The distant flame and power that was always present in him became brighter and sharper, every line of him vibrating with it. He turned with slow precision to the two dindari emerging from the forest. Tall, with strange overlapping armor and disjointed limbs, these Excris had an unsettling and alien presence. Briefly, I wondered if they were perhaps remnants of some dangerous, ravaged world. Their cold gazes locked onto me, and a gasp escaped before I could prevent it.
Suddenly, the air had dropped several degrees, and every instinct began to scream at me to run. I’d only seen these creatures once and at a great distance. Silently, I apologized to the Tiselk Rangers I’d given crap to about them.
“Leave,” Xander said.
A stark and simple order. I moved closer to him, at once hating that I had to rely on him to keep me safe and enjoying this protective side in spite of myself. I wasn’t going to stand there and pretend it wasn’t as sexy as hell.
I think not, came that cold and strange voice, creeping up my spine. The girl is our prey.
You should’ve died. This voice was raspier and older, somehow more bloodthirsty. It sounded surprised and also far too pleased. If an Excris was pleased you were drawing breath, it was only because it meant it could be the one to stop it. How did you survive the fall?
“I flew,” I said blandly.
Clinging to the ashes of your life, eh, girl? I sensed eyes moving over me, and they flickered to Xander. The bond is gone. You’re probably the only true stasis in the entire world.
My breath caught with pain, and Xander made an involuntary move toward me.
I told Orion the mating bonds are not tied to shifterdom, one of them grumbled and reached over its shoulder for one of the spikes protruding from its back. Even a dragon—
The dindari had taken a single step forward and was swallowed by a rush of wind at my side, causing me to stagger forward. I blinked, confused, and watched as the same rush devoured the other, its gargling wail abruptly cut off by a bright burst of fire.
Then Xander was back at my side, and I grabbed him, only then realizing he’d gone.
“Let’s go,” he said gently, and a muscle moved in his jaw as he stared down at me. “Unless—do you know where Orion is?”
“You—what?” I glanced to my left and saw the smoldering ruin where the creatures had been standing. “You’re so fast.” He shrugged. “You’re okay?”
"Once you're in Winfyre, and Orion is gone, I will be," Xander said. "Tiani, I want you to tell me where he is."
“I don’t know,” I said. “He was at Kizin, but I doubt he still is. I do know he’s coming—in four days. Or is it three?” I put a hand to my head. “How many days has it been?”
Xander slowly pulled his gaze from mine and looked east, eyes settling on the Farthing Mountains. “Perhaps I should get you somewhere safe and start my own hunt.”
“No,” I said. “That’s what he wants…” My mouth went dry, and my hands fell away.
Horror rose through me, rising like a deadly and cold pool, from ankles to neck. All of the pieces had been there, right there. I’d been ignoring them or running from them or perhaps unwilling to put them together.
But now, standing with Xander under the light of a full moon, not far from Winfyre, I saw it.
“I’ll always be a liability,” I said. “Always. He’ll use me to get to you, Xander—he’ll…” I turned and clenched my fists, remorse tearing through me. “I’ve ruined—”
A clap of air rushed around me, and I went to turn when I was seized, then lifted. The ground fell away in an eyeblink, and I was above the trees, dangling from an enormous claw.
“Xander!” I screamed. “What are you doing?”
My words were snatched by the wind, or he ignored me, rising higher. Dread and wonder spun through me as he twisted through the night sky, moving so fast the stars seemed to blur together. A giant waxing moon rolled toward the western edge of the world, and everything below us was a velvet, make-believe forest.
“Put me down, you ass!” I screeched as we crossed into Winfyre. The jolt of belonging went through me, and an ache went through my chest. I tried to twist in his grip, but he only tightened it.
Cold air began to numb my limbs, and my eyes were so blurry with tears that I couldn’t see. I didn’t know if I was crying or if it was the unnatural speed or height. Either way, I let out a frustrated scream and tried to kick him, only for the ground to rush up in an eyeblink, then stop.
