Page 69 of Burned

I recognize it immediately, but why in the name of the goddess is she here? A rumble of confusion runs through my clan, and seconds later, the dragon mage appears in the doorway to my living room. She’s just as nude as she was up on the mountain, her long white hair partially covering her breasts. The smell of magic and smoldering embers pours off of her in waves.

“Lord, there you are.” She greets me with a fleeting glance. “There are dragon slayers outside in the woods with gasoline and kindling.”

“We know,” Arson says simply.

“Oh, good.” Xanthis looks around the room, slowly taking in each of my brothers and their mates silently. When her attention lands on Dahlia, the indifference in her expression melts away and she actually smiles. “A witch,” she purrs.

Dahlia studies her right back, matching her with a confident smile of her own and an arched eyebrow. Xanthis approaches, slinking across the room until she’s right in front of our resident potion master.

Xanthis sniffs the air discretely and I can feel the rumble of her dragon’s low purr from across the room.

“Apowerfulwitch,” the dragon mage says.

Dahlia tries to play it cool, but I can see the subtle preen as she brushes her hair off her shoulder and stands a little taller.

“And you are?” she asks.

Xanthis extends her hand. “Xanthis Draig, last of the Welsh dragon bloodline, daughter of mage Calix Morgyn.”

Dahlia’s poker face slips and her eyes widen. “Oh shit, Calix Morgyn is a legend.”

She looks stunned as she reaches out to shake Xanthis’ hand. The dragon mage’s long fingers wrap around her hand, and she holds on for several long moments, still grinning at our witch.

“And she wasn’t nearly as powerful as I am,” Xanthis purrs, fluttering her long, pale eyelashes.

“Is she hitting on Dahlia?” Arson stage whispers.

“Oh yeah.” Montrose sounds slightly breathless as he holds his long hair up off the back of his neck and fans himself. “Horny people are so delicious.”

Dempsey clears his throat. “Excuse me. Not to interrupt, but why are you here?”

Xanthis finally releases Dahlia’s hand and turns to look at Dempsey, blinking at him like she’s surprised to even see him there.

“Oh, right, I came to warn you that I caught a devious, greedy little elf lurking around my mountain range, and he attempted to sell me some information he thought I would find interesting about a family of dragon hunters and a dragon who had recently been to visit me.” She looks at me, indicating that I’m the dragon she’s talking about.

“Well, I guess that explains how Alrick’s family found out he’s alive. As you can see, we’re aware and we’re working on handling it.”

“Hmm. Tea would be lovely,” she says after a moment.

I blink at the non sequitur and when no one else jumps up and offers, Dahlia snaps out of whatever stupor she’s in and volunteers.

“I’ll put the kettle on.”

“Lovely.” Xanthis smiles again. “It’s barbaric to discuss strategy and bloodshed without tea.”

ALRICK

By the timeLord’s house comes into view, I’m practically carrying Viggo. He wheezes through every breath. My wound is nearly healed, but he’s only getting weaker. Does he have internal bleeding or did the beating just take it out of him? Idon’t have any way of knowing. But I cling to the fact that once I get him to Lord’s he’ll be able to get more of that healing potion. Viggo will be fine. He has to be.

It’s possible my dad and Digby are watching the house, that they’re already lying in wait to launch their attack, but I don’t have the time to stop and strategize or wait until nightfall. So, I just do my best to stay low and out of sight as we creep our way to the back door.

Before I can even knock, the door flies open and the bond between Lord and me floods with so much relief that it nearly knocks the air out of my lungs all over again.

“Treasure.” The word is more growl than speech, but I understand it just fine anyway. With one arm still around Viggo to steady him, I hold out the other to greet my mate. Mymate. I only heard that word in this context for the first time yesterday, but nothing has ever felt more right.

My heart swells until it feels too big to stay contained inside my chest and Lord nuzzles his face into the crook of my neck.

“I thought you were dying. I thought I’d lost you.” There’s a whimper in his gravelly voice that makes my heart crack.

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