35. Jaiyana

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

JAIYANA

I woke alone the following day in Og's single bed. After my second waking breath, Tyson pulled on our connection. A vague need to go east made it hard to sit still. Fortunately, I was very, very good at ignoring my needs. The firebrat had used our connection at least twenty times last night, and other than making me a bit jumpy, ignoring him seemed consequence-free.

On the tangible side, the earth dragons had successfully kept both Tyson and Rehan out of their territory. Selfish and inappropriate disappointment pinched my chest.

Be Helen of Troy. Let your mates start wars over your beauty. Think of the ego boost.

No. I support my friends in handling this like adults.

So fucking boring.

With my morning insults out of the way, I reviewed my new situation.

Og lived in a cave meant for one: single bed, single chair, even a single set of cutlery. It was the least hopeful housing I'd ever seen. However, he was one of the happiest and most driven people I'd ever met. He kept bringing me bits of his porcelain collection to show off like we were playing fetch. It was adorable. Genuine excitement at anything and everything made me keep comparing him to a Golden Retriever.

We'd ‘talked' late into the night. Og had a million moments to share with me and held nothing back. His story wasn't unique. His happy-go-lucky childhood ended when puberty hit along with his magic. His friends turned into typical teens who ostracized anyone who didn't fit in, and Ogden was most certainly that. The warlocks whisked him away to study. He rose in the ranks fast, becoming the youngest and most potent earth dragon since they came to the island.

Now, he advised the earth dragon council. He had the respect of his peers, freedom to do whatever he wanted, and unlimited resources.

I chewed my lower lip. It was what he didn't talk about that drew my attention. Friends. He didn't mention a single name outside of his work. Although he didn't say it outright, he was lonely. His insecurity about his dick didn't help. My heart bled for him.

Men had no control or choice in that department. And what they did with it was way more important than the organ itself.

Something tugged at my memory….

The sound of silk sliding against silk whispered in my ears. Warm fingers caressed my stiff sides before coming to rest on my hips. Someone jerked me forward, and I gasped. I tried to focus on the sensations, but the moment I did, they slipped through my memory….

I found myself sitting in Og's bed. One hand rested against my clit while the other would have been gripping the hilt of the dagger I used to keep on my lower back.

Why was I touching myself?

Because Og's dick gave you a filthy, filthy wet dream.

I flexed my dagger hand.

I don't think that's right.

A shiver ran down my spine. Bone-deep knowledge of something wrong with my memory thudded in my soul.

I needed my magic back.

Still dressed in Og's cherry blossom pajamas, I slid out of his bed and crept toward the center of his cave. Dragon Og slept, leaning against the only entrance so no one could get in or out. I didn't particularly appreciate being trapped, but I got it. No one could hurt me, and I couldn't hurt anyone. I would have done the same.

It was also comforting to see a dragon shifter spending extended time in their dragon form. Magic liked balance. Og understood that on a fundamental level. I wasn't sure anyone else on this island did. It filled me with a sense of ease that made his cave feel more like home than Graeagle ever had.

Og's massive brown and green scaled gut rose and fell as he slept with his nose pointed toward me. I tiptoed up to his snout and stood on my tippy toes to caress the heat spot between his eyes. Og purred, his cave rumbling with the sound. He nuzzled closer to me and uncurled his legs, stretching them out. When I didn't resume my caress, he nudged me. Only he was a massive dragon pushing on a magicless human.

With an oomph, I stumbled backward and caught myself on the edge of his little kitchen table. One of his delicate porcelain bowls, which we had not been allowed to eat out of, fell off and shattered.

Shit.

Instantly, the ground under Og shuddered, and the earth swirled before engulfing dragon Og's body. As the dirt settled, Og strode forward with a hammock of scales, keeping his dessert stick firmly in place.

‘I'm so sorry,' I tried to say, having flashbacks to my time in Slain the Great's lair. Dragons do not like anyone messing with their hoards. But all that came out was, "Squeak, squeeeak, squeak."

I cringed and bent down to try and salvage the pieces, but Og pulled me up before I touched them.

"They're sharp. You'll cut yourself."

