Page 57 of Here Be Dragons

“So you’re just going to give up? If you really love me, then you’ll go out there and win. Tell me you love me again after you’ve won. If you quit now, you might as well hand me over to Emmett before you give her the last piece. At least then I wouldn’t be with a fucking quitter.”

A corner of one of the down comforters we were lying on caught fire, and I beat it with my tail to put it out. Her eyes grew wide when she realized she’d done it and not me.

“How the hell?”

“As long as you are in contact with me, you have access to my fire,” I explained.

The thought of Emmett claiming her had me ready to spew fire too, but there was no point in setting everything ablaze.

It would be difficult, but she was right. I couldn’t just give up now after fighting to win for so many centuries.

“My estate will be safe enough for now. But I will increase security.”

“Then what are we waiting for? Take me home!” The way she said it, calling the estate home, felt good.

I tried to shift back, but my dragon resisted.

No. We stay here. Protect mate.

Carly must’ve noticed me fighting my dragon because she grabbed my snout in both hands and gave me a sweet kiss on the nose. “Please shift back. Then we can win this competition together.”

I closed my eyes and slowly shifted back to my human form. Then I murmured the words to open a portal to my home. Unlike the portals to my nest, which drew on magic from the enchanted ring, the portals to my estate drew on magic coming directly from Seth.

We stepped into my library, and it wasn’t long before Seth appeared too. He looked haggard, like he’d been overextending his energy. Strange. A single portal shouldn’t do that.

“What is wrong?” The words came out sounding sharper than I had meant them to be; it hid my worry.

“I’m holding Gillisandra at bay. I suggest bringing in Sybil to help. I don’t know how much longer I can hold her.”

“She is here already?” That was fast. I’d expected her to still be searching for the artifact, not already battering down my door.

“Not here. At the ocean surface.”

“So she doesn’t have the artifact!” Carly exclaimed, elated. “You can still get it!”

“That’s right,” Seth said. He raised a brow at me. “Why the hell are you here and not out there winning this competition?”

“That’s whatIsaid,“ Carly huffed. “Wait. Is there any way for us to speak to each other while you’re out there?”

“Yes,” Seth answered. “Through a magical link. Like magical walkie-talkies. But they take energy, and I’m already at my limit.”

“We’ll call in allies and reinforcements,” I decided. “A portal would be much faster than flying there.”

I had Sybil in my library minutes later. The dark-haired witch had her familiars, two rats named Salt and Pepper, on her shoulder.

There were others I could call on as well, but none I trusted as well as Sybil, especially with my mate here.

I quickly recapped our situation. The witch opened a portal using Eamon as a location anchor. It seemed they’d met before:her great-grandmother Sylvana owned Auntie Syl’s Wards & Witchery, the security company that maintained the wards at the Redrock Protective Services office.

I pulled Carly into my arms and gave her a hard, bruising kiss. Then I stepped through the portal.

Chapter 31

Carly

I caught a briefglimpse of the rippling Pacific Ocean before the portal closed behind my dragon mate.

“The lines are open and secure,” Sybil said. “Desmon, ignore us unless we speak to you directly. Just focus on your goal. Anything else I should do, Carly?” She looked at me as if waiting for orders.

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