The Dragon's Mate, page 6
“You’d think I’d be used to crazy, what with living with the Mad Queen and all.” Belle had been looking at the ceiling lifting her fingers before she spoke. Asia again tried to cover her mirth with a cough, clearly failing all too often when it came to the brownie just as it did with the dragons. She cleared her throat, holding her hand over her mouth to make it appear more natural.
“I’m pretty sure there’s a saying about crazy is as crazy does. Which would mean you’re the pot and I’m the kettle,” Mina said, sticking her hands behind her ears and blowing a raspberry at the fierce dragon.
“Honestly, Mina. Have you no self-preservation?” Asia asked.
Mina ducked into Egypt’s hair as Belle growled, making both she and Egypt laugh.
“Fine, we leave in ten. Do you need to do anything before we go?” Belle asked.
“You make it sound as if I’m not coming back?” Egypt bit her lip a little too hard. The scent of her blood and fear filling the kitchen.
“Belle, do you know something you’re not telling us?” Asia questioned while wiping a smear of red from her daughter’s mouth.
The dragon shrugged her shoulders, evading Asia’s inquiry. In the years she’d known her, Belle had always been truthful, or as truthful as she could be. Grabbing ahold of her courage, she and her daughter followed Belle outside where they met Lula in the courtyard.
“Asia, the children have come back,” Lula said. Her amethyst eyes were so like her mother’s, filled with knowledge and love.
“The children? You mean—” Asia looked at Egypt, wondering what they’d find once they got to Earth.
“Yes. Jenna hasn’t given us any more details except that they’ve returned, and she would like us to come as well. The three of us are dragon so we can travel between realms without needing help from Jenna. We’ve been working with Egypt since her return, showing her how to harness the energy from within herself to do the same. The innate being that is dragon is what allows us to do many things other shifters can’t. One day she won’t need us to escort her, but until she’s better at knowing the proper trajectory, we feel it would be best, that she doesn’t try to navigate between realms without one of us helping her. She has the power and the knowledge locked within her, but knowing and doing, are two very different things. It takes skill and time to learn how to navigate the way between realms. You must remember that in dragon years she’s still a baby.” Belle let out a sigh, shaking her head.
“Belle, she’ll always be a baby to me, but I understand what you’re saying and so does Egypt. Trust me, neither of us want her to get lost in another realm ever again.” She hated letting go of her daughter’s hand, but since Egypt was going to be piggybacking in off of Lula, Asia was going to climb onto Belle’s back and fly in on a freaking dragon. Sure, she’d flown around Fey, but through realms? Goddess, her life was one big ball of crazy.
“Hold on, ladies, it’s gonna be a fast trip.” Belle waved her hand over them, winking.
“Happy juice as Kellen likes to call it,” Lula nodded when Belle finished.
Asia had witnessed the males tossing their cookies after a trip from one realm to the other, so she was happy Belle had ensured she wouldn’t be following suit. She’d rather not be sick if it could be avoided.
“Here we go. Ready, Asia?” Belle asked, shifting in a blink to her huge pink dragon.
She didn’t have to say yes or no as her friend flashed her from the ground onto her back. Moments later, the Fey realm was gone as cool air rushed past them. Her daughter’s reassuring presence never wavered from her mind as they left one world and entered another. Her panther going quiet, as if she was scared of where they were going and what they might face. Asia wished she could reassure her animal everything was going to be fine, but she felt as if she’d be lying to herself, and that was like ash in her mouth.
“We will circle and stay back while the children meet with the adults. Like with you, it is a tumultuous first meeting after so long.” Belle’s smooth voice rolled through their link.
Egypt and Mina flew behind them along with Lula. The five of them entering Earth seconds apart didn’t appear to register to the shifters below them.
