by Cynthia Eden
Ward raised his left hand. “I’m sorry. Um, could you tell me exactly what Harrison’s true nature is?”
“After you all put your guns and any hidden weapons on the floor,” Elise snapped. “I’ll be happy to. But I’m getting tired of having weapons pointed at us.”
“So the hell am I,” Harrison added. His stomach felt hollow, while his heart felt hot. One of these people—one of them had been working with Elise’s brother. One had been setting her up to die, and one had been helping Harrison’s so-called father hide the truth of his birth for years. Harrison swallowed and ignored the taste of ash on his tongue. He was learning more about his beast. He knew what that ash-taste meant.
The dragon was close.
Ward put down his gun. The gun he’d been holding. And the gun he’d had hidden in his ankle holster. He placed two knives on the floor. One set of brass knuckles. A tube of holy water. “That’s all I had on me.” He held up his hands. “Tell me what you are, Harrison.”
Harrison’s lips parted, but he couldn’t respond. Couldn’t actually say the words. His whole life, he’d believed he was one thing…
Hunter.
He hunted the monsters. He stopped them.
But now…now…he was a monster? No, he hadn’t just become a monster. He’d been one all long.
“I still see too many weapons pointed at us,” Elise called out. “Hey, bleeding shoulder.”
Razor’s head jerked toward her.
“You’re the one who came in shooting first and not asking questions. So when I hunt for a spy, my money is on you.”
Razor staggered to his feet. His face twisted in disgust and rage. “I know the fey. I told you that before. I know you trick and deceive, and that’s what you’re trying to do right now. You’re trying to trick and deceive Harrison. You’re trying to get him to turn on the only family he’s ever known. It’s not going to work. You aren’t going to use him. You aren’t going to draw him into your war. I won’t let it happen.”
Her gaze cut to Harrison. “That’s a confession. On that awesome show, Law and Order, that I caught right after I dragged myself out of the dumpster—”
He growled. The what?
“On that show, the perps—they called them perps, you know—anyway, they tripped themselves up like old Razor just did.” A pause. She wiggled her eyebrows. “How did he know I was in any war?”
Harrison had already put those pieces together. He brought their joined hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
The fury on Razor’s face deepened. His skin flashed and mottled purple.
“He knew,” Harrison said quietly, “because he knows your brother. Because he’s been feeding your brother information on me. On all the hunters.”
“You can’t trust the fey!” Razor shouted.
The other hunters all stared at him in shock.
“Razor?” Krista’s voice. Shaking. “You…you’re not working with the fey. Tell me you’re not.”
“Oh, sister,” Elise cut in. “He’s not working with just any fey. He’s working with the darkest fey out there. My brother.”
“Fey deceive!” Razor roared. He leapt forward and swung a knife right toward Elise.
Gray tried to knock the weapon aside, but Razor heaved him away. When Krista and Ward grabbed at him, he swatted them aside as if they were flies.
“Someone has a supernatural boost,” Elise exclaimed right before Razor swung his knife—
And Harrison kicked it out of his hand. “Yeah, someone does.” Harrison grabbed Razor around the neck and lifted him high into the air. Razor clawed at Harrison’s fingers, but Harrison didn’t let him go.
“I was always stronger than the other hunters, but my father said I was just lucky.” Harrison had to force each word past gritted teeth. “He told me to hold back my true self, only to use it in combat. You told me the same damn thing.” Harrison had to choke back his rage. “You knew what I was all along, didn’t you?”
Razor scraped his nails over Harrison’s wrist.
Elise tapped Harrison’s shoulder. “He can’t talk. I think you’re holding him too tightly.”
Harrison let go. Razor fell to the floor. Gulped in desperate breaths.
“He was using some supernatural strength of his own,” Elise noted as she circled Razor. The other hunters eased forward, all hesitant and suspicious. “I’m betting my brother was paying him with magic. The more secrets he shared, the stronger Razor became.”
“Your brother can bite me!” Razor gasped.
