Burn (Dragon Souls) (48 page)

Anastasia shoved her way to the front and gaped at them. She barked a laugh then turned to grab Daniil in a rib-bruising hug.

Unfazed, Captain Vadik ran his gaze critically over her nudity then stepped forward holding aloft a bundle she recognized as a cloak.

Regent Myron detached from the crowd. He smiled faintly then held up his hands, projected his voice. “The Dragon King has yielded to the Queen of the Ice Realm. Hail Emperor Raad.”

A rousing chorus of Dragon Lords, Dragon Men and Citadel Guards chanted ‘
Hail! Hail! Hail!
’ Servants cheered and clapped, happy to have good news after the horrors of the days before.

Tears flooded Marina’s eyes. She swallowed convulsively, lips dry and cracked. This wasn’t how she imagined the moment. This wasn’t how she was supposed to feel.

Fingers brushed her ankle.

“Treasure?”

The calloused pads burned against her flesh.

Koen stared at the back of Marina’s head. He expected to see her fists shaking with anger, but her fingers hung loose at her sides. He did not understand. “Treasure, I–”

“You don’t get to speak to me.” Her voice was as cold and as deadly as the ice plains. “The threat of war is over? Good. Don’t enter my Realm.” Tugging on the leather strip securing the jade around her neck, she tossed it to the floor by his side. “I love you, Koen. I just don’t like you right now.”

Without another glance in his direction, without pause, she left him there.

She took the cloak from Vadik as she passed.

“The dungeon?” she asked quietly.

The strait-laced Captain wordlessly led her away as her guard from House Ryu surrounded her.

Koen Raad remained supine watching her walk away.

The Dragon Lands felt his pain, but were relieved it was over. Celebrations commenced elsewhere, away from their Emperor, a male who betrayed the female he loved to save them.

“B
y order of her Royal Majesty the Drackai are herby banished from the Ice Realm.”

Exhausted after three seemingly unending days of travel through the Barren, Mikhail blinked uncomprehendingly at the smartly dressed male blocking his way with a small army of ice breathers at his rear.

The last month had been a haze of rebuilding, funerals, and arguments with the Dragon Council and Courts alike.

The Drackai Queen’s coronation was done, and now it was time for the Wyvrae Queen to be honoured, accepting the Wreath from the Ice Realm’s Regent, Gavriil.

Yet the way was barred.

Riding his crested back, clinging to a ridge of ebony scales, Cathryn wiggled, expressing a wish to demount.

He did not blame her. He freely admitted it had not been the smoothest of rides.

The Barren was hellish.

Sapphire hide complimented by the glistening blue and white landscape, Daniil held up a reassuring claw.
‘There has been a mistake. I shall find the underlying cause of this
.’

As he moved forward, the Wyvrae held up a
katana
and pointed it at Daniil. The ice breather’s craggy face showed no welcome for one of his kind.

Daniil snorted angrily. The breath was a white cloud in the crisp, frigid air. ‘
I am Wyvrae. I
–’

“I know who you are.” The male returned his eyes to the parchment. “Daniil Kol, you are herby stripped of your titles and land for high treason. Your name has been struck from the hall of warriors, and your retainers will be escorted to the borderlands where they may make their way to the Fire Kingdom.”

Paling, Daniil rocked back as if struck. ‘
What are you
–’

“The punishment for treason is death,” the ice breather continued composedly. “Should you remain within our domain by sundown you will be tried and executed for your crimes against the Wreath.”

‘
I understand Marina is upset at what happened, but this is absurd
.’

“No, Daniil.” Coming through the ranks of Dragons, eschewing
dragonskin
to signal a wish to avoid hostility, Jakob made the other male’s lack of title plain. His eyes roamed over the people he knew Marina loved most in the world. He sighed heartily. “Our Queen is grieving.” He face curdled in disgust. “To think I once admired you. Go back to your backstabbing fire breathers. Live with the knowledge the land of your birth is closed to you.”

‘
I had no choice
,’ Daniil roared. ‘
I did what had to be done. It is not fair she punishes me for it. I saved lives
.’ His mental voice rose in a furious bellow. ‘
Do you hear me, Marina
? Face me if you mean to damn me.’

