by Kira Nyte
Air filled her lungs without a hitch. A second breath proved just as easy as the first.
Then they broke through the cloud cover. Alazar’s wings shot out, jolting their ascent and bringing them horizontal. Ariah grunted when she smacked back down onto Alazar’s back.
She opened her eyes.
And gasped at the view of the world far below them through patches of clouds.
Alazar filled her with heat against the colder temperature at this altitude. Her uncle provided another barrier of protection as the air rushed over them. Alazar flapped his wings a few times, then went into a glide. She had no idea how fast they were going or where they were going.
All she knew was that she had found a new addiction to flying on the back of a dragon.
* * *
“Alazar! Stop!”
“Easy, Ace. Trust me.”
Ariah fought beneath her uncle’s iron hold and the insane kamikaze dragon she was attached to. “Uncle Mark!” She staved off a spring of tears as she watched the solid wall of mountains come up on them at an impossible speed. “Tell him to stop!”
“Ari, calm down!”
“No!” She released one of her hands from the grip. Uncle Mark snatched her wrist, casting them off balance as Alazar gained speed. “We’re going to die!”
“Stop! Get your grip back and stop!”
“Ariah, I need the speed to break through the magic. Woman, chill.”
“Chill? Chill?!”
She seethed beneath her panic. Her uncle managed to raise her hand to the grip against the force of the wind from their flight, securing them to the suicidal dragon.
“You’re dead! You’re dead if you don’t kill me first!”
“I’m willing to make a bet that I won’t be dead. You make me dessert if I win.”
Ariah’s entire body tensed as they came up to the jagged side of the mountain. She curled tight beneath her uncle, squeezed her eyes shut until her head hurt, and let out a high-pitched scream, expecting to be a bloody smear on the rocks at any moment.
Darkness surrounded her. A strange sensation of static rippled along her body from head to toe. The scents of moist earth and fresh snow filled her nose. The air against her face went from cold to cool to warm in a matter of seconds.
Dead. I’m dead.
A slight jerk accompanied the rustle of Alazar’s wings as he thrust them out, slowing their flight.
Ariah trembled, her body in a death-press against his scales.
Her uncle’s weight lifted off her back.
“Open your eyes, Ariah.”
“No.”
“Ariah.”
“Screw you.”
Uncle Mark touched her shoulder. “Honey, open your eyes.”
Ariah gritted her teeth. “Wuss. You’re using my uncle to get through to me.”
“If you won’t listen to me, then yes. Would you like to see if your visions from your younger years hold true or not?”
Okay. She’d bite.
Slowly, she peeled open one eye. She received an eyeful of wing at first. As she lifted her head and opened her other eye, she forgot her anger at the creature carrying her over a land bursting with beauty and colors and magic.
“Where are we?”
“Welcome to The Hollow, Ari.”
Ariah glanced back at her uncle. She had never thought the man capable of tears until that moment. His dark eyes shimmered as he beheld a home he’d abandoned decades ago. As she turned back to this strange new world, she could understand why. No streets. No cars. No skyscrapers. No modern-day pollutants. Mountain peaks reached into the sky as far as she could see. The land below rolled with hills and pastures cut by veins of crystalline rivers and ponds. Trees of all sizes filled patches, thickened in other areas. Vibrant swathes of color spread like a sea of swirling paint. In the distance, mist billowed from the foot of a spectacular waterfall that spilled between two peaks.
Alazar wove through a few peaks before circling a field tucked in the valley at the base of a sloping moss-and-flower covered rock.
A whoosh of air that ruffled her hair across her face jerked her from her awe.
Ariah lifted her hand and pointed to a second dragon that put Alazar’s impressive size to shame. “Uhh, Uncle Mark?”
“That’s Cade. Don’t let his size fool you. He’s a big, huggable monster.”
How reassuring.
Alazar glided to a perfect landing in the field. He lowered himself to the ground as the second dragon approached, enormous wings flapping as his hind legs reached for the ground.
The sight was fantastic.
