Dragon's Blood (The Dragon's Gift Trilogy #2)

Lucyan was already on the ground waiting, still in dragon form. Their father was laid out at his feet, and Alistair’s heart clenched at the sight of Dragomir’s broken, bloodied body. As he moved in for a landing, Lucyan’s form blurred, the bracelets Dareena held forcing him to change back.

“Bloody hell,” Lucyan growled, a scowl planted on his face. Alistair shifted back into human form so the three of them could talk. It was a bit strange for them to be standing around naked, with his father naked on the ground between them, while Dareena remained fully clothed, but there was little they could do about it unless they found clothing up in the treasure hoard.

“Is he still alive?” Dareena asked, staring down at their father. She looked like she was torn between wanting to approach and wanting to get as far away from him as possible. Alistair couldn’t blame her—his father had threatened and demeaned her, and even tried to rape her once. The man who had raised them had turned into a truly despicable being.

“I think so,” Alistair said softly, crouching next to the body. He felt for a pulse and found one beating at his father’s neck, faint but present.

“I think his back is broken,” Lucyan said roughly, folding his arms across his naked chest. “His leg is at an odd angle, too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he has broken ribs. It will take him quite some time to heal, and the bones will need to be set.”

Alistair sighed. “I know he’s done terrible things, but we cannot leave him like this,” he said. “He’s our father, Lucyan.”

Lucyan nodded tightly. “We cannot bring him back into the Keep, though,” he said. “It would be impossible to hold him in a cell or put him under house arrest.”

“Not necessarily,” Dareena said thoughtfully. She held the bracelets out to Lucyan, who backed away hastily. “These will keep Dragomir confined to his human form. It likely also hampers his ability to breathe fire and heal, which means that he is effectively rendered mortal so long as these are nearby.”

“And so are we,” Lucyan complained, his face screwed up in disgust. “Just what is the range on those blasted things anyway? Alistair was still a ways up when I was forced to shift.”

Dareena smiled. “Let’s test it then, shall we?” She slid the bracelets onto her wrists, then backed away. “Let me know when you stop feeling the effects.”

Alistair dropped the amulet into the dirt so he could participate. The moment he did, he felt something squeeze him tight, as if a band were wrapped around his chest, except the feeling was inside him. A shiver of revulsion rippled through him, and suddenly he understood Lucyan’s reaction when Dareena had held those bracelets out to him. He would not have wanted anything to do with them either.

Thankfully, the farther Dareena walked, the looser the band around Alistair got. When she was around a hundred yards away, it disappeared completely, and he and Lucyan let out twin breaths of relief. Looking down at their father, they noticed that the scrapes on his body were healing, a large gash on his inner thigh almost completely closed already.

“Stop there!” Alistair called. “That’s the radius!”

“Excellent.” Dareena beamed as she strolled back to them. “I don’t think there is an easy way for us to transport your father and the treasure back ourselves, so one of us needs to go back to Dragon’s Keep and get help. Lucyan, why don’t you go? I’ll wait here with Alistair.” She slipped her hand in Alistair’s after he placed the amulet back around his neck.

“Are you sure?” Lucyan asked. “You wouldn’t rather come back to the Keep with me?”

Dareena dropped the bracelets onto the ground, then came over to Lucyan and wrapped her arms around his neck. “As much as I love spending time with you, I’d hate to leave Alistair here all alone,” she said, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss Lucyan. She brushed her lips against his, and Lucyan tightened his arms, pressing her against his naked body. Alistair didn’t miss the way his brother’s cock had hardened, and his own twitched in response, as if it were feeling left out and wanted to join the party. “Hurry back,” she murmured against his mouth. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

“I don’t plan to.” Lucyan grinned, then turned around and walked away. Alistair snorted, noting the way Dareena’s gaze was glued to his brother’s arse. He wrapped his arms around Dareena from behind as Lucyan shifted into a dragon and propelled himself into the sky.

“If my father weren’t here, I would suggest all kinds of ways to keep ourselves entertained,” he said, nibbling her earlobe.

Dareena giggled and turned in his arms. “I don’t think we can afford to drop our guard while we’re out in the open,” she said with a mischievous smile. “But,” she added as she pressed her lips against his, “there is no reason we can’t kiss and cuddle while we wait.”





33





As Drystan stood over the map in the war room, going over strategy, the urge to tear his hair out struck him. The war wagons were being readied, the troops rallied…and yet, Drystan knew it wouldn’t be enough. Not if those elven bastards were wielding those infernal bracelets, and not once they crossed into the heartland of Elvenhame and ran headlong into the anti-dragon wards.

“We’ve managed to gather twenty warding amulets,” Shadley said, placing a wooden box the size of a medium dog on the table. “That will be enough to protect you and your lieutenants,” he said to Tariana.

“And me,” Drystan added. He was not going to cower behind the battlements while his sisters went off to war again. He was a dragon now, and he would use every ounce of strength and power available to get his mate and brothers back.

“That still leaves the rest of the Dragon Force unprotected,” Tariana said tersely. Her jaw was clenched tight, her eyes burning with frustration. “The moment we come up against the anti-dragon wards, they’ll be reduced to the same fighting capacity as humans.”

“Which is still better than nothing,” Drystan pointed out. “And even if the Dragon Force must fight like humans, they will still have us to back them up. We will just have to fight harder to make up for it.”

“It would be nice if we had all the dragons at our disposal,” Tariana said, folding her arms. “Where the bloody hell is Lucyan? Have you heard from him since he set off for Enethar?”

“No,” Drystan admitted. He scrubbed a hand over his beard, briefly glancing out the window. Outside, soldiers and servants ran about, loading up the war wagons, saddling horses, packing supplies, and so on. “You were the last one to speak to him.”

A troubled look crossed Tariana’s face. “It’s possible he tried to infiltrate the castle and failed. He could be held prisoner even now.”

“My spies have reported no such thing,” Shadley said, “but it has been impossible to plant anyone in the castle itself since they found my last informant, so my information could be out of date.”