The Dragon's War Read online
The Dragon’s War
The Goddess’s Harem Book 3
Lila Jean
J. A. Cipriano
Edited by
J. B. Garner
Copyright © 2018 by Lila Jean & J.A. Cipriano
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
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Contents
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Also by Lila Jean
Also by J.A. Cipriano
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Thank You for reading!
Author’s Note
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The Grizzly Bear’s Heiress
The Dragon’s Gym Buddy
Goddess Harem
The Tiger’s Offer
The Wolf’s Hunt
The Dragon’s War
Also by J.A. Cipriano
Starcrossed Dragons
Riding Lightning
Grinding Frost
Swallowing Fire
Pounding Earth
The Goddess Harem
The Tiger’s Offer
The Wolf’s Hunt
The Dragon’s War
Justice Squad
Miracle’s Touch
Her Angels
Heaven’s Embrace
Heaven’s A Beach
The Shaman Queen's Harem
The Pen is Mightier
The Pen is Mightier: Company Ink
Star Conqueror
Star Conqueror: Recompense
Super Human
King Justice
King of the Gods
Falcon Punch
World of Ruul
Soulstone: Awakening
Soulstone: The Skeleton King
Soulstone: Oblivion
Bug Wars
Doomed Infinity Marine
Doomed Infinity Marine 2
The Legendary Builder
The Builder’s Sword
The Builder’s Greed
The Builder’s Pride
The Builder’s Wrath
The Builder’s Throne
The Builder’s Conquest
The FBI Dragon Chronicles
A Ritual of Fire
A Ritual of Death
Elements of Wrath Online
Ring of Promise
The Vale of Three Wolves
Crystalfire Keep
Kingdom of Heaven
The Skull Throne
Escape From Hell
The Thrice Cursed Mage
Cursed
Marked
Burned
Seized
Claimed
Hellbound
The Half-Demon Warlock
Pound of Flesh
Flesh and Blood
Blood and Treasure
The Lillim Callina Chronicles
Wardbreaker
Kill it with Magic
The Hatter is Mad
Fairy Tale
Pursuit
Hardboiled
Mind Games
Fatal Ties
Clans of Shadow
Heart of Gold
Feet of Clay
Fists of Iron
The Spellslinger Chronicles
Throne to the Wolves
Prince of Blood and Thunder
Found Magic
May Contain Magic
The Magic Within
Magic for Hire
Witching on a Starship
Maverick
Planet Breaker
* * *
Ghosts and Grudges
1
Tina
Tina was done running.
As the hot Indonesian sun beat down on her, she stood at the edge of the water out front of her temple, staring down through the gentle ripples at the glowing white metal lotus at the bottom of the manmade lake. Its power brimmed in her blood, fueling the final and ultimate connection she had made with Damara, reminding her of the incredible magic that burned through her veins.
With all this power simmering in her body, Tina was amazed that there were still people after her, still people who thought they could control her. She looked around Epara, feeling the invisible shield that protected her and everyone within its walls, fueled by her and Damara’s magic. They were safe for now, but there were plenty of people outside these walls who wanted Tina dead.
Well, she would get to them first. As she stared down at the beautiful glowing lotus on the lakebed, she made a mental list of the people she had to defeat.
King James. The eagle king wanted her dead and had from the beginning. As much as she wanted to reconcile with Killian’s father, she figured that feud would end with the king in a coffin.
King Edward. The dragon king had tried several times to kidnap her, and his attempts seemed to be getting increasingly desperate. He wanted her magic, even if it meant kidnapping his own son’s mate.
King Frederick. Tina rolled her eyes in exasperation, especially since the demigod king was supposed to be on her side. She was a goddess, the only one on earth, and yet the king sworn to protect the gods had tried to kill her.
King Alexander. The cat king made Tina nervous, since his cold blue glare seemed to hide a vast intelligence and a cunning mind. He was one of her least favorite foes, especially since he was capable of anything.
King William. Ugh. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the wolf king’s name, the man who had forced Damara into this world for the sole purpose of sleeping with his army and infusing them with the enhanced powers she had instead given her princes. The way he so ruthlessly came after them, he would likely end up in a coffin, too.
