Mated to the Earth Dragon (Elemental Mates 2)

They stared at each other. Then Damon grimly shook his head.

&nbs

p; “What happened? Ginny’s not in here with you?”

“We helped her escape through the ventilation shaft,” Braeden said, giving Damon a challenging look. “She was the only one small enough to fit. I guess you’ve realized by now that the attack on the chimera was just to keep you distracted?”

“You claim that their real plan was to get to you all along,” Damon said slowly. “Why should I believe you? Why would they want to kill you?”

Braeden shrugged. “Your mate heard them. And isn’t it obvious? They’re protecting our secrets. I won’t be able to tell you anything of use if I’m dead.”

“So you do know important things,” Damon began, only to be interrupted by Autumn.

“Can’t your quarreling wait?” she said impatiently. “We need to find Ginny! What if she ran into more of those dragons?”

Damon shook his head. “This was all of them. The shadow of smoke has lifted. I can see the entire mountain now—everything is as it should be.”

In fact, he saw more clearly than ever before, the gentle song of rock and metal now nearly a roar in his head.

He grimaced, resisting the urge to rub his aching eyes. He’d be able to rest soon enough. For now, he couldn’t show any weakness in front of their enemy.

“I can see her,” Damon said finally. The stone sang to him of the path tiny feet had taken, scurrying through tunnel after tunnel until at last, she’d made it to the council chamber. “She’s with the chimera.”

Damon took another deep breath. He forced the building headache away as he sent a burst of his new power through the rock, straight to the council chamber where the chimera had in turn just begun to reach out with his own powers.

Wait, Damon answered. We’ll come to you. They’ve been defeated—for now.

The chimera sent back an impatient acknowledgment that echoed in Damon’s head, making him grimace again.

Perhaps he’d overdone it. He’d never used so much power before. But then, he’d fight a hundred fire dragons to save his mate. What was a headache when he finally had Autumn back by his side?

“We’re meeting him in the council chamber. And you—you’re coming along.” Damon gave Braeden a suspicious look.

Dragonsbane or not, he didn’t like the fact that their prisoner had made it past his stone bars.

Damon would have to use more of his powers and repair the cell before they could feel safe again. But that could wait until later.

Chapter Twenty-one: Autumn

The council chamber was lit in an eerie red. Here and there, rocks that had been heated by the fire dragons’ attack were still glowing like giant embers.

One after the other, they were snuffed out like candles—by Damon, Autumn assumed.

The strength of the earth was still vibrating through him. Autumn could feel it through the bond, which seemed to have grown even stronger.

Or maybe it was just the energy coming off Damon in uncontrolled bursts. It was so strong that she could feel it against her skin, a pulsating something that made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

Like electricity, but deeper, older—more powerful.

She gave him a worried look. Surely now that the attack was over and the fire dragons had retreated, Damon could rest?

She could feel his weariness through the bond as well. Of course, it would be just like him to cling to his sense of duty even past exhaustion...

Well, she might love him for his loyalty to what he thought was right, but that didn’t mean she’d let him work himself into a burnout.

She grabbed his hand and pressed it tightly. “After this, we rest. I’m exhausted, and so are you.”

He gave her an almost surprised look, which quickly turned into gratefulness. Now that she held his hand, it felt like the random bursts of energy sizzling against her skin had weakened a little.