Betrayed (Elesian Dragon Mates Book 2) Read online

  Betrayed

  Elesian Dragon Mates - Book 2

  Sammie Joyce

  Contents

  Betrayed

  Sammie Joyce

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Get the Prequel - Shifting Seasons Series

  About Sammie Joyce

  Copyright © 2020 by Sammie Joyce

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover design by JJ's Design & Creations

  Betrayed

  Elesian Dragon Mates - Book 2

  Sammie Joyce

  Chapter One

  Rose cheered as Jagger blasted a huge flame into the air.

  “Thirty feet, that’s a record!” Annabelle was managing the spell set up to measure flame heights. There were a couple of other witches gathered around to watch. It was important for the dragons to practice their skills, but it was perhaps even more important for the witches to get used to seeing them in action.

  Asher had suggested making the whole thing a game, to add a more lighthearted air. In the nine months since the witches and dragons had united and merged into a single coven, they had made a lot of progress, but thousands of years of hatred and mistrust were difficult to overcome.

  Rose had approved the idea, but she hadn’t taken into account how competitive her dragons were.

  “That was cheating, he was standing closer to the spell’s base than any of the rest of us.” Gavin folded his arms, glaring at Jagger.

  Rose just rolled her eyes. Gavin always tended to assume the worst. A lot of the witches didn’t like him because he seemed constantly sullen, but she understood his attitude. They had all been through a lot, and everyone dealt with it differently.

  When he was alone with her, Gavin smiled more and revealed a softer side. Rose walked over to him. “It’s just a game, Gavin. Relax, we’re here to have fun.”

  “I’ll show him,” Gavin muttered, moving closer to the spell’s base. Rose stepped back, giving him space to shift into his dragon form. All four of the dragons were beautiful in their true forms. Their scales gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

  Gavin was a deep purple, which contrasted strongly with Jagger’s red. In their human forms, the twins looked quite similar, but their dragon forms were as different as their personalities.

  Rose glanced around to see just Asher close to her. As Gavin let loose his flame, she whispered a quiet word. The spell did its job, amplifying Gavin’s flame just enough to let it reach the thirty-one-foot mark.

  Asher winked at her. He was the leader of the dragons and knew the value of keeping everyone happy. Jagger was constantly laughing and joking; he never took anything seriously. He wouldn’t mind losing the competition.

  The one thing he did take seriously was protecting Rose—all of them did. Rose had never thought she’d end up the mate of four dragons, but she honestly couldn’t be happier. She couldn’t imagine her life without them.

  In the last nine months, she’d made good progress on learning to use her powers. Besides, she always felt more confident with her dragons by her side.

  “And that’s a new record!” Annabelle recorded the height on the clipboard she was using. “Mace, you’re up next. Then we’ll start using witches to amplify the flames and see how high we can get. Everyone start getting into pairs. Not you, Rose, you’ll be sitting this one out.”

  That was probably a wise decision. At the mention of pairs, all four of her dragons were suddenly looking at her possessively. Rose didn’t put it past them to get into a brawl over who got to pair with her.

  “Annabelle is right, you all go find someone.”

  All of them scowled at her. Mace shifted to his dragon form, belting out a column of flame at twenty-five feet.

  “Way to go, Mace!” Rose cheered. Mace was smaller than his brothers, and not as strong in a fight. He tended to get overshadowed by the others, so Rose always made an effort to make sure he knew he was recognized and valued.

  Sometimes when she needed a break, she’d seek out alone time with Mace. He was refreshing—not as assertive and possessive as the other dragons. When he thought she was in danger, though, he could turn lethal in her defense as easily as any of them.

  Asher and Gavin were now bickering over who got to pair with Maria. Maria was leading the coven for now. Rose was the rightful leader, but she had a long way to go before she was ready for that, and had been grateful for Maria’s offer to run things for now.

  As was the requirement for any coven leader, Maria was one of the most powerful witches here. She was also the coven healer, a position that gained her much prestige and gratitude.

  “Right, that’s it, random selections.” Rose stepped between Asher and Gavin, who looked like they might start shooting sparks out of their eyes at each other. “Let’s have four witches who’re willing to help put their names on paper, and I’ll do a random draw.”

  Jade, Maria, Elaine, and Wendy stepped up. Everyone watched with interest as Rose did the draw. Maria was paired with Mace, Elaine with Jagger, Wendy with Gavin, and Jade with Asher. Gavin made a sour face. Jade and Wendy were both relatively inexperienced witches, on a similar level to Rose.

  “Right, let’s go!”

  The crowd around them was growing. Now that the witches were involved in the casting, there was a lot more interest from the rest of the coven. Later, they would rotate different witches and dragons in.

  They had three rounds before averaging the results. Asher and Elaine came first, followed by Maria and Mace, then Jagger and Wendy. Gavin scowled at Jade, as if it had been her fault they came in fourth.

