1. Jaiyana

CHAPTER ONE

JAIYANA

I sat on the floor of an honest-to-God oubliette. A pit designed by the French to throw people into and forget about them. Smooth white stone surrounded me in a bottle shape, leading up to a hole at the top just big enough to fit a man. Artificial, bright white light radiated down, casting a shadow of the barred hole just bigger than me.

My concept of time had vanished, along with my confidence. I took a deep breath and rested my arms loosely on my crossed legs. My gamble at the Elemental Meeting hadn’t paid off. The opposite, really. But the only true way to fail was to stop trying. I took another deep breath and focused on the circle of light in front of me.

In the twenty-first century, how the fuck is there a medieval French castle, with an oubliette, on a tropical island?

Really? Logistics? We’re in the murder hole!

Maybe we deserve to be in the murder hole.

I grimaced, seeing the man’s brown eyes glow with pride as his astral projection smiled at me. ‘My love, my muse, my obsession. I’ve gifted you these dragons to fix our mistake.’

The pain in Rehan’s gaze flashed through my memory, followed by the unease in Ogs, the confusion in Lux, and finally, raw anger from Tyson.

I’ve gifted you these dragons to fix our mistake.

The words echoed in my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my head, letting it rest on my knees as recent memories ricocheted around my skull.

Everything happened so fast at the Elemental Meeting.

A literal bomb of air exploded around me, physically tossing my dragon mates off the table. Heat bloomed at my feet, and a searing wall of flame grew around me. The rancid smell of burning hair made me pull my ponytail in close as a barrier of solid fire magic trapped me in place.

In moments, the inferno ate up my oxygen, and I struggled to breathe. I’d pushed my weak ass elemental muscles showing off for the Kings, and what little air magic I now called didn’t help me stay conscious. My last memory before waking up in this oubliette was the sounds of a fight, shouting, and my name spit with so much venom that acid curled in my gut.

Gifted you dragons.

My heart wrenched.

You like them. All of them.

I knew better. None of the emotions were real. I told them to keep their distance.

They didn’t want to.

They fucking do now.

I pulled on my ponytail and screamed in frustration. The sound echoed off the walls, cutting into the silence and chasing away my approaching panic.

No, Jay. You’re smart. A thousand years old. Most powerful…

I sighed, not even finishing the thought. I wasn’t anything now except maybe the most fucked.

And not in a good way.

I uncurled my folded legs and took a deep breath, brushing my fingers across my mate marks. Rehan’s wave puckered my skin just below my ear on the right, while Tyson’s flame did the same on the opposite side. Scarily fitting for their contrasting personalities. I ran my hand down the front of my hip, feeling the tiny puffy cloud from Lux’s mark, before leaning to the side to feel my ass. Heat filled my face. Of course, the not-so-shy earth dragon flipped me over to leave his little textured tree on my butt cheek.

You’ve still got their marks.

I opened my palm, attempting to call fire into the center of it, but the magic never formed. Instead, a line of dull orange streaked toward the ground. I kept casting and followed the line to slightly darker, thin stone channels in the floor, in the shape of a star, covering most of the twelve-by-twelve-foot space. Five angular balls of quartz sat at each point with a symbol for each element inscribed inside them.

I dropped to the floor and cast each element in turn, watching the quartz eat it while my mind raced.

The moment I’d ingested every flavor of dragon jizz, I got my voice back, and my vision mostly cleared. But nothing about my magic improved. I was still as lame as the moment I woke up at the start of the Hunt. Despite early evidence, I sat here using all of their magic equally, even though technically, only Rehan physically penetrated me. I could use Lux’s wind magic after just his mark.

What the fuck did I need to do to break this curse?

Gifted you dragons.

Anger made my elements flair. I stopped casting and looked at my hands. My watcher, the older man with the brown eyes, cursed me… or at least had some part in it. What did ‘give you dragons’ even mean? Why? Why the fuck trap me on this island away from my magic, only to hook me up with four loyal powerful dragon shifters?

My watcher’s astral projection had been human and breathing. Which meant somewhere, his flesh and blood body existed. My new ‘mates’ could literally eat him if and when we found him.

None of this made any sense. I was missing something more than just my memories.

This mess started when I got the call to help the Ley Lines. Now, a little less than a month later, objects somehow hovered in the same Ley Lines I hadn’t fixed. Nothing should be in our world’s magical circulatory system, much less holding still. It was fundamentally wrong.

I blew out a long, frustrated breath.

There was absolutely nothing I could do about any of these problems while trapped in the Air King’s oubliette. One problem at a time.

