Hey guys just a reminder to please go check out my Inkitt page (there's a link on my bio). I have a bonus series at the end of Mate to The Dragon that follows Lyza before she met Daerius that I want you guys to check out!!

There are four (kinda long) chapters out now and more are coming soon!!

It's totally free to go check out the story but I get paid royalties for each reader so you'll be helping me out as a writer 😁

*****

My eyes flicker open when I feel someone shaking my shoulder. "Wha—what? I'm up," I yawn.

"What is that?" Nix asks.

"What's what?" I ask groggily, rubbing my eyes.

Then I hear it. The high-pitched wail coming from down the hallway. "Oh, that," I mumble.

"What is it?"

I chew my lip as I listen, trying to decipher the sound. I sit listening for several minutes before Nix nudges my shoulder.

"Why don't you just ask Sorin?" they ask with a heavy sigh.

I grimace. "Because then everyone else is going to bother me and get upset that I broke the rule. The stupid fuckers are so jealous and needy it's ridiculous," I grumble.

"I'm sure they'll understand this one time, I just really need to know if that sound is just some creature being annoying if we should actually go help somebody and it's too far for Zizi to go—and I have absolutely no idea where it's coming from," they tell me.

"Fine," I sigh. My eyes roll back and the room lights up with an ethereal glow. I call out for Sorin and a moment later the miniature dragon comes flying through the wall, his claws clicking, his tail swishing. He lands on the floor beside the bed, his icy blue eyes peering up at me.

I know I am not supposed to call for you at night but it's important that I know what's making that sound, I explain.

It's fine. I won't tell anyone. I was growing bored anyway, he says.

I watch as he disappears through the wall once again. I wait for him to return—a mere minute later. What was it?

A leopard dæmon.

My eyes fly wide. Thank you Sorin, I murmur.

Can I help with anything else? He asks.

Learn as much about angels as possible and see if you can somehow manage to find their territory. That's my only goal right now.

He bows his head and raises his wings then flies off, vanishing through the walls.

I blink a few times and the familiar darkness returns. I let out a heavy breath making Nix move closer. "Did he find out what it was?"

"It's the leopard dæmon that belongs to Jaxon and Ash."

"Oh."

The word hung like a heavy cloud. The instant realization that the poor creature was crying for the missing boys was heart-wrenching.

My earlier drowsiness is gone. All I can think about is the tiny cat. And the King and his mate. Ash may be nearly as old as the queen but to me he is still just a boy.

"Can she find them?" Nix asks. There was the slightest hint of hope in their voice and it makes my chest hurt.

"She would have found them by now if she could."

"If she's still alive then they are too right? It's a good sign?"

I clench my jaw. "I know they're still alive the same way I know they're in pain. I just can't find them," I growl out.

It goes quiet for a moment then the leopard yowls again and I shiver, yanking the blanket tighter around me.

"Can you make it stop?" Nix pleads.

I clench my jaw and mutter a few words under my breath. The sound of the dæmon's cries slowly fades into silence.

*******

My lungs and legs burn as if they're on fire. I keep seeing spots—no matter how many deep breaths I take.

"I hate cardio," I huff, plopping my hands on my hips.

"Would you like me to carry you?" Nix asks with an amused chuckle.

I wave them away with a scowl. "Oh shut up," I grumble, gritting my teeth as I climb the last stretch of mountain.

"You know this would be easier if there wasn't any snow."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah no shit," I mumble.

"Well why didn't you just melt it all?"

I pause, my lips pursing in annoyance as the spell for fire immediately comes to mind. "Why didn't you mention that before we started the trek up this stupid thing?"

"Me? You're the witch shouldn't you remember that there's a spell to get rid of the snow!"

I groan at the sky, my arms falling against my sides. "I'm too tired for this."

"What the fuck are you two doing up here?"

I jump a little, wildly searching for the source of the voice. In one of the dips surrounding the mouth of the volcano is Fara. She eyes Nix and I with a mixture of annoyance and confusion.

"Zari said you hang out up here when you're not feeling so hot," I say, my lip curling upwards as I realize the pun I made.

Nix chuckles and nudges my shoulder. "That was clever," they laugh under their breath.

Fara sighs heavily, tucking her knees up to her chest. "It calms me down," she mumbles.

"Well I was hoping to talk to you, but if you're stressed I can come back some other time?" I offer.

She shakes her head. "It's fine. What's going on?"

"How much do you know about he leopard dæmon?"

She frowns, her forehead creasing. "Uh her name is Zahra, my mother went to the clans to get her—"

"Wait your mother—"

"Sorry—no Jaxon's mother asked for a dæmon to be made from the shadows and we brought it back here. We did a weird bonding ceremony using Jax and Ash's blood and she kinda turned into their baby," she tells me.

Her face is turning red and I bite the inside of my cheek. Hard. "What happened to—" Nix nudges my shoulder and I hold my tongue. Ask Lyza about it later, I tell myself firmly.

"How did you do the bonding?" Nix asks.

Fara throws me a sideways glance then shrugs. "Ash and Jaxon put their blood in a bowl and then we read some incantation and there was some smoke and poof, the leopard was stuck to them like glue," she recounts.

"Damn it," I hiss, burying my head in my hands.

"What? What's the matter?"

"It's not a true soul bond so we can't use her to make sure they're okay," Nix explains.

I sit down on the slick rock with a loud exhale. "And she's still in that room so she can't find them either," I mutter.

"How do you know so much about dæmons anyway?" Fara asks.

"I spent almost twenty years learning from the shadow masters," I tell her.

She gapes at me. "Twenty years?"

I nod. "I've spent most of my life as a student. I learn very quickly so I have been able to master many different trades," I explain.

"So can you like make a dæmon?"

The corner of my lip curls upward for just a moment. "I made my own dæmon."

"What!"

"His name was Sorin. He was a dragon."

Her eyes widen as she leans forward, almost as if to see me better. "Wait—you're saying you made a dragon dæmon!"

"He was a small dragon but yes. He was about two meters long if you included his tail."

Her face falls. "Was?"

There's a sharp pain in my chest as I take a deep breath. "Yeah. He died protecting me a few years ago."

"How the hell do you kill a dæmon? That seems impossible."

"Magic," I reply, clenching my jaw.

"Who did it?"

I cross my legs and stare down at my lap. "She's dead now, it doesn't matter."

"Did you kill her?"

My gaze snaps up. "So what if I did?"

"Sorry you just don't strike me as the killer type," she mumbles with a shrug.

"I don't like to kill, I just happened to be very good at it—or at least I was before Syrra cursed me."

"I'd like to be good at it," she murmurs.

I don't say anything. I'm not entirely sure what to say. This girl reminded me of Lyza when I first met her but now she is starting to remind me of Syrra, and I'm not sure I like that.

My head snaps up when I feel a sudden warmth beside me. My gaze locks onto Sorin's translucent form.

Did you find them? I ask.

No, but I figured out why you can't.

I sit up straighter, instantly alert. What! How?

The magic they use to cloak their territory has a particular signature.

They're using magic to cloak it?

His pale head nods. It's cerulean magic.

All of the color drains from my face and my chest tightens.

"Jada what's wrong? Did Sorin find something?" Nix asks.

"The angels use magic to cloak their territory," I tell them.

"Okay and?"

My tongue flicks out to run over my dry lips. "It's my mother's magic."

******

Sorry for the wait guys!! I hate working so much