Devlin growled. “I was a contender for leadership. I have exceptional skills.”
“You were an apt student, but you lacked compassion for your fellow dragons and your thirst for power turned you dark. Now, you have no mate, no druids to torture and no future.”
Devlin threw a blast of power in Legion’s face. It stung his scales and angered his dragon, but was equivalent to a sun burn. “You will die, screaming out your whore druid’s name!”
Legion took a lengthy breath, feigning boredom. “You said that before. Is your brain so addled by time, you can’t come up with original material?”
“You will remember this day, Legion. I warned you about the dark force that seeks the temple and the death of the druids who would see to its resurrection.”
Legion flicked a burning piece of paper from his shoulder. “The dark mage. I am aware.”
Devlin’s eyes went wide. “How do you know about Allorin?”
Legion’s eyes narrowed. “His name is Allorin?”
Devlin huffed. “How quaint. Your mother annihilated his entire race, and you don’t know his name. It doesn’t matter. He knows you. He knows you are the spawn of the druid who killed his father.”
“Allorin should have died in the blast. All underlings were in the Mage stronghold when the bomb detonated. There was nothing left.”
Devlin sneered. “You walked from that devastation.”
“Yes, but no other survived.”
Devlin glanced at the damaged bookcase. “It’s true it destroyed his body, but Allorin was smart enough to secure an alternative for his magic and his consciousness.”
“Adara,” Legion growled.
“Yes. He thought he had your destruction in his hands. That once you went dark, the entire Rule clan would follow. He made it impossible for her to bond with you. He never expected she would sacrifice herself and the temple to save you.”
Legion tracked Devlin’s movements. He leapt at the dark dragon the moment he reached for the bookcase. It was a replica of the latch in the gallery, with a private room behind. Legion tackled Devlin, propelling them through the swinging bookcase to the other room.
He punched the flailing man out of spite and anger. Recognizing the need to lash out at the messenger of pain and destruction. Every betrayal he had blamed on Adara had been his own. His fury rose like a living flame, burning hotter than dragon fire. His magic burst from him with the intensity of the bomb that had shaped his life.
Devlin screamed as it encased him in a nuclear explosion. Contained within that small room, its force was relentless. Legion’s shields were infallible as the heat continued to rise. Devlin’s face burned away first, exposing bone and cauterized tissue before his body exploded into a fiery ash.
Legion stood, reigning in his magic as the surrounding heat subsided. He looked at the charred floor beneath his feet as Mara shimmered in his mind.
Are you okay? Your dragon is sad. Was Devlin once a friend?
Devlin was never a friend. Even when he was part of the Rule clan. He replayed the conversation in his head. She saw everything. His mistake. His anger. His pain.
Legion, Adara didn’t know she was being manipulated any more than you did. Don’t let the gift she gave you go to waste. It gave you time to become the leader you needed to be. To learn. To prepare. Everything you lost can be yours once again.
Legion’s head came up. That didn’t sound like you, Mara. It sounded like...
The old me. I know. It’s the temple. She infuses me with her knowledge sometimes and did the same thing with Adara. I’m still me, but it’s like I am sharing the temple’s knowledge.
Is she still with you?
No. She connected while you were fighting.
I love you, Mara. You have given everything for me and the dragon species. I will spend eternity bringing joy and pleasure into your life.
I saw something else while you were busy turning Devlin into crispy fried dragon.
Legion’s lip twitched, astounded his mate could cause amusement in such a circumstance. For all his power, her kindness, her wit and her love, were more than the greatest of magics. He was smiling when he felt the malevolence pass over him.
He turned as Conner entered the room. “What was that?”
Conner inspected the charred circle at the center of the room. “I was about to ask you that? Where is Devlin’s body?”
Legion rolled his shoulders. “I incinerated him.”
Conner’s eyes widened. “How do you incinerate a dragon?”
Legion sighed. “I absorbed the power of the druid bomb when it exploded. “I have never called on that power, but Devlin incensed my dragon. I kept the blast confined within this room.”
Conner rubbed his forehead. “Fuck me.”
“No thank you.” Legion said with a straight face.
Conner’s jaw dropped. “Did you just make a joke?”
Legion shrugged. “Let’s go. Mara saw a gray book we need to retrieve. It was likely dislodged when Devlin slammed against the book case.”
The men surveyed the devastated room with books and burned wood littering the floor. Legion connected with Mara. Show me an image of this book we are looking for. The image of the gray tome with Sanskrit writing on the front popped into his mind.
Legion saw the book in the corner. A corner was singed, but would not affect the writings contained within. What is the significance of this book?
I don’t know. All I can say is the temple showed it to me. It once resided within the temple’s walls.
Is there anything else here we need?
No. Natalie is waking up. Come home to me. I miss you. She disconnected from him.
He left the house, reveling in the power of those last three words. He shifted into the night, letting his dragon soar, basking in the future he had lost faith in and the one woman that never lost faith in him.
Chapter 24
Mara opened her eyes when Legion crawled into bed with her. His hand slid over the curve of her hip. She smiled at the low growl of approval, when he discovered she wore nothing