I looked at the quartz again. My mate’s power bloomed at my fingertips, only to get sucked into the spell. The oubliette glowed orange, blue, brown, and finally off-white. A shiver ran down my back which had nothing to do with the cool room or my uncertain theory. The quartz absorbed elemental magic, all kinds. No single dragon made this.

I took a deep breath and stood, pacing out the oubliette. Twelve by twelve, maybe fifteen feet tall, before the bottleneck at the top: just big enough for Lux to open his wings but not fly.

I swallowed hard. This was Lux’s castle…really his dad’s… the air elemental center of power. Did Lux know this pit existed? Did he spend time down here? That idea made my entire body quiver with rage. The Air King’s cold gaze filled my memory.

‘Make the right choices this time,’ is what his assistant told Lux.

If he’d thrown my air dragon down here–king or not–mortal life was short, and the ruler of air’s life would not be the first I made even shorter.

The lights in the room above cut off, leaving the pit in total darkness. There was no bed, no facilities, not even a rat to keep me company. A wave of longing washed through me. Although I was fine alone, I’d also spent enough time in my own company to know I wanted something different. Each in their own way, the dragon princes filled in pieces of me I didn’t know were missing.

My heart raced as I realized how important my dragons had become and, worse, how badly I needed to let them go. They had homes and goals. I’d swept into their existences and decimated their dreams.

I hardened my heart as I’d done over and over. Although I still needed to fix the Ley Lines and, ideally, get my magic back, the most essential piece of this puzzle was making sure my dragons walked away free.

They might come rescue you.

I shook my head.

They got confirmation that I was right. None of their feelings are real.

Implying yours are?

Any warmth I felt vanished. I needed to keep my mates at a distance, even in my thoughts. They were tools for me to use and then free—nothing more.

Worst “told you so” ever.

Especially because I’m telling myself.

I clenched my fists and pushed my mistakes out of my mind. Once I recovered my magic and freed my dragons, I’d think about my future.

I tilted my head back to study the oubliette’s opening, swaying slightly as the darkness destroyed my equilibrium.

Surprise, bitch. It's dark, and you can’t see anything.

Find a light switch?

I squatted back down and called fire to my fingers. Once again, the quartz nearest to me swallowed it. Still casting, I traced the entire star on the ground. The quartz at each point grew brighter, then dimmer as I moved around. The spellwork on them was short-ranged. I doubted it even hit the top of the pit.

I cracked my back. Without a doubt, the oubliette had been designed to hold one dragon shifter. Two, and they could boost each other out of range of the spell.

Right. Well, maybe I wasn’t my old self. But I could still channel all of my mates’ elements at once, while most shifters only had one.

Unless they are disabled orphans.

Aria bloomed to life in my mind. The happy teen and her friends, each missing body parts and living their best lives in the air priestess’s temple. So much felt wrong on this island. Dragon shifters didn’t even spend much time as dragons… the entire reason they isolated in the first place.

Not our problem. I took a calming breath.

Get the fuck out of here. Free your dragons, get off the island, and fix whatever it is you and brown eyes did in whatever order all of that needs to happen.

What if I still needed my dragons to fix whatever I’d done? What if they didn’t want to help once I set them free? God damn it, I’d spent the last fifty years laying low to prevent precisely this… unless I hadn’t.

“I knew you could learn to love, that you weren’t that cold woman who turned from me. Save the world from our mistake… find me!” The man’s voice echoed in my memory.

What the fuck did I do?

My inner voice didn’t answer.

I wrenched away from my inner dialogue and needlessly raised my hand in front of me. Stepping into the very center of the oubliette, I filled my palms with all their elemental powers. Streams of glowing red, blue, white, and green rushed toward the quartz balls. My magic blurred into a murky brown as the elements mixed and absorbed into the quartz.

“I am a badass bitch,” I snarled. “Let’s see how fast your little toys can eat all my shit.”

Pure elemental energy flew through me. It was not near as intense as Tyson’s fire ceremony, but I still buzzed and sparked. Slower than I expected, spider cracks opened in the quartz and grew. A drop of sweat ran down the side of my face. A small explosion on my left made me jump, though I didn’t let the elemental magic stop flowing. Before my feet hit the ground, three more little blasts filled the air. Shards of quartz filled the oubliette, hitting my legs and hips. I dropped my hands, only to have a particularly sharp piece bite into my palm. The final explosion went off with a mini pop, and sharp pain bit into my cheek as a shard of quartz slid across my skin, leaving a bleeding gash.