“Uh, he’s not a vampire. He wouldn’t be interested in doing that. He’d just want secrets. You gave them to him but…” Elise glanced over at Harrison. “It was awfully fast for Ardon to get a spy in place. I’ve only been in the mortal realm since the last full moon. I…I wonder…” Her gaze flickered back to Razor. “How long had he been using you?”
Razor grabbed for the tube of holy water that Ward had put on the floor. He ripped the top off and hurled it at Elise. “The fey burn!”
The droplets poured over her. She didn’t burn. “I’m not a demon.”
Razor gaped. “But…but your brother…I-I saw…”
Elise frowned at him. “What did you see?”
“I saw your brother burn when holy water touched him.”
She took a step back. Was silent a moment. Seemed to go pale. “I am not my brother.” Her shoulders slumped.
Harrison stalked to her. He lifted his hand and carefully wiped the water from her cheeks.
Her fingers curled around his wrist. Sadness slid over her delicate features before she told him, “Our families are pretty screwed up.”
He didn’t have a family. He had a lying SOB who had deceived him.
And I grew up with him. He raised me. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to make him proud of me.
I wanted him to love me.
The bastard who’d killed Harrison’s real family.
He backed away from Elise and smoke drifted from his mouth.
“I’m…thinking that’s not a good sign,” Gray mumbled.
Harrison tried to pull in a breath. Instead, in a blink, he found himself towering over Razor. “How long have you worked for the fey?”
Razor tipped back his head. “Only…did it…to help you.”
He didn’t want to believe it. But everything was falling into place. “You went to the fey, and you got them to bind my beast.”
Razor nodded. “They…there was a witch they used to help us. Your father and I—we—”
“He is not my father!” The words tore out as a roar. “My father…my father—” He just had to say it. “My father was a dragon. My real father…” His wings broke through his skin. “My father was a dragon.”
Fire seemed to race along his skin.
“Oh, dear,” Elise breathed. “I think…yes…we all need to get out of here. Right now. And we need to pull the fire alarms while we flee.”
No one moved.
“Flee, people!” Elise screamed. “You’ve never seen a dragon shift, and I haven’t either, but if he shifts and has no control—I’m thinking fire will go everywhere. Humans don’t do so well with fire. Get the hell out!”
Harrison couldn’t look away from Razor. “You were my friend.”
“I am your friend.”
Harrison’s skin felt funny. Itchy.
Razor was at least twenty years older than Harrison, and he couldn’t help but wonder… “Were you there…when they died?”
Razor blanched. That was Harrison’s answer.
Fire shot down his arms as he reached for Razor—
“We need answers!” Elise jumped in front of him. “You kill him now, and you don’t get answers.”
He saw her…through fire. Through rage.
“Last chance!” Elise yelled. “You hunters either run or you burn!”
He heard the distant thud of footsteps. Someone was running away. Two people from the sound of things. And one person—
&
nbsp; Gray appeared beside Razor. “Let me get him out of here.”
Razor…
Friend.
Traitor.
Killer?
Razor had tried to kill Elise over and over again. As he stared at Razor, Harrison remembered the attack on the speakeasy. He’d thought only the werewolves were responsible for that attack. Gustave’s crew. But… “You weren’t at the speakeasy when it was under attack. You weren’t there…”
Razor lowered his head.
“You sonofabitch!” Gray’s roaring voice said he understood. “You sent those people in to attack Elise? To hurt Ward and Krista? You sent them after your own?”
“I…worked with Gustave.”
Fucking hell.
“The Fey deceive.” Razor clenched his left hand into a fist. “First her father…then her brother…they promised me so much, but only gave me tastes of power. Said that I’d have everything. That I’d even be able to bring her back.” His head lifted. Tears gleamed in his eyes. “I loved her.”
Harrison breathed in and out, in and out. I only taste ash.
