The Fate of Her Dragon

The Fate of Her Dragon

Dragon Guard Series #10

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

Cover Model Grigoris Drakakis

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.

To Charlene, Your support is just amazing! This one’s
for you!

Also by Julia Mills

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

The Dragon Guard Series

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 Dragon’s Soul, Dragon Guard #9

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

*****

The ‘Not-Quite’ Love Story Series

Vidalia: A ‘Not-Quite Vampire Love Story

Phoebe” A ‘Not-Quite’ Phoenix Love Story

THE FATE OF HER DRAGON

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

Draoi                                           
Wizard

Drake                                          
Male Dragon

Mo chroi’                                    
My Heart

Mo ghra’                                     
My
Love

Ta’
mo chroi istigh ionat             
My
Heart is Within You

Mo maite
                                     
Mate

Ceann beag
                                 
Little One

Mhu’chadh
                                  Extinguish

Mo cheann a’lainn
                       My Beautiful One

A bheith imithe Demon
                Be Gone Demon

Se’alaithe
                                    
Sealed

Solas
                                            
Light

Ara is go dti’ itreann  
                 Return to Hell

Riamh ar ais
                                
Never Return

Chapter One

She was close… so very close.
Her mind brushed against his, filling his dark, dank world with light and hope
for the first time in almost a century. She exhilarated his broken spirit,
mended his wounded soul, and warmed his cold, ruthless heart. Without thought,
he’d spoken directly into her mind. Recognition arced between them. He willed
her to respond, begging with his voice that she give him some sign—but she’d
stayed silent. Her name became his mantra, the one thing keeping him sane.

Alicia…

This beautiful creature who
smelled of sunshine and daffodils was to be his savior. She would be his life.
She was the one the Universe had created for him. Not Heaven nor Hell nor the
prison around him could keep them apart. He
knew
she would find him.
Felt it in the depths of his soul. His mate possessed an inner strength that
rivaled his own. She was a warrior. A woman worthy of a man like him. And she
was magical…
powerful
, filled with a white magic that could overpower
the evil keeping him prisoner.

Drawing on his incredible
strength and years of training, the Guardsman gave one final call before
collapsing from exhaustion. His body ached from exertion. His head felt as if
it might explode from the constant barrage of black magic. The silver lined box
buried deep in the ground, surrounded by rock and black magic, had eaten away
at his strength every day of his confinement. Only his iron will and incredible
healing powers had kept him alive; of course, that’s what the evil wizard had
counted on. The bastard knew Drago would be forced to lay helpless, trapped
underground while the kin he’d spent his life protecting were destroyed.

There had been times
throughout the years when the earth had shifted and Drago had been able to feel
the presence of other dragons. Not those of his Force but others, some
descended from the very men he’d fought beside. His dragon had come to life,
snarling to make contact, but the recognition had been so brief there was no
chance to call out.

Day after day, week after
week, year after year, the Guardsman’s frustration grew—until he was sure he’d
go mad. The only thing keeping him sane was the search for his brethren. He
called and called through the mindspeak of their kin, both as a group and then
testing each unique link he held with the men who’d pledged their fealty to him
as their Commander. Every call was answered with dead, dark silence. The
Guardsman prayed his brethren lived. Was sure he would’ve felt their deaths,
but after so much time of silence, Drago feared the worst. He searched as far
as his dark magic drenched preternatural senses would allow and found nothing
but the dirt around him. Even the creatures that should’ve inhabited the ground
had been scared away by the wizard’s evil spells.

Every day Drago promised
himself and those whom he’d sworn to protect that he would escape his prison
and dole out justice for what had been done to him and his men. All involved
would pay. They would know his wrath—the wrath that kept him alive. Hate and
plans of revenge had been his only company, the one reason he drew his next
breath. His need for vengeance was his daily nourishment. He planned every last
detail of the deaths of the wizards who had imprisoned him.

