Cael led them out of the residence and up the temple’s stairs. Again Lucan and Rion took turns firing shots that halted their closest pursuers, then followed Cael into the temple.
“Everyone,” Cael said. “Get in the cannon.” Her fingers flew over the controls, and she pulled a lever to warm up the ancient machine. Before she thought too hard and changed her mind, she tapped in the destination code. “Hurry.”
While Lucan held off the soldiers, she motioned for Rion to leap over the rim. “Get inside. I’ll hand Jaylon to you.”
“You first.” Rion hoisted Cael over the lip. She slid down and immediately turned to catch Jaylon. “Are you all right?” she asked the trembling boy.
Tears trailed down his smudged cheeks. “My mother—”
She hugged him. “I’m sorry.”
Under her feet, the ancient machine rumbled. “Lucan, Rion, get down here.”
The men leaped into the cannon. In the tight confines, Lucan slid down her front, Rion slid down her back. She could barely draw a breath. Merlin flew in, too, and perched on her shoulder.
The old stones around them began to heat. Soldiers were searching for them. She heard Brennon giving orders. “Find them.”
Rion’s elbow was shoved into her side. Lucan had his arms around her and Jaylon. “Rion, tell me you have the Grail?”
Rion shook his head. “I thought you had it.”
“I’ll go back.” Lucan reached for the lip.
Cael tugged him down. “It’s too late.”
Rion agreed. “By now the whole army must be inside the residence.”
Lucan’s muscles tensed. She had to stop him.
“Even if you could climb out”—Cael leaned her cheek into his chest—“when the second wall caved, rubble buried the Grail. You’d need heavy equipment—”
“The High Priestess couldn’t have disappeared into smoke,” Brennon shouted. “Find her!”
The searchers drew closer, but as the cannon fired up, fear entered their voices. “Sir, the floor—”
“Look out, General.”
Suddenly Brennon screamed. “Help me. That’s an order.”
“I can’t, sir. The stones are too hot.”
Brennon cursed.
“Get back or you’ll burn,” another soldier shouted. “We can’t save him.”
Brennon’s screams of terror and pain echoed from the rafters.
Men pulled back. When they spoke, their voices were filled with awe. “What in the Universe?”
“Holy Goddess.”
“Get out. Get out. Get out!”
Ancient engines hummed, and their pitch rose to a whine. Jaylon sobbed and held Cael tight, his little body trembling.
She said softly, “It’ll be all right. We’ll be safe.”
“Nowhere’s safe.” Jaylon closed his eyes.
Lucan had lost his ship. He’d lost the Grail. Never had she seen his face this dark and grim, but his whisper remained calm. “Where are we going?”
“Where we’ll be safe.”
“Not without the Grail.”
“It’s too late.”
He strained his arms overhead to reach the lip. But not even Lucan was that tall.
“It’s all right. You don’t need the Grail.”
“Why not?” He looked down and gave her a puzzled frown.
“Because you have me.” She grinned, a secret grin. And then the cannon blasted them through space.
Life is sustained by the flow of subtle energy called love.
—HIGH PRIESTESS OF AVALON
27
One instant Lucan, Cael, Jaylon, Rion, and Merlin were in the cannon. The next they were tumbling across grass. Lucan had tried to break Cael’s fall and Rion protected Jaylon. Lucan had landed on his back on a hillside with Cael sprawled on top of him. With a flap of wings, Merlin soared into a hazy gray sky that smelled like rain. The owl settled on a huge circle of towering rocks, some with cross braces across the tops.
From the crowd gathered around them, Cael picked up astonishment at their sudden appearance amid the center of the ring of huge stones. These gray-haired people wore a style of clothing she didn’t recognize and spoke in a language she didn’t understand.
“Stonehenge!” Lucan grinned, and from his smile she knew the cannon had delivered them where she’d intended even before he said, “Welcome to Earth.”