“Come.” Her uncle dropped the belt from their waists and slid out from behind her. “Same method climbing down.”
Ariah took her time securing her feet and hands with each step closer to the ground, casting glances toward the other dragon her entire descent. His coloring was similar to Alazar’s, a little darker and more smoky, and his crest was larger with a few more horns.
Overall, he appeared far more ferocious than Alazar. She wondered how much of that had to do with what she knew about Alazar’s laid-back attitude.
Ariah judged her position on the last stirrup before hopping to the ground. As she turned, a formidable man appeared around the tip of Alazar’s snout. He had dark red hair and a matching beard, as well as probing eyes set beneath hard slashes of brows. He was huge and muscled and definitely not huggable.
Instinctively, she shuffled back until she bumped into Alazar. Her uncle twisted from his position on his knees, loosening the harness.
Alazar released a low, grumbling sound accompanied by streams of smoke from his nose and mouth. The strange, frightening man who could probably squash her between two fingers tilted his head and smiled.
Okay, so the guy could produce a friendly smile.
“Cade.” Uncle Mark gave the harness straps a sharp tug, releasing them, and stood up. Ariah still couldn’t take her full attention off the guy, who continued to assess her like she was a scientific anomaly. “Old friend, it’s nice to see you again.”
“The pleasure is shared.” The big man stopped his approach a few feet from Ariah, his features softening, if that was possible. “And who is this?”
“Ariah Callahan,” Ariah introduced herself, thrusting a hand forward. Cade’s hand swallowed hers between thick, strong fingers. The air shifted at her back, a whispering swoosh and the curl of a breeze ruffling her hair. She pulled her hand back and watched as Alazar the dragon shrank and reformed into Alazar the man. He shook the harness off his shoulders and handed it to Mark.
“Think you forgot to finish the job,” Alazar joked, coming to Ariah’s side. To Cade, he said, “It seems Mike escaped The Hollow and had a daughter.”
Cade’s eyes narrowed, but his smile remained. It made Ariah’s skin itch. “Mark, you have no children of your own.”
Mark shook his head, but lifted his chin with pride when he placed a hand on Ariah’s shoulder. “Ari is a daughter to me. Even if I bore a child, she is next in line to be Alazar’s Keeper. She is his lifemate. I’ve known from the first moment I met her when she was two weeks old.”
Cade’s gaze shifted to Alazar, freeing her from his intense inspection. A quiet breath fled her lungs in relief.
“How did you come to learn about her?”
Ariah listened to her uncle give a shortened version of events over the last few days, including her father’s part in stealing back the dragonstone to the possibility the Baroqueth had located the stone, discovered her father, and possibly herself.
Her attention drifted from Cade and to the stunning world surrounding her. A warm breeze blew endlessly, carrying subtle hints of sweetness through the air. The grass in this valley reached up to her calves and swayed with Nature’s breath, the vibrant colored flowers of purples and pinks and yellows dancing in an endless mosaic of beauty. Thick moss covered the base of the peak’s rocky walls, dotted with pretty white and pink blooms.
She wanted to ru
n and scream with joy and drop to the ground to stare up into the blue sky. The serenity that encompassed not only her senses but her soul left her longing to belong to this special, magical place. She could not imagine anyone or anything wanting to destroy this spectacular beauty.
“In essence, there’s a good chance we’ll have another face-off in Nocturne Falls?” Cade surmised.
His words were like a finger snap in the face, and Ariah’s calm shattered. She twisted back to Cade and found the man watching her with a sparkle in his eyes.
“We’re going to try to avoid that,” Alazar said. “I don’t want our enemies bringing their ugliness to our friends again. Once was enough.”
“It’s only a matter of time before they scour that town again in hopes of finding you or Zareh. Since Zar is planning to lay his roots deeper in Nocturne Falls, there will always be a threat of Baroqueth attacks there.” Cade sighed. “Seems their hunt for us has become more aggressive over the last few months, especially if what you suspect is true and they went into a public venue to potentially steal the dragonstone.”
