Guarding Her Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 17) Read online

  Laughing despite his frustration at the intrusion, Quinn picked Elsa up off the floor before she could object, raced towards the door grabbing Olivia on his way past and making her squeal in delight and after kicking the barn door closed used his enhanced speed to get them inside the kitchen of the cottage and out of the blizzard that was about to begin within just a few seconds. Setting the girls on the ground he grinned as Elsa’s sister giggled, “Thank you,” and then laughed out loud as his mate grumbled, “Show off.”

  The sound of Carolyn talking had them abandoning their fun and heading to the living room. Nodding in their direction, the matriarch said, “Okay Mother, Elsa is here. What do you need to tell us?”

  As Alara spoke, the depth and strength of her power filled the room. Her deep contralto tone and formal speech reminded Quinn of a time long passed. “I share this confidence with you only because I now believe your survival, as well as that of many of our Elven brothers and sisters, depends upon you knowing the truth. Be it understood that under penalty of exile from not only our Troupe but also the Elven race, this information is not to be shared with anyone not of Elven blood, save the Guardsman, Quinn MacKenna, who shares the bond of mates with the daughter of my daughter, Elsa Arianna O’Leary.”

  There was a pause in which Quinn could feel the tension in the room rise. He watched the eyes of each of the elves stayed glued to the large glowing piece of violet quartz as it pulsed. Finally, Alara began again, “This is difficult to say but there was a time in my youth when I was weak. I strayed from the path of our Queen and our kind and in the end found myself lost, alone and with child.”

  Several of Elsa’s sisters gasped, others covered their mouths but it was Elsa, the woman whose strength he admired above all others, who asked, “What exactly are you saying, Alara?”

  After several heartbeats in which Quinn wondered if anyone was even breathing, Alara said, “My dear child, your Auntie Geneva’s father was a gnome.”

  Chapter Nine

  “You have got to be freakin’ kidding me!” Elsa was sure her head might explode from the overload of shock so she kept right on screaming in the hope of relieving a little of the pressure. “Exactly when were you going to tell us? After she’d turned us all into toads?”

  “Elsa!” Carolyn reprimanded. “Show Alara your respect.”

  “Elsa’s right, Mom. We should’ve known,” Mona piped up.

  “Dang, this is worse than stepping in a steaming pile of reindeer poop,” Penelope complained.

  “What the heck? Wrong…so wrong,” Harmony whined, wringing her hands.

  “Toads? I wouldn’t put it past that bitch to turn us into fleas,” Harmony growled.

  Not to be left out Muriel added, “Or the amoebas on fleas.”

  “I say we kick her ass and turn her into a big blubbery walrus. The bitch is always worrying about her figure. That’ll fix her,” Olivia plotted.

  “I’m all for an old-fashioned lynching,” Ivey fumed.

  Listening to her sisters fire off their ideas of retribution like bullets from a AK-47 made Elsa smile but her levity was short lived when Alara’s voice boomed through the room.

  “ENOUGH!” Utter quiet followed the echo of her magical voice and after a few seconds of ear-ringing silence, the Elven Prime Minister addressed her grandchildren. “Again, I deeply regret keeping this information from you but at this point, the past cannot be changed, we have to move forward. I understand your need to lash out, but that too, will have to wait. There are things you need to know about Geneva’s father and the powers I now see she inherited from him. It will make a difference in how you must deal with her.”

  Elsa bit her tongue as the need to tell her dear old grandma that she, Alara, should be the one dealing with Geneva and not leaving it to them grew like a snowball rolling down a mountain. It was Alara’s mess, one she should’ve taken care of long ago, instead of hiding in her mound and pretending all was right with the world, playing royal games. It was not something the O’Learys should have to deal with, but as usual, Granny was dropping the penguin poop at their feet and asking them to clean it up while ignoring the smell.

  Just as the elf thought she could take no more, Quinn’s fingers threaded through hers and with one gentle squeeze he eased her tensions. Looking up at him, she mouthed, “Thank you”, as Alara continued.

