Chapter 1
Verrian’s body instinctively shifted into a defensive stance as he stared at his ancient enemy.
Ultrima’s clothes were impeccable, and there wasn’t a hair out of place in his silver ponytail. He looked like he was going out to dinner, not to a fight. Maybe he thought he was. He had said they had a lot to discuss.
Except the way the lightning dragon’s icy blue eyes bored into him, one eyebrow raised in a slightly haughty expression, said he knew otherwise. He was baiting Verrian.
And it was working.
Anger welled up, faster than Verrian could control, dampening out the inarticulate fear with its sheer power.
Who did Ultrima think he was, waltzing… no, breaking… into Lisa’s apartment, and lying in wait for them?
He was glad he’d had a chance to test out his powers on that other dragon at Raven’s. Now he knew exactly how satisfying it would be when Ultrima fell on his arse under the force of Verrian’s invisible sound. The Trima leader wasn’t going to know what hit him
Verrian took a step forwards, his fists automatically rising, even though this fight wouldn’t be the physical kind. He ignored the fact that Lisa had a firm grip on his arm and was trying to pull him back. The time for caution was long past. There was no avoiding this any longer.
Ironically, that helped him be calm. Whatever the outcome of this fight, it would be done. No more hiding.
“I have nothing to say to you,” he said, his voice tight.
While he spoke, he summoned his power, ready to unleash it all in the biggest blast he could.
“Probably not,” Ultrima allowed. “But I have a lot to say to you.”
Verrian didn’t even bother to reply, he just sent his power out in a directed, raw blast straight at Ultrima.
He knew it worked. The blinds flapped in the wind. The window behind them shattered. Even a nearby chair fell over from the blast wave.
Ultrima though, didn’t move.
Well, his lips did twist into a scowl.
Verrian felt all the blood drain away from his face. He blinked a couple of times, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him somehow.
“I take it that means you don’t want to listen?” the lightning dragon asked, his voice scarily calm. “Oh well, your loss.”
How? How had he failed? How had Ultrima withstood his most powerful blast?
Was he really that useless?
Except it wasn’t just him. Every attack had seemed to bounce off Ultrima in the battle three hundred years ago too. As they all prepared to enter the Mesmer sleep, his brothers and sisters had berated that fact.
Something was going on. If only Verrian could figure out what it was.
Before he could even consider out his next action, much less how they were going to get out of this, Ultrima rushed towards him as fast as the lightning he wielded. The Trima dragon’s hand transformed into claws, and before Verrian could dodge, the Trima dragon raked them across Verrian’s chest and down his belly.
Lisa screamed, the blood curdling sound only adding to Verrian’s panic.
This was it. He could feel the pain deep in his belly. More than just a surface wound. Not immediately fatal, but enough to put him down for the count. It didn’t matter. He had no defence against the Trima leader. The next blow would kill him.
But he couldn’t leave Lisa alone and defenceless.
He wouldn’t leave her alone and defenceless.
Summoning up all the energy he had, Verrian launched himself at Ultrima, his hands transforming into claws as he moved. If he was going to die, he was going to do his best to take the Trima dragon down with him.
All he reached was thin air.
Ultrima dodged around Verrian, his mocking laugh rang in his ears. “Good try, Rian dragon, but you can’t catch me.” He pulled open the door, and disappeared out of it, closing it surprisingly quietly behind him.
Verrian glanced down at the wound stretching from his chest to his stomach, blood welling up and staining his shirt. The adrenaline flooding his body meant the pain was a distant, irritating throb. Once the adrenaline faded, it would hurt like hell, but it wasn’t going to kill him.
Not immediately anyway.
Could he regenerate from this without entering the Mesmer?
It would be slow and painful, but it could be possible. But if he were in the lair, they certainly wouldn’t risk it. Not when the Mesmer ritual was so easy there.
Out here it wasn’t quite so easy.
“Are you okay?” Lisa’s voice was still unnaturally high, and she stared at Verrian’s chest with wide eyes.
She was unharmed. Ultrima was gone, and they were all still alive.
Verrian didn’t have the energy to try to figure out why the Trima dragon had left without finishing him off.
The relief flooded through his body, taking the last of the adrenaline with it, leaving only the pain. Searing, crippling pain that caused him to double up in agony.
“Here, lie down.” Lisa half caught him as he wavered, and helped him to the couch with Raven’s assistance. “I’ll…” Her voice broke off, and she stared at him, fear and panic written on her face.
Verrian knew why. This injury must look bad. It was far more serious than the previous one.
Blood rushed in Verrian’s ears, and he felt a little faint.
He could only see one way out of this. A way he couldn’t even consider asking her, even if he would take it himself in a heartbeat.
Maybe it was the pain speaking, but he was no longer afraid of the mate bond. Spending the rest of his life bonded to Lisa didn’t seem like the worst thing that could happen right now. And he wasn’t only thinking that because he’d just escaped death.
He opened his mouth to say that, just as screams and car horns echoed distantly from somewhere below.
Raven moved first, running over to the window and staring out. “Bloody hell.” His face went white.
“What is it?” Lisa demanded, looking from Verrian to the window, then back again, her indecision clear.
“A dragon, a big silver one.” Raven’s face was awed. “He’s just skimming across the top of the buildings as though he’s showing off.
That was bad. And Verrian’s consciousness was fading too fast for him to even figure out why.
He reached for Lisa’s hand, his fingers brushing hers, but he didn’t have the strength to even grab hold. His hand fell to the side of the lounge chair he lay on, the jarring movement sending more pain shooting through his entire body.
He bit his lip, but a groan of pain made it out between them anyway.
Lisa’s brow furrowed. “We need to get out of here. Fast. If the breaking glass and my screaming wasn’t enough for someone to call the cops, that dragon flying around out there is.”
Verrian opened his mouth to reply, then realised she wasn’t talking to him. Her face was turned towards Raven.
Not for the first time, he was glad the singer had come with him. Verrian couldn’t help Lisa right now. but Raven could.
He hoped.