I jerked back in surprise while he wrapped me in his arms and nuzzled my neck.

"No one's ever rubbed my sun spot before." He purred. "I want to keep you forever."

I laugh-squeaked awkwardly, unsure how to respond. Golden Retriever: all joy and optimism, pretty much my polar opposite.

With a groan, Og pulled away from me. "Sorry. It's the dragon in me and, well, you. You're amazing, Jay, and I'll back off. Just friends, I remember." He cupped my cheek. "But even as just friends, it won't change how beautiful you are. Inside and out."

I squirmed and pulled further away from him, my gaze catching the sea of yellow paper strewn around his table from our ‘conversation.' I needed to burn these. They contained more of my technical magic history than I'd ever told anyone. I'd even sketched out the binding runes that slippery bastard Marduk used on me eight hundred years ago. Despite their dark nature, they were timeless in their efficiency.

And Ogden hadn't judged me. Not once.

He likes you. Likes you, you.

He's a kid, and I gave him his first BJ.

He's thirty-two and brilliant. Just because he's sweet doesn't mean he's a kid. Let him in.

No.

I shut down my inner voice and pulled away from Og. Stepping around the shattered plate, I found our notepad from last night. ‘Put some clothing on, and let's see what we can do about freeing my magic and voice.'

Ogden turned bright red before scales clicked together like Ironman out of the Marvel Movies to form a full suit. I sighed. Tyson would have dropped his little hammock and danced to make me squirm uncomfortably. I didn't know what reaction I preferred. I mean, I should want him covering up. We both needed to focus, but I pictured riding Og's dick, and my inner lips fluttered. It wasn't just the size. It was the ridges and that knot at the bottom. When I'd blown him, the knot had expanded in my hands. How would that feel stretching my entrance as he exploded inside me?

I licked my lips. It was so rare I found something I'd never experienced before. Instead of letting my imagination work me into a hot mess, I bent down to clean up the plate.

"No, you don't." Og rushed to my side and threw me over his shoulder. "Those are sharp, and you have bare feet."

‘I'm not made of glass!' I squeaked, bouncing as he carried me back to his sleeping area.

Og deposited me on his bed. "Stay here."

I raised an eyebrow at his assertive tone.

"Or not." He furrowed his eyebrows, and I rolled my eyes. "Look, I'll clean that up and get breakfast. When I come back, we'll spend the day figuring out how to free you."

I took a deep breath and wrapped his sheet around my legs.

Og growled. "Good girl." He flushed. "Er…"

Before he took it back, I swatted him away from me, grinning. There was a dominant dragon in him. He just needed some help finding it after so much time alone.

I watched his form disappear into his cave mouth, leaving it completely open. A stupid grin pulled at my cheeks.

He trusts you. Don't mess this up.

I probably will.

While waiting for him to return, I did my usual push-ups and sit-ups, preparing myself for a day of magical experimentation. The smell of rich Spanish cooking filled his cave, and my mouth watered. Ogden set out a spread of Tostada de tomate y aceite de oliva, a Spanish specialty of freshly baked bread and a tomato sauce, telling me it was his favorite. We gathered in his little reading area, each holding a brown recyclable take-out bowl.

"All dragons have access to their elemental magic," Og explained. "Our power exists as easily as breathing and takes little effort to control. However, raw magic, the power from the Ley Lines, isn't something all dragons have access to."

I raised an eyebrow and pursed my lips. Tyson's complete unawareness of magic pushed that statement home. But the disconnect made an uneasy shiver run up my spine. Elemental or using pure energy, both magics came from the planet, from the world around us. My thoughts drifted to the dragon's fertility issues, though I still didn't know the details.

Not our business. Like super not.

Right.

I looked at the little pile of papers I'd written last night. With a thought, I lit them on fire.

Og grinned. "Tyson's magic?"

I took a bite of breakfast with a satisfied nod.

"And you have Rehan's water to keep the flames under control, balance," Og sighed happily.

I chuckled.

