by Paula Quinn
“So I’m supposed to trust a man who claims he’s a dragon—”
“He is,” Margery interrupted, inching closer still to hear what they were saying. “I saw him change into a big, white one.”
“How am I supposed to believe this?” Macroy looked up at Jacob and rubbed his creased forehead. “Why shouldn’t I just arrest you?”
“Because if you arrest me, you’ll be powerless against a dragon.”
“Arrest him for what?” River demanded, tired of these threats. “I was with him here yesterday morning. He hasn’t left my sight since then. He didn’t kill Charlie. As a matter of fact, he hasn’t done anything wrong at all. Are you going to arrest him because he told you he’s a dragon?”
Macroy looked at the crowd with a defeated sigh.
“I don’t want it to hurt anyone,” Jacob told him. “I want to stop it. Kill it. That’s why I’m here. Constable,” Jacob put his hand on the officer’s shoulder, “you need to tell these people to go home and stay inside.”
We heard the music last night.
What? River blinked at Helena’s voice in her head while Jacob continued to convince the constable and the crowd that they needed to leave.
You and Jacob are life mates, his sister clarified. Garion and I heard the music. The Elders heard it, and Red heard it. It’s not like he doesn’t already know where we are. Still, it was careless of my brother to do this now.
But things of the heart can’t be controlled, River defended. Don’t be angry with him.
I’m not angry with him, Helena promised gently. I’m happy for him that he found you. He’s been aimlessly wandering for so long. I’m heartbroken for him because you’re not a descendant. You can never be Drakkon, and he can never not be one.
So? River asked. Why should that break your heart? I don’t care about it and I don’t think he does either. Whatever comes, we’ll make it work.
Yes, of course, his sister said. I’m sorry. I worry about him. Old habits. We should be celebrating, not sitting here waiting for the Red’s next move.
River agreed but she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more Helena wasn’t telling her.
Despite her unease, though, she smiled watching the crowd begin to break up, with Constable Macroy directing some to his truck and others to Noah’s pickup. It seemed that while she’d been lost in conversation with Helena, Jacob had convinced them to disperse and go home.
“How did you change their minds?” she asked him, moving closer and tucking her hand in his. She didn’t mind who saw. In fact, she wanted a few of the girls in the crowd, who hadn’t stopped staring at him yet, to know he was spoken for. She wasn’t the possessive type, but Jacob was temptation incarnate. With a few well-placed smiles, he’d even convinced Margery to close the shop and wait for him to come tell her things were clear.
“Garion and I had to share some images of the Red with them,” he told River, bending his head to her ear. “They’re finally convinced of the danger.”
“Thank you for telling them the truth,” River’s father, who was close by, said.
“Doing it may have signed my death warrant,” Jacob told him. “The organization I told you about really does exist. They’ll be hunting us soon enough when word of this gets out.”
“I’ll do my best to help make sure no one talks,” her father promised then sized him up from his head to his bare feet. “So, you’re a dragon.”
“Yes,” Jacob nodded. “I couldn’t tell you before.”
Her father smiled and patted his arm. “I know. You’ll stay for dinner? We’ll talk more about it then.”
River watched her normally unruffled life mate come a little undone at the invitation. He liked this kind of life with family around the table. He’d never had it before. She liked it, too, as long as he was at the table. She no longer felt like she had to run away from her home and her memories. She wanted to make new ones with Jacob.
“Thank you,” Jacob finally managed.
“One more thing,” her father said, pausing before he turned for the door. “Was Marrkiya the Aqua a man also?”
“Yes,” Jacob told him in a gentle voice River loved as much as the rest of him. “He still is. Would you like to meet him when this is all over? His name is Marcus now.”
“Would I…” Her father had to stop and begin again several times. Jacob was patient in the waiting. “I never thought…yes,” he finally struggled to get out. “I would like to meet him.”