Jakob waved the Wyvrae Dragon Lords back when they snarled and tried to advance. Shifting to
dragonkin
, he butted Daniil’s shoulder with his snout and roughly shoved him aside for privacy. ‘
Did you really think there would be no consequences? He was her offspring. She loved him
.’ Using his bulk to push the male back, he turned to look at the visitors who did not have leave to pass the boundary. ‘
They forged a bond beyond flesh and blood – it was of the soul. You betrayed them. Goddess knows you are lucky. Your throats would be slit as you slept this night if punishment was mine to levy. Marina’s mercy knows no bounds for she has given you the chance to flee like the cowards you are
.’

Tail thrashing, Daniil took another threatening step. ‘
Cowards
?’

‘
You gave them an innocent. Can you deny it
?’

‘
No. I must live with it
.’ Daniil’s eyes darkened with pain. ‘
That does not mean what I did was not right
.’

Jakob shook his horns. ‘
You are too concerned with what is right. We could have found another way
.’

‘
War is not a way
.’ Daniil snorted frost. ‘
We may be warriors but we speak for the people. War is never what they would choose
.’

‘
No one would choose it, but we should have given our lives for that youngling. You decided he was worth tossing away because you hate the race who killed your family
.’

Daniil made a bad-mannered noise low in his throat and snapped his jaws angrily. ‘
It was not like that
.’

‘
Was it not
?’ Mikhail asked grimly.

“This argument is ridiculous.” Cathryn stormed into the middle of the three Dragons. “There is no right and wrong here. People were hurt and there is no changing it. We have to move past it. Marina is throwing a tantrum. That is nothing new.” Fisted hands propped on her rounded hips, she boldly met Jakob’s gaze. She flushed, frightened by his size, but did not back down. “I demand to see her.”

Finally, she spoke to him instead of looking through him, or past him to seek the sight of another.

His first direct contact must be the denial of what she wished.

Aggravated, Jakob growled. ‘
All must leave
.’

“Whatever orders you have can’t be applicable to me.” Cathryn’s tone turned pleading. Her eyes bored into his with heartbreaking honesty. “She wouldn’t.”

The Dragon Lord who read the scroll in human form stepped forward to show her what was written. Names were scrawled on the parchment with Marina’s signature at the bottom.

Cathryn snatched it from the stunned male’s hands. She stared with wide eyes. She blinked, several times, as if doing so would rectify a fault.

A shudder of pure fury shook her from head to foot.

“A fucking
death decree
. Are you shitting me?” Cathryn flung the parchment at the male’s head. Dragging her fingers to the ends of her mane, she brought them back up to press at her eyes. Her head swung slowly. “This is so sodding
Marinaish
I believe each bloody word. Damn you people for giving her this much authority.”

Jakob stiffened.

The Dragon Lord tasked with reading the proclamation snarled in affront.

Cathryn sniffed, and looked the male in the eye until he quieted.

She returned her gaze to Jakob. “That wasn’t an insult, not like you think. I know Marina will lead you well. She is remarkable in so many ways. She’s also a stone cold bitch in others. I know how stubborn she can be. She won’t give in now she’s done this, and rather than give her a kick up the backside you’re all
encouraging
her. Where does that leave us?” She motioned helplessly to the exhausted group behind her, shivering in the cold. “We’re her friends, her family, and she’s shut us out.”

Jakob lifted his chin. ‘
We are her family now
.’

Her stressed expression told him she did not find his words soothing. She turned to Mikhail. “We shouldn’t have given her time to adjust. I told you we needed to go after her when she released Jakob from the Citadel dungeons and left, but,
oh no
. You Dragon Lords think you know everything. All we did was give her enough time to dig her heels in and grow bitter.”

Jakob listened to her rage at her party and grew aroused. A tantalizing thought had him stiffening. What if he grabbed her and left? Her companions could not follow. She was too weak to struggle much, and he would keep her so warm and well fed she wouldn’t want to leave him ever. Her small stature, large eyes, and wavy blonde hair were beautiful. Her scent was mouth-watering, her aura stunning in its boldness.

