Emerald Dragon (Awakened Dragons Book 6) Read online

  And stubborn. As usual, his arms were folded, his chin jutted, and he looked ready to stomp down any objection they threw at him. No one could beat Aegis in sheer stubbornness.

  Still, a little thrill went through her at just seeing him, and she realized for the first time just how much she had missed him, even with his shenanigans and awful behavior.

  He looked over at her and his eyes softened but then flicked back to the other dragons, who were watching him.

  Sapphire was seated at the table as well, his blond hair mussed, his swirling blue eyes extra tired. So his mate was here and pregnant? That made sense with the tiredness, she supposed.

  “Are we ready to start?” Onyx asked, flattening his hands on the table.

  “Can we get Opal some food?” Aegis asked. “Who knows what the oracle has been feeding her.”

  Sapphire stood. “Would you like something as well?”

  Aegis looked almost tempted but then shook his head. “Just something for her. No one here has decided if I’m worthy of help yet.”

  Opal bit her lip as Sapphire put a plate in front of her with various meats and cheeses on it. Cold, like it had just come from the refrigerator. She dug into it as she heard footsteps approaching.

  She looked up to see Red, the ruby dragon, standing at the doorway, panting.

  “Sorry,” he said. “Was busy.” His face was flushed, his dark-red hair going in every direction, his green eyes twinkling.

  She guessed he and his mate had been up for different reasons than the others. She grinned.

  He gave her a friendly smile and sat down, hands in his pockets, and looked at the other dragons. “So what’s up?” Then he saw Aegis. “Oh, damn, I didn’t know he was here.”

  “I believe I expressly told you,” Sapphire said, sighing.

  Ruby shrugged. “Must not have heard you.”

  “Yes, you did seem ‘busy’ when I came to the door,” Sapphire said.

  “I was.” Ruby grinned. “I—”

  “Shut up, sex dragon,” Aegis snapped. “We’re here to talk about me, not your weird proclivities.”

  “Pleasing my mate is hardly a proclivity.”

  “She’s human,” Aegis said. “And you’re stupid.”

  Ruby stood, fire in his green eyes. “If you’re going to insult us, we can take this outside.”

  “Ruby, sit down,” Onyx bellowed.

  Ruby’s eyes flashed. “No, if he thinks he can—”

  “Sit down!”

  Ruby sat grumbling. Aegis smirked.

  “Now,” Onyx said. “I’m willing to hear everyone’s opinions for or against this. Obviously, the oracle will have the final say, but this is between us for now. We decide what we want to do with him.”

  “Are you going to give us info about the dark oracle?” Sapphire asked, perking up.

  Aegis put his hands behind his head and looked bored. “Maybe.”

  Sapphire looked exasperated. “I give up. Two seconds with him and I’m ready to give up. And you know I’m patient, Onyx.”

  Onyx nodded. “Aegis, we’re going to need you to be more helpful than that.”

  “Then maybe you shouldn’t have made an enemy of me,” he said.

  “Okay, Aegis,” Onyx said. “Come on. Get it all out. All your griping.”

  Aegis seemed genuinely tempted, but then he looked at Opal and seemed to change his mind. “Fine. I won’t be difficult. As much as I know how. I’ll help you with the dark oracle. I know what her plans were, but I can’t promise they won’t change.”

  “Perfect,” Onyx said. “Now, who has another question?”

  “Is Opal your mate or not?” Diamond asked. “Because having an unmated dragon in the mansion isn’t my idea of a good time when my mate is here.”

  “You can leave,” Aegis snapped, and Diamond shot him a glare.

  Onyx put up a hand. “Aegis. Please. Your answer.”

  Aegis slumped in the chair. “I’ve always thought so. But I can’t force it.”

  “All that matters is you think it,” Diamond said. “As far as our mates’ safety is concerned.”

  “Hell yeah,” Aegis said. “I can’t even think of another woman.”

  ‘Then I vote for him to stay,” Ruby said. “He did me a huge favor when he saved me.” He shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about it.”

