by Linsey Hall
Muffin appeared at my side, his green eyes wide. I don’t like water, but even I would get in that thing.
I laughed. “Go away. You’re ruining my zen. And I can’t get naked if you’re here.”
I’ve seen it all before, cookie.
“You don’t sound impressed.”
You don’t look like a tuna fish to me, now do you?
“I think your heart has been stolen by Miss Kitty, the cat down at the Whiskey and Warlock.”
Muffin’s eyes got a faraway look at the memory of the cat who spent most of her time on a chair by the fire at our favorite pub. Ah, Miss Kitty. I think I’ll go pay her a visit.
“See that you do.”
He disappeared a moment later, and I shucked off my clothes and melted into the water like I was a stick of butter in a pan.
I sighed. It felt fantastic—warm and clean and deep. The water swirled around me as the lights glowed softly. The tension of the day drifted away, replaced by a serene calm that was downright heavenly.
Until I remembered what the ghosts of Dead Mountain had said.
Half a Dragon God.
Had I really not finished coming into my powers? The idea made me nervous. I was going to need to figure that out, and pronto.
With my zen ruined, I climbed out of the water. I really ought to let Lachlan get cleaned up, anyway.
A nook in the corner revealed soft brown towels, which I wrapped around my hair and body.
“It’s free!” I called as I walked out of the bathroom.
Lachlan turned from where he was looking at a painting on the wall. His eyes widened at the sight of me, then heated. “I could get used to this view.”
I looked down. I was almost entirely obscured by the massive fluffy towel. “Really?”
“Really.” He caught my gaze. “You look happy. And this feels…more real, somehow.”
The words didn’t mean much on the surface, but I got what he meant. Real, like we were in a real relationship.
I smiled, then strode toward him. As soon as I reached him, I stood on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his lips. A low groan rumbled in his chest, then he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight to him.
The kiss took my breath away, making my head spin and every nerve ending light up with pleasure.
Finally, he pulled away. “I’m too dirty to touch you.”
I grinned and resisted a bad joke, then stepped back and shooed him toward the bathroom. “I promise, you’re not going to want to miss what’s in there.”
Lachlan left, and I found a set of clean women’s pajamas stacked on a shelf. There were several pairs in different sizes, and it wasn’t hard to find one that suited me. Dressed, I made quick work of climbing into the bed. It swallowed me up like a cloud, the sheets cool and soft.
Lachlan didn’t spend nearly as much time in the bath as I had, and it was probably a good thing. I’d have been asleep if he waited much longer.
“You’re right. That was amazing,” he said.
“Wasn’t it, though?” I pointed to the shelf. “You’ll find sleep clothes over there.”
“Thanks.”
I resisted spying on him as he put on a clean pair of shorts, then joined me in the bed. Lachlan’s weight depressed the mattress, but only a bit. I rolled over to join him on his side through sheer effort alone.
His warmth immediately enveloped me, and I sighed as I drifted into his arms. The aches in my muscles faded away.
“This feels amazing,” I said.
“Aye, couldn’t agree more.”
I lay there, my body buzzing with tension. We were pressed right up against each other. No matter how tired I was, I couldn’t help but want to kiss him.
I glanced up at him. The light shining on his face was familiar, somehow.
A thought tugged at the corner of my mind. A memory. “There was something I’ve been wanting to ask you, but I keep forgetting. Or the time wasn’t good.”
“What is it?”
“When we were in the fairytale forest, the Cheshire cat offered you the deepest wish of your heart if you would turn me over. But you didn’t, of course. What did you want though? What was the wish?” I could still remember his expression. Like longing, but something unrecognizable too.
A small smile tugged at the corner of his full lips. He looked down, his dark eyes catching mine. “That’s easy.”
“Well, spit it out.” I probably shouldn’t be poking him about something so personal, but I couldn’t help it.
“You,” he said. “I wanted you.”
“Me?” Shock and warmth flooded through me. “But we hardly knew each other then.”
“I knew enough. Something about you makes me feel like I’ve known you forever. Your courage, strength, commitment, beauty. I knew you when I saw you, Ana. And I wanted you.”
The warmth exploded into a full-blown inferno. “Wanted? What about present tense? Like, now?”
A low groan rumbled from his chest. “Like you don’t know.”
I didn’t wait another second. I climbed onto him and pressed my lips to his. He pulled me closer and devoured me, the heat of him burning me up inside. I moaned, pressing myself against him.
It was a whirlwind, thoughts and feelings and heat and sensation. And I couldn’t get enough. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get enough.
9
At ten to eleven, Bree’s voice echoed out of my comms charm. “Time to wake up!”
My eyes popped open. “Got it. Go away.”
“Yeah, yeah, grumpy.” The magic in my comms charm faded as she disappeared.
Lachlan slept silently next to me, his massive chest rising and falling slowly with each breath. We’d rolled around in bed for over an hour last night, and even though we hadn’t finished the deed, it’d been one of the best hours of my life.
A sappy smile tugged at my lips as I poked him until he woke up. He rubbed a hand across his face, his expression groggy, then said, “Eleven already?”
“What, didn’t get your beauty sleep?”
