Chapter Two: Ash

My eyes snap open and I jerk awake to yelling. My heart pounds and I start to panic at the sight of the stone surrounding me. "No no no please no," I stammer, bile rising in my throat.

"Ash baby it's okay, you're safe," I hear a familiar voice say. A strong arm curls around me and my anxiety starts to fade. It takes me a moment to realize it is Jaxon's chest beneath my head.

My hands don't stop shaking but my heart starts to slow as he runs his fingers through my hair and whispers softly in my ear. I smile a little when I hear Cassie purring.

"I think I'm okay now," I murmur.

"I'm going to kill him," Jax growls when we hear his brother shout again, just outside the walls. "Here let me up so I can kick his ass."

I groan. "But you're so warm," I murmur, sliding my arms around his waist.

He chuckles. "If I don't go now, he's going to come in here."

"He will not, he knows we're both here he wouldn't just walk in," I scoff.

Jaxon snorts. "My brother has no shame, he will walk in here without a second thought," he says.

"Okay fine," I grumble, letting him go.

He chuckles when I shove my face into the pillow. "Come on Ash they're probably going to want to talk to you too."

I growl. "Fine."

***

"You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm dead serious.” He shrugs.

Jax stares at his brother. "You know nothing about witches. The only magic you can do is fire magic and not even that well," he says.

"It's not like I'm going to be the witch king, just Syrra's personal guard. The dragon prince doesn't exactly have any responsibilities and there isn't a war or anything going on so being a warrior is pretty much pointless. But as her guard, I'll have something to do all day."

More like someone to do all day, I snort.

I watch as Jaxon covers his mouth and stares down at his lap as he tries not to laugh. It takes him a moment to regain his composure but he's still smiling.

"So, you're just going to follow Syrra around all the time, protecting her from potential usurpers?" he asks.

Kaine shrugs. "Yeah pretty much," he replies, glancing at his mate.

"Are you going to live in witch territory then?"

"Yeah, I'll come back to visit every now and then, but you guys don't really need me around,” He shrugs.

"Mom does."

My gaze meets Syrra's and she looks just as uncomfortable as I am with where this conversation seems to be going.

"Mom will be fine―"

"You don't know that! She lost her only daughter and her mate, we're all she has left. You can't just leave!"

Jax please don't do this now, I plead.

"There's nothing I can do to help her, time is the only thing that's going to help," Kaine mutters.

Jaxon clenches his jaw, glancing sideways at me. "Fine whatever, but if you don't come back to visit us I am going to beat the shit out of you," he growls, his eyes flaring.

The scent of fear crosses my nose for an instant, but then it's gone. "I promise," Kaine says.

I clear my throat a little. "So how long are you guys planning on staying here?" I ask.

"I wanted to see the springs before I have to go home again so we'll probably stay for another day or two," Syrra says.

Damn it, I grumble making Jaxon laugh.

"What are you guys doing here?" Kaine asks.

"Honeymoon," Jax says.

Kaine and Syrra's eyes go wide and they share a look. "Oh, well in that case we'll get our stuff and head out now, definitely don't want to interrupt that," Syrra mutters.

I smile in amusement as they both stand hurriedly. "We'll leave you guys alone now," Kaine chuckles, tugging Syrra away.

A few seconds later though Syrra stops and turns back to us. "Oh wait, I forgot to ask you guys how you're doing? The last time two dragons bound their souls was before I was born," she says.

"Uh we're both good," Jax shrugs, glancing at me.

"Can you guys speak in each other's minds?"

We nod. "Yeah how'd you know?"

"It works the same for witches. They can speak in each other's minds and their power is increased," she explains.

"We can also feel each other's pain," I add.

She frowns. "Really?"

Jaxon rolls up the sleeve of his shirt and he pulls out his dagger. I grit my teeth as he flicks it across his wrist. I pull up my own sleeve, wincing at the sharp sting.

Syrra rushes forward and crouches down in front of where we sit. She grabs both of our arms, her eyes widening at the identical wounds. "My gods, I didn't even know this was possible," she breathes.

"Yeah, it's kind of a pain in the ass as far as training goes, only one of us can spar at a time otherwise we get distracted by each other's injuries," I sigh.

She touches the bleeding cuts with fascination. "This could be a strength and a weakness for the two of you."

"How so?"