I bit my lips shut and cut off my magic. My elemental muscles quiver painfully from overuse. I froze, barely daring to breathe. If there were guards, they’d come running. There had to be some alarm.

A minute ticked by.

I don’t think anyone stayed.

I don’t know why not. I’m the best company.

A drop of blood from my cheek dripped onto my wrist, and I finally took a breath. I pressed the hem of my shirt to my face before calling on a fireball. A small one slowly fizzled into existence and flickered in place.

I grinned. Step one: Success.

The light sound of a single person’s footsteps walked past the oubliette and out of the room above. I dropped my fire. More would come. I had to get moving. My elemental muscles burned unhappily, but I forced air magic out of them to help me spring to the grate at the top. I wrapped my hands around the bars. Pain from the cut on my palm ran up my arm, and I sucked in a breath, but I didn’t let it stop me. I fucking loved being strong. I easily pulled my body up. With my left arm hooked in the grate, I fumbled the small opening for a lock. Nothing appeared. After a second pass, I sighed. No lock.

These dragons are really, really bad at this.

This oubliette shouldn’t exist at all.

Combining momentum and the last bit of power, I dragged out of my exhausted muscles, I managed to boost myself out. I sat on the edge, my legs dangling down.

“Um, Jay?”

My heart raced at the sound of Og’s voice, and I turned. His bright green, dragon-slit gaze bloomed to life in the darkness. Although I couldn’t make out his rich, dark skin or wiry body, a few runes glowed where I guessed his solid shoulders would be.

“Jay!” Og sprinted to my side and hugged me hard. “What have they done to you?”

You knew Og wouldn’t abandon you.

Yeah, he’s the only one choosing to be brainwashed.

Despite my cynical thoughts, I squeezed him back, breathing in his scent and letting his presence light up my world. I still needed all of them, but I wouldn’t let myself get attached. Friends. I could do friends. “Og, I can’t be yours. I’m a menace.” I released him. “What are you doing down here anyway?”

Og let me pull out of his arms but kept a hand on my shoulder as if I’d fall back in if he let me go. “That is…” Og trailed off.

I pictured the blush on his cheeks even if I couldn’t see it.

“I came to rescue you.” He cleared his throat, poorly hiding a chuckle. “It seems you didn’t really need my help. How long would it have taken you to get out of my lair?”

“I had no intention of leaving.” I grinned. “You had something I needed.”

The flirty words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. I bit my lips shut. Og’s dragon-slit gaze narrowed, and his grip on my shoulder tightened. I replayed back what I said and winced a second time.

Gifted you dragons.

Now, I sounded like I was in on it.

Just keep opening your pie hole. Your usual eloquence will give them extra motivation to free themselves.

The lights in the room flipped on, making me squint.

“Fecking hell,” Tyson growled. “Why’s Wiggles covered in blood? What are you doing?”

I blinked, trying to get my sight to adjust.

“I’m rescuing our mate,” Og stated. “What are you doing?”

“I came to question her. In private .” Tyson rubbed the back of his neck. “And maybe get her out of here.”

Og slid in front of me and widened his stance. His palms glowed with magic.

I scrambled the rest of the way out of the oubliette and stood. “Neither of you should be doing anything!”

Tyson scowled. “Feck you. I’m no one’s to command.”

“Except your mom,” Og said. “Well, really, it’s your dad, but your mom’s the joke.”

I sighed. “If you have to explain it, it’s not funny, Og.”

Tyson narrowed his eyes, scanning me from head to toe, and took two angry steps closer. “You look like hell, Wiggles. Did Og hurt you?”

“Really?” Og wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into his side. “That’s your first thought? Not your father’s fire magic? Or the guards who dragged her down here, unconscious?”

Before the two dragons took another step forward, the sound of flapping wings and scale-covered feet approaching made my stomach drop.

“Both of you are under a spell!” I whisper-yelled. “Get out of here before you make it worse.”

Og’s grip on my waist tightened. “No.”

Before I even took a breath, he flipped me over his shoulder, knocking the wind out of me, and stood.

“Sorry,” Og mumbled as he traced the runes on the outside of his legs. A slight glow emanated from his pants.

Piss off the healer, you did. Yoda said in my head.

I can’t breathe. Maybe I should focus on the basics instead of making jokes.

“Feck—“ Tyson started, but I lost the rest of what he was going to say as the lights above us burst, leaving the room in total darkness. Og sprinted forward. My wheezing face bounced just above his butt.

There are worse places to be.

