Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

By the time Damon reappeared, Autumn had already forgotten all about her trip Iceland that had been cut short, although she immediately froze when Damon’s phone rang, almost as soon as they’d stepped away from the crowd.

Was it the other dragons he’d mentioned? Had they made it to Iceland?

Damon gave her a small nod as he listened, his hand searching out hers. He pressed it in reassurance as he led her back up onto the hill, this time by a narrow path that curved through an orchard.

“I can’t meet you,” he said into his phone. “I’m sorry. I’m no longer in Iceland.”

He listened for a moment, then shook his head. “Timothy—shut up. I’m sorry, but I won’t argue with you now. There are more important things at stake. I found my mate in Iceland. We were attacked three times. With every attack, more fire dragons showed up. They trailed us even to the cabin by the lake I’d rented from the Icelandic dragons. You know where—? Okay. That’s where we last saw them. Five of them, attacking from the air. Attacking dragon territory.”

Again Damon fell silent for a moment. There was a crease between his brows; he didn’t seem happy with what he heard.

“No. We’re in Dragon Springs now. She’s safe here. I won’t—”

He frowned as he was interrupted.

“No,” he said after a moment, his voice firm. “I don’t care if you hate Iceland, someone needs to keep up the search. I’m not going back, not with my mate targeted by them. Keep searching. Follow any rumors. When you’re done, I’ll come to Sky Home, and then we can talk.”

Damon shook his head when he ended the call.

“The water dragon,” he said at Autumn’s questioning look. “The worst of the bunch. The storm dragon has settled down since he found his mate, but water and I, we never got along.”

“Are they going to deal with those dragons, do you think?” The memory of the fire dragons appearing from out of nowhere made Autumn instinctively check the sky, even though they weren’t even on the same continent anymore.

“If they can find them.” Damon slung his arm around her shoulder as he continued to lead her up the hill. “But I think the time of hiding is over. They want revenge. They won’t be able to resist the chance to take a go at two council dragons.”

“Will your friends be okay?” Autumn asked. “Were they asking for help?”

“The water dragon was just complaining because he hates Iceland. He loves beaches, parties, cruises. Spending days flying across ice and mountains isn’t exactly his idea of a good time,” Damon said dryly.

“Sucks to be him.” Autumn grinned at him. “Sounds like he didn’t complain when it was you who had to do the hard work.”

“He can complain all he wants. We all know someone needs to find out more about those fire dragons. And if he’s got to spend a week without wasting his nights in bars and nightclubs, that’s the price that comes with our duty.”

“Duty,” Autumn mumbled.

They’d nearly made it halfway up the hill. A path curved to the right, leading towards Damon’s large mansion. But instead of following it, Damon now led her towards the left, where an alley of trees ran towards a rocky outcrop.

“That’s what makes us different from those fire dragons,” Damon said. “I believe in duty. I was born with the power of one of the elements of the earth. Dragons are rare—elemental dragons are even rarer. Imagine what the world would be like if dragons like me waged war against each other. We’d destroy everything in our way. Perhaps we’d destroy all humans, all shifters—and ultimately each other. It’s not a world I want to live in. I was born with this power to protect what I love. The earth, this town, my friends and family. You. That’s what I believe in.”

Autumn swallowed. She’d never known anyone who talked like Damon did. But then, she’d never known a dragon before.

And having the earth split apart beneath her in Iceland had been a terrifying lesson about the power of dragons.

“What happens next?” she asked quietly.

Everything here seemed so peaceful—but this was a shifter town, and there were fire dragons at large. As much as she’d felt straight away at home here, there was so much more going on.

Damon sighed. “As much as I’d love to spend a week or two showing you all my favorite spots in the hills and the garden, I’ll have to get back to my duty eventually. I’ll need to go to Sky Home. And as my mate, you should come with me. The master of the council will want to meet you.”

“The master of the council? Another dragon?” Autumn asked as Damon led her away from the path.

Instead, he was leading her to a wall of rocks that looked like some giant had randomly dropped them.

She frowned at them. Was that one of the spots Damon wanted her to admire? They were definitely huge rocks, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Damon flashed her a quick grin, tugging her hand, and as she turned towards him, she gasped.

There, in what had looked like a massive wall of rocks, an opening had appeared. The rocks had tumbled against each other in such a way that it had only become visible when she was standing right in front of it.