For the Love of Her Dragon (6 page)

Seemingly
pacified, and the tension level decreasing by the second, everyone took a seat
while the attendants served the drinks and passed around an extravagant
assortment of hors d’oeuvres. Eating and drinking with a plane full of idiots
ranked right up there with having all his teeth pulled without anesthetic, but
it was a means to an end and he would do whatever it took to destroy everyone
that betrayed him. He took comfort in the fact that in just sixteen days the
moon would be full, and as long as things went according to plan, he would have
all the power he needed to deliver the vengeance those fucking dragon assholes
deserved. All he had to do was play the part, and the Universe knew he was
good
at playing his part.

~
~
~
~
~
~
~

There
was absolutely no way she could have prepared herself for a flight to the coast
of an entirely different country on the back of a dragon. When they had reached
the lair, all the Guardsmen had been in the clearing behind Rayne’s home, ready
to transform and head out to stop whatever plan Andrew was cooking up. She had
tried repeatedly, using every spell and magical charm she could think of, to
get another read on Andrew, but the bastard had either charged his Cloaking
amulet or found another way to avoid her detection. The only other thing she
could think of was that he was surrounded by other magical beings and their
magic was essentially spilling onto him, keeping him hidden. She decided that
as soon as they landed, she would do a Detection spell to see if she could
locate any high concentrations of black magic. That way she would be able to
track the people he was with and the guys could catch him before he could hurt
Royce or any of the innocent people the fucking traitor cared nothing about.

Rayne
had told them that no one, not even Carrick, the Head Elder, had been able to
get a response from Royce or his brothers, making them believe that something
or someone was blocking their communication. Thankfully, there was a special
connection between all the dragons that shared a blood bond, fueled by their
dragon magic, that let them know Royce was still alive, not in what condition,
just that he was alive.

She
had watched as the mated Guardsmen kissed their loved ones goodbye unable to
stop the heaviness that settled in and around her heart. That was how she had
always imagined a mate would be…loving and caring and totally devoted. Deciding
her pity party should wait until everyone was safe and she was off somewhere by
herself, preferably at least a hundred miles from all things dragon, she had
bent down to give the waiting Sydney a kiss on the head. There was just
something about the little blonde-haired beauty that brightened even the
darkest moments. After everyone had been hugged, kissed, and wished a safe
trip, Lance asked if she was hitching a ride with him or taking her own broom.
Everyone laughed and some of the sadness fell away from the group. Lance had a
way of making everyone laugh, even when faced with eminent danger.

The
men had walked about a hundred yards farther into the clearing, and from one
moment to the next, the men she knew became the dragons she had imagined. Two
shimmering silver and black, one striking red, one glimmering gold, and a
brilliant white – all majestic, all fierce, all exuding more power and magic
than she had ever experienced, and all ready to do whatever it took to protect
one of their own.

The
strange feeling that only came when the Guard were using their mind speak slid
through her mind. A hand on her shoulder made her jump just before Sam said,
“Lance is ready.” And then the beautiful doctor did something completely
surprising; she hugged Kyra. A real hug that without words let her know that
she was truly accepted into their family…that she mattered. It took all her
control not to let the tears she felt welling up fall. As soon as Sam let go,
Kyra turned away and all but ran towards the dragons. Nothing had ever touched
her like that one simple gesture.

Their
flight had been amazing and her enhanced night vision had definitely come in
handy. Flying over the open water in the middle of night had been amazing.
She’d seen whales, dolphins, and all kinds of sea creatures she’d only ever
seen in books and movies. She felt like a little kid on her first grade field
trip, not that she had ever been on a field trip or even to a school, but she
had heard about them. There was no way she could have stopped the giggles that
bubbled over even though she knew the Guardsmen could hear. It might have been
the only chance she would ever get to ride a dragon and she was damn sure going
to make the most of it.

On
the ground and making their way through an incredibly dense forest towards the
lair of the Blue Thunder Clan, she wondered how she was going to avoid the
giant of a man that had flown halfway around the world to avoid her. No matter
what Devon had said, she knew she was the reason he’d left. Just to confirm
that fact, there were times she would get a glimpse of what he was feeling or
thinking. She quickly learned that the difference between what he felt towards
her when he was awake and what he felt when was sleeping or had let his guard
down was as different as night and day. Not that she had a clue what to do
about it.

When
he was awake, he pushed all thoughts of her as far from his consciousness as
possible, and when that wasn’t possible, she felt how angry and frustrated he
became. It was like he was being forced to listen to techno music after an
all-night bender…
shitty
. But when he was asleep, she felt affection,
attraction, the desire to get to know her better, and the need to protect her
at all costs. She had spent hour after hour wondering what it all meant and had
even contemplated talking to Siobhan, Devon’s mom and their clan’s Elder
Healer, about it. No matter how many times Kyra came into contact with the
older woman, she was impressed with her compassion and the acceptance she felt
from her, however, Kyra had never gotten around to it and she was out of time.
In the next hour or so she would be face to face with the man. If he had not
been in danger, there was no way she would be anywhere around him. He had made
his feelings known and there was no way she was forcing herself on him. It was
a ‘take care of business and get the hell out’ situation.

Before
she could sink any farther into her self-examination, a strange feeling fell
over her. She felt covered with a sick slimy feeling that literally tried to
invade her pores. It was as if she walked through motor oil flowing from a
waterfall. Each step she took made it harder to breathe. Her feet felt like
they were tied to bricks. Kyra stumbled and reached forward, using Aaron’s back
for support. The Guardsman spun around with a half-smile, obviously ready to
tease, but his expression immediately changed when he saw her struggle to
stand.