When her father left to go back inside the house, River’s knees nearly buckled when Jacob turned to give her his full attention. She looked into his eyes where his emotions lay bare. She was growing familiar with what she saw in them. She softened his heart and made it ache. He loved her. He craved her like fire craves oxygen. She loved him. Her head told her it was foolish for letting it happen so quickly, but her heart didn’t listen. She already missed lying against the rocks with him, alone with him after a night of flying, and falling, and—
She blushed at the memories they shared. Her heart pounded with reckless abandon when he lifted his fingers to her hair. “I’ll show you the world, River,” he whispered, having read her thoughts. She wanted to scowl at him but, damn it, how could she?
“I’ll go wherever you go, in front of you for protection, by your side, right behind you. I don’t care where we live. All that matters about a home is who’s in it, not where it is.”
“Yes,” she agreed, breathless.
He smiled, running his fingers over her lips. “Fiji is nice.”
Fiji? Was he teasing? He’d take her to Fiji?
Fiji, he said, touching her mind. New York, London, Paris, the jungles of Madagascar, I don’t care. But right now, I want you to leave. Take Ivy—
“No!” she said out loud and took a step back. “I’m not leaving you!”
He moved forward in a rush of silky, white-gold hair and hard muscle. He caressed her face in his palms and pulled her closer. “River. Red wants Garion. He doesn’t care about you. I want to keep it that way. I want you out of the reach of his jaws. I don’t know how long we have and I don’t—”
“I’ll hide. I’ll stay out of the way, do whatever you tell me to do, but I’m not leaving you, Jacob. I’m not leaving.”
He closed his eyes and held her close, burying his face in her hair. “You mean everything to me, River. If anything—”
She didn’t let him finish but withdrew to look into his eyes. “Nothing will. Now come,” she said, taking his hand and leading him into the house. “Ivy will want to go to the Munroes’, but I think we’re all safest with you, Garion, and Helena.”
“River,” he stopped her and let go of her hand. “I’m very…”
“What, my love?” She took a step back to him. He didn’t answer right away but grinded his jaw. “What is it?”
“I’m conflicted,” he finally told her, looking as tortured as he sounded.
“About what?”
“About who I am. Who I want to be. It could make things dangerous if I need to call on Drakkon and I can’t.”
She remembered what he’d told her. He had to want to be Drakkon and she made him want to be a man. As nice as that was to know, she wasn’t going to let him give up his dream, just as he wouldn’t let her give up hers. “You want to fly.”
“I want more than that,” he said deeply. “I want you.”
She smiled and lifted her fingertips to his face. His voice mesmerized her. Maybe it was the sincerity in his eyes, or his shy, genuine smile that gave her pause to consider how much she loved him. “You have me,” she told him. “There’s no reason to choose how you have me. You proved that last night and you were magnificent.”
She tipped her chin and kissed his jaw. “Magnificent beast,” she purred against him. She tossed him a smile filled with wicked intentions, and then left him looking after her like a hungry Drakkon.
*
Jacob watched the gentle sway of her hips as she made her way to the doo
r. Only she had the power to heal him. He could be man and beast. He didn’t have to choose. Last night was…he thought about it and a smile crept over his lips. It was magic. It defied logic, surpassed the mere physical, and satisfied his every desire. He wanted more nights like it with her. For that, he needed to be Drakkon.
River, he sent to her as she stepped into the house. Thank you.
She stopped and turned to smile at him. Thank me later.
He would. First he needed to eliminate the threat. After that, he’d take her wherever she wanted go in the world, buy her whatever she wanted, and do whatever he needed to help her become a successful composer. He’d make her days happy until there were no more of them.
And then he’d never fly again.
Inside the house, Garion paced the sitting room with his white cat draped across his shoulders. Helena sat on the sofa with River’s father in one of the two chairs.
“I’ve been trying to contact him,” Garion told him while River looked around and then went towards the kitchen. “He won’t answer or he isn’t listening. He’s not in Drakkon form. If he’s coming back to try to get my blood, then he hasn’t gone far.” He shoved the stone into his pocket and scooped Carina off his shoulder. “I’m going to look for him.”
