Lovestruck, a Dragon Story (7 page)

“I love you,” she whispered. “I wish we could stay like this, always.”

He kissed her shoulder. “I love you as well, my mate. We will find a way.”

Anna stared at the ceiling, feeling the slick sweat of their bodies cooled by the air drifting through the opened window. “Perhaps my father will listen to reason. There is not another male who would have me anyway, because of my defect.”

A low curse sounded in her ear. Michael sat up, dragging a hand through his rumpled, thick hair.

“Dammit Anna, you are not defective. How many times must I say this?”

“I’m glad you think so. But others do not. In their eyes, I am ugly.”

“And in mine, you’re beautiful. What is it going to take to convince you that there is nothing ugly about you? Ugly is the violence your clan and mine want to inflict on each other. All they need is a trigger, like your father’s rage. But it has nothing to do with your looks!”

Michael rolled over, reached for his jeans and pulled them on. As he zipped up, he glanced over one broad shoulder, his dark gaze filled with purpose.

“Where are you going?” Her chest felt hollow.
Please don’t leave me. Please, let’s have today at least. I can’t bear to lose you again.

“Nowhere. I’m calling upon Xavier. I hate seeing you so distressed. Maybe he has magick that can change you.”

“Do you wish me to change?” she asked softly.

“No. You’re perfect. But until
you
believe so, you’ll never believe
me
.”

He reached for the earring on his left ear and tugged it, murmuring a chant. Suddenly there was a flash of white light in the bedroom. When she blinked, her eyes watering, a tall man had materialized before the bed.

The Crystal Wizard.

Chapter 6

Her heart raced with panic.

Xavier was not her judge and guardian. Tristan, the Silver Wizard, ruled over dragon shifters. But he was Michael’s master, and powerful. Energy radiated from him, a tremendous power, as if the wizard were a live, crackling electrical line.

He stood well over six feet tall and wore black jeans, black biker boots and a soft cotton T-shirt with a motorcycle logo. A well-trimmed dark beard shadowed his square jawline. His dark hair curled at the edges, each strand tipped with a shiny white crystal. His eyes were a clear blue-gray.

When Xavier’s powers surged, his eyes turned white. Scary.

“Hello, Anna. It’s a good thing you did not tug on your mate’s ears when you were having sex, otherwise you would have summoned me during the middle of it. That would have been most awkward.”

A twinkle lit the wizard’s gaze, calming a few of her fears. Xavier turned to Michael. “Why did you call me here?”

Michael looked at his master, his gaze studying the wizard’s clothing. “Nice duds. Are you finally out of that suit phase or are you applying to join a biker gang?”

Xavier raised a brow. Michael sighed. “All right. Down to business. I want you to see Anna, and what happened to her skin. I’m concerned about her belly. She has human skin while in dragon form, and that belly makes her most vulnerable.”

“Hello, daughter of Barlow.” Xavier’s gaze was kind.

Anna lay upon the bed, the sheet pulled up to her breasts. She trembled as Xavier drew close.

“May I?” the wizard asked in a soft voice.

Slowly she drew down the sheet, a flush igniting her body. But the Crystal Wizard ignored her nudity and studied her belly. He touched her skin and she felt a tingle of warmth, but nothing else.

“Amazing.”

He pulled the sheet back up and patted her shoulder. “Thank you.”

“Can you cure her with your magick?” Michael asked.

“No. There is no cure.”

A lump formed in Anna’s throat as Michael cursed in a low voice. She managed to speak around it. “Thank you for your honesty.”

Xavier looked pensive. “There is no cure, and I would not attempt to try one with potions and herbs and magick, my dear. You are not defective, nor a mutant. You are transforming.”

“Like a caterpillar turns into a butterfly?” Horror raced through her veins as she imagined herself turning into a repulsive scaly creature that would terrify dragon babies. “What am I turning into?”

