For the Love of Her Dragon (23 page)

The
traitor wore no robes and had a sword strapped to his back and a dagger shoved
in the side of his belt. She was sure it was a show of strength and wanted to
laugh at his arrogance. A spell traveled a damn sight faster than a sword could
cut, but she was grateful that he believed he was protected. False
vibrado
would help bring the little shithead to his knees.

When
the chalk circle was finished and the two had returned to their places, Andrew
began to speak, but not the words that would close the circle. Instead he
droned on and on about all they would achieve with their ritual and their goals
for the future. Kyra could feel the hate and rage pouring off Aaron and
wondered if he could feel hers. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Andrew
asked the wizards to join hands.

Before
the traitor spoke the third word of his ritual, Kyra had begun her Containment
Spell. When she was finished, she felt the sweat dot her upper lip and roll
down her spine. Aaron leaned in and whispered next to ear, “Everyone is ready
when you are. You say when and we all walk out together.”

Kyra
nodded, absently listening to the words of the ancient ritual Andrew and the
Master Wizard standing next to him were attempting to work. The constant
chanting of the other wizards lent reverence to the proceeding, and would have
been spiritual had they not been tainting purity with evil and then planning to
use it to kill. Kyra’s heart sank when she recognized the old Latin word for blood…
sanguis
.
To add insult to injury, she was
sure the full translation of what the bastard traitor had said was Blood of the
Unknowing. These filthy assholes had killed an untold number of innocent people
just for their blood. It turned Kyra’s stomach and strengthened her resolve to
kick the ass of every single piece of shit standing in that circle, beginning
with the biggest dick of them all…Andrew.

She
felt the rite coming to an end and prepared herself for what was to come. As
soon as Andrew spoke the closing words, he and his followers would be expecting
a flow of magic from the moon and mountain directly into their souls. When that
did not happen, Kyra had to be right there with her vessel and her spell. One
final prayer to the Goddess and a happy thought to the spot in the center of
her heart where she felt Royce the most, and she nodded to Aaron. She felt him
speak to the Dragon Guard and thought,
It’s now or never Kyra girl. Time to
kick traitor ass Earth witch-style.

~
~
~
~
~
~
~

Aaron’s
voice rang loud and clear in Royce’s head, “Thirty seconds.” He spent every one
of those seconds pouring confidence, strength, and love through their bond, and
would have yelled his joy to the Heavens when he felt her thinking of him. It
was obvious she had purposely focused on their connection even though he was
sure that she still had no clue what it was.

Aaron’s
command of “Now,” pushed all other thoughts to the back of his mind. The
traitor was less than fifty yards away and it was time to put the little fucker
away.

Using
their enhanced speed, the Dragon Guard surrounded the circle where Andrew was
standing as leader. Royce would have laughed out loud at the assorted looks of
surprise and fear on the wizards faces had it not been that he and all his
brethren wanted to rip their heads off and feed the bodies to the scavengers.

He
located Kyra where Aaron had placed her between him and his twin, with
Rian
at her back. It was comforting that she was so well
protected, but he would have felt so much better if he had been there himself.
Kyra immediately began her spell while the guard stood at the ready, swords
drawn. Andrew turned to face her, along with the gaunt man standing next to
him, and began speaking so quickly he could barely make out the words. From the
bit of Latin he remembered, they were trying to stop the words she was
speaking. Their followers, however, seemed to be stuck in the original spell.
They all stood, holding hands, swaying and repeating the chant Andrew had
instructed them to say, completely unaware of the turmoil brewing all around
them.

Royce
watched closely as Kyra held her ground. His heart and his dragon pushed him to
go to her as her hands shook and her voice quivered, so when Andrew drew the
katana from his scabbard and the master drew a pistol, it was all he could do
not to call forth his fire. The traitor advanced on Aidan, shouting how he
would finally take his head, while the wizard walked to the center of the
ritual circle, and shouted, “EXSOMNIS!”

The
wizards in the circle snapped to attention and as one unit, did a one eighty,
pulled swords and daggers from under their robes, and moved towards the
Guardsmen. Always ready for a battle, the dragon warriors ran headlong towards
the sorcerers, unfazed by the four to one odds. Royce watched Aaron and
Rian
continue to protect Kyra while Aidan locked blades
with the little brother he had thought lost so many years ago, but truly wanted
dead and buried for good this time.

