“Please let it hit his heart,” was all she had time to say before Maceo was falling.
He hit the ground with a force that she feared may have broken several bones. Her body was still on him. She was jarred, her legs moved enough for her to slide down his back and fall unable to hold herself up.
Turning her head towards the sky, she looked for Mutufa but couldn’t find him.
“He’s locked up for now.” A female voice told her.
Nadia turned her head until she was looking at a glowing light. Her hands went up to cover her eyes before the light dimmed but was still bright enough she couldn’t see the female.
“I’m sure he won’t stay there for long he has become good at establishing escape routes.” She reached down and helped her to stand move her away from Maceo. “He’ll need some room to retake his human form.”
“Who are you?”
“You can call me Eternity. I have my own plane that rewards the good and punishes the evil in the afterlife. That’s where he is for the moment.”
“Why do you let him break free?”
“He has a fight with the dragons and some fights don’t end because death takes you.”
“Nadia? You survived.” Zeno was limping towards them. He was cut and bruised, and she wanted to take him in her arms and hold on.
“I think you’re worse than I am, but Maceo still hasn’t gotten up.”
He nodded and turned towards his brother's prone form.
“How do we stop Mutufa?”
“You have to discover that on your own. I’m here to offer the only help I can.”
“You can offer help but not stop Mutufa?”
“Correct, a daughter of humans was never meant to be on the demon plane even though she’s a dragon mate. If you stay here too long, you will upset the balance of the planes.”
“Not like I asked to come here.”
A large groan came from Maceo before his form changed. Once again he was a human. He stood with the help of his brother. He was covered in bruises and claw marks. The one that made Nadia gasp was going down the middle of his chest allowing her to see his organs. Zeno almost had to drag them to where she and Eternity stood.
She wanted to run to him but knew that doing that would make it even worse for him. He was barely able to keep his feet; they needed a doctor. All she could think of was him being infected by whatever viruses were in the air. Seeing him looking like a side of beef was enough for her to lose the lunch she hadn’t eaten.
“Eternity,” Maceo acknowledged her, respect evident in his voice.
“Maceo.” Eternity outstretched her hand healing the gash that left his chest gaping open. “The others you will have to heal.”
Her hand went to her heart when she saw his chest close. She didn’t know who Eternity was, but she had just become her favorite person.
“Maceo?” She moved coming to his other side and slipping her arm around him. They were ragged and weary, but they were still standing.
“How do we get back?”
She waved her hand and a portal opened. “Walk through here, and you’ll be back where all this started.”
“Not exactly where I want to be but better than here.”
“Nadia you're powerful, you have to be to pull your physical bodies into the demon plane. You may want to remember that it doesn’t matter how powerful you are we all need help sometime.”
They walked past Eternity, and she took Zeno’s arm stopping him from going through the portal with the others. She spoke to him quietly before she disappeared and he entered the portal.
“We’re back.” Nadia wanted to fall to the ground and kiss it, but the reality of not being able to stand back up with her abused body stopped her. Her bag was just where she left it. It was almost like they had never left except Mutufa wasn’t here to try and kill them.
“Maceo?” He was weaving on his feet like he wouldn’t be able to stand much longer. She went and placed her arms around him and gently guided him to the car they drove up in.
“Zeno, are you all right?” He had just come out of the portal it closed behind him.
“I think I’m going to be.”
“You look pretty pale.”
“I think this is the normal male look after talking to Eternity.” He gave her a smile that missed by a mile before he sat down on the top step of the walkway.
“What do we do next?” she asked looking between the two of them.
Maceo’s hands caught hers and he caressed them running his thumbs over her hands.
“You come home with me, with us.”
“I’m not going back. Not yet.”
“Zeno?”
He shook his head no before he pushed himself to stand. “I’m going to check into the hotel over the burial ground that will keep my presence hidden in this plane for a while. There is nothing for me back home. If I’m ever going to find my mate I need to be here.”
“You can’t do this.” Maceo pushed himself away from the car and staggered to where his brother was standing.
“I have to. You and Nadia should be able to get home without any trouble. It will take Mutufa a while to get away from Eternities plane. I need to stand on my own two feet Maceo or four depending.” He gave him a smile. “And you need to let me do it.”
Maceo grabbed his brother in a tight hug hitting him on the back. He didn’t like leaving him here. When their older brother Javon froze, he felt like he was missing a part of himself and now with Zeno staying behind he wasn’t sure if he would ever know who he truly was. Zeno was right though he needed to stand on his own two feet, the three of them had always been together, as the youngest, they took care of him, it didn’t matter how old he was. He stood back and watched as Zeno quietly limped down the street. Their lives were changing. He hoped it was for the better.
Nadia came up and slipped her arms around him.
“Is he going to be okay?”
“I think so. I don’t know what Eternity said to him but I think whatever she said has him staying here. Has there ever been a time that you cared for someone so much that you’d take their pain without thinking about it.”
