Chapter 25

TWENTY-FIVE

Samantha

I’d been humming during my shower, but now, dressed and ready, I’m feeling more somber. Today, Evander, Aydan, and Zane will be going to find the three dragons, Balor, Than, and Kek. They’re going to try to stop them from awakening Malikay by any means necessary. The thing is, even with the help of the jets, I feel scared for them. I want to go with them just to even the odds, but I understand logically why I can’t.

My door buzzes. I release a slow breath and double check myself in the mirror. I’m wearing a black shirt that dips low in the front and has cutouts on the shoulders, jeans, and cute boots. It’s a nice outfit for a day at home stressing out about the three men I might just be in love with.

I turn away from the mirror and go to the door, wondering which of the guys might have decided to gift me with a few minutes together before they go. To my surprise, all three of them are there, dressed, freshly showered, and looking sexy as hell. My mouth waters and memories from the night before come surging back to me.

“Staring is rude,” Evander says, a husky note to his voice.

I snap my mouth shut, and he steps forward and tugs me around the waist into his arms. “If you don’t want to be stared at, don’t look so good.”

He chuckles. “Want to grab breakfast with us?”

“If I ever say no to that, smack me,” I say, pulling away.

Zane looks horrified. “We would never put our hands on you in such a way! Our hands are meant for pleasure.”

Evander and Aydan exchange a look, and then Aydan puts his arm around Zane’s shoulders. “She was just teasing, man. You’ll get used to her humor, eventually, but be warned, it’s not great.”

I punch Aydan in the shoulder, and he uses his free arm to grab my wrist and pull me against him. Then, before I can call him every name under the sun, he kisses me fiercely.

“Bastard,” I mumble against his chest.

I can feel him grinning when he says, “Don’t I know it.”

“Breakfast,” Evander orders.

Our posse heads down the hall, but I stop midway. “Let’s see if Dahlia wants to join us.”

“I thought she wasn’t a morning person?” Granger reminds me.

I shrug and go buzz her door.

After a ridiculously long time, she answers, hair over her face, wearing pajamas. “What the fuck?”

I wince. “Breakfast.”

She glares into my soul. “No.”

The door closes on her face as her eyelids are already beginning to close.

“I guess my morning angel needs more sleep,” I say with a laugh, and then we’re heading for the elevator again.

“How are you feeling after our night together?” Zane asks me, looking innocent as hell, which is funny given how not -innocent he was the night before.

My cheeks heat. “It was great.”

“She made that pretty clear, what with the moaning, and the soaking of the bed and all,” Aydan teases.

I glare at him. “Do you want me to hurt you? You sound like a man who wants to have a pillow pressed over his face while he sleeps.”

“Oh,” Zane says, shaking his head, “if you wanted to kill a male dragon, you would have to do a great deal more than that. He would awaken and escape from under the pillow. I do not support you killing Aydan, but you must come up with a better plan than that if you do.”

I laugh. “Thanks, Zane. I’ll remember that.”

When we reach the elevator, I hear Granger call for Aydan and I, and we turn around. He’s hurrying down the hall toward us. I smile and rub my chest. I’d missed Granger lately, but I kept telling myself that we’d have the whole day together today.

Granger jogs up to us, and we exchange grins as the elevator opens and we all climb in. “You guys going for breakfast?” he asks.

I nod. “Breakfast of champions.”

“Our last supper,” Aydan jokes.

I give him a look. “No jokes like that.”

The elevator opens on to the cafeteria where omelets, bacon, sausage, and pancakes lie waiting for us. We get our trays and plates and go down the line. I don’t fail to notice that every single person in our group piles their plates sky high, or that the staff has slowly been filling up the food more and more each day, almost like they’re now prepared for us to descend on the food like locusts.

We pick a table that fits our whole group and get to eating. It’s silent until our plates are mostly finished, and then a thought occurs to me. “Do all dragons eat a lot?”

Zane smiles. “There are many unique things about dragons. Eating a lot is one of those things. We also tend to be smarter, taller, stronger, and faster, even in human form. We rarely get sick or seriously injured from normal things that humans face, and we do not enjoy lying. It usually makes us so physically uncomfortable that we refuse to do it.”

I glance at Evander. “Hear that, it’s hard for us to lie.”

He looks exacerbated. “I never specifically?—”

Aydan puts his hand on Evander’s shoulder. “She’s baiting you. Don’t fall for her trap.”

I give them both a dirty look. “I don’t think I like you two getting along.”

They laugh, and I see a hurt look flash across Granger’s face for an instant before it vanishes. Note to self, I need to spend more time with Granger, and I also need to remind Aydan to do the same. The last thing we want is for Granger to feel left out, not just because he’s not a dragon, but because we’re being insensitive.

Granger clears his throat. “So, the enemy dragons have been spotted about a two hour dragon flight away from base. They’re harassing a small town off the highway. Jets are standing by to help you, but your goal isn’t just to fight them, it’s to fight them away from the small town, so there aren’t losses of life during the battle.”

