Damien growled, but as he was about to wrap his arms around me, a man barreled into me from behind.
I flickered incorporeal as I went flying into the Natatorium with the man, and he was no longer able to touch me. I didn't feel the wetness of the water as I stood in it, nor did I feel pain as I got up—and that made me love my power so much more.
Damien's eyes were murderous. “Take care of the dragons. I'll take care of this fucker.”
“Whatever you do, keep Wren safe.” Rowan’s tone was stern, and flames licked up his arms as he stared down the dragons starting to land on the campus.
“Always,” he promised as all of my mates rushed around us.
Damien waded into the water, bent down, and wrapped a hand around the guy's throat who had rammed into me.
The man was definitely a dragon. Green scales formed on his arms, and he roared as Damien’s biceps flexed as he jerked him up.
“You really think you were going to hurt my little bird? Nobody hurts her.” He pulled him closer, tilting his head with a cruel smirk on his lips. “Nobody breathes in her direction wrong and lives. So what do you think is going to happen to you?”
I became corporeal next to them, and Damien's shadows slipped around my waist before pulling me toward him.
He shadow-traveled both me and the dragon, who had ran into me, downstairs into his torture chamber with the door bolted shut.
“Damien, what's happening?” A shiver raced down my spine.
“The dragons are hereagain. That’s what's happening—and none of the seers nor Kian saw it coming, which is fucked, but I bet this guy knows why they’re here.”
“Roak just told us he needed to talk to Rowan,” he sputtered as Damien squeezed his throat.
“How many of you came in your regular form?” Damien’s shadow struck, slicking a horizontal line in the guy's chest. Blood seeped and soaked the fabric of his shirt.
“Only me. I was instructed to grab Rowan’s mate.” He gritted his teeth and looked at me, lust taking over his gaze. “There was another mate to a dragon, but they were deceitful and ran away. Why is it that none of you want to do what the Dragon God wants?”
“Because there is no Dragon God,” I snapped, rage filling me. “Because the only thing you have is a madman for a leader who wants you to take advantage of your fellow dragon’s mates. For some reason, you're sick in the head enough to do it!”
The dragon reeled back as if he wasn't expecting me to speak back to him.
Damien chuckled. “She's got a real good point. Isn't she so cute when she gets worked up?”
“Yeah, she is cute.” His eyes slid down my body again, and I shivered.
Damien's shadow tendrils shot forward and popped both of his eyes out in one go. The red flesh held them to the eye sockets as they bounced against his cheeks.
The dragon stifled his scream, a low growl coming out instead.
His scales spread more, covering his body before Damien used his telekinesis to keep him from shifting.
“You don’t get to look at her. She’s mine. Isn't that right, little bird?” Damien's words ended on a purr as his gaze slid to me.
My heart fluttered. “That's right.”
Should I have found it attractive that he gouged a man's eyes out for looking at me? Probably not. Did I, though? Absolutely. Because it was Damien.
I bit down on my lip as Damien's shadows started to slice at his skin.
“You wanted to touch her, didn't you?” He growled. “You all do. It’s why Rowan is so fucking scared of you bastards getting her.” A guttural growl tore from Damien as the guy nodded his head.
“You're not going to be able to feel anything. I'm going to strip you of all of your nerve endings, cut out your tongue, and bust your eardrums so you have no senses at all until you bleed out.”
“We’re dragons. We regenerate.” The dragon chuckled darkly, his eye sockets trained on me, even though I knew he couldn’t see me anymore, and it sent a chill through me. I stepped behind Damien to shield me from the two black holes in his face.
“Maybe you can, shit. I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me. I'll just crush your skull until your brain is mush.”
