Dragon's Hope: A Reverse Harem Serial (Blood Prophecy Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  The Blood Prophecy Series

  The story so far

  Aria

  Mateo

  Erik

  Bastian

  Rhys

  Casius

  About the Authors

  Books by Lili Zander

  Books by Rory Reyonlds

  Dragon’s Hope

  Blood Prophecy Book 3

  Lili Zander

  Rory Reynolds

  Copyright © 2018 by Lili Zander, Rory Reynolds.

  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 permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Design by Kasmit Covers

  Contents

  The Blood Prophecy Series

  The story so far

  Prologue

  1. Aria

  2. Mateo

  3. Aria

  4. Erik

  5. Aria

  6. Aria

  7. Aria

  8. Aria

  9. Bastian

  10. Aria

  11. Erik

  12. Aria

  13. Rhys

  14. Aria

  15. Casius

  16. Aria

  17. Aria

  18. Aria

  19. Aria

  20. Aria

  21. Mateo

  22. Aria

  23. Bastian

  24. Aria

  The Blood Prophecy Series

  About the Authors

  Books by Lili Zander

  Books by Rory Reyonlds

  The Blood Prophecy Series

  Don’t miss any of the books.

  Dragon’s Thief

  Dragon’s Curse

  Dragon’s Hope

  Dragon’s Ruin - releasing Mar 22

  Dragon’s Treasure

  Subscribe to Lili Zander’s mailing list and be the first to find out when new Blood Prophecy books are released!

  The story so far

  After a near-death encounter with a panther shifter guard, twenty-four-year-old Norm Aria Archer promises to give up her thieving ways and embrace the straight and narrow. Unfortunately, her resolve doesn’t last long. Silas, the wolf-shifter who took her in from the streets when she was fourteen, is gravely ill, and cannot pay for the treatment he needs to stay alive.

  When the mysterious Drakkar Raedwulf offers Aria a million dollars to steal from the five dragon princes, Aria has no choice other than to accept. Though everyone in her life warns her about the dangerous dragons, Aria is determined to help Silas.

  With the help of a bear-shifter called Mariana Dupree and a magical tattoo artist called Pieter Van Den Berg, Aria infiltrates the Valhalla Ball, a party thrown by Dragon Prince Bastian Jaeger, and tries to sneak up to the dragon lords’ penthouse suite.

  But the five dragon princes are onto her, and the instant she opens the safe she’s been hired to empty, they appear around her…

  …And claim that she’s their mate.

  Rather understandably, Aria’s more concerned about the danger Silas is in. If she doesn’t show up with the contents of the dragon princes’ safe, Drakkar Raedwulf will kill Silas. She waits until the dragons are asleep, robs the safe and sneaks out of their apartment to meet her client.

  But Aria doesn’t have whatever Raedwulf is looking for. Enraged, he almost kills her. In the nick of time, Bastian rescues her, though he’s wounded in the attack. Raedwulf and one of his wolf-shifter companions manage to escape, but the third wolf-shifter is taken prisoner by Bastian’s guards.

  Aria has abilities that are far greater than any Norm, and the dragon princes try to uncover the mystery of her identity. Silas tells them that he’s been working on the same thing. He kept his findings in a diary that’s stored at his friend Pete’s house. Unfortunately, when Silas and dragon prince Erik Valder get to Pete’s apartment, they discover that the Norm had been killed by Drakkar Raedwulf, who’s also taken the diary.

  Aria mourns Pete and decides to confront Raefwulf’s associate, who is being treated for concussion in a hospital. When she gets there, she’s taken prisoner by Dr. Brown, a one-time associate of Raedwulf. Aria’s able to harness Dragon Prince Mateo Valentini’s magic to free herself from the doctor, another sign that she’s not entirely Norm.

