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September 25 - September 27, 2025
Only fae live in the Seelie Court. Well, fae and some shifters from the Red Dragon Clan who are here to make sure that we remain exactly where they want us. Which is on our knees and underneath their heel.
Dragon shifters, and humans too presumably, all have only one eye color. Like brown or gold or violet or something equally mundane. We fae seem to be the only ones who have normal eyes with two colors. Not one in each eye. Instead, both colors are mixed like swirls of paint in both eyes, offering lots of combinations. My own eyes, which are turquoise and lavender-colored, are not unique by any means. But I much prefer them to the odd one-colored eyes of the shifters and the humans.
The vast majority of dragon shifters can only maintain two forms: fully human or fully dragon. Only the most powerful ones can do what is called a half-shift, which is to shift into a human form but with wings.
He is, by far, the hottest man I have ever seen. And yet, all I want is to never have to lay eyes on him ever again. Because this is Draven Ryat. The Shadow of Death. Leader of the Black Dragon Clan. Commander of the Dread Legion and second only to the Empress and Emperor of the Iceheart Dynasty themselves. He is one of the most powerful and dangerous dragon shifters in the world. And the most ruthless. According to rumors, he sold out his own clan to the Icehearts in exchange for power. He has slaughtered thousands. Burned cities to the ground. Conquered and destroyed. He and his Black Dragon
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All I know is that I need to do something to keep the Shadow of Death from breaking our resistance before we’ve even had a chance to fight back. So I do the only thing I can think of. I throw my drink in his face.
Rage burns through my heart, fierce as wildfire, as I shift my gaze to the iron wall that now circles our beautiful castle. Cold iron. A metal that drains our energy and blocks our connection to our magic. And those sadistic fucking dragon shifters built an entire wall of it around our most precious building.
“Name,” he demands. “Selena Hale,” I reply. Faint scraping sounds drift through the room as he writes down my name. Without looking up, he asks, “Age?” “One hundred and sixty-seven.”
As soon as I mention my magic, it’s as if everyone forgets that no fae who was born with magic can use it without people seeing it. Because our eyes glow when we channel magic. So if someone is looking me in the eye, they will know whether I’m using my magic to manipulate their emotions or not. But because emotion magic immediately makes people nervous, they seem to forget that.
Draven leans down until his lips almost brush against mine. “Watch your mouth.” My heart flips and then pounds against my ribs. But it’s not out of fear. Tension crackles around us like lightning in the air. “And do as I say.”
“But you do seem to have an unhealthy obsession with tracking me down in empty corridors. Can I suggest a hobby instead? Perhaps knitting since you’re so fond of pointy sticks.”
surprise, noticing for the first time what he’s actually wearing. Ever since he ambushed me in the corridor earlier, I’ve been too preoccupied with everything else. His intense eyes. The knife he held to my throat. The very likely possibility that I was going to make a fool of myself on the dance floor. The feeling of his hand on my waist.
“You always act so soft-spoken around everyone else. Who knew that you had such a sharp tongue underneath all that fake submissiveness?”
The shirt is still warm. And it smells like him. Like night mist and embers.
Based on the way the clan leaders are positioned, Draven will be the one to hand me my box. Which I’m sure is no coincidence. He has probably been looking forward to having me kneeling in front of him all morning.
I keep my eyes on Draven as I reach up to take the offered box. His fingers brush against mine as he places it in my palms. That small touch sends a bolt of lightning through my veins. His hands linger a second too long in mine as he holds my gaze. My heart stutters. Something has changed. It must have. Otherwise, why would he be looking at me like this? Is he really going to stop messing with me now? Am I actually going to be allowed to finish the Atonement Trials without his interference?
“If people fear you, use it as a shield. People will always seek to tear you down, because of one thing or another. Be it for how you look or how you behave or who your family is or what magic you have. There will always be people who will use any weakness against you so that they can feel better about their own pitiful lives.”
“The trick is to use your own weakness before they can.” She holds my gaze. “If you flaunt your insecurities, they can never be used to hurt you.”
“Mabona’s tits,” I huff, shooting him an exasperated stare. “You really do need to get yourself a hobby. How many times have you ambushed me in deserted corridors by now?” I shake my head at him. “Don’t answer that. I already know. And given that the answer is a lot, one might start to think that you’re obsessed with me.”
“Watch your mouth, little rebel. Or I might find another use for it.”
If I didn’t climb into the bed on my own, how in Mabona’s name did I end up there?
“So if I were to slide my hand up your thigh and brush my knuckles against your cunt right now, I wouldn’t find it soaking wet?”
Draven watches me, completely enraptured. He’s staring at me as if he has never seen anything like it before. As if every moan that escapes my mouth is the most fascinating thing he has ever experienced. As if I’m the most astonishing thing he has ever known.