“I’ll leave that up to you to determine, but I won’t lie. I like a bit of a lie-in.”
“Not today.”
“That’s the truth.” He rose and swung out of bed. “We’ve got a rescue mission to begin.”
“Exactly.” I found my discarded clothes in the bathroom and tugged them on.
Lachlan did the same, and within minutes, we were leaving the amazing suite behind, following Bree and Rowan toward the Cavern Pub. The main atrium was quieter now, but several of the bar stalls were still busy.
Ali and Haris waited for us, along with Jolinda. A troop of ghosts stood behind her, all women. Most wore old-timey mining clothes like Jolinda, though some were dressed in ornate gowns with feathers in their hair. The entertainers for the miners of old, dancers and singers who spent eternity in their finery.
“Your friend brought an army,” Lachlan said.
“She’s a good friend.” I hadn’t spent much time with Jolinda, by nature of her being a ghost stuck in Hider’s Haven, but I knew I’d like her even more if I got a chance to know her.
She clapped her hands together. “Ready to get this party started?”
“Am I ever.” Desire to find my friends was like a living thing inside me, growing stronger every day. And rage at the Fates was beginning to grow right alongside it.
How dare they take them?
I gritted my teeth and dragged my thoughts away. Anger wouldn’t get me anywhere. Cool reason and magic were the answer. I had to use my wits and my strength, not my rage.
“Come on,” Jolinda said. “We’ll escort you out. When we reach the entrance, we’ll create a diversion so you can escape up the mountainside. Go across two peaks, then you should be able to transport out of here.”
“Thank you.”
She nodded. “Anytime.”
The trip back down the mining tunnels was uneventful, thank fates, and by the time we reached the exit, I was raring t
o go. The memory of the monsters outside energized me. They were a target for my anger, and I liked having a target.
“Could you watch out for Uncle Joe’s buggies” Bree asked Jolinda. “We’ll be back to pick them up soon.”
“Sure thing, doll.”
I smiled at her. “Thanks.”
This time, it was a lot easier for Lachlan and me to lift the big boulder that blocked the way. Amazing how a bit of rest could recoup a person’s magic.
With the giant boulder hovering an inch off the ground, I looked at my friends. “Ready to run for it?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Haris said.
Together, Lachlan and I shifted the boulder left by a foot and a half. The ghosts streamed out, some passing through the opening and others drifting right through the stone. As soon as they’d left, we followed, Bree and Rowan in the lead.
I stepped out of the tunnel, and the ghosts’ magic rolled over me. It was blaring outward as a glowing white dome of pure energy that surrounded us. On the other side of the dome, monsters shrieked and pounded their fists against the barrier. A rhinoceros skeleton threw itself repeatedly against the shield, while the army of evil fauns foamed at the mouth and wailed.
“Go!” Jolinda shouted. “We can’t hold them for long.”
“Thank you!” I turned and scrambled up the small cliff that bordered the entry to Hider’s Haven, then began to run up the mountain, my friends at my side. Small pebbles shifted underfoot as I dodged the scrub brush that surrounded us.
I glanced backward, spotting a horde of monsters trying to follow us. The only things that stood between us and them were the ghosts and their powerful shield. Thank fates for Jolinda and her team.
Soon, my breath was heaving in my lungs and my legs were burning.
“Two ridges, she said?” Rowan panted at my side.
“Aye,” Lachlan said.
We crested the first. The moon shined brightly on the vista in front of us. Mountain after mountain disappeared into the distance, an impressive range that I’d never seen from this vantage point before.
“Just one more,” Bree said.
From behind, I heard an enormous crash, then a shriek. I spun to look down at the ghosts.
The shield had faltered, and the monsters had burst through. They were plowing their way up the mountain, a wave of oncoming death.
“Go!” I sprinted down the slope, going faster than I ever had.
By the time we started to ascend the next slope, the monsters were visible behind us, having already crested the first mountain. Every inch of me ached as I sprinted up the mountainside, then down the other.
We reached the halfway point down the second mountain by the time I felt the magic change just slightly. “Here!”
We stopped, and Lachlan’s magic swelled on the air. As he created the portal, I turned to look at the beasts bearing down upon us. They were fast—faster than we had been—and were only a few dozen yards away.
“Hurry!” I turned back to Lachlan.
The portal was made. My friends leaped through, one after the other. Right before I jumped in, I turned to look at the monsters one last time. The rabid fauns were so close that I could see the foam around their fangs.
Heart thundering, I leapt into the portal, followed by Lachlan. The ether sucked me up and spat me out on the castle lawn. Cold air immediately embraced me, and it smelled like home.
Lachlan appeared next to me, and the portal shut. Without any fauns making it through.
I sagged, muscles going weak. “Oh, thank fates.”
Ali collapsed to the ground and lay on the grass, a blissful smile on his face. “There’s no place like home.”
“Hider’s Haven didn’t suit you?” Bree asked.
“It had its own charm, but I prefer it here. Not underground.”
“Can’t blame you,” Rowan said.
The sun was already up in Scotland, and my stomach grumbled at the idea of breakfast. “Come on. We need to figure out where Labirinto di Orvieto is.”
