Breath of Flame and Shadow

by Ophelia Bell

  She fled through, navigating them like a mine field, and ran naked up the path into the jungle.

  “Rowan, wait!” Trevor called after her. She could have shifted and flown away in the shadows but didn’t want to risk him catching a glimpse.

  “Fuck,” she muttered and stopped. She turned to face him. “I have to go. Just go back to the party and let me go, alright?”

  “What are you, some kind of fucked up Cinderella who goes to the ball and leaves an orgy behind? I knew your kind was capable of some crazy shit, but that’s beyond what I’ve ever witnessed.”

  “What do you think ‘my kind’ is, exactly?”

  “If I had to guess, some kind of succubus, except you don’t suck up people’s life forces. If anything you left me feeling even better after that hand job. This family my parents work for…they do shit like that, too. Only not quite to that level. I mean…I’ve been seduced by someone like you before. My dad once told me if they ask, don’t say no, and that I’d never once regret it. I wanted her so bad anyway when I was eighteen, so there was no way in hell I’d have turned her down, but she was nothing compared to you.”

  Trevor’s confession piqued her curiosity and she took a step back down the path. “Are you telling me you lost your virginity to someone like me? What happened after that?”

  “Nothing, really. We fooled around sometimes, but didn’t see each other regularly. Then about a year ago they said she died. I don’t know how, though. Dad wouldn’t say. He just gave me this and said she’d wanted me to have it.” He fingered a small round emblem that hung from a leather thong around his throat.

  “Can I see that?” she asked, closing in on him and reaching out to his necklace.

  “Sure, but I can’t take it off without cutting it.”

  She stood close to him and he lifted his chin for her to inspect the small carving of deep indigo jade that rested in the hollow of his throat. Inspecting it up close, she could see the shape of the tiny dragon etched into it and inlaid with gold. Her fingertips tingled when she touched it.

  “What are you?” she asked, meeting his eyes with astonishment. There was definitely something special about him. Something Rafe had left out of their lessons.

  “Just Trevor,” he said, giving her a sideways smile. “I just take these things in stride—have all my life. I know there are things in the world I have no hope of understanding. But I do understand one thing.”

  “Oh, and what’s that?”

  “You’re running from something. Or someone. I wish you would stay. Just long enough to put on some clothes and have a conversation over dinner? I’m a great listener.”

  “Well, then listen, Trevor. You’re sweet but I’m not looking for anything long term.”

  “Not even if I tell you I’m fine with you taking what you need whenever you need it? No questions asked?”

  “That sounded an awful lot like a question,” she said, amused by his eagerness and intrigued by the offer. Her skin tingled beneath the gentle caress he brushed across the top of her hip, as though he wanted to pull her closer, but was trying very hard to respect her boundaries.

  “No more questions,” he said. “At least let me give you one for the road. Call me dessert.”

  “You’re a little too persistent to be compared to food,” she said, shifting closer. Not only persistent, but adorable. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “One for the road sounds delicious, though.” She brushed her lips along his jaw until she found his mouth. She nipped at his lower lip, sucked it into her mouth and then teased her tongue past his teeth. His fingertips clutched her hips, pulling her tighter against him. He succumbed eagerly into the kiss, walking them backward across the path to a bed of lush greenery, then lowering her to the ground.

  “Fine, then you’ll be my dessert.” He pushed her legs apart and lowered himself between her thighs, humming appreciatively when his mouth found her already wet and throbbing pussy.

  “Oh God, thank you,” she sighed. The need to replenish her magic had overridden her own desire. Even as turned on as the experience had made her, she’d been so intent on moving on she hadn’t wanted to take the time for this. Now she was immensely grateful to him for making her pause long enough to find this small bit of satisfaction.

  When she came, she cried out a pair of names, both leaving a bittersweet sense of loss deep inside her. The familiar rush of magic passed through her, seeking out her partner, but not diminishing the ache of sadness. With human men the magic of her climax had never gone beyond her own boundaries, not as it had with Rafe or with Zak and Darius. Yet the energy easily flowed into Trevor. This signal of how special he was left her regretting even more the need to leave before learning more about him.

  Trevor quivered with pent up need when he hovered over her. “I can go now if you want,” he said softly in the dark. Without answering, she reached for him, tilted her hips up and urged him back down to her. He kissed her hungrily as he pressed the tip of his cock at her entrance and slid slowly into her tight sheathe.

  There was something even sweeter about the magic he gave her when he reached his peak. It may have been the fact that it was accompanied by the sound of her name falling from his lips when he pulsed inside her, or the last infusion of magic that left her feeling giddy and bubbling with a need for something she hadn’t felt since that first night with Rafe. She’d tried to explain the strange, subtly incendiary need to Rafe, but his expression had just darkened and he had told her it was too soon to explain, that he would when the time came.

  She curled against Trevor’s side with her face buried against his neck and gave into that feeling. Instinct made her act, along with an overwhelming need to hold on to this precious moment, this precious man. He shivered as her tongue teased a small pattern just behind his ear near his hairline, then he turned and kissed her deeply.

