‘I love you. You know that?’
‘You do?’His response felt too vulnerable.
‘I do,’I sent, making sure he felt my truth. I did love him, even when he was being a complete dickwad. ‘I wouldn’t put up with your bullshit if I didn’t.’
I basked in the wave of warmth that enveloped me, knowing it was Landers’s emotions pooling inside of me.
It took a bit to crawl out of the overwhelming presence overtaking me. When I was aware enough, I could see Faustus staring at us with his arms crossed over his chest. He was frowning hard.
My face grew hot, and I looked away from him, realizing he’d just watched me have a huge orgasm from climbing onto my dragon. It was such an intimate thing between us, and while it was easier to dismiss that embarrassment when we were battling it out, this moment felt too public. Too much like a show. No one was trying to kill us; our enemies weren’t distracted with murdering us.
“And this is the first problem.” Faustus sighed. “I will only say this for now since this is not an issue that can be fixed in a couple of days. When a Divine mounts a dragon, going through that process in the manner you just did only serves to give the dragon power over the Divine. If Rayna was not Rayna and as powerful as she is, you three would have drained her long ago, especially since I have heard that you tend to switch dragons during a battle.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Think about it,” Faustus said. “When you get on your mate, they trap you, penetrate you, and force you into a weak state of mind. That weakness makes it easier for the dragon to access your magic and use it as their own.”
“I’m not trapped here,” I said. “I can get off as I see fit.”
“Only because of who you are meant to be,” Faustus said. “Others are not so lucky. While I would love to discuss this in more depth, we only have two days, and this mounting habit not my task to fix.”
‘What is his task then?’Philit said.
I repeated the question so Faustus could hear.
“To teach you guys to fight in a way that the others are not prepared for. You will be going up against better trained dragons and Divines who have far more experience. While their fighting style is not the most effective, it still works in their favor. I will be teaching you more so that you can stand on equal footing with them. So that you will live.”
‘So that we are useful.’Philit let out a small growl that only made Faustus smile bigger.
“For you to become stronger than they are, you will need to first overcome stealing her magic while she rides you. If all her magic is going to you so you can breathe fire, then it leaves her unable to do anything else. Divines are powerful on their own.” Faustus walked around us as he talked, slowly looking Landers over. He had judgment written all over his face as he raised an eyebrow. Faustus was clearly not impressed with Landers’s massive form. “Our goal is freeing Rayna up to be able to attack on her own. They will have to fight three dragons and a Divine at the same time in a new challenge for them. They will not stand a chance.”
Faustus moved back. “Now, blow your fire into the air. Let me see it. No reason to go all out either. Just a basic attack will suffice. Start with Landers, since she is on him.”
Landers didn’t wait, raising his head and expanding his chest. Tingles ran through me and disappeared into Landers, and then a moment later, he was blowing fire. It wasn’t as intense as when we did it during battle, but concentrated heat still left sweat forming on my skin. All of me felt like fire, especially where we were connected, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.
Gasps broke out all around, and the whispering intensified. I ignored it, trying not to let some of their soft comments affect me. Their fear set me on edge and frankly, made me feel sad for them. The other Divines were so locked into their fear of dragons, that they had no room to explore. My connection with my mates wasn’t something to feel ashamed about or a source of pity.
“I see,” Faustus murmured. “Now, Philit.”
‘Ready?’Philit asked.
‘Yes.’
I focused on Philit as the magic built, my tingles strong this time. Then, it went through our bond, and Philit was able to breathe his fire. We did the same thing with Zilon too.
“And this is the problem; she did not give you that magic, but rather you took it for yourself. We are going to do it again, but this time, Rayna, take control of it.”
I frowned. “I thought I had control.”
“To an extent you did. You had enough control to direct the magic, but the dragons most definitely took it for themselves. This is why you feel tired. Now, when you feel that tug on your magic, rein it back in. I want you to block them from breathing fire. That is how you know you have true control of your magic and where it goes. Landers, you first.”
Landers didn’t say anything as he looked up into the sky and took in a deep breath. The tingles in my body built, but instead of letting the magic flood into Landers, I fought to hold onto it. Landers released his fire, my magic zinging to him, but this time, it actually hurt as my resistance tried to fight back. For once, I finally understood. This whole time, I thought I had control, but really I was only directing my magic, guiding it so that it’d be used correctly, when in reality my mates were taking it.
I bit my lip, nervousness settling hard in my stomach as well as discomfort.
‘Rayna, are you okay?’Landers asked.
‘Yes. Just didn’t expect that.’