The Fate of Her Dragon (9 page)

Chapter Twelve

“That all you got, old man?”
Kellan, the scarred Guardsman from the Blue Dragons teased.

“Seems like I have
you
on
the run ‘young’un’… and I’m half-blind,” Drago countered, laughing aloud as he
blocked a particularly sharp jab. He loved that the others weren’t taking it
easy on him. It showed they still respected him, which meant more than the
Assassin wanted to admit.

“Yeah, well, even after being
locked away for a hundred years you are still the notorious Drago MacLendon.
The Assassin that makes hunters run for cover, wizards wet their robes, and
ladies drop their panties at your feet, are you not?”

The training pitch roared
with laughter but it was the scent of sunshine and daffodils that had Drago
spinning on his heels. “Ladies drop their panties at your feet, do they, Mr.
MacLendon? I guess I better watch out for the competition,” Alicia teased as
she leaned against the wooden fence separating the sandy training pitch from
the rest of the lair.

Drago’s depth perception was
still off and his eyesight fuzzy but he’d know his mate anywhere. Returning his
broadsword to the sheath at his waist, the Guardsman walked to where Alicia
stood.

“There is no other but you,
mo
ghra’
. Tell me, what brings a beautiful lady like you to a dirty place like
this?” he joked, swallowing her chuckle as he leaned in to give her a kiss.

As Alicia pulled back, Drago
could see the dreamy look in her eyes, the look he’d put there, and his pride
soared. His mate was perfect. She was all he’d ever need. Needing to kiss her
just one more time, the Guardsman moved toward his little witch again.
Unfortunately, his intentions were cut short by a smiling redhead carrying a
baby that could’ve have been Rayne when he was a little boy.

“So you’re the Assassin they
all keep telling me about, huh?” Her southern accent suited her to a tee,
perfectly complementing the twinkle in her eye and the sass in her step.

“And you must be the woman
that has my nephew wrapped around her little finger.” The Guardsmen behind him
chuckled and teased Rayne while Drago just winked at his nephew’s mate.

“You know it.” She winked
back. “I’m Kyndel and this little guy is James Alexander MacLendon, Jay for
short. Glad to see you up and around.”

“Thank you.” Looking at the
baby, he commented, “He’s the spitting image of his father and his grandfather,
with the mischief of his mother in those little green eyes.” Turning to Rayne,
Drago continued, “You did well, kid. Your mother and father would be so proud.”

His nephew gave a single nod
before the Assassin turned back to Kyndel and Jay just as Rayne’s mate teased,
“Hey! I helped ya’ know.”

Once again the training pit
was roaring with laughter as Drago looked to his mate for help. Shaking her
head, Alicia’s only comment was, “You got yourself into this, big man. Now, you
gotta get yourself out.”

Turning toward Kyndel, he
bowed at the waist—even though Rayne and Alicia had told him several times men
did not do that anymore—and apologized. When he looked up, her shoulders were
jumping with her contained laughter and to his surprise, the baby was reaching
out to him. Drago was hardly upright before Kyndel was lifting Jay over the
fence.

The Assassin’s first instinct
was to back away, but one look from Alicia had him holding the baby like an old
pro. Drago knew his little witch was sizing him up as a future father and there
was no way he wasn’t going to do everything in his power to live up to her
expectations.

Jay was all hands and a mass
of drooling happiness. By the time Rayne took the child from Drago’s arms, the
Assassin’s dark glasses were covered with tiny wet fingerprints and his face
had been covered with open mouth baby kisses. Alicia watched the entire scene
with a silly grin on her face and a twinkle in her eyes that said he’d exceeded
all her hopes.

Making his way the few steps
to stand in front of his mate, Drago just smiled, knowing life with Alicia was
going to be outstanding. He thought of their children and hoped for little
girls with long red curls and bright blue eyes just like their mother’s. The
only problem he could see was keeping the boys away, because no daughter of his
would date until she was at least forty.