Gently, I was deposited on my back, and there I lay, gasping. Xander’s huge head loomed over me, blocking out the sky, and his blue eyes sparked with fury and amusement. He was massive. I’d had no idea he could shift into a dragon that big.
Nor did I care.
Shoving myself upright, I yelled, “I’m not intimidated by your goddamn size, you bastard of a flying lizard! Shift back, and I’ll…”
Xander had shifted back and was prowling toward me. I couldn’t place the look in his eyes but began to scramble back. Only I was lifted again and held against his warm, hard chest, his hard breathing just above my ear. Words were still rushing from my mouth, squeakier and less sure.
“I’m not falling for this Alpha bullshit, Bane! You’ve tried it before and—” I broke off. “Wait, where are we?”
Setting me down abruptly, Xander spun me and locked an arm around my waist. A big arm lifted in my periphery and gestured at the glow of lights in the distance. “I told you. Home. That’s Cobalt, and that’s the coast.” My mouth dropped open. “I can travel even faster in shifted form—remember that.” The words rumbled through the hard chest at my back. “I will hunt you down if you run again. You—you’re my mate, and you’re not leaving my sight unless you have a guard.”
“You can’t do that!” I snapped and tried to squirm away.
“I can.”
Xander lifted me with ease, tucking me like a bag under his arm and carrying me away from the view. I caught a glimpse of the bay and the moon’s reflection before I turned and saw a cabin loom up. It was nestled in a kind of natural cleft in the mountainside, protecting it from storms and elements. This must have been where Xander usually lived before the bungalow. He’d brought me up here because he knew it would take me all night to climb down this mountain.
“You lousy bastard,” I snarled.
“Save it for the bedroom, darling,” Xander said as he threw open the door and brought me inside. The second he set me down, I spun away, only to be pushed up against the wall. “Look at me.” I refused and glared at his chest. “Tiani. You did nothing wrong. You are not a liability.” His voice lowered. “And you don’t need me to tell you that.”
“I betrayed you before I even met you,” I whispered. “You can’t let yourself be blinded—”
“I’ve never seen things more clearly,” Xander said, and this time I had to look up at him. “You’re afraid—not for yourself, but for me, the rest of your family here, Iris, and everyone else. For Winfyre. But this isn’t the first time Orion has pulled this bullshit.”
“I’m broken,” I gasped out before I could stop myself.
At least, I’m afraid that I am.
Xander’s face became impossibly tender. “Do you really believe that?”
I didn’t answer. But I couldn’t forget what that dindari had said.
He paused, then said slowly, “When Reagan first came here, she tried to hide her gifts, and Luke tried to trick her into revealing them, all while dealing with his own shifter demons. Reagan had a vryke after her, too, because she’s a rare Riftborn.” My eyebrows jumped. “Along with Lind, the old SB order, and Barrowmen. All of whom decided to show up on the day of Luke and Reagan’s engagement party. Luke says it only made it all the more memorable.”
“Cute,” I commented sarcastically. Or tried to. My heart wasn’t it.
“Laia was a part of the Bloodfang in its early days, and when she tried to escape, Orion used her best friend against her—branded her with an augris mark. She had amnesiac ep
isodes and got into a brawl within minutes of stepping into Winfyre. One that Rett had to break up.” He paused. “When Laia lost her memories after trying to sacrifice her life for his and Winfyre, Rett was there every day, certain they’d come back, and they did.”
My lips twitched, but I shook my head. “She’s also a Llary. Of course they came back; that’s one stubborn brood.” But my heart was softening. I knew what he was doing, damn him.
“Sierra became a Tiselk scout to spite the Northbane, blaming us for her family’s deaths when her family was with us the whole time. Tristan chased her for five years and tried to hide the fact that they were mates. All he cared about was her. Her happiness.” He paused. “Yet in the end, without Sierra, we could never have saved him when he gave himself up to Orion to save her.”
“Xander, that’s different—I’m not…”
“Then there’s Kal and Iris. Kal, who tried and tried to push Iris away—but stubborn, sweet Iris, who wouldn’t let him go. Kal, who was always the bravest, strongest, most steadfast, and most distant, who almost lost Iris because of that distance. Kal, who was willing to take part in a dangerous and potentially fatal attempt to save Iris’s life when the Unseen tried to kill her. Iris, who threw herself into an augris rift to save her mate.”
