Page 21 of The Dragon Queen (Ember: Queen Of Dragons #6)

RAFE

She's spiraling. Our connection is a live wire, throwing sparks. Anxiety crawls and crackles across every inch of her psyche, and no. Hell, no. Absolutely fucking not.

I step right up to her, grasping her by the upper arms and dipping to put us at eye level. "Ember. Ember."

"Easy," Jianyu warns, but forget that.

I give here a gentle shake. Malik watches on, impassive, arms crossed. Storm's jaw ticks, but he lets me try to get through to her. They can all feel the panic setting in on our mate, just as clearly as I can.

And okay, yeah, fine. She has every right to be freaking out. We're on the precipice of the fight for our lives and for all of freaking dragonkind. The Shadow King is the literal boogeyman. He's evil and dangerous, and he's started about a hundred wars, slaughtered thousands, killed her parents, yada yada.

But we've got this.

I shift my hands higher, cupping her shoulders and searching her gaze, willing her to come out of whatever daze she's in.

"Ember, baby, seriously." I stroke my thumbs against her collarbones. "Whatever's going on in that amazing head of yours--it's not real."

That gets her attention. Her eyes focus, and okay, yes. That's a start.

"Oh believe me." A hint of hysteria fractures her words. "It is."

So I make my voice as calm and level as it gets. "Try me."

She shudders, and Jianyu's making that frowny face of his at me again, but she's not fragile. She doesn't need handling.

She needs me--us.

"We're--we're--" She falters, but I don't look away or let go or say a goddamn thing. "We're all going to die."

Storm curses beneath his breath, and Jianyu reaches to intervene again, but I'm not having it.

"And?" I prompt her.

"'And?'! That isn't enough?"

"Nope."

Malik alone has my back, which is ironic. Fire and water--what a combination. But I know she has to burn whatever this is out of her, or it'll eat her alive. He knows emotions flow, and that's enough. For now, it has to be.

An ugly, hollow snort of a laugh escapes her, and her eyes go shiny and wet. "We're all going to die tomorrow, and it's all going to be my fault, and I can't-- How-- What if--"

"Ember," Jianyu says quietly, and I glare at him so hard it just about leaves scorch marks on his shirt.

I don't need to start a fight with her other mate, though. So I return all of my focus to her.

And there's no point lying. "You're worried we might be completely fucked."

Her throat bobs, and her eyes gleam even brighter, and Jianyu's silent disapproval is so loud I can scarcely hear, but that's fine. He's supposed to disagree with me.

"Yes," she hiccups.

"We might be."

"Jesus," Storm mutters, but I block him out, too.

"We might be," I repeat, taking her face in my hands now. I straighten my spine, gazing down at her from my full height, but I still feel like she towers above me. "But believing it makes it true, so don't."

She flinches, blinking hard. "Wait--what?"

"Don't give in to that shit. Fight it, just like you're going to fight Erembour. Like you're going to fight with us and for us and for..." My gaze dips to her abdomen.

I'll burn down the entire fucking world to defend our child, and she will, too.

"But--"

"But nothing." I meet her eyes again, struggling to hold her gently when all I want to do is grab onto her with every ounce of fire and strength in my bones. "The odds are stacked against us--we may be totally screwed. But don't you fucking dare use that as an excuse to give up."

Heat fills my belly, a fire bursting into life in my heart.

This is what I was put on this earth to be--to do.

All those years of my wasted youth I spent wandering around, losing myself in pleasure and distraction. I was impulsive, stupid, expendable.

But not anymore. My life has purpose, and that purpose is to be with her.

To fill her with fire.

"We might all die," I growl, holding her face in my hands. "But that's a reason to fucking live."

With that, I crash my mouth into hers. The flames inside of me spill over, turning from righteousness and conviction to need and love and a desire so hot it turns me to ash, but that's perfect--that's exactly the way I want it.

I'm born again from the fiery heat of her kiss. She opens for me, welcoming me in. I'm instantly hard, and she moans as I skate my hands down her body, tracing every curve.

"Fight," I murmur against her breath, and even Jianyu isn't arguing with me anymore. "Fight with every bit of the fire in your soul."

