Her Dragon's Soul (Dragon Guard Series Book 9)

Dragon Guard Series #9

By

Julia
Mills

There
Are No Coincidences.

The
Universe Does Not Make Mistakes.

Fate
Will Not Be Denied.

Copyright
© 2015 Julia Mills

All
Rights Reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used
in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

DISCLAIMER
: This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the product of
the author’s imagination or used in a fictional manner. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

NOTICE
:  This is an adult erotic paranormal romance
with love scenes and mature situations. It is only intended for adult readers
over the age of 18.

Edited by Lisa Miller, Angel Editing Services

Cover Designed by Linda Boulanger with Tell Tale Book Covers

Formatted by Charlene Bauer with Wickedly Bold Creations

DEDICATION

Dare
to Dream! Find the Strength to Act! Never Look Back!

Thank
you, God.

To my
girls, Liz and Em, I Love You. Every day, every way, always.

Also
by Julia Mills

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Her
Dragon to Slay, Dragon Guard Series #1

Her
Dragon’s Fire, Dragon Guard Series #2

Haunted
by Her Dragon, Dragon Guard Series #3

For
the Love of Her Dragon, Dragon Guard Series #4

Saved
by Her Dragon, Dragon Guard #5

Only
for Her Dragon, Dragon Guard #6

Fighting
for Her Dragon, Dragon Guard #7

Her
Dragon’s Heart, Dragon Guard #8

***

Her
Love, Her Dragon: The Saga Begins, A Dragon Guard Prequel

HER
DRAGON’S SOUL

Index
of the Words from the Original Language of the Dragon Kin

Draoi
                                                        Wizard

A Chumann
                                               Sweetheart

Mo chroi’
                                                  My
Heart

Mo ghra’
                                                   My
Love

Ta’ mo chroi istigh ionat
                           My
Heart is Within You

Srutha’n
                                                    Burn

E’adrom
                                                    Light

Mu’scail
                                                    Wake
Up

S’aoire d’uimm
                                         Leave

Dul as ais I gea’a tu’ bhaineann
               Go
Back Where You Belong

Riamh ar ais
                                              Never
Return

Dofheicthe
                                                 Invisible

Le Feicea’il
                                               Appear

Ar bhaile
                                                   Our
Home

Scriosta
                                                     Obliterate

CHAPTER
ONE

“No way! No freaking way! It’s just not possible. Hannah has
NOT become one of Cleland’s mindless followers. You’re wrong, Liam, just
wrong!”

Liam looked from Melanie to Jace and back again, trying to
decide if he’d done the right thing by telling them. The young nurse was
pacing, throwing her hands in the air, alternating between yelling at him and
mumbling to herself. He’d known it wasn’t going to be pleasant, but was in no
way prepared for the tirade he was watching.

It
had
been necessary. He’d waited as long as he
could. The last thing he wanted was to upset his best friend or his mate, but
after what he’d seen in Hannah’s eyes earlier, there was no way he could put it
off any longer. Telling them the beautiful girl with strawberry blonde curls
was the one the Universe made for him had been easier than he thought it would
be, but telling them he was sure she was being controlled by a malevolent force
had royally sucked!

They’d already suffered so much at the hands of Melanie’s
grandfather. A few weeks earlier, Cleland (aka Grandpa and the
Grand Draoi
of the
Dorcha
) had kidnapped his only granddaughter with the hopes of
marrying her off to one of his minions, turning her white magic dark, and using
her incredible power to rule the world. Needless to say, he is not in the
running for grandfather of the year.

It was something the
Dorcha
—a group of black magic
wizards who descended from the dark aborigines from the 13th century, the
Firbolgs—had been trying to do since their inception. They almost succeeded! It
had taken Liam, Jace, the Dragon Guard, and several very talented white witches
to stop Cleland’s plans and save Melanie and her friends. Unfortunately, the
piece of crap had gotten away. Now, Liam was faced with the horrible task of
telling Mel he was sure good ol’ Grandpa was still meddling in their lives,
albeit from afar.

Does this shit ever end?

“
Mo chroi’
, please stop pacing. You’re wearing a path
in the carpet and I really don’t want to listen to Rory bitch about his
precious décor. Besides, my neck is killing me from trying to keep up with
you.” Jace’s attempt at lightening the mood was met with a death stare as he
grabbed his mate’s hand, pulling her towards him. “I know you heard what Liam said.
Hannah is his mate. There’s no way in hell he’d make this shit up.”

Pausing, the newly mated dragon and recently initiated
Dragon Guardsman looked directly at Liam. “Tell us
exactly
what
happened.”

