CHAPTER 1 of FOR THE LOVE OF HER DRAGON #6
Two sets of very large hands shook her and babbled frantically. If she had been able to, she would have screamed out loud when Lance said he was going to throw her over his shoulder and run like hell, but it was Devon’s response that almost stopped her heart.
“Dammit, Lance, settle the hell down. She’s magical…
really magical and super powerful. Give her a minute to pull herself out of whatever happened before you go all caveman.
We have no idea what she was doing besides scrying, and she told us that was just for location, so apparently her witchy senses found a lead, and she took it.
Besides, if anything happens to her, Royce will lose his shit.
You and I both know it. She is his mate.
He knows she’s his mate. He’s just being pigheaded.
There is no way in hell he could handle her getting seriously hurt. ”
She could hear the rocks crunch under Lance’s worn-out cowboy boots and knew he was pacing, his second favorite pastime.
“I know, dammit, but you know I suck at waiting. When she hit the ground, all I could think was snakebite, but there’s no way one would come anywhere near us.
Then she started digging in her goodie bag, and I thought it was no big thing, but now…
what the hell? Her eyes were like…gone, rolled back in her head, and she was shaking so hard I thought she would fall to pieces. ” He paced the whole time he spoke.
When he stopped, she knew he had knelt down as the denim of his blue jeans brushed her arm. She imagined him staring at her face, not sure what to do, and then he spoke. “Did you hear how fast her heart was beating? I wish Sam was here; she would know what to do.”
“Dude, you gotta chill. I’ve seen stuff like this before with some of mom’s patients. Give her a little time, and she’ll bring herself out of it. Kyra is a fighter. You just have to be patient.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…patience. You’re all Zen, and I’m about to lose my shit. I really hate you sometimes, Dev.”
Devon’s chuckle relieved even more of the tension that had invaded her body during her vision. “I’m not Zen; I’m just not crazy like you. Now, sit down and wait for her to find her way back.”
She heard the rustle of someone digging in her duffle bag. “You want a protein bar?” Devon asked.
“Yeah, throw me a couple and a bottle of water, please,” Lance replied, and she could still hear the concern in his voice.
She was once again amazed at how these people, these dragons, cared so much for one another and for her.
They’d only known her a short time and had definitely met her under less than desirable circumstances, but nonetheless, they had accepted her as one of their own.
It was an amazing feeling and one she would always cherish.
She felt as if she was slowly floating upward, despite the hard ground beneath her back.
The feeling returned to her fingers and toes slowly, with pins and needles working their way up her arms and legs.
As soon as her mouth worked again, she whispered, “That bottle of water better not be thrown in my face.”
Though her vision was blurry, she could make out the smiles that spread across the men’s faces. Of course Lance was the first to speak, “What the hell, Witchy Poo? You decide you needed a nap?”
“Yeah, that was it,” she chuckled, as Devon helped her sit up.
As soon as the warmth of his hand hit her shoulder a flood of images from her vision came rushing back.
The water she was drinking flew out of her mouth and she shouted details as fast as she could.
“It was so pretty and calm, but I could feel the darkness coming. I could see and feel everything but couldn’t hear a damn thing.
I know the little asshole was there. I could see everything through his eyes, and he was so excited about the awfulness that was coming. ”
She used Devon’s knee to help her up while still shouting about all she had just seen. “Everything was fine one minute and then…BOOM…”
“What the hell are you talking about, Little Bit?” Lance shouted and grabbed her by the shoulders, bending enough to look her right in the eyes.
Kyra blinked a few times and took a deep breath, trying to get her bearings in order to make sense of what she’d seen.
Lance spoke again, softer and more worried than she could have ever imagined. “Come on, Kyra, snap out of it. Tell us what you saw. What made you collapse?”
“I…he…it was…” She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. When she opened them again, both Devon and Lance were staring at her, expectantly. She took two steps back and snapped, “Stop looking at me like I have two heads.”
They both laughed, helping all the tension associated with the horrific vision she’d just experienced drain out of her body, finally straightening out the thoughts in her head.
