by Dianna Love
Sounding more resigned than welcoming, she said, “If I agree to allow you to enter TÅμr Medb to see your sister, what do you give me in exchange?”
What a soulless bitch.
But Daegan wanted to insure Lesley would survive so he could return to his father. If he convinced Queen Maeve to allow him entrance and Lesley did not appear to be healin’, he would teleport Lesley away and face the consequences later.
Lifting his voice above the roaring sea, he called out, “What would ya have me do in exchange to see my sick sister, Queen Maeve?”
Completely unbothered by his subtle accusation of her keeping a sick sibling from him, the queen replied, “I have not thought on it, but I do need a sword arm. Someone to lead my warlocks to avenge a wrong done to me.”
Daegan couldn’t believe she expected him to lead a group of vicious warlocks, but asking for details and arguing would take too long. He made up his mind right then he would teleport Lesley to his father’s castle and wait there for this dark queen to visit. “Very well, I will do this for you one time only, but I feel ‘tis unkind to ask such a favor.”
“You may enter,” Queen Maeve said, not addressing his complaint. “When you teleport in, do not forget this is my realm and think to spout orders. I will not be pushed around or insulted by the king’s pet monster.”
Daegan thought about all the times he had dealt with Queen Maeve for his father. She had never shown any grace. Just a goddess with a nasty temperament, but that did not make her unique.
After noticing dark shadows under Lesley’s eyes last year, he’d asked his sister privately, “Do ya wish to return home?”
Lesley had been startled by his question and whispered with wariness, “Queen Maeve will never allow me to leave.”
Keeping his voice just as soft, he had told her, “I do not mean to tout myself, but I am no mere dragon. I have powers Queen Maeve would not dare test.”
“I do not wish for her to harm you, brother.”
“That will not happen. Ya must know I will do anything required of me to protect ya and Jennyver, should either of ya need me.”
Lesley had kissed his cheek then shook her head. “We all have a duty. This is mine, but I thank you for the offer.” That had been the last time he had seen her until now.
“What will it be, dragon?” Maeve bellowed over the churning water and wind.
“I accept your generous offer to allow me to teleport into your realm.” Those words had struggled to leave his throat. “I have no quarrel with ya, Queen Maeve, and have agreed to stand as your sword arm. Therefore, I will cause no trouble.”
“Very well. I will send you a vision as your destination.”
That was different.
The one time he’d visited this realm in the past, the queen had teleported him into the tower where he had been provided time to visit with his sister within the realm.
He had found no reason to complain back then.
But never had this queen provided a vision of her inner tower for teleporting on his own. He would hold that vision in his head should he ever need to return without an invitation once he withdrew Lesley from this realm.
Perhaps he should accept this olive branch and not display poor manners wrought by suspicion on his part, even if Queen Maeve had asked much for a visit.
In the next second, a swirling vision formed in front of his eyes of a bedchamber with his sister sleeping.
He called up his power and teleported into the realm.
Unlike the last time when the teleporting had been calm, spinning energy and power buffeted him much worse now than the wind and ocean. As the swirling finally ended, Ruadh growled in his mind. Bad smell. Leave.
Not now, Ruadh. My sister needs me. Daegan moved across the room, admitting silently that his dragon had a point. What was the awful smell? Burned limes?
The same smell as in his father’s bedroom?
Perhaps Queen Maeve had grounds for demanding Lesley remain here.
As he approached his sister sleeping beneath a fur in the black-wood bed, he took in her pale skin against hair the color of dark wine. Her sunken cheeks and thin arms had not happened in mere hours. She had lost weight since his last visit when she asked him to once more turn down the king’s proposal for a marital match. Was Lesley happy here?
Daegan leaned down to kiss her cheek.
His vision blurred.
He blinked hard and reached out for her hand.
Ruadh shouted in his mind. Stop!
But Daegan had already latched onto her hand.
A black fog burst around him in a thick cloud. He froze. His dragon shouted words, but they were muffled.
Everything slowed as if the world had become weary of moving. Daegan watched in horror as his sister’s eyelids opened and she turned to him.
White orbs stared back at him.
This was not Lesley.
He called upon his power to teleport out.
Nothing happened. His hands and arms refused to move. He struggled, but no muscle obeyed his order. Even his mouth would not open.
His body suddenly yanked and twisted, sending him teleporting again. He landed on a hard floor in the middle of an area with poor lighting and dried blood splatters. Body parts of some unknown creatures lay along the edge of the round area, stinking. The walls were stone and sizzled with energy. Seventy feet up, a ceiling of smoky fog rolled around.
Only a fool would believe that an escape route.
Daegan tried again to bring the rock tower in the sea to mind and teleport away from this realm. Still nothing happened.
His gut twisted and churned.
Why would Queen Maeve do this? His jaws worked now. He roared, “I came in peace. Ya risk your pact with the king.”
No one answered.
Ruadh’s voice returned, now clear. I smell death everywhere.
I am sorry, Ruadh, but we will find a way to freedom, Daegan assured him in spite of worry sitting heavy as a cold stone in his chest.
