Saved by Her Dragons (Fated Mate of the Dragon Clans Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Epilogue

  Saved by Her Dragons

  FATED MATE OF THE DRAGON CLANS,

  BOOK THREE

  by

  GINNA MORAN

  Copyright © 2021 by Ginna Moran

  All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  ISBN 978-1-951314-58-3 (soft cover)

  ISBN 978-1-951314-59-0 (hard cover)

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Cover design by Silver Starlight Designs

  Cover images copyright Depositphotos

  For Inquiries Contact:

  Sunny Palms Press

  9663 Santa Monica Blvd Suite 1158

  Beverly Hills, CA 90210, USA

  www.sunnypalmspress.com

  www.GinnaMoran.com

  Dedication

  For those who love dragon-sized batons...just be careful on top. Fractures can happen when you get a little wild.

  Chapter 1

  A Dragon’s Heart

  MY EARS RING WITH MY screams. The pain of searing magic cutting through my skin and breaking into my chest leaves me incapacitated. It’s unlike anything imaginable, and I pray to the fates for the bitch-witch to hurry and finish me off. Death will be the only reprieve from this torture.

  I’ve never felt this helpless in my life, not even when my mates fell from the sky and captured me. Not even when the Darkonians twisted the fates to bind me to them. Not even when Lazlo Infinity tried to collar me. At least in those moments, I could fight. I could think things through and figure shit out. I had help, guidance, and my strong will to get me through.

  But now? All I can do is lose myself to the pain of a magical athame cutting into my chest one agonizing inch at a time. The witches purposely drag out the pain, carving something into me as part of their ritual. Twisted dark magic steals away the good inside me, leaving me broken and in agony.

  I never knew this was my worst nightmare until now. I always thought it would be something else—losing my mates or returning to the Maximum Magical Penitentiary. It never crossed my mind that the worst thing that could happen to me was that someone brutalizes my body in such a way that I beg for death. This is far worse than the last time a knife met my skin. I’m paralyzed by magic. It’s not being able to do anything as they end my life that truly gets to me deep in my soul.

  Fates help me.

  “Careful, Marjorie. Slow down,” McKenzie mutters, stroking her fingers through my hair. Magic sparkles from her fingers, shocking me. “It must come out whole.”

  I wish I would pass out from the pain already, but it’s like McKenzie and the other witch purposely keep me aware, yet they ignore me as if I’m already dead despite the ringing of my voice piercing the air.

  And I’m the one called a monster.

  “Shut up, sister! I know what I’m doing.” The older witch leans over me and grabs my chin, shocking me with magic again. She bares her monstrous fangs as if her intimidation will scare me more than she already does. “Stop screaming, beast! You’re only making the pain worse. I want this to be over as much as you do.”

  I can’t react as the edges of my vision crowd with shadows. I just keep screaming.

  Another shockwave bursts through me, and I fall to sweet, peaceful nothingness. Am I dead? I don’t know. My mind still whirls with millions of thoughts. I envision Kash, Rowan, and Maddox experiencing the same pain as I do—Theo and Ambrose too. And Tiernan? Fuck. He can’t be dead. How could the fates be so twisted to allow such a tragedy?

  “Delphia, hang on. Please, don’t die. Fight it. Fight the magic caging you. Fight with the strength of the stars. With the power of those who yearn for a life with you. Fight!” Tiernan’s sharp voice explodes through my mind. Instead of bringing me relief, it ignites all-consuming agony as I flutter my eyes open to the most horrible sight. Blood covers everything, sizzling with spicy smoke as Marjorie uses her magical athame to crack my sternum. I should never have to see my insides, and my stomach twists so hard that my body jerks despite the freezing magic.

  I scream again, sending a stream of dragon fire from my lips. My dragon awakens, blasting through the magic. Neither of the witches can do anything as I light up the world around me. The orange flames crackle and pop. McKenzie claps her hands, shouting a spell I can’t hear over my fire, but it’s enough to suppress the pain trying to kill me.

  I suck in a sweet breath of relief. She healed me. I can’t believe it.

  Her gesture gives me a blip of hope that gathers my thoughts together. Dying isn’t on the table any longer. I can fight. I will fight.

  “Damn it, Delphia. You almost made her mess up,” McKenzie snaps, scowling at me. She curls her fingers, summoning lavender power in her palms. “Now she has to start all over again.”

  Oh, no. Oh-fucking-no.

  I can’t go through the agony all over again. I won’t.

  Rage bursts through me, and I scream a loud, long wail, summoning the dragon fire of the caged beast inside me. Fire radiates under my skin, and my body glows brighter than the magic zapping through the air.

  I don’t know if being on the brink of death unleashes the most powerful part of me from the magic trying to hold me hostage, but I’m thankful. The witches can’t seem to break through the fire to get to me without being burned.

  Thrusting my hands out, I thrust a wave of fire at them. It’s enough to get the witches to back up a foot and guard themselves instead of focusing their efforts on me. They can’t use offensive magic if they have to constantly protect themselves. I know this. I’ve seen it.