The bastards believed they
were smarter than the great Dragon Guard Assassin. Had believed that attacking
him from afar with their dark magic potions and sleight of hand while he was in
his healing sleep would fool him, but he knew who they were. Prayed they still
drew breath so that he might rob them of it. He wanted nothing more than to
watch their blood soak the ground as his sword removed their heads from their
bodies. But all of that was before Alicia…

Fighting to remain conscious,
Drago pictured the beautiful redhead with sparkling blue eyes and a smile that
made his nearly dead heart sing. When he’d touched her mind, everything had become
so clear for the first time in such a very long time. He could see her long red
curls glistening in the sunlight, the unmistakable twinkle of mischief in her
eyes as she laughed, and the goodness shining from her heart. He dreamed of
kissing each little freckle that dotted the bridge of her nose and apples of
her cheeks. His hands, shackled at his sides by silver chains, ached to touch
her peaches and cream complexion that looked to be softer than silk.

She was tall and curvy, just
like a woman should be. As his mind stayed connected to hers, he could see her
insecurities and prayed for the day he could assure his beautiful Alicia that
she was perfect in every way. His heart nearly broke as their connection
weakened and finally severed. He knew it was his waning strength and once again
cursed the wizards responsible for his current state.

Thinking over the last few
days as he rested in his tomb, Drago smiled as he remembered feeling the power
of the
Dorcha
disrupted by the dragons. It had been that disturbance
which had shifted the earth around his tomb, making communication with his mate
possible. Now it was up to him. He had to stay alert, had to keep calling, had
to make sure she found him. He needed her more than he needed his next breath.
Not only was she is way out, she was the only person in all the world that
could save his soul.

The words his longtime friend
and mentor, Maddox, had spoken just before he and his men had embarked on their
last mission floated through his mind, just as they had every day for the last
hundred years
. “Take care, my friend. This mission is unlike any other. The
wizards you seek are more powerful. They are cunning. It is their evil that
darkens the skies.”

“Never met a wizard the
lads and I couldn’t beat. I earned the name ‘The Assassin’ ya’ know? And today
will not rob me of that title.”

Unlike all the other times,
Maddox hadn’t laughed, only shook his head.
“Assassin or not, keep your wits
about you.”

A cold chill had skittered
down Drago’s back as he’d called forth his dragon and taken to the skies. The
old man always had an eerie sense of premonition, but was also a worrywart, so
the Assassin and his Force had flown straight toward the enemy without a second
thought to Maddox’s words of warning. They defeated every evil practitioner and
hunter who stood against their kin. The ground at their feet was drenched with
the blood of their enemies. They’d gone into their healing sleep that night
around their fire with a sense of pride and purpose.

But Fate always got her pound
of flesh. Drago had awoken to the sounds of chanting and the scent of putrid
herbs. Unable to open his eyes, he’d reached out with his other senses, only to
find them damped by the unmistakable stench of black magic. Fighting the
darkness with all the strength he had, the Guardsman reached out to his
brethren, but found they too had been caught in the snare of evil magic.

Turning his focus back to the
enchantment holding them all hostage, the Guardsman pushed his pure white
dragon magic into the oily tendrils of the offending curse. His beast lent his
strength to the fight, chuffing and blowing smoke as they fought. For several
long, tense seconds he was sure he’d made headway, only to hear a menacing
chuckle in his mind.

“You think to outwit me,
Assassin?”
The maniacal laughter made
the hairs on the back of Drago’s neck stand on end.
“You are no match for
the Darkness that will rule the earth. Dragon kin will be destroyed and we will
be victorious. Enjoy the rest of your very long life knowing I won. I beat the
great Drago MacLendon.”
The wizard’s cackle echoed through Drago’s
consciousness.

He knew that voice. Had felt
its slimy resonance before, but no matter how hard he tried to remember, Drago
came up empty handed. It was a memory just out of his reach. He once again
cursed the black magic flooding his system and fought to stay conscious.
Hoisted off the ground by several sets of cold, skeletal hands, the Guardsman
was unceremoniously thrown over the saddle of what he recognized by scent as
his own horse. The horn of the saddle struck his ribs as he felt the bones crack,
but still he struggled to gain control. Using his mental connection to the
animal, Drago tried to will his trusty steed to run, but just as the wizards
controlled him and his men, they also controlled his beloved horse.

The same voice that had
invaded his thoughts now spoke aloud. “Take the Assassin to his new home.” The
wizard spoke with confidence. “Make sure he is secure. I’ll be along as soon as
I’ve taken care of the others. I want to seal the
mighty Guardsman
away
myself.” Once again the air filled with evil laughter as Drago ached to rip the
limbs from his captor’s body.