  “Come back when you stop running,” he uttered before drifting off to sleep at her side.

  When his breathing slowed, she whispered back, “I think I did just stop running. It’s time to go home now. Thank you.”

  With any luck she was full enough to make it back to California without stopping. Once she took care of dragon business she might come back to find him. And maybe even stay if the lingering memories of Rafe would give her any peace in between.

  She made her way up the trail in the dark, regret settling deeper into her bones with each step. She shouldn’t have run to begin with, but she’d never had to confront feelings like she had for Rafe. All she could do was get as far away from him as possible. The need was enough, and instinct carried her the rest of the way. Now she wished she could stay, or take the lovely Trevor away with her. But she had something more important to do.

  Her race needed her and while she didn’t quite understand what she could do, if it meant other dragon children wouldn’t be subjected to the solitude of her childhood, it would be worth the effort.

  She flew East, her wings taking her high. During the nights she could make out the coastlines of some of the cities of the South Pacific islands she’d visited in her old life. The first one she passed that was recognizable was Singapore, and there were other, smaller cities that twinkled below her like glittering mosaics.

  Her wings beat hard, and she made good time, but not quite good enough. She felt her energy lagging just past Taiwan and kept pushing on, determined to make the leg across the Pacific without stopping.

  The bright sun glared in her eyes on the fourth morning. A wayward gull screeched at her and she impulsively blasted it out of the air with a gout of flame. Nothing but blue sky and sea stretched before her in every direction, seeming to merge together. The universe tilted and she let out a cry as she lost altitude and tried to regain it.

  San Diego was close, she was sure of it. It had to be, as long as she’d been flying. It was home for her. Rafe was there. Rafe would love her if she returned. He would be hers, she knew with certainty, and beat her wings harder
against the currents of air, but lost her bearings in the midst of the vast nothingness of sea and sky.

  Which way should she fly? The sun was heavy over the horizon, but she suddenly had no idea whether it was morning or evening.

  She spun in the air, uncertain, growing more panicked by the second.

  Letting herself descend, she saw a cargo ship making good time across the placid ocean. She aimed herself in the same direction, hoping that she could find another trail if she found its destination.

  The teasing pull of magic distracted her a few hours later. It tickled at her senses first. Something familiar about it tugged at her, making her turn away from her previous course. The familiarity of the magic intrigued her and she was so delirious from the hunger that followed. She’d already been flying too long. Three days was safe. Four was her limit, and she was at the edge of four days now. Or had it been longer?

  The magic she sensed as a rippling ribbon through the air was indescribable. It caught her and beckoned to her like a comforting whisper, drawing forth old images that felt like long lost memories. Memories of being held close, of being loved.

  “Mother?” she murmured into the air. Her heart pounded as the whisper answered, “Come to me, my Rowan.” And she followed.

  Chapter 5

  Rafe was the model of self-restraint when he spoke to the pair of Unbound dragons, Darius and Zak, at the Monastery. They’d found him when he and Roka arrived and urged him apart from the others. Rowan’s essence was strong on the pair and Rafe found it difficult to decide whether he wanted to bed them both just to taste her magic once again, or to strangle them for their intimacy with her. The surge of jealousy was unlike him, but once he regained control of his emotions he understood the feelings for what they were—desperation at knowing she had been there only two days earlier.

  He had trouble meeting Darius’s critical gaze, but the other dragon didn’t hesitate to shoot a mental barb at Rafe.

  “You should have told her you loved her to begin with. This could all have been avoided.”

  “I know, brother. I just didn’t want to give her false hope before finding out if she could sway the Council in our favor. I was a fool and I’m accepting the consequences. Please just tell me where she went?”

  Darius’s cheek spasmed from the tension in his jaw and his eyes blazed red. He clenched his fists at his side, and Rafe prepared himself for a more violent onslaught. But the older dragon only sighed in resignation. The disappointment in his gaze was more potent than any words the man might have given him.

  Rafe had only met Darius on his first visit after his Ascension but respected the man. Darius had been trapped here for nearly their entire hibernation, the product of an illicit mating between two dragons from the prior generation. Darius was almost as old as Rafe, but had far more experience, having been awake for all those years. Rafe had always considered hibernation to be a form of purgatory, but now realized purgatory would be much more effective if the victims were required to stay awake the entire time. He also realized that his lack of experience left him at a disadvantage, both in words and action. He needed to say more, he realized. Because if he didn’t, Darius might actually resort to violence.

  He took a few deep breaths, breaking out in a sweat under Darius’s gaze. The effort wasn’t in the confession itself, but in admitting that he’d failed the woman he loved. By the time he found the breath for words he had tears in his eyes and his chest felt so tight he wasn’t even sure he could get the words out.

  “I love her.” His voice faltered and he took another unsteady breath, blinking back the wetness in his eyes and trying to begin again. All he could see was Rowan’s face, the look of hurt in her eyes when she confronted him and then jumped out his window. That was the last time he’d seen her and he’d wracked his brain ever since trying to figure out what she might have heard to make her run the way she had. Ultimately he just assumed she’d overheard his entire conversation with Kol. He’d been beating himself up over it ever since.