“You want me to bend you over a table and fuck you like I own you?” he pushes, his voice dark and hoarse. “You want me to handcuff you to my bed and make you come so hard that you’re screaming my name? Is that what you’re hoping to accomplish with this?”
Oh fuck, he tastes like wind and rain and lightning. Like fire and sin. And my undoing.
He kisses me like he’s fighting a war. Like he’s trying to make me surrender my whole soul to him. And Goddess above, when he grips my hair and dominates my mouth like this, I’m almost tempted to do it.
“Such a sharp little tongue hidden behind a polite smile all this time.”
“And to answer your question, I was simply stating a fact. That the hole is too narrow for me to extend my wings.” A sly smile blows across his mouth as he gives me a look. “But yes, I do also have a very impressive wingspan.”
Completely fascinated by my discovery, I raise my free hand and gently draw my fingers over the wing. I suck in a small breath when I find it soft and smooth. Almost like velvet. A moan rips from Draven’s throat. And his cock, which I only now realize is pressed against my ass, hardens immediately.
“Let’s just say that there are only two reasons to touch a dragon shifter’s wings. To inflict pain. Or pleasure.” My pulse thrums underneath his hand as he flexes his fingers around my throat. He angles his head slightly, and now his breath caresses the shell of my ear as he speaks. “So unless you plan to torture me or fuck me, can I suggest that you stop tracing your fingers over my wings like that.”
I have started to care about Draven. Yes, he’s ruthless and domineering and an absolute bloody menace. But he’s also unexpectedly kind and thoughtful and funny.
With him, I feel free. Free in a way that I have never felt before. I don’t have to hold myself back or make myself less for him. I don’t have to choose my words carefully. For some reason, he makes me feel like the real me is enough. Like I’m enough. With him, I never feel as if I have to adapt my personality to fit the people around me. I can just be me.
“But, yeah, that’s the secret behind my power.” His golden eyes glint as he glances down at me and shoots me a mischievous smile. “No grand birthright. No divine fate. Just an old, grumpy as hell, steel gray dragon on vacation.”
His eyes are dark with desire as he locks them on me. “Or I’m going to push you up against that rock wall and fuck you like you’re mine.”
“You have ten seconds to drop your gaze, or I swear to God, I’m going to fuck you until your legs give out and the only moans coming out of your mouth are my name. And then I’m going to keep fucking you until you will never be able to even think about touching another man because all you can think about is my hands on your body and all you can feel is my cock inside you.”
A gasp rips from his lungs. Breaking the kiss, he bows forward and presses his forehead against my shoulder while his body trembles. The most incredible moans spill from his lips like dark honey.
My mind can barely process it. Draven Ryat, the Shadow of Death and Commander of the Dread Legion, one of the most powerful and dangerous dragon shifters in the world, is completely undone by my simple touch.
“I told you that I was going to ruin you, little rebel. Not the other way around.” A devilish smirk curls his lips. “So you are mine to play with, mine to torment, mine to edge until you’re begging me to fuck you.”
“That’s it.” He traces his thumb over my clit. “Moan for me.”
“Eyes on me,” Draven orders.
“Well, would you look at that?” There is a sly glint in Draven’s eyes as he cocks his head. “You can still stand.” Blinking, I stare at him in confusion.
“I told you that I was going to fuck you until your legs give out.” He smirks. “Which means that you and I are just getting started, little rebel.”
“That…” Draven begins eventually. Was absolutely fucking mind-blowing, I finish in my mind.
Draven wasn’t kidding when he said that he was going to ruin me. I don’t know how I’m ever supposed to fuck someone else after this. How I’m supposed to just forget what his hands felt like on my body. How his cock felt inside me. How he managed to wring every drop of pleasure from my soul.
“You will each be given an iron collar,” Empress Jessina says. “As a symbolic representation of your servitude to us and how your years of imprisonment in the Seelie Court are now at an end.”
“I wasn’t trying to sabotage you, little rebel. I was trying to save you. From this.” Then he breathes in, sharply. And sucks my magic out of my body.
“I love this moment. The moment when they realize that it was all a lie.”
“The Atonement Trials is a lie.” Empress Jessina flashes us a cruel smile. “It was never a way for you to earn your freedom. It is, and always has been, a competition to find the people who have the strongest magic among you. Because that is what we want. Your magic.”
Jessina flashes him a smile that is all teeth. “We can feed on your magic, your energy, to live forever.”
“During the war, when we rose up and slaughtered all the dragon riders, we realized that we could collar you with iron and then feed on your magic to boost our own energy. Eventually, we realize that it also kept us from aging.”
Which means that I will be a life slave to… Turning my head, I stare up at Draven Ryat. The Shadow of Death. Commander of the Dread Legion. One of the three most powerful and dangerous dragon shifters in the world. And now, my master.
