I clench around them in agreement because I’m there. Right there. My orgasm won’t be denied. My whole body spasms with my climax, and it’s only Mateo’s cock in my mouth that keeps me from screaming the castle down around us.
Casius is the first of my mates to follow me over the edge, followed by Mateo who floods my mouth with his release. Rhys buries himself to the hilt, his cock jerking inside me as he reaches his climax. I collapse on Rhys’ chest and suck in gasping breaths.
Awareness slowly returns. Mateo and Casius are on either side of us. Mateo runs a gentle hand through my hair. Casius’ hand cups one of my ass cheeks while Rhys cradles me against his body.
That’s when a shock runs through me, jolting my entire body. Mateo sits up, his face going white. “That’s an attack on the wards,” he says. “A powerful one. Something’s badly wrong.”
16
Aria
Mateo snaps his fingers and returns me to full alertness. The anxiety rushes back into my mind, and for an instant, I freeze, overwhelmed by fear.
And then, training takes over. Everything I’ve learned in my life comes to the fore. Surviving on the streets. Learning to steal. Learning to fight. My magic lessons. Everything I’ve done in my life has been to prepare me for this role.
Mateo’s face is strained as he struggles to shore up Maija Essen’s wards. I can feel the malevolent force outside the castle, battering at the wards, raging in anger at the failure to rip them down. “They’re holding,” he says. “For now.”
“What can I do?”
“I need you to find Erik and Bastian,” he says grimly. He takes a deep breath. “If they’re still alive.”
I’d know if they were dead, wouldn’t I? I have to believe I’d know.
My hands shake. Rhys laces his fingers in mine, and Casius puts a steadying arm on my shoulder. “We’re here for you, Aria,” he says. “Use our strength. Take what you need.”
I take a deep breath and reach for courage. I have to do this.
There’s a hard ball of fear in my throat. I should have followed them, but instead, I’d allowed Mateo, Rhys, and Casius to distract me. I’d been having sex. If something were to happen to Bastian and Erik, I’d never, ever be able to forgive myself.
Please. Please let this be okay.
Closing my eyes, I look for them. For Erik’s hulking yet surprisingly graceful presence, for Bastian’s bright one. Bastian seems angry, but Erik’s aura is dim. Even dimmer than Mateo’s had been.
“Erik,” I gasp, tears running down my cheeks. “He’s badly hurt. He’s…”
“Still alive?” Mateo asks sharply.
I nod.
“Good. Aria, remember Paris? You asked me if I could translocate dragons, and I said no, not unless they were in my sight. You remember why?”
“Because you can’t sense them.”
“Exactly. But you can.”
He lifts the chain holding the Bloodstone from his neck and places it over mine. “I’ll feed you strength,” he says. “And so will Casius and Rhys. But Aria, I need you. You’ll need to find Erik and Bastian and bring them back into the castle.”
“Okay.” My lips are dry with fear. I haven’t been able to translocate anyone ever, but if there’s ever a time that I need to succeed, it’s now.
I rub my eyes. There’s no time for tears. I need to act. I grope for the red magic within me. Hey, you guys? I whisper to them. I really, really need your help.
My magic reacts, and not just my magic. The Bloodstone flares to life against my neck. I feel it glowing red-hot, burning my skin.
Just like it had in my dreams when I approached Zyrian’s castle.
Not now. I don’t have time for distractions. I send the threads of magic outward, my senses expanding, my focus unwavering. I patiently use the strands to weave a net around the two ethereal shapes of my mates. As much as it’s tempting to push the magic, I stay patient. It’s eager to cooperate. I just have to get out of the way.
When I start to falter, Mateo feeds me strength. I add his golden strands to the net I’m making. I take from Rhys and Casius too. The net needs to be strong. There’s magic acting to counter mine, but I will not fail.
It’s done. I yank with our combined strength. A tremor runs through the castle as Bastian and Erik hit the barrier of the castle wards, and then the wards part and let them through.
I’m already running outside.
Two giant dragons are slumped on the lawn. One of them, a scarlet dragon—instinctively, I know it’s Bastian—seems to be unconscious.
But it’s the other dragon that makes me gasp in horror. Sticking out from Erik’s chest, puncturing his jet-black scales, is a spear. Waves of cold evil emanate from it, and Erik’s light has almost been snuffed out.
Mateo swears long and hard. He tugs on his strands of magic, and the spear comes loose. “Can you heal him?” I whisper. “Will he make it?”
“I don’t know,” Mateo replies heavily as his magic knits the wound back together. “I just don’t know.”
Bastian recovers in a day. Erik, on the other hand, lingers in the valley between life and death for five long days. Finally, on the sixth morning, Mateo’s face fills with relief. “His body is winning the fight against the poison.”
For five days, I’ve bottled every emotion I’ve felt. The pressure has built inside me, and it all comes bursting out now. I’m shaking with relief that Erik’s going to be okay, but underneath is a river of hot molten rage. We all know that the Dark Dragon was behind this attack. How much damage is he going to cause? How much are we going to allow him to get away with?
“How long are we going to stay here, hiding in fear?” I yell. It feels good to give into the rage. “Why are we letting Zyrian run amok?” I point my finger accusingly at Mateo. “You’re the second most powerful mage in the world,” I snap. “Why aren’t you trying harder to break the curse?”
His face whitens. He’s exhausted. He’s been fighting the poison in Erik’s body. I don’t think he’s slept more than an hour or two in the last five days. I have no business yelling at him.
But I can’t stop the words. “Or is it just easier to stay here and have sex with your mate, no matter how many people die on the outside?”
“Aria.” Bastian’s voice is firm. “Enough. You’re tired. Stressed. You’re not yourself.”
“Or what?” I pivot to him in a rage. “Or you’ll make me a prisoner again?”
Mateo’s self-control snaps. “Do you think this is easy?” he snarls. “I’ve known how to break the curse for weeks.”
My body goes cold. “Then why…”
“Because I’m not willing to pay the price,” he says heavily. “There’s magic in the Bloodstone, magic that needs to be released into the world. Your blood can break the barrier binding it.” He laughs bitterly. “But of course, it’s not that simple. It never is. Because the magic it contains is tainted.”
He looks at me, his eyes bleak and bloodshot, filled with pain. “Within you is the only untainted magic in the world, Aria. The magic will need to be purified through your blood. There’s only one problem. If I do that, you’ll die.”
To be continued…