Nearby, Jaylon bounded to his feet with the enthusiasm of youth, but to Cael’s surprise, the Earth people pointed square boxes at him. Their flashes were almost blinding.
“Is Jaylon under fire?” she asked, unsure, for she sensed no hostility.
“He’s fine.” Lucan chuckled and squirmed out from under her. “They’re taking his picture.”
“Why?”
“No one on this planet has seen a child for several decades.”
Cael peered at the photographers and sensed excitement and hope in the crowd. “I don’t understand what they’re saying.”
Rion and Jaylon joined them. Rion pulled a tiny device from his tunic’s pocket. “Here’s a universal translator.” He pressed the chip into her forearm, where it disappeared beneath her skin.
She expected it to hurt but didn’t even feel a sting. “Thanks.”
“Give it a moment and you’ll understand and speak like a native.” Rion also gave one to Jaylon, who stood wide-eyed, clearly a bit overwhelmed, but at least he’d stopped sobbing.
Cael took his hand. “We’re safe.”
“Yes, we are.” Lucan borrowed a phone and called Vivianne Blackstone, the woman who’d funded his mission. Apparently she’d been away on a business trip and was on her way back here. In the meantime, the woman had graciously arranged for a vehicle to take everyone to her residence in London.
Jaylon pressed his nose to the glass during the ride, and Cael was as eager as he to get her first look at Lucan’s world. While the buildings in the city were spectacular and the scents enticing, everyone seemed so old. And sadness permeated these people.
But their welcome was warm, and two hours later, after they’d dined on fish and chips and Jaylon’s new favorite, three-cheese toast, they were shown to private quarters. Rion was ensconced in Vivianne’s guest room. Cael and Lucan shared a suite, and Lucan jumped in the shower while she put an exhausted Jaylon to bed across the hall.
Cael hoped the dark circles under his eyes would go away as he recovered his strength. He’d been through so much. But he was strong, he was healthy, and he would be safe here. She’d make certain of it.
After pulling back the bedcovers, she patted the soft pillow. “Come here, little guy. I know you’re tired.”
Jaylon yawned and rubbed his eyes. “Are we staying on this planet?”
She smoothed his hair and smiled a reassuring smile. “For now.” Cael and Lucan hadn’t had a chance to talk since they’d landed on Earth. “Is that all right with you?”
He nodded, but she could see the lingering fear in his eyes, and sadness. Cael sat on the bed. She lifted the child into her arms, rested her cheek on his head. “No one can ever take the place of your mother, but you and I can be a family. Would you like that?”
Jaylon was quiet for a while. Then his arms tightened around her. “You’ll teach me to fly?”
“Of course I’ll try.” She laughed. She helped settle him in the warm bed, tucked the covers around him. She kissed his forehead, feeling the responsibility of her newfound motherhood. “I love you. Now go to sleep, sweetie.”
He closed his eyes and before long fell into a deep sleep. Her hearts ached for him. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she made a silent vow to Sonelle that she would love the boy as her own.
When Cael returned to their suite, Lucan was on the phone. He covered the mouthpiece for a moment. “I’m talking to my family. There’s a hot bath waiting for you.” He pointed to the bathing area.
“A bath would be heavenly.”
“Take your time.”
He went back to his phone cal
l, and she could feel the joyous emotions flooding through him and imagined everyone talking at once as Lucan assured his parents and sister he was back safely on Earth. She left him making plans to meet them in London tomorrow and followed the steam to the large tub.
He and his family had years of catching up to do. She was happy for him, but she’d gotten spoiled having him all to herself. The thought brought a smile to her lips.
She and Lucan had never spoken about a future. He’d never planned beyond his mission. But now with her here with him on Earth, they had all kinds of options. And she couldn’t wait to talk to him. This might be her last night alone with him for a while.
She was too on edge to relax in the luxurious bath, scented with oils. Still, she took her time, enjoying the fresh citrus soap that made her feel refreshed. After drying in a thick terry towel, she slipped into a belted robe and padded over the thick carpeting into their suite.