“Kyra,”
he reached out to keep her from falling forward. “What the…”

She
couldn’t make out what came next and she fell to the ground, tearing the backpack
from her shoulder. Aaron knelt down in front of her, still obviously shouting,
trying to get an answer to what was happening, but she was unable to make out
any of his words. In her peripheral vision, she could see the others, spread
out in a circle, protecting her from whatever seemed to be coming just for her.
She searched her bag for the protection against the onslaught of the black
magic that she was coming to recognize. It had a signature all its own, one of
betrayal, hate, and retribution.

Finally,
at the bottom of her bag, her fingers touched the cool silver disc she sought.
Snatching it out, she let her bag fall to the side and shoved her head through
the leather strap attached to the powerful Protection amulet she always made
sure was charged and close at hand.

The
instant weight of the ancient pendant touched the center of her chest the
oppressive weight began to lift. She counted to ten and was finally able to
draw her first full, clean breath. When her vision cleared, Aaron was kneeling
in front of her, hands on her shoulders, gripping just shy of the point of pain
and repeating her name over and over.

She
put one hand on his and tried to smile, “I’m okay.” Her voice sounded scratchy
even to her ears, confirming that she had been sucking air like a fish out of
water during her battle with the dark magic.

She
swallowed and continued to reassure her protector and the others she knew were
still standing guard, “Seriously, I’m okay, but Andrew is close and he’s not
alone. He’s attempting to work a serious Barrier spell. I must have walked
right through the perimeter he set. One second I was breathing the beautiful
fresh scent of the sea and the next I felt like I was drowning in motor oil.”

The
Guardsmen turned to face her and listened intently to the information she had
about the traitor. Aaron stood and the spot he vacated was filled with the
Dragon Guard Commander, Rayne. He looked at her intently with a look of concern
mixed with anger in his deep violet eyes. When he spoke it was the voice of a
commander, not the voice of
Kyndel’s
caring mate or
Jay’s loving father that she was used to. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah,
I’m sure.” She smiled her best ‘it’ll be okay’ smile and made sure it reached
her eyes. “But I’m getting damn tired of this son of a bitch sneaking up on me
and knocking me on my ass. I have my pride
ya
’ know?”

The
Commander smiled and the tension level all around her dropped a notch. Before
anyone could interrupt, she continued, “He’s not far, no more than twenty miles
away, and he’s not alone.” She closed her eyes and imagined the face of the
traitor, the man she had believed needed her help all those months ago but only
gave her what he seemed to give everyone…
betrayal
.

“There
are at least eight of them using magic, maybe others. I can’t read anyone
non-magical while they’re working the spell. They’re using blood magic, but it
doesn’t feel like they performed the sacrifice here.”

She
grew silent as she realized they were merely warming up. Her eyes opened of
their own volition and she saw five fierce warriors hanging on her every word.
Damn!
No pressure
, she thought to herself.

“He’s
only working a Barrier spell. It’ll take most of the night to complete and it’s
meant to seal anything that draws breath within its confines. We need to find
Royce and get everyone out from behind the barrier that little piece of shit is
building.”

As
she stood up, she was struck with a thought, “Hey! Don’t any of you big lugs
feel the effects of the spell…
at all
?” She felt her eyes grow wide but couldn’t
help her surprise as they all shook their heads.

“Well,
damn
I knew you guys were strong and dragon magic was nothing to mess
with but…well…” She rubbed her hands down her face, still in awe of the vast
amount of power surrounding her. “Just
damn
…that’s all I got.”

Laughter
rang through the forest as she gathered up her backpack and secured it on her
shoulder. Devon handed her a bottle of water, a concerned look still haunting
his grey eyes. “You sure you’re okay? That’s the second time in just a few
hours you’ve taken a fall.”

Kyra
swatted his shoulder and teased, “Way to make a girl feel special, Dev.”

At
least he had the decency to look embarrassed, because Aaron and Lance chose
that moment to pick on her like the big brothers she had always wished for.
“Yeah,
little witch
,” Lance joked, using the nickname he knew irritated
her the most. “Your ass has been hitting the ground a lot lately.”

“I
hear you’ve taken to fainting, ‘Sarcastic Little Witch of the South’. All this raw
power makes you swoon, huh?” Aaron teased and she wondered when Lance had found
the time to tell them all about her new ‘title’.

“Swoon
my ass, dragon man,” she laughed.

Before
they could continue their banter, Rayne spoke, “Alright, there’ll be time for
this shit later. Right now we need to get to Royce and
Rian
and see what we can do about evacuating the area.” He pointed to Aidan, who had
been suspiciously silent during the whole incident, “’A’, you take the lead.”
He looked from man to man, “Lance to Kyra’s right, Devon to her left, Aaron and
I will take the rear. Let’s get moving.”

She
felt the weight of the Commander’s stare right before he spoke, “Kyra, let me
know if you feel
anything
unusual. I want no more sneak attacks and I
want Andrew’s head on a pike,” he finished on a growl with a look of utter
contempt and untold anger in his eyes.

“Absolutely,”
was all she could get out before he disappeared behind her and they started to
move
forward.

That
is one pissed off dragon
, was all she thought as they
marched towards Royce, hoping they could stop whatever the traitor had planned.

Exactly
one hour later, she felt the familiar sensation associated with the mind speak
of the Dragon Guard. Curious by nature, it always bothered her when she knew
they were talking but couldn’t hear it. She smiled when she remembered that her
Auntie Della had told her how dragon mates shared special abilities and that
one day she would share everything with hers. Her smile fell as she realized
that was not what the future held for her. If she was not mistaken, and she was
sure she wasn’t, her mate would rather eat nails than share anything with her.
Stop
your fucking whining, Kyra. Now is not the time
, she thought to herself.