Shaking himself sane, Jakob lowered his eyes to hide his frustration. Cathryn was not Chosen. She was destined to mate a Dragon Lord, and he did not enter relationships that could not end in a mating. He futilely wished he could keep her close, or that she could stay in the palace, so he could see her everyday.

He batted the thought away.
Too possessive, she is not mine
.

His Dragon did not like that and it rose resentfully to add a gruffer edge to his words. ‘
Do not make this harder, woman
.’ His desires toward the female mattered not.

Each night he knelt beside Marina and held her hand as she sobbed as if her heart would never again be whole.

Those who claimed to love her betrayed her.

It enraged him, and made him terribly sad.

Time for uncertainty was done. Jakob lifted his chin and glared at the female that made his heart stutter and his belly heat.

She was not for him and never would be.

‘
Leave this place. Do not come back. It will mean war
.’ He paused and angrily shook his head. His eyes locked with those of the furious fire breathers. ‘
Considering what you did to prevent the last it chills me to consider how low you would stoop to win another. Leave. Before I forget my place and deliver the vengeance my Queen is too soft-hearted to bid
.’

The immense shadow slipped into the lavish chamber. Black claws dug into blocks of ice as if the seamless wall was soft earth. Frigid cold blew from the slick surface, chilling his breath to jewel-like sparkles of vapour.

Marina tasted his distinctive masculine salt-spice scent on the wind. Felt the other predator breech the sanctity of her territory. His entry into her lair was no shocker.

Anger stirred.

It was hot and thick at the back of her throat, ugly and evil in the pit of her stomach.

And yet she found no desire to cry for help.

Koen Raad began the night as a Dragon. A mournful, roaming beast denied his mate.

Now he shifted human and strode across the rugs to smooth a burning touch down his female’s back. His head lowered, body bending as he covered her from behind and buried his face into the crook of her neck and shoulder.

He breathed in.

Trembled and exhaled shakily.

Marina’s eyes closed as she swallowed. Her breathing coarsened, and her mind floated, aimless, allowing herself a moment to enjoy him. Desire spiralled through the haunting ache. The pressure and stress of their separation eased, and she leaned into his embrace. Her heart beat slow and full for the first time since she left his side.

“Treasure,” he rasped hungrily. “I need you.”

Koen’s heart tripped then thundered in his chest. He never thought being humbled by his female would be a spiritual experience. He’d always believed the act would be the most debasing, soul-destroying event in his life. The moment she had wrapped her maw around his throat – mercilessly holding his life hostage in exchange for his submission – had been the single most profound experience of his existence. He understood the unbreakable bonding theorised to occur during a Phoenix’s defeat by the warrior strong enough to be his mate, but to actually
experience
the overwhelming power of Marina’s might had been all-consuming.

He could not be without her now.

There would be hours, years, and forever of slow, gentle exploration.

This could come later.

After he took what he needed.

Scooping her off her feet, he spun. He lifted her legs over his hips and tore away the flimsy fabric hugging her body.

She did not fight.

Someone had prepared her, told her how it would be.

There was no fear in her eyes, only incandescent love shielded by a hurt diamond-hard.

He was stiff, ready for her, and his erection lined unerringly with her core. The thatch of curls brushing his cock-head was raw dampened silk.

Panting, her breasts jerked against his chest. Her hands flitted upward to grip his shoulders. She hitched her legs higher, fluted opening blush-pink, welcoming, knees a steady pressure on his obliques.

A long fingered hand parted her sex, and glided, seeking through her juices for the stiffened, hooded pearl.

Koen’s lungs toiled like bellows.

She was ready.

His.

Pinning her immobile to the tapestry blanketing the cold wall, he spread her thighs wider.

He rammed himself inside her.

Marina made a breathy noise of relief. Her forehead dropped to his shoulder and braced there.

Koen pulled back to slam into her again, and again.

All her strength was used in holding on as he pummelled deeper, yet as he thrust her need grew stronger, and she cried out, the sound muffled by the flesh she sank her teeth into. Inner muscles remembered the invasion. They screamed joy as they were ploughed by the deepest of strokes.