  “Rudolph, Geneva’s father, was the Keeper of the Gold, a very powerful gnome among his family. Because of this he was able to mask his true nature and appear as an elf at will. When I met him I was immediately enchanted. I fell madly in love and when I awoke some months later to find him gone and myself with child, I still did not know of his true nature. It was not until Geneva was born with rounded ears that I began to suspect the truth. Then within days of her birth, her eyes turned to onyx and her eye teeth grew in like fangs.”

  “Fearing for my child’s life at the hands of our queen, I made my way to the most powerful sorceress in the land. Once there, I had to agree to the only payment she would take. I agreed that if she would use her great magic to make Geneva appear wholly elven, I would, in turn, give her half the enchantment from the next seven children born into my line.”

  “The deal was struck. With the wave of her hand my baby was fixed and I returned home with stories of a warrior mate who didn’t exist and his heroic death on the battlefield. Years passed and then I met your father, Carolyn. It was true love at first sight this time. Devereau was my one true mate, the man I was destined to spend my life with. Our whirlwind courtship and mating was legendary and within a year I had you, my beautifully perfect daughter. All thoughts of the old sorceress and our pact were forgotten.”

  Alara paused and Elsa looked around the room at her sisters. So many things that had troubled the elf since the day she could walk and talk were beginning to make sense and from the looks on her siblings’ faces they too, were putting the pieces of the puzzle together and figuring out how righteously screwed they had been by dear old Grammy.

  Before Elsa could speak, Alara continued, “It wasn’t until your mother became pregnant with you, Elsa, that I began to suspect Geneva was keeping secrets, that she had succumbed to the dark side of her nature. Then when you were born and I held you in my arms at your christening, felt the powerful magic flowing through your veins and it all came rushing back. I know you don’t believe me, or want to, but I am truly sorry. Forgive an old woman her folly. I tucked away the pain and misdeeds of the past and simply wished them away.”

  “But now they are back to bite us in the ass while you sit on your throne in the Mound at Court. What would the Queen think of what you’ve done? What would all those who think of you as their next leader, the Golden One, do if they knew the truth?” Elsa spat, unable to hold her tongue any longer.

  Letting go of Quinn’s hand, she moved closer to the stone and went on, “You deprived my mother and my sisters of most of their magic, their birthright as elves. You took that from them. Not to mention, the fact that I had to feel like a freak for having abilities and finally, lock away my enchantment.”

  She reached the table and leaned over the stone, well aware that her grandmother could see her face, as well as hear her rage. “You made us all pay so that a crazy bitch Halfling of yours could have her life. A life she wasted. A life she gave to the dark.” Elsa seethed. “And now she’s coming after me. That’s what you were about to say, isn’t it? If she can’t take my magic, she’s gonna try to kill me. Right, Grandma?” She spat her last question, using the name they were never to call Alara, before spinning on her toes and pacing the length of the living room.

  Afraid to look at her sisters, needing to come up with a plan as her mother continued to talk to Alara, Elsa paced back and forth with her head down until she rammed right into the wonderfully muscular chest of her mate. Throwing her head back, she looked all the way up to his handsome face relieved to find a loving smile and knowing look in the depth of his eyes.

  “You are not in this alone.” H
is warm, caring hands closed over her shoulders, massaging away some of the tension. “Look around you.” She glanced to the side as he continued, “They all love you and want to help.”

  He leaned down into her line of sight and murmured, “And you have me…you always have me.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. Although they hadn’t known each other long and he was old and needed a crash course in pop culture, Elsa had to admit she was falling candy canes, tinsel and Christmas bells for her dragon. Alara may have royally screwed the elf’s past but with Quinn by her side, the future was all sugar plums and twinkly lights.

  “And…” Alara’s voice filled the room, “I will do whatever you need to help.”

