Page 3 of Destined

“I vote for dragon bad breath,” Christine said, and inclined her head toward the outside of the tent. “I’ve got Fallon and fourteen of his pals waiting to give us a ride back. I say we talk to them, girlfriends, and see if they’ll switch sides.”

Tara and Kayla nodded together. They left the tent, but as soon as the dragon herd saw Tara, they tried to crowd around her. She lifted her hands to stroke as many muzzles as she could before stopping in front of Fallon. Kayla gaped as the two eyed each other. Though she couldn’t hear them, she was sure they were conversing. Evidently the teenager spoke fluent dragon.

The huge black dragon lowered his head to nudge Tara onto his back before he regarded Kayla.

Thank you for saving our little one, my lady. She is most precious to us.

Kayla knew the dragon had cared for Tara when she was a baby. Feeling the strong emotions pouring out of the entire herd, however, made her realize all the dragons considered the teenager as one of them.

“The clan is on the other side of the lake now,” Tara said, holding her hand down to Christine and hoisting her up. “While they’re attacking the Fae, the creatures will be vulnerable. I’ll lead the herd against them.”

“You do that,” Christine said, “and Dirk will kill you the next time he grabs you.”

Tara turned to face her. “He’ll have to get through the dragons.” She glanced at Kayla before she added, “and my Fae clan.”

The dancer planted her hands on her hips. “About time you figured that out, kid.”

As Kayla climbed up with the two other women, she opened her mouth to tell Tara to stay behind—that she and Christine could handle the dragons. But she stopped. Her days of being the overprotective older sister were over.

“Fallon,” Kayla said, “drop me and Christine near our men.” She glanced at her sister. “Ryan may be in berserker mode, so steer clear of him.”

Chapter 2

SLIME AND BLOOD dripped from Ryan Sheridan’s gore-spattered tunic as he hacked his way through a wall of inhuman, writhing limbs. When he reached his second-in-command, Colm Longacre, he used his long dagger to cut away the thick tentacle that was dragging him toward the lake.

“My thanks, my liege.”

The other man’s copper-colored eyes took on a wary gleam as he shook off the creature’s remains and slowly backed away.

Ryan didn’t blame him for his caution. He could feel the seething power of his ability growing inside him, which would transform him from a rational being into a mindless berserker. Once he descended into the madness, he would be virtually unstoppable in battle—and would kill anything that moved.

“The Blackstones are coming for us,” Ryan said. He nodded toward the large, dark figures trotting around the lake toward their camp. “I will keep them occupied.” He swung his blade at a one-eyed blob oozing from the water’s edge, cleaving it in two. “Go and get the women.”

“Wait,” Colm said, looking over Ryan’s head. “I think they come to us.” Colm reached out and neatly caught Christine Marszalek as she fell from the sky. The curvy brunette gave him a brief kiss before he set her on her feet. “I should spank you until you can’t sit for a week,” he growled. He pulled a blade and threw it at another reaching tentacle, pinning it to the ground. “Or kiss you until you cannot think.”

“Decisions, decisions,” she said. The crystal ring on her finger glittered as she touched his cheek. “Hold that thought until after the battle, lover.” She looked up at the enormous dragon hovering over them, giving the creature the thumbs-up.

But if Christine was safe, then where was–

He spotted Kayla a moment before she jumped and landed precisely in his outstretched arms. The heart-rending fear that she had been taken from him vanished. Instead it was replaced with the light, beloved weight of her petite body. She wasn’t injured. She was grinning.

“I thought the dragon took you and Christine.” He held her against him, breathing in her scent and feeling the strong rhythm of her heart thudding against his chest. “Kayla love. What were you thinking, going into the Blackstone’s camp?”

“I thought I’d get my little sister back,” she said, and looked up. “So I did.”

Ryan followed her gaze to see Tara Blackstone peering down at them. The changeling gave them a grim smile as she gripped Fallon’s neck ridge. The dragons turned and flew away. Though he didn’t understand what had happened between the two women, the Dark Fae creatures were still rising out of the lake.

“You and Christine must go now,” he told Kayla, and kissed her mouth before he put her on her feet. “Take refuge in town for the night, and leave at dawn.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” she told him, and turned her head as a blast of fire lit up the night sky. “We’ve got help now.”

Gavan Waterson joined them, his unearthly handsome features marred by a swath of deep gashes. “My liege, the changeling is using the dragons to attack the water creatures.”

Colm looked confused. “She fights her own clan?”

“We’re her clan now,” Kayla told him. “Tara and Fallon and the herd will take out the monsters. But we have to handle the Blackstones.”

Gavan wiped the blood out of his eyes. “How did you persuade the dragons to defend us?”