Page 3 of Dragons Of Shadow and Sea

EMBER

"Who's the witch?" I insist, struggling against the grip of the grumpy, burly man currently escorting me to my new mate's residence. I've been told my mate will meet us there shortly.

My head reels, chaos erupting in my chest at the very word. Mate.

I've found my mate. Again. And yet again, he's dragon royalty.

My ribs tighten, making it difficult to breathe. I already have two wonderful, incredible, loving, trusting mates.

Prince Jianyu of the Stone Dragon Kingdom and Prince Rafe of the Fire Dragon Kingdom may have been mortal enemies when I first met them, but over the course of the past few weeks, we've built something amazing together. Something strong enough to withstand their personal grudges and the millennia of strife between their nations.

Something strong enough to hold up under the weight of their assistants, Li and Atina, accusing me of sabotaging the peace summit where we met. Even after the two traitors revealed that I'm the bearer of the Shadow Queen's Bracer--that I wield a power even I don't completely understand--Jianyu and Rafe chose me. They defended me against an all-out attack by a horde of Shadow Dragons. Their love infused me; it made me strong enough to tap into the Shadow Bracer's magic to create a portal, allowing us to escape.

But is our love strong enough to withstand this?

A third mate? A third dragon prince?

It's impossible. But then again, so was the idea of having two mates.

Hysterical laughter tickles the back of my throat, but I swallow hard in a mad bid to keep it in. My captor-slash-escort doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor--or any inclination to actually answer any of my questions.

"The people I arrived with," I say, trying again. My mates. "Where are the others taking them?"

"That is none of your concern."

Damn right it's my concern. But I know when it's time to stop banging my head against a brick wall. My new mate will have to be more open to telling me what the hell is going on.

I hope.

So I try a different tack. "Where are you taking me, then?"

The man's jaw hardens even further, which I didn't know was possible. "To Prince Malik's quarters."

Malik. The name flows like water from my ears to my chest. I flutter inside, desire blooming within me, and I dig my nails into the centers of my palms. I have to keep it together.

I remember the desperation of the mating bond from the last time I went through it. Jianyu, Rafe and I were insatiable. I still refused to let them touch me until we'd gotten a few ground rules sorted out, and I'm going to do the same with my new mate, too.

It isn't going to be easy, of course. I only got the briefest glimpse of Prince Malik, but he was gorgeous, with deep ebony skin and a tall frame, rippling with lean muscle. He had a presence, too--one that reached into my body and my soul. Even now, my skin and heart cry out for him.

But I can't give in to the pure, physical need simmering in my bones. My other mates and I are effectively prisoners in a foreign land. We've been separated. My psychic connection to Jianyu and Rafe is my only reassurance that they're even still alive.

My stomach sinks as my escort leads me deeper along a path through thick, lush jungle. We're skirting the edges of a settlement of some kind, but the vulnerability of being someplace so utterly unfamiliar has me on high alert.

While I'm grateful to have found my third mate--and to have escaped the Shadow Dragon attack--a piece of me curses my magic for bringing us here. I rub my bracer subconsciously. I still don't understand how my magic works. Despite my best efforts, I'd never managed to open a portal before. I'm pretty sure I only managed it now because we were about to be slaughtered and/or kidnapped. I didn't have time to think clearly about what I was doing.

I just asked the Gods to bring us someplace safe. Somewhere we'd never be found.

I might have overachieved.

"How are we even here?" I ask out loud.

To my surprise, my captor cocks a brow and replies, "An excellent question." He looks down at me, narrowing his eyes. "One you should be answering to the interrogators before your execution."

Yeah, this guy is a real barrel of laughs.

His response hammers home how high the stakes are right now. As far as I knew, the Water Dragon Kingdom was lost a decade ago. Everyone believed that in the final battle of the Great War, the Shadow Dragons destroyed it, wiping it off the map entirely.

Were the Water Dragons here all this time, though?

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