Lucan was sitting in front of a computer. His desk overlooked a manicured garden lit up at night for a romantic effect. But he was staring resolutely at his monitor, his excitement visibly gone.
She came up behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders. He kept typing but spoke at the same time. “Remember the paper Rion gave me?”
“The one Nisco’s PI stole from General Brennon’s briefcase?” she asked.
“We thought they wanted it back so badly because of the tracking technology. But we were wrong.”
She peered at the symbols on the screen. “It was the writing on the back they wanted to keep secret?”
“Yes.” He glanced up at her, and her hearts sank to see those eyes dark with worry. “I’ve seen that writing before. Inside the cave with the giant waterfall. While you slept, I explored and found a poem about Arthur carved in the wall. Beside it was another poem in a different language. My notes are back on Pendragon, but I have a pretty good memory. I typed both poems into the computer on my spaceship, and luckily for us, it’s the same poem in two languages.”
She tensed. “Which means you can translate the writing on Brennon’s paper?”
“Some of it.” Lucan’s tone was grim. “Enough to know that after the Tribes secure the Grail, they’re planning a huge invasion.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know.” Lucan exhaled heavily. She kneaded the muscles in his neck, found him so tense, so worried. This was no homecoming. He had lost the Grail because he’d saved her. She could feel him hurting with frustration and guilt, wanted to ease the turmoil of a situation that hadn’t left him any choices. Any good ones, anyway.
As if realizing she could read him, he rose from his chair and took her into his arms. “I’m glad you’re here.”
And he was. She could feel him pouring fierce joy and bittersweet happiness into his kiss. A kiss that was downright possessive, demanding and sexy as hell.
She’d wanted to be wanted by this man, but who could have foreseen such love coming out of such danger, for his world, for her world? No. She could never have imagined this. Not when the future before her on Pen-dragon had been one of isolation and loneliness. Now she adored the way he wanted her. The way she no longer felt alone.
Arching into him, she let her robe slide to the floor. She ripped off his shirt, unfastened his slacks, all the while dragging her palms along his hard flesh. He’d always been fit. But now his muscles were denser, harder, more powerful and honed.
Without breaking their kiss, he easily lifted her and carried her to the bed. The heat in his eyes melted her. No matter what planet they were on, he desired her and she desired him. That much hadn’t changed.
Already she ached to have him inside her. Reaching between their bodies, she used her fingertips to tease the ridge along the knob of his sex. He jerked in her hand, and she stroked him where he was hard, cupped him where he was soft, all the while enjoying the blast of tension radiating from him.
With a groan of need, he dipped his head, took her nipple between his lips, and laved the tip with his tongue. The swirling sensation set her mind spinning. Her breath rasped. But when she caught the fire in his gaze, the mischievous glint in his eyes, she suspected that this would be a night of all nights to remember.
Lucan sucked on one nipple, then the other, then licked his way down to her belly. Gently he parted her legs and kneeled between them. Slowly he opened her moist folds. And then he dipped the tip of his sex into her moisture, using her wetness to make his flesh slick.
Expecting him to press in further, she lifted her hips, but instead of filling her, he slid his sex over her folds, back and forth over her clit. The delicious friction had her writhing against him.
“More,” she demanded.
“You like?” He gave her slow and easy, each stroke enticing and exciting.
She didn’t know she could pulse with such need. She didn’t know that her whole world had been reduced to waiting for his next caress. And with his hard flesh stroking back and forth against her moist folds, she was clutching his thighs, urging him to go faster, the coos coming from the back of her throat, urgent and needy.
She exploded, the wave of pleasure breaking over her in a long, smooth crest. Lucan kept caressing her with his sex, his momentum never changing, his pace never slowing. Her spasm kept going, like she was riding a tidal wave ripping along the shore.
“Easy,” she murmured, thrashing. Her nerve endings were so sensitive, his slightest touch had her trembling.
Lucan leaned down and kissed her mouth. And when he did, she rolled until she was on top. In one smooth motion, she took him deep inside her—and then held perfectly still.
