Possessed by a Dark Warrior (54 page)

The female rushed to the Second King, kneeled and gathered him into her arms.

Disappeared with him.

Taryn’s eyebrows shot up.

Beside her, Bleu let out a low whistle. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

She silently seconded that thought as she watched demons from the second realm turning in circles, confused looks on their faces. A fae had just abducted their king.

Part of her expected them to all flee the battle in search of him, but a male stepped forwards, barked something in the demon tongue and they set off again, charging forwards as if nothing had happened.

Taryn looked back towards where they were heading.

Her brother still stood outside the black tent.

Waiting.

She could feel it as she stood on the side of the mountain, the gentle wind flowing over her exposed skin and the light from the portal warming it.

Tenak moved forwards, stopped, took another step towards the battle. He was itching to join in. It was only a matter of time before he took the sword from the black tent and wreaked havoc with it on the remaining warriors of her side.

Time that she wouldn’t squander.

Every second he spent watching the battle unfold was a chance for her to sneak into his camp and steal his sword. Now that he had left his tent, the time had come for her to act.

She turned away from the battle and Bleu followed her, caught her hand and darkness embraced them, cold against her skin. When it evaporated, they were on the other side of the mountain range, within the border of the First Realm of demons.

“Ready?” Bleu said beside her as he released her arm.

Taryn nodded. “Ready.”

She stepped fowards to give herself more room to shift. Bleu grabbed her arm, pulled her into his and kissed her, a brief firm press of his lips that soothed her fear and her nerves, and spoke volumes about the feelings that flowed from him and into her through their bond. He was worried, and he loved her.

“Be careful,” he breathed against her lips.

She clutched his upper arms, nuzzled his nose with hers, and savoured this brief moment of calm, putting it to memory.

“You be careful, too,” she whispered back at him.

He kissed her again and she claimed his lips, couldn’t stop herself from deepening it, desperate to take more from him, afraid that this would be the last time they kissed.

She drew up her courage from her feet, sucked down a deep breath and found the strength to step back from him. She had to do this. Her brother was a threat to everyone in Hell, and potentially everyone in the mortal realm too. If he won this war, the power he would wield in Hell would only satisfy him at first. It wouldn’t be long before his hunger grew and he turned his mad gaze on the mortal plane, finding a way to enter it and bring it to its knees before him.

And then what?

Would her brother attempt to covet the greatest treasure and claim Heaven for himself?

She fisted her hands at her sides, clenched her jaw and silently vowed that would never happen.

It ended here.

This day.

She willed the shift, and the ground dropped away as her body transformed. Her black paws seemed foreign to her, as if she was looking through another’s eyes. Bleu’s dazzling eyes. She looked across at him as he towered beside her, a huge black dragon with six horns and enormous obsidian wings. His scales shimmered blue in the dying light of day as he turned his head towards her, his violet eyes locking on her. The softness in them spoke to her, told her of his love for her and that he intended to remain close to her for as long as he could.

Taryn looked back down at her own black scales. Strange. She had always longed to be a different colour, to be a normal shade for a dragon rather than a two-tone one that drew attention to her, but now she missed seeing her violet scales and white chest. The black made her feel like someone else. Someone not her.

Bleu had told her back at the castle after mating with her that he thought her hair and eyes beautiful, and she had blushed but hadn’t quite believed him. Now as he gazed at her, raking his violet eyes over her, and she mourned the loss of her colours, she knew he had been telling the truth. He honestly thought her unusual colouring added to her beauty and he didn’t want her any other way.

She no longer wanted herself any other way either.

Bleu had made her feel comfortable in her skin and now she could see how much that unique colouring was a part of her. She stood out but she no longer cared who stared at her, or if she drew the attention of others. She only cared about the way her mate looked at her, the desire and love that shone in his violet eyes whenever they rested on her, and how her appearance drew his attention to her.