  Their self-preservation gives me the moment of reprieve I desperately need. Exhaustion fights with my stubborn survival needs, and the flames lessen the longer I tap into my beast. It’s harder to keep her uncaged, but I’ll do this until I can’t any longer. Maybe my mates or someone on the staff will realize what’s happening.

  “Stay the fuck back,” I snap, heaving deep breaths. “You can’t do this to me!”

  McKenzie scowls with my words, her determination exploding in a wave of sparkling magic. Fear strikes me in the heart as she dares to step closer, preparing a counterattack. But I won’t give up. I won’t let them hold me captive. They’ll have to knock me out completely if they want to get the glowing blade anywhere near my body again. Hopefully, someone can hear me before then.

  Opening my mouth, I screech, my dragon’s voice booming from my mouth with her fire. Scales dance across my skin, but I can’t break free and unleash my dragon completely. The chain on my ankle s
uppresses my beast. I’ve been deemed too dangerous in my dragon form.

  Maybe I am. I want now more than ever to prove to the world that they were right about me. They should fear me.

  The suite shudders under my exertion, and McKenzie shouts another spell, creating a glowing shield of magic around her and her coven sister. Pushing to my knees, I glance down at the blood soaking my clothes. I gasp in relief, thankful for being right about McKenzie healing me to an extent. A shallow wound still mars my skin, but the damage of the athame is nowhere near how vile and disgusting as it was. I hate that the only purpose of healing me was so the bitches could start over, and I use the anger to give me more power. Because fuck that. They will not get me again.

  “I said, stay back!” I yell, inhaling and exhaling deep breaths. Dragging my chain, I shuffle farther away from them and toward the balcony. “Tiernan! Tiernan, get help! Someone! If you can hear me, help me!”

  My voice carries out the wide-open archway and into the night. I glance quickly, hoping to spot a dragon in the sky, but I only see stars. I swing my attention back to the Lioht witches, holding hands and chanting another spell. They just won’t give up. How can I fight against their magic? It’s impossible. I’m sure their next spell will either hinder me or protect them. They’re far too determined and desperate. This is why McKenzie helped my father all along. She didn’t want to help him bring me home. She wanted me somewhere that she could have her way without the High Council or my mates trying to intervene.

  “Help!” I scream again, kicking my foot, testing the strength of the chain. I’ve tried to break it already, but that was before I managed to summon my dragon fire. If I can heat it up, maybe I can break the spell restraining me. I could get out of here. I could uncage my dragon and fly.

  “Settle down, Delphia. Fighting is pointless. You can’t break the chain, nor will someone save you. No one can hear you with the magic shielding the room. Now, if you behave and submit to your fate, we will work quickly. This will be over soon.” McKenzie shuffles another step closer, and I glower, thrusting a ball of fire at her.

  “Fuck off!” I shout, trying to look for something I can use to block me long enough to focus on my chain. “You can’t have my heart!”

  “That isn’t up to you. Plus, you couldn’t possibly want to live your fate at the Litendrake mercy. Franco Litendrake will surely waste the precious gift you are, arranging something far more torturous than death.” McKenzie smirks, gathering a ball of lavender power between her palms. “Show me that you can be a good girl now. Maybe I’ll do something for the pain. Come on. Vi ke lota fi—”

  Screaming, rage blasts through me, cutting off her spell. I swing my arms, throwing my dragon fire at the glowing metal binding me. My vision turns red with McKenzie’s words, and I yank my chain, heating it up until I can’t go any farther. I’m just shy of being able to jump over the balcony. I’d rather risk falling to my death than experience another moment of agony by these witches.

  Magic buzzes and zaps through the air, and I nearly falter at the sight of the magical cage blocking me from jumping from the balcony. Even if I break the chain, I’ll have to get through the shocking wall containing me in my room.

  “Last chance, Delphia. Don’t make this hard,” the other witch, Marjorie, says. She strides closer, pointing the athame at me.

  “You’re dead if you come closer. This is your last chance!” I say, threatening her by whipping my chain. Closing my eyes, I try to summon more dragon fire, but something stops me. Ice sneaks across my back, suppressing my beast.

  “Eht va lote Drakovich heir ti ata!” McKenzie shouts, throwing her hands up.

  Blinding light shoots from her hands, sending an orb of magic over me. My fire hits my magical cage, ricocheting around the person-sized bubble. Heat licks my skin, but it doesn’t burn. If anything, it settles the raging beast inside me, making it harder to call her.

  Or maybe it’s because of the looming shadow suddenly falling over me. My beast senses the protection that comes with the man I’ve agreed to give a chance to be my mate.

  The floor quakes as Tiernan lands on the balcony in his huge, black dragon form. His roar booms through the air, and instead of startling me, my heart leaps in relief. I never expected to be so thankful for my wayward unintended mate’s arrival, but I’m so glad he showed up tonight before all of this. I don’t know what I’d have done otherwise. I can only keep the witches back for so long. With him, I can fight.

  “Nogard ef slo que tatita,” McKenzie chants in unison with her coven sister.