The ending of her vision flashed before her eyes, and for the first time in her life she thought she might just faint.
Without further thought, she screamed, “We have to find Royce! He’s in danger.
There’s gonna be an explosion!” She reached out and grabbed a hand from both men and started to pull.
“Come on! What the hell’s wrong with you?!” she shouted.
Neither man moved, just stood and stared, looking at her like she had two heads.
She pulled so hard she could feel sweat dotting her upper lip.
Completely frustrated and more than a little pissed, she dropped both their hands and spun around, only to find herself lifted in midair by Lance and deposited on the same big rock she had been propped against just moments earlier.
Just about to scream…again…she realized they were both using mind speak. Her heart raced as she felt the seconds tick by. She had no idea how long they had until whatever it was that Andrew was planning happened; she only prayed that they could get a warning to Royce in time.
Lance and Devon were deep in conversation with the others of their Force, not paying any attention to her, when she decided that waiting sucked, and she was going to do whatever it took to stop the devastation she had witnessed.
Her escape plan would have worked if the damn dragons didn’t move so fast. Devon grabbed her by the arm before she could get both feet on the ground and held fast. When she turned to give him her best ‘Go To Hell’ look, he was giving her his, and since he was about twenty years older and a foot taller, his was better.
She started to hunch her shoulders and then realized she had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.
The man she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with was in serious danger.
It didn’t matter that he couldn’t stand the sight of her, or that she already had feelings for him; she had to save him along with the others she’d seen lying dead or broken around him.
“What do you think you are doing, Kyra? We’re talking to Rayne and trying to get a hold of Royce. Wait just a fucking minute,” he scolded.
She glanced over his shoulder to see Lance’s devil-may-care attitude gone, replaced by a warrior, out for blood, ready to protect one of his own. It was intimidating to say the least, but she refused to back down. Royce needed their help. The threat was real and growing every second.
“Hurry,” was all she could get out before she was deposited back on the same damn rock and told to stay put.
Thank the Goddess she didn’t have to wait long.
Lance grabbed the large duffel she’d dropped on the ground and reached for her hand.
“We can’t get Royce to answer. Rayne is on his way to the Elders.
Come on, we’re taking you back to the lair.
You can stay with Kyndel and Grace while we go see what the hell is going on. ”
“No fucking way!” she screamed. “There is absolutely no way you are leaving me to sit at home like the ‘little woman’. Whatever is threatening him is magical. I could feel it, and the last time I checked, dragon man, I’m the magical expert around here.”
“There is no way in hell we’re taking you anywhere near that kind of danger or that piece-of-shit traitor,” Lance yelled back as he grabbed for the arm she had pulled from his grasp.
As soon as his fingers touched her skin, a powerful shock caused him to cry out, “WHAT THE FUCK?” He pulled back his hand, looked at his fingers, and then at her with suspicion.
Any other time she would have been embarrassed that her anxiety and fear had caused her to use her powers without conscious thought, but not this time.
The man that she was supposed to spend her life with was in trouble, and she knew with all certainty that she could save him.
Remembering what she’d told the last group of teenage witches that she had ever trained, ‘Suck it up, Buttercup, you’re a real witch now’, all those years ago, she squared her shoulders and looked a man she would otherwise call a friend straight in the eyes.
“I’m sorry I hurt you, but I’m not sorry it happened.
I am a witch, in case you forgot,” she poked him in the shoulder for added effect.
“And whatever or whoever is trying to hurt Royce is also trying to hurt all the people around him.” She poked him again, and this time he had the decency to at least take a step back.
“They are using magic. Strong,”…poke…“powerful,”...
poke…“old magic. I have a duty to protect them. So we can play this your way, and I’ll just sneak out and do what I can by myself…
” She placed both hands on her hips. “Or we can work together. Either way, I am going.” Not waiting for an answer, she turned on her heel, threw her backpack over her shoulder, and stomped in the direction of their SUV.
At this point, she didn’t give a shit if they followed; she was going to save Royce.
She was going to save them all, and then she just might kick her supposed mate’s ass for getting into trouble in the first place.