Lana hopped off the bed, staring at her hands. “Shit, what the hell? Am I always going to look like this?”
Scales covered her body. Red, blue, purple. She ran her hands from her collarbones, down. Scales everywhere.
“You’re beautiful, but you won’t always look like this. It’s the awakening. You partially shifted. Glamour will prevent it.”
She spun to look in the mirror. Her features had shifted to look more like a lizard. Her skin flowed through colors. It took her a moment to digest the image.
“You think I’m beautiful?” she asked.
He moved behind her, placing his chin on her shoulder and looking into her eyes through the mirror. “You are as beautiful in this form as your usual form.”
Okay, she could get used to that.
Turning to Lonny, she let out a breath. “So, how do I learn what to do?”
“Well, there are two water dragons you can easily contact. Fuerah will take a little bit of work. We need Reance’s help. I doubt he’ll have a problem with that. I just fear for Alenathos when she finds out where you are.”
“They’re bound. That will prevent them from harming each other. But even though Saressa is no longer an issue, she refuses to be in his presence now. All because he took me from her.”
“Why?” Lonny asked, though he seemed to know the answer.
She sighed. “He did it to protect me from Saressa, or another master.” She closed her eyes. “He wouldn’t want you to be my master, would he?”
“I think his view may have changed, thanks to Isadora only calling him when she needs his help and he would be willing.”
She nodded. “Reance has never forced Fuerah to do anything she doesn’t want.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Lana.”
She sighed. “He doesn’t get a say. He hid me from my mother He made choices without her. I’m making a choice with you that you would be the best person for the title. You can see if we can find some way to avoid it, but if not, you’re my best bet.”
Nodding, he shrugged. “Okay. All right.”
“That’s better. I like it when you don’t push me away.”
He sighed. “Can you blame me for wanting you to be free?”
“No, which makes me trust you even more.” She sighed. “You know, I get why he did it. I get why Fuerah’s pissed. I’m not sure there is a good solution.”
“They can work that out. How do you feel? Do you want to know both of them? Alenathos did protect you tonight.”
She sighed. “I have questions. I can’t see everything. I see bits and pieces. One thing I need to know. Why send me away?”
“Isa asked her parents that same question at first, and all I can say is they had their reasons. Right or wrong, he must have believed it was the best choice.”
“I can’t figure out what he was thinking there.”
“Some of us don’t get everything as clear as others do. My memories were murky. I tend to know what I need as I need it. I can’t usually pull it randomly. You have far more access than I ever did. And I’m full Hyter Sprite.”
“I’m full dragon,” she countered.
He shook his head. “You’re half fire dragon, half water dragon. That’s not the same. You’re mixed and have the potential to be more powerful than any dragon in ages.”
“Why?”
He sighed. “You know how Isa is special?”
She nodded. “But I only have two elements.”
“I’ve never met a dragon that inherited both. And a moment ago you were rocking both water and fire colors, plus intermingled colors.”
“What?” She looked down. Her skin had faded back to her luminescent pale skin. “Oh.”
He nodded. “I told you not to worry about that.”
Smiling, she nodded. “I have a lot to get used to. And as long as you’re there with me, I can get through anything.”
“I’m not leaving your side. You’re stuck with me, babe.”
She pulled him close and kissed his lips before leaning back. “So I’m different?”
“And special.”
She looked around. “And famished. Is there food?”
He nodded. “I made sure of that. I was planning to come here to get away from everyone anyway. It’s how I knew for sure it was empty, that I had permission.”
“Oh.”
“In fact, Sammy told me to ask you to come along already.” He lifted one shoulder. “You’re here now.”
“I’m glad. But when do we have to go back? Can we simply hide here?”
“The wards would hold. However, we might have an issue with learning anything new. When you’re ready, we need to contact your parents, Isa, and Toryn, or someone who knows more so we can figure out what to do about everything.”
“For now, let’s eat. Then we can worry about it after we sleep and make love.”
“Everyone will want to know what is going on, and who your parents really are. We can worry about that later, though. For now, you’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”
She pulled him back into bed.
Chapter 8
Isa sat up in bed and turned to Toryn, who stood at the desk in a pair of silk pants. He glanced over. “What’s wrong?”
“I know why Alenathos was there last night. Why he killed the bastard who tried to shoot Lana. Fuck, how did I not know?”
“What are you talking about?” Toryn prompted.
“The bastard took their child and hid her with a dumbfuck here on Earth.”
“He had a child with Fuerah?” Toryn sat down beside Isa. “You’re sure?”
“My dad knows all about it. He helped Alenathos bring Lana here. That’s why Fuerah hates her mate so much.”
“Shit. Okay. So wait…oh fuck. Dragons’ awakenings can be disastrous.”
“Why?” Isa asked slowly.
“They tend to change, at least partly. Sometimes they eat the person who brings them through.”
Isa’s head cocked as she watched Toryn. “But she loves Lonny, even if she’s not willing to admit it. She has forever. You really think she would kill him? Because I don’t. I’m not sure she has killing in her at all.”
“Anyone does when pushed too far,” Toryn answered. “But you’re right. Still…she doesn’t know what she is.”
