“Ah yes, so you can attempt to figure out how best to defeat me. Go ahead. Take all the time you need,” I quipped moving toward the double oak doors leading into the rest of the castle. Dragons blocked my path and I grinned wickedly, hoping this bravada would hold out. “Take me to the dungeon or whatever. A bed, a hot meal, no chores, fuck it's paradise.”

  “Be easy on yourself and just give us your magic,” Holdur said, sticking his hands in his slack pockets.

  “Sorry, I'm not a whore. I just don't give things away for free,” I said with a careless flick of my wrist. “Jadiza, got any pointers?”

  One dragon snorted and I grinned. I thought I was fucking hilarious but these uptight air licking lizards had no sense of humor. I stared around the foyer, wondering where these magic repulsion elements were, or whatever the hell they were called. I tried again to summon magic carefully to my hands, feeling a modicum of it come into power; not nearly enough to do anything badass.

  What the fuck do they have that’s doing this to me, I wondered. I darted my eyes around the room, unable to see anything visible. I opened up my magic and felt it being suppressed somehow. I glanced over to Tordis, seeing her head hang still. Her face spoke volumes of how she felt. Good the damn bitch, I seethed.

  Tordis was standing inside the circle with me with the lizards on the outside and Jadiza and Holdur just on the outside of them. I strode up to Tordis before she even thought to look up. Clearing my throat got her damn attention and I socked her in between the eyes.

  “Take her away!” Jadiza roared. “Lock her up!”

  “That’s pretty much one in the same, isn’t it?” I called over my shoulder as I was being man-handled out of the foyer. “Redundancy is the first stage of dementia.”

  I had not a fucking clue if it was or wasn’t. I just didn’t like this dragon. The male dragons wrapped their hands around my arms, taking me through the double oak doors and down a hallway to the left. I tried my best to hide the grin making itself known on my lips but I couldn’t. Whatever magic this was, I hoped I was able to suck it all in and use it.

  My mind reeled, wondering if it was dragon or witch magic. And since Tordis touched me to take me here, wouldn’t it have given me enough time to absorb whatever it was she had too? Fuck if I knew, I groused to myself. Being a zaglis is complicated. I can take or absorb but I have the power of a fucking God that is somehow being repressed. How the fuck does that make any sense!

  They turned me down another hallway to an ornate carved door at the end. The whitewashed door looked like it was antiqued, save for the painted fox in the bottom left corner by the hinges. The handle was pretty, looking like two pieces of metal twisted together. The dragons opened it, leading me down, single file to the end.

  The carved fox on the door made me wonder if there was a meaning behind it. Like some sort of clever shit since foxes were clever in getting themselves out of trouble. Or maybe it was the opposite and a warning that I was in deep shit.

  The sand-colored stone faded to black. White orbs of light hung in the corners on the ceiling as we descended further under the castle. Glancing to my left looked like open stalls one would find at a community pool shower room. I questioned everything, then realized I was going to be magically sealed inside.

  The lead dragon took me near to the very end, putting me in the middle of the twelve foot by maybe ten foot room. I flexed the magic in my hands, feeling a scrap of it surge back. I kept my face impassive, reining in my magic until I could figure out what to do and how to get away.

  Without a doubt, Evander would be coming here shortly. I just didn’t want to lose him in the heat of it all and him to go too far into his shift being worried about me. I had to find a way out and how to contact him through our bond.

  “Stay,” his soft voice ordered.

  I laughed, making sure it was loud and awkward. My voice echoed all throughout the dungeon. It sounded foregin to me. But it was enough of a weird ass laugh to set those two dragons on edge.

  “Dude, she could kill you!” the other dragon warned.

  “I could. But where’s the fun in that? Just to have it over so quickly?”

  I was absolutely fucking with them but seeing their faces blanch and the shade of vermillion in their eyes change was too good to pass up. I figured if I could get these dragons to be scared of me, or fear what I could do to them, then they might let me go. Fear was a good motivator as I learned in history class and throughout this ordeal with Diomedes. I felt like an asshole for doing it but they weren’t the ones taken and shoved in a dungeon.