  Elsa thought about lashing out. She wanted to tell her grandmother where she could stick her help. Wanted to scream that it was over four hundred and eighty years too late, but as she looked at her mother, who was putting on a brave face, and her sisters, who were ready to fight to the death by her side, the elf could only take a deep breath and nod, “Alright this is the plan…”

  As she turned to face her sisters, the elf watched Quinn out of the corner of her eye. She saw him stare out at the window as the snow began to fall and felt an odd stirring in her mind. Trying to stay focused on speaking with her family, Elsa soon had to ask them to wait as she went to her dragon’s side.

  Touching his arm, she mouthed, “What are you doing?”

  Tapping his temple, Quinn smiled just as she heard the sound of his voice in her head. “Doxie? You there? Can you hear me?”

  Grinning from ear-to-ear, Elsa pulled at his arm as she stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, whispering, “Thank you so much.”

  “Don’t thank me yet. I’m not sure it’s working.”

  Closing her eyes, the elf lent not only her power but also her voice to that of her mate’s and together, they called, “Doxie? It’s Quinn. Are you there?”

  It was the first time she’d ever used her new ability and it felt a little weird, a bit disconcerting, but really cool all at the same time. The longer they went without an answer, the more she could feel Quinn’s worry. He felt like he was letting her down, but more than that, he was beginning to think he had lost his ability to communicate with his brethren or that Heavens forbid, they were dead.

  Pushing more of her power into their communication and letting her undying belief in her dragon flow through their mating bond, Elsa prayed to the Goddess that this man Quinn loved like a brother would answer. Long tense minutes ticked by. She listened to her sisters hashing over and adding to the plan she’d given them while continuing to pour power into the connection she felt her dragon shared with the others of his kind.

  Quinn’s dragon locked eyes with her. She felt him opening the link between them, giving her control of not only his pure white dragon magic but that of the bond he shared with both her and her mate. Closing her eyes, holding tight to the immense power at her disposal, Elsa pulled the image of the man her dragon called Doxie from his mind. Grinned as the words grumpy and pain in the butt followed the image. She could feel the love and comradery these men shared, knew without question they would lay down their lives for one another. It was the same way she felt about her sisters. They made her ears twitch most of the time, but she would defend them to the death.

  One more push and POW! The bond Quinn shared with his brothers burst to life. Pictures of men she’d never met but somehow already felt as though she knew burst into her mind. Their names, the stories of their lives and the time they’d shared with her mate all came rushing at her immediately followed by a low grumble of disbelief. “Quinn? Q? That you?”

  Pure delight filled the bond she shared with Quinn. His dragon roared at the reunion with another of his kin as her mate quickly answered, “Hell yeah, it’s me. Don’t tell me you forgot about me already.”

  “Never,” the one whose real name was Maddox replied with a smile in his voice. “Damn glad to hear from you. Now, open up the link with the others. They’re driving me nuts to talk to you.”

  Feeling a slight shift in her mind as the bond her mate shared with his brothers simultaneously grew brighter and wider, Elsa jumped as three deep voices boomed in unison, “Quinn!” Then a single low baritone added, “Oh my Heavens, it is good to hear your voice, Q. I never gave up hope.”

  The name Drago, along with feelings of immense loyalty and deep respect filled Quinn’s consciousness as visions of the man he called Commander swam into view. She could see immense strength and intelligence in the depth of his dark eyes and his commitment to his men in the straight set of his shoulders.

  “I’m here, Commander. What of the others?” Quinn was quick to ask.

  “Kayne and Kyran are here with me. The first to find their way home. Where are you, lad?”

  Elsa smirked at the use of the word ‘lad’ to describe a hundred-and-eighty-seven-year-old dragon but was overjoyed that her mate had reconnected with his brethren. Listening to the men catch up, hearing that some had found their mates just as she and Quinn had found one another and meeting those he called brother, at least through their mindspeak, was a wonderful experience but she couldn’t help her growing anxiety at the impending blizzard and the threat of her crazy auntie. She wished her dad had made it home but was glad he was safe in the village with one of their family friends.

  “We have a bit of a problem here. One I am sure you lot will want to help rectify.” Elsa laughed at the way Quinn’s accent and speech pattern had gone back to the way they were when he’d first awakened after only a few minutes of talking with his friends.

