“A mated pair,” Dolion answered. “They are protective and deadly when their mate is in danger.”
Rory snorted. “They’re dangerous no matter what, demon.”
“Watch yourself, child,” Danni said through gritted teeth.
Rory rolled her eyes as if she wasn’t worried a bit about pissing off a demi-lord demon. “I’ve been playing with dragons for months,” Rory said dryly. “It’s going to take more than Dolion to cause me to shake in my combat boots.”
Danni sighed. She swore the young witch was going to be the death of her. She was difficult to control and very powerful. It was why Danni had taken her in. She wasn’t the girl’s real mother, though Rory didn’t know that.
“Just release the dragons and then wait for our arrival,” Danni said. “The Blackhorn coven will be coming with us, as well as the dark royal elementals. Don’t attack the wrong supernaturals.”
“I’m young, not an idiot,” Rory said.
“That’s debatable,” Dolion rumbled.
Rory ignored him and then said, “I’ll open the portal as soon as we’re done. Anything else, Mother?”
“Try not to die.”
“As if you’d care.” Rory shook her head and vanished.
“She has mommy issues,” Dolion said, his voice mocking.
Danni ground her teeth together. “You’re one to speak about issues, demon,” she snarled at him. “You want to unleash hell on earth. That qualifies you for a room in a mental hospital.”
“And what about you, priestess?” Dolion challenged. “Should I mention the things you have done in order to be a part of this? All because you desire your coven to be the most powerful?”
“If you know what’s good for you, you will keep your piranha-mouth shut.” Power hummed through her veins as she looked the demon in the eyes. He was powerful, no doubt, but Danni could give him a run for his money. She wouldn’t win, but she would drain a lot out of him which would make him vulnerable in their upcoming fight.
“Enough,” he snarled. “We need to make sure the Blackhorn coven is ready, and then I have a date with the dark royals. You and the other covens will meet us in Lugarig.
“Is it wise for us to just appear in the realm of dragons?” Danni asked him. “Rory has been building trust with them, but the beasts don’t take kindly to uninvited visitors.”
His smile sent a chill down her spine. “Who’s to say I haven’t already been a visitor?”
She should have seen that one coming. Dolion was nothing if not thorough.
He opened a portal with the ease of a royal elemental and motioned for her and the other witches to go through. Danni led the way and stepped into Blackhorn Manor.
Saphora watched as Danni and her six witches walked through the portal followed by Dolion. The room hummed with dark power, and the temperature dropped several degrees. It was odd considering that Dolion was a demon from hell. But darkness was the absence of light, which took away warmth and left coldness in its wake.
“Are we ready?” Saphora asked, her eyes looking at Danni then Dolion.
“Everything is falling into place,” the demon answered.
“Rory is releasing a mated pair of dragons as we speak,” Danni said.
There was a gasp around the room from Saphora’s coven. She hadn’t given them all of the information about the plan Dolion had laid out to her and Danni. It wasn’t their place to approve of her actions. It was their job to obey.
“We have one more stop to make,” Dolion said. He opened the portal that Saphora knew led to the dark royal elementals. She steeled herself to be in the presence of the powerful supernaturals. She knew what was coming, and, though she was nearly drunk on the idea of the power within her reach, she hated the idea of giving anyone power over her. But that was the deal she and Danni had made with Dolion and the dark royals. And she couldn’t change her mind now. Not unless she wanted to die a horrible death … which she did not.
Viscious watched as the witches from the two covens filed in with Dolion bringing up the rear. He was itching to get things underway, and he felt like growling at how long Dolion had taken at getting everything in place.
“Glad you finally decided to join us,” Viscious snapped.
“You know these things cannot be rushed, fire king,” Dolion said in a slow voice.
“Perhaps not,” Nimue, the dark earth queen said, “But they should be done in a timely manner, or we will never take control.”