beginning of an apocalypse. I loved my mates more than life itself but attempting to save them now would just cause them infinitely more pain in the future.

I snorted in derision.

My magic swirled, and I felt my stature change; my limbs grew longer, my hair and nails lengthened and glinted like the sun on a blade’s edge. My vision shifted, my pupils turning to slits and causing the world around me to explode in color and detail. Blue light radiated around me as at last my wings burst free. I spoke into the mental bond, likely my last private moment with my mates.

If I die today to save your lives, it will only mean your death later at his hands, and the deaths of many innocents. My time with you all was far too short, but it was also more than I had ever dreamed I would have. I love you all, and I hope we end up snuggling in bed later, trying to forget how bad today has sucked.

I mentally cradled the luminous ball of energy in my chest. I had learned over the past few weeks how to pull from it to perform some neat battle tricks and pranks. A smile tugged at my lips as I recalled throwing energy balls at Damien’s butt and burning the rear out of several pairs of his pants. His vampire speed had proved no match for my butt-seeking missiles.

I gently separated the energy into six sections, and mentally sent that magic into our bond. They would not be able to wield it as a weapon, but it would enhance their supernatural gifts. I prayed that it would be enough to ensure their survival today.

Twisting around, I became a blur as I rushed toward Draven, my swords poised in front of me, ready to destroy him or die trying. Draven roared in frustration, apparently not happy to see his perfect plan crumbling. The clang of sword slamming into sword, screams of fury, and howls surrounded me.

Deja vu. I had already been here. Horror froze the blood in my veins as realization stole the breath from my lungs. This was the battle from my nightmare weeks ago. I clung desperately to the hope that my nightmare was just a dream, and not a vision of what was to come.