Energy pushed at him when another being teleported in. He wished for it to be Maeve. She would face his fury.
Not a goddess. A large wyvern appeared. The dull-gray beast before him resembled a dragon but with two legs. This miserable creature could not defeat Ruadh.
Daegan had no choice but to call up his dragon. When Ruadh burst forth, he stood tall with bloodred wings outstretched and roared a furious sound that shook the stone floor beneath them.
Had the queen done all this just to watch his dragon fight a wyvern?
She should pay close attention.
It would be a brief battle.
The wyvern dropped down to launch itself at Ruadh.
Daegan’s dragon shot his head forward quickly, biting the wyvern’s neck to snap off its head.
Black fog boiled from the headless beast engulfing the red dragon in a muddy cloud of putrid smelling energy. A trap!
His dragon roared, Teleport now!
Daegan called upon all his power to break free, but he still could not. Neither could he speak a word. He’d never tried to teleport in dragon form, never had a reason to do so, but the action should have worked.
Voices filled the fighting ring, circling him and repeating the incantations.
His vision blurred. His body no longer belonged to him, refusing to task a muscle.
But through the haze, he saw Queen Maeve in a sparkling black gown, floating around his dragon body, chanting nonstop.
He would kill her and take Lesley home. The queen had breached the agreement.
Daegan called up his power, pushing hard to shift back to his human form. He remained in the same spot, still in dragon form.
He fought the urge to panic. He had to stay calm and get out of this any way he could and take his sister with him. A witch could not bind him this way, but he had never been tested by a goddess witch of dark powers.
That sickening burnt lime smell filled his head.
Black majik had to be at work.
If she returned him to human form, he might still teleport out.
He would never forget the words of the incantation she repeated over and over. He would use them to reverse whatever she hoped to gain.
His eyes rolled up into his head.
When he next came awake, he could move no part of his body. He couldn’t speak. Everything about him felt wrong. He could barely turn his head.
Not his head.
His dragon’s head.
He lowered his gaze. Horror flooded his mind. He couldn’t believe what she’d done to him. This could not be real.
Queen Maeve had turned his dragon body into a throne with a seat and square arms, all covered in red scales.
His mind fought the vision, refusing to accept what his eyes saw. He called telepathically to his dragon, Ruadh, can you hear me?
A rough moan came through, breaking his heart. What had she done to his dragon?
The queen appeared in the air before him, floating down until her bare feet touched the ground. She laughed and laughed, finding it more amusing every time she looked at him.
He could only imagine the king’s ransom she would demand for his return.
She finally gained enough control of herself to speak. She leaned in, placing those wicked fingers on him, so close he could see every black eyelash and the hate glittering in her evil eyes. She whispered, “You, the mighty red dragon, feared by all, dared to think you could kill me?”
I never threatened such a thing. The words stayed in his head, unable to be uttered.
She cocked her head and her smile tightened. “You question my words? You rush here at the king’s bidding, so sure you could enter my domain and do as you please. I know you tried to take Lesley from me upon your last visit. Stupid lizard. No one will ever take her. Dragons wait in line to take over your father’s kingdom. He does not have long to live. Not like me. Lesley will now be able to fulfill her destiny and you will never know how all this ends. Your father’s pet monster now helpless to save anyone.”
Damn you, witch, Daegan shouted in his head. My father kept his bargain.
He had never considered calling his mother’s name, but he would risk even that to escape this realm. He struggled to open his dragon jaws. They barely moved and only a puff of smoke came out when he tried to speak.
Queen Maeve dropped her head back and howled with laughter then faced him again. “You will not sleep. You will not speak. You will never be able to tell anyone what happened here even if you could speak. You will remain my throne for eternity.”
Daegan screamed in his head. “Noooo!”
A female reporter walked up with her cameraman following ten steps behind. “Excuse me, I’m Lydia Stone with Atlanta New Millennium News. I’d like to ask you about the recent paranormal activity rumored to be going on in Atlanta. Do you believe preternatural beings exist?” She smiled as if to let him know she found the mere idea amusing.
He glanced around at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta then touched the tie at his neck, careful to maintain the look of a legitimate businessman before answering. “I don’t wish to comment.”
She had a tenacious attitude. “So you don’t feel threatened walking around Atlanta at night when these scary creatures are supposed to be out?”
“No, I assure you I am safe at night.” As a warlock who answered to Queen Maeve, he feared little and continued toward the meet point for local members of his coven.
Chapter 1
Present day Atlanta, Georgia
Renata Sanchez paused her step at the odd silence that caught her attention as quickly as someone shouting. A city such as Atlanta had a heartbeat and pulse almost like that of a human. This city was known for many things, quiet not being one, not even in the shadows along the old railroad tracks below street level, the original Underground Atlanta.
Having traveled here from Brazil to aid her Belador counterparts, she’d been assigned a local partner for this patrol in temperatures dropping only to the sixties at night in June. Probably cool due to the scattered showers across the city.