“Why weren’t their guards on her?” A distant voice yelled over the sound of the incoming dragons. I didn’t hear the answer as Og virtually flew through the halls. His legs moved so fast and smoothly my bouncing stopped. He took us up a set of stairs. We blew past two women mopping a hall who grabbed their tails to keep them from flapping in the wind tunnel the turbo-charged dragon left in his wake.

I held on for dear life as we dashed. Even with his dragon speed, Tyson couldn’t keep up with Og’s magic. We came to a sudden stop. Og swiftly bent down, placing me firmly on the ground. Blood rushed out of my head and back to the rest of my body, leaving me light-headed.

Og cracked open a familiar door.

“This is Lux’s room,” I pointed out stupidly.

Og traced the runes on his legs again, his chest pumping with his breaths. “I can’t take you to my room. Even if earth supports you, it will break the peace of the EM. Lux’s room’s a tower with only one exit at the top, and this one. I can keep you safe here.”

I rubbed my stomach where Og’s shoulder had bruised me and looked above us. The lights on two security cameras, pointed at Lux’s door, steadily blinked.

“Right, I didn’t think of that,” Og said, following my gaze.

I pulled Og the rest of the way into Lux’s tower, my mind racing.

“What was your plan after you escaped?” Og asked, shutting and locking the door behind us.

“I was going to waltz into the kitchen and get some food.” I scanned Lux’s place for more cameras but didn’t see any obvious ones. Either his dad hadn’t put them in here, or they were well hidden.

Og gaped at me. “That was your plan?”

“Yeah.” My mind raced with our next steps. I hadn’t really seen much technology in the air dragon’s castle. The cameras and Lux’s cybernetic limbs were the exception. Now that I thought about it, other than the oubliette, I’d not seen much magic either. The light bulbs at the EM had been simple wiring. Hadn’t Tyson said fire dragons controlled most of the technology on the island?

“Hey, Og-pog,” I turned to Og, who still looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “Hey, focus. Do air dragons have magic like yours?”

“You were just going to walk back into air dragon hands?” Og asked, ignoring my question.

I sighed and stepped into Og’s personal space. “Yes. I need to free you.” I put my hand on his arm. “You’ve been pulled into my mess, clearly as brown eyes ‘gifted’ you to me.” I released his arm. “I need you and your people to trust me because as much as I want to free you, I still need your help.” I put my hands in the air. “There’s something wrong with the Ley Lines, which trumps removing your mate mark. But I swear to every god I know, I will destroy this curse, forcing your hand in the process.”

The confusion on Og’s face morphed. He pinned my arms to my sides and pulled me into his chest.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” He squeezed me. “But that apparition called you his obsession. That isn’t a good word.” He released me to kiss the top of my head, only to wince and grab his junk as my other three mate marks shocked him.

I bit my lips shut to keep from sympathizing. As of this moment, at least that part of the curse was a good thing. The less touching, the easier it would be for all of us in the end.

“Look, we can discuss the finer points later.” I put two fingers under his chin, forcing him to look at me. “I still need your help, but not at the expense of your family. Go back. Hopefully, Tyson’s doing the same. There is more than one way to skin a cat.” The quartz eating up my mates’ elemental energy blazed to life in my memory. A bad feeling twisted my gut. Something was fundamentally wrong on this island. “Where’s Lux?”

Ogden flattened his lips into a line as if ready to argue with me before furrowing his bushy eyebrows. “Lux was surrounded by air guards and taken out of the EM. He’s with the air dragons. I’ve not seen him in the last sixteen hours. That’s how long you spent down there, by the way.”

I nodded and turned, marching up to the top floor, where I’d seen the air prince work the electrical panel, which I believed opened and closed the metal blinds and hopefully controlled the cameras on the doors.

Og followed me. “What are you doing?”

“The air king has an oubliette spelled to absorb elemental magic.” I made it to the panel and explored its edges with my fingers. “I didn’t see a single security camera at the EM, but he’s got one on his son’s door? That doesn’t feel right.”

Og's silhouette reflected on the dark screen of the panel. “Lux was hiding as a woman at the air temple.” He said lowly. “His home wasn’t a safe place for him, was it?”

I shot Og’s reflection with a finger gun. “And now he’s back in his father’s clutches.”

Because of me.

Fuck. I messed up.

I found a dent in the edge of the screen and pulled it forward. “You’re a kid, Og.” The words twisted my gut, but he needed to understand how bad we were for each other. “Mistakes have consequences and me being on this island is a huge one.” The touch screen popped off with a snap. “And you’re only part of it is to fuck off, so go do that.”