Chapter Seven
C age caught Azynsa and lifted her in his arms, holding her tight against his chest. Where her legs would have been, she had a tail, full-on fish fins. It was absolutely gorgeous. Her scales shimmered and shined brighter than any ornament in the room, more than all the gold, coins, jewels, or anything else in his hoard.
This, the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, and the sight of it had his gut clenching, squeezed by the thought of losing her when he'd only just found her.
“Azynsa, wake up. What's wrong?”
If he wasn’t such a dumbass and had been paying attention, he would have seen the wound in her upper right arm seeping blood. Another in her tail looked worse, like a jagged hook had snagged her. Fuck, he should have protected her better. He hadn't even known she'd been hurt.
Her eyelids fluttered open and she grumped at him. “Why do you keep calling me that. Nobody calls me that, except the Mami Wata.”
Thank the First Dragon. The fist around his core loosened its grip. She wasn’t out of danger yet though. “I’ll call you your royal highness supreme, ruler of my universe if you promise never to scare me like that again.”
Although, he’d rather call her his lover. This mating had his mind in the gutter when it needed to be on rescuing her.
She blinked a few more times and wriggled in his arms. “I may hold you to that later. Just call me Azy.”
Sweet and sassy. He loved it.
“I guess I'm a fish out of water.” Azynsa made the joke, but there was real pain in her voice. “I haven't stayed in human form that long since meeting the Mami Wata. I don't really know what happened just now.”
Ky knew more about mermaids than he did. He would know better what to do. Cage's own healing abilities were much stronger when he was in dragon form, perhaps it was the same for other magical beings. “How badly are you hurt?”
The way she bit her lip instead of responding was answer enough. She didn't want to admit any weakness.
Now, that was something Cage could relate to. He may not know much about her, but he wasn’t a complete dumbass. She was hot to the touch and her scales and skin were dry.
He turned to Jett and Fallyn. “She needs water.”
Jett shrugged. “That's not really a thing in hell.”
Azy huffed out a one-note laugh. “That’s an understatement.
“Then it’s time for us to leave. I’ve been waiting for you a long ass time. No dying on me now.”
“We’re not leaving without her.” She pointed toward Fallyn.
Fallyn squeaked and backed up until she was surrounded by a circle of swords, then kept on going until she was hidden behind a whole store worth of Christmas ornaments.
Yeah, that wasn’t happening. “I don’t think she wants to come with us.”
“I’m not leaving without Fallyn.”
She was gorgeous so fierce like this. She was his priority and he wouldn’t let anything get in his way of rescuing her. Not even herself.
“You’re asking for a shit-ton of trouble. Kur-Jara and Ereshkigal barely let her out of their site, much less leave hell. I didn’t sign on for a jailbreak of that magnitude.”
“I thought you wanted to cause him trouble.”
“Yeah. I do. But, if you take Fallyn out of hell, hell is going to follow. I want to rake that bastard over the coals, but I’m not fucking stupid.”
“I’m not going anywhere with a dragon warrior.” Fallyn tossed one of her daggers from behind her wall of ornaments, but Cage redirected it to the wall with a breath of wind.
The woman obviously didn’t want to go and why would Cage want to help her? She’d attacked and seriously injured Match.
She was important to Azynsa, that’s why.
Azy laid her head against his chest and closed her eyes again.
“I can’t make her leave if she doesn’t want to, love.”
“Yes, you can.” She swallowed hard, like she was trying not to throw up. “We can’t leave her to her father. She’s been abused here her entire life. No one should have to live like that.”
“Go away.” Fallyn hollered from behind her wall of ornaments and threw another dagger.
Cage side-stepped the projectile again. She didn’t seem to be trying that hard to actually hit them. “You want us to rescue her from hell.”
Azy’s face went ashen and her eyes rolled back in her head. She convulsed in his arms. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
He was losing her, right here, right now.
The shard at her throat sparked, blinking bright and then off and on again. A sharp emptiness pierced him deep inside. If he didn’t get her out of here and god-damned quick he was going to lose her forever.
He knew no help was coming his way, but he sent up a prayer anyway, if only to buoy himself for the upcoming battle to get Azy safely to the surface. A good warrior had brawn, but smarts and knew the half of winning was the mental game. “First Dragon, hear my plea. Guide me in the way of your warriors. Show me the way out of here.”
The tunnel outside of the cave was empty and looked like the best place to start. With or without Jett and Fallyn, he was taking Azy home. He held her tight in his arms and made for the entryway.
“Izzy says to show you the mermaid’s secret.”
Cage stopped. Fallyn had come out of her hiding spot. He didn’t know who Izzy was, but if she was on his side, then they were about to be new best friends.
“Will the secret help save her?”
Fallyn tipped her head to the side and her eyes flitted from side to side for just a moment. “Yes.”
“Then show me.”
Fallyn grabbed the mirror Azy had tucked into her belt, the only thing left of the leather leggings she’d been wearing.
“I know. I'm going to. I will. Go away.” Fallyn shook her head and rolled her eyes as if they could all commiserate with the frustration she was having over the conversation with the person in her head.