Isa shook her head. “She’s convinced she’s weak. God, if she’s a dragon she’s anything but.”
“She’s something like the dragon version of what you are, Isa.”
A smile crossed her lips. “Why?”
He sighed. “Because dragons don’t breed with other elements. It could turn their people against them. Lana won’t be accepted. And she’ll be considered far too powerful.”
Isa grinned. “Good, so she can learn to defend herself. Maybe she can put that slimy bastard in his place.”
He sighed. “I should call Lonny.”
“Maybe you should give them a day. I mean, they’ve been ignoring what they wanted for years.” She laughed. “Reminds me of us.”
He smiled as he took her hand. “Yeah, only there was no reason he couldn’t have pursued her. He only stayed away to keep the secret of what you are.”
“She could have kept the secret from me.”
He sighed. “You remember how you had trouble controlling your power at first? Well, she may have an even harder time.”
“Why?”
He looked at the ceiling a second, then focused back on her. “Remember how Jackie took some time to learn how not to shift underwater?”
“Sure, what about it?”
“You know how Alenathos changes shapes at a whim?”
“Oh.” She blinked, then smirked. “So, she can take many shapes now.”
“Yes, but you can teach her how to use glamour to prevent that. After all, you’ve become quite good at shifting shapes and impersonations.”
She lifted a shoulder. “What can I say, I
have to keep up with you.”
He leaned in to kiss her. “I love you no matter what.”
“Yeah, well, how do we help Lana?”
Toryn lay back, pulling her with him. She snuggled closer, and their boy kicked. He covered her moving belly with one hand. “You don’t need to deal with Kevin.”
“Don’t tell me that. It’s my bar, and Lana took over plenty while I was adjusting. It’s my turn to step up. Besides, I want to know what the hell is going on, and if I’m there, I can figure it out. It’s just the books I’m not a fan of.”
“Yeah, but I’ll help if you want.”
She sighed. “We’ll see. You may prove too distracting.”
“Yeah, same as you. Now, we should get there early. Maybe I can figure out what happened. Sooner we have answers, the faster we can put a stop to the madness.”
She climbed from the bed. “Fine, you’re right.” She turned back. “You know, I want to be mad at Alenathos for keeping secrets, but I get why he did.”
She headed to the closet. He tried to follow, but she shut the door. Laughing, she said, “We need to help Lana. She helped me plenty when I was going through everything.”
“You’re right,” he answered.
* * * *
Kevin stood outside Shenanigans. He was tired, but it was worth it to keep truly dangerous Others out of the human jails. And normally, he didn’t deal with a lot of Others. He spent most of his time dealing with normal human criminals.
Which was worse? That all depended on the day.
And right now, he didn’t understand enough of what was going on. The Fae had their own politics, laws, and other bullshit. But when they were on Earth, they had to follow the Silver Council’s laws. Only most of them coming and going from Faery didn’t want to recognize authority.
Toryn’s company, Ward Tower Security worked with the Council more often than not, providing information the Council may not otherwise gain.
Of course, he was early. And even though Lana would have stayed the night before, it was probably better she’d left.
He’d already been to Lonny’s smoldering yard and had no clue what to think about that. Magic, ancient and old. He didn’t know anything beyond that.
A car pulled up. Isa climbed out and moved to the sidewalk. Toryn shook his head as he stepped out of the passenger seat.
“Why so early?” Toryn asked.
Kevin sighed. “Strange night. I assume you heard what happened at Lonny’s? No one was there by the time we got there, but the smell of charred death lingered.”
Toryn’s nose wrinkled.
“Well, we’re pretty sure the Delnias family in Faery, at least Maddock, has sent hired thugs for Lana. Either to take her or kill her. I’m willing to bet it’s more likely to take her.”
“Yeah, the weapon we found here was a dart gun. Thing is, those darts were designed to make it look like the person was dead, but only knock them out. I don’t know about what was at Lonny’s. The weapon was gone, but I did find a tiny hole in his door with a strange substance sliding down from the mar.”
“Did you identify the substance?”
“So far, we know it knocks humans out with contact, and that it’s Fae. There are properties not known on Earth.” Kevin nodded to the door. “Can we look around? Preston should be here soon with Robert. They wanted to try something, to see if we can identify the man.”
“Sure,” Isa said. She unlocked the door and went inside.
Toryn watched his pregnant mate before he turned to Kevin and rolled his eyes.
Kevin chuckled. “You want her to slow down, huh?”
He nodded. “I know she won’t, so I don’t even try to convince her. I just hope she doesn’t try to do too much while Lana’s gone.”
“She’s smart. She won’t overdo it.”
Robert and Preston appeared inside as they stepped in.
“Kevin already filled us in on what he knows,” Preston said. “I figure I can cast a spell to see if one of you can identify the guy.”
“Of course. Though Toryn can likely help you better than I can there.” Isa started down the hall. “I’m going to get a head start on the books. I may need it.”
Kevin took a seat on a stool, facing away from the bar.
Toryn took a seat beside him.