“It’s speculation at this point,” Uncle Mark said. His fingers squeezed Ariah’s shoulder. “She is not familiar with what they look like, and was unable to tell me if she saw anyone resembling the Baroqueth. I raised her on our history and trained her in her gifts as best I could until Mike and I had a falling out.”
“Wasn’t a falling out. I believe she’s put a spell on you,” Ariah muttered, earning herself three sets of curious eyes. Ariah shrugged. “Now that I know she’s a real witch, I do. I think she cursed my father and has you under some spell.”
“Who?” Cade asked.
“Uncle Mark’s wife. Miriam the witch with an affinity for Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo.” She nudged her uncle in the ribs with her elbow and flashed him a sardonic grin. “You’ve yet to buy her a yacht.”
“Ari.”
“How about I show you around,” Alazar interrupted, slipping an arm around her waist and tugging her out from under her uncle’s hand. He made a motion toward the open field leading down to a copse of trees with weeping branches of gray-green leaves dripping with flowers. “Why don’t we meet up with you two in a few hours? Mark can fill you in on three decades’ worth of gossip while I help Ace de-stress.”
Cade nodded. “I’ll have a spread prepared for your return. Do you plan on spending the night in your home?”
Ariah looked up at Alazar to find him watching her.
“I need to get back,” her uncle said. A note of sadness touched his voice. Ariah frowned at him despite his sad smile. “Perhaps another time? I sure do miss this place.”
“I think we all do,” Cade agreed. “Soon. Our home calls to us to return.” He waved a hand to Alazar and Ariah. “Enjoy your time.”
“Thanks.” Ariah tucked her head against Alazar’s shoulder as he led her away from Cade and Uncle Mark. “As much as I hate to admit it, I think you were right.”
Alazar chuckled. “About what, Ace?”
“Knowing what I need.”
Alazar nudged her head, turning her face up to him. Despite the small smile on his mouth, something far more sensual coasted across his expression. It set off every flutter and tightened every knot from lunchtime, the sensation intensified by a factor of one hundred. Had she not felt the watchful gazes of the two men they left at their backs, she might have finally given in to the relentless urge to kiss him.
“If you thought this was what I meant, you’re sorely mistaken. Just wait.” He leaned down, pressing his lips to her ear. “I’m delivering you to your fairytale.”
Chapter Fifteen
The moment Alazar broke through the magical portal between the human world and The Hollow, his entire being thrummed with old magic and energy. He had returned to his home maybe a dozen times over the last thirty years, usually to add items to his hoard or retrieve coins to transfer into currency.
Each trip back to The Hollow, it proved more difficult to leave. In the human realm, his magic leeched away, leaving him with little of the essence that was the very foundation of the Firestorm tatsu. Not only were they an ancient race, they were a powerful and magical race.
Nocturne Falls provided a slight taste of magic, but it also made his dragon yearn for his old powers.
With Ariah beside him, he couldn’t wait to see her eyes sparkle with glee as they had upon seeing his transformation before their ride. The shadows had been cast out of her gaze, opening her soul for him to read. They were connected—all lifemates were connected—but he craved to witness the earning of her affections.
He craved to kiss her, hold her, promise her everything that had been stripped from her in the last decade and deliver on that promise.
Half an hour after leaving Cade and Mark in the valley, they came up to the first place he wanted to show her. The sound of water cascading over rock blended with the rustle of trees in the warm breeze. The air smelled fresh, summer sweet, and he soaked in the familiar scents with each breath. The dreamy calm that relaxed Ariah’s expression, as well as the fluttering thoughts that touched his mind, reassured him she basked in the beauty of his homeland.
Her fingers tightened between his, her other hand wrapping around his wrist. He brushed aside weeping branches laced with flowers. Those same flowers rained soft white petals in the breeze, adding to the allure of The Hollow.
“Have you ever swum beneath a waterfall?” Alazar asked, leading her through the curtain of branches.
“I don’t have a bathing suit. I’m not swimming.”