  “Here’s an idea for you both, let me go and you’ll live.”

  “No,” the one who told me to stay replied.

  I went over to the bed, sitting down and crossing my right leg over my left knee and kicked back a bit. “Suit yourself.”

  The dragons sealed me in and practically bolted from the room. Once they were gone, I sighed. Uncrossing my legs I rested my elbows on my knees, wondering what the fuck to do next.

  ZURI

  I closed my eyes, reaching inside myself to my magic. I saw it swirling around my heart. The magic looked like lightning crackling in the sky. I shook out my hands at my sides and focused all my energy and magic into contacting my mate. Like a shimmer on a pond, I saw Evander walk toward his pack. His hair was disheveled along with his charcoal gray v-neck shirt. Vampires, ogres and other paranormal beings were behind him including some witches. I growled, noticing the red head of Bethany.

  Fucking witches, I grumbled, turning my attention back to my mate. Evander raked his fingers through his hair and sighed. He looked exhausted, stressed as if me being gone for an hour just knocked the life from him. I touched my cheek, feeling tears I had no idea were there, course down my face, and wet my fingertips. Seeing him gather people so quickly to come get me meant more to me than I could say.

  “Evander,” I called out to him.

  His head snapped up, looking around.

  “Evander,” I said again, choking back more tears. “I’m fine. I’m ok. I’m in the dungeon at Kadia Castle.”

  Molner approached my mate, putting a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  “Did you guys hear that?” Evander asked as Bertok approached.

  Molner and Bertok shook their heads. I rolled my eyes, wondering what I was doing wrong. Maybe I was too far into the magic I was using to be able to communicate effectively? Was I not supposed to use magic but the mate-bond that bound our hearts and souls together? I pursed my lips, looking around the magic that surrounded my heart for the mate-bond and not finding it there.

  Maybe the bond is blue too, I figured. They looked all around them, dumbstruck at my voice. Bertok shifted quickly and came back out, shaking his head that he sensed nothing. I put a hand to my forehead. I’m just gonna yell at them, I decided.

  Tapping back into the magic I used to get ahold of them, I yelled, “For fuck sakes, I’m using magic and our bond to communicate!”

  Evander grinned, putting a hand to his chest in relief. The aged look he sported dissipated slightly. He laughed, squatting down in relief so palpable, I swore I felt it shake my heart. Evander rose to his feet, rolling his shoulders back. He ran a hand over his face as Bertok and Molner clapped him on the shoulders. Evander pinched the bridge of his nose and sniffed.

  “Yep, that’s Zuri,” Molner grinned.

  I swallowed the hard lump in my throat while watching my mate go through an array of emotions. Taking a deep breath, “I’m at Kadia Castle, in the dungeon. I’m fine but my magic is being repressed somehow. The dragons wanna take it,” I yelled again, figuring it was the best way for them to hear me.

  “I’m coming babe,” Evander replied.

  “That’s one hell of a mate-bond,” Bertok said.

  “I love you,” I said quickly, feeling a force act against my magic. “See you soon!”

  I pulled out of myself with immense relief upon reaching Evander. He was coming. And I was getting the hell out of here. I just had to stay alive long enough for him to help get me out. I studied the cell I was contained in, wondering if they were using magic orbs like my mother had in spying on me. There was nothing - not a light, switch, anything that gave way to me being watched.

  Eyes closed, I tested my magic again, wondering if the force I felt was just someone testing the boundaries or if it was magic trying to tamper down what I was trying to do. Something was happening and it was pissing me off. To me, it was the equivalent of swimming a mile and then being told to fist fight a bear. It was draining me, making me feel tired in a way I couldn’t fight back, yet my magic was still there - strong, readily present for me to use yet unable to reach it.

  Feeling someone was watching me, I opened my eyes slowly. Jadiza and Holdur both stared at me on the other side of the barrier I was contained in. I laid on the bed on my side, hoping this contented position rankled the dragon queen. It seemed to be working. Her furious vermillion eyes stared at me so hard, I swore I almost caught on fire.

  “Back so soon?” I asked. “Hopefully you figured something out.”

