The Sapphire Dragon (8 page)

That
definitely sounded as though they intended to torture him. He listened as the three men left the chamber and immediately attempted to leave his body once more. He had to figure out where he was and warn the others. If he could find a way to expose these men, his death wouldn’t be in vain. He had always hoped to die honorably. This was his chance. Perhaps, if they were lucky, they could stop this lunatic before he killed a dragon with an agreeable mate.

For one moment, Jarrod pictured Daisy standing before him, her beautiful yellow-blonde hair framing her delicate features. If only he had been able to kiss her, just once. If he had, he could have died happy. Instead, he would die knowing that the woman he loved couldn’t stand the sight of him.

Once again, Jarrod closed his eyes and reached for the ether.

For the first time since her parent’s death, Daisy closed her eyes and prayed. She needed to find Jarrod. As much as she didn’t want to be his mate, she didn’t want him dead either.

It was time that she admitted to herself that she couldn’t help falling in love with the man. She’d seen him almost daily for the last few weeks. Each time, he had looked at her, but never said a word, and never once approached her.

He’d been giving her what she wanted. A life without him. Now, she wasn’t so sure that she wanted a life without him in it.

What had she done by refusing him? She never once thought that anything would happen to him, though, she supposed it made sense. Why wouldn’t he take chances? He knew that if she had her way, he wouldn’t have a mate. At least not for a long time. Mates were rare for dragon kin. She knew that and still she’d refused him. What a bitch she’d become in her quest to shun magic.

Opening her eyes, she glanced at her dresser. As much as she hated the thought, she would have to use her magic. She didn’t want to hurt anyone with it, but she didn’t want Jarrod dying because of some childish fear of hers either.

As impossible as it seemed, she’d fallen in love with Jarrod in her quest to keep herself from feeling anything for the man. She’d even avoided him. How could she fall in love with him by just seeing him every day? Did it have something to do with their mate bond? Did their bond insure that they would fall in love with one another? Is that why it always seemed to happen so quickly with dragons and their mates?

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. If only she had allowed him to kiss her. She would at least be partially bound to the man and have some semblance of control over her power.

Instead, she’d refused him and now she’d be using her magic without the control that having a mate would have given her.

Standing, she strode to her dresser and stared at the top drawer. Nervous, she wiped the palms of her hands on her legs before she reached out and pulled the drawer open. Reaching in behind her underwear, she pulled out the long, ebony case and stared at the polished wood.

“Here goes nothing,” she whispered to herself as she opened the thin box. Terrified of what was to come, she pulled the wand from its case and shoved it up her sleeve.

Whatever she did, she had to find a place to do it outside. She didn’t want to be responsible for destroying Drakes beautiful home.

Normally, she would never touch her wand unless her sisters browbeat her into it, but this time she knew she had to use it. This time, her mate’s life could very well depend on it.

All of the men were in some sort of meeting. They were most likely trying to figure out a way to save Jarrod. It wasn’t difficult to make her way through the house unseen. It was even easy to get outside without a guard. The dragons were too busy trying to figure out a way to save one of their own to worry about an unmated female sneaking out.

Moving to a smooth patch of grass several yards from the house, Daisy pulled the wand from her sleeve, closed her eyes and lifted her hands to the sky. Keeping the tip of the wand pointed toward the night sky, she began her chant to draw down the power of the moon. She was going to need it.

After several long moments, Daisy opened her eyes. Silvery light shone around her, the light glittering through the dark of the night. She was in Drake’s back yard, but she was also somewhere else.

“I didn’t expect to find
you
here.”

Daisy spun around at the smooth sound of Jarrod’s voice. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard his lovely English accent and her insides almost melted. She shook her head. She needed to stay on task, not think about how glad she was to see him.

“Where are you?” Her voice broke. She couldn’t help the great feeling of relief that washed through her.
He’s still alive!

“Does it matter?” He looked around him. “Tell Drake that Durham lives. I am in his lair.”

“You’ll tell him yourself.”

“No, Daisy. I am going to die.” Moonlight glittered around him as he moved, almost making it appear as though he did everything in slow motion as the light left a trail in his wake. He reached toward her, his hand almost touching her cheek before he let it fall to his side. “Death is the only thing left for me now. I wish you nothing but happiness, love.”

