Page 68 of Dragon Exposed

“Not yet. We need to make sure your friend is well, before we dwell on mine.” He shook his head, and I could just make out the glistening wet of tears trying not to fall. “She doesn’t appear to have any lasting damage, but magic can have ill effects undetectable by a simple visual inspection or even a human medical exam.”

I sat on the bed next to Nina, looking her over myself. Her pulse seemed normal, she wasn’t pale or an unusual color, and my own touch to her forehead confirmed that she didn’t seem to be feverish.

Maybe it really had been as simple as stopping the magic from slicing her throat. Maybe she’d be okay now.

“Why don’t we wait on calling Syrena, until we know whether she’s okay?” I looked up at him, reaching for his hand, missing the warmth of my mate.

He came in close, cupping my cheek rather than taking my hand. I couldn’t help but press my face into his palm. “I worry about what other magic she might be infected with, but it would appear that she’s probably going to be all right.” He frowned, pulling his hand away and standing up right. “They wanted me to see Caleb. They wanted me to witness his death.”

I crawled off the bed and wrapped my arms around him as he stifled a sob. “We’ll get them. We’ll make those fuckers pay. This isn’t your fault, Levi.”

“Isn’t it? If I hadn’t exposed myself, my dragon form, they wouldn’t have needed to use a tourmaline dragon for that demonstration. They wouldn’t have targeted my friend, or yours. The people we love are in danger because of my choices. You were in danger because of my choices.” He shook his head, biting back a dragon-like snarl. “I shouldn’t be near you. Not until I can clean up the mess I’ve made.”

“Hey. No. Look at me.” I grabbed his face with both hands, forcing him to focus on me. “You don’t get to take all of this on yourself. You don’t get to blame yourself for the bullshit Grey and his bloodsucking goons do. And you don’t have to clean it up all by yourself. You’re not alone in this, Levi. You never have to be alone again.” I took his hand, and pressed it to the spot he’d bitten, sucking in a hiss as the touch, even through my clothes, sent a jolt through me. “This mark means you’re not alone. We’ll handle this together.”

“I can’t risk you, Izobelle. They’re not engaging in anything even resembling fair play. They wouldn’t hesitate to rip you from me.”

“So, you think they’d hesitate to rip you fromme? You’re mine, Levi Wystan, and I’m not letting you do this shit alone.” I shook my head, fighting against tears of my own. “You told me we’d be partners. You promised that we’d fight side by side. Don’t go back on your vows, this early on in our relationship. It’s not fair.”

He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight against his chest. “You’re too precious to me. You’re more than I could’ve ever hoped for, and if you die, if the vampires get their fangs into you again, I don’t know how I’d survive.”

I snuggled into him, letting him cling to me as long as he needed. I didn’t know how to explain to him that I wasn’t afraid of dying, that I hadn’t been afraid of getting killed by a vampire for years, even knowing they existed. Right now, all I was afraid of was that they could drive us apart, that they could destroy what we’ve just barely started to explore for ourselves.

He could talk all he wanted about his fear that I would die, but he was my dragon. I couldn’t watch him die, any easier than he could let me go. I may not have shifted, I might not even have a dragon form of my own, but just the thought that he might die, that I might have to watch him burn like Caleb had, made me want to fly into the craze myself.

When he finally pulled back, he leaned down and kissed my lips softly. “Take care of your friend. I’ll leave my phone, so that if you need to reach Ash or Syrena, you can.”

“Levi, don’t do something stupid. If you need to be alone, if you need time to grieve, I won’t stand in the way of that, but please, don’t go after Grey.” I frowned. “I will get down on my knees and beg if it’s what it takes. I can’t handle it if you were to die, going after him alone.”

Levi cupped my cheek. “I need to fly. I need to clear my head, to try to come up with a plan. I may be full of sorrow, mate, but I’m not the type to let it make me stupid.”

I watched as he removed the passwords from his phone and handed it over before he stole another kiss and headed for the door.

“Wait.” I grabbed him just before he stepped into the hallway, and I pulled him down for a kiss that I hoped felt as much like a brand on his lips as it did to mine. I needed him to remember what he had, what we were fighting for together. I needed my taste on his lips, as a reminder that he wasn’t alone, that he had a mate now. One that would go into battle by his side.

I hated that as he left, it felt like it could be the last time I’d ever see him.

I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he got hurt, if he got killed, because he didn’t feel like he had anything to live for anymore.

27

A Dragon’s Grief

LEVI

Walking away from Izobelle made my heart ache a million times more than watching Caleb burned did.

Dusk was settling over the city, turning the sky a burnt orange color, as I headed for the roof. It wasn’t exactly meant to be accessible by hotel guests, but being an influential person, even if the hotel didn’t know why, afforded me some extra perks.

The air was clearer up here, like the smog and congestion that filled the streets couldn’t reach me on the roof.

It would never be dark enough in a city like New York to fully obscure my dragon’s shape, but at this point, I hardly cared. Even with Grey’s plots, even with the deputy mayor spewing his anti-dragon hate, I doubted many paid that much attention to the sky.

Stripping out of my clothes, I stashed them behind an HVAC unit and stepped to the edge of the roof.

My dragon still ached to bellow out a roar of grief, and as I shifted, I stopped holding it back, holding it in.

Caleb had burned, and for what? A greedy vampire’s schemes? I refused to believe that the craze he suffered, the inability to reach him, was natural.

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