It sure as hell didn't seem like a good idea to follow a crazy person through the tunnels of hell, though he didn't exactly have another choice at the moment.
“Lead on.”
Fallyn redirected her eye roll at him. She held up the mirror so that he was looking directly into it. Only his own reflection did not look back at him.
“You're the one connected to the mermaid. Not me, anymore.” She seriously thought Cage was a dumbass.
He stared into the mirror again and saw a cave with water dripping into it from above. “Where is this?”
Jett folded his arms and scowled. “What do you see?”
“Rocks, dirt, nothing that seems any more indistinguishable than where were standing now. Except for the water.”
Azynsa stilled in his arms, unconscious but not seizing anymore.
“Ask her.” Again, with the don't be stupid tone. “You're in her head and she's the only one who knows where to go.”
He didn't feel like he was that deeply connected to her. He'd only just marked and claimed her. She owned his soul, and he knew at a visceral level that they belonged together. But, he didn't know her well enough to understand what she was thinking.
He liked to pretend he knew women, he knew their bodies, what turned them on.
Beyond that they were as mysterious to him as mermaids.
He did know to play to his strengths. That's what made him a good warrior in the first place.
Cage lifted Azy's back and brought her head up to his. She had such plump lips and all he could think was “mine.”
He brushed his lips across hers, feeling how rough and dry they were. He dipped his tongue out wetting them both. “Azynsa, my mate. I know you're in there and I think you can hear me. Let me in, my love.”
She released a soft sigh and the image in the mirror lit up brightly enough to draw his attention away from her lips.
The droplets of water shimmered with a yellow gold light that matched the spark of his soul shard. They pooled on the floor of a small cave. The view changed, as if Azy were looking up. The water was falling from leaves and a small root poking through the dirt of the ceiling.
That was the only bit of life Cage had seen since they had entered the caldera and began their descent through the gates of hell.
The water and the light inside of it pulsed with elemental magic. She was giving him every clue she could.
He pressed a real kiss to her lips this time. “That's my girl.”
Jett had been with Jakob and Kai down here in hell before. He knew how they escaped and where. “The escape route Jakob carved through the stone. That's where her secret hideout is.”
“Smart girl,” Jett said.
“Can you lead us there?”
“Yeah, but I can't guarantee there won't be a horde of demon dragons crawling all over it.”
Fallyn sniffed and made a face at Jett. “Tell them to go away.”
Was she simply rambling again? Cage thought not. “You can communicate with them, can't you? Control them even.”
What a bastard. Jett was more than just a rogue dragon. When they were safely out of hell, he and Jett were having a serious conversation.
“I don't control them. But, they are my brethren. Some of them will listen to me. The ones that don't aren't worth saving.”
There was too much going on here that Cage did not have time to interpret. Jett had fought against and slaughtered his fair share of demon dragons while they had been down here. If he would continue to do that, the rest didn't matter to Cage. Only getting Azy to safety did. “Then, I expect you to use that advantage to help me save my mate now.”
“I will, golden boy. But, don't forget that favor you owe me. It's getting bigger by the minute.”
Azy whimpered softly. The image in the mirror shifted and Cage now saw Fallyn. She was chained to a rock. No, she was gripping the chains. A whip of fire sliced through the air behind her and into her back. Her mouth moved saying the number eleven but without any sound.
Shit. That favor he owed Jett was about to get a lot bigger.
“I will do whatever it is you require. Now grab the girl and let's go.”
Jett raised one eyebrow but nodded. He stalked toward Fallyn. She dropped the mirror, but Jett caught it and her. She screamed and thrashed in his arms until Jett wrapped his arm around her neck and pinched her in a full on Vulcan death grip. She collapsed, and he hefted her up and over his shoulder.
“Let's go.”
He shoved the mirror back through Azy's belt, then nodded, ready to move out.
Jett pushed through the entryway first, the shield zapping him again. “Ouch, God dammit.”
Cage pushed through with Azy in his arms and didn't feel a thing. “Which way?”
This part of the tunnel was so dark it sapped Cage’s energy just by being in it. The only light was from the glowing shard nestled against her skin.
Jett was clearly comfortable in the pitch black because he took off down the tunnel. The black dragon’s nature was still so unknown to him. Despite being a pretty big dickhead, Cage kinda, sorta, wanted to like the guy. Yeah, he had his own agenda and the way he went about accomplishing it had made trouble for Cage and the other dragon warriors, but the goal was the same. Defeat the Black Dragon.
He still couldn't completely be trusted. A few more battles where he proved himself like back there in the cavern would help though.
Not like Cage was looking forward to running into demon dragons or their leader.
That was a first for him. His entire life up until he'd been struck down by the loss of his shard had been about three things. Treasure, sex, and being a warrior.
His father would be horrified if he found out that Cage could give a flying fuck about his treasure. Azynsa was the only treasure he needed.
The possessiveness he felt about her would probably piss her off.
