Page 42 of Defy Me

There was no way he could let the Black Dragon ever touch her.Yvaine. Please, love. You have to get away.

"Not without you." She slipped in and out of his vision, avoiding the Black Dragon's attempts to snatch her like a ninja. Gods she was amazing. Wherever she'd been, whatever she'd learned, took her to a level so far beyond his comprehension, it had to be the realization of her true self. "Where you go, I go."

Her words infuriated the Black Dragon and he roared into the sky. His anger, and Yvaine's devotion restored some of Jett's strength. Her mere presence was breaking the new curse on his mind and body. He staggered to his feet and extended his wings.You'll never take her, Kur-Jara. She is mine.

And he was hers.

Don't worry. I will take very good care of your little whore. I will bury myself so deep inside of her she won't even remember your name.The Black Dragon blew a heavy stream of fire at him and his brother. They would both be fried to a crisp. Jett used his own power over the shadow to open a path under his brother, who fell through and disappeared almost immediately. It was the only way to save him.

Holy shit. The shadow was the way to save Yvaine and himself too.

He couldn't.

The shadow was a fast track ticket to hell. If he took her with him into the darkness they he would be subjecting her to Erishkigal's domain. Her pure beautiful bright soul would be irreparably damaged by the taint of evil. If they even survived down there. The cursed demon dragons lurked in the shadows. He'd made them wait too long. They would make it nearly impossible to leave again, not without freeing his brethren too. Without the unicorn's blood, they would be stuck.

But she would be alive. In Hell.

It was the worst idea ever. He'd sworn she would never see the darkness of hell. There had to be another way to escape. She wouldn't use her own powers to leave without him. Unless he wasn't here for her to worry about. She would go if he was dead. Fuck. It would only take one shot. Let his father's fire strike the lethal blow. It would be easy enough to taunt the bastard into it.

But she would be alive.

With half a soul.

She'd literally shared her soul with him. If he died what would happen to her? The power inside of him, the part she had awakened burned with a fire hotter than the center of the Earth, burning him from the inside out. It was a harsh warning. Jett had no doubt whatsoever that if she died, he would too. They were bonded together, forever. Mates for life.

Hold still, you little bitch. I won't hurt you. Much.

Yvaine slipped through the Black Dragon's grasp again and when she reappeared she was right on top of Jett. She barreled into him, slid underneath his armored dragon's belly, and rolled out under his tail. She touched a hand to a wound on his back leg and it healed almost instantly. "There you go. Can you fly? Let's get the dell out of hodge."

Jett snagged her in his talons and gave all his energy to his wings, hoping for the smallest chance that they could fly away. The gold dragons may still be in the skies over the North Sea and if they could just make it that far, they could alert Cage. Who may or may not send a squadron of dragon warriors to battle the Black Dragon. The King of Hell wasn't the top of the priority list for the AllWyvern anymore. His children and Ereshkigal's claim for them had become more important.

If the Black Dragon was going down, Jett would have to be the one to do it. It was his destiny.

Fly away to fight another day, sacrifice himself to save Yvaine with no guarantees she could escape, or take them both down to hell with the chance that his brothers would kill her to gain their freedom. An impossible decision that was suddenly taken out of Jett's hands. He didn't get a chance to lift off the ground with Yvaine. A searing fire hit his left wing and it snapped, breaking at the joint. He faltered under the pain and lost his grip on Yvaine.

You're both mine now.The Black Dragon shot a fireball the size of a pick-up truck at Jett's head and reached out his claws to snatch Yvaine up. Jett called up the shadow with all of his might. He roared into the night sky, opening a crack between hell and earth, letting the shadows that dwelled there to swell and pour into the land. Surrounded by the darkness, together they fell fast and hard into the heat of hell. Jett grabbed Yvaine to him and encircled her in the clasp of his wings. They landed in a dark cave that smelled of fire and brimstone. All the air knocked out of his lungs when he hit the stone, and he had to swallow a grunt of pain when his broken wing snapped again. The only thing keeping him conscious was his need to make sure Yvaine was okay.

Love, are you okay?He reached out his senses and found her shining soul in the darkness like a brightly burning candle in the night. He'd been worried that just passing through the shadow would harm her. She was tougher than he gave her credit for. He would do well to remember that.

She patted his chest and leaned her forehead against him, breathing harshly. "Yeah, but I've got bits of rocks in places that the sun don't shine. Where are we?"

The scraping voice of the crone, Queen of the underworld, answered for him. "Welcome home, dragonling. We've been waiting for you."

Erishkigal waved her hand, closing the portal of shadow to the Earthly plane above and cut off the Black Dragon's route to follow. Along with her command of the realm came the hoarde of demon dragons under her control, the cursed ones. She'd been busy with her coup over the Black Dragon. Behind them, her personal guard showed him in no uncertain terms, they were here to made sure he and Yvaine didn't go anywhere. All the Annunaki, except his own mother, encircled Jett and Yvaine. This was no escape. He'd brought them straight into a trap.

"Hand over the girl and you can join your brethren again. I cannot let her live and break any more of my spells." Ereshkigal waved her hand and the Annunaki tightened their circle.

Jett growled at them and shot a warning stream of fire over their heads.Not a chance, witch. You can not just give her to the Black Dragon. I won't let you and it wouldn't matter. She cannot redeem his soul the way he thinks she can.

"Stupid boy. Your father is a lost cause. He is not worth the effort I took to restore his powers. He cannot reclaim his past, his birthright. The fool does not see that Inanna must pay for what she has done." The witch shook with anger. "If she is not held accountable for her crimes she will continue to wreak havoc on all our realms. She has gotten away with her selfishness long enough."

Yvaine clung to him, still wrapped in his wings. "Whoa. She is pissed at this Inanna person. We should not get in the middle of their girl fight."

Too late.

"I had such high hopes for you when I released you from the spell. I thought if I gave you a taste of freedom, you'd see the realities of this war." Erishkigal signaled to the the cursed demon dragons around them and they, unafraid of Jett's fire moved in closer, hissing and growling. Their eyes burned with the fury of hell. He knew it well, but it had never been directed at him. Not good.

Hatred for the Black Witch ignited a renewed need in Jett to raze hell and end the reign of terror over him and his kind. She had broken her own curse over him. He'd always assumed his mother had found a way to do that, to set him free. Even in his freedom, he'd been a pawn to this witch. No more. He would find a way that never again would her bidding be done by him or his cursed brothers.

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