“Good idea,” Zane tells him, smiling. “It is always better for dragons to be aware of the humans on our world. Peace between us is the best way to ensure we do not bring trouble on us from the humans.”

Granger nods. “These dragons are pretty damn stupid though. They seem like kids poking a hornet’s nest just to see what they’ll do. I can’t figure out why the hell they’re doing it.”

“To awaken Malikay,” Zane says confidently.

“Yes, but–” Granger looks troubled, but says nothing more.

We talk a little more, going over the details of their plan once they get to the location. Aydan, Evander, and Zane seem so confident that it makes me more nervous. I hope their egos aren’t bigger than their skill levels, because Zane is the only one between them that really has a lot of experience fighting like a dragon.

“What’s wrong?” Granger asks me, drawing me from my thoughts.

I want to lie, but he’d read me too easily. “I’m worried about this fight, and about not being there to help.”

“Sam, you know–” Aydan begins.

I lift a hand. “I know. I know all the reasons it’d be a bad idea for me to be there, but I still hate sitting at home while you three risk your lives.”

Granger reaches over and takes my hand. “We have a good plan. They’re going to be okay. And if they start to feel like they’re in over their heads, they can always run for it back to base.”

Squeezing his hand helps, but not enough. “You guys… just don’t do anything stupid. I know you’re cocky, headstrong idiots, but you need to come back alive.”

“Ah, you’re worried about us,” Aydan teases.

I snatch a piece of bacon off his plate and devour it. “Not you, specifically.”

We finish our plates and clear our table, then head back to the elevator. Tension increases around all of us, as no one speaks a word. The elevator doors open, and we step out into the cool morning air. It’s strange the way I feel, like I’m sending soldiers off to war.

Aydan comes over to me, pulls me toward him, and wraps me in his arms. He waits until I look up into those dark blue eyes of his, and then I’m lost in him. The boy I grew up with. The one who never pulled my pigtails or was mean to me. The one who always treated me like something important and valuable. He’s leaving, and I don’t know how I’m going to handle it.

“I’ll be right back,” he says.

“You promise?” I ask.

His gaze shifts from mine, which hurts even more after learning about dragons and promises. “I’ll do everything I can to get back to you as fast as I can.”

I sniff. “And you won’t do anything stupid?”

He kisses my forehead. “I’ll try to keep my stupidity under control.”

We kiss on the lips, clinging to each other for a ridiculously long time before he finally pulls away. My gaze clings to him, watching the way the wind plays with his messy blond hair. How the cool air turns his skin just a little pink.

“I love you.”

“I love you too,” he says without hesitation.

Evander clears his throat and steps closer to me. I smile and fold into his arms, wrapping around him, resting my head on his chest. His heartbeat is loud and fast, but I’m not sure if it’s because he’s worried, or because he’s holding me.

“This will be a simple operation with three skilled fighters. We’ll be fine. Tonight, over dinner, we’ll feel silly about all this hugging and worrying,” he tells me, but he holds me even tighter.

I meet his gaze and kiss him once, then again, then longer, melting into him. Evander makes me feel so many things I’ve never felt before: curiosity, surprise, frustration, and yet, I think I need all of that. From him. He’s made for me, just like my other dragon warriors.

We break our kiss and stare at each other for a long minute. He cups my cheek. “You just hold down the base until we get back. Understand?”

I sigh. “I understand.”

When he steps away, Zane doesn’t even hesitate. “My turn.”

Grabbing me around the waist, he swings me around until I’m laughing, then slides me down his body until I’m back on the ground. I’m still smiling when he covers my face in kisses, and then finds my lips. He’s not subtle as his tongue slips into my mouth, and he groans, holding me closer.

“Okay, ice dragon,” Aydan mumbles.

We break our kiss. “I will try to keep the fire dragons from being fire dragons, but it is a nearly impossible task,” he tells me.

“Oh, I know it!” I exclaim, forcing a grin. “Just watch out for each other. Remember, you’re a team.”

Zane releases me. I look at Granger. His eyes are trained on the ground, where he has kicked a little spot in the grass. Poor guy. All he wants to be is a dragon, part of the team, and instead he’s watching Aydan, Evander, and Zane get everything he wants. It can’t be easy.

The guys spread out while I watch, and then the three of them shift into dragons. Evander is a large silver dragon. Aydan is, possibly, a slightly larger gold dragon. And Zane is the smallest by a bit, and pale blue. They’re beautiful. All three of them. And my dragon longs to be with them.

They flap their wings, and the air grows even colder around them. Then they shoot up into the air, like the magnificent creatures they are. I go to Granger and put my head on his shoulder, then tangle my hand with his, watching as they disappear from view.

“Come on,” he says. “Let’s find some ways to keep your mind off of them.”