The Scars of Her Dragon (Dragon Guard Series Book 14) by Julia Mills Page A

and I know it was your choice to help those people before worrying about yourself, but not this time. No more scars. You get me? Not this time.”
    Smiling at Maddox’s rare show of sentimentality, Kellan readily agreed. “I get you...and Maddox?”
    “Yeah?”
    “Thanks.”
    Maddox dropped his hands from Kellan’s shoulders and had taken a step around him when Rory called from just behind them. “Aww, boys, I’m shattered...”
    Kellan turned just in time to see his smartass friend put his hand over his heart and pretend to swoon then add, “You left me out of the love fest.”
    “Shut the hell up, you pain in the ass,” Maddox grumbled as he stomped past Rory towards the noise of their brethren.
    Rory and Kellan burst out laughing while following the muttering mad dragon back towards the house. As they walked, Rory asked, “So the old man get you all sorted out?”
    “You heard?”
    “Hell, I think the ancients heard, “Rory snorted. “Maddox really needs to learn to shield his thoughts a little better.”
    “Can you teach an old dragon new tricks?” Kellan snickered.
    “Not sure, but if I’m right, which you know I usually am,” Rory waggled his eyebrows and barked out a laugh, “there’s a certain Grande Priestess who thinks she might be up to the challenge.”
    Shaking his head and trying to imagine Maddox with a mate as they stepped on Rian’s deck and opened the sliding glass door, all Kellan could say was, “Is it bad if I hope you’re wrong?”
    “Not at all, brother, not at all.”
    Laughing together, they rejoined their friends and family and prepared for the battle to come.

Chapter Eight
    A ny other time, spending four hours with her arms wrapped around her dragon would’ve been heaven, but on this occasion, Olive could not stop thinking about what they were driving towards, what they would find, how much more blood would be shed in the name of justice. Riding on the back of Kellan’s Harley as he roared over every hill and took corners like they were on rails was so much like flying she’d had to remind her dove to stay put until she was needed. And there was no doubt the beasts that lie within all of them were going to be needed when they arrived at Tariq O’Baoill’s house of horrors.
    Flashes of the images Max had shown ran through her mind, reminding her...preparing her for what was to come. This was about so much more than capturing a madman and his followers. This rescue mission was about protecting their kin and restoring order to the Universe.
    Olive smiled as she thought about something her mother used to say to her when she was a little girl ... Light needs darkness in order to shine so brightly. Just like darkness needs light to be seen. One cannot exist without the other. All that matters is that you choose to live in the light while respecting the darkness. It is all about balance, my sweet daughter. Always look for the balance. It had never been a secret why her mother’s name was Seraphina or why she’d been the Spiritual Leader of the Clan of the Light for so very many years. The older dove had a wisdom that few had been blessed with and even fewer could truly comprehend.
    Letting her mother’s teachings of tolerance and peace fill her with the resolve needed to do what was being asked of her, Olive also shared it with Kellan. Letting it flow through their mating bond to ease the anxiety and anger battling within her mate, the dove prayed her dragon would get the closure he so desperately sought.
    They arrived ahead of everyone else. Kellan left her to watch for the others while he scouted the ridge surrounding the facility. Staying connected through their bond as mates, Olive was able to see everything her dragon did. To the naked eye, it appeared to be nothing more than an open pasture with a large metal circle sitting atop a two-foot by two-foot raised concrete platform in the middle. The grounds were well maintained without so much as a weed, but what was