Page 73 of Dragon Exposed

“He’s mine.” She tugged down the front of her shirt, showing off the mark I left on her skin. “And I’m his.”

“Are you though? You wear his heartstone around your neck, but you haven’t touched yet, have you? Do you truly know that he’s yours?” Tabitha seemed to float just above the muck of the sewers, as if she’d spelled herself an invisible raft of some kind. “All I’m asking is that you touch him. The spell won’t hold you—I designed it just for Levi. If you’re truly mates, there shouldn’t be any trouble in just reaching your hand out and letting him touch you.”

I looked at Izobelle, nervous about what trickery this witch was playing.I know you’re mine. We can fight against her, find another way to break the spell, if you don’t want to play her games. I doubt she’s on the level.

She pursed her lips as her fingers wrapped around the pendant.You’re sure this is your heartstone? Not just some random piece of tourmaline, or someone else’s?

I’ve had that stone since birth. I’d know it in any form.I didn’t know why it had taken this shape, or if it had contorted when she got her hands on it, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was mine, just like she was.

Then let’s take the easy route for once.She reached her fingers into my chamber, stretching her arm out to me.

As my fingers entwined with hers, I had no doubt the stone would light up. How could it not? She was my mate, as surely as the sun rose every morning and set every evening. The fates had chosen her just for me.

Only…the stone didn’t light up.

“What trickery is this, Tabitha? What have you done to my heartstone?” I snarled it at her, lunging at the barrier again, unconcerned for what sort of damage it might do to me. I would rip the witch’s throat out for making my mate doubt me.

“I’ve done nothing to the stone. Perhaps your match isn’t as strong as you believed it to be? Or perhaps you’ve stolen another’s mate. Do you think it was a coincidence that Viktor left her alive?”

Izobelle wheeled around on the witch, and before either of us could really comprehend what was happening, tendrils of smoke curled up from her nostrils. Talons extended from her fingers. I couldn’t see her face, but based on the fear coming off of Tabitha, I had to guess my mate had just found her dragon form.

I refused to think of her as anything other than mine. I couldn’t believe it, and my dragon wouldn’t either.

“Break down the barrier, witch. Now.” Izobelle snarled it out, her voice almost sounding distorted as a rage I’d never seen in my mate started to take over.

It wasn’t just the rage, though. Izobelle’s body was growing, shifting, until she nearly filled the entire tunnel. There was no way she could’ve unfurled her wings, but damn, did I want to see her try.

Release my mate, undo whatever bullshit spells you’ve cast on him, or burn, witch.

Izobelle’s voice was so loud in my head, it almost felt like she could make a skull explode from the intensity of it. The faint whimper I heard on the other side of Izobelle’s inky black scales told me that Tabitha heard it too.

“I can’t just let him go. Grey and his dragon slayers are on their way down here. He’s served his purpose, and now he has to die.”

“I’d listen to her. If you don’t drop it now, if you don’t let us both walk out of here, whatever you guys did to Caleb to cause him to fall to the craze will be nothing compared to what Izobelle and I will do.” I reached out to my mate, addingstay away from the barrier, just in case she’s lying about it only holding me in. I won’t have her getting two dragons for the price of one spell.

Izobelle’s front leg reached out, pinning Tabitha against the tunnel wall so hard chunks of concrete and dirt rained down around them.I’m not playing your fucked up games. Fix this, now.

I watched as Tabitha trembled against Izobelle’s claws. Clan witches should’ve been revered, treasured, as Syrena was, but the way Tabitha was reacting made me think she wasn’t all that surprised by the violence.

Was it the vampires who hurt her, or the dragons she’d worked with?

It didn’t matter. She’d chosen to betray her people, to betray her clan, and joined up with vampire extremists who wanted nothing more than to see the rest of the supernatural world burn in order to reshape the landscape how they saw fit.

I would’ve watched with glee as Izobelle ripped the witch to shreds and then celebrated her death.

If it weren’t for the fact that a magical barrier still separated us. If it weren’t for the fact that she’d clearly done something to pollute my heartstone.

30

A Dragon’s Rage

IZOBELLE

Something snapped inside me.

I didn’t know if it was just the fact that Levi was being held by vampires and I had no way of saving him, or if it had to do with the heartstone, or if I had just had more than enough of the bullshit. But when I felt the dragon’s presence inside me, boiling over, ready to attack, I let her out.

I let out all of the anger, all of the rage, I felt toward this woman, this witch.

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