  “What did he do?” Opal asked, genuinely curious about how Aegis had actually helped someone.

  “He saved my virginity,” Ruby said, putting a hand over his chest. “As you know, I’m well known for my prowess, and one of my captors wanted to try me out, so Aegis—”

  “Ha!” Aegis snorted. “Virginity? Maybe butt virginity, if even that were left.”

  “Why did you save me, then?” Ruby asked.

  Aegis went quiet, poking at the tablecloth. He looked over at Opal. “I don’t know.”

  “Anyway,” Ruby said. “That’s my vote.”

  “Wait,” Opal said, eyes narrowing. “How did he save you?”

  “Oh,” Ruby said, ignoring Aegis’s head shake. “Put himself in my place, tried to seduce her—”

  “Oh really?” Opal asked, unable to keep her disapproval from her tone. “That doesn’t seem like someone who can’t look at another woman.”

  “I distracted her,” Aegis said, folding his arms and looking bored. “I wouldn’t have been able to go through with anything.” He raised an eyebrow. “Besides, what does it matter? We aren’t mates, right? You said I was misguided.”

  Sapphire interrupted to change the subject. “Back to the point,” he said. “Aegis did send us a note that allowed us to find and rescue Ruby as well, so we owe him for that.”

  “But he did kidnap your mate,” Zach said.

  “Yes, to draw you in,” Sapphire said. “I think we’ve established the dude hates you.”

  “For no apparent reason,” Zach muttered.

  “You know damn good and well the reason,” Aegis shot back.

  The dragons looked back and forth between them as the room grew quiet, and then Opal cleared her throat. “Any other opinions?”

  “Hallie says he said he wouldn’t hurt her, and she never felt threatened,” Sapphire said. “So I’m willing to let it go if Onyx can.”

  “He didn’t kidnap my mate; he kidnapped my cat,” Onyx said. “But he did attack me and the other dragons. I don’t know.”

  “I think it’s different now that Opal is back,” Dom said. “I think she can control him.”

  Opal nodded, and Aegis sputtered. “Excuse me? Control me? I don’t think—”

  “I’ll need him collared, but—”

  Aegis slammed both hands down on the table. “No. No collar. Hell no.”

  Opal looked at him. “You don’t think they’re going to trust you any other way, do you? After what I’m hearing, you’re lucky they aren’t throwing us both out on the grass.”

  “Throwing him on the grass,” Onyx muttered. “You could stay either way.”

  “Like hell you can keep her without me,” Aegis said, looking like he was going to burst out of his chair and attack something.

  “Stop it,” Opal said. “It’s not so bad. I’ll talk to the oracle. She may want to collar me, too. After she takes this one off.” She gestured to the necklace at her throat.

  “But they could be coming for us,” Aegis said. “And then I won’t have my powers. What then?”

  “Dom should be able to see their plans,” Zach said. “He has been catching more and more, listening to Topaz’s thoughts. And we’ve known they may be ready to launch a strike for some time. That’s why we’re all currently here at the mansion. Higher numbers for greater protection of mates.”

  “Ah, so you have seen some of what she’s planning,” Aegis said. “Then you know you’re safer here with more numbers. But with us gone, I think she’ll wait.” He shook his head. “She knows without me and Opal, she doesn’t have a chance against seven dragons.”

  “Eight,” Onyx said.<
br />
  “What?” Aegis asked. “Is there someone here I don’t know about?”

  “Citrine,” Onyx said. “He’s still in bed. Wasn’t interested in getting up or giving an opinion.”

  “Yeah, waking that guy is not a good idea,” Diamond said. “Last time I did it, I got blinded. And he’s collared.”

  “Right,” Aegis said, looking unhappy about the news.

  Opal, on the other hand, felt radiant. Citrine had visited sometimes when she was younger. He’d been one of the dragons her father had considered pairing her with, when Aegis hadn’t been able to develop his powers. And she’d been brought up from the dungeon to meet him.

  She’d quickly realized there was nothing between them, but she considered him a friend, and that would be nice to have in this chaotic household.