For a second, her resolve flickers. She breaks away from our kiss. Her eyes are dark, but there's a light in their depths that sears me through. "What if I don't have enough?"

And it's so easy. So obvious.

Bending to kiss her again, deeper and harder this time, I whisper, "Then take mine."

EMBER

Fire leaps through my bond with Rafe, lighting me up and burning me through. The heat of desire is all-consuming. His love radiates into my body and into my soul, and my dragon devours it all, taking it into herself.

I choke on a swallowed echo of a sob, kissing him with everything I'm worth.

He's right. Damn it all, he's so fucking right.

My panic burns away to ash, leaving me with conviction and connection, and a will to fight so hot the walls of the castle could melt.

The only thing more scorching is my will to live--my need for my mates. My fierce protectiveness for our child and for our world.

Anyone who'd dare to try to take them from me can burn.

With every piece of me ablaze, I open to him. His teeth scrape over my tongue in a delicious sting, his hot hands tearing at my clothes. I pull his away, too, and it's all skin and need. It's too desperate--too much, but I don't care.

As I shove his pants down his hips, his huge cock springs free. I wrap my hands around the silky length and stroke him from root to tip, devouring his groan.

"Easy," a voice says from behind me, but I don't want easy.

I want hard and rough.

Growling, my dragon billowing black shadows into my lungs, I bite Rafe's lip and haul myself up his body. I all but float, my dragon's wings beating within my chest. Rafe's managed to get my top off and my skirt drawn up, but there's still too much fabric. I put my hand on his chest, and a flicker of flame catches on the hem of the skirt, and I could burn it all away, leaving us gloriously naked.

"Beloved." Another voice cuts through the haze this time, and I want to bat it away, as well, but a cool wash of cerulean beats back the flames of destructive desperation.

Malik molds himself to my spine, and it shouldn't feel so good--the cool calm against the raging inferno, but it does. I'm being torn apart, melted and frozen, and it's exactly what I want.

My dragon roars, a rough sound of approval escaping my lips. Reaching back, I scrape my nails down Malik's side and claw at his tunic to push it up.

I swallow a laugh. I could set that on fire, too. Could burn this entire place to the ground, leaving only me and my mates and our love.

"As much as I appreciate the enthusiasm..." Malik lips graze the shell of my ear, sending shocks of delicious pleasure zipping straight to the achy tips of my breasts. "Please leave our home standing."

"So demanding," I complain, cutting off on a gasp when his erection presses against my ass.

One pass of Malik's hand over the fabric of my skirt and the licks of flame that had sprung to life are extinguished, and fine, okay, that's probably smart. Any disappointment I might feel is washed away by him helping to strip me the rest of the way down.

Rafe tears off my bra, and my breasts scrape his hard chest. Hot sparks of pleasure sizzle through me at the contact, while I go wet between my legs as Malik shoves my skirt and underwear down my thighs.

"Show offs," Storm grouses, blowing away my discarded clothing in a gust of wind that sweeps my hair from my face and buffets my bare skin with prickles of sensation. Rather than cooling me, the rushing air just fans the flames and stirs the waters of my desire.

Breaking my kiss with Rafe, I turn my head to the side, and Storm is there, seizing my mouth. It's unbearably, achingly tender, and I can't handle that. I need to keep things rough and fast before I lose my nerve.

Jianyu's hand threads itself through my hair. He gently tugs until I leave Storm to twist my neck in the opposite direction. Jianyu's dark eyes bore into mine, seeing through to the deepest parts of me, and instinctively, I want to hide, but what's the point? These men feel what I feel, know what I know.

He's slowing me down here, with his steady calm, and that feels dangerous. I don't want to think. I want to get lost in fire and molten liquid desire--I want to be blown to the limits of sensation.

But I'm rooted to the spot.

Grounded.

Any last, remaining vestiges of panic dissipate, deflected harmlessly into the bedrock deep beneath my feet.

Clarity swoops in to take the panic's place.

I'm here, alive, surrounded with love, infused with magic. Supported and cared for.

And there's a huge task awaiting me. Danger like I've never faced.

But in this moment?

All I have to do is give in. Accept what my mates are offering me.

And trust in the balance.