Authors: Bianca D'Arc
She could hear the despair in his words. “Courage, my dear friend.” She stood at his shoulder, where the injured wing met his body. A jagged chunk of membrane and bone was missing, crippling him.
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The surge of magic caused every dragon in the Lair to take notice. Questions flew from one mind to the next, but Reynor calmed them all. He counseled them to patience as he noted the changes in his wing. Something was happening back there, but he’d be damned if he could feel anything except the delicious tingle of powerful, foreign magic. He was in no pain, which was quite a change from the past few weeks. Lucy had gone silent, standing behind his wing now, holding a single golden plume over his wound with both hands as if braced against the flow of the energy she commanded.
“What’s going on?”
Kaden’s sleepy voice came to him from the doorway of the bedchamber. The knight was rumpled from sleep, but keenly aware of something strange happening in his suite.
“Your mate is a priestess of great ability. She’s taken the pain away, Kaden. For the
first time in weeks, I don’t hurt.”
But Lucy did. Kaden could see it on her face as he stumbled toward the edge of the sand pit. Her expression was one of agony as the glow of magic enveloped her. She stood with her feet braced far apart in the warm sand, wielding the longest feather he’d ever seen like a sword that was much too heavy for her.
She staggered and fell just as the glow flared and he was momentarily blinded. When he could see again, Lucy was sprawled on the sand beneath Rey’s wing. Rey’s
fully
healed
wing.
It was a miracle.
But Lucy was down. Unconscious.
Kaden leapt into the wallow, tripping in the sand as he rushed to her side.
“Call for help, Rey!”
Kaden felt a shocking tingle of magic as he scooped her into his arms. It flowed through her petite body so powerfully, he was afraid he might drop her. But no more harm would come to this woman if he had anything to say about it. He took her back to bed, lying her down as the dragon watched from the doorway.
“Will she be all right?”
“I have no idea. She’s breathing, but I can’t rouse her.” Insecurity filled him. Was she yet another casualty of his inability to keep Rey safe in the first place?
No less than Queen Arikia answered the summons for a healer. She took one look at Lucy and clucked like a hen, ordering Kaden about as she made her charge more 56
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comfortable. Riki was Prince Nico’s wife and had a powerful healing talent. Unlike her twin sister, who was more of a dragon healer, Queen Riki had used her healing talent primarily on humans from an early age. If anyone could help Lucy, it would be this woman. But Riki jumped back as if burned when she tried to move the long feather out of Lucy’s hands. Kaden hovered near and moved to help, but Riki stayed his hand.
“What is this?”
“I’m not sure, but she used it to heal Rey. She told him it was from her family.”
“Then it stands to reason, only family may touch it. Sir Kaden, do you take this woman as your wife?”
“Yes, of course. I love her with all my heart.”
Riki smiled. “Good, then. You try to remove the feather.”
Kaden reached out and felt only a slight tingle as the feather settled into his palm. He placed it on the long table along one wall, out of the way.
“Darn thing zapped me when I tried to touch it,” Riki observed with a small grin.
“It’s got some powerful magic indeed.”
“It healed Reynor completely.” Queen Lana’s voice came from the doorway. “It did what I couldn’t.”
“But what did it do to Lucy?”
Rey was clearly worried.
“From what I can see,” Riki spoke as she worked, “it channeled the pain away from you, Reynor, while magic reconstructed what had been lost, but I think Lucy got some of the backwash of pain. She passed out in agony. I can feel the residual in her even now.”
“Sweet Mother.” Marcus rushed in and fell to his knees at Lucy’s bedside, taking one cold hand in his while Kaden watched helplessly. “Will she be all right?”
“It’s hard to say. Something similar happened to me a few times before I knew how to channel my power, but this magic came from outside herself. I don’t know what that might do to her. My advice for now is to let her sleep it off. Judging by my past experiences, she could sleep for a day or possibly two. I wouldn’t worry until then. Chances are, she’ll come out of it on her own, none the worse for wear, but wiser about how to use that…thing. Whatever it is.”