  “Where is he, then?” Aegis asked. “Not where we’ll be staying, I hope.”

  “What do you mean where ‘we’re’ staying?” Onyx asked. “You don’t think you and Opal are honestly going to share a room, do you?” Onyx frowned. “We wouldn’t inflict that on someone who has already suffered so much.”

  Opal bit back a laugh, but it was too late, and Aegis glared at her. But it was like every time his eyes landed on her, his reflex was to go back to this gooey expression that still said he couldn’t believe she was back.

  “I’m staying with her,” Aegis said. “How else am I going to protect her?”

  “The only dangerous dragon in this household is you,” Onyx said.

  Aegis folded his arms. “I’m never dangerous to Opal,” he said flatly.

  Ruby let out a sigh and slumped back in his chair. “Isn’t that romantic?”

  “Shut up, sex dragon.”

  “That sounds like an awesome band or something, doesn’t it?” Ruby asked. “Sex dragon.”

  “Slut,” Aegis spit out.

  Ruby glared at him and was about to make a retort when Onyx raised his hand.

  Opal cut in. “What if our rooms were connected? Do you have a suite like that?”

  “You want to be connected to that monster?” Ruby asked.

  Opal smiled tiredly. “That monster saved my life. And is a dear friend. I trust him.” She looked at them all warily. “Not that I would advise anyone else to.”

  “Hey,” Aegis said, but she shot him a look and knew he couldn’t argue.

  “All right,” Onyx said, standing. “I’ll get in touch with the oracle. Diamond, you show them the suite. You know your way around.”

  Aegis stood, but instead of going over to Ruby, he walked to Sapphire and spoke to him in a low voice, seeming concerned. Sapphire looked surprised but nodded in assent to whatever he was saying.

  Aegis then came over to her, looking her over once again like she was water and he’d been crawling in the dessert. Like she was land and he’d been lost at sea. Like she was a lighthouse and he was a ship on the shoals.

  “Aegis,” she said. “Don’t look at me that way.”

  “I can’t help it,” he said as he followed Diamond toward their rooms. “My eyes want to devour you.”

  “Creepy,” she said.

  He shrugged, unaffected. “I don’t know. All I know is all I ever wanted was to see your face again, and now that I can, I’m going to take my fill of it.”

  “Not any less creepy,” she said.

  Diamond showed them to their suite, asked once again to make sure she was okay with this, and then disappeared, leaving them alone in the darkness.

  Aegis reached out to flip on a light, and they looked at the suite. A bed and a desk with an adjoining room that was probably a bathroom. They walked over to it and looked in and saw a room on the other side. That would be her bedroom.

  “I guess I should go,” she said.

  His body tightened. “I guess I should let you. You’ve been through a lot.”

  She nodded. “So you didn’t know I was there, I guess.”

  “Of course not,” he said sharply. “I’d have killed them and rescued you.”

  She flushed and sat on the edge of the bed. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. You were always protective. To an almost deleterious degree.”

  “And you always used big words to keep me from getting your meaning.”

  “Sorry,” she said. “I meant—”

  “I know what deleterious means,” he said. “I was just acknowledging your attempt to confuse me.”

  “Ah,” she said, caught off guard. “Aegis, what do you want from me?”

  “For now, I just want you to exist and be alive. To still be there in the morning and not be some kind of dream that is worse than hell when I wake up from it.”

  “I’m here, Aegis. I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you force me to.”

  “As I did before?” he asked, turning to her. “Because I still don’t understand. I don’t know if I ever will. And what you said about mates—”

  She put up a hand. “It’s not the time for that right now. We both need rest. We need to figure things out with the oracle and with the team. And then there’s time to talk about me and you.”

  “Me and you,” he said, testing the words out on his tongue. “It’s more than I ever imagined to be able to say that again. But it was always me and you, wasn’t it, Opal?”

  She nodded. “I suppose.”

  He took a step forward. “Aren’t you glad to see me? After all these years?”

