Blood of Dragons Read online

  Panting, I try to put some distance between us so I can catch my breath. It doesn’t work, and I look up only to find him charging toward me once more.

  Adrenaline boils through me. Deep in my core, my dragon stirs, trying to come to my aid. But she’s not ready—and I need to focus on the dragon Boss before me instead of coaching her through this moment.

  I barely dive out of the way in time. I long to land a blow on him, but I never get the chance. Aki has me on the defensive, and I hate it.

  Though I’m not getting much of a chance to test his physical limits, I am learning a lot about how he learns. What he looks for.

  Based on his attacks, I can start to paint the picture of what he’s trying to do. He only picked up on a few of my habits—the way I frequently feint to the right, the way my elbow cocks when I’m about to bluff my way through an attack.

  Those are little things, and they’re easy to change.

  In fact, I will never allow myself to do any of them again. He just made me a better fighter, and he probably doesn’t even realize it.

  As focused as I am on our duel, I tune the world out. It’s just me and him, just the repetitive motion of rolling out of his reach. I get tunnel vision—I have to, or else he might take off my hand.

  A shrill roar cuts through the air, and a breath of smoke rushes past us. I cough, shifting my attention briefly, only to find Jett Darrington’s massive face barely ten feet from my own.

  Gods above, I hate it when someone gets the drop on me—especially when that someone is Jett Darrington.

  Staring into the Darrington Boss’s eyes is like gazing into hell itself. His body glows like molten lava, the sharp spikes along his neck sizzling as if they could melt off at any second. His mighty wings slowly stretch above me, spreading with slow and ominous intention. Small holes appear along the edges, no doubt scars from the many battles this shifter king has fought—and won.

  Damn it all to hell. I let Aki get the best of me, and while I was distracted, Jett decided to make his move.

  Though I sort of expect the two to team up, to break the rules and take me on at once, Jett Darrington turns his slow and furious gaze onto the silver dragon.

  Aki snarls, lifting his wings defiantly as he bares his teeth, and for a moment it looks as though the two of them are going to face off instead.

  After a tense moment, Aki slowly backs away, leaving the arena to Jett.

  The fiery Darrington Boss snarls and turns his attention back to me. Thunder rumbles in his chest as he stares me down, closing the gap between us with crashing steps. I back away as his claws dig into the ground, tearing up grass by the roots.

  Everything about him radiates power, and it’s suddenly abundantly obvious where Drew gets his own natural authority.

  On Jett Darrington’s next breath, flames roll over his teeth.

  He’s—he’s going to spit fire.

  The moment after I realize what he plans to do, the flames tear from his mouth. The grass beneath us burns away, roasted by the heat.

  I summon all of my energy, all of my magic, and counter in the only way I can—by firing a blistering beam of my magic, straight into the flames. The white light burns against the inferno trying to roast me as I pour myself into my attack. My muscles scream with pain, but I press through.

  I lose track of time.

  It feels like I’m there forever, sweat dripping down my arms and neck as I fight the colossal dragon before me.

  My body aches for rest, but I can’t indulge it.

  I can’t stop.

  Not yet.

  When the flames finally end, I wearily lower my hands. The blinding white light of my magic disappears as black smoke billows before me. I can’t see Jett, but I barely have any energy to move. To find cover. I’ve been pushed to the limit, pushed almost to my max by each of the most powerful dragons on the planet.

  I’m exhausted, and Jett Darrington knows it.

  The molten dragon barrels through the flames as the last of them dissolve into the sky, using his own attack as cover to charge me.

  I lift my hands again to fire, but he’s too fast—and I’m too exhausted.

  I expect him to smack me with his head, to send me barreling across the field. Maybe he’ll swipe at me with his claws to draw a bit of blood. To mark me.

  It’ll hurt, but I’ll live.

  As I summon my magic to protect myself, his teeth dig into my torso. It’s the ultimate low blow, tearing into a human who can’t bite back. I bite back an agonizing scream as pain rips through me. Blood streams down my body from a half-dozen holes.