She beat her wings and he kicked off, taking to the air with grace that had her lingering a moment on the mountainside to watch him. He flapped his huge black wings, a lazy beat compared to the flustered ones he had used during his training, one that said he was comfortable with being a dragon now.

A striking one at that.

The sunlight caught his scales again, sending blue shimmering over the ridges of his snout and brow, and down the long lean line of his neck, and up his muscular wings. He flicked his tail, the heavy barbed tip cutting through the air, and tucked his back legs up against his stomach, streamlining his body.

He let out a short cry, one she understood.

Taryn launched into the air, obeying his order to follow her. She beat her wings, lifting herself to the same altitude as him, and fell into place beside him. He banked right and soared downwards, towards the valley floor, and she followed, mirroring him. The wind buffeted her face, cool against her scales, and joy swept through her despite her crushing fear of what lay ahead.

Bleu gave a single hard beat of his wings as he reached the side of the curving mountain range and shot upwards only a few metres from the cragged black rocks. She could feel his joy as it flowed through their link, his excitement as he mastered flying and experienced the thrill that she felt whenever she flew. He gave another keening cry as he launched into the sky above the ridge, caught a thermal and twisted in the air, so his body pointed downwards again. He dropped fast, spinning through the air with his wings pinned back, and disappeared beyond the ridge.

She followed him, somersaulting as she reached a crescendo on the thermal coming up off the mountain range, and diving towards him as he soared down into the valley on the other side.

Her senses sparked and she sharply looked right.

Three dragons.

A red male, a gold male and an emerald female.

They were heading towards the camp. Coming to join Tenak for the final stage of the battle.

The bigger red male called and Bleu answered, and Taryn thanked the gods for being on their side as her mate fell into line with the three dragons, joining their ranks. She hadn’t expected to have cover like this, but she wasn’t going to complain. It would be easier to slip into the camp if they looked as though they were part of incoming reinforcements.

Taryn joined Bleu, flying beside him, as close as she could get as her nerves began to get the better of her again.

The tents came into view as they rounded a corner, sending her heart pounding as those nerves suddenly shot up. Bleu looked across at her and made a low coughing noise through his fangs that was meant to reassure her. A sound reserved for mates. The red male turned his head her way, his amber eyes narrowing, and Bleu’s enormous head swivelled towards him.

Bleu growled, flashing his fangs, and darted left, slamming his big body against the male and knocking him into the gold dragon. The red male called, a sound of submission, and flew upwards, breaking away from them and dropping to the back to the emerald female.

Taryn’s blood burned hot.

Her mate was powerful and his display of dominance stirred the fire in her veins until she was aching for him again, unsatisfied need rolling back to a boil.

Bleu lifted his head, his six horns catching the golden light of evening coming from the elf kingdom, and roared, robbing her of breath as a shiver chased through her.

Her senses sparked, warning her of eyes on them, and she diverted her gaze away from Bleu, settling it back on the camp.

Tenak.

He watched their approach with a broad smile, folded his muscular arms across his bare chest, and she could feel his satisfaction as it ran through him. Her heart thundered now, beating so fast she felt dizzy. Bleu brushed his wing across her belly, the swift caress causing a thousand warm tingles to spread over her scales, his way of telling her that he was still there with her.

They would be victorious. Rosalind’s spell would hold, masking her scent and her colour. They would find the sword. They would be victorious.

Taryn told herself that on repeat, a mantra she used to settle her fears as they neared the camp. Tenak looked away from them as the emerald female came into land, turning his focus back to the battle.

He would want to join it soon.

Time was running out.

Several big demon males closed in around Tenak, speaking to him while he remained focused on the fight down in the valley.

The gold dragon set down and shifted back, the emerald female joining him. Taryn looked at the black tent. How was she meant to reach it and shift back to enter it without her brother noticing her?

Bleu provided the answer to that question.

