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“How do we get back to the island?” Og asked.
“Hell, why are you in such a hurry?” Tyson countered.
Og took a deep breath. “Because of the bodies at Scalehive.”
I held up a hand. “Let’s start there. Bodies, five of them, and one broken computer. No sign of demons. I sent a message to Oliviarose before got pulled into the portal. With any luck, she’s already got people on it.” I swallowed. “But I believe, with certainty, one of those five invited a mage onto the island, who then doubled crossed them.”
“Invited them onto the island to get you here, er, there,” Tyson added.
I held up my hand again. “Mostly likely to either keep me from the Ley Lines or to bring me to my ‘mates.’ Maybe both.” I made little air quotes as I said the word.
Og shook his head. Despite his nonchalance, Rehan’s face pinched while Tyson nodded and pointed at himself.
Lux smiled. “You freed me in more ways than one. I’m where I want to be, regardless of the labels we put on it.”
My heart warmed. It must have shown on my face because Lux’s gaze sparkled. Next to him, Og, still sharing the air dragon's pile of blankets, turned to study his face. My spidey senses tingled, once again telling me something had gone down between the two. Tyson boinking Tia hurt, but I understood it. Fighting against the inevitable was something Tyson and I had in common. When I first arrived on the dragon’s island, instead of bowing to their hunt, I’d dragged it out until physical exhaustion took me down.
I cleared my throat, moments from asking the pair, before shutting down. It wasn’t my business. We weren’t a unit. I might call them mates, but this was temporary. I had to stop forgetting.
“Look.” I pulled my attention away from Lux and Og. “Beyond all the weird unnatural shit dragon shifters are doing, which I can’t do anything about.” I wrinkled my nose. “As I see it, we have two problems. First, the mystery man who watched me on your island and who claimed to have ‘gifted me dragons.’ Second, the entity who put demons in the Ley Lines, who I’m guessing is ‘our mistake’ that the first guy wants me to ‘fix.’” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Then there’s still my missing memories. I’m a badass bitch. Missing memories are not good. Especially along with demons.”
I clasped my hands together so my mates didn’t see them tremble. Someone erased my memories and cursed me. It was a violation. It left me with no control. I’d even been voiceless. If I’d met anyone with less than good intentions before my mates, I could still be trapped in an awful situation. Fear and anxiety twisted in my stomach, and I forced myself to breathe. As long as I kept moving forward and kept trying to fix it, I could stay strong.
I was the only thing I had.
“We need to understand why I was on the island and, ideally, who cursed me,” I said slowly. “It makes no sense that someonewould trap me on an island filled with my allies but without my magic. None. There are jails and subdimensions, and even spells that will trap a god in an object. If this demonist, as I’m calling him, is ‘our mistake’ and my ex gifted me dragons to ‘fix’ it, then my ex wouldn’t have taken my magic to destroy said demonist.”
“Your ex?” Tyson interrupted.
I blinked a few times, not realizing I’d used the term, before nodding. “It fits, doesn’t it?”
Tyson growled.
“He called you his obsession, Jay,” Og said quietly.
“It’s why it fits.” I balled my fists, and my stomach sank—our mistake.
“I need to get my memories back. I must know what is going on and how to fix this.” I chewed my bottom lip, trying to phrase the next bit correctly. “I don’t know if it was my ex or the demonist who cursed me…but on purpose or not, the curse is hiding me.” I rubbed my neck. “My ex isn’t watching me anymore. I’ve not felt eyes on me or had a sense of lost memories once. No one knows, not even Oliviarose, where we exited that portal, and without magic, no one can find me. I can’t lose that advantage.”
There was a moment of almost painful silence, where I purposely did not look at Tyson.
The fire prince suddenly tensed as he put two and two together. He stood slowly, his hair flickering with his fire. “All you’ve asked for since getting your voice back is for all of our dicks, at once.” He slowly paced, not looking at me. “While these other feckers have come up with excuses, I’ve been mentally preparing and stood behind your every request…and now you’re backing out?”
I ducked my head. “You’re all hot as shit. I’m not turning you down.”
“Hot as shit.” Og rose from the bed, looking like a vengeful blanket monster. “Do you actually think stroking our egos after deciding all on your own what we do next as a group softens the blow?”
“No. I was just…” I trailed off. That’s precisely what I’d tried to do.
“Do you think the only reason we want to sleep with you is because you’re hot as shit?” Og asked.
I held out my hands. “I don’t think I’m hot as shit.”
It was the wrong thing to say. Og’s horns sprouted on his head, stabbing into the ceiling.
Good thinking on that Alliance donation.
I took an unsteady breath and looked at Rehan for support.