Clearing his throat, Liam began to recount his breakfast
with Hannah. His nerves threatened his resolve for the first time in years.
“Everything was going great, just like every other morning for the last couple
of weeks.” He paused for half a second then rushed on. “Breakfast has kinda
become ‘our thing’.” He failed at holding back his grin then shrugged as he
regained his composure. “It’s been our time to get to know each other. I wanted
to make sure she
really
knew me before I dropped the big ‘I’m your mate’
bomb on her. Things had been going so well that I’d decided today was the day
to tell her. She feels the pull of the mating call, of that I’m sure. I
definitely know how I feel and my dragon thinks I’ve waited way too long as it
is. From hanging out with y’all, she knows what being a dragon’s mate entails,
but I knew I owed her a direct conversation about my intentions, ya’ know what
I mean?”

He stood staring out the large picture window in the small
cottage the Blue Dragons, more specifically Rory, had provided for Melanie and
Jace while they continued the search for Kyra’s mom, Calysta, the Grand
Priestess of pretty much all the white witches in the world. Liam knew what he
was about to tell his friends would probably start the pacing and the yelling
all over again, but just like everything lately…it
had
to be done.

Turning, he looked Melanie right in the eyes, praying she
could see the sincerity in his words and feel the pain they caused. “I reached
across the table to hold Hannah’s hand, the way I’d done every other morning,
but this time she jerked away like I’d burned her. I thought she was just
surprised, so I joked, ‘Jumpy this morning?’ When her eyes met mine they were
lifeless, completely devoid of the brilliance or electricity I’d come to
expect. The sparkling blue eyes I dreamt of looking into for the rest of my
life were dull and sunken. The pupils so wide her eyes were completely black
except for a thin rim of blue around the outside. What scared me the most was
the way she stared over my shoulder, like I wasn’t even there. It made the little
hairs at the base of my neck stand on end. Then I tried to connect with her
through our mating bond, only to be met by a wall of slimy, dark muck that
turned my stomach and caused my dragon to growl.

She must’ve seen or maybe felt my surprise and revulsion
because in an instant, the brightness returned to her eyes and she reached out
and touched my arm. But something was still off, so I tested our link again.
The wall was gone, but so was my beautiful mate. All I found was nothingness.
The longer I poked and prodded at our connection, the more I realized
‘something’ was pushing back at me.

Hannah didn’t acknowledge any struggle or give any clue she
even knew I was reaching out to her. That had
never
happened before. Not
since the day our eyes first met. She always gives me one of her sweet smiles,
winks, or a mental nudge…
something
to let me know she knows I’m there. I
know you don’t want to believe me, Mel, but I swear Hannah
is not
Hannah
right now, and as much as I know it hurts you…it is
killing
me.”

Liam watched Jace and Melanie mull his words over for
several minutes. Their silence like a ticking clock taking away time he knew
his mate didn’t have. Something evil was attacking her from the inside and if
he didn’t stop it, Liam feared he would lose Hannah forever. There was no way
he was letting that happen. Just about at the end of his rope, the young
Guardsman stood, prepared to leave with or without his friends’ help.

Melanie’s eyes met his as she slowly nodded. “I would know
if something was wrong with my Jace.” She looked at her mate with such love
that Liam had to smile despite the shit storm they were once again facing.
Looking back to Liam, Mel continued, “Since Hannah is your mate, I
have
to believe what you’re telling me. However, I refuse to believe whatever is
happening to her is her own doing. There’s just
no way
she’s following
Cleland. She wouldn’t do that, not after all he’s put her family through, not
to mention what he did to me.”

Liam remembered every detail Hannah had told him concerning
the atrocities put upon the McKennon family by Cleland and his followers. It
had all started when Hannah’s father, Jedidiah, joined the
Dorcha
after
the slaughter of his own coven. He and Sarah Beth had returned from their
honeymoon to find their tiny village burned to the ground. The bones of their
friends and family strewn about like a set of Lincoln Logs.

After performing the burial rights for their murdered coven
members, the young couple traveled on foot for over a week through treacherous
terrain to the sister coven Jed had visited many times over the years. The
smell of burning flesh and embers reached them as they crested the ridge. It
was the same picture as before. Death and destruction as far as they could see.
The stench of black magic permeating their every breath.

While once again performing the ritual that would ensure the
safe passage of more of his people’s souls into the afterlife, Jed came upon an
amulet only partially scorched by the fire. Carefully wiping the soot from the
silver disc, he discovered not only the mark of the
Dorcha
, but also the
markings of several low level demons. The white witches of both covens had been
sacrificed in an effort to summon the dredge of the underworld. It was then he
concocted the plan to infiltrate the
Dorcha
and somehow get revenge for
those who’d given their lives.

Jedidiah and Sarah Beth spent the next several weeks
perfecting their ruse and the magic they needed to hide their true natures from
the dark wizards they sought to destroy. What they hadn’t counted on was the
depth of the
Dorcha
membership or the power they drew from the
underworld.