  “Do tell,” the one called Kayne chuckled.

  “I have had the pleasure,” Quinn’s last word dripped with sarcasm as he raised his eyebrows at her, “meeting the witch, or rather I should say gnome Halfling, who cursed us all.”

  Outraged, they all cursed, some in Gaelic, some in English but all with a vehemence that assured the men wanted in on the fight. Kyran, the one Quinn continued to call Phantom in his mind spoke with a thick Gaelic accent and asked, “Shoo us th' coordinates 'n' we'll be in flight as soon as th' sun goes doon.”

  Looking at her, he winked as he said, “I don’t have a clue where I am but this is Elsa, my beautiful mate, and she will show you the way.”

  Surprised, shocked and completely embarrassed, Elsa tried hard not to blush at the image of her Quinn showed his brothers. Her mate definitely had what her sister Harmony called ‘love goggles’ if that was how he saw her. It was both flattering and intimidating and something she added to the list of things she wanted to talk to him about as she said, “Hi there.”

  Her grin grew as they all welcomed her not only in words but with unconditional acceptance and friendship. Working hard not to be overwhelmed, she went on, “I’m really new to this whole mindspeak thing but here’s a bird’s eye view of our neck of the woods from a picture my Uncle Brutus sent us last year from his crop duster.”

  The dragons immediately began discussing a strategy for getting to the cottage as quickly as possible as her sisters’ discussion grew louder and more hostile just over her shoulder. Excusing herself, Elsa turned from Quinn and hurried across the living room at the same time Mona growled, “I am the oldest, I will take the lead.”

  “No, Penelope and I are better at holding our spells. We can create a wall of snow while you and Muriel throw those fireballs you’re so good at.” Harmony countered.

  “Okay, if you’re so smart, what are Ivey and Olivia doing? Are you just gonna leave them out?” Mona was once again acting like a spoiled brat but Elsa was proud when Harmony quickly responded with almost no sarcasm in her voice.

  “No, they are super talented with creating water, so they can conjure and lob ice spears at Auntie Geneva. With any luck, we can set her on fire and freeze her ass at the same time. All we have to do is hold her off long enough for Quinn and Elsa to work their super mojo. That evil bitch isn’t gonna know what hit her.”

  Elsa wondered if she shou
ld be more worried about the gleam in Harmony’s eye at the prospect of all the violence they were planning or the way her mother had been totally silent since ending her communication with Alara. Taking a step towards Carolyn, the elf stopped dead in her tracks and spun around as Quinn bellowed both out loud and in her mind, “Son of a bitch, Geneva is riding the blizzard over the mountain and she’s not alone!”

  Chapter Ten

  Elsa had always heard all the planning in the world couldn’t beat dumb luck so she had to figure that went for shit out of luck too, as all their planning flew out the window at the sight of Auntie Geneva literally riding on one of the low grey clouds rolling with blasting winds and freezing snow over the mountains and straight towards their cottage. It reminded her of that part in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ when the Wicked Witch of the West was swooping towards the Emerald City with her flying monkeys. The major differences were Geneva was an evil Halfling with a serious megalomaniac complex and it wasn’t flying monkeys but Buggars, shapeshifting fairies from the Unseelie Court with bad attitudes and sharp claws coming for their hides and Elsa’s magic.

  “We’re going with Harmony’s plan,” Elsa shouted, giving her sister a single nod before adding, “Tell ‘em where you want ‘em.”

  Listening to Harmony as she took control of the elves, Elsa was so proud that even after the devastating news of what their grandmother had done they were all banding together as a family. All the years of feeling like the odd man out was over. She vowed right then and there to do everything in her power to hunt down the sorceress Alara had made that fateful deal with and make her return the magic to her mother and sisters. It wouldn’t change the fact that Elsa had been given the magical family mojo and would someday be expected to go be ‘royal’ but it would considerably level the playing field where her sisters were concerned.

  Turning to Quinn, who was still talking to the dragons, Elsa again tuned into their conversation. She immediately recognized Drago’s voice and the tone of a man used to being in charge.