We trooped across the lawn toward the castle. The windows glittered in the light of the early morning sun, and the rays gave the stone a slightly golden look. As I passed the stone circle in the distance, I hesitated.
“Go on. I’ll meet you,” I said.
“Need something?” Lachlan asked.
“Yes. But it’s something I’ll do alone.”
He nodded, then pulled me to him and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek. I smiled, then turned away and left them to head toward the castle.
As I neared the stone circle, I couldn’t help but think of the first time I’d stepped into it. I’d gotten my golden tattoos then. But this process of learning and embracing my magic seemed to be a multi-step one.
The stones towered in the early-morning light, looking like sentinels welcoming the dawn. Magic prickled against my skin as I stepped inside.
As soon as I reached the middle, a figure appeared. She was tall and slender, dressed in an old, Celtic-style dress.
“Mom!” I threw my arms around her. “How’d you know I was here?”
“I can feel it.” She hugged me tight, then pulled away, her gaze traveling up and down my body. “You look good. Tired, but good.”
“I could use some rest, but I don’t think it’s happening anytime soon.”
“Don’t run the well dry. Or burn the candle at both ends.”
I smiled, warm inside. It was so nice to have my mom here, worrying about me. “Can you always feel me if I come here?”
“I think so. You should visit more often.”
It was convenient, all right. And just about the best news I’d had in years. I hugged her again. “I can bring a picnic next time. And Rowan and Bree.”
“I’d like that.”
A bright light flashed, and an overwhelming sense of godly power rolled over me, making my breath come short. I turned, spotting a glowing figure with indistinct features.
“Sulis,” I said. She was the goddess of light who’d given me my healing light power. The light of life.
“Ana.” Sulis nodded at me, then looked at my mother. “You should not be here.”
“I’m not going to miss a chance to see my daughter.” My mother’s voice cracked with intensity. She didn’t take shit from anyone, not even a goddess.
“Be that as it may, the circle is for gods and Dragon Gods.”
My mother shot me a look. “I’ll see you later.” Then she disappeared.
“You didn’t have to drive her off, you know,” I said. Maybe it was a dumb way to speak to a goddess—okay, it was definitely dumb—but I wouldn’t let anyone take my mom away.
Sulis just sighed, a sound of such intense godly annoyance that I winced. “Why are you here, Ana?”
“I’m worried that I haven’t transitioned fully into my magic yet. I still have my shield magic, and the ghosts of Dead Mountain called me half a Dragon God.”
Sulis nodded slowly. “This is true. You have not transitioned fully yet. You have much to learn, Ana.”
“How, though?”
“Embrace all of your powers. Make the final change. Enter the final form.”
“That is all really confusing.”
“It’s not meant to be easy, or anyone could be a Dragon God.”
Suddenly I felt like a little kid. “Okay. I’ll figure it out.”
“See that you do. And soon.” She disappeared, her form blinking out in an instant.
When her magical energy left the air, I sagged. Fates, she created a tense atmosphere.
My stomach grumbled, reminding me of my second goal. Sulis’s answer might have been dissatisfying, but breakfast wouldn’t be. I left the circle, cutting across the lawn as the winter wind whipped through my hair. The huge castle doors swung open as I neared, and I stepped into the warmth of the entry hall as my sisters and Lachlan entered from the other side, sandwiches and cups in hand.
“Brought you breakfast.” Bree held out a sandwich and cup
.
I took them gratefully, biting into the egg and bacon sandwich with gratitude. I chewed and swallowed. “Hans is the best.”
“Couldn’t agree more.” Rowan polished off her sandwich, then turned to the library. “Hopefully Florian can help us figure out what Labirinto di Orvieto is.”
I ate my sandwich as we walked down the silent hall. Too silent. “It really feels like everyone is missing.”
“It’s horrible,” Bree said. “Ali and Haris have gone to report to Jude. Hopefully she has more info about what’s going on. Maybe one of the other teams figured something out.”
I hoped so. But we were such a small group now that what were the odds? It might be up to us and whatever this Labirinto di Orvieto place was.
I polished off the last of my sandwich and coffee as I stepped into the library. The ceiling soared high above, and the book spines gleamed in the firelight. The colorful paintings that were hung on the shelves—some right over the books—gave it an inviting feel. The fireplaces burst to life upon our entrance, and the Pugs of Destruction looked up from their bed by the hearth.
“Hey, guys,” Bree said.
Mayhem yipped, her little wings fluttering.
“Florian!” I called.
As usual, the ghostly wailing came first. Florian really liked to make an entrance. Normally, I’d fake being afraid. And I did my best this time, but my heart wasn’t in it. I was too worried for my friends. Too angry at the Fates. It didn’t sound like Florian was into it, either. His wails ended early, and when he entered, his face was downcast. Even his fancy eighteenth century attire looked unkempt, the ruffles at his throat in disarray.
“I just can’t get up the energy for the usual stuff,” he said. “I feel so helpless here, with everyone gone and me unable to go out on reconnaissance.”
“I understand,” I said. “But we have a way you can help, now.”
His face brightened, and he gave a little jump that unsettled his tall, curly wig, sending it an inch to the left. “Really?”