Xavier smiled. “Something wonderful. A dragon who will withstand a direct attack even in human skin.”

He placed a gentle hand on her stomach and she felt a glow of warmth as his powers surged. “Your first change into dragon triggered the transformation. Your human skin is undergoing a vast change. When the transformation is complete your human skin will be soft as silk, yet tough as dragon scales.”

Awe flickered through her, and Michael’s gaze was wet as he squeezed her hand in a comforting grip. “I told you that you were special, sweetheart. What will her dragonskin be like?”

“It will remain the same, very tough and nearly impenetrable. You cannot breathe fire. Yet.” Something flickered in the wizard’s gaze and she wondered what secret he hid.

“How long will this take? It’s been two years.” As Xavier arched a dark brow, she swallowed hard. The wizard proved most intimidating. “I mean, can I get a time frame?”

“You wish to see proof that I am not telling you something to make you feel better about your scales while you are in human skin?” He considered. “Very well.”

Xavier waved a hand and a silver dagger materialized in his right hand. Before she could blink, he slammed it straight into her stomach. Anna screamed.

“Son of a bitch!” Michael roared, his claws emerging.

Shocked, she realized the wizard still held the dagger. It had not penetrated her stomach. “Michael! Michael, I’m all right!”

But her mate still raged and his eyes glowed red. He was turning into dragon, and would claw at the wizard in his fury.

Xavier held up his hand and Michael froze in place. “Anna, show your mate your belly. Do it.”

Shaken, she lifted the sheet. Not even a dent.

“I was startled, that’s all. I didn’t even hurt.” Her voice softened. “Please, Michael, calm down. I’m fine.”

She sat up and took the dagger, showing him the tip. “Not even a droplet of blood. See?”

Xavier waved a hand, unfreezing Michael. Slowly her mate stopped shaking and his claws retreated. His eyes turned their normal shade of dark brown, though wariness flickered in them.

“Dammit, Xavier, must you be so dramatic?”

Michael ran a hand over her belly. Odd, she could feel his touch, as gentle as the whisper of a breeze against her human skin, though she hadn’t felt the dagger’s sharp point.

The Crystal Wizard smiled as if he read her thoughts. “The touch of your mate is the only thing that will penetrate your defenses there, Anna. Any other dragon can touch your belly, try to do what I did, and you won’t feel a thing or be hurt.”

He snapped his fingers and the dagger vanished.
Cool trick.

She placed her hand over Michael’s on her stomach. “What about my dragon skin? Will it always be human skin?”

“No. You are a fledgling dragon, Anna, and your body needs time to adjust. Give it that time. The transformation will speed up, now that you are mated. In another year, you will not have this…” The wizard touched her cheek. “It will look like human skin, but be strong as steel.”

Drawing in a deep breath, Michael flopped onto the bed. “Always knew you were a tough one, Anna Banana.”

She stared at him, the hunger for her mate growing more intent. Xavier sighed. “I will leave you two alone, but first, I must get the seeds from you, Michael.”

Anna wriggled free from her mate’s grip. “I hid them. I’ll show you.”

Realizing her state of undress, she gave the wizard a beseeching look. “Clothing? My powers are shaky right now.”

Xavier waved a hand and suddenly she wore a neon pink silk shirt with little silver stars and…

“Lime-green pants?” She shot her mate a questioning look as the wizard grinned.

“X has an odd fashion style,” Michael told her.

She led them to the kitchen, where she had stowed the seeds safely inside a black coffee can, nestled inside a bed of green moss. Xavier took the can and unscrewed the lid and looked pleased.

“Thank you, daughter of Barlow. You did well. Both of you.”

“I picked only two pods from the plants that were in full luminescence,” Michael told him. “I was drawn more to the seeds from the duller plants. If you need more—”

“No. These will suffice nicely. The seeds from the plants that did not glow as brightly are more important and potent.” Xavier’s gaze remained calm and level. “The other Lumen plants glow too much, and in doing so, expend all their magick far too soon. The plant that has a more steady release of magick is more stable, and releases the seeds that I need.”