“We’ll see.”
Alazar held aside the last of the branches, opening up a window to the wildflower-covered shores of the crystalline pool. The gentle flow of water pouring over a rock shelf into the pool enhanced the soothing sounds of nature’s music.
Ariah brushed by him, her lips separated on a gasp and her eyes glowing with delight. Alazar let the branches sway back into place and guided her down to the pool’s rocky perimeter.
“This used to be a favorite spot of ours. Kind of like a swimming hole. After a heavy rain when the falls were swollen with water, the sound alone drew us here.” Alazar licked his lips, casting aside memories from so long ago. Much had changed since those happy times. When he glanced down at his Ace, he couldn’t help but imagine the joyful possibilities and memories he could make with her. “In late spring and early summer, the rocks across the way are lined with vines that produce some of the sweetest berries. Although they bear no fruit now, at night, the blooms open and release a scent that is almost as sweet as the berries taste.”
“This is so much more than what my uncle could ever describe.”
Alazar drank in her awe and wonder, admiring her ability to release her burdens and embrace simplicity. There was so much he would share with her if she made the decision to accept him as her partner, her lifemate.
“And imagine, this is just a small piece of what you will see in this world.” Alazar pushed the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. “Swim?”
Ariah glanced down at her clothes, the same outfit she’d worn to Howler’s. “I’m not ruining this after what you paid for it.”
Alazar rolled his eyes and nudged her boot with the toe of his own. “Take them off.”
He hunched over and unlaced his boots, slipping them off, followed by his socks. When Ariah hadn’t made an attempt to remove anything, Alazar groaned, grabbed her foot and earned a shriek. Her hands latched onto his shoulders as she hobbled on one foot.
“You are impossible.”
“I’m giving you what you need.” As he tugged off the boot and sock, he glanced up at her. “A chance for you to live.”
He removed the second boot and sock, lowered her foot to the rock, and pressed up on his feet.
Ariah’s gold-laced eyes peered up at him, a new and vulnerable light shining behind her stunning irises. It soaked into his mind, undiluted and captivating. He stood, cast beneath the spell of his Ace, unable to break free even if
he wanted to.
As her hands slipped along his chest to rest on his shoulders, his heart rate accelerated. Part of him, like the entire dragon part of him, wanted to tug her close and take control. But he, Alazar the man, understood his sweet lifemate’s need to make this decision on her own.
He just wished she would do it a little faster. For her, it was twenty-four hours. For him, he’d waited centuries for this moment.
Ariah leaned into him, pressing up to her toes. He took her about the waist, easing her closer, raising her higher, until the first hot shock of her lips brushing against his bolted along his skin. An airy touch, a whisper of a kiss, and it sent him reeling, anticipating more. Her slender fingers curled up along his neck until they combed into his hair.
When her lips moved across his, leaving a path of scorching heat in their stead, he fisted his fingers in her sweater, forcing himself to remain grounded. Her breaths were little flutters of air over his mouth. The subtle tremble along her body resonated in his own, as did the rapid beat of her heart against his chest.
Then, she pulled back an inch. Could have been a mile for all the difference it made.
“I, uh…”
Alazar lifted a hand, sank his fingers into her hair, and drew her up, stealing her words from her lips on the kind of kiss he’d burned for since yesterday. A soft moan escaped Ariah, her arms tightening around him, her small body pushing closer. The dragon unfurled, heat pouring into every molecule, hunger unlike anything he’d experienced laying claim to his mind and his body. Conscious thought evaded him, leaving him to drown in the tidal waves of this new, overwhelming sensation of necessity.
Ariah met each sweep of his tongue with an eagerness that both pleased and prodded at his control. She tasted like succulent ambrosia, nectar from the gods, all warm and sweet and utterly satisfying. He drank in each gasp she breathed against his tongue, imprinting her essence into every cell of his body. Her small, fragile frame in his arms provoked another layer of tenderness from beneath his scales, another surge of desire to protect her from the worst.