by Paula Quinn
“So, why don’t you two tell us how you met?”
Jacob flicked his icy gaze to his sister, who had hurried to catch up to them. “Maybe later.”
“Are you an Everbound fan?” Helena ignored him and asked River.
“She’s not a fan,” Jacob said, holding up his palm. He knew she wouldn’t stop until she leaned everything she wanted to know. He’d save her the trouble. “She came upon me while I slept in my new form. I spoke to her telepathically and we stayed in contact after I left Harris.”
Ivy tossed River a disapproving look. “You knew what he was all this time?”
“No,” River corrected her. “I didn’t know the dragon was Jacob until this morning. I didn’t tell you or Da about him because I’d made a deal with him not to tell anyone if he stayed away.”
“You made a deal with him?” Helena asked, stunned. “With a Drakkon?”
“Yes, and I thought he broke his end of the bargain when my father’s cattle were eaten.” River finished the tale, leaving little out but the strong attraction and desire they felt toward each other.
Soon, Helena weaseled her way into Jacob’s spot and curled her arm around River’s. Jacob should be concerned about what his sister might say, but he wanted to speak with Ivy. With his nosey sister engaged in conversation and Garion keeping to the rear with his nose in his seeing Onyx, this was a good opportunity. He liked River’s sister. She was honest and though she possessed a hard shell, she was vulnerable on the inside. He was also fairly certain that he was falling in love with her sister. He didn’t want to be on Ivy’s bad side if she might one day be a part of his family.
His family.
He thought of last night’s dinner with the Wrays and Graham. He hoped for more of the same tonight, this time with Helena and Garion there as well. Had this been what he’d wanted all this time? A family?
He took up his steps beside her and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m sorry I lied to you, Ivy.”
She didn’t answer right away, making Jacob squirm. What more should he say? “I should have—”
“You don’t have to do this, Jacob,” she said, holding up her hands.
“I want to apologize to you. I’m not known to do it often, so please hear me out.”
“What is there to say? Do you know what a dragon did to my life?” she asked sharply. “To my father’s life?”
“No one believed what he saw,” Jacob replied quietly. “I only know that.”
She pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and looked out over the loch. “That dragon robbed me and River of our mother, my father of his wife.”
Jacob shook his head. She needed to come to terms with the truth or she would always hate what he was. “The dragon didn’t take her, her unbelief and shame did.”
She turned around and looked at him. Anger and sadness played across her features like a haunting song written on a dreary day.
“I’m sorry she left you,” he said softly, “I know you were young.”
Her huge eyes filled to the brims with tears. Jacob swallowed. What the hell did he know about talking to people about anything of substance? He’d already proven it with River. He knew nothing at all. Had he been asleep his whole life? And now that he seemed to have awakened, he worried that all his walls were falling. How many more was he going to let into his heart?
“I’m sure what you and River went through was incredibly difficult.” He slipped his gaze to her and took another breath or two before he continued. “My mum died before I could remember her. I always thought I was lucky for that. Death is a rough thing for a kid. Your mother didn’t die though. I think what she did is worse.”
She spread her gaze over the water. “Yeah, it is. Our mother was selfish. She didn’t think of us. I know that.” She wiped her eyes and her nose. “Maybe, after all these years, it’s just easier to blame the dragon.”
*
He wanted to comfort her but he wasn’t sure what might come from his mouth next, so he pulled his hand from his pocket and put it around her shoulder. She didn’t move away when he dragged her closer and walked with her toward the path from Urgha.
“Is it after River? After us?”
“No,” he promised, praying he was right. He released her and took a step closer to her sister. “You don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll protect you.”
“Okay. Can I tell Graham?”
“I’d rather you didn’t, but I suspect you will.” He couldn’t help but smile when she grinned. “And get rid of the pictures you took of me please.”
“I will,” she promised. Then, “You were pretty awesome back there. Never thought I’d see a dragon…or four of them. How many are there?”