“Yes, it’s a special kind of love that I don’t think everyone gets to feel.”
He nodded, and they made their way to the car.
Chapter Sixteen
The drive to the small airstrip Maceo was using was done mostly in silence. He stopped at a drive through and ordered the best burgers he could find on the menu with an order of fries. He gave her one asking her to eat it to tide her over until they got to the plane.
She grimaced when she ordered out it wasn’t burgers. Her eyes closed allowing her to take a quick cat nap after she ate the burger now she was standing in front of an impressive jet with her mouth slightly open.
“This is your plane?”
“It belongs to my brother Syn. I couldn’t see a reason for a second plane when he already had one.”
“Makes sense to me.”
He led her over to the plane and up the stairs it was beautiful on the inside. It looked like a richly appointed living room with plush chairs, carpet, as well as a massive flat screen.
“Wow, just wow.”
“Glad you approve.”
A tall, dark-skinned man with a beautiful smile walked out of the cockpit if she wasn’t already taken with Maceo she’d give him several second and third looks.
“Nadia this is George, George this is Nadia.”
“Nice to meet you, Nadia.” He extended his hand to shake hers.
“It’s nice to meet you also.”
“Please take a seat and buckle up we will be taking off shortly.”
She nodded her head and made for one of the sinfully plush chairs. Maceo disappeared into the cockpit while she buckled up. Her hand hovered over the cell phone that now worked as she thought about calling Alexa. After a while, she decided against it. She was already on the plane what could her friend tell her at this point? Soon she would see her
face to face.
“George says there has been no sign of Mutufa around,” Maceo said as he sat.
“That’s good right?”
“Maybe. I’m wondering why he was so focused on you that he missed an opportunity to cause Zeno and me problems.”
“I don’t know.” Her voice was low.
He reached out and took her hand. “I’m thinking out loud. I don’t want us to end up in his crosshairs. Close your eyes and go to sleep. When you open them, you’ll be on my land. I’ll cook dinner for you.”
“A dragon who thinks he can cook,” she teased him. “I’ve got to see this.”
She clutched his hand tightly as they took off. When the plane began to level out, she closed her eyes.
*~*~*~*
“Nadia.” She felt Maceo run his hands through her hair as his gentle voice caressed her ears. Opening her eyes, she saw he was leaning over her.
“We’re here.”
Her hand went to her mouth trying to smother a yawn before she smiled at him.
“Let’s go I can’t want to see your world.” He unbuckled the belt holding her in and helped her to stand.
George had the door open, and he was smiling as they moved towards it.
“It was nice to meet you, Nadia. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
“Thank you, George. The ride was so smooth I never woke up.” She gave him a smile before shaking his hand.
She stepped off the plane into a tropical paradise. There were wild flowers around the tarmac she’d never laid eyes on before. They stood tall with large multicolored petals. It was like no airport she had ever seen. The beauty made her breath catch.
The mountains ascended in the distance, so high they looked like they touched the heavens. The lush green foliage was everywhere; she imagined this was what the earth looked like before man settled it.
“It’s beautiful, is the whole island like this?”
“There are places beyond the mountains that are rougher but overall it’s a tropical island. We mostly have good weather with an occasional storm but when they come they can be dangerous at times.”
“I’m trying to compare what I see to anything I’ve seen in the past, but I’m coming up empty-handed.”
He gave her a smile before leading her to his jeep.
“Nice car.”
“Thanks.” He placed her bag in the back seat and settled in beside her.
“I can take you to see Alexa first if you want.”
She pulled down the visor to take a good look at herself. Her hair was all over the place you could see the bruises on her skin. She was dirty and shaken up, and her eyes were wide with both awe and doubt. There was no way she wanted to see Alexa right now.
“Can we just go to your house? That way I can take a bath, a soak in the tub would be fabulous.”
“My house it is.”
They moved away from the flat land until they took a path that led to a beautiful river she had to take a deep breath to keep from sighing in longing over the water. It was crisp and clear and practically called her name to come play.
“You can go swimming later if you would like.”
She gave him a quick look before watching the landscape again. “When I was younger I loved to swim. I haven’t done it in years. Life happens you know? I got so caught up in work becoming a success that I stopped doing a lot of the things that I enjoyed.”
“Was it worth it?”
“Yes and no. I would rather be working to achieve something than lying on the couch or pretending I’m going to do it later. Having said that, I wish I took more time to relax or spend with friends. Life’s a balance.”
“You’re right I spent many years telling myself I wouldn’t find my mate, so I stopped looking for her. I chose to accept my fate. That may not have been the best use of my time.”
She looked over and placed her hand on his thigh. Maybe there were times you needed to go in the wrong direction before you could go the right way. What if sometimes the only way to see clearly was to find out what was in your way, to begin with? She didn’t know, but she still remembered Alexa’s mother talking about dragons and how she used to laugh at her when she was alone. She always thought she was slightly crazy. How ironic to find out her mother was saner than she was.