“I loved her, but she fucked a dragon shifter. Got pregnant with you. I told Jason about the dragon…I thought he’d help me kill the bastard. How was I supposed to know Jason would kill Michaela, too? How could I know?” Pain choked his voice. “But she died and the dragon went crazy, and the next thing I knew, you were all alone.”
No, no, no, no, no.
Elise reached for his hand, and Harrison realized his nails had turned into black, razor-sharp claws.
“I couldn’t kill you.” Razor’s voice shook. “That was what Jason wanted…”
Jason…the hunter who’d claimed to be my father.
“I begged Jason to let you live. I told him we could find a way to keep you in line.” Razor nodded. “You…you had Michaela’s eyes.” Razor’s breath heaved. Blood poured from his shoulder. “The fey ruler used a witch to bind your beast and, as payment, he said we had to work for him. Had to take out his enemies. We…we did what he wanted. He gave us power.” His words seemed to come faster and faster. “We got stronger. We got stronger because we had to be stronger in order to take out the monsters. You grew up. You didn’t know. You weren’t a beast. You were a man. But that bitch you’re screwing was going to change everything. You—”
Harrison loomed over him, nose to nose. “Do I have my mother’s eyes now?”
Razor gave a trembling shake of his head. “Y-your…f-father’s…”
“My real fucking father!” A roar. The whole suite seemed to shake.
Somewhere, a fire alarm was sounding. The fleeing hunters must have set it. Or maybe…
Was there fire racing across the floor? Yes, yes, it was…fire that came from…
Me.
Sprinklers burst on from overhead and dowsed Harrison in water. The pouring water didn’t calm him. The burning was coming from inside. Surging up. Spreading through him.
“I won’t let you be like him!” Razor jutted up his chin. “I won’t! The bitch did this. She did it.”
Razor leapt up. A hunter always had plenty of weapons hidden on him. Harrison knew that. Hunting 101. Always have backups. So he wasn’t particularly surprised to see Razor snatch up a knife from this ankle sheath. The bastard tried to go for Elise, though.
So he became a dead man.
No more chances. You’re done.
Harrison slapped his hand on Razor’s chest. Fire ripped from Harrison and surrounded Razor. Razor opened his mouth to scream but—
But it was over too fast. The fire ignited and burned through Razor. Burned so fast that he didn’t even get the chance to scream. He was there one moment. Turned to ash the next.
Power surged through Harrison. Dark and malevolent. Red-hot and consuming. The beast was free. Finally free. And he wanted vengeance.
“Elise, come on.”
Harrison whipped around at that voice. Gray stood in the doorway, with his arms wrapped around Elise’s stomach. He was trying to haul her away as the fire spread all over the bedroom. Gray was coughing. Elise was coughing. And…
They will burn.
“I’m not leaving him!” Elise yelled. “Harrison, Harrison, it’s okay! You just have to calm down!”
There was no calming down.
He took a step toward her, and fire seemed to burst all along his body. Harrison lifted his hand. Scales. Scales and claws. And fire. Pain tore through him and he slammed down, falling to his hands and knees as he burned, but…
He was changing.
His bones were breaking. Reshaping. The scales were everywhere, and he could feel razor-sharp teeth exploding in his mouth.
Dragon. The beast…he was the beast.
And Elise was still trying to get to him. If she touched him, if she got too close to the fire…she’s dead.
“Get…her…out…” Deep and booming. More like the voice the devil would possess. Not the voice of a man.
Elise stopped fighting Gray. “Harrison?”
He couldn’t speak. He wasn’t sure he was Harrison any longer.
He was something else.
“Harrison, you have to pull back.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “This hotel is filled with humans. Your fire—it will kill anyone who doesn’t get out!”
That was why she had to go. Why she had to get far, far away from—
He roared. There was no more voice for him. There were only roars and growls as his body grew bigger and bigger and he was too strong and the night called him and the bloodlust consumed him. Fire. So much fire.
Fire.
Rage.
Vengeance.
His wings stretched. So big and powerful now. They scraped the walls and the ceiling.