Asia took a deep breath, smelling the familiar smells of pine and wood. Faint traces of gasoline and sweat mixed with alcohol blending together. For so many years she’d been a captive, only allowed to leave the cabin under the watchful eyes of a monster. She and her daughter hadn’t seen other humans or shifters in all the years Kenneth had kept her shackled to him except on the few occasions they’d had to go to town for provisions. The bastard had a way of starving her to near death, and then forcing her to make the trek into town in order to get supplies for both her and Egypt. After each visit, the beatings would be even more severe for her, but at least her child had a chance to eat something. That had been her way of getting through each hit, kick, and every other vile thing he’d done. She now understood his reasons for taking them with him to the town. He had been too weak himself and needed her presence in order to blend in, or he’d have been unable to get the miniscule things that were needed for her and Asia to survive.
It was hard to reconcile the truth from what her memories were. He had brutalized her, beating her without mercy, but she was spared sexual assault in the flesh. Although, he gave her memories of what he’d done to her, which were truly horrific, making her wonder if he’d actually committed the crimes he’d portrayed in her mind to some poor female or females. Asia had no doubt he had for the things in her mind were too graphic, too detailed for anyone to come up with without having first-hand knowledge.
She thanked the Goddess that Egypt wasn’t his child. She had a lot of time to think about the male who was, and even sent up prayers all the time wishing that he was safe and... happy with another female. Yes, she would be fine if he had found a way out of the hell he’d been in and even fallen for another. Her panther yowled and hissed inside, wanting to shred the nameless, faceless female.
Belle came closer to the gathering, bringing her out of her mind and back to a place she hadn’t been in a long time. She braced herself to be assaulted with terrifying memories, but the vision before her didn’t send her into an all-out panic attack. Score!
She searched for the children amongst the adults, trying to pick out who was who from when they’d come to Fey a couple years ago. Goodness, it had been two years, three months, and a little over eight days since that afternoon.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Jabari shifted beneath the ground. His heart did a slow thump within his chest. Nothing felt the same within him, yet he was alive. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the last thing he’d done.
Shit! A nest of vampires had him in their clutches and—his mind froze. Sweet apple spice and a female he’d died for. Or should’ve died for. Asia. He didn’t want to reach for her in case the fiends were out there waiting for him to wake up from whatever his latest hell they’d created for him. He opened his senses more, listening for any sort of movement, even though vampires could be as quiet as the wind.
His finger jerked, startling him by the involuntary action. It took him a moment to realize the scent of the soil wasn’t noxious like he’d been used to. His dragon was silent, but then again, he was used to the beast being silent. After the first few hundred years of being drained by the leeches, the animal within him had receded. At first, he’d been angry at his dragon, feeling like he’d been abandoned by his beast. And then, Jabari wished he too could’ve receded like the dragon had. In a sense, he had. Each time they brought him to their Gathering, dropping him in the center like he was their feast, he didn’t fight. The first couple decades, he’d fought. Goddess he’d fought. He roared like a mad dragon praying his uncle Nikai would find him and kill them all.
It became apparent nobody was coming to save him, least of all the uncle who’d sold him, so he gave up. Hell, at one point he even questioned if his entire family had sold him to the enclave.
That was until she’d come, bringing light into his dark existence. For one small moment in time, he’d held perfection. Asia. An exotic beauty who didn’t belong in a dungeon filled with the vilest of beings the likes of which filled the nest of vampires who ruled him.
He’d used her inner magic, tapping into what he’d sensed she hadn’t even been aware of, to heal himself. Jabari only took enough from her that he needed to fuel his powers in order to get her as far away from the enclave as possible. He’d hated the necessity of erasing her memory of their time together. The risk of her leading the shifters back to him was too dangerous, so he’d buried it and sent her fleeing into the territory owned by the pack of shifters he’d heard the vampires whisper in fear about. If the bastards who fed off him were scared of the shifters, then the wolves would be the best place for the female to hide, he’d assured himself.
