CHAPTER 1 of FOR THE LOVE OF HER DRAGON #10
It only took about fifteen minutes longer before Rayne gave the sign to stop.
Kyra looked around in the dark for signs of someone other than the Force she traveled alongside.
As she looked towards the skies, she realized the sun would rise in less than an hour and sent a prayer to the Goddess for everyone's safety. She’d never been an incredibly spiritual person, other than her magical connection to the Goddess and the Universe, but standing alongside the fiercest warriors she’d ever known, ready to battle one of their own turned traitor, made her realize how much she had truly come to care for each and every one of them and all they held dear.
More than that was the understanding that even though all of them, including her, were incredibly hard to kill, they were not immortal.
She knew there was no way she would allow one of her new friends to fall to the traitor who spread death and disaster like it was pixie dust. Andrew thought he could best them with magic.
The arrogant prick thought he could best her.
He was overconfident and cocky, and she would bring him down.
No matter what she thought about her mother, she had to give Calysta credit for one thing.
She had taught Kyra to fight, and fight was what she would do.
Fight for her friends. Fight for the magic that Andrew abused.
And even fight for the hard-headed giant that refused to accept their fate.
Andrew was in for a surprise in the form of a five-foot-two pissed-as-shit white witch.
Watch out, shithead. I’m coming for you, she thought, as she ran as hard as she could toward the thread that led to the traitor.
She wanted him to know she was coming, and she wanted him scared.
“Well, you lot look like you’re about to do something stupid. Mind if I tag along?” The sound of an unfamiliar voice with a slight accent pulled her from her mental assault on the traitor.
Her anxiety lessened when she saw Rayne embrace the stranger, and when he called him ‘Rian’, she knew she was looking at the back of Royce’s older brother.
The man was the tallest person she had ever seen.
He stood more than a head taller than the leader of the Dragon Guard Force, and Rayne was over a foot taller than she was; just another reminder that she was the shortest person in the world.
Rian turned towards the group, and Kyra gasped at the incredible family resemblance.
It was absolutely uncanny, but the longer she looked, the more obvious the differences became.
His hair was auburn, not bright red, and his eyes were a glowing blue instead of the warm brown she liked to sneak glances at when Royce wasn’t paying attention.
She knew from her vision that Rian was a good inch taller than his younger brother, and now that she had a closer look, she verified that he was long and lean, whereas Royce was bulk and muscle and possessed a raw power that made her tingle all over, even when she tried with all her might to ignore it.
When he spoke, she felt none of the electricity that even a grunt from Royce caused. “Thank you so much for coming. I have no clue what threatens us this evening, but I am grateful that you have come to help protect those I hold dear.”
“We are going to stay hidden in the caves and give Kyra a chance to work her magic for any clues about our enemies while we prepare our defense,” Rayne explained.
In the blink of an eye, Rian was standing next to Kyra and had her hand in his.
He greeted her like the gentleman of old with a chaste kiss to the back of her hand, but the wink was all cocky dragon shifter.
She could tell he was messing with her, but she was unsure how not to offend the Head Elder and brother of the man who occupied too many of her thoughts.
When he spoke, she was sure he was just trying to get a rise out of her.
“You are even lovelier in person.” He stepped back and looked from her toes to her head and back down again.
“And just the tiniest little thing I have ever seen.”
Rian stepped towards her again, gripping her hands a tad tighter. “And you are a strong little witch, aren’t you?”
Before she could respond, Devon stepped towards them and clapped Rian on the back. “Stop teasing her, Ri. She’s had a rough couple of hours, and she’s here to help. We wouldn’t have even known about the threat without her.”
Devon turned towards Kyra as he skillfully removed her hand from Rian’s and moved her back a step. “Ignore Rian; he’s trying to get a rise out of his little brother. Isn’t that right, Royce?”
She spun around like a child’s top and found the man who had done everything possible to avoid her standing not twenty feet away, with the same look of disdain she remembered from their last encounter.
Before she could think of a smart-ass comment to save face, Rian chuckled, “I knew the little platinum-haired beauty would bring you down from your perch, little brother.”
Fuck! Now why did he have to go and do that? was all she could think as the woods rang with men’s laughter.
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