Burn (Dragon Souls) (49 page)

Her breathing was a desperate, dry sucking for air.

Her shoulder blades rubbed raw against the fabric rumpling and ripping beneath her straining back.

The loud
slap, slap, slap
of their bodies colliding drove her quietly insane.

Crossed ankles slipped in sweat, and her heels landed on flexing muscle. Marina moaned at the rhythmic clench-unclench of his buttocks. The violent movement amplified the steel hammering inside, the blunted nails pressing reddened crescents into her flesh, the clawed fingers digging into her thighs and spreading her wide. The solid chest pressed to her breasts created a possessive pressure unlike another, and the beautiful, growling mouth vibrating against her throat was a sensation so feral and decadent her sex spasmed and sucked him deeper.

This wasn’t like before. Marina knew if she moved to break free, one of them would die. Demonized by lust, he’d fight to take her, and she would fight him off to the bitter end. He could never force her. Her Dragon would never allow it, not when he’d submitted and acknowledged she was equal or lead in their alpha pair.

The passion began to hurt. It was too deep, too visceral.

Marina’s body transformed into a lightning rod, and the storm heart swirled around her. She absorbed hit after scorching hit only for the ground to reject the discharge. Fire boiled her blood. The inferno grew hotter, wilder. So strong, she wept and quivered, begged it to explode, to end her agony.

Koen panted her name as he drove his flesh through hers. It was a chant, and a prayer. His dark head snapped back. Their eyes locked. His were green fire alight with hope, death, and life.

A ribbon of darkness, the beast, writhed in rapture beneath the surface of those emerald pools.

Koen’s thrusts slowed, gained body-shaking force.

He stared into his Treasure’s dark orbs and whispered that he loved her.

Pleasure was transcendent, crushing them within its fist. The inferno spread in claws of sensation. It ripped into their guts, breathed fire into their hearts, and erupted through their souls to obliterate their most primal selves.

Gripped with a fever, a kind of madness, Koen Raad kept his prey locked within his arms. He strode to the bed. He laid her down. Crawling over the female he trapped her exquisite body beneath his. He claimed her lips and slid back inside. He feasted. He took her body fiercely, violently, until she clung to him and gasped his name as they shattered.

In the blue dark of the morning, their stares once again locked. Both looked slightly startled, shocked at the battle fought within the bounds of their flesh.

Covers bunched to the waist, their bodies were separated by distance Marina put between them.

“I’m worried if you stay I’ll look at you one day and hate you.” Her hands tucked under her head. Tears pooled above her lashes. “I don’t want that.”

“Your hatred will not make me leave you.”

“I feel guilty.”

Irresolute, his head tilted. He did not speak and neither did she. Until she clasped his hand and pulled it to her stomach.

“This should be a moment of happiness. I should want you to hold me.” Her lips twisted in a horrible grimace. “He should be here for me to tell him he’s going to be a big brother. I’m afraid, Koen. This last month I’ve been scared to even
move
. I couldn’t protect one child so how will I manage this? These helpless babies.” She paused. Whispered, “I can feel them through the otherness. She lets me feel them, lets me know they’re safe.”

Koen’s heart stopped. Its next thud resounded. His fingers dug into her middle, and he inhaled harshly as pure joy exploded through him. Words flew from his mouth without thinking. “I would never let anything happen to our offspring.”

Truth stabbed his heart. Wincing, he flinched. He had already broken the promise.

She suffered because of it.

“Oh?” Her eyes were brittle gemstones. It was a cold, desolate look he knew only existed because of what he’d done to her. “And that is a promise I can depend on?” She shifted uneasily then sighed, regretful. “I’m frustrated and angry, Koen. Rationally, Daniil only did what he felt was best, and you made a decision under unimaginable stress.” Her breathing hitched. “But I can’t just forgive, because rationality doesn’t protect him. He’s suffering.
You
did that. My Dragon wants your bleeding heart
in my fist
. I refuse to rampage, but I need some solace. I’m sorry.”

