Dangerous Games

ZAYDA

I woke early to the birds outside my window and groaned.

Somehow, even the sun made me feel worse.

The world was full of happy people, but I wasn’t one of them.

It was no surprise that I woke up sad, because I’d gone to sleep crying.

After Maddie had left, I’d sat on the couch until the tea went cold in my hands.

I was waiting for Thea to come home. Or Harry. Hell, even Darshan.

I tried to look casual in case someone poked their head in.

~“What’s up, Z?”~ they would ask, throwing themselves onto the couch opposite me.

~“Oh, you know… Just facing never-ending tragedies…”~

I didn’t make it that far in the fantasy.

Really, I wasn’t in the mood to be fun. I would’ve broken down in tears if someone had asked me to hang out. But at least I wouldn’t have been alone.

Around midnight, I finally went to my bedroom.

I knew I shouldn’t have let Maddie affect me so much.

But despite all the signs that suggested otherwise, I’d held on to the hope that when I told her everything, she’d understand.

She’d say, ~I would have done the same thing.~

And in turn, I would have listened to her problems and comforted her.

But it hadn’t worked out like that.

In the face of Maddie’s rejection, I’d reckoned with my decisions all over again.

Of course I knew some were unwise, but I wouldn’t take them back even if I could.

I needed Xythor.

I knew he would have done the same if I was the one who had died…

MADDIE

I woke up late, nestled in between Hael and Loch.

I rolled onto my tummy and put one hand on each of my mates’ chests.

“What’s for breakfast?” I asked. “Pancakes? Bacon?”

Loch’s eyes drifted open.

“What time is it, mouse?” I checked the clock on the side table.

“Ten.”

“We have to leave,” Hael said with his eyes closed.

“Why?” I pouted.

I’d had so much fun with my mates the night before that I wanted to keep the party going.

And hanging out with them was my favorite distraction. I didn’t have to think about the rest of my problems.

“We’re teaching a class in an hour,” Loch explained.

~Teaching a class. Yeah, right.~

“You mean playing that stupid board game with the orphans?” I asked.

Hael smiled, rubbing his eyes.

“Sounds like someone doesn’t like when they’re not the center of attention…”

“No!” I shouted defensively.

They shared a glance.

“Actually, we’re teaching the kids how to care for the garden, so we don’t have to hire a gardener.”

“Fine,” I said nonchalantly, hopping out of bed. “Hope you lizards have a good day.”

“Not so fast, mouse…” Loch managed to grab my hand. “Come here.”

He pulled me toward him until his face was only an inch away.

Even in the morning he didn’t have bad breath. How was that possible?!

“Kiss me,” he ordered.

I meant to stay angry and just give him a peck, but he kissed me so sweetly, his lips moving softly over mine, his tongue tracing the outline of my mouth.

Despite my best, most stubborn intentions, I gave myself to our kiss, remembering how sexy he’d looked in his leather harness—and how hot the sex was afterward.

When I finally pulled back, I was startled to feel Hael’s chiseled back behind me.

“How—?” I asked.

But then I was lost in another equally intense and tender kiss.

When the second one was over, Hael smacked my ass.

Loch leapt up and got dressed, and Hael threw on an effortlessly sexy and sophisticated outfit. Before I could catch my breath or get a word in, my mates were out the door.

“Humph,” I said to myself when they left, crossing my arms over my chest.

How was I going to keep myself busy without them?

I flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.

My thoughts whirled madly. I wondered what Zayda was up to at that very moment…and Mason…and even Xander.

What did my evil father do in the morning? Eat nails for breakfast and slaughter a kitten?

~That’s it!~

I knew exactly what I would do with my day.

No, not slaughter a kitten…

I would find the Dragonstone for my evil father.

I sprang from bed and put on some clothes. I took a handful of bobby pins from the drawer of my vanity.

Then I made a fancy espresso in the kitchen. I still wanted pancakes, but I didn’t want to make them alone.

I settled for a bowl of sugary cereal. Then I continued on my way to the treasure room.

I’d memorized the code my mates used for the keypad by the metal door. I typed it in quickly and stepped into the immaculately clean space.

The chrome details of the sex equipment glittered in the low light, and the black leather couch reminded me of what we had done there the night before…

I forced my attention back to my project. The display case.

Behind the glass, I saw a shelf filled with Dragonstones.

These were the only items in the whole cabinet.

I gulped. My mates would definitely notice it was missing…

I resolved to just take the smallest one. When I tried to pull open the door, however, it didn’t even budge.

Of course the thing was locked, but there was a way to open the case, right?

With my fingertips, I searched the outside for a lock. When I couldn’t find one on either side, I stooped to the floor.

The cabinet stood on four legs, so it was slightly elevated. I reached my hand underneath and felt a metal opening.

~Yes!~

I positioned myself under the cabinet and peered up into the opening.

“Huh?” I said aloud.

I had picked a fair number of locks as a youngster but had never seen anything like ~this.~

The keyhole was large and round. The cavity was smooth and curving.

I didn’t even know where to begin.

I reached into the hole with my bobby-pin, but it only scratched along the metal walls of the keyhole. I needed to find another strategy if I wanted to get inside.

~Hmmm…~

I pushed myself out from under the cabinet and sat on the floor.

The hole looked like it was meant for a small object.

The key wouldn’t look like any old key, so it could be hiding in plain sight.

I thought of jewelry and little knickknacks, but I was pretty sure my mates didn’t have any of those things.

“Oh my God!” I shrieked.

I burst from the treasure room and into the library.

There was that stupid game. Dragon’s chess.

But today, it might just help me out.

I leaned over the table, inspecting the pieces.

Each one was unique, but their shapes were curved and round.

Was one of them the key?

I took a few pieces in my hand and returned to my position beneath the cabinet.

I tried one, but the top was too large to fit in. Then I tried another, and another. Finally, I picked up the last piece I’d brought.

Just when I was about to get more pieces to try, I gently rotated the piece in my hand.

The glass door clicked open above me.

“Yessss!” I cried.

I lifted the heavy glass door and reached inside. I grabbed the smallest stone there was. It was smaller than the palm of my hand.

I gazed at its milky-white surface. It looked like liquid was shifting inside…

Just by holding it, I could sense its magic.

What in the hell was Xander planning to do with it?

STORM

I took the vial of blood to the deepest part of the forest. Around me on either side were miles of woods.

Here lay the stone that I needed.

It was the largest Dragonstone within the borders of Requiem City. A surface about the size of my forearm showed through the soil, but like an iceberg, much more of the stone stretched deep beneath the ground.

I was focused as I set about my test. It had been more than eighteen years since I had last performed it.

I arranged the ingredients around me.

I placed the freshly harvested rabbit’s foot at the top of the arrangement.

I laid the ferns down delicately. When the traditional pattern was complete, I poured the blood into the center.

The dark red liquid hissed and bubbled when it hit the rock, boiling on contact.

I shifted to my dragon form and lowered my humongous snout to the shrine I had created.

By blowing a controlled blast of dragon’s fire over the blood, I completed the final step.

The flames instantly burned the whole display away, and black smoke began to billow from the blood.

The scent was disgusting and stung even my dragon eyes.

Smoke filled the forest. It billowed over the treetops into the sky.

I hadn’t expected this outcome. It told me that the dragons’ task would be extremely difficult.

Our opponents were formidable. Our victory was not promised, as I had assumed.

The spirits, wronged so long ago, were demanding change.

War was on the horizon. It was as near as the rising sun.

The reckoning was coming fast, and it was coming for us all.