Noxxom Corporation. If not the corporation itself, she had to at least put an end to the employee who kept trying to frame her for their murders.
“You’re going to bow to me,” she said softly, thinking of each of the men on her list as she stared through the rippling water at her beautiful lotus. “Or you’re going to die.”
Tina balled her hand into a tight
fist and inhaled a deep steadying breath as she looked over her beautiful temple. Her home. Her haven. As much as she loved to stay here, as much as she would have loved to spread out across her soft mattress and pretend the world was sane, she wouldn’t be able to stay here much longer. In fact, she likely wouldn’t be able to return until things were settled … if she was able to come back at all, of course. Outside these walls, anything could happen, and everything was at stake.
All Tina wanted was peace, the freedom to simply be and love her men, to have a happy life and unite the five kingdoms who insisted on trying to kill her. One way or another, she would defeat them all, regardless of how much she had to bleed to finally earn her freedom.
2
Draven
Draven reclined in a brand new armchair, the seat angled out over the beautiful gardens in Epara, the ones Ares had burned nearly to a crisp in their fight to the death, though thanks to the magic of the temple, the flowers and vines had been restored to their former glory. The hot day felt comforting to him since dragons liked the humid heat, but even after sparring Anthony for most of the morning, he still felt tense, on edge, like his world was about to implode around him unless he figured out some puzzle that was weighing on his subconscious.
He hated that feeling.
One of his two phones vibrated in his pocket, and he fished them both out. Damn, just a text from Zane’s new number, nothing unusual. He unlocked the other phone, his burner phone, the one he kept only to contact his father, and checked the text messages once more. As he scrolled through the text chain, he noted that the dates of each message had become farther and farther apart and that his father still hadn’t responded to the last one.
We must stop wasting time, Father. Tina is my mate and always will be. Just accept this.
Draven knew better than to think his father would see reason. He could feel his connection to his father slipping, the work he’d made toward peace ruined by his father’s pride and greed. It was especially frustrating when the answer to all their problems was staring the old fart in the face, offered on a silver platter with damn bows tied to it and a giant flashing sign lighting the way. Deep down, Draven was starting to wonder if he had ever really made progress with his father at all, or if it was all a ploy on his father’s part to get him to let down his guard. Either way, it didn’t matter, since Draven would never let anyone hurt his woman or his brotherhood. This was his family now, his father’s pride be damned.
The door opened, and Tina walked in seconds later with Anthony and Flynn in tow. Draven forced a playful grin, but true to form, his mate seemed to see right through him. As Flynn and Anthony chatted about swords, Tina raised one suspicious eyebrow, staring at Draven as though waiting for him to fess up and admit what was bothering him.
She sat on his lap while the other two gabbed on about weapons and war strategy. “Since when does my darling dragon brood?”
“I always brood.” He chuckled. “Dark and mysterious is my thing. Anthony just copies me, really.”
“Hey,” the wolf shifter said. “I heard that.”
“Where are Killian and Zane?” Flynn peeked out the windows onto the gardens, rubbing his mighty beard. “They’re always off debating something, but we need to—”
“We’re here, Mom,” Zane said with a chuckle, pushing open the door that had been left ajar. Killian walked in after him, a charming smile on his face.
Draven grabbed Tina’s thigh, rooting her in place on his lap, happily drinking in the sultry perfume of roses and fresh air that was her scent. She smiled and kissed his cheek, playing with his hair as everyone else settled into the couches.
“It’s time we talk strategy.” Flynn was the only one standing and set his hands on his hips, a familiar tone of let’s get down to business sucking all the fun out of the room.
“We beat three gods,” Draven said, groaning, exaggerating it a bit for effect. “Can’t we get even a mini vacation?”
“What do you call the last three days?” Killian crossed his arms, chuckling. “I’m pretty sure all I’ve seen you do is eat and spar.”
“And play.” He winked at Tina, who blushed a bit, and he loved the adorable way her cheeks turned pink whenever he made innuendos. Knowing he could make a badass goddess blush made him want to see it as often as possible.
