Stroke the Flame

9

I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want this. I still wasn’t sure I was the right person for the role of Jade Dragon. But even with all my doubts, I was here and I was fully committed to our mission. I would do whatever it took to serve the Gods and protect Kira.

It was my duty, after all.

9

Kira

A

fter Tash brought Slade a tray of food, all three men dove in while I studied them. They were each so different, yet I felt a strange connection to all of them. But there was one more man in my dreams, who must be the future Azure Dragon. Where was he now?

I took a long breath. “Okay, assuming this is all true and we are the next Dragons—which I’m not sure I believe yet—what does that mean? Why do the Gods even need another set of Dragons?”

“We’re meant to overthrow the current Dragons and take their place as the protectors of the world,” Auric said, his voice rather matter-of-fact considering he was talking treason.

My jaw fell open and it took a moment for me to speak. “What?”

“That’s what I was told as well,” Slade said.

“But why?” I asked.

Jasin shrugged casually. “Sounds like the Gods aren’t happy with the way the Black Dragon and her men are ruling the world.” He picked up a grape and popped it in his mouth. “Time for a change in leadership.”

“Maybe they’ve chosen us to set things right,” Slade said.

All of the men were being way too calm about this, considering what they were saying. Then again, they’d had a month to get used to the idea. Even so, I could barely wrap my mind around it. The Gods had been nothing but myth for so long that most people had stopped believing they were real at all. If the men were telling the truth—and I was starting to believe they might be—then perhaps the Gods had finally awoken and were doing something to help their people for a change. We certainly needed it.

But why me? I was a nobody. Definitely not a hero, and certainly not the kind of person who could overthrow the Black Dragon and her men. They’d ruled for thousands of years and were the most powerful beings in the world—how were we supposed to stop them?

“What are we meant to do?” I finally asked.

Auric set his fork down and met my gaze. “We must travel to each of the Gods’ temples, visiting them in the order in which we arrived today. There you will have to bond with one of us, which will unlock our full powers and the dragon form. You will gain our powers as well, and once you’ve bonded with all of us, you’ll visit the Spirit Goddess’s temple to become the Black Dragon. After that, we should be strong enough to face the current Dragons.”

My head spun, trying to process everything he said. “What do you mean, bonded?”

“Err…” Auric shifted in his seat a little. “You would officially take us as your mate in the most…intimate way.”

Jasin flashed me a naughty grin. “What he means is that we need to have sex.” He leaned back in his chair with his arms folded behind his head. “Not sure about you guys, but I for one am looking forward to all of this.”

“Of course you are,” I said, rolling my eyes, even as heat flared inside me at the thought of becoming intimate with all of them. “Don’t get too excited, because I haven’t agreed to any of this.” I turned back to Auric. “So all we have to do is travel to the temples and uh, bond with each other?”

“Exactly.”

I arched an eyebrow. “You seem to know a lot about this.”

Auric shrugged as a small smile touched his lips. “The Air God told me some of it. The rest I learned after doing some research before I came here, although I couldn’t find much information overall. I suspect if books about this ever did exist, the Black Dragon had most of that knowledge purged. I’m hoping we can uncover more on this journey.”

“You make all of this sound so easy,” Slade said, as his long fingers rubbed his dark beard. “What happens when the Black Dragon and the others find out about us?”

“Good point,” I said. “I have a hard time seeing any of the Dragons giving up their powers willingly.”

“We’ll try to travel without attracting attention,” Jasin said. “Keep our powers and our mission secret for as long as we can. But we should leave first thing in the morning.”

“What about the last member of our team?” Slade asked.

Jasin shrugged. “He’ll catch up. It’s his problem he wasn’t here on time.”

“The Gods did tell us to be here in exactly one month,” Auric said, his brow furrowing.

They wanted to leave tomorrow? I’d wanted to run, but not yet, and not like this. Certainly not with three complete strangers. “We’re not going anywhere,” I said, rising to my feet. “Not until we know more about what is going on here and what we’re supposed to do next.”

All three men looked like they might argue with me, but I shot them a fierce look and headed for the door. I needed some space, needed to get away from them and everything they represented. Maybe they were destined to be bonded to me, but they weren’t my mates yet. I didn’t know a damn thing about them, I hadn’t chosen them, and I certainly wasn’t going off on some dangerous quest with them.

I found Tash in the kitchen, stirring a stew with a long ladle. As soon as I entered, she spun around. “What’s going on? Who are those men? Why are they here?”