Riki turned to leave, but Lana had more to say. “She healed Reynor completely. I don’t know what kind of magic could do that and I don’t know how your mate was able to bring something like that here undetected, but my husband will want to speak with her when she wakes. In the meantime, count your blessings. She’s given Reynor—and you
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all—what none of us could, and suffered for it.” She looked over at Lucy, lying so still and pale in the bed. “She must love you an awful lot.”
With that, the twin queens left.
Rey stuck his head into the bedchamber as far as he could reach, licking his long tongue out to touch Lucy’s cheek. She seemed to settle into a more restful sleep and some of her color came back as Reynor touched her. Dragons had healing in their touch and breath, though they used it only rarely on humans who were not their knight partners. Kaden put one hand on Rey’s neck, the other on Marcus’s shoulder as he sat at Lucy’s side, her hand tucked against his heart.
“Will she be all right?” Marcus asked in a quiet tone that betrayed his fear.
“She’s got to be.”
“Don’t worry,”
Rey said to them both. “
We’ll all watch over her until she wakes.”
“But what if she doesn’t wake?” Kaden’s voice was raw with pain.
“She must.”
Linea’s voice rumbled through their minds. “
The Mother of All would
not have chosen her for you only to take her away so cruelly. Lucy is part of our family
now. She’ll come back to us. Reynor’s been granted a second chance at life. As have we
all. That was a gift from the Mother. She would not be so cruel as to snatch your mate
from you now, when happiness is finally within our grasp.”
Marcus rose, laying Lucy’s hand at her side, and went to his dragon partner, looming in the doorway next to Rey. He threw one arm over her pale green neck. “I love you, Linea. Your faith is stronger than mine, I fear.”
Fear not,
she answered simply. “
Enjoy this moment as much as you can, for this is
the moment on which our futures will be built. Reynor is whole again. Praise the
Mother.”
Marcus touched Rey’s neck. “Praise the Mother, indeed. It’s good to see you looking so fit, Rey. It’ll be a pleasure to have you back in the skies at Linea’s side.”
“It will be good to fly again and when we’re all ready, to consummate this union.”
When the dragons flew in their first mating flight, the knights and their mate would be truly joined. Each time after, whenever the dragons mated, the knights would find the same sensual solace with their mate. Dragon sex drive was strong and the knights were so closely linked with their partners, when the dragon half of the partnership felt it was time to play, the human participants had little choice but to follow suit. 58
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“We all look forward to that day,” Marcus spoke for them all, “but first we need our mate in good health once more.”
“Agreed. I would do anything for her after all she’s done for me. I never thought to
feel this way about a human female, but,”
Reynor hesitated, tilting his head to one side as he considered the woman on the bed, “
I find that I love her deeply.”
“As it should be,”
Linea agreed.
“We all must care for one another if this family is to
work. As the Mother of All intends.”
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Chapter Nine
Lucia woke with a persistent, dull ache in her head. Fuzzy with sleep, she became aware of two powerful heat sources on either side of her. One was definitely Kaden. Her legs tangled with his and her cheek rested against his chest. But then what was the other source of incredible heat against her back?
She peered behind her with bleary eyes.
Marcus.
In bed. With her. And Kaden.
She tried to remember what had happened, but drew a blank. She eased out of the bed, doing her best not to wake either of the men, and headed for the bathing chamber. After relieving her bladder and cleaning up a bit, she moved to the kitchen area, noting the empty wallow where she’d expected to find Rey. The empty wallow reminded her of what she’d done, but she couldn’t remember anything after that final surge of magic. Still, she took his absence from the sand pit as a sign that Rey had been healed by her efforts and was now out and about, perhaps flying for the first time in weeks. The thought made her smile.
Going about the steps to make a soothing tea for her headache, Lucia tried to work out some of the kinks in her muscles. She was slow to get going this morning, and didn’t remember much after approaching Rey the night before. Her neck and shoulders were stiff and she still felt a little groggy.
