Chapter 1 Violent Like a Storm and Fierce Like the Ocean #3
Bastian palmed her nape and pulled her closer, sharp and disjointed as he raggedly inhaled. He groaned, fangs digging into his lower lip. "Get out of here." Then he pressed his lips to her crown and whispered just for the two of them, "I am your pet, and I will do whatever you wish."
Bastian pulled away before she could say a word, leaving her to face the others.
Graves stared and stared at the white, rain-soaked feathers on her back. "Fly away." He reached behind him and tugged his hood back up, shutting her out.
Tharen’s lips were pinched. "Go."
Her hands were shaking, hot blood dripping down her spine, weakening her with each trickle from her opened wounds. The glamor kept it hidden, and a part of her was grateful. She only wanted to get out—she could worry about the shredded mess of her back later.
"I will come back for you." Vale wrapped an arm around her front, close to her neck. It was near stifling, but at least it kept her protected from the raging wind. "I swear it." Vehemence lined those three words, unleashed devotion hanging heavy in the rain-soaked air.
With that promise, the four others backed up, crouched low to the ground to keep their balance, leaving Luella and Vale standing in the center of the throne room.
Water lapped against her knees; it was growing higher, and she could barely pick her leg up to walk as Bastian beckoned her with an outstretched hand.
As she slogged toward the vampire, the water weighed her down.
Bastian caught her arms and tugged her to him, shielding her with his body.
"What is he doing?" Luella forced her voice to become louder, so they could hear over the pounding rain and raging air.
Water rose around Vale as he stood beneath the shattered skylight. Drenched, his golden hair was dark, plastered to his forehead.
"Just watch," Tharen said.
So, she watched as the King turned into beast.
Onyx scales rippled, overtaking more of his flesh. His chest grew larger, bones cracked, and those green eyes became elongated, turning to draconic slits. Clothes tore from his body, falling to the water, drifting atop it in gilded shreds.
Luella did not blink, consumed by the sight. He grew before her very eyes, towering above them. In a loud snap, his dark-scaled wings unfurled.
As each droplet of rain fell upon the dragon, it sizzled, small tendrils of grey curling up from the heat that radiated off him.
Those green eyes fell upon her as Bastian pushed her forward with urgency.
"He will take you somewhere safe." The vampire’s cold hands withdrew reluctantly, leaving her to stumble toward the dragon on her own.
Her heart was in her throat. How could she know he wouldn’t open that large mouth and snap her up between his deadly teeth?
Mine.
The word was so loud in her head, it boomed, making her gasp and stumble forward.
She nearly fell into the water, but a large, warm wing caught her gently. The scales were like hot silk under her palms as the dragon’s wing urged her up and closer into his side.
Safe. Mine.
Protect.
The dragon’s emotions pressed into her, thick with protective possession.
And Luella knew, with absolute certainty, that the dragon would never harm her.
A rumble reverberated through the beast’s chest, making her bones rattle and her wings shiver with pain. A choked sound escaped her, and the dragon’s purr cut off—he’d felt her pain.
Mine.
A large claw-tipped talon reached for her, wrapping around her midsection and tugging her close to his chest as his wing shielded her from the growing storm and the rattling stone walls.
She placed a hesitant hand on the dragon’s talon, so small against him. He could crush her, but she knew he would not.
The dragon used his other talon to cradle her fully, then lifted her. She gasped, wide eyes finding the others as they watched her.
For some reason she would never fully understand, Luella looked to Tharen first. The Prima dipped his chin, reassuring her, even as his knuckles were white at his side as he clenched his fists. Rain slid down his severe cheekbones and dripped from his jaw.
As soon as she was cradled in the dragon’s talon, his claws keeping her shielded almost entirely, encasing her in darkness, she heard his thoughts. Clear as day, as if they were whispered in her ear, sounding like Vale, but not—primal and raw:
Do not move. Still. I will keep you safe.
His wings started to beat, and they lifted off the ground.
A small part of her was captivated by this dragon treating her like a precious jewel—never too firm as he held her. It was as though he thought she would shatter.
The dragon ascended, keeping his massive body as steady as he could, even against the force of her storm. He rose and rose, and she could barely see through his claws and the onyx scales surrounding her, but flashes of night and wet wind seeped through the cracks, stealing her breath.
She saw nothing but exposed air, not the stars, not the moon—thick, dark clouds producing thicker sheets of rain.
Then, the dragon faltered.
Luella felt his huff of annoyance as he flew, swift as he dared in the raging storm. The wind chilled her, but the heat coming off the dragon’s scales offered warmth, and she found herself leaning into his chest, cheek pressed against it in this cocoon of darkness.
Possession lanced through the thread connecting them, frayed edges lifting and fusing back to the strong, golden, burning thread. Strengthening.
They flew and flew, and after a while, the air grew calmer, and the dragon did not waver any longer in his flight.
They had been right. Her storm was centered around the castle.
She had half a mind to send a thankful prayer to the fae gods, but she paused, the beginning words stalled on her tongue. After seeing the product of a god in the Temples of Aedis, she suddenly felt inclined to acknowledge the… Lux.
"Thank you," Luella murmured into the darkness of the dragon’s hold, whispers of chilled sea air curling through his claws and cascading over her in answer. "Lux."
The dragon’s curiosity enveloped her. A sense of starry peace warmed her from the inside out.
It was evident they were away from the central part of her storm, so she placed a cold palm on the dragon’s chest, uttering, "May I see out?"
The dragon huffed—she was not sure if it was in exasperation or endearment. But one claw closest to her moved ever so slightly to the side, letting in dark night and cold air.
Slow, the dragon demanded. Careful.
Luella scooted forward, fingers curling against the dragon’s talon as her head peeked forward, staring out into the abyss of darkness. Her wings drooped behind her, folded tightly to her back.
Water.
It was all around.
Under them was the sea, inky darkness with rolling waves and sea foam dotting the surface. They were high enough that she could not hear the crashing waves, but she knew they would be deafening. Rain fell, not as thick and violent as it had in the castle, but hard enough it would sting.
Towers of storm clouds filled the night sky, overshadowing every bit of light.
Ominously, they swiftly moved through the sky, some funneled down, down, down into the sea.
Thin streams of spouts unfurled as they wrought their vengeance upon the waves.
Tendrils of air rushed in cyclic motions, forking out into two, three, and four spouts as they lashed the sea.
She knew, even without seeing, where those clouds were headed.
The castle.
Enough. The dragon used a claw to coax her back, closing her view of the destruction.
Luella sat back on his scales, knees pulled to her chest as she stared into the darkness.
"I’m sorry," she said softly. "I never wanted this to happen."
The dragon did not respond.