Hell, he wasn’t sure how long she’d been gone when the hive of fuckers had realized he’d pulled one over on them. No matter, they’d figured it out, and damn had the bastard Virote, or King Virote as he liked to be called, had given a swift punishment. Jabari stared straight ahead. His eyes locked on the two panthers who sat next to the throne chair their master had vacated. The hive or nest, whatever they liked to call themselves were usually made to wait their turn before getting a piece of him. And even then, only the lieutenants were allowed to take hunks of him. Once he was dragged back to his cell, he always heard the sick fucks licking the floor where his blood had spilled. However, this time, this time was different.
He’d clearly screwed up whatever plans they had, and daddy dearest wasn’t happy. Virote lunged first, his left hand gripping his hair as he forced his head back. He didn’t say another word as he’d ripped Jabari’s throat open. The fucker had no clue how much he wished for death or how much he’d prayed they’d end him right then and there. The panther’s dark eyes held his, unblinking. The last memory he had was falling onto his back and seeing row after row of blackened teeth coming toward him. He had no strength to lift his arms or roll onto his stomach, he wouldn’t have even if he did.
Coming back to the present, he took a calming breath. He was deep within the ground. The rich loam was perfect soil for his dragon body. Jabari knew he wasn’t back on his home realm of Dragon, but he didn’t think he was within the same area as the vampires had been.
He searched his body for injuries, finding none. Oh, he was weak as shit, his body a literal skeleton.
How fucking long had he been in the ground? Luckily, he couldn’t be turned into one of the damn vampires, no matter how many times they fed off him.
With each passing moment, he felt a little stronger. Time passed, his heartbeat getting less sluggish. It didn’t take a genius to know that the fuckers had more than likely thought they’d killed him. Shit, he probably had died, but dragons were resilient even in death. If there was a single particle of their being left to thrive, they’d survive. Hence why he was somewhere within the earth’s rich soil, regenerating. If only he could shove his way out of the ground, he would. In time, he would. He shut his mind down, saving the energy for more important things, like regrowing his lower limbs. Damn evil bastards.
YEARS LATER, JABARI woke again, shuddering at the feel of air moving around him.
What the fuck? He’d woken several times throughout the years, checking his wounds and appendages. Each time, he’d been stronger, but he’d never felt air over his skin. Shifting his legs, he was startled to realize there was room. Not because he’d gotten smaller, thankfully, but because the ground had been loosened. Shit, was someone digging near where he was?
A rumble shook him. He held completely still, thinking of the machines that he’d glimpsed through the minds of the vampires. Many could easily slice through him. ‘Dammit, I just regenerated enough that I could possibly surface.’
Then why are we still beneath the ground as if we are the dead?
Jabari froze at the deep voice inside his head. His dragon wasn’t gone again. Or was he going crazy, or could he already have lost his grip on reality? Hell, maybe he dead and this was his afterlife, to be forever entombed in a dirt-filled grave reliving his death?
I would not wish to relive that with you. The beast uttered in a completely bored tone. Jabari wanted to snort but worried he’d inhale some of the loam into his lungs. Can you see what’s above us? And if you say dirt, I’ll cut you off, he warned.
The crazy beast that was his dragon popped images of his arms and legs being chewed off followed by him flipping Jabari the bird. It was good to see one of them had a sense of humor. Asshole!
‘I fear being around the degenerate fuckers has made you a male who has become very much the likes of which your grandfather will want to smack upside the head, for your mouthiness. I approve.’
It was his turn to flip the dragon off in his mind. He felt a shift when the dragon moved out of him as spirit. Although he would’ve preferred to be the one going to search outside his body, he wasn’t strong enough. What seemed an eternity later, his body jolted as the beast returned. Jabari looked within himself, taking in the images that the dragon saw. He recognized the mountain from Asia’s memories. How was he so near where he’d been held for hundreds of years, yet he sensed none of the bloodsuckers.
‘I do not sense them either.’ There were humans above, which would be a huge issue if he popped out of the earth, naked as he was. With a thought, he conjured clothing like those of the males above. He let out a relieved breath at the ease he accomplished the simple task and the fact he wasn’t drained.