“So there are only three dragons alive?”
“That we know of. If there are others they haven’t revealed themselves.”
“I’m sorry Maceo.”
She didn’t know what it was like to lose a community of people, but she knew what it was like to lose a mother. If her experience was even a percent of what he went through losing everyone she understood even though she never went through it.
He placed his hand on hers and squeezed her heart started to pound. She cared for him already. Was it the fact that he left his home to rescue her or that he didn’t leave her alone in the demon plane? All good reasons but it was the way that he treated her that was making her heart beat so fast around him.
He pointed out his brother's mountains until he finally came to a stop at the base of one.
“This is my home.”
She craned her neck up trying to see the top of the mountain that was hidden in the clouds.
“It’s beautiful.”
“Just like you.” He got out of the jeep and walked around to open her door for her.
“Thanks,” she murmured before she caught the crystal clear eyes of a red head staring at her.
“Hi, I’m Jillian.”
“Nice to meet you, Jillian, I’m Nadia.”
“I know; I’ve been waiting for you. Maceo are you going to invite me in?”
“Of course, I just didn’t expect you. Jillian is…”
“I’m an Oracle is what he’s trying to say. I have two sisters we’re triplets and look exactly alike. The three of us together are oracles.”
“I feel a little ignorant, but I’m not sure what an Oracle is.”
“That’s easy we’ve been considered priestess whom through the gods speak.”
“Is that what you are?”
“Not really. I simply know more than I should. Does the knowledge come from Eternity or another source? That’s something I can’t answer. It’s like asking the question did the size of your fingers come from your mother or your father. You don’t think about it; you simply use them. The same for my gift, I would, we would my sisters and I go crazy if we spent time trying to figure out where our gifts came from.”
That made sense. She entered into the first level of Maceo’s house to feel her mouth open wide. It was the base of a mountain, and it was huge.
“I always thought I could hold a party in here, but I never got around to it. Now that you’re here who knows?”
He had the space divided into smaller sections so you wouldn’t get overwhelmed.
“Why don’t we take a seat?”
Nadia walked over to a nice gray love seat with a couch and a single chair around it. There was a coffee table in between them. She sat on the love seat; Jillian sat in the single and Maceo sat next to Nadia.
“Jillian what brings you out today?”
“I wanted to meet Nadia. I know she may be your future mate, but hasn’t made up her mind.”
“Nadia here’s the thing about the oracles around here. Nothing is ever free nor is it straightforward.”
“He’s right, but you have earned a few freebies.”
“Why?”
“Because you took two powerful dragons to the demon plane and kept them safe.”
“I think you have it wrong they kept me safe, but I’ll take it.”
She smiled and stood up inclining her head to another part of the spacious room. Nadia looked at Maceo who gave her the; it’s your choice look before she followed Jillian across the floor to a small seating area that held two chairs.
“I wanted to tell you a little bit about Dragon’s Cove.”
“Maceo wouldn’t tell me the name of this island. I wondered
why.”
“He and his brothers aren’t comfortable with what we call this place. It’s named that way because they are the ones that brought us here. The world, your world wanted to kill us, all of us. Anyone who was different from what they thought the norm was they went after. We all work every day to keep this place a secret and to keep it running, but at its core, it runs off the dragons. No dragons no Dragon’s Cove.
“What does that mean to you? Nothing, but Maceo means a great deal to you whether you’re ready to admit it or not.”
Nadia opened her mouth, but Jillian shook her head no.
“Nadia, tell yourself whatever makes you comfortable just remember I know the real stuff. A trial is coming, don’t ask me what even I can’t break that rule. I just wanted to let you know that our world is built on them and if one of them dies, we will soon follow.” She stood up and started walking to the door.
“By the way Nadia, when the time comes go with the ruby. You’ll thank me forever.”
She walked out the door leaving them staring after her.
Chapter Seventeen
“Let me show you around.” Maceo’s deep voice startled her pulling her away from thoughts of Jillian.
“I’d love that.”
He picked up her bag and walked her over to an elevator.
“Since we are in a mountain everything is built on levels. This is the main level as well as the largest level. Above this, I have one level that is all guest rooms. Then there is a huge private playroom, it has a television as well as games a piano and just about anything you could want. Above that floor is the library. Then there is the kitchen the next floor is empty. The top floor is mine.”
The elevator stopped moving, and they walked out into a wide hallway that led them into a huge room. They were far up but still nowhere close to the top of the mountain. The room before her could have been found in a palace. There were jewels everywhere with a huge bed to one side and a sitting area on another wall. He had room for an office along with his dressers and several doors that led off the room. It rivaled the living room downstairs in its size.
Nadia's Dragon: Nadia's Dragon: A BBW Paranomal Romance (Dragon Mates Book 2) Page 10