"Well you will work harder to keep each other safe and you'll know when the other is hurt so that's good but if something happens to one of you, you'll both be in trouble. Someone could easily use this to hurt you guys," she tells us.

"That's a lovely thought," I murmur.

She shrugs. "Sorry. Okay I'm going to go now but you guys need to tell me more when I come back," she grins before jogging over to Kaine.

"Have fun," he calls, throwing his brother a wink.

Jaxon shakes his head with a smile. "I told you, no shame," he mutters making me chuckle.

Kaine takes his mate's hand and they head back to the stone building they spent the night in. I watch as a few minutes later they reappear with backpacks then wave as they make their way out of the springs.

"They make a pretty good match," I comment.

"Yeah I feel bad for them though. I guess that spell Syrra did is super powerful and so they can't sleep together until they're ready to have the child."

I make a face. "I'm glad we don't have that problem, that would suck."

"It really would. I think I'd lose my mind if I had to stay away from you," Jaxon growls.

The corner of my mouth twitches upwards. "Really?"

He nods, leaning forward so that our lips are almost touching. "I love you too much."

"You do?"

He nods and kisses me with a small smirk. I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him harder. He grabs ahold of my hips and pulls me towards him, forcing me onto his lap.

I pull away with a grin. "I love you too Jax," I whisper, my voice breathless.

His eyes flash red for a moment and the growl that escapes his lips makes my dragon stir. His fingers find the hem of my shirt and quickly tug it over my head. The air is cold on my skin, but his body is warm.

He yanks off his own shirt before pulling me impossibly closer. My chest is flush against his and I feel my heart pound as he kisses me again.

I bite his lower lip and he growls playfully. His hands slide down to grip my thighs and I wrap my legs around his waist as he stands.

My fingers make their way into his hair and I tug, smirking at the sound of his groan. He suddenly pulls away and my forehead rests against his as I struggle to catch my breath.

"Ash?"

I nod for him to continue and he smirks. "Hold your breath."

I frown. "What?"

His mischievous grin makes my eyes fly wide in realization. "Jaxon don't you dare―" My words are cut off by my yelp.

I manage to suck in a deep breath just as the pale blue water surrounds us. Jaxon's arms are still locked tight around me, bringing me up to the surface with him.

I frown in annoyance and run a hand through my hair to get it out of my face. "You could have given me a little more of a warning," I grumble.

Jax laughs. "Sorry, you're just too fun to mess with," he teases.

"Shit it's freezing," I hiss as the wind picks up.

He rolls his eyes. "Alright your highness let's get you inside where it's warm."

I climb out of the pool and quickly dry myself off, but it doesn't help much. "Why is it so fucking cold?"

"It's winter."

"Well no shit. I thought you said it stayed warm in the Circle though," I say as I follow Jaxon inside.

"I said the volcanoes make it warmer than everywhere else."

I scowl, sitting down on the edge of the bed in front of the fire. "Well it's not warm enough," I mutter.

"Aw, my baby really doesn't like the cold, does he?" Jax drawls, climbing on the bed behind me.

He pulls me backwards into his lap and slides his arms around me. I lean back into his warm chest with a sigh. "I'm a fire dragon, I'm not supposed to like the cold," I say.

"True."

I close my eyes as he softly presses a kiss onto my neck. "We should just do this all day," he murmurs into my skin.

A small groan escapes my lips as I feel his hands on my bare chest. "Can we just stay here forever?" I breathe.

"I wish, but it looks like we're going to have to leave sooner than we thought," he mutters.

"What are you talking about?"

He kisses my neck again, just under my jaw. "Open your eyes babe," he murmurs.

"What?" I mumble, my breath quickening as he starts sucking on my neck.

He chuckles. "Look outside Ash."

I do as he says with a heavy sigh and my eyes immediately go to the window. White flurries of snow float down from the sky. "Oh, come on!"

Jax chuckles. "Ash it's just a little snow."

"Yeah now maybe. What about in a few weeks when the blizzards start coming?" I grumble. One of his hands suddenly slides into my sweatpants and my breath catches in my throat.

"Think about it this way, the more it snows, the colder it's going to get. And the colder it is, the better an excuse I have to do whatever I can to keep you warm," he growls in my ear and I feel a shiver run down my spine.

"On second thought, bring on the snow."