With
his enhanced vision, Royce could see what looked like thick gray smoke coming
from the a blackened spot on the ground, close to what would have been the
center of the dark wizards circle, and flow into the vessel that Kyra was
holding. The longer it flowed, the more her arms quaked and the vase shook. He
remembered she had told him it was made of silver and iron and that iron was
harmful to witches, explaining why she was wearing heavy black leather gloves,
making holding onto the vessel even more difficult.

Royce
struck down every wizard in his path in his race to get to Kyra. His dragon
pushed with all his force against the confines of Royce’s mind and body with
the need to protect their mate. So involved in fighting a particularly skilled
sorcerer while watching Kyra, he was hit at the base of his skull by what he recognized
as the handle of a sword. His knees immediately hit the ground at the same time
he heard Kyra scream his name. Thankfully, Rory was quicker than any of their
enemies and was there in the blink of an eye to decapitate two wizards with one
strike.

Nodding
to Kyra that he was okay, Royce and his younger brother continued to massacre
the opposition. Only Kyra’s voice raised in pain stilled his blade. When his
eyes found her, she was leaning with her back against
Rian
,
tears streaming down her face. Aaron was off to the side fighting a group of
magicians, while the Master Wizard was descending upon his mate, chanting ugly
Latin words in a low guttural tone. It was then that he saw magical sigils
forged from silver hanging off the hood of his robe. Two of the symbols he
recognized from his youth, and knew they were used to nullify a personal
attack.
Ilsa
had always made sure that he and his
brothers knew basic symbols of protection in case they were ever attacked, and
thank the Heavens he knew those. Unfortunately, the most experienced
practitioner was blocking whatever spell Kyra had worked that was supposed to
keep him from using magic against her. The rite he was throwing at her,
combined with the energy used to work the Siphoning Spell, was causing his mate
serious pain while she tried to finish what she had started.

“What
the fuck,
Ri
? Make her stop! It’s hurting her!”
Royce shouted directly into his brother’s mind.

“I
tried! But your mate is tougher than nails, she won’t stop!”
Royce could never remember a time he had ever heard his brother so panicked and
that only served to make him crazy with worry
.

“Pick
her up! Get her the hell outta here!”

“Don’t
you think I tried? But she just dug her heels in and threatened to hurt
my…manhood
.”
Rian
answered and Royce
could hear his embarrassment at being bested by, as
Rian
called her, ‘the little witch’.

The
battle raged on around him, while he took out every opponent that dared
challenge him, all in the effort to get to Kyra and get her to safety. Their
eyes met and he shouted for her to leave, but she simply shook her head and
looked away. The need to protect his mate was beginning to overtake all common
sense. He was ready to call forth his beast and burn them to the ground when a
beam, resembling starlight, began to shine on Kyra.

He
followed the ribbon of light to the outstretched palms of a tall, full-figured
woman with long gray hair flowing around her face, accentuating her glowing
blue eyes. The light seemed to fortify Kyra as the woman slowly walked towards
her. His mate mouthed the word, ‘Auntie’ and new hope surged throughout every
Guardsman, but none so much as Royce. They all fought with renewed vigor,
striking down the remaining wizards that had not run in fear.

Royce
was within a few steps of Kyra when the clash of blades and the sounds of
bitter insults reached his ears. Looking to his left, he saw Aidan and Andrew
still engaged in a battle to the death with Andrew, who was hurling insults and
yelling every vile thing imaginable. Aidan, ever the honorable man, was
fighting with the utmost skill and enduring all his brother’s taunts in an
effort to capture the traitor instead of killing him.

Andrew
aimed a violent thrust at Aidan’s heart, but the seasoned warrior stepped to
the side just in time. The momentum propelled Andrew over the side of the
mountain. Every Guardsman that was not fighting ran to the edge of the
mountain, only to see the traitor being carried off by several of his
followers. A cry of sheer horror sounded behind the men watching their greatest
enemy get away. They all turned, swords at the ready, to witness the older
witch driving a bright green light into the Master Wizard. He was on his knees,
attempting to fight the assault the older, obviously more experienced sorceress
was piling upon him.

The
elder witch took a half step back and the failing Master got in an
exceptionally strong burst of magic, but Kyra was right there to help out and
within minutes the dark wizard was laying on the ground, unconscious. Both
witches stepped back as Kellan and
Brannoc
stepped
in, grabbed the wizard by the arms, and began dragging him away. The Master
Wizard sprung to life and pointed his dagger at Kellan’s heart. Always quick to
react,
Brannoc
ran the assailant through with his
broadsword. The dead wizard dropped to the ground, just another casualty in
Andrew’s bid for vengeance.

