Page 36 of Defy Me

Cage rolled his eyes. "Don't be a dumbass."

Yvaine threw a strawberry at the dragon leader's head. "Hey, what did I say about name-calling?"

"Sorry. I don't want to see you taken advantage of Yvaine of the pickpockets. No one believes in unicorns but little girls who watch too much My Little Pony."

Jett stared down, that white fire burning there. She sure as hello kitty hoped that was a good sign. He stroked her cheek then turned his fiery gaze on Cage. "Tell that to the First Dragon."

Annunaki and Other Scary Things

"I'm not saying it again, so listen close this time, Golden Boy. Yes, Yvaine and I talked to the First Dragon. He told us to find a unicorn and gave us this map." He left out the part where the First Dragon hadn't spoken to him or even acknowledged his presence. "Yes, I do know it was him and yes I remember every word of the conversation. Quit. Asking. Just. Drive."

Jett turned in the seat to check that Yvaine was still asleep in the second row of the dark green Range Rover. They were almost to The Hague where Cage had used his extensive resources to book them onto a private boat that would shuttle them across the North Sea and drop them almost right at Holyrood Abbey. He'd also arranged for some of Ky Puru's blue dragons to speed them across the water in a fourth the amount of time the boat could cross on its own.

It was nice to have friends in high places. Although, who was he kidding? He and Cage were frenemies at best. Actual enemies at worst. Jett had saved the Gold Wyvern's life a time or two down in hell. His mate's too. So Cage owed him. This trip was costing him one of those precious favors. Could they do it without Cage's help? Yes. Did a luxury SUV, back up in the form of gold and blue dragons, weapons, and snacks make it easier on him and Yvaine. Also yes.

"Fine, I get that, jackass." Cage glanced at Yvaine in the backseat too. She'd already popped him on the back of the head for more name calling.

Jett found that hilarious. Cage had assumed the responsibility of AllWyvern, pulling together the four dragon warrior Wyrs under one banner to combine their forces in the fight against the Black Dragon and Ereshkigal. It was likely that nobody even talked back to him these days, much less hit him for being a bully. Except maybe his own mate, Azy. She was full of piss and vinegar that one, with a mouth on her to boot. She'd probably get a kick out of trying to get Yvaine to swear. Listen to him, practically planning the weekend barbecues and pool parties. Good try, douchepotato. The life of leisure with his mate at his side and little purple-eyed dragon babies running around at his feet was not in the cards for him.

Then again, he hadn't thought destiny held a mate for him up her fickle sleeve either.

"Then tell me how the fuck you ended up with a mate, you shardless bastard."

"Hell if I know. She just showed up."

Cage left the most important part of the question hanging in the air. No shard, no soul, no soulmate. Cage knew it better than anyone, since a succubus had once stolen his soul shard to give to Jett. Geshtianna had convinced both him and Portia the scheme would work and they could become mates, like magic.

That had turned out so wrong that they were both still paying for it.

"You're not going to break her heart, are you? She seems sweet. Fiesty as shit, but sweet." Cage had been there when Jett had broken Portia's heart.

He'd never loved her. They'd been great in bed together. All along he'd suspected their plan to get him a soul shard would fail. Jett had wondered for a long time whether Geshtianna knew before hand and had set them up to get access to the Gold Dragon Wyr or if she'd really thought shards were transferable.

His father sure had. It's where Jett and Geshtianna had gotten the idea in the first place. The Black Dragon wanted a Wyvern's soul shard and the mate to go along with it. Because with those two pieces of the puzzle locked in place, a dragon came fully into his power. Jett had partially experienced what having Yvaine by his side had done for him. He was stronger, his dragon form bigger, and now he had the shadow on his side.

"I know I don't deserve her, but I will do everything in my power to protect her." They could never fully bond without that exchange of souls. That flaw in fate's plan was Jett's out. He would leave her if he had to, if being with him was going to destroy her.

"Even if it means giving up the battle to defeat the Black Dragon all on your own?" Cage dug into Jett's psyche so easily while expertly navigating them through the streets of the country that used to be his like it was no big deal.

Jett couldn't answer that, which scared the shit out of him. He'd been plotting patricide literally as long as he could remember. The moment he'd become a slightly more than self aware down in hell, the need to be the one who meeted out the retribution for his father's atrocities was all that had pushed him to survive. He knew how to fight the forces of hell better than anyone. Because he was one of them.

That was the only reason Cage was helping him now. The Gold Dragon Wry home been in the Netherlands for hundreds of years. Until hell's forces had razed it to the ground, along with the help of the Queen of the Succubus. He'd made Jett promise, with a bit of prodding from Yvaine, to reveal how to find Geshtianna and her coven. All of Cage's money, technology, and resources, weren't worth squat when it came to the succubus. She knew everything there was to using her resources wisely to keep her hidden. If she didn't want to be found, the dragon warriors wouldn't have a clue where to even begin the search for her.

But Jett did. All he had to do was ask.

"Are we there yet? Is it lunch time? Can we stop and stretch our legs before we get on the boat?" Yvaine sat up in the back seat and yawned. The black t-shirt stretched enticingly across her chest. Jett had sworn when Ciara had given it to her the shirt had been plain. But smack dab in the middle, directly over her heart and the scar from her attack, was a sparkly fucking unicorn. it had to be a sign that she was so obsessed with them.

"We're pulling up to the docks now. You'll have plenty of time to stretch your legs while Jett tells me where to find Gestianna and my missing dragons," Cage replied.

She yawned again and took out a bag of snack-sized carrots from the cooler Ciara had packed for them. "Oh good."

"Nope, it's oh shit, I'm afraid." Cage slammed on the breaks and stared out the front window. Twenty-five meters in front of them was a being that should not be there.

Yvaine pointed with her carrot. "What the flip is that?"

Jett and Cage said the word simultaneously. "Annunaki."

What was she doing here? Either she was with Geshtianna and this was a fucking ambush, or she'd used her connection to Jett. Either spelled danger with a capital Black Dragon. He scanned the area searching for shadows that shouldn't be there, or that were too big, too dark. He pushed a few back for good measure.

---