For the first time, age found himself wary of fighting a battle. Normally, it was just as fun as sex, and had kept him going when his libido had flagged.
Cage wanted nothing to do with anything that would take him and his attention away from being with Azy.
She stared in and and ground. The jostling of carrying her had set the wound in her arm to bleeding again. “Shush, shush, shush. I've got you. Hang on for me.”
He picked up his pace, pushing Jett from behind to hurry. Jett slowed down.
“The place where your friends escaped isn't far. The way is blocked by a horde of demon dragons up ahead.”
Cage didn't see or hear anything.
“They haven't sensed us yet. Their attentions are divided.”
They had only two choices. Find a way around or fight through them.
“There is no other route. Only one tunnel passes by this hiding place of hers. I don't know how they haven't found it yet.”
Shit. “Then we fight our way through. Unless you can persuade them to back down.”
Undoubtedly, it would not be that easy.
Jett stopped before a turn in the tunnel. “I might be able to, if we didn't have Fallyn. I tried to tell you, he will never let her go.”
If Cage had any idea where he was going, he would shift into his dragon form and carry both women away. He didn't see how anyone could find their way around this maze in the dark as it was.
They were between the dark and a hard place.
It was getting darker by the moment.
The hissing and screeches of the demon dragons became a cacophony in front of them. The bastards began popping up all around them.
Cage and Jett retreated until their backs were at each other. “If you've got any sway now would be the time to use it.”
Jett snarled at the closest demon dragons.
They had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. It was about kill or be killed.
There was no way he could allow them to harm Azy. She had already willingly sacrificed her own well-being for Fallyn's for long enough.
“What you think I've been doing? If it weren't for me they would already have killed you and your mate, and probably taken me prisoner.”
He hissed and growled again and this time Cage realized two big demon dragons at the front of the pack were replying in kind.
“What are they saying?”
Jett half laughed. “They say I can go, if I give them you and the mermaid.”
Great. “I'm afraid our deal will be null and void if I die here and now.”
“No shit. We have to give them something to take back to Kur-Jara. They know better than to return empty-handed and say that we've escaped.”
Cage had very little to give. The sword from the First Dragon, Azy's mirror, and his pants. That was all he had left. Except himself.
He'd known since Azy first touched his soul shard that he would give his own life for hers. What he wanted more than anything else in the world was to spend the rest of his life learning to love her, be made she deserved. That may not be what she needed.
He knew very little about the mating habits of either dragons or mermaids. He suspected that neither would mate again. Hopefully, he was wrong, and she could find another.
He glanced down at Azy's round cheeks and luscious lips. Even in the dark he could see she was even paler than before. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, not trusting himself to give her anything more knowing he was only going to take it away again forever. “Please, forgive me.”
A shard could only be given, never taken.
He knew that better than anyone.
“Azynsa, wake up, love.”
She moaned and her eyes fluttered open.
“That’s my girl. Will you give me the shard?”
Her eyes were tired and unfocused. “It’s yours.”
He lifted the shard from her neck and pulled the cord over her head, then slipped it over his again.
“What Kur-Jara really wants is me and my soul. Tell them they can have it if they let you and the women go.”
The demon dragons must have understood what he was saying, because they crept closer and hissed and clacked their teeth at him.
“Don't be a dumbass. Didn't we just decide I don't get my favor if you die?”
Cage turned and lifted Azy to hand her over to Jett. “Gris already has instructions on what to do in the event I don't return. Take Azy to him and you'll get whatever you want.”
Jett shook his head in that way that meant he still thought Cage's plan was stupid but would go along with it.
Cage might be going to his doom willingly, however he wasn't going to make it easy for the little fuckers. He knew he had enough light in him to blast at least the first dozen or so into dust. More would fall to his teeth, claws, and tail, before they took him down. Were they on the surface, with even a setting sun, he could take out at least half of them. The darkness had taken taken its toll on his soul and his powers.
Before he could hand her over, Azy reached her hand up and clasped the soul shard. “Don't even think about it, dragon. This is mine.”
Her voice was weak and thready and still brooked no argument.
“All will be well, my little mermaid. Jett will get you back to your people or mine whichever you choose.”
She blinked like the words coming out of his mouth didn’t make any sense. After a deep breath, she got a second wind, all of which she blew at him. “I’m not some Disney princess. I’m a fierce fucking mermaid, and if you die on me now, I will kill you.”
“Azy.” They didn’t have another choice. She had to see that.
Or not.
A demon dragon reached out and she flicked it with her tail hard enough to send it scurrying back into the horde.
“Don’t you Azy me. I am tired, I am thirsty, I am god-damned bleeding, and I have had just about enough of everybody’s shit.”
Nope. She definitely didn’t see.
Another demon dragon hissed and moved closer.
“Bring it, mother fuckers. I will bitch slap you into next week with my tail if I have to.”
Jett nodded toward the demon dragons who were again advancing, but this time as a group. “I suggest you start doing exactly that, because we’ve dicked around long enough. Kur-Jara is coming.”
Shit on a shingle on shit brick house.