“But I wasn’t doing something selfless and heroic like all of them,” I snapped, and tears sprang into my eyes. “I only thought I was. I was stupid.”
“I left out all the mistakes and misunderstandings,” Xander said. “How very human our family is. And how none of them were angry that you left – only concerned.” He swallowed. “I was angry. No, I was pissed. In fact, I was pissed up until you tried to take off on me tonight.”
“You stopped being mad at me when I tried to leave you again?” I asked. “What?”
"I was afraid you left because you didn't love me enough." My eyes went wide, and Xander smiled. "But I saw your face, the pain and determination in your eyes." He leaned down and gently nipped at my lips. "I saw everything. I know, Tiani.”
I tried to speak, but I couldn’t. Nor could I break his gaze.
“I love you, too.” A warm, rough hand held my face. “I don’t want you to leave. I don’t want to let you go.” His eyes closed. “But once it’s safe, once Orion is gone—if you want to go, you can.” Resting his forehead against mine, his voice dipped and cracked. “Please, can you agree to that?”
“Xander, I’m a danger to this place, to you,” I whispered.
“There’s another condition,” he said. “You have to stop blaming yourself. You think you put Winfyre in danger before you even arrived here.” Xander pulled back and rested his hands on the wall by my head. “I think you were trying to save a friend, and, in doing so, protected Winfyre for years without any of us knowing. You sacrificed and struggled, alone, for strangers.” He leaned in closer, and his breath mixed with mine. “But we’re not strangers any longer.” A smile tugged onto his face. “Maybe we never were.”
I couldn’t help it: I grabbed his shirt and kissed him. I was demanding and impatient, but Xander put me off, gentle and teasing. After a brief, intense taste, he broke away and kissed my cheek. But when he tried to pull away, I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on.
“Tiani,” he whispered in my ear, and I shivered. “Promise me you’ll stay.”
“We never did agree on who won those fights and got the promise,” I tried to joke. “Maybe we should go another round.”
“Or maybe you should just agree.”
“I…” I wanted to. I was terrified, though. He had to know that. He had to—“Oh,” I gasped as his teeth found the shell of my ear and nipped. My breath grew ragged. Then he kissed the spot on my neck under my ear, and I trembled against him. “What-what are you doing?”
“Persuading you,” Xander murmured and grinned against my neck, sliding his lips down, then back up. “Distracting you from any disastrous thoughts.” His lips found the hollow at the base of my throat. “Anything to get that promise.”
“Xander, this isn’t fair,” I whispered.
“Mm, this is a different kind of debate,” Xander said in between kisses. “For one thing, I think you still don’t believe me. And for another, I’m prepared to do just about anything to make you stay. Make promises of my own, you see.”
"I don't," I gasped as his damn stubble tickled the sensitive spot above my collarbone. "But don't—don't stop." My head fell back against the wall. "Dammit, you're too good."
“Tell me what you’re afraid of.”
That jarred me, and my eyes opened. “What?”
“I love you, Tiani. I don’t care what you are. I understand why you took the actions you did.” He pulled back, and his blue eyes were the shade of a delirious summer twilight. “What else is there?”
“What if I lose you?” I burst out, and Xander stilled. “What if all of this goes away because of me? Winfyre, and everyone, and…” I put a hand to my face. “Maybe I did make some great sacrifice, but what if that sacrifice was in vain?”
“It wasn’t.” Xander let out a hard breath. “Together, we’ll make sure of that.”
“He’s coming, and we still don’t know everything,” I said. “He has hordes of Excris.”
“You’re forgetting I don’t know the whole story, still. Although that doesn’t surprise me,” Xander said and stepped back. “You’re also shivering. Go take a nice hot shower. Then we’ll eat and talk.” I hesitated, even though that’s probably exactly what I needed. Also, because I wasn’t shivering from the cold. “I’ll get clothes for you.” Xander went to walk away, and I stopped him. “What?”