  “How did you do that?” Jadiza demanded.

  I laid on my back, putting my hands behind my head. “I’m having a great time down here,” I paused, glancing at Jadiza out of the corner of my eye. She was fuming pissed. “It’s really clean too. Smells nice. Like mint. I appreciate your hired help cleaning.”

  The sharp clacks of Jadiza’s heels storming away made me grin. I laughed out loud, wriggling on the bed for a more comfortable spot. There was none.

  “How are you, old friend?” I asked, seeing Holdur still standing there.

  “We aren’t friends.”

  “Well that sucks.”

  “Zuri,” he began with a sigh.

  I sat up, giving him my undivided attention and respect since he was always that way toward me. He helped me with Diomedes’s key and gave me guidance where many other dragons wouldn’t. Holdur leaned against the magical barrier, removing the spectacles from the bridge of his nose and pinched it with his free hand. He swiped a wrinkled hand over his face and sighed again. Come on grandpa, I mused in an endearing way. It sucked to end a kindliness between us such as this.

  “I’m listening,” I offered.

  “It really doesn’t have to be like this,” he finally said, putting his spectacles back on.

  “Then how should it be?” I asked. “Are you dragons incensed that a former human has magic? What is this even about?”

  “Vengeance. Jadiza used to be more powerful than she is now before she got tricked by your mother into giving away her magic.”

  “So, Jadiza wants her former glory,” I deduced with a roll of my eyes. “What the hell? What is it with ya’ll and vengeance? Why take it out on me when I had nothing to do with any of the bullshit that happened?”

  “Give us your magic, Zuri, before we are forced to use a different means,” he said with a hint of sorrow in his voice.

  “No,” I snorted derisively. “Lyvia is dead. Uther is dead. Nothing involves me, Holdur.”

  “No person should have the magic you have and are capable of.”

  “And who are you to determine this? If you’re here to judge morality, then take a long look in the mirror while searching for your own noble compass.”

  “Listen, girl,” Holdur snapped, all kindliness vanishing from him. “You do not want this to end poorly for yourself. Give us the magic. You’re already bonded to a wolf, you don’t need the magic to continue to gain his love.”

  “What makes you think the magic I have is the reason he loves me?”

  “Why else would a wolf choose a human mate? It certainly isn't for looks. It’s about power.”

  I smirked, catching on to what he was trying to do. I wasn’t going to fall for this manipulative tactic. The dragon was hoping to prey on insecurities to gain the upper hand. I wasn’t falling for it. Evander loved me prior to being a zaglis. I knew in my heart, he was made for me, prior to any of this happening. Sure, this tumultuous road escalated us falling in love, and being a powerful zaglis helped, but I felt we were written in time to be together until the end of it. I was accepted by the wolf pack before I was a zaglis, anyway. I smiled, reflecting on it all and Evander’s love for me. He loved me for all of me. Being what I was, was a bonus point.

  “Yeesh,” I finally said. “I’ll give ya ten minutes to come back with better manipulative insults.”

  Holdur gave a breathy laugh, turning toward the exit. “I've always liked you, Zuri. Sorry it came to this.”

  I shrugged, not really knowing what else to say. I stared at the shimmering light purple field of magic that held me captive inside the stall. Getting off my cot, I made my way toward the barrier, extending my senses out to see if it was going to give me a light zap or jolt me across the room. I sensed nothing. Just a barrier.

  I frowned, flexing my sweaty hands, Rubbing them off on my pants. The purple barrier shimmered at my approach. I sucked in a breath, reaching out a shaking hand. The barrier reflected my hand back with a lightning crackle.

  Closing my eyes, I fell into my magic, focusing on going home. I wasn't going to sit and wait for the dragons to decide what they wanted to do with me in order to get my magic. I also didn’t want to sit around, waiting for Evander inside the dragon holding. Waiting just wasn't my specialty to begin with.

  I pictured our home in Kyna, our bedroom with the cute white bassinet at the foot of the bed. I smiled wanly, remembering the moment Evander had come and surprised me with it. I was excited. Seeing his face light up as he spoke about our child made my heart constrict at being away from him and swell with love and admiration at the same time.

