Page 59 of Dragon My Crazy

My dragon wanted to destroy the idiots who dared to touch what was mine. Usually, I tempered my dragon’s violent thoughts, but not this time. This time, my dragon’s thoughts were mine, and mine were his.

These fools had made a fatal mistake. They’d taken both my daughter and my mate. And now they’d learn exactly what happens when you provoke a dragon who has nothing left to lose. The fire in my chest was a vow to rid the planet of their pathetic presence.

I didn’t care if I had to burn through every piece of this mountain to find my mate and child. I’d find them. And those who’d harmed them would burn.

Chapter 27

Elana

They’dshovedusintoa van straight out of every stranger-danger PSA I’d ever seen. White and windowless, it was further proof that these wizards didn’t have an original bone in their bodies. Worse than the textbook molester van were the asshats waiting inside.

I’d expected Leroy. But I hadn’t expected Samuel.

My ex-husband had grinned like the cat who ate the canary.

“Elana,” he’d said, like we were meeting for coffee and he hadn’t just kidnapped me, a dragon baby, and a goblin girl in broad daylight in front of the entire town. “Ah, my darling. You look well. Radiant even. Look at all that magic you’ve saved up for me.”

“Fuck you,” I said, hoping to shock him with the crass word. “I’m not your anything, and especially not your darling.”

His smile didn’t reach his eyes. “But you are. You’re mine forever. Till death do us part, remember?”

I’d refused to say another word the entire ride.

The cave they dragged us into was all too familiar. Same jagged rock formations. Same damp, stale air. Except there was no cage, so this must be a different one from where I’d busted Melly and Dizzi out. I wondered how many of these hideouts they had around the mountain.

Luella and another woman—her mother?—were already there, slumped against the wall. Both looked exhausted, their skin too pale, their eyes sunken. I recognized that look. I’d seen it in the mirror many times before. They were exhausted, drained of their magic. The wizards had been using them as power sources. That was what they were to these bastards: living batteries.

My ex-husband stood there like he owned the place, his expensive shoes completely wrong for a cave floor. Leroy was slumped in a chair, still wearing the stupid-looking wizard robe, except it looked worse for wear, having been dragged through mud and leaves and who knew what else. A third wizard stoodnearby, watching us with cold eyes. He looked vaguely familiar, like someone I might have passed on the street.

Leroy stepped forward, his dirty robes swishing around his legs. “I’ve got to thank you, Elana. Because of you, we now know this dragon welp has a human side. She’s not so useless after all. I don’t know how that blasted dragon found out about the demon, but you’re going to help us fix it. I want those ifrits you control.”

Did this idiot still think I control the ifrits?

I bared my teeth. “I’m going to fix things by helping bury all of you.”

Leroy chuckled. “However did you manage, Samuel? I thought the WEC prided themselves on obedient, well-trained women. Your wife is the most willful woman I’ve ever—”

A low rumble shook the cave walls, interrupting him mid-sentence. I covered my mouth and nose as dust rained from the ceiling.

“That blasted dragon,” Leroy snapped. “How the hell did he find us? I told you we should’ve hidden that car better.”

“And that demon you lost control of is here too,” the third wizard added, voice tight. “He’s trying to break through our wards with his friends.”

Samuel turned to Leroy, eyebrow raised. “Why are you acting so worried? We’re wizards. We can handle them.” His gaze slid back to me. “Especially now that I have my dear wife back.”

He reached for me, and the moment his hand touched my skin, I felt the familiar sinking feeling of my magic being siphoned away. I wanted to hurl. It was like the old days, when he’d drain me dry to fuel his spells.

My body instinctively made itself small, like it always had. But that only lasted half a second as I reminded myself that I wasn’t the same woman as before. This version of me didn’t cower. This version of me fought back and got angry.

I let the rage surge through me, white-hot and furious. Rage for the years he’d stolen. It mingled with my magic, growing until it was too big to contain. I focused everything I had into my fingertips and hurled it at him with a yell.

Samuel flew back, crashing into the cave wall, his eyes wide with shock. Some of the magic missed, slamming into the rock beside him. The surface shimmered, revealing glowing wards woven into the stone. Then I watched as the shimmer slowly cracked.

“Impossible,” Samuel breathed. “You can’t use magic. You never learned.”

I laughed, a full-on cackle, reminding me of how I’d laughed at Emmett that day at the gala. “I’m not the same woman you left behind.” But my eyes were still on the lowly crack in the spell on the cave walls, and an idea started to form. “You made a mistake bringing me here.”

Samuel’s smirk faltered.