He finally found what he was looking for, and his mate left to save his life.
Heartbreaking.
She pushed Kellan’s door open and found a sight straight from nightmares. Blood and mucus splattered the bed, the walls, and the ceiling. Kellan lay on his back, clutching something to his chest, while rambling incoherently.
Jayde turned to Scotty. “Can you get him in the shower and cleaned up? I’ll clean up in here.”
“Burning this place down would be simpler.”
She shot him a glare. “And everyone in the building?”
Scotty frowned. “Shouldn’t we take him somewhere else?”
“No. Whatever he’s holding is something of Zoe’s. She said he didn’t want to let her go. I bet he wants to stay where he spent time with her.”
“You’re right. I’ll take him. Do what you can.”
She smirked. “I have a couple tricks up my sleeve.”
Chapter 14
“Shh, it’s okay, Kellan,” a familiar voice cooed. One that had haunted his fantasies for years. “We’ll stay with you until you’re well.”
“Zoe, where is she?” he croaked, his voice ragged.
“She left so you’d live,” the comforting voice murmured.
Kellan rolled over and looked up into Jayde’s hazel eyes. The old pull toward her was gone. She wasn’t his, but she was a good friend.
Everything came flooding back to him.
“She’s having my baby, and she went to that monster.” He tried to sit up, but the world spun. He fell back, holding on to his chest, ready to start coughing again.
“She’ll be okay. First, you need to heal. You’ve been really sick for a long time.
Anger flashed through Kellan and a snarl left his lips. “Her asshole ex is the one who cursed her people.” He pushed himself to sitting. A big hand caught his shoulder as he leaned to the side.
“Relax, Kellan. We’re here to get you back to one hundred percent,” Scotty answered. “And what do you mean her ex?”
“Eldred. The one who cursed the harpies. He’s behind all of it.”
“Eldred?” Scotty asked, then looked at Jayde, who shrugged.
Kellan coughed again. “Zoe, where is she?”
“Slow down, buddy. I don’t know where she is,” Scotty answered gently.
Jayde touched his face. “You need to be well. Reance came by. Says to contact him once you’re on the mend. He plans to help you.”
Kellan’s body seized with the coughing fit. He curled on his side, holding his gut as he hacked and coughed.
Jayde rubbed his back. Her touch was gentle, caring. Something he wasn’t sure he deserved. His mother…was she really helping because she loved him? Or was it something else? Maybe a fever dream?
Shit, he didn’t have a clue.
“How long has it been?”
Jayde answered, “A week. I don’t know how long it will take to heal the damage of the curse, but you are healing.”
“Sure as fuck doesn’t feel that way,” Kellan muttered. Though if he thought about it, the pain wasn’t as bad, except his ribs.
“You haven’t coughed up blood for almost a day. Give it time and you’ll be healthy again.”
“Your fever finally broke,” Scotty added.
“Couldn’t heal me?” Kellan asked Jayde.
Her face fell as she turned away. Guilt rolled off her. “I couldn’t risk taking the curse on myself.”
He rolled to a sitting position and pulled her into his arms for a hug. “I didn’t think. I’m sorry. You two have been through so much, I wouldn’t have asked you to risk your bond.”
“Blame me,” Scotty said. “Though Reance said it wouldn’t have worked anyway. I was ready to beg Jayde not to attempt taking on your symptoms.”
“Most curses can’t be transferred, and I doubt a former air king would leave that to chance.” He looked up at Scotty. “And don’t apologize. Either of you. We got off on the wrong foot, but I never want to come between the two of you.”
Jayde rubbed his shoulder. “Let’s get you well so you can go after Zoe. Toryn has his crew scouring for Eldred. He knows what to look for thanks to Brent.”
Kellan’s stomach rumbled. He covered it with his hand and frowned. He’d lost weight. They said a week. “I need to eat.”
“Toryn has you covered. He’s making something that will bring some of your strength back, but you aren’t well enough to go after Zoe yet.”
Kellan closed his eyes. “How long before he’s here?” A yawn muffled the last word.
“Sleep. I’ll wake you when soup arrives,” Jayde answered.
He lay back and sleep encroached. Before long, he drifted away.
* * * *
“Have you learned to dreamwalk yet?” Saressa asked.
Kellan materialized on top of the far tower in the Water Realm’s castle. “Dreamwalk?” he asked, staring out over the land.
“To visit other people’s dreams and communicate with them.”
He shook his head. “No.”
The swampy terrain had always been dark, but inky shadows stretched from the castle, reaching for the pockets of light that used to shine through the thick canopy of trees.
“What’s going on here?” Kellan asked, his voice thick with concern.
“Never mind that. I’m going to teach you to pull your mate into the Dream Realm.”
“How?” Kellan turned to his mother. Her skin was dull, dark rings under her shallow eyes. He’d never seen her look so beaten down. Her normal radiance had faded, dissipated, leaving her empty. She was alive, and something was wrong.
“Stop staring. You aren’t here for me. You’re here for Zoe. She needs hope to survive what’s coming. You’re both pawns in a game far older than either of you. Older than me.”