“Don’t give me that load of crap, Jarrod.” Daisy practically snarled. “You wanted to know what I was doing here. Well, I’m using my magic.” She glanced around her. “Strange that it’s not going haywire the way it usually does.” She lifted the corner of her mouth in a half smile. “Maybe it has something to do with that buss on the lips you gave me the last time we talked. Whatever the reason, I’ve got some semblance of control and
you
are coming home.”

“I am not really here, love.” He held his arms out to his sides. “This is just a shadow of me. My soul is in the ether. I left my body to find Drake and inform him of our enemy. My body is laying on a cold slab in a cave, strapped down with steel. I cannot come to you as I would so love to do.”

“You dragons,” Daisy said, then shook her head with a sigh. “You think so two dimensionally.” Drawing more power from the ether, Daisy visualized herself standing next to Jarrod’s caged body until somehow, she was there next to him.

Just as he said, he lay on a slab of cold stone, his extremities strapped down with steel bands. A strange sheet lay on his chest, shimmering with some sort of magic that she couldn’t name and feared to know. Was it keeping him too weak to escape?

Power radiated off the strange, ice-blue sheet. A wave of her arm sent the sheet fluttering to the floor. Another wave released the bands holding Jarrod to the slab and still another lifted his weak form into the air.

Lifting both of her arms, she held her hands close to her chest, palms out and
pushed
Jarrod through the ether. He moved through the cave walls, through time and space and, if she was lucky, now hung suspended in the air in Drake’s garden at his home in Yorkshire.

Gathering the power around her, Daisy visualized the cave imploding at the same time she wished herself to Jarrod’s side.

“That should keep that Durham busy for awhile,” she said as she appeared next to Jarrod just outside of Drake’s home. He still appeared unconscious, but he had seemed so much alive when she spoke to him in the ether. Why wasn’t he awake?

“Help! Help me!” She cried for help as she crammed her wand in her back pocket and knelt in the grass to cup Jarrod’s face in her hands.

“Wake up! Why won’t you wake up?” Staring down into his face, she leaned closer and pressed her lips to his. He had to open his eyes. She refused to think she’d gotten there too late to save him.

After a few seconds, he reached up, cupped the back of her head and kissed her back. She opened her mouth and his tongue swept inside. His memories flooded into her mind.

His hopes, his dreams and the sum of the man he was, rushed through her. It was a tidal wave of information all mixed with the feeling of his love for her.

Slowly, he let her go and sat up. “Thank you for coming for me.” He turned to stare deep into her eyes. “But promise me that you’ll never risk yourself like that again.”

“I promise, just so long as you never get yourself captured by a lunatic again.” She smiled at him as the others came running, no doubt drawn by her panicked screams.

“We need to tell them of the danger.”

“Yes.”

He smiled. “You’re being rather agreeable today.”

“Yes.” She nodded as they watched the others approach.

“Since you seem so mellow today, perhaps this is a good time to ask.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead. “Daisy Flowers, I love you with every breath in my body. Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” It was all she could say. The others swamped them with questions after that. Though looking at Jarrod’s smile, she knew it was enough.

Dear Reader:

If you’re reading this, I hope it means that you’ve just enjoyed reading one of my books. Always a romantic, I started weaving little fantasies for my friends at the tender age of fifteen.

After complaining to my husband that my favorite authors didn’t write fast enough, he asked a fateful question. “Why don’t you write one of your own while you’re waiting?”

Once I started, he couldn’t stop me. I write in the morning before work, and during my breaks at the day job, and I write at night when I should be relaxing. I’ve even been known to write in my sleep. Sometimes it even makes sense!

I grew up in Southwest Florida where I met and married the love of my life. My husband was in the Navy for twenty years, so if you wonder where I have gotten some of my ideas, I blame him. I suggest you do the same. He’s always saying he has wide shoulders. Let’s load them up, shall we?

Currently, I live in Michigan, seven miles from the nearest grocery store. I love living in the country. It gives me the peace and quiet I need to continue to write these stories for you. It also shows me a lot of natural beauty that I try to share with you in my books. While my titles may be dedicated to certain individuals who have touched my life in differing ways, please remember, every one of them is written for you.

My most recent dream is to continue what I do—to share more stories with anyone willing to read them. My new dream is to be able to pursue both my writing and my husband fulltime. Do you think he’ll run?

More of Tianna’s Books

Gate To Fate series

The Paradise series:

Brianna’s Prophecy

Dragon Bound series:

The DARE series

The Endowed Series

The Chosen Series

Hidden Breeds

Highland Bears

Where to find Tianna:

www.tiannaxander.com

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http://twitter.com/#!/TiannaXander

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