8. Chapter Eight
Chapter Eight
Kes
My dragon was free and he was pissed. Mercifully not at me but at the bastard who’d woven a spell in my mind to keep my dragon and I from communicating fully over the years.
He was eager to return to the region where Torin was imprisoned, we’d always been drawn there though I’d never understood why until Raven had shattered the spell.
It was where we’d been stolen from.
Before the village where I’d met Canyon and Upalo, the desolate northern icepacks had been my home. My dragon recalled more than I did and eagerly relayed all that he remembered to Mattias and Caspian’s dragons now that he was free to converse with them clearly.
Meanwhile, I was getting a headache.
Dragons, please, one at a time. I complained. I’m not used hearing one dragon in my head, let alone three, so tone it down.
Mattias stood beside Raven, watching me struggle with the chatter. Dragons weren’t known for following orders so the pause in their conversation only lasted a minute or two before they were back at it again.
Kes!
Oh joy. That was Upalo and he sounded frazzled.
Your dragon roared at me, Upalo snapped. Your dragon is never loud, nor as clear as he is right now.
Raven detected a spell that had been cast on me. It was designed to act like a wall between me and my dragon, I explained. She removed it and now he’s uncontainable.
I’m thrilled for you, Kes, Upalo said, I haven’t felt this connection to you since the night we were forced to flee our village. I was afraid it would never happen again.
I didn’t want to try, I admitted, but my mates convinced me that it was better to try than to guess. They were right. I’m going to spend the rest of my life saying that. I just know it.
Better accept it now and come to terms with it, Upalo said. I have. It seems our new mates don’t appreciate when we’re hard on ourselves.
No. they do not.
If we don’t figure out how to stop doing it, they are going to start punishing us and I don’t think they’ll be the fun kind, either, Upalo replied.
True, but we got lucky. We found our mates. We get a chance at a future.
He was right.
“How do you feel now?” Raven asked.
“Like my ears had been stuffed with cotton and now they’re not,” I admitted. “My dragon won’t stop chatting with Mattias’ and Caspian’s.”
“Good,” she said. “Don’t ask him to stop. Let him establish the connection he needs before you head out in the morning. The best advice I can give you is for you to enjoy this time with your mates.”
“I will,” I replied.
Easy advice to follow when all I wanted was to hole up here with them.
Soon.
My dragon’s whisper brought comfort. He believed that in the end we’d prevail though the battles would be long and hard fought. With a renewed vigor in our quest to right these wrongs, my dragon and I were on the same page. Mates now, save Torin tomorrow.
“Thank you, High Priestess,” I said, now that the conversation between dragons dialed down to a dull whisper.
That was unexpected.
Carrying on two conversations at the same time was actually really neat and beneficial. She smiled and I wondered if she knew what I was thinking.
“It was my pleasure,” she said, before waving on her way out the door.
“Do you still want to make snacks?” Caspian asked as he ran his hand up my back.
When had he moved?
I was distracted by all the sounds and access to feelings I’d never had before, including a level of frustration radiating from my dragon. He could guide us to Torin. He’d just been waiting for the chance.
“Yes, please,” I replied. “I just need a moment to stand here and collect my thoughts. I wish I could describe what this was like, but the words won’t come right now. My dragon is vibing with yours and there is this sense of relief and exhilaration rolling off him that’s overwhelming. “
“I feel it too,” Mattias said.
I turned into his embrace, wanting to smell him and see if his skin tasted like the ocean.
I realized that hadn’t yet come to me because my dragon hadn’t been fully present the night I’d mated with them.
Sighing, I nuzzled the spot beneath his ear, inhaling the lingering essence of sea spray that clung to it.
My dragon purred then immediately got huffy about me calling it a purr, even though I knew good and damned well what a purr sounded like.
It was a rumble.
That sounded exactly like a purr.
Do not taunt me human, or I will share your ticklish spots with our mates.
They are your ticklish spots too.
I’m willing to take my chances to see you writhe.
Do I need to call Raven back and ask about a new wall? I threatened.
Try it and you’ll regret it, human.
Exactly what are you gonna do to me without doing it to yourself?
You will know when I figure it out.
I’d always been able to hear his snark, it was the only time conversation had been clear between us, but I’d never been able to feel the warmth conveyed during the exchange the way I did today.
Caspian’s arms wrapped around me from the side, so he was hugging Mattias too.
What came next could only be described as lightning and a rogue wave all rolled up into one.
Caught between screaming, sobbing, and begging one of them to fuck me, I could only ride the rush as I felt our powers grow.
Holy shit.
I could feel every dragon in the compound and beyond that, into Dragon City, hundreds of heartbeats and emotions. Overwhelming until my dragon wrestled our ability under control. It took effort for him to dial them down to a low frequency energy buzz in the back of my head.
“That was like the rush I get whenever I call out to the ancestors to help me,” Caspian said, awe in his voice as he nuzzled my shoulder.
“I think it’s because there are three of us,” Mattias said. “Everything I’ve read about poly matings spoke of there being unique benefits to the way their abilities interacted.”
“I don’t know how unique it is, but I’ve never felt anything like that before,” I said.
Holding them and laughing together helped me finish grounding myself. My dragon could keep chatting with theirs as much as he’d like, we had treats to make and I was craving….
Them.
Their arms.
Their wings wrapped around me.
