Page 60 of Dragon My Crazy

I turned my focus to the cave walls and the shimmering threads of magic woven into the stone. I didn’t need a spell to bring itdown. That was one thing I’d learned about magic. Casting a spell was like erecting a building; you had to do it right or else the structure would fall. But destroying a spell? That was like demolishing a building; if you didn’t care about the fallout, brute force would do. And my magic, when wielded without finesse, was brute force indeed.

I reached out with my magic, poking and prodding. The wards resisted at first, but I kept trying, looking for a weak spot. When I finally got my magic to sink in, just a little, I tugged, and the wards shuddered.

Dizzi’s eyes widened as she realized what I was doing. She joined in. Her magic was weaker, but I’d already started a hole, and every little bit helped. Together, we pried at the edges, loosening the wards bit by bit. And we did it all without even moving from our spot.

Samuel’s face twisted in rage. “What the hell are you doing? You bitch!” He lunged for me, his fingers closing around my throat.

Then Melly was there, with the tiniest ferocious growl. A thin but determined jet of smoke puffed from the dragonlet’s nostrils as she let out a stream of fire. It scorched Samuel’s arm, and he yelped, letting me go. Melly took another deep breath, her small chest expanding, but Samuel was ready this time. He made a motion as if smothering the flames, and the jet spewing from Melly’s mouth dissolved into a sad little wisp that smelled faintly of burnt marshmallows.

Samuel shoved the baby dragon away hard. Melly faceplanted in the dirt. She whimpered, and the sound had me furious. ButMelly had scrambled to her feet again and was latching onto his arm with her tiny teeth.

I suddenly remembered the premade spells in the tool belt pockets. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten about them, but being plunged into a cold lake, then immediately kidnapped by the one man I’d been hiding from for the past twenty-odd years could do that to a woman. I grabbed one, even as my eyes scanned the rest of the cave. Leroy was concentrating on keeping the wards from falling, and the other wizard had a portal up and was transporting crates out from the cave to wherever it went.

If I didn’t act now, we’d all be forced through the portal, and Emmett would arrive to an empty cave. I had to do something. I looked down at the foiled spell in my hands. The word “freeze” was scrawled in Tansy’s handwriting.

What did that mean? I didn’t have time to figure it out, so I pointed it at Samuel. And when he shook Melly loose, I ripped the foil open.

Magic swirled out, combining with mine and pulling from my well. It flew toward Samuel and hit him in the chest. He froze like a statue, his limbs were unmoving, just as the spell said. I ran over and scooped Melly up into my arms.

By now, Leroy had noticed. He stomped over. I tried to grab another spell, but he knocked it from my hand and grabbed me by my hair.

“You’re going to pay for this!”

I shoved my hands into another pocket, but this time instead of a foiled spell my fingers found the scale Emmett had given me all those months ago. I wasn’t sure what calling him would do now that he was already actively breaking down a mountain to get to me, but I rubbed it anyway, thinking of him.

There was a ground-shuddering crash, and the walls at the far side of the cavern crumbled in. I saw Emmett before the dust even settled, standing in the wreckage in his dragon form. He’d literally torn apart the mountains to get to us. His form blocked out the light from the sun as he took in the scene: me holding Melly, Leroy grabbing me by the hair.

Leroy never stood a chance. The flames came rushing at us, bathing us in blazing light. The heat was overwhelming, and I looked down and away as the scent of charred flesh filled my nostrils. I focused on the green and bronze scaled dragonlet in my arms instead as I waited for the pain.

But the pain didn’t come, and for a moment I wondered if I’d died already, skipping the painful burning part altogether. But my clothes were burning. My hands, however, were still whole. I was covered in fire, but unblemished, much like the dragon child in my arms. It was hot, but not painfully so.

I squeezed my fingers, and the fire in my hands formed into a ball. Remembering Dizzi and Tansy’s lessons, I tried snuffing the flames out. It worked, but was quickly replaced by more. This wasn’t my magic; it wasn’t my fire. It was Emmett’s. And I was standing in it. And I was alive. Not just alive, I felt… amazing.

The implication hit me at once. I was Emmett’s mate!

Holy crap! I was his mate!

Suddenly, everything made sense. The connection with Melly, with the castle, with him. Even the fact that I appeared younger in the mirror. Dragons shared their long lives with their mates. I wasn’t any younger, but Iwashis mate.

I looked from Melly up to Emmett, who stood in his dragon form. Four legs, low slung, and beautifully clad in bronze scales. He was magnificent. Our eyes met, and he started to shift.

But his fire hadn’t caught everyone. Samuel, who had been frozen just out of reach of Emmett’s flames, moved, using my distraction to break free. He ran to Luella, whose eyes were wide in horror and shock, and slapped a hand on her. The glowing shield around him grew and intensified.

“A monster? You chose a monster over me? A rutting beast?” Samuel sneered, then shook his head. “I was wrong about you, Elana. You are not salvageable. But if I can’t have you, no one can.” He flung his arm forward, and I watched in slow motion as an arc of electricity raced toward me.

Emmett moved, reaching for me, and my eyes went wide as he put himself between me and the deadly arc. But I hadn’t come all this way to lose. I hadn’t come all this way to find out I was a dragon’s mate only to lose him because of my good-for-nothing, asshole ex.

Rage burned through me, and I felt the tingling sensation in my fingers just like I had when I torched that goblin.

“Oh no, you don’t!” I threw everything I had at the bolt of electricity. It came so close that I felt my hair rise on end, but it didn’t touch us because I was already flinging it away, redirecting it back the way it came.

I saw the shock in Samuel’s eyes, even as he dodged out of the way. He had not expected me to fight back. He probably hadn’t even realized I could.

The ball was in my court now, and I was angry. I was angry for the years he’d taken from me. Furious. I stalked after him, my arms raised. The first two fireballs missed and flew out of the giant hole Emmett had made when crashing into the cave. I was preparing a third one when the two ifrits suddenly showed up on either side of Samuel.

“Sorry it took us so long. Had to hold off some goblins. Need a hand?” Blaze asked.

Then the two ifrits each grabbed one of Samuel’s arms, holding him in place.