Page 42 of Heavy is the Crown
Heat blasts overhead as he lets loose a volley of flames, his massive skeletal wings pushing me forward as he takes to the skies.And how the fuck did you think this was gonna go, Ava? You are running from a gods damn death dragon.If I was smart, I wouldn’t have fled from him. I would stop right now and submit. But the rational voice in me that says to give up is ignored and overpowered by the one that's pissed and hurt and tired of playing it safe. My magic swims up around me, but I push it back down, still clear-headed enough at least to refuse the risk.
My body screams at me as I throw myself around a corner into a dark alley. My hands scrape against the brick wall as I try to avoid falling face-first onto the dirty cement. Behind me, I hear a screech of frustration as Drago’s massive body overshoots the alley I’m bolting down. A satisfied smile plays over my face,even as sweat drips down my temples. My lungs burn but I force myself to keep taking in air. Up ahead, I can see a chain-link fence separating this space and the next.
“You can do this, Ava. Go, go, go,” I pant.
But Drago cuts off my escape, his black flames lighting up the fence and causing me to skid to a halt. Seamlessly shifting from dragon to human, his body drops down behind me, blocking my escape both ways. Neither of us say anything. The only sound is my uneven breathing. When I finally look at him, his eyes are golden, blazing bright like fire.
“You shouldn’t have run, Ava.” His voice isn’t human. He may have shifted back to human form, but Drago is not in control.
Drago
Ava’s scent hits me full force. Sweat, lilacs, and arousal. I shake my head, trying to regain some type of control. But my dragon has lost his patience with me and our mates. We push forward. Ava’s eyes dart around for escape, but she has none.
“Drago—” she starts, but I lunge forward, pushing her body against the rough brick surrounding us. Her eyes go wide as I smile, my teeth still elongated.
“You smell so fucking good.” I breathe in deep, eyes closing as I enjoy her scent, bask in it. My claws dig into the wall as I slide my hands down on either side of, leaving deep indents in the faded red brick, until I plant them on her hips. When I open my eyes, she’s breathless, cheeks flushed a crimson shade that spreads down her neck. “Why did you run like a little rabbit? Hmm? Did you want me to hunt you? Catch you and devour you?”
She wiggles slightly, biting her lip hard. I allow my hand to slip into her clothing and down toward her core. I groan as I come in contact with her slick arousal. “Rakkaani. . . you are so wet. I want to fuck you against this wall. Claim you formy own.” She whimpers at the idea. I drag my nose along her neck, stopping briefly at the mark that Shadow left. Anger pulses bright and hot through me. “He fucking left us.” The words tumble from my mouth before I can yank them back.
“What?” Ava asks, her voice breathless.
I nip at the mark, careful not to bite over it but enough that I know I’ll leave small indents where my teeth have pushed at it. I move to the unmarked side of her neck, my dragon in full control. “He fucking left us, leftyouin danger like this. I should take you right here, against the wall. Mate you without him.”
Ava’s small hands shove at me. “What the fuck are you talking about, Drago?” I press my full body weight into her, eliciting a gasp as I push my fingers inside her. “Stop, Drago. What do you mean, he left?”
But I don’t stop, I keep slowly pumping my two fingers into her heat. “Why do you think I hunted you down?” I growl, my voice having lost all trace of being human. “He left you exposed with his little tantrum. You need magic, you need to mate. So, we do it without him.” Her walls clench around my fingers.
“Drago, wait . . .” But I can’t, I press my teeth into her neck and lay my own claim opposite of Shadow’s.
Ava
In a dirty back alley of Gothic Grove, Drago claims me as his mate. The euphoric feeling, electric as it runs through my body, has me coming on his fingers as they plunge deep within me. A scream rips from my mouth and is only silenced when his own mouth crashes down on me. We fumble with my clothing, ripping and tearing until my legs are wrapped around his naked body and his cock is pushing inside me. There is nothing romantic about this moment, and maybe it’s better that way, given Shadow mated me in a cell. We rip at each other's flesh, my nails digging into his skin and leaving long rake marks that stand out brightly even in the dim light of the alley.
When he pulls off my neck, I know it’ll look just as savage as Shadow’s mark does. “Gonna fill you up,rakkaani, going to pump you so full of me, you won’t be able to forget who owns this cunt,” Drago growls as he viciously fucks me into the wall. His piercings hit the perfect spot and send me reeling as another orgasm destroys me. “That's it, give it to me. Fucking give me everything.”
Drago is lost to his dragon, and I’m lost to the sensation of the bond between us. My own magic pushes up toward him to complete our bond, but I shove it back, refuse to allow it to bond, refuse to allow myself to take from him. No, the first time I feed, it’ll be with both my mates, and not in some fucking alley.
I feel the moment Drago starts to come, his body locking up as he pumps his hot release into me. Our skin is flushed and slick with sweat. We fall back to earth, and the noises of the city filter back into our reality as his cock slips from me. We both stand there, his come dripping down my thighs, his cock glistening with mine, and look at each other. He reaches out his hand to me, a peace offering, his dragon receding now.
I don’t move for a full minute. I just stare at his hand. “You hunted me down.” It’s not a question. It’s a fact.
“Yes.” A pause, and then, “He left us.” As if that is explanation enough, as if mating me would heal something broken in us from losing him.
I nod. My heart hurts. Drago and I knew this might happen someday, yet to realize that it is reality hurts more than I thought it would. Shadow didn’t choose us. And now we have to face the reality of the situation.
TWENTY-THREE
The covens know who Ciaran’s father is.
– Kara Carmine
Drago
(“Tell Mama” – The Civil Wars)
It’s been three weeks since I fucked Ava against that alley wall and laid my mark on her neck. Three weeks since my dragon laid waste to a section of Gothic Grove. And three weeks since Shadow disappeared. The harbor is still smoldering, the air thick with smoke even in the heart of the city. No one has seen or heard from Shadow. It’s like he disappeared into thin air. The coffee in my hand turns bitter in my mouth as I touch the hole in my chest where his bond should be. Sleep has evaded me, or maybe I’ve refused to sleep. Either way, I can’t remember the last time I closed my eyes.I need to go to bed. This isn’t healthy.
Instead, I choose more caffeine.I can rest when he’s home.
