Page 14 of Unexpected Mate

Leo’s mind brushed against mine, much like how his hand brushed my hair away from face. I startled, not realizing he had the ability to physically react in the bond. We had so much to learn about our abilities as mates.

Reassuring myself that Damien had gotten him safely settled into the guardroom, and that he was now typing away with a ferocious speed, I checked in on the wizards. This neat trick was possible because I had clasped arms with them only hours before; it was a newer ability and I had yet to figure out the specifics of how it worked.

They were all uninjured, and in position. I lingered for a moment in Elani’s mind.

She was whispering furiously to Lars: “Can you believe that? It isn’t fair!”

He whispered back: “Now’s not the time, Elani. You are out of line.”

“I’m out of line?” she hissed.

“It’ll be over soon. We have all worked for this day, let’s finish this mission so we can return home. I miss my own bed.”

“It better be.”

It seems I was not the only one eager to have this day over. Everyone was sick of the chronic stress and grueling training.

We made our way in through a side door, the guard absent thanks to my wolves. Moving deeper into the depths of the building, I focused on one thing and one thing only. Stopping Draven before he destroyed more lives.

The dark hallway stretched in front of us, seeming to have no end. The utter stillness in the air was unnerving. There was no way he could’ve known we were coming, could he? My magic slithered under the crack in the door and tested the room. Draven was sitting at his desk. I carefully unsheathed my knives, finding strength in their familiar weight. Glancing to Mithraheal and Gregor, I waited for their nod before twisting the knob and throwing the door open. I spun to the side quickly out of the way of a possible attack. But none came.

I have watched plenty of action movies, and I spend most of my time screaming at the scream at them to stop talking and just take down the villain. I wouldn’t make that mistake. In the blink of an eye, I sent my beautiful blades singing through the air to embed with a sickening thud into Draven’s chest. He moved at the last second, my blades just barely missing their intended lethal target.

He screamed in pain, but remained sitting at his desk, looking for all the world like he had been waiting on a business appointment. I had learned enough about him to know he had developed powerful skills with magic and couldn’t understand why he wasn’t wrapping it around himself now or using it to make an escape.

“You are a little ahead of schedule,” he said. “I’m impressed, little dragon.”

I said nothing, drawing my swords and dropping into a fighting stance.

“No matter, everyone’s waiting. Let’s go.”

The room shifted, the floor beneath me rocking. I didn’t even have a chance to teleport us out of there as the oxygen was sucked out of the room and we were plunged into a vortex. I don’t know how long we were in that churning black hole before it sent us smashing into hard earth. Icy pain shot through my body, my bones groaning from the force of the impact.

Moaning in pain, I rolled onto my hands and knees, the world around me still spinning like I was on a carnival ride. My stomach lurched and then emptied its contents, leaving me panting and dry heaving.

Get up. Get up now!Beasty roared in my head.

I staggered to my feet, pulling my magic to me in an effort to heal some of my injuries. My ankle gave out under my weight, my teeth sinking into my lip to muffle my scream. I remained standing, but the grinding of my bones against each other had my stomach twisting again.

You will heal. Suck it up. If you don’t focus, you’ll be dead and your injuries will not matter!

I searched the clearing, studying my surroundings and trying to form a new strategy. My mates and the wizards were all struggling to their feet, some obviously dealing with broken bones, but at least none were dead. We were in a field: sparse green shrubs dotted the area, clinging to the cracked red dirt. As my gaze darted around, I noticed the shadows. No, wait.Those weren’t shadows; those were men, heavily armed men, and they were surrounding us.

“To steal a phrase from the current generation, how dope is this?” Draven threw out his hands, motioning toward my confused team and his men standing to attention. I said nothing, letting him continue to gloat while I attempted to figure out a plan to get my team out of here. I wanted to teleport them to safety, but I knew I didn’t yet have the strength to move so many at once. If they began disappearing, Draven would notice and no doubt order the others to be attacked.Think, Tia, think.

“I knew you would come from me,” Draven began. “You are smart, so it was inevitable. I too have spent the last months honing my skills, in preparation for your arrival. Today’s display required me to reserve my magic until it was time; transporting everyone here was no easy task. It’s also taking an incredible amount of power to maintain the spell that has nulled your wizards’ magic. You see, I’ve been planning this moment carefully, and now you will accept my terms—or watch everyone in this clearing die.”

Anger burned white hot inside me. How could we have prepared so hard for this, only to have the tables turned so suddenly? My dragon side had grown more powerful, and yet I felt powerless facing Draven. The answer hit me like a physical blow and I began searching each face of my team, looking for the traitor that had been leaking our plans.

“You can keep searching, but truth be told, I don’t even know who it is,” Draven said, as if reading my mind. “The crafty turncoat was very careful to not give any clues to his orher identity. Your progress as you gained additional talents was impressive. I quickly realized the only way I could survive your attack was to force you into a position where you had to choose between your life and those who had followed you. My dear, that is your pitiful weakness. You value all life and would give your life to save another. Such an idiotic waste of an extraordinary power, just to save someone beneath you. You could never rule while holding onto this childish ideology. It’s just as well though - it will make all this much easier for me.”

“I would rather die with my beliefs, then be a vessel for the evil inside you!” My voice reverberated, Beasty and I speaking as one. Unease skittered across Draven’s face, and he stepped back.

“So be it,” he said. “This is what will happen now. You will kneel on that altar, and I will perform a ceremony that will send your power into me. I have spent hours reading the forbidden scrolls to ensure nothing goes wrong. You need to be willing for the energy to transfer to me.”

“I will not kneel, and I sure as heck will never willingly give you my power!”

My skin crawled as he laughed; there was nothing pleasant in the sound.

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