Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
The air is thick with tension. A fair few legacies died during combat training yesterday, so everyone is more on edge than ever.
“Super cheery out here,” Baelfire says sarcastically.
“It’s only going to get worse.” Silas shoots me a look. “There will be no repeats of what happened yesterday, ima sangfluir. Stay close to us.”
I make a noncommittal sound before scanning the jumbled crowd for signs of the real Monica. I need to find out what happened to her. I’m also planning on tracking down Harlow to learn how the hell she was connected to that changeling. Her emphasis isn’t combat, so I’ll have to find her outside classes.
“The coach is late,” Everett notes unhappily.
“Maybe they’re still trying to thaw his frozen ass after your stunt yesterday,” Bael shrugs.
Everett froze Coach Gallagher? I want to ask why, but then I spot a legacy storming towards us and square my shoulders.
It’s the blond caster asshole who licked me yesterday. I’d hoped he had been picked off by some other legacy during training, but apparently, he’s alive and hasn’t figured out that I’m going to kill him if he gets anywhere near me.
“Oakley! What the fuck was that yesterday? You’re not an asscaster at all, are you?” he demands. “You almost snapped my neck, and I saw Jace’s body. What the fuck did you do to him? What kind of magic was that?”
Nearby legacies are turning their attention to this new scene. Silas steps in front of me, Baelfire moves to my left side, and weirdly, Everett also moves to guard behind me without touching me.
Silas’s voice is deadly. “Walk away, Chase.”
The caster, whose name must be Chase, scoffs. “You didn’t see it, Crane. There’s something fucking weird about your keeper. Sierra said she was a germophobic, quiet little asscaster, and at first, she was totally helpless under that paralysis spell but then out of fucking nowhere, she just?—“
“Paralysis spell?” Baelfire repeats, his tone simmering. “Maven, what is he talking about? Did this asshole put a finger on you?”
Chase leers. “I put my whole tongue on her, you huge fucking moron. That’s why I’m saying it makes no sense. If she was so completely powerless, then how did she just?—“
“You licked my mate?”
Baelfire roars.
And I mean, he literally roars it. His voice is no longer human-sounding.
I sense an alarming explosion of heat from my left just before Everett tackles me from behind, rolling us both away just as Baelfire loses control and shifts.
Legacies scream and scatter as blue fire erupts around the Decimus—but everything becomes muffled as a thick shield of ice forms out of nowhere, arching over Everett and me to protect us from the nearby flames.
The fact that Everett’s ice can hold up to dragon fire is impressive. I blink up in surprise, finding that I’m lying on the cold ground as he covers me protectively with his body.
Everett’s soft, cool mint scent envelops me in this enclosed space. He keeps his head turned to one side, jaw ticking as if he’s still determined not to look at me—but I can feel his heart crashing inside his chest pressed against mine.
Without thinking, I squirm against him because this moment of proximity has thrown me for a major loop. When I do, the ice elemental groans brokenly.
Oh, shit.
That is a very hard erection pressing into me.
But the moment ends when the ice around us finally starts to melt. Everett swears under his breath, and a second later, the ice is entirely gone. He rolls to his feet and reaches down to pull me up, but now that I have a clear view of what’s going on, I stay on my ass and stare.
Baelfire’s dragon arcs through the air overhead, a glittering, golden masterpiece whose sprawling wings pummel the air, blasting everyone below. The beast lets loose a skull-rattling roar. Where Bael lost control, the field is scorched and smoking. All nearby tufts of snow are melted.
Silas is off to one side of it, and when his scarlet gaze collides with mine, he looks relieved. But my stomach lurches when I realize he didn’t get out of Baelfire’s way fast enough. His clothing is singed, and one of his arms and shoulders is charred and smoldering.
Damn it. I hate seeing him hurt.
Other legacies race back toward the safety of Everbound Castle. But in one graceful loop, the dragon flips around, opens its mouth, and spews molten royal blue fire, leaving a wall of blinding flames that cut off anyone trying to escape.