“Just four.”
She cut him an incredulous look. “Just four—and you’re all in Harris?”
Jacob blinked at her and then turned slowly to Garion. He has us all here together.
He had us in Fiji if that was his plan, his brother-in-law said catching up.
No, Jacob thought to himself, sick to his stomach. An element had been missing before.
He couldn’t find us in Fiji. None of us had turned. Is it a coincidence that I came to Harris as Drakkon, had an encounter with River, then a few weeks later Red shows up here and kills her cattle?
You think he can track Drakkon? His sister joined the conversation.
Jacob hoped not. If the Red had figured out a way to track Drakkon then he was here because of Jacob.
“How many Onyxes are there, Garion?” he asked out loud, including River and Ivy in the discussion. He hadn’t wanted her to hear the first part of the conversation, that this might be a trap meticulously planned out by an enemy Drakkon.
“Only this one.”
“Is there any other way to track us?”
His brother-in-law shook his head. “I don’t know. I’ve only lived on the earth with six other Drakkons in my lifetime. I’ve never had to track any before Red and I used the Onyx to do it. But I can tell you this. Jeremy isn’t stupid enough to think he can fight the three of us. That’s why he’s hiding. His plan, once he found you, was to fish me out.”
“Still,” River pointed out, “that doesn’t tell us how the Red found Jacob, when none of you can find him.”
Jacob groaned inwardly.
“I seem to remember reading something in one of Father’s books about Drakkon,” Helena offered, paying no attention to Jacob’s groan growing a little louder. “It was something about tracking them by star song. It was in the part he wrote about Marrkiya and how they had tracked him and used the Phoenix Amber to transform him while he flew.”
“What are you talking about?” Jacob asked, but he suspected with a sinking heart, that he knew.
“Of course, this was never proven,” she went on, “but Father’s claim was that the stars sing for Drakkon…which we all know now is true. Unlike the life mate song, which anyone who has ever lived as Drakkon can hear, the music of flying is more subtle and can only be heard by the most astute ear.”
The music of flying. Then it was his fault Red was here. His fault her cattle were killed. His fault she was almost eaten today. He lowered his gaze to his feet.
“Jacob?” River asked, going to him and resting her hand on his arm. “Do you think the Red followed you here?”
She hadn’t read his thoughts. She didn’t need to.
“Yes,” he answered, glancing up at her, not knowing what to expect. Not expecting compassion…the warmth of tender affection.
“I don’t care,” she told him softly, quietly. “I’m glad you came.”
Chapter Fifteen
Jacob sat around the table in a kitchen too small to house bodies such as his and Garion’s together. The table was cramped and he and his brother-in-law sat at the outskirts, but they made it work and conversation and laughter flowed easily.
They’d all worked together to whip up a meal of sirloin steak sautéed in mushrooms, roasted
tomato, and peppercorn sauce, with seafood linguine to go with it. Jacob knew it was going to be a good night while he’d steamed the prawns and made the linguine sauce under River’s direction. It had all been a little chaotic, but comforting to Jacob in an odd, warm sort of way. He’d especially enjoyed it when River kicked Garion and Carina out of the cooking area. His brother-in-law hadn’t been happy about it, taking offense on Carina’s behalf, but River hadn’t backed down. In the end, Garion had left the kitchen and took his cat with him.
They’d made amends at dinner, when River prepared a dish of food for the feline, proving the fastest way to Garion the Gold’s heart was through his cat—and his wife.
River had it all under control, winning hearts with gracious smiles and sharing whispers and bursts of laughter huddled close to Helena.
Jacob didn’t mind that he might be the one they found so amusing. He was glad they were getting along. He didn’t interrupt or eavesdrop, but simply took in the sounds and sights of the people he cared about around the table. He belonged to them and they to him.
“River,” he said from across the table, bringing her gaze to him. He’d never killed anyone before, but he would. For her. “Did you tell Helena about your music?”
