Chapter 19
Emmett
The scent of her was intoxicating. So sweet, musky, and utterly, completely mine. Elana’s body clenched around me as I thrust into her, the ridges of my cock dragging against her walls in a way that had her nails digging into my skin. I loved every moment, and I wanted more.
Sitting back onto my knees, I gripped her hips, lifting and angling her so I could hit all the right places. Her nails raked down my forearm, her breath coming in sharp gasps as I drove into her again and again.
“Oh god, oh god, oh god…”
Fuck, she was so perfect like this. I could feel her magic responding to mine, a spark of power igniting between us, wild and untamed. It felt like I could fuck her forever, and it still wouldn’t be enough.
“Yes, take me. Take all of me.”
I snarled as I hammered into her, her words disintegrating into screams.
Bending over her, I nipped at her throat, my voice a rough growl against her skin. “You’re mine. Say it. Tell me you’re mine.”
Her back bowed off the bed, her body tightening around me. “Yours,” she gasped.
She didn’t even hesitate, and my dragon roared with primal satisfaction. Her body trembled beneath me. I could feel her getting close, her magic growing and swirling around us. The thought of her coming apart around me was almost enough to undo me.
“Come for me, my treasure,” I growled. “I want to feel you squeezing me, milking me. I need you coming all over my cock.”
I reached down between us, my fingers finding her clit, circling in time with my thrusts. Her hips jerked wildly against my hand. “Fuck, Elana,” I groaned. “So fucking perfect.”
Her back arched off the bed, and she shuddered as pleasure ripped through her, her scream thin and breathy. The sight of her, flushed and panting, was something I’d remember for a thousand years.
“Good girl.”
I had to hold my dragon back from bathing us, joined as one, in my fire.
It would solidify our bond for an eternity, and she didn’t even know she was my mate yet.
With my beast barely restrained, I buried myself deep, emptying all I was and all I ever could be into her, my body shaking from how intensely she affected me.
I held still over her, my breath ragged, my body still trembling with the aftershocks.
The base of my cock started to swell. This part I could not stop.
Her eyes went wide. “What’s… Oh, god.” She tried to wiggle away.
“Stop,” I groaned, holding her still as my cock continued to swell, knotting us together.
“It’s too much. What is…”
“Don’t move. It will only last a few minutes.”
“Oh! Dragon’s knot. I didn’t know.” She relaxed against me, trusting me to care for her.
I held her close, burying my face in her hair. For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of our breathing, the pounding of our hearts. When my body finally released us, she shifted beneath me, and I rolled onto my side so I could tuck her against me.
“So,” she murmured, her voice teasing. “I guess recharging works with dragons too.”
I chuckled, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “So it seems.”
But as she lay there in my arms, I already knew one thing for certain. Elana was my mate, and I wasn’t letting her go.
I’d much rather be relaxing with my mate or helping everyone rebuild the castle, but instead, I was at an emergency meeting with Leroy.
Out of sheer habit, I’d contacted him the moment I realized magic was involved with the attack.
He’d portaled back from his city home today, which he rarely spent time in, directly back to the courtyard just ten minutes ago.
It was only when I saw Cassian helping rebuild the broken drawbridge that I remembered his and the ifrits’ warning about the wizard and the cameras inside the playroom.
Oh well, keep your enemies closer, I guess.
Besides, if I hadn’t immediately called him, it would’ve been suspicious.
He’d probably known the moment the wards malfunctioned since it was feeding from his magic, even if the original spell had been Sena’s.
I told him about the attack, or at least enough to get my point across, and watched his face for signs of disloyalty. He kept a perfect mask of neutrality.
“Our magical grid went down long enough for the goblin wizard to portal in,” I finally finished.
The exact location where the portal had opened up had been suspicious as well. Right in front of the secret passageway to our safe room. Only the people living here knew of it. But I didn’t say this out loud to Leroy. He could have very well been the person who had given up the location.
“That grid keeping this whole castle safe is still based in witchcraft,” he reminded me.
“It’s Sena’s, remember. I just maintain it with my magic.
Witchcraft and wizardry don’t mix well, and with my wife injured, I cannot sustain such a power drain.
The system is old. Sena is long gone, and her residual magic will not hold. ”
That I could not refute. I’d already used up too many of the premade spells Sena had left for me. But I didn’t tell him that. No one knew just how many, or rather, how few, I had left.
“I told you we need to transfer the system fully to me and find us a new source of magic. What about that witch who has been staying with us? Her magical aura looks weak, but she has some. And you said before that she could be hiding her magic.”
I brushed his question away, not liking his interest in my Elana. I didn’t like the way his eyes all but glowed at the thought of accessing her magic. It wasn’t his to use. I let him believe that the charred hallway had been the result of the two fire ifrits, which Leroy didn’t question.
“Don’t concern yourself with her.” I kept my voice quiet and my tone neutral, trying to sound dismissive.
Instincts told me that until I had proof that he was loyal or otherwise, I had to keep the fact that Elana was my mate a secret, lest he use it against me.
Then a little louder, “I’m working on it.
” I thought of the magical artifact hidden inside my hoard.
“I’m looking elsewhere to acquire a new source of magic.
In the meantime, did you get anything out of those goblins?
Kai said they couldn’t speak, even if they wanted to.
Every time they open their mouths, only gibberish comes out. ”
Leroy’s face looked grim. “I will see what I can do.”
“What about that portal? Do you think you can figure out where it went?”
“There wouldn’t be enough residual magic for me to see anything. The ifrits did a very thorough job of burning all the evidence. Was there anything else the goblins left behind that could give us a clue?” He looked at me like he was trying to see through my brain. I didn’t like it.
I wondered if he meant the magic wand, but couldn’t say it out loud, because why else would he know of such a thing if he wasn’t involved?
“What kind of thing are you thinking of? Don’t you think leaving behind three live members of the tribe is enough?”
“I need something… magical, so I can latch on and scry.”
I shrugged. “You can check the portal location to see if there’s anything else left behind.”
I knew for a fact that the wand-shaped mark on the stone tile was gone.
It had first turned into a giant black smudge, courtesy of ifrit fire.
Then, the cleaners had come and scrubbed it clean.
And finally, Cassian had gone by and nearly emptied a whole-ass bottle of lemon Pledge around it. Not a mark remained.
No residue of its magic could be detected by either Cassian or me. No hint of Elana’s magic either. The wand itself had cooled and was hidden somewhere safe, wrapped in a special fabric that diffused its magic.
I really did feel bad for hiding it from Leroy. After all, he was supposed to be one of my most loyal attendants. But until I could either ascertain or refute Cassian’s assertions, I had to keep it hidden.
I’d already confirmed with Cassian that the ifrits had been telling the truth.
Afraid that simply asking him outright would alert Leroy if he was complicit, I’d simply looked at him and asked if everything the ifrits said was true.
Anyone listening would simply think I was asking about the attack.
Cassian had looked at me, head tilted in thought, then said, “Yes, all of it. Every last word.” And I’d known that he knew exactly what I was really asking.
“I will check the portal location now.” Leroy stood to go.
“I’ll come with you and see what you can see that I’ve missed.”