Kyra
completed the siphoning of dark magic, spoke the spell that would seal it while
applying the wax if the ceremonial candle. She finished just as Royce ran to her
side, grabbing her and lifting her until their lips met. One hard and fast
kiss, with a promise of so much more, and he was being introduced to his mate’s
Auntie Della. The woman, he found out on the hike back to Sam’s cottage, was
responsible for the strong vibrant woman that he looked forward to spending the
rest of his life loving. The longer the older woman spoke, the more Royce could
see the resemblance between Kyra and her aunt. Mannerisms, facial expressions,
and an inner belief in everything that was right and good with the world, were
just the most obvious of the similarities.

Aaron
and
Rian
carried the vessel containing the dark magic
back to the house. Once there, it was loaded into a silver lined lead box with
a spelled lock, awaiting transport to the
werepanthers
.
Apparently, Max knew of a witch doctor in the rain forest that could dispose of
the tainted magic without harm to anyone.

The
battle had been a victory even if Andrew had gotten away. They had kept him
from getting the dark magic, thinned his ranks by at least forty dark arts
practitioners, and only suffered minor wounds themselves that were already
healing. Kyra, Della, Royce, and all the Dragon Guard crowded into the small
house and partied until the wee hours of the night. When Kyra tugged on his arm
and yawned, he picked her up and yelled good night to all that were listening
as he took his mate upstairs.

He
felt her head fall against his shoulder, heard her breathing slow, and knew she
had already fallen asleep. As they entered the bedroom, he used his foot to
softly kick the door closed behind them. After pulling back the covers, he
gently laid Kyra on her side, thankful she had already showered and changed,
because nothing would make him wake her, especially when she looked like his
very own angel peacefully dreaming. He stood staring just a moment longer, and
then stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed beside his amazing mate.
When Kyra snuggled against him and breathed a sigh of relief against his chest,
he looked to the ceiling and whispered, “You were so right, Mom, she is worth
everything
.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

It had been the best
night’s sleep he’d ever had and all he could think about was getting Kyra back
into his arms. Royce had felt his reluctant mate kiss him on the cheek and then
get out of bed a few hours earlier, whispering for him to rest as long as he
liked, that she was going to see her aunt. The ringing of his cell phone woke
him with a start, and when he looked at the screen he frowned. “What the
hell
,
Rory? You couldn’t just mind speak? I hate waking up to a ringing phone,” he
grumbled while his younger brother just laughed.

“First
of all, I tried to mind speak to you for about an hour, and then
Rian
tried, and even Devon, but all we got back was static,
also known as snoring.” Rory howled with laughter and Royce contemplated
hanging up, but before he could decide, his brother began again, “Anyway, I
finally gave up and called. And secondly, it is damn near ten o’clock. And you
are late! Rayne and
Rian
want to have a debriefing
since the traitor got away. So make yourself beautiful and get your ass out to
the lake.”

Rory
hung up before Royce could tell him to
stick it
. Jumping out of bed, he
threw on his jeans and a clean t-shirt, grabbed his boots and socks, and headed
downstairs as quickly as he could. Hearing Kyra’s voice coming from the kitchen
made him smile. She was all he would ever need. All he had to do was convince
her that he would
never, ever
do anything to hurt her again. His mate’s
Aunt Della was the first to speak, “You look well rested and in a hurry this
morning, my boy.”

He
chuckled at her use of ‘my boy’. It had been years since anyone had called him
anything but ‘old man’ or ‘gramps’. He knew witches aged as slowly as they did
and wondered how old Kyra’s aunt actually was, but would never ask a lady her
age. “I did sleep well.” He looked towards Kyra, and just the glimpse of her
violet eyes from under her full dark lashes made his pulse race and the tiny
grin on her very kissable lips made his heart soar. His mate was a tough witch
that took shit from no one and he loved that about her, but he also adored that
she had a sweet, sensitive side, reserved just for him.

Remembering
they were not alone, he turned again to Della and asked, “And did you sleep
well?”

She
nodded before speaking, “I did, thank you. And I have enjoyed spending time
with my favorite niece.”

“Auntie,
I’m your only niece.” Kyra shook her head and laughed.

“That
makes no difference, you are
still
my favorite and don’t you give me any
back talk, I can still whoop your butt.”

The
kitchen erupted in laughter just as Kellan walked in the back door. “Hey,
nobody invited me to the party,” he joked, causing them all to laugh even harder.