  Magic entangles with my chain, ripping me away from Tiernan before I can duck under his gigantic form for protection. My back stings as I skid across the floor and into the suite. Fuck me. He can’t come in. There is only a small gap between two different magical walls on the balcony that we were able to touch in before. Whatever McKenzie does closes it more, keeping Tiernan out and me in.

  “Vi tat lo conduita!” Marjorie shouts, focusing on me while McKenzie keeps Tiernan back by strengthening the shield he attacks.

  Tiernan snarls and blows a breath of fire, hitting the shield of magic again. The intensity of his flames shocks the magic, and lightning bolts shoot through the air. The floor quakes again, and the two witches chant louder. Exhaustion doesn’t only affect me. Fighting us weakens them.

  “Don’t stop, Tiernan!” I shout, the sudden realization of their weakness and the strength of Tiernan fighting on my behalf ignites me with hope. I just need to coax out my dragon. I need to get my shit together and join Tiernan.

  Magic and fire battle it out against the shield, but Tiernan doesn’t back off. His powerful flames never waver. I can almost imagine the heat of them coursing through me and filling me up. I’m so close to igniting fire again. I can feel it.

  A loud boom shakes me to the core as fire explodes over my head. McKenzie’s cage of magic falters, dissipating. I scramble out of the way, taking cover near a decorative table. Bolts of magic zap around, shattering and destroying everything in their wake. Panic tightens my chest. If one hits me, I don’t know what will happen.

  “Nova, can you summon your dragon fire again?” Tiernan asks, his words swirling through my mind. His powerful presence loosens my muscles, and I tip my head up to acknowledge him, my voice refusing to work. “I need you to help me. I’ll keep them distracted. Watch for their magic to falter. They’re growing weak.” His confirmation of what I noticed gives me the determination to try to summon fire again. I want to make him proud. I want to prove I’m not a damsel mate.

  Without responding to his words, I close my eyes. I imagine unlocking the magic imprisoning my beast in my soul and gather the strength of my Darkonian prince to get my dragon to fight once again. Billowing flames explode from my hands, and I screech, shooting fire at the two witches. McKenzie screams a spell, sending a shield over her, but the other woman can’t say the words fast enough. My dragon fire swallows her in a glowing lightshow of orange and yellow flames swirling with her lavender light. Her screams echo through the air, and lavender magic crackles and pops, sending sparkles raining through the vaulted room. Her silhouette vanishes as my dragon fire disintegrates her body, killing her.

  “No!” McKenzie yells. She jerks her attention to me, her hair lifting with static. Fury lines her face, and she strides closer, drawing her hands together. “You bitch! I’ll destroy you!”

  Tiernan uses her second of distraction to ram his hulking dragon body into the magical wall keeping him out of my room. The whole room shudders, the magic fissuring under his power. McKenzie’s eyes widen. Calling out another spell, she tries to divide her attention between the two of us, but it’s no use. She can’t win. I won’t let her.

  “McKenzie!” The door to my suite flies open with the booming voice. “Delphia is mine! How dare you deceive me!”

  McKenzie claps her hands together at the sight of Franco Litendrake rushing into the room as magic no longer hides me. Bright blue light engulfs her, and she
disappears with the shocking magic. I drop to my knees, my legs giving out on me. The adrenaline that kept me going fades, and I roll to my back and stare up at Tiernan’s hulking form. He squats down butt-ass naked, but I can’t even find the energy to look anywhere but his face. He bares his teeth and snorts a breath of smoke. Gliding his hot fingers over my forehead, he gently combs my messy hair from my sweaty forehead. His eyes scream that he wants to pick me up, but Franco’s presence stops him. Tiernan wasn’t supposed to be here.

  “That blasted traitorous witch. She is just like her sister. I should’ve known she’d try something.” Franco clenches his hands into fists, jerking his attention to me and then to the charred remains of McKenzie’s coven sister. Smoke billows from his flaring nostrils as fire dances in his eyes. He finally processes my condition and towers over me, looking down. “My fates.” Loosening his fingers, he holds his hands above me like he’s unsure of what to do. “Delphia, are you injured? Your chest—I can’t tell whose blood is all over you.”

  Reaching down, Franco attempts to graze his fingers over me. Tiernan growls in warning, his guttural dragon voice vibrating through my soul. And thank fucking fuck. I don’t want this strange man, even if he’s my father, coming anywhere near me. It’s his fault I’m here in the first place. He never checked on me once until now.

  “She was mutilated by the witches, but they healed her because they messed up.” Tiernan’s chest rises and falls with his heavy breathing. “It could’ve been so much worse. I tried with everything in me to get to her sooner, but they spelled me.”

  Once again, Franco tries to touch me, but Tiernan growls protectively.

  Franco hesitates, dropping his hands by his sides, and finally acknowledges Tiernan, tightening his jaw. The two of them stare at each other in silence. I had expected more from my father’s appearance, but Franco’s small and unthreatening in his human form compared to the massively stunning beast Tiernan is. But it means nothing. I know that Franco is the king of this territory. He wouldn’t have such a title if it didn’t come from power. He is the authoritative force of all the dragon clans beneath him who stay in the Litendrake Territory of the Dragon Lands.