“Yeah, well, King William isn’t playing.” Zane’s smile faded, and he chewed his lip a bit. “I’ve been getting worrisome reports about the wolves’ activity and intentions.” The tiger shifter cast a wary glance toward Anthony. “He’s getting desperate.”
“Of course, he is,” Anthony said, voice low and dark. “He’s seen how many others are after Tina and now he’s worried he won’t get there first.”
“And William isn’t the only king after Tina, of course,” Flynn said, his arms crossed, the bulky biceps pushing against his chest, giving him the look of a bouncer. “All of our fathers are still at large, and with the budding war over the missing dignitaries, even those that wanted Tina dead will probably come after her for her magic.”
“I’ve been thinking about that, Flynn.” Tina frowned. “Now that I’ve connected fully to Damara, now that I have all of her power and memories, how could they get my magic even if they somehow defeated the six of us?”
“There are ways,” Flynn said, his voice lowering and trembling a little with concern. “Ancient artifacts, designed by gods to destroy other gods.” He sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration. “It’s not a new concept, and you must be careful. There are those who can drain your magic, block it, do who knows what to it, all with these artifacts.”
“Duly noted.” She frowned, glancing out the window, and Draven tightened his grip on her thigh protectively.
“Which brings us to Noxxom,” Zane said. “Or rather, to whoever is kidnapping and killing the dignitaries.” He stood, pacing, glancing now and then at his phone. “It may not be Noxxom at all, but yet another frame job. We have to be careful because whoever this is, they’re well connected, rich, and heartless.”
“Ray was definitely working for Noxxom.” Tina rubbed her jaw, eyes glazing over a bit as she seemed to lose herself in thought. “For whatever reason, they wanted me alive and framed for murder. That was important, but we still don’t know why.” She stood, and Draven reluctantly let her go, his lap cold now that she’d left to pace by the windows. “This vendetta of theirs is personal, now, and we need to track down whomever is responsible.”
“I agree.” Killian nodded. “We can’t let this go on any longer. Noxxom should be our first target, even over the kings.”
“I don’t know.” Tina frowned. “I’m actually worried more about Amy.”
“Have you heard from her?” Anthony asked, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees.
“Not a peep.” Tina ran a hand through her hair, clearly concerned. “I mean, last we heard from her she said she had to disappear and told me to lie low, but it’s been ages.” She gently bit her bottom lip. “I need to know she’s okay.”
“Amy’s clever, Tina.” Anthony stood and gently grabbed both of Tina’s hands, looking into her eyes as he spoke. “She has the resources to hide and stay hidden. You don’t need to—”
“Shit,” Zane said, a hand running through his messy hair. “This is bad.”
“What?” Draven frowned, his nerves on edge, the instinct that he’d need to punch someone’s teeth in suddenly overwhelming. “What’s going on?”
“You need to see this.” Zane gestured for them to follow, and after a few tense moments of jogging through the halls, the tiger threw open the door to his suite to reveal a room filled to the brim with monitors and wires. Before Draven could open his mouth to comment, Zane pointed his finger at the dragon and shook his head. “Don’t.”
“I didn’t say anything.” Draven shrugged sheepishly, though he couldn’t hide his grin.
Zane tapped a few keys on the nearest keyboard, and a monitor sprang to life, a news broadcast on a
n American news channel. While the woman droned on, talking about something out of context, Draven’s eyes shifted to the one-line summary in the headline below her.
Eagle dignitary found, Tina Andrews suspected.
“Shit,” Draven said, both of his hands resting on the top of his head as he just stared at the newscast in disbelief.
“What …?” Tina gaped in horror. “But how …?”
“The following footage of the incident is deeply disturbing,” the woman said, tapping her papers on the desk. “Be warned, this is tough to see.”
With that, the screen cut to blurry security footage of Times Square. The time stamp showed that it was roughly four in the morning, and while the street was fairly quiet, it wasn’t empty. A few groups of people took photos along the sidewalks while taxis sped by, blaring their horns at each other.
Quick as a whip, a van sped into frame, tires screeching. The back doors swung violently open, and a woman kicked a body out onto the street. A man helped her push him over the edge and grabbed the handles on the door, both of them looking up toward the security camera for a fleeting second before slamming the doors shut as the van sped away.