As
the fun died down, Kellan cleared his throat and began to speak, “I’m sorry to
take you away from the fun, but the vein in Rayne’s head is about to pop and
Rory sent me to get you.”

Not
wanting to spend one second away from Kyra, but knowing it was unavoidable,
Royce nodded. He turned to Kyra and pulled her to him. “I won’t be gone long
and then we can head back to the lair and show your aunt around… sound good?”

“Sounds
awesome,” she replied, but he could see that something else was on her mind.

He
leaned down until they were eye-to-eye and asked, “
Everything
okay,
mo
ghra
’
?”

She
nodded and said, “Perfect.” But he could see that something was still bothering
her. He debated skipping the meeting and staying to find out what was on her
mind until Rayne’s voice sounded in his head,
“You have ninety seconds…”
His
Commander’s voice left no room for argument. He gave Kyra a quick kiss and ran
out the door with Kellan in tow, promising himself he would find out what had
put that faraway look in his mate’s beautiful violet eyes.

Four
hours! Four fucking hours later, and if he had to listen to one more person
detail the part they played in the battle the night before, he was going to
pull every last red hair from his head. The gathering had begun just as he had expected.
Rayne spoke as the Commander in charge of the mission and let them know that
werepanthers
with magical abilities were already being
dispatched to gather Intel. They all knew that Andrew had survived his fall but
were holding out hope that maybe he had succumbed to his injuries, or was
injured bad enough that they would be able to swoop in and capture him. They
knew they had delivered a serious blow to his followers, killing approximately
forty and hopefully leaving him vulnerable, but the best had been the
destruction of the Master Wizard.

Royce
felt pride that Kyra and her aunt had been able to defeat the dark
practitioner. When they had first gotten back to the cottage after the fight,
he could sense Kyra’s worry that he would turn on her again. After all, he had
all but called her a murderer-in-waiting and swore he would never have anything
to do with her less than two weeks ago, but everything had changed, and that
situation had definitely been really screwed up. On the mountain, she had defended
herself and all the Dragon Guard against a powerfully evil wizard, and she had
defeated him. He could not have been prouder and he had told her so in front of
his brethren.

Rian’s
voice brought him back to reality, acting as the Head Elder of the allied clan
and added his congratulations along with the promise that he and Kellan’s Force
would always be allies of the Golden Fire Clan and the
MacLendon
Force. From there, everyone had to put their two cents worth in, while all
Royce wanted to do was get back to Kyra. Finally, it felt like it was wrapping
up and he tapped into his and Kyra’s mating bond. The anxiety and frustration
he felt had him standing up and waving his goodbye to the leaders of the group.

He
made it to the back door of the cottage in record time, even for a dragon
shifter, using his enhanced speed. The conversation between Kyra and her aunt
stopped as soon as he opened the door and the look on his mate’s face said it
all…she was worried and it had something to do with him. Unsure what to do as
both women looked first at him and then each other, he opted for the wait and
see approach. Trying to play it cool when he felt anything but, he asked, “So
are you ladies ready to head back to the lair?”

“Auntie
Della is
gonna
head back home. She has lots to do and
feels like she has been gone long enough.” He could feel the tension in her
words and knew there was more to it than she was saying. A quick sidelong
glance from Kyra to her aunt told him he was right, but again he decided to
wait and see if she would tell him what was happening. He longed for her to
trust him, to confide in him, and knew he would do whatever it took and wait as
long as she needed to have that.

“I’m
sorry you can’t join us. Can I have one of the guys give you a ride?”

“No,
dear, I have my own way.” Della stood and hugged Kyra, placing a kiss on the
top of her head, before turning towards Royce. “Take care of my niece. She is
everything to me.”

He
nodded, “And to me. I won’t let anything happen to her. I promise.”

Della
stood still, staring into his eyes for a few heartbeats longer than normal.
When it was obvious she’d seen what she was looking for, she smiled, nodded,
and said goodbye. Royce stood, watching Kyra try to look everywhere but at him,
and he had no clue what to do. He wanted her to tell him what was going on,
wanted to be able to help her with whatever was bothering her, but knew that if
he pushed her she would completely shut him out, and that was something he
could not let happen. Thinking that talking was better than just standing like
a stump he asked, “You hungry?”

Royce
watched as Kyra visibly relaxed and he immediately felt better. When she
answered, her voice sounded a little less strained than it had when she had
spoken a few minutes earlier. “Yeah, actually I am. I hadn’t realized how
hungry until you just mentioned it.”

