No—wait.
A phoenix.
The realization hit me with shocking clarity.
It moves faster than I expect, darting and weaving through the air with impossible grace. The flight patterns are chaotic and beautiful, leaving trails of flame in their wake. The burn in my core intensifies with each passing second, almost pushing me to madness. I can feel my control slipping, the yearly taking over everything.
Ahead of us looms an enormous lake nestled in the middle of a mountain range—pristine blue water surrounded by snow-capped peaks. Flashes of my dream assault me, and recognition slams into me like a physical blow.This is it.The lake that will burn because of him. The vision made flesh.
There’s a small patch of stone jutting from the center of the lake, barely large enough for a human to stand on. The phoenix lands there and shifts back in a cascade of flames, revealing a tall figure with flame-colored hair.
I hover in place, suspended by powerful wing beats, snapped back to the present moment by shock. The wind from my wings buffets the shore, making waves in the water that crash against rocks like a miniature ocean. The sound is rhythmic, almost soothing.
It’s Professor Finlay Boaz standing there, his perfect form illuminated by lingering embers.
He’s my mate.
My fifth mate.
The reality crashes over me like cold water. The man who this year will grade my papers and lectures about royal protocol ismine.
The island he landed on is far too small for me to land on in my current massive form. I’m at war with my dragoness—claim this new mate now, or hunt the ones I’m already bonded to? Both needs scream at me with equal ferocity. There’s a pull from leagues away where my other mates wait, but the golden bond to Finlay blazes brighter, closer, immediate.
My dragoness decides for me, forcibly denying me her form. The shift happens abruptly, painfully, and I’m falling. I spread my wings just in time and glide down to the rocky beach in my human form, landing hard enough to jar my knees.
The moment I touch the ground, I double over as a wave of heat moves through my body like molten metal through my veins. It’s worse in human form—more concentrated, more desperate, more consuming. I use my wings to try to physically restrain myself, wrapping them around my body like a straightjacket.
I know with absolute certainty that I will hurt him if I get close. Even Corvus with his protective silver scales wouldn’t be safe from me right now. I’d tear through them to get what I need.
“Miss Raven...” Finlay’s voice hits me like a deep bass drum resonating right in my chest, making my heart stutter and skip.
My canines lengthen involuntarily, piercing my bottom lip until I taste copper. Every cell in my body demands I go to him, claim him,takehim. I extend a trembling hand toward him—not in invitation, but in warning. “Stay back. I don’t want to hurt you...” The words come out strangled, barely human.
The pain of holding myself back feels like someone is trying to rip me to shreds from the inside. Every fiber of my being wants to launch at him, bite him hard enough to draw blood, claim him right here and now on these rocks.
The distinctivepopof Keir’s arrival with my other mates makes me growl low and feral. I whirl on them and bare my teeth in threat, spreading my wings wide to make myself look larger. Part of me needs to protect the newest mate from perceived threats. The other part is furious at being interrupted when mypreyis so close.
“I’m barely holding it together...” My voice cracks as I fall to my knees, wrapping my arms around my middle tighter, trying to physically hold myself together through sheer will.
“We have the tonic... It might not be too late.” Hemlocke approaches slowly, moving like someone approaching a rabid animal. His arm extends with the first vial already open, offering it to me like a peace treaty.
I see two more vials clutched in his other hand—my salvation or my prison, depending on how you look at it. I grab the first one with shaking hands and down it as fast as I can, barely tasting the bitter liquid. It slides down my throat like oil.
It barely takes the edge off the urge to hunt and claim Finlay. Scales ripple up my arms and down my spine unbidden, black and iridescent in the afternoon light. My body is trying to shift again, my dragoness clawing at my consciousness. I fight my instincts with everything I have.
Hemlocke offers me the second bottle, and I down that one too, gasping between swallows. Corvus is on the phone with someone, his voice urgent but the words indistinct over thepounding of blood in my ears. Hemlocke hands me the third vial, and I swallow it in two desperate gulps.
I still tremble violently, remaining on my hands and knees, fighting my dragoness for control of my body. The stones dig into my palms, grounding me with pain.
“Miss Raven, what can I do to help you?” Finlay drops to his knees just out of reach in front of me, close enough to see but too far to touch.
I look up and see desperation in his honey-colored eyes—pain and longing at war with each other, creating an expression so raw it hurts to witness. My breaths come in ragged pants as I try to formulate words through the fog of need. “Stay where I can see you.” Each word is a struggle, forced out between clenched teeth. I curl my wings closer to my body, using them like a physical cage to restrain myself.
A second displacement of air grabs my attention, bringing with it familiar scents that make my heart clench. I’m growling again before I can stop myself, the sound automatic and threatening. This time it’s Ziggy, Mom, Daddy Thauglor, and Daddy Balor materializing in a cluster.
“Hey, sweetheart.” Balor’s voice is soothing as he comes to kneel close to me, just within arm’s reach. The familiar scent of him—leather and old books and safety—makes something in me want to cry.
“Help me...” The whine that escapes my throat sounds more animal than human. I dig my talons into the rocky shore, carving furrows in stone, trying desperately to stay where I am. My muscles ache from the strain of keeping them locked in place, trembling with the effort of resisting my instincts.
