There was one last item missing, the one thing that would complete her wardrobe. The necklace had seemed to come out of nowhere. She swore that she’d looked on the table at the antique vendor’s booth at least three times before finally spotting the necklace whose large blue stone called out to her. The man sold it to her for a hundred dollars. She had clutched it to her breast like a rare prize as she happily handed over the cash. It had to be worth more than that, but the vendor had seemed more than satisfied and Kira didn’t dare to ask any questions.
The charm had immediately calmed her nerves, assuring her that this trip to the South was exactly what she needed in order to build a life for herself. This would be her metamorphosis from girl-with-no-past to woman-who-controls-her-own-destiny.
Running her fingers along the large blue stone, she felt the jolt of electricity that went through her body every time she had touched it these past two weeks. She still hadn’t placed it around her neck for fear that the energy would seep into her skin and consume her with its power. Tonight, she would take that chance. Her dress was made for this necklace, and it looked an awful lot like the one the princess sought in her girl-power video game. It would be her charm, her security, and her courage. Every time she felt unsure, she would run her fingers along the gold chain and down to the sapphire and draw strength from the gem.
And every time she touched it, somewhere deep inside, the longing for home crept upon her, surprising her with its intensity. The feeling was always fleeting and always replaced with a calm certainty that she was almost there.
Inhaling slowly and then letting her breath swirl around at the back of her throat before exhaling, Kira lifted the necklace from its velvet bed. Her fingers came to life, feeling as if ten thousand needles were pricking them. He is almost here, a voice inside her head promised. Yeah, right. No fairy tales, no happy endings. Not tonight. She just wanted to have sex, to feel skin on skin, to know how it felt to touch and be touched without feeling like a science experiment.
Every time she had been naked with Leland his eyes lingered to her shoulder and the mark that defied his comprehension. As a scientist, Leland was obsessed with the unknown, but he seemed even more drawn to the unknowable. She realized finally that he viewed her as the link between himself and a world of mystery. And, God, how she hated him for that!
No one would ever see the bite mark again. The clear outline of two rows of large, inhuman teeth capped off by deep puncture wounds of two sets of fangs, upper and lower, had been cleverly disguised by a tattoo artist in Memphis. The rose vine that draped across her shoulder and snaked around to the back of her neck hid the mark to anyone who would have seen her bare shoulder. Only two people knew it was there, and one of them wouldn’t ever see her again.
As she laid the necklace against her skin the sensation that swept through her didn’t stop at her fingers. Her heart leaped in anticipation. The steady rhythm it had held before, bum-bum, bum-bum, was replaced by a quick bum-bum-bum as the sapphire rested against her, filling her with a renewed intensity she couldn’t quite explain. The gold chain hummed against her skin, sending an unidentifiable wave of energy through her body, making her recall for a second dreams she had tried to forget and a man she had never known.
“You’re being silly,” she told the reflection in the mirror. “He doesn’t exist. He can’t exist.”
Dragons were not real. Not in this world anyway. In the world she had created, well, that was another story. Her fascination at times seemed to move beyond mere curiosity. And the necklace only added to her mysterious background, as she was certain she had seen it before.
Slipping her room keycard into her boot, she gave herself one last glance before reaching for the doorknob. Her stomach turned at the thought of going downstairs and walking into a room with three thousand people she didn’t know. Oh, she had talked to some of them online, but she had never met them face-to-face, and Kira was not one to go out on her own—ever. Things were different now. She was all she had, and if she was going to go somewhere, it sure as hell was going to be alone.
“Here goes nothing.”
Turning the doorknob was probably the most difficult thing she’d ever done, but once she stepped into the dimly lit hallway, she knew she was doing the right thing. Her entire future awaited her downstairs, as tonight would be her first night to speak in front of a crowd about her game. It would also be the unveiling of the latest video game cover. Her stomach churned at the thought of having her work on display in such a manner, but she reminded herself that this was who she was now. In the past three years she had transformed herself from Leland’s science project to Kira, Warrior Princess. And she had every intention of defending that title tonight.
The elevator opened its mouth to welcome her inside. Thank God it was empty. If there was one thing she hated more than walking into a room full of strangers, it was walking into an elevator full of them. Besides, she still needed a minute to calm herself down enough to walk into that main convention room. She almost wished she had taken her agent up on her offer to accompany her. But no, Kira had insisted on coming alone, on trying to prove something to herself. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, but right now it seemed ridiculously childish.
Her hand strayed to the necklace and the familiar comfort swept over her, reminding her of what she’d overcome, of who she was and of who she wanted to be tonight. There was no mistaking the who she wanted to be part. She wanted to be the kind of woman who could meet a strange, gorgeous man at a sci-fi convention, bring him up to her Princess Suite and fuck the hell out of him for the weekend. Something deep inside her told her that she wasn’t quite that woman yet. But by the end of the weekend, who knew?