“No apologies. I know what the beast craves. I do not condemn you for following your heart.” Tired of being held at arm’s length he closed the space between them. He ignored her feeble protest and the hard shove at his chest. “Yes, you are strong. You are a warrior and deserve nothing but respect.” They locked gazes. “You have it. Your beauty entrances me, but it is the valour of your heart that binds me to you.” His hand stroked between her breasts. “It links us soul to soul.”

Her lashes lowered. Her icy heart warmed.

There was no higher compliment from so mighty a male. The first blush of youth dimmed with age, and every woman possessed a measure of beauty to entice her mate. To earn a male’s respect and know he revered you for the strength of your courage while worshiping your body with desire was rare.

“Hm.” A long finger tipped her chin. Her eyes met glittering emeralds. “Do you understand you are mine and I cannot let you go? No law will keep me from you. Send me from your side. I shall return. Send an army to keep me away. I shall crush it.” He caressed her face then cupped her throat. He brought her face closer to his. She would not mistake the depth of his severity. He loved her, accepted her strength matched his own, but she could be stubborn to the point of menace. “Never hide from me, Treasure. Once is all you get.”

“You’d take away my choice?”

He regarded her. Snorted. “I am not asking you to forgive me. No more than I could forgive the Houses I destroyed when I believed you dead. You truly wish me gone? Say it.” He paused, decisive. “I will not live without you. Be certain in your choosing.”

Dragons chose when they died.

Her fingers dug into the flesh of his biceps at the thought of him leaving. She would never be whole without him.

Marina clung tighter and burrowed against his chest. Was it braver to accept when a male brought you to your knees, or to fight to the bitterest end?

We can accept this
. The thought was born from the complete unity of woman and Dragon.
Embrace our male. He hurts too.

“Stay. I fucking adore you. But a part of me is dying. The pain is unbearable. So stay.” She sobbed brokenly, so tired of feeling as if she shattered in slow motion. “I hurt. I can’t stop hurting for him, Koen.”

He cradled her within his embrace and held her through the night as she wept.

H
eat radiated from the baked ground. The sun set long ago but the sands sucked its heat deep, and would radiate it into the cooler night for hours to come.

Skidding to a stop, Ryuk crouched behind a low cluster of boulders and panted for breath.

“Hells.” Viktor dropped onto his knees beside him, shoulders hunched as he gasped for air. Pale, almost colourless hair swept over his dark blue eyes. “We cannot carry on like this. It will be quicker if we fly.”

Ryuk shook his head. “They know about you now. Scouts will be scouring the skies. I will not risk you.”

Breathing deeply, Viktor said what they were both thinking. “It will give Pasha a greater chance. She might survive.”

Their eyes locked, joint pain echoing between them. The net Zaki cast had been tightening around them for months. Knowing it was the end Ryuk had ordered the woman to leave with an escort and head for the Dragon Lands. It would be a miracle if they made it past the sentries guarding the borders, but it was better than the old woman being tortured to death for the crime of loving him, helping him stay alive.

Pasha and Viktor had kept Ryuk sane the last seven years. After the horrors he’d seen, Ryuk knew he would’ve gone mad long before had they not remained at his side, unwavering in their support, even in the face of death.

He had tried to get Viktor to leave, argued with the ice breather most of the day, but he staunchly refused.

The army the Eldernmoot originally amassed for him was broken and scattered. His most loyal were put to death in sickening ways, discouraging any others who had a thought to join him.

It was over – if it ever really begun.

“I failed you,” Viktor said quietly. His stammer had all but disappeared during the years of his maturity. At times of stress and great emotion, it confounded him again. “I am s-sorry, my friend.”

“No.” Vehement, Ryuk grabbed the male by the scruff of his neck, dragged him closer. They butted heads. “You saved me. Never doubt it.”

Viktor slapped his cheek and shoved him away. “She loves you, you know.”

“I do not need a pretty lie to make death more palatable.”

“I still do not believe she gave you up. I cannot. I–” The male shut up at the sound of shifting rocks skittering down the boulder they hid behind.

They were discovered.

Tired of being hunted like a dog, Ryuk stood, and stared straight into the dead eyes of his uncle-by-marriage.

Viktor shifted into
dragonskin
and fearlessly attacked the hundred-strong legion of Battle Mages closing rank around them.

