On that grim note, the doorbell rang. I jolted at the unexpected sound. My chuckle was a little strained. I think the jolt was the least of the available options and I was pretty proud of myself for being so restrained. It wasn't every day I received the news: Hey, kill your psychotic, incestuous, rapist uncle or unleash a living hell on Earth. But hey, no pressure or anything.I shook off the negative voice inside me. I could do this. I snorted mentally. I would do this. I had to. Not just for me. But for my men. Drace and Finn and their thunder. For Ari. For my mom. I had to do this and I had to win. By any means possible. Grumpy cleared his throat. "Um, cheeks, clothes. Now."I looked down. Sighed. My magical clothes had disappeared again and I had no idea when."Thank the bloody gods," Finn whispered as I walked by. I hunched my shoulders. Magical clothes weren't quite second nature yet, spank me. Jeez, it wasn't like I was trying to flash Finn and Drace. I sighed.
I looked at Drace. "Are we good to go with Castleworth?" I still couldn't believe the man was a dragon shifter. His business skills were legendary. They were taught in my MBA classes. He was an example in my ethics seminars of professional conduct and sound judgment. Drace smiled. "Yeah, he's coming. He should be here by nightfall if he can travel with the setting sun."I tried to keep the smile off my face. This was not Christmas, and I was a grown ass man. Getting to meet one of my professional heroes should not make me want to jump up and down like a little kid. Or Stretch when she finally took her clothes off at the end of the day. "Wonderful. Then let's gather what we will need for training," Ari said. "I have not been able to locate a garden here. Gardens are necessary for magic."I shook my head. "We were going to get one put together for Hollyn, but we've been a bit busy. What do you need?"Ari's smile was a bit toothy. "I'll make you a list. I'll bring some clippin
I could feel them. As if each of my guys was rubbing his power against my mind and heart, I struggled to pay attention to Ari. I nodded as I watched her speak, but everything inside me was tucked up close next to my men. "Granddaughter, if you are not going to pay attention, will you at least stop with the moony sighs?" She sighed heavily. "You're very distracting."I felt my cheeks go red. "Sorry, Ari." I turned to the living room. Saw them all grouped together like old friends. Once again, I was the one singled out. Left on the outside yearning to be included. Ari's hand covered my own. "You are not alone, garinion. You have bonded, you have mated. You create the base of your inner circle. They are simply out of arm's reach. Simply call out and they will come to you."I looked at her. Her pure blue eyes watched me steadily. She nodded. "Star Mistresses are always set apart. Had you grown up anywhere but that wretched Valley, you would know your worth. Know that you are w
I wrinkled my nose, coughed around the burn in my throat. "What is this? Fire water?" I clunked the glass back down on the slightly sticky table. I shook my head. "How the heck do people drink this? Why do they drink it?"Drace rocked to my side. She'd downed at least three of the little glasses full of pale amber liquid before I'd even taken my seat fully. "Cuz they like the effects, not the taste, corcra." Her shoulder bumped into mine as her fiery breath grazed my cheek. Ari smiled as she sipped from a bigger glass. The beautiful crimson liquid in it was a little mesmerizing as it dipped and flowed under the low lights in the bar. "Drace, why do you allow Finn to get under your skin?"Drace jerked upright as she tossed back another tiny drink. She narrowed her eyes at my grandmother. "Under my skin? The bastard owns my heart, don't think he doesn't.""He's your mate?" I asked. She shook her head. "No. He's promised to another, the fecking reptile. But I'll not be the tal
I glared at the clock again. How? How has it only been two hours? It felt like a full freaking year has gone by with Hols gone. Finn slapped the back of my head. "Focus." I glared at him. "On your dragon, not your mate," he said drolly. I flipped him off. "Easy for you to fucking say."He snorted. "You've no idea what you're talking about, boyo, so best be careful of the next words from your mouth."My eyebrows winged up. "What does that mean?"He shook his blonde head, sighed. Scrubbed a hand down his face. "It doesn't matter. Not unless your girl is a miracle worker." His head tipped to the side. "Or Ari. I guess if anyone could talk sense into her, it would be Ari." He shook his head. "Doesn't matter. What matters right now is getting familiar enough with your dragon that you can protect your mate and our Star Mistress. So get your head out of her -"I glared at him. He smirked. "Pants, you perv. And focus on your training."The floor trembled under our feet
I forced the last bite of the steak between my lips. I figured my stomach could make room for it somewhere, because I certainly wasn't leaving it on the plate. I moaned as the perfectly seared and seasoned beef's flavor exploded on my tongue. "Mm, so good," I sighed as my eyelids fluttered closed again. It was like I'd never eaten anything this delicious in my life. I hadn't. That was the problem. I was going to make the guys buy me steak everyday if it tasted this good. I opened my eyes as I swallowed. Ari and Drace were just as lost in their own meals. I'm pretty sure Ari was swaying side to side slightly as her face showed her glorious rapture. Apparently, garlic parmesan chicken breasts were just as tasty as my steak had been. Drace forked up the last bit of her baked potato. Something else I'd never had before. We'd eaten potatoes in the Village, but they were either sliced up and fried in a vat of animal fat or boiled. I was not a fan of boiled potatoes. But these. Th
I felt my dragon pushing at my skin. Only the fact that we were out in public kept me from losing control and shifting. Cheeks, answer me, I demanded.Silence. Cold, brain-numbing silence was my answer. We bolted around the last corner as the light show ended. How thousands of people weren't standing around with their cell phones pointed at the alley, I didn't know. And right now, I didn't really care. I screeched to a halt. Cheeks wasn't there. Ari and Drace were holding each other up, tears running down their faces as wrenching loss infused the air like a full face of pepper spray. I reached out for her with my mind. Cheeks. Answer me, dammit.I waited for what felt like ten years. Stillness, an open void where her voice should have been. Soul rending stillness. "What happened? Where the hell is Hollyn?" Tove asked, his voice hard and piercing. Ari and Drace jolted. Turned towards us. That these two independently powerful women were essentially quaking had my drago
Agony ate at my brain. As if every single nerve in my body was singed, my body couldn't figure out which pain to listen to first. Even my eyelashes hurt. How do eyelashes hurt?Oh. Right. Get sucked through a magical vacuum thingy attached to a human stain and pulled through dimensional rifts. Or whatever the heck had happened. A familiar sigh sounded. "Hollyn, I know you're awake. Stop moaning and groaning," Lucinda, head bitch priestess said. I shuddered. Felt my soul crumple inside me. I was back. In the middle of my nightmare that never allowed escape. The Village. Easing my eyes open, I saw that I was back within the four walls that had been my physical cage for so many years. The only place in the room long enough for me to stretch out fully was laying at a diagonal from corner to corner. No windows. But the leaky roof did provide some measure of light and breeze. And rain when the gods blessed us with it. My grandmother's voice rang through my mind again. Do not li