Page 15 of Must Love Dragons (Sable Cove #4)

Zay, in Kinsley’s car with his clan, had the pedal to the floor as he navigated to the port where he and Kinsley had nearly headed into the afterlife.

Behind him, her friends followed in the truck.

Lyra let out an eep as he took a hard corner.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Your mind must be racing a hundred miles an hour. Like the car.”

He snorted and curled his hands tighter on the wheel. “Yeah. I’m kicking myself because I left her in the car to keep her safe and it ended up being the worst thing possible. If I’d been with her, I could have fought back and kept her safe.”

“Or they might have taken you, too,” Sierra said from the backseat. “There’s no telling what they would have done if you’d been out in the open. The warlocks are sneaky, powerful, and well-coordinated. If they were prepared to take Kinsley, they were certainly prepared to take you.”

He glanced in the rearview. “You think they were going to take her with me all along?”

“It seems like it.”

“Shit.”

He’d worried about her being in the fight with him, he hadn’t even anticipated that they wanted her as well.

“We’ll get your mate back,” Ronan said, his voice low with deadly determination. “And we’ll rescue Rorik and put an end to the warlocks once and for all.”

Zay stared ahead, his dragon ready for whatever might come.

* * *

Parking out of sight of the line of dilapidated warehouses, Zay got out and rolled his neck, inhaling and sorting through the scents that lingered in the night air.

Sulfur.

His dragon snarled, ready to fight.

He turned and walked toward the truck parked behind them. At the back, Venice had opened two trunks of weapons.

“What’s your pleasure?” he asked with a low voice. “I’ve got it all.”

“Nice,” Sierra said with a grin.

They quickly divvied up the weapons between them, save for Delaney who was going to fight with magic.

Zay didn’t choose any weapons, preferring to use his dragon’s claws.

Of course, what he really hoped was that they could just waltz in, save Kinsley and his uncle, and get away before anyone was the wiser.

He didn’t think he’d be that lucky. While the others weaponed up, he walked back to talk to his sister, who was now seated behind the steering wheel.

She tapped her fingers on the wheel nervously.

He put his hand on her shoulder. “You’ll be safe back here. Keep the doors locked and keep your eyes peeled for danger. If you have to leave to stay safe, do it.”

“I won’t leave you.”

“Your safety matters to me, too, Lyra. You’re my only sister. If warlocks find you, you’re just as valuable as any of us with your blood. Run a few over if you can, but get the hell out if you’re discovered. We’ll find you.”

“All right.”

“Here,” Delaney said. She handed Lyra a necklace with a red stone wrapped in silver wire.

“It’s pretty. What is it?” Lyra asked.

“It’s a protection amulet. The stone is a bloodstone that my coven infused with protective magic.

Kinsley specializes in protection magic, and this one is powerful.

It will provide a shield around you for dark magic.

If a warlock comes near, it will start to vibrate, so you’ll know.

If you can’t get away, it will repel dark magic, but it won’t last forever, a few minutes at most. It will help if you get stuck, but just do what Zay said and run if you need to. ”

“Thank you,” she said. “I promise to keep my head on a swivel and my eyes peeled for danger.”

“And your hand on the gear shift,” Ronan said.

Lyra nodded. She grabbed Zay’s hand. “Be careful. I can’t lose you both and my new sister.”

“I promise.”

He squeezed her and then turned to the others. “Let’s go get my mate and put an end to this nightmare.”

Delaney clapped her hands and blue electricity flashed over her skin. “I just got a text from Brody, he’s on the way.”

Now that the sun was set, they’d have a vampire on their side too.

Leaving Lyra in the car, they moved forward silently, infiltrating the deserted port without being spotted. Zay could sense the warlocks, the dark magic pulsing at him like a living, malevolent thing.

And somewhere deep inside him, he felt a connection to Kinsley and he knew she was at the port.

The scrying mirror had done its job well and led them to her.

He hoped that Rorik was with her and that they were both okay.

He needed his entire family back, especially his mate.

Crouching down behind a stack of weathered pallets, he stared at the line of warehouses and saw movement in the front of one.