Helena leaped to her feet. Jacob held out his arm to stop him when his brother-in-law neared.
“You can’t leave, Garion,” Jacob told him. “If he gets your blood, everyone is doomed.”
“Why does the dragon want your blood?” River’s father asked them. “What can it do?”
“Where’s Ivy?” River asked as she returned from the kitchen and passed them on her way down the hall to the bedrooms.
“She went to Graham’s,” her father informed her.
“What?” She stopped and went back to him. “When? Why did you let her go?”
“You know I can’t stop her when it comes to Graham Munroe,” he insisted. “Besides, it’s better if the Munroes don’t hear all this talk about Drakkons and Garion’s blood”
Garion agreed. “We shouldn’t have told everyone. We should have planned something else.” He covered his head with his hands then raked his fingers through his hair. “Word will get out.”
“When they saw the Red, it was already too late for lies,” Jacob said. “Word would have gotten out no matter what we told them.”
“About Red,” Garion insisted. “Not you. They had no proof!”
“They still don’t,” Jacob reminded him.
“You told them, Jacob,” Garion said, sounding more afraid than angry. “My whole life I’d sworn never to turn anyone I cared about because The Bane killed the first three people I altered.”
“I know, Garion,” Jacob told him. “Those deaths turned my sympathies toward Drakkon and my heart away from my human family. They changed my heart.”
“And mine, as well,” Garion agreed, “The hunters are ruthless. They found me after fourteen years and tried to kill me. They tried to kill Helena. They killed Thomas. They made me…” He stopped and closed his eyes. He was weary. Jacob didn’t have to read his mind to know it. When he opened his eyes again, his nostrils flared and his jaw clenched. “If either one of you are hurt by The Bane,” he vowed in a low, dark voice, “I’ll alter every descendant on the list and rain hellfire on—”
“My love,” Helena stopped him and stroked his arm. “We’ll take care of Red and then disappear.”
“We did what we had to do,” Jacob reassured him gently. “We don’t know where Red is. Now, everyone knows to keep one eye on the sky and one on the lookout for a bald guy with one arm. If it makes them a little bit safer, then we did the right thing.”
“I know,” Garion confessed with a deep exhalation of breath and a slight smile. “Just protecting my treasure, you know?”
“Yeah.” Jacob flicked his gaze to River. “I know. Let’s go get Ivy.”
She smiled, looking so grateful he was tempted to offer her more. Anything.
Carina, Garion’s cat, let out a chilling hiss and darted out of Garion’s hands. Jacob remembered being in Garion’s penthouse in New York the last time Carina had this reaction. Red was close.
Jacob and Garion were first to the door. It was quiet outside. Too quiet.
Garion ripped the Onyx from his pocket and looked at it, then cursed. “He’s here! He’s close!”
“Where?” Jacob shouted, searching the sky while Garion began to undress and Helena kicked off her boots. If Red could be seen in the Onyx, that meant he was Drakkon. Jacob’s hands shook with the pounding of his heart. He had to keep River and her family safe. Where the hell was her sister?
Ivy? he reached out.
Jacob! She screamed through his head almost bringing him to his knees. Help me! It’s coming!
He ripped off his shirt and started running.
*
Ivy couldn’t breathe. Her lungs had no more air. Her heart was frozen in terror. She could hear the monster’s wings flapping behind her. The red dragon had come! It had come to the Munroes’ house and killed Noah with a swipe of its terrible claws. Ivy wanted to scream. She wanted to whirl around and curse the dragon to its face before it ate her. She ran toward the cliffs. She’d rather jump…
Graham.
She came to the edge and looked down at the rocky coastline. The tide was receding. She gathered up her courage and turned to face the monster. She saw Graham. He was running to her. The dragon was flying up behind him. Tears filled Ivy’s vision and she almost didn’t see the monster take him. She blinked and her love was gone.
Her heart roared as she lifted both of her middle fingers at the beast and then jumped.
Chapter Nineteen
Red! Don’t touch her! he warned. If you want blood, don’t touch her!