  She swallowed, throat tightening. Of course she was. At one time, he’d meant more to her than almost anyone. He still did in some ways.

  But he was a different man now. He’d been fully on the wrong side of darkness, and she didn’t know how fully he was committed to coming back into the light.

  “I am glad to see you,” she said, folding her hands in her lap. “But I don’t know what to say other than that.”

  He nodded. “Nothing else needs to be said.” He looked around. “Do you want this room or the other?”

  “The other,” she said. “I won’t be needing a desk, and I like the window.”

  “Fine,” he said quickly. “Do you need anything brought up?”

  “No,” she said. “I just need sleep. Though Diamond did say his mate would be by in the morning to help with anything I may need.”

  “Human mates, can you imagine?” Aegis said, folding his arms. “Foolish.”

  “Not if they’re in love,” she said, frowning at him. “Don’t you think shifters should mate for love?”

  He snorted. “With their own kind. Sapphire doesn’t even know what he’s gotten himself into.” He shook his head, looking regretful.

  “Is that what you were talking to him about?”

  Aegis looked away. “It won’t matter. We’ll be gone before it happens.”

  “Before what happens?”

  “Nothing,” he said. “You don’t need to worry about it.”

  She sighed. No one could get him to tell something if he didn’t want to. “All right, Aegis. I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”

  As she stood to walk to her room, it almost seemed like he would stop her. But he didn’t. Just folded his arms tighter and watched her with a look in his eyes that said he was holding back with every fiber in his body.

  That look in his eyes, so intent, like she was the only thing in the world, had always puzzled her.

  She didn’t know how to respond to it. She cared for him, always had. And there was a bond between them, wound by so many years together having each other’s backs.

  But there was also fighting and distance and things that couldn’t just be forgotten.

  So for now, she just needed to sleep. She’d need her strength to deal with him in the morning.

  Chapter 4

  “Of course you’ll be wearing a collar,” the oracle said, confirming Aegis’s worst fears about being able to escape. He drummed his fingers on the table impatiently.

  “And if I don’t?”

  The oracle leaned back in the chair, appraising him shrewdly. Sh
e was aged, with eyes as sharp and wise as befitted her years, and though she looked well for being hundreds of years old, she wasn’t trying to alter herself to look twenty again like the dark oracle.

  Differences, differences.

  “Aegis, I don’t think I have to tell you you’re on thin ice,” she said. “Your record since awakening hasn’t exactly been stellar, and though we’ve been glad for your help on several occasions, it doesn’t change that you’ve been working for our enemies for several months.” She sighed. “In fact, I’m not sure I should allow you to stay, even with a collar.”

  “And what about Opal?” he asked, folding his arms.

  “Oh, she was up long before you,” the oracle said, amused. “And I took her collar off. She won’t be needing one. I saw her heart. A very good woman that one.”

  “A good dragon,” Aegis said.

  “You may find in this world, being good or being bad is more important than being a human or a shifter or an oracle.”

  “Power is always good,” Aegis said.

  The oracle looked like she wanted to put her face in her hands but didn’t. “All right,” she said. “Let’s put on your collar.”

  Aegis waited as Citrine came in with a case, and the oracle opened it. Aegis didn’t talk to the other dragon as he helped the oracle install his collar. He simply studied him. He’d noticed Opal’s response to hearing Citrine was at the mansion. He’d have to be blind not to notice it. But what did that mean?

  Citrine had dark, straight hair and exotic features. Almond-shaped, golden eyes. Straight chin. Full lips. Aegis caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror on the opposite wall and grinned.

  He’d looked better. Right now, he was tired, his hair was overgrown, and his skin bore the unmistakable signs of grief. But all that could be fixed now that Opal was here.

  Truthfully, he didn’t care about anyone else’s plans or safety. It was just him and Opal, though he’d do whatever he needed in order to ensure their place in the world.

  The oracle glared at him as if she could read his thoughts. Maybe she could even if other dragons couldn’t. But that didn’t change anything. She had all the power now.

  He let out a stream of curses, and Citrine gave him a dirty look and left the room.