“Eldred and Nemia?”
“Indeed. Nemia wasn’t wrong to leave and take her mate. She wasn’t even to blame when her mother opened war with the air kingdom. When her mate and mother were ripped from her, she tormented Eldred and his entourage. That’s why the Elder Guardians refused to kill Eldred and end the curse.”
“Will killing him ban me from Faery?” Though the idea appealed to him. His mother had to be alive. He wouldn’t imagine her this way. This was how she appeared now, but why?
Damn it. Those questions aren’t important. Kellan wanted to smack himself.
“No. It may earn you the right to a throne. If you choose to accept.”
“You want me to accept?”
She shook her head. “No. Your kingdom would become your prison and your torture chamber.”
That led to questions he could ask another day.
“How do I call Zoe to me?”
“Imagine her. Focus on her. Call her name. There are ways to go to her dreams, but her nightmares will only torment you. So bring her here, where you can protect her.”
He didn’t argue, though he planned to learn more about dreamwalking after waking. If he remembered the conversation.
Closing his eyes, Kellan focused on Zoe, on the moment he first looked into her eyes in the bar.
“That’s it. Now take her hand and pull her into this realm.”
He did, but she disappeared.
“It’s okay,” Saressa cooed. “She’s here, but searching for you. Feel her. Go to her, though don’t be surprised if you find her other form. She will need to protect herself until you get there.”
He heard a startled cry and dematerialized, flying toward the sound. Something broke, probably a tree branch. Snarling filled the air. A thud echoed through the woods. He picked up speed, hurtling himself closer to Zoe.
What he saw stopped him mid-air. Her blond mane was streaked with gold and red. Her blue eyes had taken on a violet hue. Huge wings of gold and crimson feathers beat, keeping her poised in the air. Her feet had shifted into talons, and her hands had grown bigger, long claws tipping her fingers.
Fierce, but beautiful.
She dropped the h
uge branch on the bloody heap that was once a hellhound and brought her glowing gaze up, meeting his.
Her expression of victory shattered, replaced by horror that tore at his heart. He stood before her, apparently rematerialized in his own form. “Come here, gorgeous.”
“I’m a monster.”
He shook his head, one corner of his mouth tipping up. “No. You’re impressive, amazing, fucking gorgeous. I’m intrigued and positive I never want to piss you off because you could take me.”
Laughing, her body lowered to the ground as her wings stretched before lying back against her shoulders. She didn’t shift back. “You aren’t afraid?” She held out one clawed hand but didn’t reach for him.
He took it, pressing her palm against his beating heart. “You’re everything I want, Zoe. I’m coming for you. Just as soon as I’m able.”
“Jayde couldn’t help?” she whispered sadly.
He shrugged. “She’s there, with Scotty. They’re watching over me, but even if they could take the curse, there is a good chance it would affect their bond. They’ve been through too much to risk taking this on. Besides, I’m healing. I’ll be coming for you and our child soon.”
“I love you.” Her visage faded back to the one he knew. “I didn’t want to leave you, but I had to.”
“Didn’t want to let you go. But you were right. I’ll find you, and I’ll kill him. The curse will end, and we’ll be together.”
“I’ll have to go to him eventually. I’ll stall as long as I can, but the only way we can find him is for me to find him.”
He nodded. “You’ll be able to communicate with me here. I’ll come to you every night.”
“How will you know if I’m asleep?” she asked softly.
He shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry about that. You’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.” He pulled her close.
She pressed her head against his neck and smiled against his skin. “This feels real.”
“Not real enough,” he answered.
Zoe disappeared, as if she were yanked from the dream.
“Come back!” he screamed.
“She’s awake,” Saressa answered, appearing beside him. “Something startled her. For now, there is nothing you can do but find her when she sleeps again. If you concentrate on her, you can check if she’s sleeping, even if you are not.”
He nodded slightly. “How do I learn to control these gifts?”
“You have contacts who can get you the information. Rely on your friends. I must say, you are lucky, Kellan. You’ve found your happiness.”
“Zoe is my everything.”
He tore himself from the dream, not wanting his mother to taint the truth. He’d seen firsthand how she could warp a situation to best suit her. Too many times he wanted to believe, only to have his hopes and dreams crushed by the woman.
Not this time.
Chapter 15
Zoe sat up in her bed. Someone was outside the door in the Scottish flat. Across the world, she hadn’t expected anyone to find her so fast.
Silently, she crept to the window and slipped outside. The door burst open, and she caught a glimpse of Ororo.
She flattened herself against the wall and considered taking flight, but stayed still. He’d only see her, and he would be forced to take her away.
“Think again, asshole,” a woman snarled.
Zoe’s head tipped to the side, her brow scrunched.
“And who are you?”
“Doesn’t matter, but you’re clearly not in the right place.”
Zoe leapt from the balcony to the ground and ran for the forest.
Glass shattered, furniture broke. The dragon and whoever else was in the room were sure as hell making a commotion. She made it to the Kia Sportage she had stashed away in a rundown house a mile from the apartment.