“Do you notice the quiet that just happened?” she asked Devon, who had stopped walking. As a Belador teamed up with her because he knew the city, Devon had proudly stated he was a Cajun from Louisiana. His sexy accent backed up those words. Good thing she loved her Roberto, who had just as wonderful a Latino accent. Devon and Roberto shared similar qualities, both tall with nut-brown skin and deep brown eyes, great smiles and just plain nice.
But Roberto was the only man for her. She hoped to gain the dragon king’s permission to mate with a human.
“I did notice the quiet.” Devon glanced around. “But I’m not pickin’ up any supernatural presence nearby. What about you?”
“No.” As she spoke that one word, the sounds of life in the city returned. She glanced over to find Devon frowning. “That is not normal?”
“Not that I know of, but hey, what’s the definition of normal in our world?” He scratched his chin. “I’m thinking on calling that into Trey, just don’t know what I’d say. Everything got quiet, then noisy again?”
She’d been told that as the most powerful Belador telepathic in the southeast, and maybe in this entire country, Trey McCree coordinated their teams patrolling the city. “I must admit that does not sound significant without anything else happening.”
“Tell you what. Let’s see if it happens again. Right now, we just need to keep an eye out for any demons or other supernatural threat showing up, and keep humans from seeing those things.”
“You mean like the Medb,” she muttered, amazed that VIPER, a coalition of supernatural beings who protected humans from preternatural threats, had allowed Queen Maeve to send witches and warlocks into the human realm recently.
From what Renata had heard, the invasion had been for a short time, but some bad decisions are not easily reversed.
She could understand the friction between local Beladors and VIPER these days. They reached the corner of Turner Drive where they could turn left to walk in front of a large entertainment arena or take a right toward the center of the city. “Which way, Devon?”
He shrugged. “Let’s hang a left then take the next right. That’ll bring us to the World Congress Center then back to Centennial Olympic Park. We have another team working from that area to Baker Street. We’ll check to see if they’ve noticed anything strange like a sudden silence.”
“Good idea. I will follow you.” She fell into step with him. “Do you think humans will learn of us even with all the effort Beladors are putting into shielding the presence of supernatural beings?”
Devon ran a hand over his short hair. “I would have said no at one time, but we think someone, a nonhuman, is behind trying to out us. A few weeks back, one of our females riding a motorcycle through the city was intentionally wrecked along with a witch who’s an ally. Nasty wreck. They kidnapped the motorcycle rider. Of course, some humans were around that time of night with phones and filmed it. That started the first signs of our secret identities unraveling. But someone from our community had been there, ready for prime time video.”
Standing five-foot-eight, Renata had no trouble keeping up with Devon’s long strides. She had hoped the rumors about being outed had been blown out of proportion, but evidently not. “Do you mind if I ask if you’re married, Devon?”
“Nope.” He laughed. “I’m not. You hittin’ on me?”
“No.” She realized how that sounded and laughed, then quickly explained, “While you are attractive, I am spoken for.”
“Just cuttin’ up with you.” He gave her a friendly smile. “Congratulations. Is it just dating or more?”
“Maybe.”
His smile faltered. “Why do you say maybe?”
She debated on saying anythi
ng, but she had yet to meet any married Beladors back home mainly because she lived out in the country where there was little need for those with her powers. “I have been in this relationship for two years and he has asked me to marry him.”
“Well, damn.” Devon grinned. “That’s serious enough.”
She killed demons and other strange predators on her own when she did run into them, but having Devon excited about her engagement made her blush.
He eyed her hand. “Where’s your ring, woman?”
“I don’t want to wear it until I find out if ... it will be approved.”
Tossing a serious look her way, Devon nodded. “I get it. Your fiancé is human, right?”
“Yes. I would have traveled here just to help out my Belador family anyhow, but I jumped at the chance to come so I could ask the dragon king for permission. I have told Roberto nothing, because we are to not tell humans about what we are unless they are family or a spouse.”
Devon lifted a finger. “The dragon king’s name is Daegan, and I can’t see him denying you that opportunity. We have quite a few marriages with humans here. The only thing is he will warn you that now is a dangerous time to bring humans into our world.”
“I know this. I feel confident I can keep Roberto safe. We live so far from the city. I have only had to face two trolls and a demon in the past three years. Roberto had no idea when I fought them, but he was never in danger.” She considered Devon’s words and admitted, “I do not know if I can call our dragon king by his given name.”
Devon shook his head and chuckled.
She gave him a wry smile. She’d just turned twenty-five and felt a little intimidated at the idea of meeting a dragon shifter even if he was on the side of Beladors. More like ruling the Beladors, but things had improved greatly since he kicked Macha out of Treoir realm. Just the fact that he had done so spoke volumes about his power.
“Don’t worry.” Devon waved his hand to dismiss her concerns. “He’s a good guy, the best. He’ll do anything to protect us and he’s down to earth.”
“I have heard the story of his rescue from TÅμr Medb. It is hard not be a fangirl over our dragon king.” She smiled at Devon.