Anna sensed an unspoken communication between the pair, and secrets the wizard hid that had to do with her mate. “I think I’ll step out for some fresh air,” she hinted.

When she was gone, Michael breathed a sigh of relief. As Xavier’s apprentice, he was forbidden from sharing certain knowledge with others. He looked at his master, and saw the secrets in his blue-gray gaze. “Why are you so obsessed with creating coldfire? Does it have to do with the Fae gathering in larger groups?”

Xavier set down the coffee can on the counter.

“Answer me.”

The wizard looked up, his eyes glowing white, but Michael stood his ground. He must know, for if the Fae attacked Anna’s compound, she would be the dragon most susceptible to injury.

“Yes. And no.” But Xavier’s eyes still glowed white.

“That’s not an answer.”

He felt an echo in his mind, and realized the wizard probed his thoughts. “Get out of my mind, Xavier.”

“The Fae do not gather to attack the Clan Tyrith’s northeast American compound. Or any other dragon stronghold. They consider dragons their allies and friends, and will require them in the future for the dark times, for the growing evil that comes.”

Michael backed away, his palms growing clammy. Xavier’s eyes still glowed that eerie white. The wizard’s powers weren’t surging because Michael was insolent and X wished to punish him for it. They surged because of the reason for the Fae’s gathering. A reason that made Xavier’s power naturally rise.

“What is coming?”

With a huge intake of breath, Xavier closed his eyes. When he opened them, they had resumed their normal color, though Michael sensed the inner struggle.

“Something you should not be concerned with, dragon. Anna’s clan is safe. Her people are all safe. But their king is elderly and close to departing for the afterlife. He wants his people to be ready, which is why he’s insistent on training all the warriors.”

“Ready for what?”

“For whatever comes.” Xavier sighed. “The future is cloudy, as always. But the Fae are reading the signs of the land, and they have opted to gather and discuss, instead of react as they have in the past. This is a good thing, Michael.”

“If the Fae are gathering, it is not a good thing, because there’s only one reason they would assemble in large groups, other than in court. War.”

Xavier’s gaze remained steady.

“Not just a small war, like the skirmishes between my clan and Clan Tyrith, but a large one, like the Drakon War or the Fae Wars.” Insight struck him. “Or something even more terrible, involving Skins.”

“War is coming. But it is a long way off and it may not happen after all. As I said, the future is misty.”

Dread filled him. He did not want war. The dragon clans had held squabbles enough, and a war could destroy any fragile and very tentative truce.

Xavier put a hand on his shoulder. “This is why I have concentrated on my experiments with you, Michael. You are already a dragon possessing tremendous strength and courage. My brother wizards and I saw this, and selected you to learn a special magick.”

He blinked as Xavier dropped his hand. Never in his life had he envisioned himself rising to such auspicious and somewhat troubling heights.

His master reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out a test tube filled with glowing blue liquid. “Drink this.”

Michael hesitated.

“It will not harm you. It will make you stronger. It is the reason why I chose you to become my apprentice, Michael Vincent.” The wizard’s face hardened. “Do it.”

Michael drank the potion. It tasted frozen upon his tongue and bitter as ashes. He grimaced and handed back the tube. “Got a chaser of tequila to go with it? This tastes worse than eating raw meat.”

Xavier said nothing, only watched him.

And then a tugging began in his belly, a feeling as if his skin was freezing and the blood in his veins was turning to ice. Michael doubled over with a moan.

“Xavier…”

“Do not fight it. Go with the flow. It will take a day or two for it to fully take effect.”

What flow?
But the wizard’s hypnotic voice began to fade into the background as grayness pushed at the edges of Michael’s vision. His throat burned and then went cold.

He collapsed upon the ground, surrendering to the darkness.