There were no lights on inside any of the warehouses that he could see, but someone outside one of the buildings was on his cell and the screen illuminated his face for a brief moment.

Gotcha.

Someone approached from behind, moving so fast that dust billowed up around their feet when he stopped. “Sorry I’m late,” Brody whispered.

Delaney kissed him. “I’m glad you made it in time.”

“Let’s kick some ass,” Zay whispered.

“Lead the way,” Brody said.

Their group separated to surround the building, save for Delaney and Brody who stayed with him. Delaney rubbed her hands together and the blue electricity appeared, lines moving up her arms as she whispered a spell.

Brody tapped Zay on the shoulder two times, and they moved together, Delaney behind the two of them, as they stuck to the shadows and made their way toward the warehouse and the dark figure guarding the door.

Brody moved faster than Zay had ever seen anyone move in his life, grabbing the male and breaking his neck before he could utter a sound.

“That’s my man,” Delaney said. “Deadly and sexy.”

Zay snorted.

Floodlights blinded him for a moment, and he knew it was a trap.

But he’d been prepared for this moment, and so had Delaney and Brody, and the others with him.

Warlocks rushed into the area. Brody and Zay were ready to fight. Delaney shouted a spell and shoved bolts of electricity from her hands, making the warlocks jump back.

Zay roared as he raced forward, unsheathing his dragon’s claws from his fingertips. He barreled into the nearest warlock, taking him to the ground and delivering a swift blow to his head to knock him unconscious.

Around him, warlocks attacked the ones who’d come to fight with him.

Delaney used magic that crackled through the air like lightning.

Any warlocks she hit were knocked off their feet and sent to the ground, convulsing like they were being shocked.

Brody moved like a shadow, cutting through the crowd with Venice, the two a coordinated team of flying blades.

Sierra jumped over Zay and took down a warlock, and he realized he was getting distracted. He leaped forward and took out a male who tried to turn his magic on Sierra, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the ground.

Movement caught the corner of his eye, and he saw one of the warlocks raising his hands into the air, dark ropes of energy swirling between his fingers.

He was casting a spell!

Zay raced to stop him, but he was too late.

A wave of raw power slammed into his chest, searing like ice and fire at the same time. Zay flew backward, crashing through the warehouse doors and skidding across the cold concrete.

Dust filled the air and his whole body screamed in protest as he struggled to push himself up.

“Zay?”

“Kinsley?”

“Yes! Zay, holy crap!”

He got up, swaying as his ears rang and his vision danced a jig, and then he saw her. Chained to a pillar with her wrists shackled as he’d seen in the mirror. Nearby, Rorik was chained up, and he looked half-dead.

Fury filled him and he stormed toward them, his dragon riding him to let him free so he could go scorched-earth on the whole damn place.

Kinsley’s eyes went wide as she spied something behind him. “Look out!”

He spun with a furious growl as the warlock who’d attacked him lunged with a dagger held high.

Zay caught him by the throat with one hand, disarming him and shattering the bones in his wrist. The warlock screamed in pain.

Zay threw him with all his might at the far wall, and he crashed into it and then crumpled to the floor in a heap, unmoving.

Racing to Kinsley, he touched her face and saw the tears pool in her eyes.

“I’m okay,” she whispered thickly. “Because you came for me.”

“I will always come for you, but I’m also never going to leave your side again.”

“What if I have to pee?”

He stared at her in silence for a moment and then he said, “Female, you are a treasure. Let’s get the hell out of here. We’ve got warlock ass to kick.”

He looked down at her wrists.

She said, “They’re dampening my magic. I can’t protect myself or cast spells.”

They were heavy and damaging her skin. He looked at them critically, and then he thought fuck it, and grasped one between his fingers and thumb and squeezed as hard as he could.

The iron groaned and then cracked under the pressure of his enhanced strength.

The cuff broke away, and she let out a sigh of relief.

When he’d taken out the other one, he helped Kinsley to her feet and hugged her.

“I was so scared,” he said, inhaling her sweet scent. “I’m sorry you were taken.”

“I was scared too. It feels so good to have my magic back. Let’s check on Rorik.”