  The dragon princes grow concerned at the danger Aria is in, and want to send her away, but Aria realizes she can’t leave. She’s part of a five-hundred-year-old prophecy, and she’s the dragons’ mate. She’s ready to break the curse that’s draining magic from the world.

  Which brings us to…

  Prologue

  When I was young,

  The ravens Huginn and Muninn,

  Thought and Memory,

  Messengers of Odin, AllFather,

  Came to me in a dream.

  They offered me the gift of power.

  I was foolish.

  I forgot to ask the cost.

  I forgot that the AllFather can be a fickle trickster.

  I accepted.

  The ravens gave me magic.

  Power and treasure both.

  And with it, an unasked offering.

  The gift of foresight.

  I see everything.

  I see my beloved mate wither and die.

  I see the ending of magic,

  And the ruin of my people.

  Every path in front of me ends in destruction.

  All paths but one.

  It is treacherous.

  And I may yet fail.

  But fight I must.

  1

  Aria

  Here’s what I know.

  I trust the five dragon princes. Even Erik.

  I like them. Well, maybe not Erik.

  But I’m not going to sleep with them. Not yet.

  Because, despite what Casius said to me Sunday evening about magic not subverting my will, I’m not ready to jump into bed with five guys I don’t know. Even though they’re smoldering hot. Even though I really want to.

  I don’t trust the need that fills me when I look at them. I don’t trust the tug I feel toward them. It would be easy to give into the compulsion, to let the blood magic take over, but that’s not right, and it’s not fair.

  I’m twenty-four. Bea and I spend a lot of time talking about guys, but mostly, we talk about sex. Wanting it, not getting it, gardens getting plowed, fields lying fallow. We never talk about love or marriage. Those things are for when we are older when we feel more grown-up. More ready for adulthood.

  But if the five dragons are going to be my mates, I want to do this right.

  Time to gear up for a fight.

  Pete’s funeral is on Monday.

  The funeral home is packed with mourners, friends of Pete’s from the days he owned the Cellar. Though I haven’t seen most of this crowd in the last four years, I still remember them, and they remember me.

  After the service, we all head to a bar around the corner, where Silas has reserved a private room. Everyone has a story to tell about Pete Solomon. I swallow the lump in my throat as I listen to their memories, all that’s left of Uncle Pete.

  He died hard. I haven�
��t seen the body—I don’t want to—but it was a closed casket ceremony. I can put two-and-two together as well as the next person.

  Drakkar Raedwulf will pay for this.

  “How’re you holding up, little thief?” Rhys sits down at the empty chair next to me and hands me a beer.

  Not well. “I’ll be fine.”

  He laces his fingers in mine. “It’s okay to feel sad, Aria.”

  “How can I? The person who did this is still out there.”

  I’m waiting for Rhys to promise me that they’ll catch Drakkar, that they’ll make him pay for his crimes. But he doesn’t say either of those things. “I was born in a time of war,” he says, his voice reflective. “Zyrian’s curse was already sapping magic from the world. My parents were not mated, not truly. I don’t think they shared much love for each other, but they did their duty. Even though they were being hunted by Raedwulf and spent much of their life in hiding, they produced the Griffith heir.”

  I look at him curiously. There’s so much about the dragons I don’t know, and Rhys, for all his cheerfulness, is still a mystery to me. “Are they alive?”

  He shakes his head. “They died two hundred years ago.” He nods toward a tired-looking Bastian. “Bastian hasn’t smiled in years,” he says. “He blames himself for the curse. He lives for duty.”

  “You don’t approve?”

  “We squabble a lot, the five of us,” he replies. “Our rivalries are legendary. But that’s the surface. Scratch it, and there’s a deeper truth there. We are the last five dragon princes. What we have between us is a bond that cannot be broken. So, no, to answer your question, I don’t approve. Life shouldn’t be only about duty. Life is about living. About laughter and joy.”

  I remember the way he went down on me. “And good sex?” I ask dryly.