“Your music?” his sister stopped eating and asked.
River’s cheeks went as red as the thick braid falling over her shoulder. She tossed Jacob a nervous glance. “It’s just stuff I write down.”
“River’s music is really good,” Ivy defended, smiling at her sister. “She just sold a piece to my boyfriend’s band.”
Interest piqued, Helena put down her fork. “I’d like to hear something.”
Be careful, Jacob said inside his sister’s thoughts. Her music sounds like the stars. It will draw Drakkon.
Helena turned her eyes on him. All Drakkon? Or just you?
He knew what she was implying—on both counts. Had it been River’s music that drew the Red? Or was his heart the only one so affected? I don’t know.
Garion and I need to hear it.
“Of course,” River allowed, answering Helena’s spoken request. “After dinner. But I must confess, Jacob told me you play for the Philharmonic. If you hate my work, I’ll be crushed.”
“She won’t hate it,” Jacob assured River gently, winking at her.
What’s going on with you and this girl, Jake? His sister’s voice broke through his thoughts and the conversations going on around him.
“What do you do for a living, Mr. Gold?” he heard River’s father ask.
“I’m in investments and, please, call me Garion.”
Your eyes light up like stars when you look at her, Helena interrupted.
Was it that obvious to River? Jacob curled his mouth at her while she brought her glass to her lips.
She’s…he began and then stopped to begin again. She makes me feel.
Feel what?
Everything.
Helena knew him better than anyone else. But she didn’t know everything. She was the only family—the only constant—he had in his life. He wanted to tell her what was happening to him, ask her what he should do about it.
Something’s waking up in me, coming to life…I don’t know, but I can’t harness control over it. It’s not Drakkon, Helena. It’s more wild than that. It’s stronger than all my willpower. There are moments when I…I would give up anything to be with her.
Oh, his sister’s soft voice sounded in his head. Her expression from where she sat beside River was stunned and she was a bit overcome. Wow.
Yeah, I know. I resisted but—
It’s difficult, she agreed. I know. Jake, the sound of her voice changed, weighted with regret when he heard her again. We will…ehm…we’ll talk about it later. But there’s something you should know now. She’s not a descendant. I checked the Elder Scrolls on my phone after seeing her eyes. She has eyes like an Aqua. There were no Wrays on it.
Her mother’s name?
It doesn’t matter. Wray would be included in the line.
I’ll find out what it is, Jacob insisted. We’ll check next time we get WiFi.
Garion has a mobile hotspot. But Jake, Garion won’t turn her even if she is a descendant. He won’t even turn his sister. He wouldn’t turn Red. That’s why we’re here.
He turned us, Jacob reminded her.
We were dying.
Jacob turned his gaze on River. So is she.
I get it. I really do, but Wray isn’t on the list, Jake. It may not be up to Garion. Your time with her will be too short.
No time. The finality of it was something he had to face. But not now. Maybe I’ll take what I can get.
Later, they carried their tea into the sitting room while the women made the sleeping arrangements.
“I’ll lay out fresh sheets on my bed for you and Garion—”
“We wouldn’t dream of putting you out,” Helena declined. “We’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“Nonsense,” River argued. “The both of you will never fit on the sofa. I’ll sleep with Ivy and Jacob can sleep out here.”
They talked about dragons, without giving up too much to River’s father. They didn’t tell him about Charlie Owens because it would lead to too much explaining. Garion also didn’t tell him that he and his wife were Drakkon, or that Marrkiya the Aqua, or Marcus Aquara, as he was now known, was his foster father. But when Mr. Wray excused himself for the night and Ivy ran off to see Graham, to whom she’d probably spill her guts, Jacob told River about the Aqua.
“Is this all a gigantic coincidence?” she asked him from her chair, asked the three of them. “How are we all tied together like this?”
“I don’t believe in coincidences,” Garion told her. “This is in the stars.”
Her gaze settled on Jacob. She smiled softly and then grew serious again. “What does the Red have to do with my stars?”