He focused on the clean air wafting in from near his feet, finding the source, and locking onto it. He showed his dragon what he wanted to do. Becoming one with the air was hard for most dragons, but he’d been doing it since he’d been a boy.
They melded together, he and the dragon, shrinking until they were nothing more than nitrogen, mixing into the natural components of air. A feeling of freedom washed over him, cleansing him, making him stronger, fueling him and his dragon with strength and power. And anger. So much fucking anger and hatred. The bastards who thought to kill him, who took everything from him, his life, his blood, his mate...they would pay.
ASIA WATCHED HER DAUGHTER leave with her mate, knowing they belonged together. While it had only been a couple of years for her to have been missing her child, for Egypt it had been over twenty. Goddess, it killed her to think of the loneliness she must’ve felt being in a realm without...her.
“She had me and the other brownies.”
Asia looked over at the female who declared herself bestie to Egypt. “Was she sad at all?” She swiped the back of her hand under her eyes, unable to look at Mina when she asked.
“Yes, of course. The first couple of years were the hardest on her. Although she was a child, she absorbed information very quickly. How you see her now is how she looked shortly after arriving. I’d say within year three or four. I’m not sure. We don’t keep track of the years like humans or... your kind. Lord Mkikoa, he assured she had all the tools she needed to be intelligent like she requested, and trust me, she requested a lot.”
She could picture her daughter stomping her foot and telling this Koa, as she referred to the ruler of the realm, to get her things. “I missed so much,” she whispered.
Mina sighed. “If you’d be okay with it, I could share with you some of the things from her life?”
With her arms wrapped around herself, Asia looked over at the brownie. She was truly lovely with her long, flowing brown hair and tan skin. “You mean like share what you saw and experienced with her?”
Mina nodded.
It would give her a glimpse into her daughter’s life, but it would also be a sort of invasion into it as well. If Egypt wanted to share her life, that time with her, then she’d offer to do so. “Thank you for the kind offer, Mina. I... I’ll wait for Egypt to show me.”
“You’re a very good mother, Asia Light. Your mate has chosen wisely.” Mina gave a little wave of her fingers before vanishing, little gold flecks flying through the air.
Asia put her hand on her chest, wishing the brownie’s words were true. Since the revelation about the vile bastard’s treachery, and the truth had been revealed, she’d done nothing but dream about Jabari.
She looked up at the moon. It was a little odd only seeing one, since on Fey, she’d gotten used to seeing two and watched Belle and Nikai flying close together in dragon form. They were a beautiful couple who were truly blessed to have found one another again. She was trying to come to grips with the fact her child was not only part dragon but actually related to Nikai, the Dragon King. That would make her a princess of sorts.
Belle and Nikai landed a few feet from her, shifting to their human forms with an ease Asia envied. “Asia, are you coming back to Fey with us, or would you like to stay here until... well until Egypt decides what she’s going to do?” Belle asked, walking forward, with Nikai’s hand clasping hers.
The question startled her. Geez, she hadn’t thought of what she’d do. Staying on Earth hadn’t crossed her mind but leaving her daughter made her panic. Her breath stalled in her throat, and her heart began beating too fast. She put her hand out, reaching for something to hold onto. White lights began flashing in front of her as the trees spun around her. She heard her name being called out as if from a long distance, yet she felt as if she were drowning in a sea of water. How could that be when she was standing on land?
Asia woke up in a darkened room. She touched her head, wondering if she’d hit it or worse, if she’d fallen into the hands of another captor. Fear burned through her veins as the reality of her past and present came together.
Tossing the cover off her, she leapt from the bed, landing in a crouch on the cold tile. She sniffed the air, scenting fur and more. There were no windows in her room, but two doors. She tried the first that was a bathroom. Asia shut that door and slid her back against the wall heading for the other. Her breathing was far too loud. If there were shifters outside, they’d hear it. No, there were shifters out there. She could smell them, so she knew they could smell and hear her. Dammit.