We were in the kitchen for less than five minutes when I deliberately brushed against Caspian’s side on my way to the fridge.
When he turned to look at me I brushed my lips against his, our sweet kiss turning more aggressive near the end.
He flicked his tongue out at me and I smirked.
Somewhere in all of our flirting, I lost sight of Mattias.
His fingers closed around my braid, tugging until I tipped my head back so he could kiss me too.
Better.
Yes, dragon, much better.
Even after the kiss ended, he caressed the back of my neck, squeezing and releasing the pressure points until I sagged against Caspian.
For the rest of the time we were in the kitchen, they made a point of pausing between tasks for casual caresses and hugs that led to snuggling against the counter.
It might have taken longer than it should have, but we carried three platters into the den for our SpongeBob marathon.
Getting lost in the wacky humor of the show was better than thinking about what the morning would bring. The stakes were too high to allow failure, but at what cost would we pay for success?
Our mission had two phases. Free Torin and find the rest of Caspian’s herd. They were hidden deep within lamprey contaminated waters. Before we could search for them, we needed to locate the block of ice Torin was imprisoned in.
We’d barely entered the region when I sensed the presence of other dragons, but more than that, their intentions, something I’d never been able to feel before.
Angry.
Hostile.
Incoming aggressors, I conveyed to the others.
We turned, peering through the water, waiting for movement in the cold, murky depths.
Mattias had been able to share his ability with Quint enough to allow him to swim deeper with us, though it had limited the pathways we could take, because Quint was unable to dive to the depths that the rest of us could.
So far though, his presence seemed to be keeping the lampreys at bay.
His venom was like acid, reducing them to sludgy, sizzling blobs each time we encountered one.
They’d begun to turn and flee the moment they spotted us now, not that it stopped Quint from destroying them.
How many do you sense? Mattias asked.
His dragon shimmered like the water around us, scales soaking up the hues until he was almost invisible.
Five.
They should have planned better. Mattias replied.
Don’t get cocky, Caro shot back.
The shadow that rushed at me from the depths was like a missile gaining momentum the closer it got.
I froze the water in front of me in the shape of a shield, ice shattering when he struck it, but it slowed him down enough for me to rake my claws along his side while he shook off the blow.
His painfilled bellow echoed beneath the frothy water, as battles raged around me.
I encased his tail in ice to weigh him down, making it easier for me to tear into him with my claws.
As the water around us darkened with his blood, I lost sight of him for a moment, long enough for him to free himself and tackle me, driving me down toward the ocean floor.
Didn’t matter. As long as I was surrounded by water I could freeze it into any shape I wanted, including a block around his head that made it impossible for him to breathe.
His flailing claws caught my shoulder, my blind side once again proving to be a disadvantage in a battle.
I froze his legs next, and those wicked front claws he wielded with such precision they took a chunk out of my tail before I was able to thicken the ice already restraining him.
My ice was sharp when I forged it into a double-bladed axe, much the way Caspian crafted his water weapons.
Using my abilities had never been as easy as it was today.
My claws curled around the handle as I chased the rapidly sinking dragon, slowly overtaking him as I drew the axe back before unleashing a mighty swing.
His body continued to fall even as the current carried his head in a different direction.
I tucked my claws beneath me, still clutching the axe as I used my tail to propel myself higher.
The water still churned. Spotting Caspian, I swam toward him and the dragon still attempting to attack my mate, despite missing an arm.
I separated the other one while Caspian took the head with a curved blade made of water that reminded me of a cutlass.
The whole battle felt like these dragons had been sent more to test us than to do us harm, like our enemies were throwing the weakest ones among their ranks at us first in an effort to slow us down and learn what we were capable of.
They’re strategizing. Quint declared.
And culling their weak, I added.
Yes, I got that impression too, Mattias said.
I don’t think that will be the last attack, Caro said.
Neither do I. Quint replied.
It felt as if my attacker’s goal was to separate me from the rest of you, I said.
That’s how I felt too. Caspian replied.
We need to swim before they ambush us again, Mattias declared, darting through the sea with us on his heels.
The further north we swam, the stronger my connection to Torin grew. I could hear him in my mind, trying to communicate with Quint, until my dragon used the family connection, allowing them to communicate.
Wait, family connection?
Are we related.
Yes.
We’re coming for you.
You need to hurry. They may finally possess a dragon with the ability to withstand the poison I carry in my blood. If so, I will not escape this icy prison alive.
The news and the worry carried through our link gave us a renewed sense of urgency.
We were close enough now for Quint to lead us to the frozen block of ice in the middle of a sea of icebergs, densely packed together.
It creaked, shuddering when we approached, a rough, grinding sound, like something had smashed into it.
Kes, follow Quint topside, Mattias ordered. Guard our position from the air.
No sooner had we broken through the surface than we realized we’d been doing far more than guarding. The battle truly had begun, way out here in this cold, desolate place. Three dragons stood poised to fend off our attempts to free Torin. All standing on a slab of ice I soon turned to my advantage.
Spikes burst through the feet of two of the dragons while the other scoffed and blew his icy breath at me. The two pinned by the spikes bellowed as scales flew from the puncture wounds. Their outrage shook the iceberg and left me worried about my mates and Caro working below it.
Focus.
The warning came from Mattias and just in time to remind me to fucking pay attention as I faced my match in the ice dragon who squared off with me.
I just hoped I was up to the challenge.