Strong, masculine hands settled on her shoulders and started to rub as she sighed.
“Marcus.” She knew his touch immediately, so different from Kaden’s, but was too weary to be afraid.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek from behind. “Good morning, Lucia.” His arms circled her waist, pulling her backward against his warm chest, just holding her.
“By the Mother, I’m glad you’re all right. How do you feel?”
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“A little stiff. That’s all. I guess Kaden put me back in bed last night.” She didn’t dare ask when he’d joined them. Something odd was going on, but she had a hard time focusing.
“Sweetheart, you collapsed. You’ve been asleep for three days.”
“You’re joking.”
Marcus released her and she turned. His expression was serious.
“You’re not joking.” She was shocked.
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I feel a little sore, and still a bit tired, but otherwise all right. Why?”
“We weren’t sure what that magic would do to you.” She saw the concern on his face as he cupped her cheek. “We were worried, Lucia. Really worried.” He tugged her back into his arms, squeezing her close in a tight hug. “Kaden and I took turns sitting with you all day, each day, but you slept and slept. The only hope we had was because Queen Riki told us what to expect. Still, you slept longer than even she predicted.” He kissed her hair.
“Don’t ever worry us like this again. I don’t think I could bear it.”
“I didn’t mean to.” She pulled back. “But I had to try to heal Rey. It was the only gift I had to give.”
“You’ve given us more than we ever could have expected, but you risked yourself too much, Lucy. None of us liked seeing you so still and pale.”
“It was the only way.”
“What exactly did you do?” He was curious, but she should have expected that.
“Where is the plume?”
“Still on the table in the bedroom where Kaden put it. The darn thing shocked Riki when she tried to touch it.”
“Oh, no. Is she all right?” Worry wrinkled her brow.
“She’s fine, but what
is
that thing?”
“A gryphon feather.”
Marcus stoked her hair. “That’s some powerful magic.”
“It is.” She nodded. “Which is why it’s only used in the most dire circumstances. I take it Rey’s all right?”
“He’s out stretching his wings as we speak.” Marcus tightened his embrace, sending a thrill down her spine. Was it wrong to feel so attracted to Marcus? The men wanted her
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to be wife to both of them, but she wasn’t completely sure. Marcus had become less a reminder of her past and more a troublesome temptation of something she dare not desire. Still, being in his arms didn’t feel as audacious as she’d once thought. It felt right. Right, and…thrilling.
“Oh, Lucy, I was so worried about you.” His whispered words held passion as he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss wasn’t tentative, but rather a claiming, a welcoming and a promise of more to come. Marcus swept inside, licking fire along her senses as his tongue explored her mouth, finding all the sensitive spots that cried out for his attention. Lucia moaned as she slid against him, the strength leaving her knees as Marcus seduced her with his masterful kiss.
A moment later, she felt the smooth stone of the kitchen wall against her back as Marcus pressed against her. She didn’t mind the hardness at her back any more than she minded the very masculine hardness pressing against her belly. Marcus was built on the long side, if she was any judge, and he was more than eager. The question remained⎯could she welcome him into her body as she’d welcomed Kaden? Should she?
As Marcus kissed her, the answer to that question became more and more urgent. The man was on fire and she had to make her decision. Acknowledging the desire they both felt was the first step on a much longer road the men wanted her to navigate. She wasn’t at all sure about the future, but the present was becoming more insistent with every moment, every twist of Marcus’ hips against hers. He broke the kiss to meet her gaze. “I realized one very important thing over the last three days, watching you, lying there in that bed.” Her temperature soared as he pinned her against the wall with his muscular body.
“What’s that?”
“I learned that life is precious⎯yours most of all. Without you, our lives would be empty. All of us. Me, Kaden and the dragons too. I know we’ve only known you a short time, but you’re part of us, Lucia. We love you. Don’t you feel it?”
Slowly, she nodded. “I love you all too.”