Burn (Dragon Souls) (50 page)

Life was not perfect, but it came tremendously close.

Their twin offspring were hair-raising terrors loved by all. Dark like their parents, their bottomless eyes were filled with piercing intelligence, and their angelic faces promised their looks would mature into breathtaking masculine beauty.

No progeny was perfect, and their prettiness was something Koen resolved to fix with battle scars.

Contentment was thwarted by a steely streak of darkness.

Marina dreamed of the offspring they lost. She woke panicking, and spent the days after in a perpetual cloud of misery. Even after the birth of their sons, she never stopped longing for the golden-haired child she claimed as her own. She’d attempted to track him in the past – to no avail – yet never had she begged and pleaded as if not to find him would kill her.

“Zaki has him, Koen.” She grabbed his wrists, grip white-knuckled. “He’s
hurting
him.”

“Marina–”

“Send for Mikhail.” Her voice cracked like whip. Gathering a mantle of power, she held him tighter, the Dragon rising to take control. “Anastasia too.”

“She will bring her mate,” Jakob warned, watching all with palpable apprehension.

The male was known to be rabid in the protection of his Queen.

Marina hissed. “I’ll put up with Daniil if I must.”

Koen’s beast snarled as his mate wrestled for control with him. Her own creature stared back stonily. Marina exhaled shakily as their Dragons battled for dominance, both unwilling to yield.

Therefore, to break the deadlock, she sent her appeal to the male she loved. “I’ve done as you asked. I’ve stood aside waiting for the war to be over. Seven years,” she breathed. Her head tossed as if she were in
drgaonskin
shaking her horns. “No more. I can’t stay here
knowing
he’s suffering. I no longer care if you believe me. No more excuses. The boys are older, the Realm is thriving, and the Emperor is safe.”

Both males shared a look of alarm.

Her chin lifted imperiously. “I’m not afraid to go alone. One female entering the Barren won’t start a war.”

“You are not just any female,” Jakob said sharply.

“Look me in the eye and tell me if this was your offspring you wouldn’t do the same.”

Jakob ground his back teeth together.

“I am sick of staring into the Wastelands wondering if today is the day I’m brought word Zaki has murdered him.” Her shoulders squared. She swept aside the furs and climbed off the large bed carved from a solid slab of ice. “We’re going into the Barren and putting B–
Ryuk
on that throne.”

Jakob tilted his head. “I am coming with you.” Uncompromising. Final.

Marina Zar, Queen of the Ice Realm and Guardian of the Dragon Emperor met her mate’s implacable stare. “You’re coming too. Cathryn will watch the twins.”

Hearing the beautiful Regent’s name, Jakob growled low in his throat. The sound cut as he realized his blunder, and he averted his gaze when his Queen smirked in amusement.

Koen Raad stared into his Treasure’s onyx eyes and knew he had lost the battle. He left the bed. Banding an arm around her waist, he hauled her slight weight to his chest.

He firmly gripped the nape of her neck.

It had never been done.

Should they break the treaty and enter the Barren hunting a Battle Lord, interfering with the monarch of their enemy, their lives would be forfeit.

There would be blood.

Death.

Destruction.

The mystical power of his Dragon soul overflowed to merge and blend with hers in an elemental clash of fire and ice.

Sliding a hand up his chest, Marina cupped his throat.

When Koen Raad smiled, it was predatory. “Very well.”

Did you love
Burn
? Then you should read
Chaos Theory
by Penelope Fletcher!

Kali doesn't know what to make of Blue. His mind intrigues her, and his body attracts her in the worst way. Fascinated, she accepts when he asks her on a date then is abducted by aliens. Kali escapes captivity to discover planet Earth under attack, and the only thing standing between life and death is Blue, a boy alien to her in every way conceivable.

Read more at
Penelope Fletcher’s site
.