  “I’ve failed her though. She deserves better.”

  “Yet she still loves you. And hates herself for it.”

  Rafe swiped a hand over his face and lowered his head. “I just want to make things right. If she doesn’t want me, I’ll leave, but I want to make sure she’s safe. You know what it would mean if she were caught. You sent her away yourself.”

  “Yes, because I’m no fool. You are a failure if you don’t find her. I know what she means for us, and so does she. She was planning to go pledge herself to the cause when she left here. Your love be damned. She’s a good dragon. Are you as good as she is?”

  “She told you this?” Rafe asked.

  “Not so much. She needs to learn to shield her thoughts. She was determined to help us when she left, but there were some very unsavory thoughts that involved you. So be careful when you do find her.”

  “You’ll tell me where she went?”

  “Yes, but only if you promise to come back. Zak has some unfinished business with the two of you.”

  “Brother, if everything works out, we will most certainly be back and I will accept whatever punishment you two feel the need to give me.”

  Darius’s broad grin suggested that the dragon would relish every second of it. Rafe scowled at him.

  Darius rested a comforting hand on Rafe’s arm and his expression slipped back into seriousness. “She’s resting in one of the resort villages on another island. I expect she’ll be well received there, brother. They’re known for harboring dragons, whether the clientele realize it or not. One of the resort owners is bonded to a dragon. His family has been for generations. They may not know what she is, but they will be willing to service her.”

  “You have an advantage in some ways, you know,” Rafe said. “Your kind are not left in the dark for centuries to protect the bloodlines. You can’t breed, but you know so much more than we do.”

  “I do know more,” Darius said. “The Council has always had a plan for you. The ones they can control. I don’t think they really know what they’re getting, though. They let too many slip through their fingers. Their plans are falling apart now.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Walk with me and I’ll tell you about your lover.”

  Rafe humored the man, sure he was crazy, but once they’d traveled up a worn, rocky path away from the Monastery, Darius said, “Once the Verdanith is assembled, things will change. The Council will take a step back, but they’ll always be watching.”

  “What if we get Rowan to…”

  “It has little to do with her. Her presence will help, but not for the reasons you think.”

  “You’re being very cryptic, you realize this, right?”

  Darius laughed, the sound shaking his broad chest and making Rafe wonder what kinds of things the man had done with Rowan, and especially how well she’d enjoyed them.

  “There’s always more to the Council than they let on. Their tie to the Mother is strong, but not as strong as the Catalyst’s. Since the ritual, Kris has learned the answers, but his hands are tied. He can’t overtly tell you what he knows.”

  Darius gripped Rafe’s shirt and pulled him hard into a shadowy spot along the path. He pressed his lips against Rafe’s ear. “You believe in fate, don’t you?”

  “Of course I do. I don’t know a single dragon who doesn’t.”

  “The Council’s been struggling for centuries to hang on to what little control they have. But they are at a loss as to how to change fate. They’ve been trying for generations to gain some control and have only just discovered that they are as caught in the web as all the rest of us. If they keep struggling at this point, they’ll only destroy themselves.”

  “What did Kris tell you?” Rafe asked through clenched teeth. “What does it have to do with Rowan and the Verdanith?”

  “I can’t even be sure it’s her, but several months ago Kris told me he dreamed of a red spider who would arrive in the dark. It wo
uld pluck the threads that bind us all, draw us together, and carry us into the sunrise.”

  “And that’s supposed to mean something to me?”

  “Zak and I shared a little of her essence when she was here. It was strong enough to leave us drunk, even the small amount we could take. She likely has the blood of a queen. If she’s that strong and was raised in this new world her entire life, her presence will be enough to convince the Council the path to her sun is the right one.”

  “But you and I both know bloodlines have nothing to do with rank. Every dragon has the opportunity to rise to that level.”

  “Ah, that’s the law, yes. But how often do the royal bloodlines shift?”

  That made Rafe pause. Aside from the Guardian who was granted a token place on the Court at the time of Ascension, Court families had always been the same bloodlines for as long as he was aware of. There were occasionally other dragons who vied for the positions, and there was always a grand ceremony prior to each hibernation to choose the next Court based on the riches acquired by the families at that point. But the contenders never quite succeeded. Was it truly fate, or was there some kind of conspiracy at work? He could believe either at this point.

  “It does pay to be a silent observer for a few centuries,” Darius said before Rafe could answer. The other dragon’s face grew soft, his expression distant and sentimental. “Kris’s mother occasionally spoke of her own dreams to me, just before Kris was born. They were of a similar vein. There are only a few of us who are close enough to the Council to see their gradual surrender. This has been brewing for a lot longer than your generation knows.”

  “Longer than you’ve been here?”

  “Yes. I think your lovely little linguist might have stumbled across the details, but doesn’t know what she found.”

  “And you think the Council may be ready to surrender?”