* * * * *
There were two things on Damon’s mind as he stalked across the ballroom, parting the crowd with his massive frame. First, he had to find the woman he had defied space and time to track down. Then he had to secure the amulet that he knew had made its way here. Figuring out how to get back home followed a close third, but for now he would focus on the first two. Lifting his nose in the air, he could smell the earthy scent of his home and could sense the dirt from Tyr-LaRoche as only a man born there could. Whoever possessed the amulet had brought it here to this strange land that he had little desire to spend another second in. But the amulet, the only proof of his birthright was here somewhere, and he knew that when he found it, he would find Kira. Something in his gut insisted on it.
As Kardoth’s son, he had a right to the throne and fully intended to present his case to the council at the next meeting, something he knew Mace wished to prevent. With Kira by his side and the amulet safely around his neck, he would be able to accomplish this. His brother had done a wonderful job in hiding the amulet far from the reaches of the nobles, but he hadn’t counted on Damon’s determination when he threw the charm through the portal and into the deep abyss. The look on his face when Damon had jumped in after it was priceless, making him almost wish he could have had someone immortalize that look in stone. In the days since he had been on this planet, he had come to realize that Kira was here as well. Her life energy called out to him, making him imagine her breath in his ear with every step he took.
Mace had taken everything from him, and he swore he would gain it all back. Hatred had consumed him at first, when Mace’s trickery had cost him Kira, but now that he knew the truth and knew that she was somewhere on this planet, he was determined to find her and put an end to this battle between himself and his brother. Sill, her betrayal burned inside him. “It’s not what you think.” Her words echoed in his head. How could it have been anything more or anything less than what he had witnessed? Their love had been secret, sacred to him. He knew he would never love another, but tonight love mattered not. Tonight, need drove him forward as vengeance and lust battled for control. He would find Kira, whether or not she wished to be found, and he would return her home.
This strange planet held many wonders, but none of them had interes
ted him for more than a passing glance until tonight. He had felt her when he entered this land they called New Orleans. The dragon inside him had raised his head and snarled, sending a flash of heat through his body, as soon as he came within a mile of the woman—his woman. He had spent the better part of the day tracking her to this hotel. These people, primitive as they were, had an advanced language, one that was similar to those known throughout the universe, though their spelling and pronunciation were strange to him. He wondered only briefly if they had perhaps descended from one of the tribes that had left his home planet thousands of years prior. His reflections were quickly shaken from his mind when Kira’s life essence had called out to him, sending pulses of energy through him, beckoning him to move within the walls of the hotel and seek out its hiding place.
Strange costumes adorned the various humans who were gathered in the large, grand room. They looked nothing like the clothing worn by those out on the streets. These were more like things he read about in books, from the fairy wings to the long, flowing gowns. His long, black robe did not appear to be an oddity among the men here, many of whom wore similarly styled cloaks.
The music that surrounded him was also otherworldly, sounding nothing like the peaceful rhythms of his homeland. The crush of the bodies weaving in and out of the center of the room was enough to leave one’s head spinning with wonder. All the while, he focused on the energy swirling around him, energy from home that sent fingers of heat through him, gently guiding him forward, seeming to come from the left and then from the right. It was enough to drive a common man insane, but Damon was too focused for insanity, even though his insides churned with anticipation.
He had waited this long to claim his birthright as ruler of Tyr and would not allow the opportunity to slip by because his brother had forced the fates’ hands by sending his bride through a portal to another world. Their father’s death had left the land in a state of turmoil, the council torn between electing Kardoth’s legitimate son or choosing the one who carried Kardoth’s full curse, the one born out of wedlock. They forced his hand with their new decree, and now he was here, millions of miles from home, seeking out the one woman who owned his soul.
Damon sometimes cursed his birth as the oldest child of Tyr’s former ruler. Had Kardoth married Silla, Damon’s life would have been much different than it turned out with Kardoth marrying Lyrra first. Mace’s mother had announced her pregnancy and forced Kardoth’s hand. And now Mace and Damon’s rivalry had reached its height.
They had fought bitterly, when the moons eclipsed one another, when he should have had the upper hand. Again, the fates had interfered and in the last seconds Mace’s hand had closed over the necklace that hung from Damon’s neck and flung it into the night before he collapsed to the ground. It was then that he whispered the words Damon longed to hear. “She is in there.” Damon stared into the darkness for mere seconds before he had made the decision to leap first and think second, and that was what had led him here.
His fingers pulsed with the memory of the stone and the way it felt beneath them. It warmed to him, sensing the beast deep inside, sensing the power it held over his destiny. Some said the spirits of the ancients lived in that stone, guiding those who sought it, controlling those whose monsters raged and threatened to destroy them. On Tyr, controlling one’s demons was a necessity—and it was all but impossible for Damon without the two things he needed most, his amulet and sex. For some on Tyr sex was enough, but for others, like Damon and his father, the amulet, forged long ago, was necessary.
It was no coincidence that Damon’s ability to control the dragon and the proof of his birthright existed in the same stone. Mace had known that and had sought to destroy him with the knowledge. But now, as his heart raced, pounding inside his chest, he knew he was close to recovering it and Kira and returning to Tyr to reclaim that which Mace vowed to take from him.
