Page 52 of Their Promise

He pulled back first and said, “I’ve dreamt of kissing you again a million times, Lily, of doing a lot of things to you, what happened just now included, but none of those fantasies involved us being in a lake.”

Laughing, I pushed away from him and shifted into my full snake form, swimming out into the depths with a joyous feeling that had grown since Kayden had kissed me, then Mason, and now Trey.

Was this … love? Or was it just the lust talking?

As I looked back at Trey, I saw the darkness in his aura had expanded more than I had noticed before. It was similar to Mason’s, but not as strong yet.

Was it me? Was I … infecting them?

Was the spell spreading to them somehow?

A large, red dragon swooped out of the sky, talons extended, and tried to grab me out of the lake.

I dove down beneath the water, avoiding their grab, and swam back towards Trey, keeping beneath the water.

Surfacing, I heard him shouting at someone and heard a feminine voice responding.

Turning, I sighed at the sight of Norma, one of my nemeses from high school. She had always hated that the trio spent most of their time around me and because of that, her and her posse had tried to bully me.

Things hadn’t gone the way she had expected since I wasn’t one to be bullied.

“Fucking Norma,” I whispered before smiling and waving. “Oh, hey! Norma! It’s been so long since I saw you. What’s new?”

She was in her human form, standing on the shore with an innocent expression on her face. At my voice, her face hardened and she turned to give me the most ridiculous attempt at a smile I had ever seen.

“Oh, Lily. Itisyou. I was just telling Prince Trey that I thought you were a real snake and was trying to protect the children by grabbing you.”

“Really?” I asked and frowned. “Since when do you care about children?”

She opened her mouth and closed it, her brows furrowed.

“Get out of here, Norma,” Trey ordered her.

“This lake is for alldragonsto use,” she countered and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

“And yet all I see is a pretentious mouse,” I said with a wide smile.

She growled and walked towards me. “Say that again,snake.”

“Do you need hearing aids on top of an attitude adjustment?” I asked pleasantly, then lowering my voice said, “All I see is a pretentious mouse. If you think you’ve got the guts, fight me, bitch. We know how that ended for you last time.” With her head in a trash bin.

“You’ve always thought you were tough with the trio at your back, but alone, you’re nothing!” she spat.

“Trey, I order you to stand back and allow me to fight this asshole,” I snarled.

Trey sighed, sat down cross-legged, and waved his hand towards us like a bored king waving at a jester to continue. “Proceed.”

Cracking my knuckles, I smiled viciously as I approached her. “This is going to feelsogood.” Loosening my hold on the anger, I let it out to swirl around me, breathing a sigh of relief asit filled me. My hair glowed brighter and brighter, the closer I got to her and the more I let the anger out.

Dark electricity whipped around me, sizzling and hissing. My face shifted, turning partially snake-like, including scales, fangs, and a forked tongue.

She shifted into her full dragon form and spewed flames at me.

Jumping and rolling to the right, I avoided the flames. I flung my hand towards her, which sent electric tentacles out to slash her across the face and across the wings.

She screeched in pain and stumbled backwards.

With me, she would find no quarter. No leniency.

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