  He flashes me an amused glance. “There’s always room for good sex,” he agrees. “When you’re ready.”

  Rhys is more perceptive than he lets on. “You noticed.”

  He chuckles. “Were you trying to be subtle? You went to bed at nine, complaining that you had a headache. We got the message.”

  “You don’t seem annoyed,” I say carefully.

  “Aria, this might surprise you, but we’re not incapable of feeling. We understand how difficult this must be for you. Almost everything in your life has changed in one week. It would be incredibly insensitive for us to pressure you for sex right now.”

  Rhys might not want to pressure me, but the mating bond, on the other hand, shows no such restraint. I feel myself sway toward him, and I have to force myself to sit still. He’s still holding my hand, his thumb tracing soft circles on my palm, and it takes all the willpower I possess to keep myself from dragging him to a secluded corner and letting my need take over.

  He seems to read my thoughts, because he lets go of my hand, his smile strained. “You’re not ready, love.”

  “What if I’m never ready?”

  “That’s never happened before,” he says with a wicked grin, lightening the mood considerably. “But if it does, I’m sure Bastian or Erik will say that a little rejection is good for me.”

  I shake my head, my lips twitching. “You’re really cocky.”

  “Admit it. You love it.”

  I’m about to answer when I feel the weight of someone’s stare on me. I look up and see Erik scowling in my direction, disapproval radiating from him. Immediately, my smile fades, and my mood dampens. Yes, it’s Pete’s funeral, and yes, I guess I should be more somber. All around us, Pete’s friends are drinking and laughing, but Erik’s censure is reserved just for me.

  Lovely.

  Over the next two days, I barely see the dragon princes. Rhys leaves on some mysterious errand. Bastian spends most of his time away from the penthouse. He’s gone by the time I wake up and doesn’t return until after midnight. Casius and Mateo have taken up residence in Bastian’s office, huddled over their laptops.

  Erik comes and goes, always glowering at me.

  By the time Wednesday rolls around, I’m cranky as hell. I don’t expect the dragons to dance to my beck and call, but I’m being treated like furniture, and I’m sick of it. I’m tired of being stuck here, with nothing other than my phone for company.

  I haven’t been to work in four days. I called Brooke on Monday and apologized for missing my shift on Sunday. “I expected better from you, Aria,” she’d sniffed. I lied and told her I’d been too sick to call, and she let me grovel for another fifteen minutes before she relented and told me I still had my job. “Come in on Friday,” she’d said. “You can close.”

  Of course. Trendz gets new inventory on Fridays. Brooke hates putting shit away.

  With Bea, I used a different lie. One closer to the truth. I texted her, saying that Pete had died unexpectedly, and I was comforting a broken-up Silas. “That’s terrible, Aria,” she’d replied. “You still coming to the Cellar on Wednesday?”

  “Yes.”

  Which brings me to now. I wander out to the large eat-in kitchen. Nobody’s around. It was all ‘oh, you’re so precious, you’re our mate’ when they thought I might sleep with them. The moment I put the no-sex rule in place, they ran. Typical. Norm, magical or dragon princes—guys are dicks.

  With mounting irritation, I head to Bastian’s office and throw open the door. Mateo and Casius look up at the noise. “What’s wrong, tesoro?”

  “Does something have to be wrong for me to come in here?” I’m aware I sound like a whiny, snot-nosed kid. Bea and I used to babysit her younger brother Jeremy in high school for extra cash. Jeremy was eight then, and his favorite phrase was ‘I’m bored.’ Read a book, I used to tell him. Learn to entertain yourself.

  Jeremy is sixteen now. He’s excited about getting his driver’s license. What use is a car in the city? Dumb kid. Then again, I guess it’s a rite of passage. I’d been thrilled when I passed my own test.

  Both Mateo and Casius are staring at me. “Of course not, Aria,” Casius replies. “You’re welcome here anytime.”

  Really? Cause I don’t remember being invited. “I need to talk to you guys. All of you.”