  And by the gods, it hurts.

  I’ve never felt pain like this. It’s like my skin is slowly ripping apart, slowly tearing open. My world goes fuzzy. I can’t see. I lift my hands through it all, desperate to counter, desperate to do more than sit in his jaws and let him crush me.

  I fire a bolt of my sizzling magic directly into his mouth.

  He shrieks in misery. With a sudden thrust of his head, the enormous dragon tosses me clear across the field.

  I roll for several feet, grimacing with agony as I slowly come to a stop. Everything in me screams for me to stand. To fight. To end this, to see it through.

  But, for a moment, the pain is just too much.

  “Rory!” Several familiar voices yell my name from somewhere far off. Their voices are distant and almost watery, and I figure I probably have a mild concussion.

  But I don’t care.

  This asshole just pushed me too damn far.

  The ground shakes beneath me as a blurry shadow looms over me once again.

  Briefly, I wonder if Jett is trying to kill me—and if he could truly get away with that, given all these witnesses. It seems so far-fetched, so impractical given how hard he’s fought to kidnap me, but he’s a Darrington. They can get away with anything.

  It takes a moment for my blurry brain to piece together the truth.

  He wants me to forfeit. To give in. To admit defeat, but only to him. To crown him the winner of this little duel.

  But biting his human prey and throwing her across the field is hardly a fair blow, and I figure he broke the rules.

  That means he’s fair game.

  As the thundering ringing in my ear begins to fade, replaced by the furious roars of the dragons around me, I figure I’m not the only one who thinks so.

  Jett Darrington won’t care, though. To him, a win is a win—no matter how it’s acquired.

  “Rory, tap out!” Tucker shouts over the din.

  “You’ve done enough!” Jace adds.

  No, I really haven’t.

  I’m just getting started.

  Jett Darrington roars, his face coming suddenly into focus only about fifty feet away, and I furiously summon my magic. My power hums across my skin, vast and infinite, an electrifying reminder of who I am. Of what I am.

  He’s going to regret ever meeting me.

  As my body ripples with light, I lift my palm and aim straight for Jett’s ugly face.

  And I fire.

  He ducks, and in my fury, I’m almost faster than even him. He barely maneuvers out of the way, leaving everyone behind him to duck as the beam soars over their heads.

  As I force myself to stand, I clench my fists and dig into the last of my willpower. The world around me glows white as I summon every shred of my magic, knowing full well I have to tap into the deepest reserves to pull off what I plan to do next.

  I don’t care.

  I am so done.

  The Darrington Boss snarls, apparently furious that I won’t give up. It’ll be a cold day in hell before I do, and he’d best get used to that.

  I’m ready to end this.

  Without hesitating, I fire several beams of light at his head. His chest. His feet. His wings. One after the other, I drive Jett backward, never giving him a moment of respite. He ducks and dodges them all, slowly making his way toward me as we set the field on fire. Smoke billows into the air from e
very gray patch of ground I hit.

  And still, he stalks closer.

  Even still, he won’t stop.

  He roars, barely twenty feet from me now, and I decide to end this. Once and for all. Drew survived a direct blast of my magic—maybe his father will, too. At this point, I don’t really care either way.

  In my raging bloodlust, I don’t even care if that means killing a Boss.

  It’s time I really test Jett Darrington. Because at this point, he’s practically begging me to break him in half.

  I summon the full force of my magic. Every drop. Every ounce. It reminds me of the powerful surge I felt when Ian tried to break me—just as I did back then, I feel my feet gently lift off the ground. I surrender to the magic within me, to the power in my blood, and my world goes fully white.

  All I can see is Jett barreling toward me, glowing like the open pit of a bubbling volcano.

  He roars, summoning flames in his throat.

  But I don’t need to snarl into the sky to be powerful.

  His flames billow toward me, and I unleash the full force of my magic on him. It bleeds from me in a beam of light twice as tall as I am as my toes hover several feet above the grass.