The earth warlock grew a wall of dark rock out of his cave floor. He pulled a piece of chalk out of his pants pocket and began sketching ways to remove curses, skirting around the part involving binding himself to me for the rest of his life. Now that I had his magic and brain to pick, seeing if there was another way out felt like the right thing to do.

Although my evidence for needing his mark was solid, I hadn't tried any conventional methods of curse breaking. I chewed on my bottom lip. I still had no access to my magic. I felt exactly like I had when I woke up at the start of The Hunt, weeks ago, except with access to Rehan and Tyson's elemental magic. My confidence in my curse theory wavered… but my eyesight. Every time I escalated with one of my mates, it got better.

I kissed a girl, and I liked it, yeah. The Katy Perry song popped into my head. I let it play, replacing the lyrics with ‘dragon,' and cherry chapstick with all my new favorite desserts.

"What are you thinking?" Og tossed his chalk up in the air and caught it.

I'd skipped my kiss with Og and just dove right into the BJ.

I took out my pad and paper. ‘I think I need to kiss you.'

Og raised an eyebrow while I jotted down my possible error in order of operations.

Og grinned. "I didn't think you could get any hotter."

I snorted. Before I stood, Og slid to my chair and leaned down. I looked into his excited gaze. Out of the corner of my eye, his arms jerked as if to touch me, but he kept them at his side.

"Should I just…" Og started to ask.

I pushed up, pressing my mouth to his and cutting off his question. His lips were soft and tingled with a hint of magic. Very unmagical waves of heat ran down my body to pool between my legs letting me know, Golden Retriever or not, chemistry would not be an issue. Although I started the kiss, the dragon inside him rose to the challenge, and he leaned forward, deepening our kiss, before suddenly pulling back.

"Ouch, my balls, what?" he jumped backward, cupping his junk, before falling on his ass and rocking.

I grimaced, feeling like an ass, but I couldn't do anything to ease his pain. So I let him wallow and checked my various missing magical bits like the bitch I was. My sight might have improved a little, but inside a cave, I couldn't really tell. I still hadn't checked it after Tyson, so my comparison was off. And with no change in my voice or curse, I was pretty sure it was wishful thinking. In conclusion, without the mate mark, nothing we did counted toward my curse.

Og recovered. After an awkward explanation of the situation, we focused back on his board. By midday, we had a complex set of runes drawn in the middle of his cave floor.

‘A final one linking my ‘magic' to the Ley Line?' I wrote on the floor at my feet.

Og grinned at me like I was the most fantastic woman in the world, and I flushed my insides, squirming happily.

I tell you all the time you're terrific, and your insides never get excited.

Yea, you're me. We spend a lot of time tooting our own horn. Other people don't do that.

He does. He likes you.

Oh, shut up.

With my knowledge and Og's raw power, we activated the runes. Mossy, green light burst out of the floor, turning into dots of vapor, which scratched at me as they searched for the curse. The droplets condensed on my skin like water before dripping off me with no effect.

I clenched my fists and huffed.

"Right, next idea," Og said.

We worked through idea after idea. Eventually, I lay on the ground while Og shifted into his dragon and ran a stream of solid earth magic, infused with raw power through me, trying to burn out the spell.

I bit my lips together as the pressure of his power changed from discomfort to pain. This had to work. Something had to work! I screamed when the pain became too much, and Og's magic immediately cut off.

The earth below me rippled with his transformation. He knelt by my side, checking me for injuries.

"I'm so sorry. I should have stopped." He rested his fingers against my neck, measuring my racing pulse.

I shook my head.

"Don't do that," Og snapped. He lifted my head and settled it onto his lap before running his fingers through my hair. "I never want to cause you pain. Ever. You're brilliant and beautiful." He swallowed. "I know it seems fast, but sometimes you just know. If Tyson and Rehan even saw a spark of what I see in you, there is no way a curse forced their hands."

I looked up into his dark green cat-slit eyes.

"None of this is working," he said quietly. Tension filled the air between us. "If you can't use your own, I want you to have my element as well."