They moved to him and Zay took care of the shackles, and then Kinsley laid her hands on his face and whispered a few words. Rorik gasped as golden light spilled from her hands over his skin.

“That’ll start the healing process,” she said. “Delaney and I can finish it at the rescue. But we need to take care of these warlocks. I want our people safe forever from them.”

His heart swelled. She was so fucking fierce.

“Let’s do it.”

“Together?” she asked, rising to her feet, flames igniting on her palms and her eyes glowing.

He put his hand in hers and felt his dragon’s fire burning in his veins, strengthened by her magic. “Hell yes.”

Separately they were powerful in their own right. But together? A deadly inferno.

Moving through the warehouse, they stepped outside surveying the battle. The warlocks still outnumbered them, but their friends were all fighting fiercely.

Zay and Kinsley shared a look, both ready to finish the fight.

With a nod, Kinsley flicked her wrists, sending streams of fire arcing through the air.

The nearest warlocks screamed as flames consumed them.

Zay charged forward while Kinsley continued to rain arcs of fire down on the warlocks.

His claws at the ready, he struck down a warlock trying to cast a spell.

As he spun out of the way of a warlock with a knife, Kinsley joined him, her fire lashing out like a living thing and wrapping around the warlock’s body, sending him crumpling to the ground.

“Sierra! Get Uncle Rorik to safety!”

“On it!” she shouted, ducking away from the battle and racing into the warehouse. When he saw they were free and heading toward Lyra and the vehicles he said, “Drive them inside!”

Their friends gathered closer to them, driving the warlocks to them, not letting any get away.

Brody and Delaney moved in perfect sync, his brute strength and speed cutting down any warlocks that tried to get away while Delaney used her lightning with pinpoint accuracy.

Venice and Ronan fought together like they’d been doing it their whole lives, throwing warlocks through the air and chasing them toward the warehouse.

As they herded them, Zay let loose of his hold on his dragon and shifted.

His clothes shredded, and his body morphed, towering over the warehouse.

The warlocks screamed, but his dragon let out a bellow of fury and then turned his lethal fire on them, filling the warehouse with the hottest fire he’d ever created from his dragon.

Everyone moved safely behind him, retreating from the heat as he ensured that nothing survived the fire.

Kinsley, who stood next to him, watched as his fire destroyed everything.

Her eyes were wide, her gaze tripping between the burning building and him, and he realized she’d never seen him up close in his dragon form.

He looked down at his onyx scales that shone with the flickering firelight, and then at his mate, looking so very small next to his huge form. She laid a hand on his leg and smiled up at him. Turning his gaze back to the burning building, he let loose one more bellow.

But this one wasn’t rage it was finally getting closure for all the deaths.

And knowing for certain that their people were safe from this coven forever.

As the echo faded to nothing, he lowered his head, smoke trailing from his nostrils, and then he shifted back.

Kinsley caught him as he nearly dropped from the exhaustion of the fire he’d created and held him close. He put his arms around her and held on for dear life.

He was never going to let her go again.

Even if she had to pee.

“You, okay?” Ronan asked.

“Better than okay,” he said. “We’re survivors. We kicked ass.”

“We sure did,” Brody said.

“That was fun as hell,” Venice said. “You dragons sure know how to party.”

“Let’s get the heck out of here,” Delaney said. “And someone get this man some clothes.”

“No peeking,” Brody said.

“I wasn’t peeking, but he’s all there in his all-together.”

Kinsley giggled. “My friends are a little nuts.”

“Mine too.”

“Let’s go check on Rorik and get home. And get you some pants.”

“Only if you promise I don’t have to stay in them long,” he whispered.

“I heard that,” Delaney said. “And ew.”

“I also heard that,” Ronan said. “Dragons are lovers and fighters.”

Keeping his arm around Kinsley’s shoulders he walked with all their friends out to where Lyra and the truck were parked. He was grateful to have Kinsley back in his arms and safe, grateful that Rorik was okay, and grateful to be heading back to Sable Cove without losing a single person.

But most of all he was thankful that the threat to their people was nothing but ash now, and he could finally focus on the future. A future with a sexy witch who made him feel like the future was wide open. No more hiding, no more fear, just love.

And magic.