I stand completely surrounded by guards, my face burning under their harsh gazes. I try to ignore the way they nudge each other but then I overhear a few words and wince.
"That's enough!" A booming voice growls.
I glance up at Queen Zari. Her eyes are flaming red as she glares down at us. "Ash come with me please," she says, her voice instantly softer.
I start to head up the stairs with a small sigh.
"—dragon hunting filth," someone spits, and I flinch.
"What did I just say?" Queen Zari snarls, suddenly in the guard's face.
He whimpers slightly and backs off, casting his gaze to the floor. "Please forgive me," he murmurs.
She waves her hand. "Get out of here," she snaps.
The guards vanish in seconds, leaving me alone with the Queen. She sighs heavily, turning to me. "I'm sorry Ash, they're still stuck in the past, they don't know how to move on," she says.
I nod slowly. "It's fine, I don't blame them.
I seriously don't know what to do. They're hidden beneath the blanket, but I can't stop seeing the scars. There werehundreds―literallyhundreds―completely covering his back and shoulders and arms.He just looked so broken when I tried to help and that's not something I've ever had to deal with before.How do you help someone that doesn't think they have a chance?He has probably never had anyone be kind to him other than your mother, maybe he truly believes what others say about him?Azazel offers.That's absolutely awful, he must feel so alone.Well you should get to know him then and try to help him out, plus he is really cute,my dragon murmurs.I look at Ash again and realize she's right. He is really cute."Hey Ash?" I say quietly.He lifts his head slightly to look at me. "What?""I'm sorry for pushing you before. I just really want t
"—they're truly remarkable creatures. If I could be anything, I think I'd want to be an angel.""See I'd want to be a mermaid.""You mean a merman?" she snorts.I make a face. "A merman fine whatever, I think being able to breathe under water and having the ability to explore the deep sea and literally go where others can't would be absolutely amazing," I mutter.She smiles and nods absentmindedly. "Yeah that would be pretty amazing, but I'd still rather be an angel," she chuckles.My eyebrows furrow. "Okay why though?""Well one because they can fly—which you can already do so no wonder you'd rather be amermaid. But also, because they are some of the fiercest warriors I've ever seen. I've never met one in person, but I've seen them hundreds of times in my parent's memories—""Wait your parent'smemories?"She nods. "Yeah have you ever read that book series the humans are obsessed
He lets out a low growl and suddenly I'm on my back in the dirt. My sword has disappeared, but I don't care.Kaine looms over me, his eyes flaring gold. "You are such a tease you know that?" he growls."I know," I grin.He leans down to capture my lips in his. They're soft and warm. My hands make their way to his hair where I tug slightly, smirking at his growl.He pulls away and starts taking off his armor. I reach down to unlace my own. I sit up and Kaine helps me pull it over my head. I giggle as he tosses it aside with a dramatic flourish.I snap my fingers and the rest of both of our armor is gone. Kaine glances down at himself wearing nothing but boxers before shaking his head at me. "You have to teach me that little trick," he murmurs, pulling me closer.I straddle his lap with a small grin. He watches me with his golden eyes and my breath catches in my throat when he bites his lip. His fingers trace up and down my spine and I shiver.
The trees fly past me in a blur. I can feel the wind in my fur and my tongue lolls out the side of my mouth.I spot the red tape finally and dig my claws into the dirt, pushing myself to go even faster. I sprint across the red line taped onto the ground with a small yip.I trot around the clearing, relishing the ache in my legs and the burning in my lungs. I pant heavily as I walk towards Angel and Zella sitting at a table talking.I shift as I walk up and pull on the shorts and sports bra, they toss me. Angel is grinning widely, but Zella just glares at me through narrowed eyes. "You beat the record," Angel tells me."Fuck yes!" I shout, jumping up and down and pumping my arms in the air.Zella growls under her breath. "Do you know how long it took me to make that record?Four years," she grumbles.Angel shakes her head a little and playfully nudges her mate. "Hey but you trained the warrior that beat it in less than a month,"
"Are you sure you're okay?""Yeah I'm fine, let's go.""No, you're not you're bleeding again. Ash stop, we're taking a break.""No I'm fine let's keep―fuck!"I swear under my breath. "We're taking a break," I growl.He nods, clutching at his side. "Yeah okay," he mutters, his face twisted in pain.I help him over to a tree where he collapses against the trunk. "This trip is going to take forever; your mother is probably worried sick―""Ash I'm not going to leave you here," I growl.He snorts. "Your mother made me promise to travel with you and make sure you were safe so if you showed up by yourself, she'd have my head for sure. No, I was going to say we should send a hawk to let her know what happened."My eyebrows furrow. "A hawk? They still use those?""The witches do sometimes but not really anymore. I have one because your mother gave it to me. It was hers but she wanted to make sure nothing happened to me whi
The water laps against my body and it makes my wounds sting, but I ignore the pain. I focus only on the sounds of the moving water and my heartbeat.Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump.Slow and steady for the first time in years.Where is Jaxon?my dragon asks.I listen closer and hear a second heartbeat along with faint scratching noises.Somewhere in the trees it sounds like.What's he doing?I sigh. I lift my head up and open my eyes. My eyebrows knit together in confusion as I look up at the sky.He's drawing?Aw he's an artist, just like you!Cassie chuckles.I am not an artist,I scoff.That's what all artists say. Queen Zari seemed to think you have talent."Ash are you okay?" Jaxon's voice brings me out of the conversation with my dragon.A cloud of steam surrounds me, and I take a deep breath. I pull m
"Yeah that'd be fine.""Are you sure?" I ask.She nods. "Yeah I trust you and you both can take care of yourselves," she shrugs.I grin. "Thank you, is there anything you need before we leave?""Actually yeah, can you check on Ash? He usually makes the trip to werewolf territory and back in less than a week and I'm starting to worry. Especially since my son Jax is probably with him," she says."Of course. I will send Rexall over the Mountains, he'll find them," I assure her."Thanks," she murmurs with a heavy sigh.I walk out of her office and down the hall where I run into Kaine. "What's going on?" he asks."I have to go back home for a few days check on things, and you're coming with me."He raises an eyebrow at me. "Really?""Yeah I just talked to your mom and she said it's okay.""I've always wanted to see the witch clans," he says with a smile. He leans down and kisses me lightly on the lips."W
If Lucifer was a human, he'd be smacking my arm and shaking me right now.Dude! Dude! Did you just see that?You saw it so obviously I did too,I growl in annoyance.That was the hottest thing I've ever seen!Yes, it was now stop talking, you're ruining this for me.I push him to the back of my mind so I can focus on my mate. She sits tall on her golden throne, her violet gaze cold as ice as it sweeps the room. I can honestly say I have never felt prouder than I do at this moment.She locks eyes with me and motions for me to come forward. My hand rests on the hilt of my sword as I walk across the room to stand beside her."This is Prince Kaine, a warrior of the Dragon Guard and son of Queen Zari," Syrra says, "I expect the clans to pay their respects to such an esteemed visitor considering the unfortunate circumstances under which the Dragon Queen previously visited."Damn,