I gritted my teeth and pushed to a seated position. Every muscle in my body screamed at me like I'd lifted too much weight, and I flexed uncomfortably. I couldn't look at Og. He wanted to mate mark me, probably from the moment he met me. But as much as he thought it was coming from him, it wasn't. I hadn't understood what was going on when Tyson and Rehan bonded with me, but I knew now. And Og didn't deserve that.

‘No.' I mouthed. ‘There has to be another way.'

Before Og argued, his phone rang, making us jump. He scowled before answering it. "Ogden's phone."

My fingers twitched, calling on my magic to increase my sense of hearing so I could eavesdrop. But nothing happened. I groaned.

"I know it's out of character, but I had things to do," Og said into the phone. "Please don't call me that, and I don't owe you anything. Just get to why you called."

The person on the line said something, and I turned away from him. With no sunlight in Og's cave, I had no idea how late it was. But he'd brought us dinner hours ago. We were running out of time.

I stood and gingerly stepped to his kitchen table. The remains of our meal still sat on it. I spun an avocado pit like a top, wishing I had a phone or a computer or something with internet so I could google this shit. It wasn't often that worked, but Reddit had forums on almost every magical topic if you read between the lines.

My phone. Blast, had Sister Abby sent me another cat meme? I'd just gotten her out of her shell.

"Right," Og's rich baritone drifted across the cave. "And the tracks dead-ended at the base of our mountain range, they're sure?"

He stood and paced. His hips sawed in his loose pants, the ends of a wide cloth belt trailing after his movements and pulling my attention to his crotch. I licked my lips, looking away from where the most tempting dick I'd ever laid eyes on lived, held back by a wall of scales.

Like I kept myself.

Weird fucking comparison, Jay.

Og hung up the phone and scooted a chair to sit next to me. "It will just be a matter of time before our people find you." He placed a hand on my knee and squeezed. "We're honestly lucky Tyson and Rehan haven't ignored the rules, crossed the border, and damn the consequences."

I tossed a hand into the air. Rehan had too much respect for his people to start a war. Based on Tyson's need to please his father, I sincerely doubted he'd told his family anything about me. Magically finding me would beg more questions than he wanted to answer.

"Both are circling." Og's shoulders dropped. "Fire is cutting off our supplies. I can't let my people suffer. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but we've not gotten anywhere with removing the curse." He cupped my cheek. "You need to see this to completion. I believe you'll be able to remove the mark if you still want to. I believe in you."

My heart squeezed. I didn't even believe in myself, which was the actual problem here.

Fuck, you're messed up.

Helpful, so helpful.

I pressed Og's hand into my cheek before pulling it away to write. ‘If I can't, then you're trapped. Bonded to me and whatever other dragons I need to roll in the sheets to break the curse.'

Og bit his lower lip. "Maybe I want that? I don't like being alone. What if living with you and a bunch of moody dragons who can't get away from me sounds like my dream come true?"

My jaw dropped.

Og's eyes sparkled, and he darted forward, filling my open mouth with his tongue. I barely got to kiss him back before the combined magic from Tyson, and Rehan's mate mark zapped him hard.

Og pulled back and grunted. "Mate marking you will hurt, won't it?"

I nodded and wrote. ‘If'

Og ripped the piece of paper out of the pad and crumpled it. The ground swirled, and he tossed the paper into the center, where the earth swallowed it.

"When." He cupped my cheek. "I want to be at full strength to mark you. Tomorrow morning, you'll be my mate. Officially. Tyson and Rehan will have to back off."

I wrinkled my nose, not quite as sure it would be that simple.

Og froze, his face contorting. "Unless you don't want me to mark you after we failed."

Oh, Jay! This one is as insecure as you under all your bravado! You're a match made in heaven.

God damn it.

I narrowed my eyes and picked up the pad without looking at it, praying my writing came out. ‘We need to work on your confidence if you're to be one of my pet dragons.'

"Pet dragons?" Og scoffed and grinned, his chest puffing up with pride contrasting his tone. "More like you'll be our pet enchantress."

I giggle-squeaked, and Og rushed me, picking me up and slinging me over his shoulder. "You can sleep in my dragon arms or my human arms tonight. But those are your only options." He plopped me down on his bed. "What will it be?"