  In the blazing glory of the moment, a calm stillness sweeps over me. It’s a confident knowing, of sorts, and I feel as though it’s not really mine. As if these are the feelings of something else, something powerful taking over me.

  I know, then, that his dragon-fire doesn’t even stand a chance.

  Not against me.

  I cut through the flame effortlessly, and my aim is perfect. My bolt hits him square in the face.

  He screams with pain. Black smoke billows into the sky. It shrouds us, hiding everything, enveloping us all in the darkness.

  In the aftermath of my blow, the world is eerily silent. A piercing ring in my ear is the only sound for a time—that and the thunder of my pulse.

  As the smoke finally begins to clear, the first thing I see is Jett’s glowing right eye. He glares at me, huffing and exhausted. A radiant white scar covers his left eye, and he can’t even open it. The scar smokes like a bonfire, and even on a dragon like him, it must hurt like hell.

  A stream of black smoke billows from his nose as he growls, but he doesn’t attack me again. It seems like he’s very much done.

  And pissed.

  That makes two of us.

  He played dirty to get me to quit. He pushed me to my limits and tried to break me. The bastard even tried to literally snap my body in half. Yet again, he felt as though he was above the rules.

  And I am so freaking done.

  Done with Jett. Done with Milo. Done with these Bosses who look at me like a plaything.

  Because they’re wrong. I’m anything but a toy—I’m a warrior, and I have the magic of the three dragon gods in my core.

  My blood boils—from the utter rage, from the buzz of battle, from the unrestrained hum of the raw power in my veins.

  Deep within me, my dragon stirs again. She’s as furious as I am, as lost in the anger and rage as me. As I grit my teeth, my body covered in blood and bruises, I feel something overtake me. Something unquestionable, powerful, and undeniable. I feel a surge of energy unlike anything I have ever felt before, and my skin glows with the unrestrained magic in my blood.

  It fills me with fire.

  “I want to make one thing clear,” I shout to the gathered horde of dragons around me. It’s like something has possessed me with the fury of the gods, and I want nothing more than to decimate the world around me. “We can be enemies, if you want. I’ll fight you, tooth and nail, until my dying breath.” The words roll effortlessly from my tongue, and I’m almost surprised to find I mean it. Every word comes from my heart, and every sentence is an honest and bloody promise. “I swear to you all—if you fuck with me, if you so much as threaten anyone I love, I will end you. Everything you’ve built, everything you worship, I will set it on fire. And I will make you watch as it burns to rubble.”

  As the rage flames on within me, several of the Bosses bristle at my threat. Their necks arch in defiance. Their eyes narrow in hatred. They growl, the quiet thunder of their voices thrumming in their chest, and the seven of us stare each other down with our armies at our backs.

  But no one attacks.

  No one challenges me.

  Because they know I’m right—and now, thanks to what I just did to Jett Darrington himself, they know I’ll follow through.

  Diplomacy is about negotiation. You state the terms you desire and allow the other side to discuss alternatives from there.

  But dragons—we’re different.

  Today, I drew the line in the sand. The boundary. The one rule I have for all of them…

  Leave me the hell alone.

  And I dare any of these fools to cross it.

  Chapter Twenty

  What a crazy day.

  I sit on the roof of the villa, surprised at how much I miss my view from the top of the castle back in the dojo. For someone who always jokes that my men are trying to lock me away in a tower, the irony is not lost on me that one of my favorite places in the world is sitting on top of one.

  But hey, the roof is different.

  That’s what I tell myself, anyway.

  Levi curls protectively around me in the growing dusk, surprisingly comfortable to lean against despite the steep slope of the shingles. Though the light is quickly fading, I feel utterly comfortable curled up against him. He supports my weight, locking me safely in place as I stare out over the castle grounds.

  A searing pain shoots through my side, and I wince in agony as my wounds heal. Something about my new magic lets me heal faster than a human or a dragon—no one’s really sure why, of course—but I don’t mind it. I should be better by tomorrow morning, and Reggie’s on-hand nurse kept assuring me that I might not even have a scar.