 Slipping in and out of
consciousness, Drago tried to map the twists and turns of his painful horseback
ride as he traveled for what seemed like hours, but it was useless. He had no
idea where he was being taken and was helpless to change the situation. Anger
unlike any he’d ever known flooded his system. His dragon roared in his head at
the injustice of their situation. But in the end, both man and beast were left
to the whims of the black magic practitioners. Just as it felt as if all hope was
lost, the scent of briny sea air filled the Guardsman’s senses.

It was the same scent that
had reached him the first time he’d felt Alicia’s presence. Just the thought of
his mate renewed Drago’s belief that she and she alone could save him. Drawing
upon years of training, both man and dragon called to their mate.

“Alicia,
mo chroi
, please come to me.”

“Dammit man, I’m trying.
I’ve been trying. I can hear you all hours of the day and night. I answer and
you ignore. I search and find nothing. My heart is breaking and I have no clue
why. I follow your voice and end up in front of a big ass boulder. It’s been so
long since I had a full night’s sleep, I’m beginning to look like a zombie, but
still you call and I come running. Hell, I don’t even know who you are.”

“I am Drago.”

“What the…”
Alicia yelped. Several tense seconds later she
whispered,
“What did you say?”

“I said, my name is
Drago.”
He pushed confidence and
warmth through their link, hoping to calm the turmoil he felt brewing within
his mate.

Heartbeat after heartbeat, he
willed Alicia to speak, to say something…
anything
. Just as gave up and
was ready to call to her again, she asked,
“You’re a real person? Not a
figment of my imagination?”

Chuckling, he quickly answered,
“
Yes,
mo chroi’
I am real and I am sorry for your sleepless nights,
but you are my only hope.”

Confusion flooded their bond
as Alicia asked,
“Your only hope for what?”

“To escape the prison I
have been in for nearly a hundred years.”
Drago feared he’d given his lovely mate too much information too soon
when his proclamation was met with deafening silence. He prayed she could feel
their connection, could sense the honesty in his words and would do what needed
to be done to free him. The next few moments would be crucial. Either Alicia
would save him or leave him to rot away in his deep, dark prison.

Thankfully, her curiosity won
over the fear he could feel resonating within her.
“Did you say a hundred
years?”
Skepticism colored her words.

“Yes, I was imprisoned
nearly a hundred years ago by a coven of black magic wizards known as the
Dorcha
.”

At the mention of his
greatest enemy, Drago felt Alicia pull back as a wave of confusion and anger
rushed over her. She quickly responded, her tone sharp and demanding.
“The
Dorcha
did this to you? Was Cleland involved?”

“I don’t know this Cleland
you speak of, but I do know the Grand Draoi and his followers locked me in this
God forsaken hole nearly a hundred years ago and you are my only hope of
escape.”

 “Why would they do that?
What are you, a rival wizard?”

He heard the suspicion in her
voice and wondered how much to tell her then opted for the truth; it had always
served him well. Alicia was magical and living near the dragons from what he’d
been able to ascertain during the recent shifts in the earth, so it stood to
reason she was aware of their existence and wouldn’t be completely taken off
guard by his next words.
“I am a Dragon Guardsman from the Golden Fire Clan.
My name is Drago. I am… or, I was the Commander of the MacLendon Force. My
brethren and I were captured by the
Dorcha
and hidden away as part of
their plan to destroy dragon kin. Until recently, I was unable to communicate
with anyone, but there was a disturbance in the black magic holding me captive
and I immediately felt your presence. That is…”

“That is when you started
to slowly drive me insane.”
Alicia
cut off his next words and began peppering him with questions.
“If you are a
dragon then why communicate with me and not one of the hundred or so Guardsmen
running around the countryside? And did you say MacLendon? As in Rayne
MacLendon? I know someone said he didn’t have any relatives still alive, so how
can that be? And where are your men? You said the
Dorcha
captured them
too but I can only feel your presence—and by the way, if my witchy radar is
right, you’re buried far underground. And that leads to me ask… how in all that
is holy do you expect me to get you out of there? You said I’m your only hope… what
exactly do you expect me to do? That is assuming I believe one word you’re
telling me.”