Chin lifting, Ryuk snorted derisively as his uncle circled him. He would show no fear. He met the man’s gaze steadily. “Zaki.”

The Battle Lord eyed the ragged would-be-King before him then let his attention drift to the indigo Dragon roaring as fiery whips of magick bit into his scales and pinned him to the harsh desert sand.

“Does it bring you comfort, Ryuk, to know I will kill your pet slowly?” He looked around. “I do not see the crone. Did you tire of her?” A sick grin split his thick lips. “You kept her around a long time, ugly, used up thing. But I suppose pussy is pussy, eh, boy?”

As the man spouted his bile, Ryuk’s mind wandered. His life had not been all bad. There had been hungry nights. Sleepless nights. Nights spent with his body on fire and only his tears for comfort. Bloody nights of death caused by
his
hands. They could never be washed clean. Then there had been a glorious time of sunshine. In the darker hours, he thought back to that time. He thought of himself not as a Prince, but as a child assassin who found home in the arms of a woman. He thought of himself as Boy. Bitterness had long dug poisoned claws into his heart. She betrayed him, but he could not stop loving her. He missed her every moment of everyday, and wished he had seen her one last time, soaked in her sunshine one more moment, before they dragged him back to hell. He wished he could feel her soft, protective touch upon his brow, her lips pressing against his cheek as she sought to soothe him. Her love had been a solid, all encompassing thing he’d been both drawn to and terrified of.

A sharp slap to his cheek brought him back. Harsh reality. No sunshine, no love. There was hatred and endless dark.

The drapes of Zaki’s crimson
tagelmust
fluttered in a sandy breeze. He lifted his sabre. The sharp edge was angled to cleanly sever head from body. The hooked blade gleamed dully in the moonlight.

Ryuk closed his eyes.

Endless sunshine.

Love.

“Mother,” he whispered.

Darkness descended.

A ragged scream of pain tore from the pit of Marina’s soul.

She jerked straight up in bed.

Sweat poured down her face, and she scrubbed her palm over her pounding heart, flailed a hand over the furs seeking the comfort of her husband’s heat.

Awakened by her cry, Koen’s predator gaze already peered into the gloom of their chamber. He protectively curved his body around her when he found no physical threat. “Treasure?”

Doors carved from ice burst open.

Naked and enraged, Jakob stormed into the room.

Clearly wrenched from the depths of sleep, he slammed to stop, legs braced, arms held out ready to grapple a foe.

When he found no opponent he straightened, his broad chest heaving.

His sliver eyes clouded with confusion. “Marina?”

A worried guard hovered in the doorway,
katana
drawn. “My Lord?”

“Secure the royal young,” Jakob replied tersely, finalizing the order with a stern look over his shoulder. “Double their guard. And
do not
let them wheedle their way in here.”

The guard saluted then fled.

Gripping Koen’s arms, Marina stared beseechingly into his rugged face. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gasped for air. “I felt him. He needs me, Koen. It wasn’t a dream. Don’t tell me it’s just a dream.
Believe me
.” Her head fell onto his shoulder and her body shuddered as she wept.

Koen Raad stroked the smooth expanse of his mate’s trembling back. He jerked his head, silently commanding Jakob to seal the entrance. He brushed the satin fall of Marina’s hair behind her sweat-dampened shoulders. He cupped her face in his hands, rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks. “Look at me. Breathe.”

She did, and part of him calmed. Her eyes were wide with fear, but focused, lucid.

His mate had become a strong female few dared cross. In the beginning there had been as many attempts on her life as their had on his. Their uncompromisingly brutal response to all threats soon had the Courts cooling their heels, accepting Emperor and Empress Raad where here to stay.

The Ice Realm burgeoned into a vibrant city that drew more settlers by the day. Construction was continuous, expanding the city limits to provide housing for their newly sworn citizens. The slave trade had been fully abolished almost four years past. Occasionally word reached them of a Dragon Lord gathering support to revive the flesh trades. Crushing opposition led by the Queen herself swiftly quelled it. Foundlings from the Drackai and Wyvrae thrived in the Royal Orphanage, cared for as members of a large family. The distinction and separation between peasant, citizen, merchant and noble remained great, but few of the needy starved or froze to death, as had been the accepted norm.