The crowd parted just as Damon’s skin began to burn, alerting him that he was growing closer. He closed his eyes, attempting to quell the beast inside, something that was increasingly difficult without the amulet. The beast raged for a second before resting its head, waiting, warning Damon that he was growing weaker while it grew stronger. If he did not recover the amulet soon he would no longer be able to control the beastly urges and all would be aware of the secret he kept closely guarded. He felt the dragon’s talons pierce his flesh from the inside, warning that it would be unleashed soon if he did not find a willing mate. And tonight, the only mate he sought was the one Mace had taken from him.
Regaining control, he looked up as the doors to the ballroom opened and she stepped through them. He knew her instantly even though his mind and heart contradicted one another. Kira was here, on this tiny planet. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he shook the images of his lover from his head before looking at the woman again. On second look, she was not the woman from his past, even though her face had the same shape he had once traced lovingly with his fingertips. No, she lacked the fire and intensity of his lover. But every inch of him pounded with the thought that Kira was in this room with him.
Mace, again, had the upper hand. He had known Damon would leap into nothingness to find the woman he had lost, and now, both Mace and the universe at large were playing a cruel trick on him. The woman looked so much like Kira, but beyond her looks, there was nothing in her demeanor that spoke to him.
The woman was of average height, nothing spectacular to look at save for the glow radiating from her skin and the softly rounded hips that swayed as she practically glided through the doors in her high black boots and short blue gown. She stopped just short of fully entering the room as Damon observed the fiery luster of her hair, a red unlike any he had ever seen before. It wasn’t the blood red of his brother’s hair, but more like an autumn sunset back home, when the sun began dipping its head low and the moons started their ascent. It, too, wasn’t spectacular, he thought, as his fingers longed to reach out and grab a handful of it, weaving their way through the heavy mass.
No. Nothing special at all about her. He insisted this was so even as his heart pounded at the very sight of her slightly upturned lips and the way her eyes darted back and forth as if she were mustering up some kind of false courage before taking another step forward. But the woman exuded courage, even if it was not the kind of firebrand bravery his Kira possessed. No, hers was subtler, the strength-in-reserve type that only surfaced when all other wells had run dry, just as his mouth suddenly had.
If her eyes locked onto his any tighter, he would feel them squeezing into his system. Even from here, he could see the green flecked with blue and could practically feel the pain exuded from them, a warning to him and any other man who might seek her attentions that she was beyond having.
His amulet pulsed, calling out to him from between her breasts, forcing his attention to the rise and fall of her skin as his eyes broke their embrace with hers and focused on the object he had recently lost. The dragon licked at the back of his mind, warning him that if he did not regain his strength soon, he would lose control, something he did not wish to do. Still, the beast teased, warning him that he grew weaker every second he sought to defy the curse upon his kind.
No normal human would know that the man standing dumbfounded by the beauty who still had not fully entered the room was not at his full strength. He moved on legs much longer, much stronger than those of the other men and walked with a kind of barbarian grace that spoke of his years as a warrior. But he was growing weaker by the second, unsure of how many true days had passed since he and his charm had parted ways. It had been bad enough to lose Kira, but to find her double standing here, wearing his amulet was enough to send him over the edge.
Time was not on his side as his patience faltered. The woman stepped across the threshold, her eyes avoiding the area where he stood, and he knew he must act quickly. Too much was at stake to waste time wondering about such nonsense as how a woman’s curves would fit into his embrace and whether or not her nether
hair held the same fiery glow as the mass of curls that flowed down her back.
He had a kingdom to save, a title to claim and a brother to defeat. There was no time for soft skin, green eyes or other promises he could never fulfill. Even if he knew he would need her in order to survive this night. She was not his Kira, he reminded himself, but she would make a lovely substitute.
The need threatened to overtake him, humming in his ear, whispering warnings, sending the blood from his brain to his cock. He tried to curb it by closing his eyes and imagining the real reason he was here, visualizing his victory. The monster inside would have none of his rationalization. What it wanted tonight was what was tucked between the woman’s shapely thighs, and it wanted this with a need that threatened to take Damon’s sanity.
He fisted his fingers, drawing all the energy he could summon, hoping to quell the urges that were suddenly upon him. Her scent permeated his brain, even though he stood across the room from her. The magick inside the amulet was stronger than both of them and possessed the ability to send him her fragrance as well as the silky feel of her hands on his back.
She licked her lips, and a shiver went down his back as he practically felt them whisper down his spine from across the room. Her nails would rake against his back as she dragged her hands across his flesh. He could sink himself into her, claim her as his if only he could coerce his legs into moving across the room, parting the crowd and taking her.
This was a civilized world. This was not a land of dragons and might. A man would risk much if he moved with such haste, and Damon could not afford to alert these strangers to his real intent, his real identity.
Dragon's Law: Damon Page 3