I try to pull myself away from him, but his grip is iron-tight, borderline painful. “No, I don’t. We can talk tomorrow, Finley. Let me go.”
Instead of letting me go, his thick hand wraps around my throat as he tries to kiss me, and I panic, trying to push him away. My voice comes out frantic, and I scream, “Let me go!”
Finley doesn’t listen, pushing me backwards towards the sofa, kissing my cheek and mumbling about loving me. Dread pools in my stomach as I struggle in his arms, trying to get away and fearing what will happen if I can’t. Dating Finley was a big mistake, but I was never scared of him until now. I manage to lift my leg and I knee him hard, making him groan in pain and let me go. He trips on the sofa, falling to his knees and cupping his balls. “What the hell is wrong with you? Get out of my house and don’t come back!”
He glances up, and the look he gives me sends chills down my spine. He’s going to hurt me for that. “No, I’m going to make you listen to me. You’re mine, Ellelin, and we are not breaking up!”
I back away towards the kitchen, knowing I’m going to have to leave and run. He is drunk, so I have a good chance of escaping through the garden if I run fast. At least if I scream outside, my neighbours will come and see what is happening.
I hear the back door unlock, and my shoulders sag in relief. My grandmother’s back from bingo early, and maybe the shock of seeing her will make Finley leave. Finley rises to his feet as I stumble away, and he pauses, looking over my shoulder to the kitchen. All the colour leaves his face. A shocked scream rips out of my throat as a silver dagger swiftly flies past my cheek and slams into his chest, blood spraying across the carpet between us. His scream is bloodcurdling and terrible, as I freeze in shock. Red hot fire spreads out from the dagger, burning him so quickly that, within seconds, he’s nothing but ash falling softly on the blood-stained carpet. The dagger falls with a thud, and my scream dies away as I turn around slowly.
My heart pounds in my chest as I face the four massive men standing in my tiny kitchen. The man in the middle lowers his hand, smiling at me through waves of shiny thick black hair as his red, fiery eyes meet mine.
“You can thank me later.”
Chapter 25Bonus read of Court of Dragons and Crowns by G. Bailey
“Y-you killed him?” I sputter, taking a step back in shock. I’m shaking from head to toe as the men all look between each other.
“Humans don’t like murder, dumbass,” the red-haired man says, patting the shoulder of the man who threw the dagger. He is wearing a black shirt tucked into black trousers that scream money. “Arden, you broke this one. You can deal with her. The last one bit me.”
Arden groans. “I’m not dealing with this one, Lysander. I’m already bored.”
Arden leans against the wall, picking up another dagger from his long trench coat and playing with it, throwing it up and down in the air. Lysander looks at the other two. One of them watches from the darkness of the back of the kitchen, and I can only see his outline. The other steps forward, a playful smile on his lips as locks of white hair fall into his moss green eyes, and he pushes it aside. He goes to say something when a deep voice speaks from the back of the kitchen. “She’s going to run, and then she’s my problem.”
“She’s not going to run, Grayson. Arden just saved her from whoever that fucker was,” he murmurs. “I’m Emrys. You’re Ellelin, right?”
“Boyfriend. That was my ex-boyfriend, and you just murdered him,” I croak, snapping out of my shock. “How did you do that? How did you burn him?”
Arden’s laugh is deep and taunting, just like his eyes as they meet mine. “We are dragon shifter kings, babe. Fire is my skill.”
“Arden, you’re being a dick and scaring her,” Emrys mutters, stepping closer to me with his hands in the air. He is wearing a dark blue jumper and dark jeans. For some reason, I get the feeling they don’t wear clothes like this often. “He forgets humans don’t know about magic and dragons. We aren’t here to hurt you.”
Lysander sits down on my grandmother’s chair, crossing his legs at the ankle. “Just let Matron explain it all. We burnt her boyfriend to a crisp; she isn’t going to believe anything else we say.”
Emrys ignores him. “We’re dragon kings from four courts. We’re not from this world. Your world is connected to several worlds, including ours, and we can travel between.”
My hands feel sweaty as I cross my arms. “What does this have to do with me?”
Lysander grins. “You’ve been chosen. All you need to do for now is come with us through a portal.”
I lower my arms. “I’m not going anywhere with you.” I step back and accidentally stand in what is left of Finley. I step aside, cringing as I rub my shoe on the carpet.
Arden laughs, the sound echoing. “She just stood on her piece of shit boyfriend. It’s almost funny.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Fuck you.”
He meets my gaze, running his eyes up and down over me. “Anytime, princess.”
My cheeks burn as I take another step back, looking between them all, focusing on the shadow outline of the man in my kitchen. For whatever reason, he feels like he’s the most dangerous of them all, and I can’t even see what he looks like from here. They all look pretty dangerous, and I’m not sure how I’m going to get out of this. They’re all muscular, ridiculously tall, and handsome. All I can think about now is how they just burnt my ex-boyfriend to a crisp in the middle of my living room. How is that even possible? And now they’re talking about kidnapping me.
I steel my back. They aren’t taking me anywhere without a fight. “I’m not going with you. Get out of my house.”
Emrys tilts his head to the side, his forest green eyes softening. “I know this is creepy and you don’t trust us, but we don’t want to harm you. You have been chosen to come to our world and compete in an event. This is an honour. There are several bloodlines in this world that came from ours, including yours. Your bloodline was sworn to the same magic we are bound to, allowing us to find you and bring you back to our world. Four of the chosen will become our brides. Become dragon queens. More will be explained later.”
I feel delirious as I chuckle and then laugh. “I’m pretty sure I’m going mad. I must be dreaming. Going completely mad. You’re kidnapping me to become your dragon queen, and I have to compete for the honour? I’m not fucking doing that. Find a girl the normal way.”
“I like this one,” Emrys laughs.
Arden throws a dagger at him, and swiftly he catches it midair. “I don’t.”
Emrys pockets the dagger before he runs his hands over his face, looking frustrated. “We are wasting time here. Let’s just knock her out and go home.”
“Agreed,” Arden replies, leaning off the wall. I don’t think, only act, as I turn and run. The front door lock melts as I run for it, so instead, I fly around the banister of the stairs, lugging my ass up the steps as fast as I can, my heart pounding.
“Arden, go after her. You freaked her out by killing someone!” Emrys demands.
“He was going to attack her! She should thank me for killing his worthless ass!” Arden all but growls.
“I will go and fix this mess,” Lysander sighs, my grandmother’s chair creaking, “while you two fight like children.”
“Good luck!” Arden shouts while laughing.
I get to the top of the stairs, stumbling around the corner and pulling the bathroom door open, slamming it shut behind me and locking it. I don’t know what use the locks are going to be against—what did they say they were? Dragon shifters? Are they actual dragons, wings, and scales and all that? No, this can’t be real. No, none of this can be real. I’m going mad.
I hear Lysander’s heavy feet thudding up the stairs after me. He is real, and I have to find a way to escape. I look around the room for anything. Anything at all to defend myself with. My eyes flicker to the small, frosted window. I’ve never climbed through it. It’s thin and I’m not sure I will fit through it. Fuck it. I have to try. I start cranking it open when I hear the bathroom door handle being twisted, the door shaking. My mouth parts in surprise as clear water runs up the door from the bottom, smothering every inch of it. I don’t move as the water suddenly turns to ice, the door shattering in shards of wood and ice. Lysander stands on the other side, leaning against the frame, his thick arms crossed. “Running is completely useless, Elle.”
