The Dragon Legion Collection(86)

“I don’t see any reason to rush,” he whispered, then bent to kiss her cheek. Her skin was so soft and her perfume tempted him as none other could. He heard her catch her breath and yet again, his heart matched its pace to hers. The firestorm flared with a predictability that warmed his heart as well as everything else. He closed his eyes and kissed her earlobe, loving how her heart skipped in response. “How long do you think we can endure the firestorm’s burn?” he whispered.

“I don’t know,” she murmured in reply and Thad melted at the brush of her lips across his own cheek. “But I’m willing to find out.”

They were in perfect agreement about that.

* * *

The Slayer Jorge despised darkfire.

He had never been the kind of dragon who allowed others to control his choices, and having this incomprehensible force fling him through time and space did not suit Jorge’s agenda at all. He had tried to make the most of being cast into the ancient world, after being dragged into the depths of the earth by Pele during Brandon’s firestorm. That journey had ended badly for him at Delphi, with another sojourn in fathomless darkness before the darkfire had appeared again. He would have liked to have ignored the blue-green spark that beckoned him onward, but darkfire had gotten him into trouble and Jorge reasoned only darkfire could get him out of it.

He didn’t trust the garden. He didn’t trust it one increment more than he trusted the darkfire. There were no humans in the vicinity of the garden, which seemed to be hidden in a mountain pass, so he had no idea why he was there. There was no one to victimize or use for his own purposes, which made the garden a wasteland in Jorge’s view. He took the form of a salamander and sulked over the injustice of his situation in the shade of rock.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d been there when he felt the spark of a firestorm. He brightened at that, because a firestorm meant there’d be at least one human within proximity. Since he blamed the Pyr for many of his woes, Jorge liked the idea of taking out his frustrations on an enamored dragon shifter. Assassinating the mate of a Pyr would be a perfect way to improve his mood.

He smiled when he smelled the Pyr. It was one of the Dragon’s Tooth Warriors, unless Jorge missed his guess. They had a distinctive scent about them, one that was evocative of the past yet not dusty or rotten. They were less readily distinguished from each other than their modern counterparts, but had firestorms all the same.

He couldn’t smell the mate, even when he saw the shadow of the Pyr in question descending into the garden in dragon form, the heat of the firestorm illuminating him brilliantly.

Jorge crept out from the shade of his rock, cautious but curious.

If a salamander’s eyes could widen in shock, those of the golden yellow salamander that was Jorge would have done so.

Because he suddenly caught a whiff of Viv Jason, the so-called ally of the Slayer Chen. She was here, and he could smell the heat of her fury.

Had the darkfire snared her, as well?

Surely, she couldn’t be this Pyr’s destined mate?

Jorge had to know for sure.





Chapter Three



The apple had shown Aura the truth. Thad believed there would be a son, that the firestorm must result in the conception of a son.

But the apple revealed to Aura that there was no son in her future.

Thad was wrong.

It wasn’t a crime to believe in the tales of his kind, and Aura actually counted his faith in his favor. He liked the story. He wanted it to be true.

She knew it wasn’t, so she could be with him.

And Thad had immediately rewarded her decision with his plan to take their time. Aura had been seduced by more than one man, but they all had a single thing in common: they were in a hurry to satisfy their pleasure. Thad’s intent to prolong the firestorm was wonderful and enticing to Aura.

It was a perfect evening in a perfect garden. The moon was rising and was full, its silver light almost as bright as sunlight in the garden. Aura led Thad to a sparkling fountain that was wide and deep. Stars were reflected in its surface and even better, there were no nymphs who claimed this water.

She would have her dragon all to herself.

Her blood was humming when she turned to face him. She removed her tunic, liking how he caught his breath at the sight of her nudity. She removed her sandals, feeling beautiful and provocative, simply as a result of the heat of his gaze. When she straightened, Thad has shed his strange clothing and was nude beside her. She flicked a glance over him and smiled.

He was everything she could hope a man—dragon shifter or not—could be.

“You undress quickly,” she teased. “Is that anticipation?”

“Training put to good use,” he replied. Aura didn’t understand his words and she guessed that it showed. “We have to undress quickly to hide our clothes when we shift shape.”

She reached to touch his injuries, dipping her free hand into the fountain and stroking away the blood. His wounds were already healing, a sign that dragon shifters were as vigorous as she would have expected them to be. “Can you shift back without them?”

“The story is no.” He grinned, that crazy crooked confident smile that made her heart gallop. “The reality is not something I want to explore.”

“Don’t tell me a dragon is afraid.”

“A wise dragon compensates for his weakness,” he said with a lift of one brow, offering his hand to her in silent invitation.