His thoughts were cut short
when Kyndel asked, “Why don’t y’all come to dinner? I was thinking about steak
and baked potatoes. Sound good?”

“Sounds delicious,” Drago
quickly answered then looked to Alicia. “Is that all right with you?”

Nodding, she agreed, “Sounds
good to me.” Then turning to Kyndel, she added, “You better have a side of
beef, he’s been a bottomless pit since waking up.” Alicia hooked her thumb at
him. “He might just eat you out of house and home.”

Kyndel laughed. “I come
prepared. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’ve been around these big lugs long
enough to know there’s not a one of them that can’t put away their own weight
in meat.”

Kellan and Declan had joined
the group after dismissing the younger Guardsmen who had been training. Declan
was the first to speak. “Is that an open invitation?” He smiled his cheesy
smile and nodded his head like a little boy.

“You’d think you’d never
eaten, boy,” Drago kidded.

With the most serious
expression the Assassin had ever seen on Declan’s face, which was saying
something since Drago had known Declan since the younger man was a Guardsman in
training, the Blue Dragon answered, “Just wait till you taste Kyndel’s cooking.
You’ll be begging for an invitation with the rest of us next time.” 

Grinning from ear to ear,
Kyndel chuckled. “Sure, y’all come on. Rayne can get the grill started and if
Alicia doesn’t care she can help me keep up with Jay. You guys are gonna have
to wash potatoes and shuck corn.”

Declan and Kellan, who were
already halfway over the fence, readily agreed while Drago turned to walk to
the gate. His depth perception wasn’t returning as quickly as he’d hoped and
there was no way he was going to take the chance of falling on his face in
front of a pitch full of younger men. Assassin or not, a bruised ego just would
not do. Alicia met him at the gate, immediately threading her fingers through
his as they followed the others to Kyndel and Rayne’s.

Walking through the lair,
Drago nodded to the people as they passed. Some he remembered and some he knew
resembled those he’d fought beside all those years ago. Alicia’s hand in his
just felt right; things were exactly as they were meant to be. All that was
left was to settle the score with the
Dorcha
and then he would be free
to mate his little witch. They would have the happily ever after she so richly
deserved.

Once they arrived at the
house Rayne and Kyndel were staying in, everyone got busy getting dinner ready.
He and Alicia sat in the kitchen playing with Jay while Kyndel issued orders to
Declan and Kellan. It wasn’t long before Rayne hollered for Drago to join him
on the patio.

Kissing Alicia on top of the
head, he made his way out the door with two beers and the platter of steaks
Kyndel had handed him as he passed by. “Here ya go. From your mate.” Drago
handed Rayne the steaks. “And from me.” The Assassin chuckled as he handed his
nephew one of the beers.

“Thank you for both.” Rayne
set the beer on the side of the grill and began placing the steaks on a huge
stainless steel monstrosity the likes of which Drago had only heard about. He
knew it was a grill from previous conversations but he had to admit to being
impressed. His last experience with grilling meat had been with an iron grate
over an open fire.

His nephew must’ve seen his
surprised look because he started to explain. “There’s propane, a type of fuel,
in there.” He pointed to a white tank mounted to the bottom of the stainless
steel housing. “All I have to do is push this igniter,” Rayne pointed to a
large red button on the front of the grill, “and a flint is struck and the fire
is lit. It takes mere minutes until it’s hot enough to cook. It’ll go about
five hours total before I have to refill the tank.”

“Pretty amazing.” Drago shook
his head. “I’ve missed so much.”

“You’re catching up pretty
quickly,” Rayne answered over his shoulder while placing the meat on the grill.

“Yes, I know it will take
time but I’m looking forward to learning. Alicia tells me to slow down, take it
easy, rest and recuperate, but it’s not in my nature.”

“That’s the damn truth.”
Rayne laughed as he turned and took the seat next to his uncle. “You never let
any grass grow under your feet.”

