Page 207 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

A cold chill washes over me as we step through the portal. Rion and Axel are on each side of me as we walk through.

I glance at Axel. His body is stiff, his eyes narrowed on everything around him.

I’ll have to keep an eye on Axel. He won’t do well being back here. Not after everything they put him through.

Arriving on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, a group of Tarrent’s guards meet us on the boundary line. No portals are allowed once you reach the border, so this is as close as we can get.

Boulder homes most of the powerful dragons in the US, with Tarrent ruling over them with an iron fist and an even meaner temper.

The mountains and natural wide-open space and parks are perfect for the colossal dragons wanting to spread their wings while also giving them the privacy they want.

Other species of supernaturals are shunned from living here with the dragons, but humans are welcomed, working alongside them.

Another community of supes that need a damn wake up call.

Checking us for any concealed weapons, the guards move on to spell concealments. Once they’re happy we haven’t come here with ulterior motives, they direct us into the Jeeps, each manned with more guards.

We speed down the road, lush greenery as far as the eye can see on one side and huge mountains on the other.

Before we reach the valley, a ten-foot wall stands before it with guards lining the length of it.

Tarrent is known for his diligence. There’s a reason he’s stayed in his position the last sixty years, and although he looks no older than his mid-thirties, he has the skill and knowledge of a scrupulous leader. His wife, Amaris, is just as bad as him. He, at least, has some morals, whereas she has none.

Passing through the armed wall and gates, we pass small homes and shops before reaching Tarrent’s home and base. A large gray stone mansion that rests near the edge of the mountains.

Overlooking a wide lake, it sits higher than the rest of the valley, the entire expanse one long view from where it’s positioned.

Axel was only a child when he was here, but I doubt anyone would forget his presence, considering what they put him through before they sent him away to live with his aunt.

But she ended up being just as bad as the rest of them, not giving Axel a moment of peace or love.

Once we park, there’s another search by more guards before we make our way inside.

We walk into the foyer, a large open area decorated in white and gray marble. Everything looks over the top and expensive.

Glancing over at Axel, I see the anger and pain slashed across his face. His hands are clenched by his side as he stares down the guards, waiting for them to say something so he can start a fight.

I share a look with Rion. He nods, telling me he’ll keep an eye out for him as well.

Rion glances ahead and tenses up. I look in the direction and spot the person coming to greet us: Amaris, Tarrent’s wife and one of Axel’s main tormentors when he was here.

The shrewd woman’s icy blue eyes bear down on us. Her dark hair is pulled back against her sharp features, making her look pissed as hell as she moves closer. Even after all these years, she’s still pissed that her own son hadn’t received Tarrent’s ability.

While most dragons can wield poison, only true heirs, like Tarrent’s offspring, are immune to it.

Axel and his half-brother were both born in the same month, with Rhory being a week older.

It was no surprise that Tarrent had affairs. Amaris was well aware of her husband’s extracurricular activities, having plenty of her own. What did surprise her was the affair resulting in Axel being born.

Not only is it hard for a dragon to get pregnant, but it’s extremely rare for one outside a bonded pair to occur. And although Amaris isn’t Tarrent’s true mate, the bond forged by a political alliance should have prevented any other offspring from occurring.

To add insult to it, Axel, instead of Rhory, ended up receiving the ability of immunity from Tarrent.

She thinks Axel took something from her, something she was owed, and spent the first few years of Axel’s life trying everything to take it back. Even if it involved beating it out of him or trying dark spells to remove it.

It didn’t work, instead only inflicting more pain on Axel, leaving deep rooted scars of the mental kind behind.

I glance over at Axel, watching his eyes flash gold. A deep growl rumbles from his chest as he stares straight at her.

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