  I willed my magic to teleport me there, back to the bedroom, back to where we were able to block out the world and its troubles; to lie in each other's arms, just being happy as we spoke about the future. But my magic refused. And I was really getting pissed off about it.

  Instead, I focused on the barrier. Since leaving was out of the question, I was going to fight my way out. I grit my teeth together, screaming at the intensity of pulling the barrier into myself to absorb it. Since I was a taker, I was going to fucking take it all. My body swelled with the increased magic. I noticed my own magic fight against it, trying to wrangle it all in and contain it inside me.

  The chaotic screaming of Jadiza and Holdur bellowing for dragons to come make me stop, echoed like a madhouse down the hallway. I grinned, stretching out my hands farther to take in all the magic. My skin crawled. Every hair stood on end as my body fizzed with power, ready to burst like a shaken soda can. My skin felt taught and I flexed my hands.

  Opening my eyes, the barrier was dropped. A dozen dragons stood before me in their human forms, swords at the ready like no one knew what the fuck a gun was. The hallway was too narrow for them to shift and take me on. I cracked my neck while never breaking eye contact with them. I noticed a few dragons gulp.

  I grinned. “Wanna play a game?”

  No one replied.

  “Cool.”

  I released all the absorbed magic I had stored within me, launching it at them. Holdur grabbed Jadiza, moving to the side and away from the dozen I had in my magical power. Dragons flew back against the stone wall, their bodies being smashed so hard into the stone, they became flat like paper. I kept the magic pressed against them, holding it there until the last dragon died and their head exploded open. Releasing my magic, I turned toward the right, seeing the horrified face of Jadiza and the dropped jaw of Holdur.

  “Hi,” I grinned wickedly.

  The castle shook. A rumbling came from the wall across from me. The dragons took off up the stairs, bellowing frantically for reinforcements. I gave them a head start.

  I flexed my magic and sighed in relief when I was fully able to use it all again. I wonder how the fuck they did that, I thought, not really caring anymore since I had full reign of my magic. My guess was a combination of dragon and witch magic since clearly Tordis and Jadiza were in cahoots.

  The frantic voice of Jadiza echoed down the hallway. The door slammed shut. A purple shimmer covered the door. I held up my hand, willing my magic to explode the door.

  The door splintered open, exploding outward with such a force, wood struck dragons and made them bleed. I came to the top of the landing on the stairs, seeing that dragons covered every square inch on the long hallway, standing six in a row shoulder to shoulder and a few rows deep.

  I summoned magic to my hands, holding it tightly in fear of it fizzling out. Whatever I did to get my magic back, I wasn’t about to lose it. My heart pounded in my chest. I breathed out, unleashing all I had in me as my final stand.

  EVANDER

  Somehow my mate got in touch with me. I hadn't a clue how she'd done it. Before when we tried to speak through our bond, it was the equivalent to hearing a mute scream. There was nothing. We had a mate-bonded connection, we could feel each other's emotions, hear each other's hearts beating. Yet, we couldn't speak through the bond - telepathically or otherwise.

  I contributed the inability to speak through the bond to a part of her being a zaglis. It had to be. But just now, hearing her voice as if through a car stereo, she must have had to draw on a lot of magical power to accomplish the feat of telling me she was fine. Still, her saying she was alive and fine did nothing to ease the ache in my chest nor the anger in my blood.

  Beings stood in a circle outside the castle gates of Kyna, waiting for the witches who would be teleporting us to the Espowyes to be readied. I glanced over my right shoulder at Bethany, trying to hold in the glare that so easily came to my face because of the coven.

  I swiped a hand over my face, reminding myself that Bethany wasn’t a part of what Tordis did. The Willow Coven were still our allies. The reminder did nothing to stem my anger though I did fix my face to not look so fucking pissed. Bethany and her witches were helping. We were getting teleported to the Espowyes.

  A cyclops came lumbering down the slight hill from the castle with another large bomb in his hands. He set it down with a smile and went back inside. Two bombs so far. Not nearly large enough to take out the entire castle, but enough to cause serious damage and harm.