“Not gonna start now either…”

Drago never got to finish his
statement as Rayne stood and looked up. Following suit, the Assassin was
thankful the sun was already setting on the other side of the house because he
never would’ve been able to see the three blue dragons descending from the sky
even with his dark lenses. It did his heart good to see dragons in flight after
so many years, even though he could feel the huge amount of magic they were
using to keep from being seen.

No sooner had the dragons
touched down than a tiny platinum blonde the Assassin knew to be Royce’s mate
all but flew off the back of the big man’s dragon. He’d met her right after
waking from his healing sleep and thanked her profusely for all she’d done to
help Alicia and her family free him. The Assassin had been shocked at how much
like a fairy she looked and even more surprised by the power contained in her
petite frame. 

In the next breath, the
O’Reilly brothers appeared in place of their beasts. Not wasting a second,
Royce called to Rayne and Drago through mindspeak.
“Kyra thinks we’ve found
Cleland’s hiding spot.”

“He was at the end of the
tunnel?”
Rayne asked while Drago
stood and moved to stand beside his nephew to watch the approaching Guardsmen
and Royce’s mate.

“Sure seems that way. Kyra
and the McKennons battled some serious demon powered black magic to remove
roadblocks the likes of which I haven’t seen since the old days. Several of
them even took our dragon magic to crack, but after we got through another of
those damned stone walls, Kyra felt Calysta’s presence. It was just for a
second but she said it was strong. So, it’s just like we figured—the Dorcha has
the Grand Priestess.”

Royce paused and Rian, the
older of the O’Reilly’s and the Head Elder of the Blue Thunder Clan, continued.
“Sarah Beth confirmed what Kyra felt and also said she would know Cleland’s
stench anywhere, so I’m positive we’ve got the bastards.”

“Yeah, we’ve got ‘em, but
we have about another five feet to dig out and if I’m not mistaken, which I
rarely am, another stone wall to get through,”
Rory, the youngest of the O’Reilly’s, added.

Alicia joined Drago and Rayne
on the patio and he’d just barely had a chance to get her up to speed with what
was happening before Royce, his mate, and his brothers arrived. Kyra looked
like she was ready to spit nails and her comments confirmed the Assassin’s
thoughts. “I swear to the Goddess I will turn that stupid son of a bitch into a
toad and keep him in my kitchen window for the next hundred years if one hair
on my mom’s head is harmed.”

Drago could feel Kyra’s power
building and knew it was just a matter of time before the very powerful witch
unleashed her wrath on the very deserving
Grand Draoi.
He wanted to be
there when it happened. The Assassin wanted to be part of the fight…
needed
to be part of the fight. It was the final step to putting the last hundred
years behind him and getting on with his new life with his gorgeous mate.

Nothing would stand between
him and beating the life out of every
Dorcha
wizard he could get his
hands on. His eyes may not be what they used to be but his other senses were
razor sharp and he would not be denied. Drago could feel Alicia’s eyes on him,
could feel and hear what she was thinking. His mate knew what he was planning.
She didn’t approve or agree, but she supported him and that meant the world.

“Do what you have to do
but do
not
get hurt. I swear by
the Goddess and the Universe I will nurse you back to health just to kick your
ass.”

He looked into her eyes,
letting her see the honesty as he spoke,
“I would never do anything that
would keep me from spending the rest of my life loving you,
mo maite
. I
will slay the
Dorcha
and return to you. That is simply how it will be.”

The Assassin hadn’t realized
he wasn’t shielding until Alicia’s eyes grew large as she looked over his
shoulder. Turning around, Drago saw his nephew, Kyndel, the O’Reilly brothers,
Kyra, and Declan and Kellan, who had also joined them, all watching him and his
mate. Their looks said they’d heard every word and the single nod of solidarity
they all gave him said they’d fight by his side.

“Well, what are we standing
here for? Let’s eat this food and plan the fight. I need to get this over with
so I can officially mate this beautiful woman.”

Grabbing Alicia around the
waist, Drago lifted her off the ground and kissed her soundly.