Page 5 of Vengeance and Fire

“I need a minute, Adrian.” I reach the bathroom and close the door in Adrian’s face. Then I feel instantly guilty and open it again. He stands with his palms up in surrender. As hard as I try, I can’t ignore the beautiful body in front of me, and I let my eyes wander. His smooth brown skin, with a few battle scars along his pecs, leads down to his very defined six pack, and his delicious deep v-heading towards—

Clearing his throat my eye dart up to meet his. “You keep looking at my dick like that and I will throw you over my shoulder and no won’t be an option.” He takes a step forward with a challenge in his eyes and I huff out a breath of frustration, secretly thrilled by our interaction.

“I didn’t ask you to follow me all the way here with your dick out, Adrian. Damn it, cover up.” I go to close the door when a pillow flying through the air hits Adrian in the head from behind.

“What the hell was that for?” he says, looking over his shoulder at the two idiots walking our way.

What follows is a moment I want to remember for the rest of my life. Torin and Gale walking down the hall towards us with nothing but pillows covering their groins. I can’t help the laugh that escapes my lips. I laugh harder as Adrian joins them as he gracefully scoops up the pillow to cover his junk. I laugh until tears stream down my face, all too aware that I am still naked as well. All three of them stand side-by-side as they wait patiently for me get control of myself, but my laughter soon turns to real tears. I really did need some time to myself. I could feel the shift in my emotions when I woke up this morning and I knew the grief from my loss would hit me hard.

“I’m so over crying.” I sniff, wiping my eyes quickly as I look up into the eyes of three very serious faces. The playful smirks and smiles of my adoring men were gone, in its place is understanding and concern. Gale goes to step forward, but Torin holds out his arm to stop him.

“You need time, sweetheart. We will give it to you. Now that your heat has passed, everything you’ve been through will be at the forefront of your mind. There is so much to discuss, and now that you’re ready there are decisions that need to be made.” Torin offers me a smile, reaching out with his hand he wipes away a stray tear.

I blow out a breath trying hard to find some other emotion other than sorrow. “I don’t ever want to be vulnerable again. I want to learn how to fight, fly, and use my magic. I know I don’t have a lot of time. She will come for us all. I can’t let her win. I owe it to my father and my—Thana. I won’t let her win,” I say, feeling slightly better now I’ve put words to my feelings.

“She won’t. You want to learn to fight. I have some knives with your names on them, gorgeous.” Gale smiles and bounces on the balls of his feet, as if he’s excited by the prospect of teaching me to fight.

“We are here for you. We are your shields. You want to fight, and we want to fight alongside you. We will make this right. Now go get that pretty ass of yours in the shower. It’s time for the business side of things.” Adrian winks and turns, offering me a view of his naked ass as he retreats down the hall and the others follow. Try as I might, I can’t help myself. Damn, I’m a lucky bitch.

* * *

My thoughts turn to Dravyn as I pull a long blue maxi dress over my head. It feels good to be in my own clothes, and I am thankful to my mother for sending them along with my guys. I wish she was here with me now; her sage wisdom is what I yearn for most, and a hug would be nice too. Unfortunately, l know that all of this is something I eventually have to face on my own. My hand absentmindedly worries the bracelet around my wrist.

The smell of bacon hits my nose, making my stomach growl. Walking down the hall toward the guys’ laughter I feel better but not completely. I need to make sure Dravyn is OK. If I lose him too—I quickly squash those thoughts as I enter the kitchen. Torin and Adrian cook side by side as Gale sets out the plates on the long banquet size table. It almost looks out of place with the four of us here, and it makes me wonder if other female Dragons have more than four mates. That’s a lot of dicks, but how do they make it work?

“A woman can definitely get used to this,” I say as they all turn to look at me as I climb up on to a bar stool. Gale puts a plate in front of me, and leans in, giving me a lingering kiss on the cheek. Quickly pulling away he immediately becomes my favorite as he places a steaming cup of coffee in front of me.

“Try it. All the way from Earth.” My eyebrows lift in surprise as I lean in and sniff the aroma. I groan, and my mouth waters because although they had coffee in both Celestia and Arcadia, it wasn’t the same. The taste made me think of home, how Mrs. Banks would always have a cup ready for me across the hall with her favorite pastries. Putting the cup down, I suppress my emotions, determined not to cry over my breakfast.

“How?” I ask as a distraction. I could already feel their eyes on me. I think they were ready for me to break, ready to scoop me up and make it better. I scoff to myself I don’t have time to breakdown. There is way too much shit to do.

“Trade. Remember when we first came to you, we mentioned we traded with the Shifters on Earth?” Adrian crosses over to the table, placing scrambled eggs, bacon, and fruit on the table as I nod my head yes at the vague memory. So much has happened to us, it feels like a lifetime ago the day we first met.

“Well, the Shifters on Earth have a delegation of leaders. When Bestia was destroyed, the Alphas that were left decided to form a council in order to maintain communication between them all. With all the different species there was no way they could live together the way they lived in Bestia, so they all found their own places on Earth. Trading with the various council leaders and their Packs was a way for them to stay connected to us,” Torin continued as he joined us at the table.

We all eat in silence. My thoughts turn to my father and our last moments together.Heal theRealms. Reshape them, rewrite the way we live. No longer separate, but together. Offer the Shifters a new home . . . restore their power.

“Gorgeous, what’s going on in that head of yours.” Gale moves his stool closer to me and links his fingers with mine. I hadn’t realized how lost in my own thoughts I was, but from the look on their faces, and my barely touched food, it had been a while.

I pick up a piece of bacon and chew. I want to appreciate how good it is, but my thoughts outweigh my hunger. “My father told me that I have the power to heal the Realms, reshape them in a way that we can all benefit. He told me to offer the Shifters a home.” I look up at Torin and Adrian, they’re both smiling at me, and I can feel their emotions through our bond. Pride. Relief. Determination.

“It’s possible. It’s not like we don’t have the room,” Torin directs his comment to Adrian and Gale.

“What about theBarren Lands?” I ask. The moment I stepped out of the portal in the bleak volcanic waste land, I felt something stir inside me. My magic was pushing at me to make it right. I promised Dravyn’s mother I would return, but I want to do more than that.

“What about it?” Gale turns on his stool to face me, giving me his complete attention.

“We can fix it. All of us—” I gasp at the sensation in my chest. Love, concern, and joy floods our bond. Tears spring to my eyes and I take a deep reassuring breath. I didn’t realize how incomplete I felt until suddenly his presence is there. My fifth puzzle piece falls back into place. Gale stands and walks towards the front door, taking me with him.

“Can you feel that?” I ask all three of them as we abandon our breakfast and conversation completely. The tug on our bond can mean only one thing: Dravyn.

“He’s coming,” Torin and Adrian say at the same time.

“Wait, what—” I stop as we walk outside onto the massive landing. A roar rings out in the distance, and I shield my eyes against the bright sunlight.

“Cordelia,” Dravyn calls my name telepathically and we all look at each other with a mixture of disbelief and excitement.

“Can you guys hear me?” he asks us as a large gold Dragon comes into view.

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