“Great,
whatcha
hungry for?”

“A
burger and fries sounds awesome.” She stopped, her eyes got wide, and she
stammered, “I mean is that…
ummm
…do you want…or do you
like…oh hell! Do burgers and fries sound good to you?”

Unable
to keep a straight face, he chuckled his answer, “Absolutely one of my favorite
foods.” He had seen that Kyra was nervous, but then was overjoyed when she
regained her spunk and attitude. They were as much a part of whom and what Kyra
was as her violent eyes and Earth magic, and that was the woman he was growing
to love more every minute of every day. “There is a diner not far from here
that makes homemade ice cream and the best milkshakes I’ve ever had. Burgers
are pretty great too,” he said and was delighted when her eyes lit up.

Kyra
jumped up and ran for the stairs, hollering over her shoulder, “Let me change
my jeans and grab my boots and I’ll be ready to go.”

A
couple of hours with Kyra, watching her expression when she was thinking or
happy, or trying to come up with a snappy comeback, would go down in history as
one of the best times of Royce’s life. She made fun of him when he curled up
his nose as she dipped her fries in mayonnaise, and called him a chicken when
he said there was no way he was putting a mayo soaked fry in his mouth. But the
look that would go into the special place he had already built in his mind, the
one where he kept every beautiful image of Kyra that he never wanted to forget,
was the look she had when she had taken a drink of her fresh peach milkshake.
Her eyes had gotten almost as big as saucers and twinkled like they had stars
in them, while the straw had slipped from her lips as they vibrated ever so
slightly when she hummed, “
mmmmmmm
.” It was a look of
pure bliss, and one he wanted to see over and over…. preferably when she was
naked.

The
drive back to Sam’s home was filled with silly stories of her childhood and her
Auntie Della. A couple of times Royce almost asked about Kyra’s mother, but
knew from his glimpse of their relationship and her obvious avoidance of the
subject, that for the time being, it was better left alone. As they turned down
the gravel road leading back to Sam’s old house, she said, “Enough about me,
what about your childhood? I mean besides what I already know.”

She
gasped and he knew it was because she had inadvertently alluded to his loss. He
reached across the seat and grabbed her hand, “Hey, look at me.”

He
waited as she slowly turned his way. If he hadn’t been driving he would have
pulled her into his lap so that she could feel the beat of his heart and truth
of his words, but as it was, he used the connection of their hands and the
growing strength of their bond to let her know that everything he was saying was
the absolute truth. “It’s okay. That’s all in the past and I’ll tell you
anything you want to know. Unfortunately, we have company.”

He
nodded out the windshield and watched as her gaze followed his. She groaned at
the sight of all the Guardsmen, not a hundred feet in front of them, loading up
in preparation to head home, causing him to grin. He jumped out of the car and
ran around to help her out just before Aaron yelled, “I smell burgers and fries
from Millie’s and I bet you didn’t even bring me a doggie bag.”

“Isn’t
that a dragon bag?” she giggled under her breath, and Royce could tell that it
was intended for his ears only. As all the Guardsmen laughed, he made a mental
note to remind her how sensitive dragon shifter hearing really was, but guessed
by the surprised look on her face that she had just figured it out.

“Good
one, little witch, good one,” Aaron yelled across the distance, and Royce felt
Kyra relax. Just the fact that she cared whether her silly comment had bothered
another showed him exactly what a great heart his mate had, and that one of his
best friends had eased her discomfort strengthened his belief that everything
between them was going to be okay.

“Thanks,
Bro. I owe
ya
one,”
Royce sent
through their unique link.

“No
worries. She’s definitely a keeper,”
Aaron sent back, and
Royce could hear the sincerity in his brethren’s words.

“That
she is,”
Royce answered.

He
placed his hand on the small of Kyra’s back and guided her to the house, loving
the electrical current that flowed between them even through her clothing. It
was something he had been told about by the older clansmen, and had even heard
from his brethren that had found their mates, but he’d never imagined how
wonderful it would feel. He knew that she felt it too by her harsh intake of
breath and quickening of her heartbeat. As soon as they were inside, his
control snapped. He lifted Kyra onto the kitchen counter, pushed his lips to
hers, and kissed her with the fire and passion of a dragon shifter being ridden
hard by the mating call. His hands slid under her blouse, the feel of her skin
driving his desire higher and higher the longer he touched her. Just as he was
about to pick her up and speed upstairs, the sound of a throat clearing pulled
him from his mate.