“Thank you,” I said and hugged him. “Thank you for everything.”
“Do me a favor?” Xander asked into my hair. “Stay.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I huffed, and he held on more tightly.
"Well, I did mean that, but also stay right here," he sighed by my ear. "It feels like you've been gone a lot longer than a week."
“That’s because I should’ve been here six years ago,” I whispered.
“Well, you do love dramatic entrances,” Xander teased, and I hit his shoulder, making him laugh. “Not even that could keep us apart.”
Smacking his shoulder again, I decided, for tonight, I would stay.
And when Orion came, he’d learn the lengths I’d go to in order to protect Winfyre and my mate.
Chapter Thirty
Xander
I had thought Tiani and I would stay up through the night, talking. But she’d showered, changed into one of my shirts and a pair of sweats that Lor had left here, nibbled at some dinner, and then gone over to the couch to curl up and wait for me. I'd come over with steaming mugs of cocoa and found her fast asleep, so exhausted that she hadn't even stirred when I’d lifted her into my arms.
Carrying her to my bed, I’d tucked her in and thrown myself down on the couch in the room. It had been hard to fall asleep, thinking of the dindari and the lengths Orion was willing to go to. The bastard had been a dark shadow, dogging my efforts for years and hurting my people.
Now my mate.
Rage had swelled in my chest, and I’d spent a good hour staring at the ceiling, tempted to go off and find him. He’d gotten to Tiani, and now she believed she was a broken shifter, a liability. All of her jaded comments and attitude from all those weeks ago now made sense. I’d kept a low profile for years as a dragon shifter, but she’d been chained, and now he’d tried to sever her.
I never even got to fly.
Tossing and turning, I’d fallen into uneasy dreams, worrying about her and whether he had succeeded. Lor didn’t think it was possible, but what if she was wrong? Would it hurt Tiani to stay in Winfyre? Could I let her go?
“Xander.” Someone tapped my nose. “Come here.”
“Hmph,” I said and jerked up, my hands landing on Tiani’s waist. “Tia, what? What’s wrong?”
“You’re growling in your sleep and tossing around,” she said, a
nd her hands fisted my shirt, tugging at me. “Come to bed.”
Half-awake, dazed, I blinked up at her and shook my head. “Uh, I’m not sure—”
“Tell that to your death grip,” Tiani said with a laugh, and I grunted, loosening my grip and folding my arms. “Xander, I won’t be able to sleep knowing you’re on a couch. So, it’s me on the couch and you in your bed, or we can share.” She blew out a sigh. “Unfortunately, we’re both too tired for anything but sleep, I think.”
“Sure,” I said and swallowed hard, allowing her to pull me up. “Uh, wicked tired.” I faked a yawn, and then it turned real, causing Tiani to laugh. “You sure?”
“Yes,” she said and tugged me toward the bed. She seemed to be in the same half-awake, dreamlike state, where logic fell apart, as our fingers linked together. “I trust you.”
“I’m not sure I do,” I muttered.
Tiani made a face. “I’m also cold. I can’t shake this chill.”
"Don't milk it, woman." I watched as she slipped into the bed and hesitated, then climbed into the warm nest of blankets, settling my head on the pillow. However, my whole body had tensed up, and my jaw worked as Tiani rolled back over. “I think this is good.”
“I don’t,” she said, and she was snuggling up against me. My breathing became more rapid, and I tensed up even more. “Damn, Xander.”
A ripple of laughter escaped her, and then another, and then Tiani was all but crying against my chest with laughter.
“What the hell is so funny?” I growled.
“You’re a giant dragon shifter, you carried me here in your claw like something out of a freakin’ fairy tale, you’re willing to take on Excris and Orion by yourself—but you can’t share a bed with your mate without getting all bent out of shape over the propriety of it.”
“It’s not that,” I said through clenched teeth.
"It is," Tiani said. "You don't think it is, but you think this isn't proper." She settled her head on my chest and draped an arm around me. "Relax. As I said, we're too tired tonight."
“I’m not sure—”
Dragon's Oath (Northbane Shifters Book 5) Page 25