  “Excellent work, everyone!” Maria led the applause, giving it time to die down before she continued. “Now, for the next round. We have Max, Dane, Haro!”

  The three dragons stepped forward. Rose recognized them as the three who had been held in the neighboring coven, before the covens merged and the dragons were given their freedom. They were all part of the Areva coven now.

  Jagger flopped down on one of the chairs set out on the grass, pulling Rose into his lap. She squeaked in surprise, but quickly got comfortable, putting her arms around his neck and leaning against his chest.

  They watched and cheered, sampling bits of the food on the trays floating around. The dragons had helped with that spell. They had some magic of their own, though not as comprehensive as witches had—their main powers were their strength, speed, senses, and of course, their ability to shift into dragons.

  When it was time to pair up, Annabelle hurried forward to Dane’s side. He put an arm around her, whispering something in her ear.

  Be lucky you can’t hear that far, Jagger told Rose, grinning. Rose had finally gotten used to how she could talk to her dragons in her mind, as well as aloud. That’s the kind of promise that should only be made in the bedroom.

  What? I didn’t realize they were together!

  Neither did I, but it’s excellent teasing material. I never thought I’d see another witch fall for a dragon. You should never let her hear the end of this.

  She was the first one to believe me
about you, that you’re not evil, Rose reproached, but she wasn’t really annoyed. Jagger thought everything was a joke; getting him to try to take something seriously was often a battle, and not one Rose cared to fight. She loved him as he was, and she never tired of laughing at his antics.

  As the dragons did their solo flame displays, Rose took a moment to take stock of her dragons. She couldn’t just hear their thoughts; she could feel their emotions. She’d learned to block them out, for the most part, as feeling the emotions of four different people could be overwhelming. When she concentrated, though, she could tell what they were feeling.

  They frequently did similar check-ins with her. When emotions were heightened, Rose found them more difficult to block out, but she was learning. It was also possible for the dragons to block themselves off from her, but none of them did. All five of them agreed they were better off when they were on the same page.

  Mace was content with watching the competition, glad he had held his own against his brothers in the final round. Asher looked proudly around at the dragons and witches, impressed with how they were cooperating with each other.

  Jagger’s thoughts were dwelling on the feeling of Rose on his lap. She grinned and wriggled her ass a little.

  You naught little creature, he teased. If you’re not careful, I’ll have to throw you over my shoulder and carry you straight to bed.

  That doesn’t sound half bad.

  Yes, it does, Asher spoke up. We need to be here to support everyone.

  Rose wriggled harder. She could feel Asher mentally rolling his eyes, struggling between urging them to stop and coming over to kiss her.

  Gavin kept his eyes on the competing dragons and witches, watching sourly. He seemed in an even worse mood than usual.

  What’s up? Rose asked him.

  Nothing.

  Don’t be like that. Come on, tell me. She made the subtle shift so that they were communicating privately, where none of the other brothers could overhear. It had taken her a bit of practice to get it right, but it had been worth it.

  I’m fine.

  You don’t sound fine.

  Gavin didn’t respond. Rose disentangled herself from Jagger and went over to where Gavin was standing slightly apart from the others. She came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

  “Talk to me.”

  Gavin didn’t respond, but he put his hands over hers, some of the tension going out of his shoulders. They stood like that in comfortable silence. Rose may not have known what was bothering him, but she wasn’t afraid of his dark moods.

  Annabelle and Dane set a new record at fifty feet with their pairing in the fire shooting.

  Asher beckoned Rose over. He was probably thinking along the same lines as her.

  She joined him and Maria. Asher was just explaining to Maria that Annabelle and Dane were a couple. If Maria was surprised, she hid it well.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Rose took Asher’s hand, but her gaze was on Annabelle and Dane.

  “Definitely.” Asher explained for Maria’s benefit. “We know that the four of us are stronger with Rose, and she with us. What if a romantic connection between partners makes their magic more powerful?”

  “It’s worth looking into. Of course, I can’t very well ask people to announce their relationships. People—both witches and dragons—are still a little uncomfortable with the merge, even though they accept that it’s necessary. I’m sure that’s why Annabelle and Dane haven’t made themselves public; they want to avoid unnecessary judgment.”

  “Annabelle may want that, but Dane obviously isn’t worried.” Asher glanced around, fully aware that every dragon on the lawn could hear him, even though he was speaking in a low voice.

  Maria frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Dragon hearing, remember? Let’s just say that Dane made a comment to Annabelle that made it all too obvious to anyone in hearing range that they are together.”

  “I’ll have to remind Annabelle. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, just how much better dragon hearing is than ours.” Rose knew that all too well—she’d received no small amount of teasing from Jagger on the issue. Kissing him generally worked to shut him up.