Robert stayed put, while Preston wove the spell. The bar was emptier than usual. It wasn’t often there weren’t a few stragglers at last call. But there were only two noticeable people at first. Toryn hopped up and walked closer to the doors, then redirected to a booth next to the entrance. “He was here that whole time, watching.”
They all moved to Toryn.
“Who is he?” Kevin asked. The man had inky blue-black hair, pale skin, extremely blue eyes. There was something different about him.
“Who’s that?”
“Alenathos,” Toryn answered, then turned back to the main part of the bar. “Lonny already mentioned he’d seen the dragon.”
“Dragon?” Kevin asked, one brow arched. “Goes by Alen?”
“Yeah, that guy. You’ve probably seen him around in various shades of blue,” Toryn answered.
Preston nodded at the center of the bar, where a dark swirl appeared, and the ghostly image of a man step through a portal.
“Damn it, that was Dormin. He’s a hired thug. The Delnias have had him on retainer for years. Most likely, when Reance outlawed arranged marriages, he decided to take Lana anyway.”
“Why?” Kevin asked. “I mean, were they supposed to be married?”
“Yeah, but no one knew until just before my wedding. It’s a long story, but that arrangement was dismantled.”
Kevin stepped toward Toryn. “The more information I have, the easier this will be.”
Toryn lifted a shoulder. “I don’t have all the answers in this case, but I imagine we’ll be hearing from Lana tomorrow, and I can get more details. Let’s just say that what we believed was the story isn’t the full story, and parts of it were wrong.”
“How?” Preston asked.
He shook his head. “I wish I knew. I don’t want to hide details, but I don’t have them. We’ll know more when we hear from Lana. In fact, if you’d like, I’ll make sure she contacts you tomorrow to explain. Until her awakening, some of those answers aren’t going to be clear, and some of them won’t even be solved with that.”
“Right, okay.”
Kevin paced away. “But we know who the guy was?”
“I’m certain of who it was. As for the one who showed up at Lonny’s, I don’t know who that is, but if you want to do this spell outside, we can do it there,” Toryn answered.
Preston shook his head. “There are too many people around there. We would only wake them up. Unfortunately, there is no good way to hide us and what we find from everyone.”
“Okay, but it’s going to be the same sort of story. Someone hired to bring her back. I need to verify a couple things before I give you more. I’m sorry.”
“Understood,” Robert answered. “Just keep us informed. Kevin can be your contact.”
Toryn nodded to Kevin. “As soon as I have real answers, you’ll have them.”
“Thank you.” Kevin watched as the scene unfolded.
Preston winced as the man turned to ice. “Do we charge Alenathos for protecting someone from possible murder?”
Toryn pushed fingers through his hair. “That’s for you to decide, but keep in mind he probably thought the same as Lonny and assumed he’d shot a gun at Lana. He protects Isa and everything he considers is hers, since he’s bound to her.”
Robert shook his head. “Why? Unless she ordered it?”
“I wish I could say more, but I don’t have all the answers. I may know more in the morning. Either way, I’ll call Kevin when I do.”
Kevin sighed. “Fine. Remember, it will be easier if we know more. And where is she now?”
“Lonny didn’t tell me where h
e’s taking her, but he will do everything he can to protect her.”
“I hope you’re right,” Preston stated. “I don’t know much about Hyter Sprites, but the name doesn’t inspire a lot confidence.”
“Ah, but you don’t know Lonny like I do. The man has more tricks up his sleeve than anyone I’ve ever met.”
“Unless there is anything we can do, we’ll let you get to it. However, if you run into Alenathos, get some answers from him.”
“Will do.” After some confirmation, he would call Kevin himself.
Kevin headed out, wondering what Toryn was hiding. He didn’t answer fully. He even said he didn’t have all the information and didn’t want to share just yet.
Preston touched his shoulder. “You okay?”
He sighed. “I wish I had more information. Why won’t he tell us?”
“Because he doesn’t know the whole story. There is one thing I know about Toryn. He wants to get to the bottom of something before he answers. He doesn’t like being wrong, and he probably doesn’t know enough to say with confidence.”
“Fair enough. I’ll let you know what I find out. I want to ask around. See if anyone may have seen anything.” He started for the car.
“The case is in good hands.”
Chapter 9
Lana woke early and as much as she wanted to stay in Lonny’s arms, she needed to clear her head. There were too many images and memories floating through her head. She caught enough to know that Alenathos wasn’t wrong to hide her.
Did that make him an asshole? Would it be safe if she stayed on Earth and hid the majority of her power? Could she?
And how did that prick Maddock find out about who she was and what she might be capable of?
The biggest thing on her mind was how to convince Lonny to bind her to him. She didn’t give a damn what anyone thought. She understood he’d been a slave, but that didn’t change that she trusted him not to abuse that bond.
She stared out the window, over trees that covered the steep hill to the water below. She couldn’t see the beach, but she knew it was down there somewhere.
Part of her wanted to go down to the water, but she’d heard about Jackie’s issues with shifting, and she wasn’t sure she could control anything at that point. So she pulled the blanket tighter and leaned her head against the back of the couch, still staring outside.
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