She climbed in and nearly jumped out of her skin when something buzzed in the glove box. She reached over and yanked it open. She saw the name Toryn and breathed a sigh of relief.
She hit talk. “This is Zoe.”
“Good, you made it to the car,” Toryn stated.
“How did you get a phone in my glove box?”
He chuckled. “You’re being watched. Remember, we have a security firm. I got the alert that someone broke in. Now who the hell is tearing up the place?”
“Ororo, an air dragon. I have no damned clue who the woman is.”
“I may have an idea about that. Don’t worry about her. However, there are coordinates in the glove box. Program that into the GPS and enjoy a new view, courtesy of Brent.”
“Tell him thank you. I should go. Don’t want Ororo to catch on.”
“Be safe. I’ll let Kellan know you’re on the road, but you’re all right.” He clicked off the phone.
* * * *
Ororo could smell Zoe in the room beyond. He banged his hand against the door, hoping she’d hear and flee.
Last thing he wanted to do was watch Eldred destroy another woman. Zoe had been so innocent when Eldred first laid eyes on her. Naïve and impressionable. She fell for his charms.
If he didn’t find Zoe, he didn’t have to bring her back to the place she hated most of all.
He heard fabric rustling, and then her breathing disappeared. Relieved, he burst through the door and stepped inside.
A woman appeared before him. Blue-black hair, lizard like azure eyes, and pale skin. Leather fit her like a second skin.
His brow quirked up. “And who are you?”
She put her hands up, ready for a fight. “Doesn’t matter, but you’re clearly not in the right place.”
“Oh, I’m in the right place, and I welcome a challenge from a beautiful woman.”
Her eyes sparkled in challenge. “Give me your best shot.”
He took a step forward, his hands up. “Don’t worry. Zoe’s the last person I want to find, but I can’t disobey my master.” Ororo hissed the last word.
“You don’t want to find her?”
“Oh no, so let’s make this look good, give her a chance to slip away.”
She paused, staring at him as he took a step to the right and grabbed the mirror above the dresser.
Proving he meant what he said, he slammed the mirror into the floor and grabbed the chair in the corner, smashing it against the wall.
“Scream, grunt, anything,” he hissed.
Aquila shoved the dresser over, light dancing through her eyes.
Once the room was in shambles, the woman faded into mist and floated through the window. He almost followed. Instead, he grabbed a piece of broken mirror and gashed his cheek, letting blood splash down his face.
* * * *
Eldred paced through his castle, waiting on Zoe’s return. She was closer than she’d been since she fled years ago. Ororo flew through the window and strode to Eldred.
“Where is she?”
Ororo flipped his white hair over his shoulder and shrugged. “She’d been there recently but was gone by the time I arrived.”
“And your face?” Eldred pointed at the gash that was quickly healing.
“Another dragon is watching over her. She has help.”
“A harpy has claimed a dragon?”
“I’ll have to find her again. I’ve never met this one. She could have been sent by anyone.”
“You couldn’t find Zoe’s trail?”
“No. Someone was there, making sure I couldn’t. Someone else wiped the traces away while I fought the dragon.”
“Find the dragon.”
“Of course.”
“Perhaps she has answers.”
Ororo left the same way he came. Eldred threw the goblet that sat on the table. Another setback.
Five long years without the woman who made him want to be better. He needed her back in his home so he could prove he would change. Just as soon as her mate was out of the picture.
* * * *
Kellan stumbled into the kitchen. Jayde appeared before him and pulled his a
rm around her shoulder before wrapping hers around his waist.
“Let’s get you seated.”
Toryn ended a phone call and brought another bowl of his stew to the table. “You should be resting.”
“Something happened to Zoe.” Kellan rubbed his eyes and tried to focus, but everything grew blurry as dizziness set in.
“Relax. A dragon broke into her apartment. I take it you sent Aquila?”
“Shit, maybe I should have ordered her to protect Zoe.”
Toryn smirked. “The dragon who broke in was an air dragon. Eldred’s. Seems Aquila kept him busy while Zoe made her escape. I understand Brent made arrangements for her to get to a home far enough away she won’t be easily found.”
Kellan relaxed. “She’s safe?”
“She is.” Toryn pushed the soup his way. “Eat up, then go back to bed. Got to get your strength back.”
He snorted. “That’s why my place has become fae central?”
Jayde nudged his shoulder. “Got to make sure you don’t leave before you’re ready.”
“If you’ve been keeping an eye on her, do me a favor and fill me in on everything,” Kellan pleaded.
“Sit, eat. We’ll talk,” Toryn promised.
Chapter 16
Three hours later, Zoe pulled up to a gate. She’d received a text with a code about an hour before. She knew Brent had some major connections, but now she wondered what she didn’t know.
The gate opened after she entered the code, and she pulled up to a magnificent estate. Not a single light was on, and she couldn’t feel any presence.
Confused, she grabbed the phone and dialed Brent.
He answered after a ring. “Evening, Zoe.”
“If I come back, we’re going to have a long talk about what all you’re involved in.”
He chuckled. “You’ll be back, and I’m looking forward to that discussion. How are you holding up?”
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