Year after year, they continued their quest to conquer the
evil that had taken their family and friends from them. As each of their seven
children was born, Jed and Sarah Beth coated them with love, light, and heavy
mysticism to hide and protect their pure, white magic. When the girls were old
enough, each was then taught to conceal their true nature. As Jedidiah welcomed
his youngest child into the world, he realized his family had been blessed
beyond anything he could’ve imagined. Not only had his beautiful daughters
received some of the strongest white magic in history, but they’d also been
given ‘The Gift’. It was what made the McKennon magic legendary, but hadn’t
been seen in centuries. They only had to be close to one another and their
power amplified. His heart sang as he realized they truly had a chance to
defeat their enemies.

The girls grew and blossomed into not only gifted witches,
but also amazing women. Jedidiah and Sarah Beth couldn’t have been prouder. The
only thing dampening their joy was Cleland and his followers’ continued
existence. It seemed no matter what the McKennons tried, the Dorcha always
escaped, most times by nothing but pure and simple dumb luck. Tired of wasting
time and watching his daughters hide their true natures, Jed hatched a plan to
do away with Cleland and consequently, destroy his followers.

He waited patiently until the day before the Festival of
Souls, a jubilee to celebrate the fallen
Dorcha
and enhance the dark
power of those still living. Thankfully, the celebration took place just before
the last leaves had fallen from the trees and the days had grown shorter,
something Jed could use to his advantage. Using the cover of darkness, he hid
behind a large boulder at the mouth of the cave Cleland always used to enter
their Sacred Circle. Ready to pounce, continuously repeating the spell in his
mind that would immediately steal the breath from Cleland’s lungs and leaving the
Grand Draoi
dead on the ground, Jed prepared to finally end the
captivity his family had endured for far too long.

He held his breath, listening as the evil wizard’s footsteps
echoed louder and louder the closer he came to the tunnel opening. What took only
seconds seemed like hours to the loving father and devoted white wizard who
wanted nothing more than freedom for his lovely wife and daughters. Jed had
taken one step towards his goal when Cleland’s words froze his next movement.

“Now that we know for sure the McKennons possess “The Gift”,
we must find a way to get them to publicly use it. Jed and Sarah Beth are
highly respected. The coven will not blindly follow in their sacrifice and that
of their daughters without proof. I knew from the moment I met the young couple
they were the ones, but it was the birth of their seven daughters that
fortified my belief. They may think they are hiding their lily white magic, but
I am the
Grand Draoi
. No one hides anything from me.”

“Do you have a plan, Master?” one of Cleland’s many minions
asked.

“Oh, indeed I do.”

Jedidiah could hardly believe his ears. He knew the
Dorcha
suspected his deception but had no idea they knew for sure. A
million thoughts ran through his mind while he stood stock still, deciding what
course of action to take. The crackle of footsteps on fallen leaves broke his
concentration. Spinning, Jed’s next breath froze in his lungs as he witnessed
the one thing he hadn’t planned for…Hannah!

Their eyes met. Hannah stopped. Fear and insecurity flashed
in her eyes before immediately being replaced by her signature determination
and fearlessness. She even had the audacity to squint her eyes, shake her head,
and throw back her shoulders. It was the same stance Hannah had taken during
every conflict since she’d uttered her first words and taken her first steps.
Any other time, Jed would’ve laughed. He shook his head at how far from normal
their lives had become. It was in no way what he wanted for his family.

That one thought strengthened his resolve. Without further
deliberation, Jed marched forward, grabbed Hannah by the arm, and within a few
seconds had them securely hidden from Cleland and his minion.

“What the hell are you doing here, Hannah?” Jedidiah growled
through gritted teeth.

“I could ask you the same thing,
Father
.” Hannah
returned his growl with one of her own.

“I am…” Stopping short, Jed took a deep breath, looked his
daughter straight in the eye, and in a split second decided to tell her the
absolute truth. “Setting us all free. Something I should’ve done a long time
ago.”

Even he could hear the resolution tinted with just a bit of
sadness as the words crossed his lips. He wasn’t surprised when Hannah‘s fists
landed on her hips and she scowled before asking, “And?”

Not wanting to share the details of his plan with the most
unpredictable and definitely most hotheaded of his daughters, Jed raised his
eyebrows, shrugged his shoulders, and waited for Hannah to continue. He
wouldn’t lie to her, but he wasn’t going to offer details if she didn’t ask for
them.

Moving closer, Hannah’s voice took on an ominous tone as she
asked, “What exactly does ‘setting us all free’ entail?”

Jed wasn’t surprised Hannah had asked, just pissed that the
Goddess had seen fit to ignore his prayers. Cursing under his breath, he ran
through all the things he could tell Hannah without revealing the one fact he’d
purposely neglected to share with even his wife…Jedidiah McKennon was on a
suicide mission. No matter what scenario he played out in his mind, it always
ended with him dying alongside his nemesis. He’d made peace with the outcome.
It was what he was willing to do to ensure the safety of his family. No
sacrifice was too great if it meant Sarah Beth and the girls would be free of
Cleland and the
Dorcha’s
tyranny.