  Mateo gets to his feet, stretching lazily. His t-shirt rides up, and those six-pack abs come into view, and damn my stupid hormones, I want to lick them. Even though I’m really annoyed with him. “Sure,” he says agreeably. “I could use a break. You hungry, Aria? I thought we’d order pizza for lunch. Casius and I will go pick it up.”

  “Can I pick the toppings?”

  A smile tips the corners of his mouth. “Let me guess. You want black olives, mushrooms, and spinach. And extra sauce.”

  He noticed what I like on my pizza? My cheeks heat. Okay. I guess they aren’t that bad after all.

  2

  Mateo

  The moment Casius and I are in the lobby, I pull out my phone and call Bastian. “We’re fucking up with Aria,” I say bluntly. “We’re going to lose her.”

  Bastian sighs. “Rhys told us to back off. We backed off.”

  “We might have made a mistake. Aria’s not happy, Bastian. We need to talk to her. Find out what she wants.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “On our way to pick up pizza. 57th & 6th Ave.”

  “Get her olives, mushrooms, and spinach,” he says. “Extra-sauce. Crushed red pepper on the side.”

  I open the door of the pizza parlor. “Already on it,” I reply. “Where are you? Where are the others?”

  “Right around the corner. I’ll text Rhys and Erik, and tell them to be home for lunch.” The doorbells chime behind me, and Bastian strides through. I place the pizza order, and the three of us settle into a booth.

  Bastian runs his hand through his hair. “How’s she doing?”

  “She hasn’t left the condo since the funeral,” I reply. “How do you think she’s doing? Bastian, we’re screwing up.”

  Bastian frowns. “We’re trying to do what’s best for her.”

  Casius hadn’t thought very much of our plan whe
n we hatched it, and he doesn’t think very much of it now. “Yes, we are, and it’s not working.” He leans forward and gives us a pointed, ‘I-told-you-so’ look. “Let’s try something different this time. Let’s try asking her what she wants.”

  Of course. Dragons are long-lived. I’m three hundred and forty-five years old, but I’ve lived just over a quarter of my allotted measure. Aria isn’t Norm, but she’s not shifter either. She’s twenty-four. She’s lived as much of her life as I have mine.

  Under the guise of keeping her safe, we’ve been treating her like a child. We’ve been making decisions for her.

  It’s time to change that.

  3

  Aria

  Mateo and Casius return with three extra-large boxes of pizza. Bastian is right behind them. Huh. That’s odd. Bastian hasn’t been home for lunch all week.

  “Hey,” he says to me cautiously.

  I tilt my head to one side. “Why are you home early? Why are you looking at me that way?”

  “What way?”

  “Tentatively.” Bastian is a lot of things, but so far, tentative hasn’t been in his wheelhouse. “As if you think I’m going to yell at you.”

  His lips twitch. “Are you?”

  “Not before lunch,” I reply with a grin. “I do my best yelling on a full stomach. Did you get me spinach, mushrooms, and black olives?”

  “He didn’t,” Mateo says over his shoulder. “We did.”

  I shake my head, amused. “Either way. I have pizza. That’s all I care about.”

  The front door opens, and Rhys enters, shaking snow from his shoulders. “Hey, Aria,” he says cheerfully. “Ah, lunch. Let me guess. Mushrooms, black olives, and spinach?”

  Does everyone know my pizza preferences? Before I can ask, Silas and Erik walk in.

  I give Silas a searching look. He had a transfusion twelve days ago. He’s looking pretty good, all things considered, but he’ll be bedridden again next week. “Where have you been?”

  “Hanging out with Alpha Hyde and the Eclipse pack,” he says, taking off his jacket. “God, it’s cold outside.”

  “You were with the Eclipse pack?” I asked Silas once why he lived alone, and he told me the story of his pack’s slaughter. “I thought you didn’t like Hyde.”