  “I’ll encourage the witches to tell me privately if they’re in a relationship with any of the dragons. Maybe they’ll be okay with doing it if I promise not to spread the information around.”

  “I’ll do the same with the dragons. We should also track close friendships between witches and dragons, and the corresponding power—there may be a similar effect for any kind of emotional connection.”

  Maria and Asher were engrossed in the discussion, but Rose’s attention was caught by Gavin and Jagger.

  On the outside, it just looked like they were engaged in cheerful banter, but she could feel that Gavin was seething under the surface. She hurried over.

  “It’s not cheating if no one gets caught!” Jagger insisted, mirth dancing in his eyes.

  “You just want to make yourself seem bigger and better than you are in front of Rose! Insecure much, brother?”

  “Ha, I’m not the one who can’t go an hour without her without becoming a grumpy, hibernating bear.”

  Jagger was joking, of course, as he always was, but it seemed he’d struck a nerve. Gavin did tend to become touchy and aggressive—it had always been like that. He softened around Rose, though, so she made sure to check on him often. It was hardly a chore, taking care of someone she loved. Gavin did the same for her.

  He wasn’t impressed with Jagger’s comment, though. “Maybe she’s just escaping the clan idiot who can’t even take himself seriously!”

  “Alright, guys, I think that’s enough for now. Gavin, I could use a drink. Do you mind?”

  Usually, Gavin wouldn’t hesitate to do anything for her, but now he was glaring at Jagger.

  “We all need some laughter around here with your sour face to look at.”

  Rose rolled her eyes. Sometimes, she really wished Jagger knew when to let a joke go.

  Gavin lunged for his brother, knocking him to the ground. At first taken aback, Jagger quickly caught on, punching Gavin in the middle. Gavin seemed like a man possessed. He grabbed Jagger by the throat, slamming his head against the ground.

  The two of them getting into tussles wasn’t uncommon, but this was something else. They never really hurt each other. This time was different. Gavin looked like he was going to kill Jagger.

  “Stop it, stop it!” Rose grabbed Gavin’s arm, trying to pull him away, but she wasn’t nearly strong enough.

  She could feel Jagger struggling. His air was being cut off and he was starting to panic. She realized what was going to happen a second before it did.

  Rose leapt aside just in time. Mace was there and threw himself on top of her.

  Jagger exploded into his dragon form, way too close to Gavin, Rose, and Mace to be safe.

  His spiked tail swept around and would have impaled Rose if Mace hadn’t been on top of her. He managed to deflect some of the blow with his arm, but grunted in pain as a spike caused a deep gash in his forearm.

  Rose was barely aware of that; all of her concentration was focused on Gavin.

  He was impaled through his torso and legs on three of Jagger’s back spikes. His blood was running down Jagger’s scales.

  STOP!

  Asher’s command had Jagger and Mace freezing in place. Gavin seemed to be unconscious.

  Rose scrambled out from under Mace and pulled herself onto Jagger’s back. Asher was right beside her. Together, they lifted Gavin off and laid him on the ground.

  Jagger shifted back to his human form. He was unhurt, but his face was white and he looked like he was about to faint. Mace quickly went to his side, putting a supporting arm around him and speaking words of comfort.

  Rose fell to her knees beside Gavin, pressing her hands to his bleeding torso. He was barely breathing. She realized that she was screaming, b
ut forced herself to stop. She had to heal him. She’d only learned basic healing spells so far, which wouldn’t be nearly enough, but she had to try.

  Someone was dragging her away. Rose shrieked and struggled until she realized it was Asher. Maria had already taken her place at Gavin’s side.

  “Let Maria handle it.” Asher hauled her further away, giving Maria space as she worked over Gavin. “She’s the healer, she is better suited to this job.”

  Logic finally filtered into Rose’s brain. She let herself go limp in Asher’s grasp as she stopped fighting. Terror for Gavin snatched at her breath. What if he didn’t make it?

  Chapter Two

  Asher handed her over to Mace, who was pressing a hand to his bleeding shoulder. He put his other arm around her. “He’ll be okay, Rose. Maria will help him.”

  Elaine hurried over. “I can take care of that, Mace.”

  Mace didn’t hesitate, moving his hand and letting her poke and prod his shoulder. Rose didn’t recognize the incantation Elaine used; it was a more advanced healing spell than the simple one she knew.

  Within moments, Mace’s wound was closed up.

  “Thanks, Elaine.”

  “No problem. I’ll go help Maria.”

  Rose couldn’t see anything except Gavin’s feet with the two witches kneeling next to him. She was so focused on him that she didn’t see anything else until a roaring noise had her gaze jerking from Gavin to Jagger.

  Asher was hauling him away from his brother while Jagger struggled with all his might.

  Rose hurried forward, taking one of Jagger’s hands. “Jagger, it’s okay. Maria and Elaine are working on him. Give them space; they can’t concentrate as well with you there.”