“Nothing,” Garion told her. “He’s not here for you. He’s here for me, for my blood.”
The Red sounded like a horrible creature. “Tell me about him,” River asked, settling into her chair. “Jacob told me he was once your friend.”
“His name is Jeremy Redmond,” Helena began, moving closer to Garion on the sofa. “He was Garion’s best friend. He knew what Garion’s blood could do and he wanted to be altered. He wanted Garion to fill the sky with Drakkon. He still does.”
“I refused,” Garion picked up. “He shot Helena. She was in my arms at the time—”
“—about to tell him that I loved him.”
“The bullet went through her and into me,” Garion continued.
River covered her mouth with her hands and then shook her head in amazement. “And you both lived?”
“Garion healed me,” Helena said, “altering me in the process.”
River’s eyes widened like moonlit seas on Garion as their words sank in. “You can heal people?”
“Only if they’re descendants of true Drakkon and I alter them. But I don’t want to fill the sky with Drakkon. I don’t plan on ever doing it again.”
“By the way,” Helena interrupted with a smile aimed at River. “What’s your mother’s maiden name, River?”
“Rodin. Why?” River narrowed her eyes and then smiled. “Do you think I might be a descendant?”
“I did,” Helena answered candidly. “But Wray is not on the scrolls and normally it would be cross-referenced.”
“That’s a little disappointing,” River confessed with a slight sigh. “I’d like to help you stop the Red. He did almost eat me.” She turned her attention back to Garion when he shook his head.
“Why did you alter Jeremy?” she asked him.
“I didn’t. I altered into my Drakkon form and bit off his arm that was holding the gun he was shooting at me. After I left, he mixed his blood with the blood I left behind.”
She listened and nodded and then looked at Jacob. “Why did you alter Jacob?”
“Red had come to my home in Norway. He flew through the window of m
y villa and pierced Jacob with his talons.”
“Pierced him with his talons?” she asked, bringing her hands to her chest and staring at Jacob as if his death would have been the worst thing imaginable. “You didn’t tell me that about him.”
Jacob did everything he could not to leap to his feet and go take her in his arms. “I didn’t want you to be more afraid of what Drakkons can do.”
“Jake would have died if I hadn’t changed him.”
River barely looked at Garion when he spoke. “I’m glad you did.”
Jacob wanted to agree, but he was no longer sure he did. He loved flying, being Drakkon. He thought it was all he’d ever wanted. But River made him want to be a man. He didn’t know what to say, so he smiled instead and bit his tongue when his sister asked if she could read her music.
Jacob remained silent while River hurried to her room. How could it be that he would give up everything he’d ever wanted for her? Was this love? Could she be his life mate? If she were, he would never get over her death. Drakkon only had one life mate.
Maybe he was worrying over nothing. The stars sang for Drakkons, not humans. Helena had heard her life mate song when she was human, but she was a descendant, soon to be a Drakkon. River was not.
Garion, can a human with no essence be a Drakkon’s life mate?
Yes. My mother possessed no Drakkon essence when she and Marcus heard the music. It’s the reason he asked the Elders to use the Phoenix Amber to take the last of his essence so that he could live out his life with her and die with her.
Jacob didn’t know. They’d never spoken about Garion’s family. Jacob had spent hardly any time with the newlyweds on the island. When he spoke to Garion, it had always been about training the Drakkon.
So, it was possible that River could be his life mate. That he could love her and grieve over her forever. Wonderful.
The Phoenix Amber will not work on you, Jake. I tried as a child and it didn’t work. You have my blood.
Jacob slid his gaze to him. I didn’t—have you been in my head, Garion?
No, he’s been in mine. Helena sent and wiped her eye. You love her. She sounded as stunned and unsure how to feel about it as he did. She knew River was the first woman he ever opened his heart to. She knew what his immortality meant. It brought tears to her eyes where Jacob had never seen them before.