“Holy shit,” Gray whispered.
We kill. We destroy. Was that the dragon? No, no, I am the dragon. He was the dark voice he’d heard so long in the depths of his mind.
And the dragon—it was finally free.
He looked back at Elise, one final time.
She stared straight at him. “It’s still you,” she told him. “It’s still you in there. I can see you. I love you!”
No, no, she didn’t love fire and fury. She didn’t love razor-sharp teeth and death. It was a lie. A trick.
He roared again and then he took flight, crashing through the balcony doors and soaring into the night. Soaring after his prey.
We kill. We destroy.
***
The sprinklers kept pouring down water. Elise swiped at her eyes. Her hair was soaking wet and her t-shirt clung to her like a second skin. Gray finally eased his death grip on her as the flames sputtered away.
“You saw that shit, too, didn’t you? I’m not having a breakdown?” His voice shook. “Harrison turned into a giant dragon and flew away. After he turned Razor to ash.”
She swallowed and crept toward the balcony doors. Glass and broken wood littered the floor. The glass crunched beneath her bare feet. She’d put on jeans and the shirt, but no shoes. She felt the glass cut her, but she ignored the sting. Her eyes were on the view outside. On the night sky and the dragon that she could see flying beneath the starlight. “I saw it, too.”
“He was a dragon, all along?”
“Yes.” He’d flown away from her, and Elise had a sinking suspicion about where he was going. “I need your help.”
“Lady, you saved my daughter. Haven’t you realized it yet? I’d pretty much put down my life for you.”
She glanced back at him. “You don’t care about what I am?”
“My daughter says you’re a fairy princess.”
Her lips twisted.
“You’re her hero. That’s good enough for me.” He nodded and shoved back his wet hair. “What can I do?”
“I need you to take me to the man who raised Harrison. The man who claimed to be his father.”
Gray winced. “Why would you want to see him?”
“Because I think that’s where Harrison is going. Harrison is off t
o hunt him.” Hadn’t Harrison told her that Jason Key was supposed to be returning to Savannah? Was Jason already there?
“Oh, hell.” Understanding flashed on Gray’s face.
“Hunt him…and kill him.”
Gray came closer, crushing glass and peering into the night. “Think anyone is going to report seeing a flying dragon to the cops?”
“If they do, the cops won’t believe them. They’ll just think the callers are drunk or high. Any video footage will be assumed to be edited.” Humans were so good at hiding the truth, especially from themselves.
Sirens screamed in the distance.
“They’re coming to the hotel,” Gray muttered.
“Then we need to be gone.” She turned toward him. “You’ll take me to the hunter I seek?”
He hesitated. “Look, I’m confused as hell, but is it such a bad thing if Harrison has a go at the guy? I mean, if I’m following along right, Jason Key killed Harrison’s real father. Harrison deserves some payback.”
“Yes, the hunter killed Harrison’s real father. That means the bastard knows how to kill a dragon.” She let that super bad part sink in. “Harrison has just shifted for the first time in his life. He may seem all powerful, but he’s not. No one is. This Jason Key? He killed a dragon before, and I have to make sure he doesn’t do it again.”
A low whistle. “Damn.”
“We need to go. Take me to Jason Key, now.”
Before it was too late.
Everything else—her brother, the loss of her magic, the war for the fey crown—all of that would have to wait. Harrison mattered. He had to be protected.
She was just the fey princess for the job.
They hurried out of the suite, and she barely paused as she swiped up the knife near the pile of ashes. The knife Razor had intended to use on her. She knew it would come in handy later.
Chapter Eighteen
“We beat him.” Gray slammed the door of his truck as he stared at the old cabin that waited beyond the sagging, wooden gate. “If a giant, fire breathing dragon were here, I think we’d see him.”
Elise climbed out of the passenger side. When they’d raced out of the hotel, they’d blended in with all of the other fleeing guests. They hadn’t seen Krista or Ward, and she wondered where they’d gone.