Then the dragon swoops down, wraps one massive clawed hand around Chase, and launches into the sky, climbing higher and higher. Finally, in a surprisingly smooth movement, the dragon flings the screaming legacy into the air, cranes its long neck, and roasts Chase with a column of brilliant sapphire flames.
And then the dragon looks down, directly at me.
Everett swears as the massive beast tucks its wings and dives, catching the flaming corpse in its mouth. It looks like it’s about to crash into the ground, but at the last moment, those majestic wings fan out so that a tremendous gust of wind blows the hair back from my face.
The ground shakes as Dragon Baelfire lands. I watch its long tail snake back and forth on the charred ground restlessly as it stalks toward me. Even in this form, Baelfire is incredibly muscular. As it stalks closer, I can’t help admiring the wickedly sharp horns that curl around the top of his draconic head like a deadly crown.
Gods. What a beautiful beast.
Everett is putting himself between me and Dragon Baelfire—but I abruptly realize that if Baelfire hates the professor, there’s a good chance his dragon is about to kill him without blinking.
I jump to my feet and move to stand in front of Everett.
“Oakley,” he hisses, grabbing my hand to try pulling me back.
But when he touches me, the dragon lets loose another roar unlike any other creature I’ve ever heard. This close, the deafening volume makes my ears ring. When I hear Everett swear violently behind me, I glance over my shoulder and find that he’s clutching one of his ears, which is bleeding.
Silently, I wave at Everett to step back. He glowers at me for a long second before moving back so minutely it would be comedic in any other situation. But that seems enough to appease Baelfire’s dragon because it lowers its large head, opens its mouth, and drops the still-smoldering corpse on the ground before me.
Like a…burnt offering.
Awe.
I peer up at the beautiful creature. “Thanks.”
It huffs before nuzzling its snout against my stomach. The dragon is a little overly warm to the touch, but in pure fascination, I run a hand over the smooth, glistening golden scales along its cheek. When I do, the beast makes a sound deep in the back of its throat. At first, I think it’s a growl, but as I listen more, I realize it’s…purring.
All other legacies watching this scene look terrified. Silas is trying to subtly edge closer to me without pissing off the dragon. I can practically feel how tense Everett is behind me.
But I’m smiling.
“So you’re the Grade A alphahole he warned me about?” I laugh quietly so only he can hear. “He obviously just doesn’t know how to handle you. But I bet you’ll be a very good boy for me. Won’t you?”
The dragon nuzzles me more aggressively, the purr in his throat growing louder. The play of light on his golden scales is captivating, his sheer size staggering. But when Everett gets antsy and steps closer again, the beast’s eyes flash open, its pupil narrowing into a slit as it bares its teeth and hisses.
“Fucking oversized lizard,” the elemental mutters. “Back away slowly, Oakley. It might be acting like a puppy right now, but everyone read about it in the news five years ago when Baelfire lost control. His dragon slaughtered twenty-four legacies assigned to fight at the Divide under his mother’s command.”
“Those legacies were plotting a coup to kill his mother. Brigid Decimus had enough evidence to prove that to the Legacy Council in court,” Silas intercedes.
Everett shoots him a fierce glare. “Whose side are you on here? My point is that she shouldn’t be petting the damn thing. It’s deranged.”
The dragon puffs a breath of warm air at me playfully, tipping its head as if insisting on my petting the other half of its face. I’ve never had a pet, but I officially wouldn’t mind a dragon.
“Magnificent and deranged. Just my type,” I grin.
But then I frown, remembering what Baelfire said about his dragon trying to replace him. I’ve seen Baelfire shift before, and he remained in control. Right now, he’s very clearly not. This is just his inner animal, and I wonder if Baelfire can even hear me right now.
“Hey,” I say, getting the dragon’s attention again. I rub my other hand against its snout. Nothing about this touch bothers me—perhaps because of the pleasantly warm scales and the obsessive golden eyes watching my every move as if I’m the highest form of treasure. “Are you going to give me back Baelfire?”
Its head tips as it continues watching me. Its tail curls, slipping between Everett and me to drag me a little closer. In the distance, I hear shouting and know more people are headed toward us.
But I don’t look away from this exquisite creature.
“Let him go,” I insist firmly.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.