Page 81 of Betrayed By Dragons

I can also feel their misgivings. I have a lot to explain.

But that can wait.

As much as I want to bask in my mates' embrace, I force myself to turn toward Atina and Li.

Right now, we have two traitors in our midst.

* * *

RAFE

The instant my hand touches that of my mate, an overwhelming sense of rightness pours through me. I almost sag with the relief. Even those few terrible moments of holding back were torture.

I still don't completely understand what's happening with Ember, but I don't care. Whether it was the gods or fate or magic that brought us all together, she's mine, and I'm hers, and Jianyu is a part of the bargain, and that's fine. I'll do anything, sacrifice anything, fight anyone I need to. Nothing can tear me apart from my mate.

Nothing--and no one.

I glare at Atina. "I trusted you."

And that isn't entirely true. She was always my father's minder. Her loyalty has been to the kingdom, not to me, but I still let her in. She handled my communications, managed my schedule. Plastered over my mistakes.

Behind me, Jianyu bristles. "Li..."

His meek, sniveling assistant glances at Atina. He's a mess of bruises and scrapes, a sorry excuse for a Stone Dragon, always looking to others.

But then, before my eyes, he changes.

Li stands up straighter and cracks his neck from side to side. His pupils flash to slits, and I swear, his entire build morphs. He doesn't transform into a dragon, but his shoulders ripple with muscle. A dark shadow passes over him.

I blink, and in the next instant, all of those bruises and scrapes are gone. The bitter tang of adrenaline hits the back of my throat, and my dragon surges to the surface of my skin, ready to break loose.

"Oh well," Li says, his voice deeper. "I suppose the jig is up." When he looks to Atina this time, it's not for approval, but for confirmation. "Are they ready?"

"And waiting." She snaps her fingers, and suddenly, there are glowing, black rings on her hand. Behind her, a purple circle of shadow and smoke shivers into being.

On the other side of it, a dozen jet black dragons hover in the air.

My eyes fly wide. I have exactly enough time to glance back at my mate before dropping her hand.

"Stay behind me."

Then I let my bones crack and the energy of the beast within me fly forward. My dragon takes hold, and everything is suddenly oh-so-simple.

Behind me, Jianyu's dragon grows and spreads his wing, and we have one mission. One purpose in this life.

Protect our mate.

At any cost.

Chapter Twenty

EMBER

It's a nightmare, coming to life before my eyes.

Not all Shadow Dragons are evil; Rhiannon, Amy and Jett are proof enough of that. But the horde of them streaming out of an honest to God fucking portal sure are.

They swoop into the courtyard in a rush of wings and scales, and my first instinct is to run. There's no way out, though. The courtyard is closed in on three sides by the brick walls of the castle. The dragons streaming out of the portal block the only other avenue of escape.

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