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Aria bloomed to life in my mind. The happy teen and her friends, each missing body parts and living their best lives in the air priestess’s temple. So much felt wrong on this island. Dragon shifters didn’t even spend much time as dragons… the entire reason they isolated in the first place.
Not our problem.I took a calming breath.
Get the fuck out of here. Free your dragons, get off the island, and fix whatever it is you and brown eyes did in whatever order all of that needs to happen.
What if I still needed my dragons to fix whatever I’d done? What if they didn’t want to help once I set them free? God damn it, I’d spent the last fifty years laying low to prevent precisely this… unless I hadn’t.
“I knew you could learn to love, that you weren’t that cold woman who turned from me. Save the world from our mistake… find me!”The man’s voice echoed in my memory.
What the fuck did I do?
My inner voice didn’t answer.
I wrenched away from my inner dialogue and needlessly raised my hand in front of me. Stepping into the very center of the oubliette, I filled my palms with all their elemental powers. Streams of glowing red, blue, white, and green rushed toward the quartz balls. My magic blurred into a murky brown as the elements mixed and absorbed into the quartz.
“I am a badass bitch,” I snarled. “Let’s see how fast your little toys can eat all my shit.”
Pure elemental energy flew through me. It was not near as intense as Tyson’s fire ceremony, but I still buzzed and sparked. Slower than I expected, spider cracks opened in the quartz and grew. A drop of sweat ran down the side of my face. A small explosion on my left made me jump, though I didn’t let the elemental magic stop flowing. Before my feet hit the ground, three more little blasts filled the air. Shards of quartz filled the oubliette, hitting my legs and hips. I dropped my hands, only to have a particularly sharp piece bite into my palm. The final explosion went off with a mini pop, and sharp pain bit into my cheek as a shard of quartz slid across my skin, leaving a bleeding gash.
I bit my lips shut and cut off my magic. My elemental muscles quiver painfully from overuse. I froze, barely daring to breathe. If there were guards, they’d come running. There had to be some alarm.
A minute ticked by.
I don’t think anyone stayed.
I don’t know why not. I’m the best company.
A drop of blood from my cheek dripped onto my wrist, and I finally took a breath. I pressed the hem of my shirt to my face before calling on a fireball. A small one slowly fizzled into existence and flickered in place.
I grinned.Step one: Success.
The light sound of a single person’s footsteps walked past the oubliette and out of the room above. I dropped my fire. More would come. I had to get moving. My elemental muscles burned unhappily, but I forced air magic out of them to help me spring to the grate at the top. I wrapped my hands around the bars. Pain from the cut on my palm ran up my arm, and I sucked in a breath, but I didn’t let it stop me. I fucking loved being strong. I easily pulled my body up. With my left arm hooked in the grate, I fumbled the small opening for a lock. Nothing appeared. After a second pass, I sighed. No lock.
These dragons are really, really bad at this.
This oubliette shouldn’t exist at all.
Combining momentum and the last bit of power, I dragged out of my exhausted muscles, I managed to boost myself out. I sat on the edge, my legs dangling down.
“Um, Jay?”
My heart raced at the sound of Og’s voice, and I turned. His bright green, dragon-slit gaze bloomed to life in the darkness. Although I couldn’t make out his rich, dark skin or wiry body, a few runes glowed where I guessed his solid shoulders would be.
“Jay!” Og sprinted to my side and hugged me hard. “What have they done to you?”
You knew Og wouldn’t abandon you.
Yeah, he’s the only one choosing to be brainwashed.
Despite my cynical thoughts, I squeezed him back, breathing in his scent and letting his presence light up my world. I still needed all of them, but I wouldn’t let myself get attached. Friends. I could do friends. “Og, I can’t be yours. I’m a menace.” I released him. “What are you doing down here anyway?”
Og let me pull out of his arms but kept a hand on my shoulder as if I’d fall back in if he let me go. “That is…” Og trailed off.
I pictured the blush on his cheeks even if I couldn’t see it.
“I came to rescue you.” He cleared his throat, poorly hiding a chuckle. “It seems you didn’t really need my help. How long would it have taken you to get out of my lair?”
“I had no intention of leaving.” I grinned. “You had something I needed.”