He landed hard, crushing one of the smaller tents and sending everyone in the area scattering as he turned with a roar and lashed out at the red dragon male. His front right paw snagged on the dragon’s wing as he went to pass him, coming in to land with the others, and sent him crashing to the ground. The male reacted in an instant, shoving onto his paws and turning on Bleu, snapping at him with his fangs.

Bleu reared back and pummelled the male with his front paws, long black talons raking over the male’s scales as he tried to evade Bleu.

Tenak shouted something and stormed towards them.

Taryn saw her chance and took it, silently thanking her mate for his diversion and sending a prayer to the gods that he wouldn’t be found out, or seriously hurt.

She drifted overhead, unnoticed by her brother, and the moment he had his back to her, striding away from her with his demon entourage in tow, she pirouetted in the air and dove towards the ground. She shifted before hitting it, landing naked in a squat behind the black tent.

Threw a glance to her right, towards Bleu where he still clashed with the red dragon, their wings beating the air and paws smashing against each other.

She didn’t bother to use her limited magic to clothe herself, fearing it would mess with Rosalind’s enchantment. She tugged the black material of the back of the tent up and scrambled underneath it, her heart leaping around in her chest. The grunts and snarls of the fight grew dimmer and she shoved to her feet, her gaze flying around the tent.

The sword had to be here somewhere.

She checked every wooden trunk that lined the circular wall, threw the piles of cushions that formed a bed aside, scattering them in all directions, and huffed as she didn’t find it. She closed her eyes, drew down a breath to steady herself and then pulled the air in through her nose. The sword was here somewhere. She could smell it.

Taryn opened her eyes and the sound from the fight between Bleu and the red dragon grew louder, Tenak’s barked orders rising above the thuds of flesh meeting flesh.

She scoured the room again and then shut her eyes, focused on her dragon instincts and tapped into them.

The sword was here.

The sword was treasure.

The most beautiful treasure.

The ultimate treasure.

Her senses tingled, her feet drawn towards something in the far corner, near the open flap at the front of the tent. She opened her eyes, everything around her shimmering as her desire for treasure took hold.

Treasure.

She obeyed her feet, allowing them to carry her towards it, lost in the desire running through her, the excitement and need. She was close. The treasure would be hers.

She squatted in front of a low long black box. Her hands shook as she reached for the gold clasp on the polished stone lid. She flicked it open with her thumb, held her breath as she raised the lid. That breath shot from her as her hungry gaze fell on the black sword. She ran trembling fingers down the blade, feeling the engraving on it, the power that flowed through it.

Intoxicating.

A roar sounded, closer now.

The ultimate treasure.

Not the sword, but the male who had birthed such a feral powerful call.

Her mate.

She closed her fingers around the hilt of the blade, pulled it from the box and rose to her feet.

She raced to the back of the tent, tugged the black material up and rolled under it, coming to her bare feet on the other side.

Her entire body froze.

Gaze slowly edged to her right.

To the male there.

Tenak’s lips peeled back off his fangs as he snarled at her, his violet-to-white eyes flashing dangerously. He went from a walk to a sprint, long violet-leather-clad legs eating up the distance between them. Her heart shot into overdrive.

Bleu reared up behind him and swept his left paw down, caught her brother in his side just as he closed in on her and sent him flying across the camp and slamming face-first into the stone wall of one of the abandoned buildings.

Before she could say or do anything, that same paw closed around her and lifted her off the ground. Bleu tucked her against his chest, cradling her as his heavy footfalls shook the earth and Tenak roared in the distance. The hairs on the back of her neck rose on end and she didn’t need to see to know her brother had shifted.

Bleu snarled and launched into the air, his huge black wings beating it hard as he tried to gain some distance between them and her brother.

Taryn clutched the sword, pulse pounding as she called her violet leathers and white corset, and her boots. As Bleu banked, she looked back in the direction they had come, and her eyes widened as she saw not only Tenak after them but the three other dragons too.