His satisfaction and need blasted her. He was desperate for her to move, but instead she experimented and tightened the muscles around his sex.
He hissed out a breath. “You… feel… good.”
She squeezed harder, released him, then squeezed again, finding a rhythm that pleased her and that caused the irises in his eyes to darken to dragon purple. Sensing he was barely hanging on, she lifted her hips and began to ride him. His hand sneaked back between her moist folds. He placed a fingertip on her clit, drawing her taut with tension. Her head began to spin. Her hearts pumped so fast that all her blood seemed to rush to where his finger tapped a dance and his sex plunged in and out.
She exploded again and collapsed on top of him. He gave her only a few seconds to recover, stroking the back on her head, before he rolled and she ended up on her back, realizing he still hadn’t finished.
Again, he kneeled between her thighs. She was so sensitive she could barely stand the pleasure. And yet she was already gathering, her body tensing under his touch. Light-headed, toes curled, she reached down and tugged his hips, bringing him into her. Then she wound her legs around his back, crossed her ankles, and reached down beneath his sex. While his hips thrust into her and pulled back out, she held on to his balls, teasing, cupping, tugging. And when they tightened and his breath rasped harsh in his chest, when she felt him gathering to explode, she slammed her hips up at him, tugged with her hands, and felt his seed pour into her.
His excitement took her right over the edge again. And the intensity of her pleasure left her numb. Satiated. Languid. She had no idea what the future would hold for them, but for the first time Cael was able to hope, dream, and imagine.
She may have slept for a few moments or even hours. When she opened her eyes again, he’d pulled the sheets over them. She lay snuggled against his warm chest, surprised to find him tense, worried.
She rolled onto her side and rested her cheek in her palm. Lucan reached over and held her hand. “I just checked on Jaylon, he’s fine.”
“Sonelle always said he’s a heavy sleeper and never wakes up during the night.”
“I don’t know anything about children.”
Cael grinned at Lucan. “You and your people had better get used to children.” She dropped her hand to her stomach and covered it protectively. “We’re going to be parents.”
He stared at her
with skeptical eyes. “Without the Grail… it’s not possible.”
“We don’t need the Grail.”
He scowled. “Cael, I’m sterile. All of Earth is sterile.”
She placed his hand low on her belly. “I can already feel our babies.”
“You’re pregnant?” His gaze lifted to hers in wonder.
“With twins.”
“How do you know?”
She laughed. “I’m an empath, remember? I can feel their emotions.”
Clearly stunned, he rubbed his forehead. “I touched the Grail and now you’re pregnant?”
She shook her head. “Jaylon required a battle wound for the Grail to heal him, remember?”
He raised an eyebrow. “So how did I get you pregnant?”
Cael chuckled. “Surely you haven’t forgotten how we paired—”
“I remember.” His voice was husky. “If the Grail didn’t cure my infertility, then what did?”
“My dragonblood healed you.”
“Sweet Lord. Of course. Your dragonblood set off all kinds of changes in my biology.”
“First your vision sharpened, and you no longer needed your glasses. Then you became stronger. Grew scales. Shapeshifted into a dragon. And now you’re fertile. Now we’re going to have twins.”
He grinned so broadly she couldn’t doubt his excitement.
Cael nodded. “If your people can synthesize my blood—”
“You think we can cure everyone? Or only those who are related to King Arthur?”
“Dragonshaping and infertility involve different genes. A cure should work for everyone.”
Lucan whooped and hugged her. “Earth will have the mother of all baby booms. I can’t wait to tell my sister. Lady, do you know I love you?”
“How do you feel about Jaylon?”
“He’s a great kid. Why?”
“I intend to raise him as my son.”
“You think he’d accept me for his father?”
“His own father abandoned him and he’s always longed for him. He’ll be delighted.” Cael snuggled happily against Lucan, loving that he was worried about the boy accepting him.
Lucan Page 27