But the Red didn’t answer. Jacob’s heart was torn to shreds. He opened his mouth and fire issued forth from between his scaly jaws. Ivy! I’m coming!
He heard Hagan Wray invoke the name of the Virgin Mary as three Drakkons came to life in his front yard. He took off with Garion flying behind him. Helena, stay with River, please. Please protect her.
His sister agreed and made him promise to protect Garion.
Jacob, River’s voice broke through the rest. What the hell is going on? Where are you and Garion going? Is it Ivy? Tell me. Is it? You looked so terrified. Please, this is scaring me. Is it Ivy?
Jacob couldn’t tell her. She’d never stay where she was. He couldn’t tell her what he’d heard. She’d go mad by it. He didn’t know what to answer, so he didn’t say anything. He turned his thoughts to her sister instead.
Ivy? Where are you? Where’s Graham? I don’t see Drakkon. He waited, searching the sky, searching the earth. Ivy?
His resolve faltered. Had the Red found her? Killed her? Kill them both? No, he wouldn’t let himself think the worst.
There’s a farm. Garion thought to him. Ivy said Graham lived close by. Helena says he went off the Onyx again. He’s walking.
Jacob’s blood rushed through his veins like molten fire. Ivy and Graham were a lure to get them away from the house. Go back, Garion, Jacob told him. He might have come here to get you away from Helena.
Smoke blew from Garion’s nostrils as he sliced his tail across the clouds and turned in the air. If you find him before I do and he’s Drakkon, forget his head. Go for his wings. Take him out of the sky. His head will be easy after that.
First, I have to find Ivy and Graham. Jacob pulled in his wings and dove toward the farm. Ivy? He prayed they were unconscious and not…hell, Ivy couldn’t be dead. Red, where is she? Where’s the man? What have you done to them?
He landed, unaltered and stormed on his great taloned feet toward the house. He picked up Red’s scent immediately, but it wasn’t fresh. The Drakkon had been here but was gone. Another scent drew him. Human. Not Ivy. He followed it to the pickup truck, parked and still warm just beyond the house. The front door was ajar. Smeared with blood.
Jacob approached sl
owly, his heart thundering within. Whose blood was it? Graham? He sniffed then cursed inwardly. Noah. River’s friend who she loved like a brother. Where was his body?
Fear gripped him the way it had only once before in his life when he was a child hiding behind a tree while a Gold Drakkon burned his house and everyone in it to the ground. Ivy, where the hell are you?
He flew over the house and the nearby cliffs listening for any sound of her, smelling the air, hoping to pick up her scent. After ten minutes of nothing, he headed back for the house. What was he going to tell River? The only thing left of her close friend was blood. Her sister was gone. Maybe eaten. The thought sickened him and broke the heart he regretted opening. Love did this—love had changed him, changed his world, and hurt like hell. Ivy and Graham were gone. Ivy. He’d promised to protect her, but he hadn’t even known she was gone. It was his fault Red was here, his fault Ivy was gone. The weight of it dragged him down.
He felt himself altering and flew low before he tumbled through the air as his wings faded and his talons became fingers. He let himself fall, keeping his eyes open on the sky as memories of Ivy’s big, blue eyes filled his thoughts. He descended and hit the water of Loch Seaforth on his back.
He was losing consciousness, sinking into a tomb of cold, murky silence. He heard her voice. “Just don’t hurt my sister. Please.”
It was just a memory.
I’m sorry, Ivy.
Jacob? It was River. Her voice shattered the shadows and brought the real darkness to light. Is Ivy with you?
He’d failed her. He’d failed himself. He’d lost one of his treasures.
Where are you, Jacob? Please, her voice paused on a broken whisper. Please, come back.
He opened his eyes and shot toward the surface, breaking free on an explosion of water and pearl-gold wings. It fell to him to tell her the terrible news. As it should. He could delay no longer. He had to pull himself together and be strong for her. He had to protect her and stop Red. Where was the bastard?