  Pity, though. I hope I get a big one. Scars are beautiful proof you’re a survivor.

  As Levi and I survey the world around us, all I can think about is how right Drew was—how different life is outside the dojo. How strict. How pretentious. Ruled by duplicity and lies.

  I see, now, why Jace enforces the embassy rules so fiercely. It makes the place feel like a home, rather than another political arena.

  Part of me wants to ditch this meeting and go see Irena. To give these assholes the finger and just leave.

  After today, I feel like I earned the right to do just that.

  As Levi breathes beneath my head, his chest rising and falling in a smooth cadence, I run my fingers lovingly over his scales. He growls happily at my touch, his eyes closed.

  Our connection opens as my skin brushes his scales, and I smile as the flood of his emotions streams through to me. Satisfaction. Peace. Devotion.

  And, always, that surge of protectiveness. Possessiveness.

  Love.

  I press my cheek against his body, the scales soft and soothing, and I sigh with pleasure.

  It’s nice to get a bit of peace.

  I’m tempted to ask him questions about being human, about what I can do to help him turn back, but I don’t want to press him. He’s given me everything he can, and now, it’s up to me to do the rest.

  He inches his head toward me, curling around his body as he presses his nose oh-so-gently against my chest. I grin, grateful for how gentle he’s being with my wounds and aching muscles, but I decide to poke fun all the same. “I’m not a porcelain doll, you know.”

  A few huffing laughs escape him. You’re strong.

  “Darn right I am.” I grin playfully.

  He takes a deep breath and presses his head a little harder against me. Without warning, I feel a sudden tug at my navel. An invitation to join him in his mind.

  Despite the castle grounds brimming with dragons, I let him tug me in. Jace, Drew, and Tucker are watching over us. Besides, after today’s little stunt in the grassy arena, no one is getting within a hundred feet of me tonight.

  T
he darkness swarms me yet again as he pulls me into his mind, and within moments, I’m in his arms. He holds me close, his grip almost desperate. The way he cradles my head, it’s almost like he’s afraid I could fade away to dust at any moment.

  I lift my chin, studying his gorgeous blue eyes and loving the way his dark hair hangs in his face. “What did you want to—”

  Before I can finish, he grabs my jaw and kisses me roughly. A delightful chill snakes through me, as his strong fingers slip toward my neck. He holds me tightly, his kiss filling me with a soothing kind of joy I didn’t know I could ever feel. His hands sink lower, along my shoulders, down my sides, exploring me. Before long, he grabs my waist as he presses me backward. Almost instantly, my back flattens against a wall.

  But most of all, I feel his soul.

  A channel opens, stronger than any I’ve felt before. It’s a floodgate of sorts, and it’s like everything he wants to say, everything he feels so deeply but can’t express—it all pours into me in a rush.

  I love you.

  I would die for you.

  I will do anything to keep you safe.

  To make you happy.

  The words flutter through me, and I’m not sure if they’re mine or his.

  Levi’s mouth explores mine, eager and hungry. His hands sink to my ass, and he lifts me effortlessly into the air.

  I fall backward, and the wall behind me disappears.

  The world shifts around us, and I’m suddenly falling back onto a bed. In his mind, I guess he has free rein to do what he wants—and he apparently wants to be inside of me.

  Levi leans over me, pressing one arm into the mattress for balance as his other hand roams my body. His strong grip chases up my leg, across my thigh, and brushes across my entrance.

  I gasp quietly, grinning at his brazen lust, not entirely sure what’s come over him—but I like it.

  In this raw moment fueled by his passion, he snares me completely. Heart and soul. I can see nothing, think of nothing but Levi. His intense blue gaze hovers over me, his eyes charged with desire and longing.

  “This is what I want to give you.” He pauses, his voice rough and deep as he catches his breath. “I want to show you every possible way your body can feel pleasure. I want to bring you ecstasy again and again.” His smile falls. “Before it’s too late.”