Either way, he was certainly in a killing mood. It didn’t seem he’d eaten that many people, but it was hard to tell. On top of the anxiety about the Riven we were dealing with, I began to feel the itching sensation begging me to get back to Brittany. I couldn’t shake the urgency that we needed to go. Right now.
Leaving everything untouched, I walked back out to Iavo, who stood guard at the cave’s entrance. “There are seven bodies in there. They’re definitely the work of our boy; frozen solid.”
There are bodies out here, too. Come. I’ll show you.
I stared at him incredulously for a moment. “You just want to toss me off again.”
Smiling, he thought, Always, but I will behave. Come.
With a sigh and a shake of my head, I jumped on Iavo’s back. As he took off, he lurched to the left and flew down to the water to an area with a thick patch of trees.
Iavo flew up over them and looked down. I did the same and saw a sheet of ice the size of a hockey rink there inside the tree line. Somehow, the trees were growing straight up through the ice, but I didn’t think they’d survive buried in frost for very long.
Beneath the ice, there were more bodies, a lot of them. I was a little shocked at how busy the Riven had been. As terrifying as it was, this was truly impressive. I’d seen this level of carnage before, but never from just one dragon. This Riven was truly off his dragon rocker.
“He’s been killing since he got here,” I said just after we landed again. I hopped down and looked around, staying close to my dragon. “He’s posted up I guess. We need to figure out where he is sleeping.”
In my past experiences with the Riven, they very rarely slept where they ate. The bodies piling up didn’t make a comfortable place to stay. There was one case where a Riven took over a mansion and used specific rooms to store his kills, but that wasn’t the case most of the time.
The Riven watches us. I can feel his presence.
“I know, Iavo, but I don’t see him.”
He is hiding from me, as he should.
Nothing like a little dragon arrogance. In this case, it was well-deserved. Iavo was the queen’s favorite and most feared hunter. Me, she tolerated. But Iavo was her son. “If he’s hiding, he’s not killing. Do your thing. Let’s track him down. Brittany has been on her own for too long.”
Now he sees reason. Iavo climbed higher, heading for a bank of clouds we could use for cover as we searched the rest of the lake. Or perhaps you, too, are thinking with your cock.
“Shut-up or I’ll keep her to myself.”
It is my fire she needs.
“Yeah, well, she’s human and I’ve got the sperm your queen needs to make new little dragon riders, so behave.” A dragon could not impregnate his human mate, but shared dragon fire, spreading magic through his mate’s body, magic that bound the unborn child to the dragons, that made the baby Dragonborn, future mate or rider.
I did have the sensation of being watched as I clung to Iavo’s back. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I had cold chills. If I didn’t know better, I’d say the Riven was right behind us. Turning, I saw nothing but the lake and the sky stretched out for miles.
I didn't see the dragon attack. It rose from beneath us like a great white in the sea and scored Iavo's chest with his massive claws.
Iavo screamed in rage, rolling to his side to avoid the rest of the attack as the pale blue ice dragon's rear talons missed his head, his neck, by inches.
Roaring in challenge, Iavo straightened and started his pursuit. Away from land, out over the cold water where I would become a liability, and the ice dragon would have a massive tactical advantage.
"No, Iavo. Go back."
I shall strip the meat from his bones with my teeth, breathe his body to ash and pound those ashes into the ground. Iavo was beyond logic, in a killing rage. In pain. Openly challenged by another of his kind. By a dragon with no rider, nothing to temper the violence running through his veins. Nothing to temper the grief of losing his rider.
Had the ice dragon been mated, his woman may have been able to stabilize him, help him survive long enough to choose another rider. But alone, the dragon had become Riven. Remorseless. Evil. Living only to kill. No matter how much blood he spilled, it would never be enough to fill the emptiness inside him.
Going Riven was the only thing a dragon truly feared.
Iavo's dragon blood flowed up over his shoulder from the wound, a small amount of the liquid defying gravity as the wind pushed it up and over his bulk due to the speed of Iavo's flight. I'd seen him like this only once before. And on that hunt, we'd pursued the dragon to its den, fought covered in blood. There had been no reason to turn back, to deny the risk.
We'd had nothing to lose.
"Iavo, go back. We must return to Brittany. We have a mate. The bonding has begun. We are following that asshole into a trap and we both know it. We have to think of Brittany."
I sensed the change in my dragon's body, the battle rage leaving his form slowly, inch by inch, until his fuming dragon heart stopped pounding and only the sound of his wings in the wind remained.
For Brittany. I will heal. Then we will hunt again.
"He dies. He's a threat to our mate."
Iavo roared into the air one last time and turned, climbing above the clouds, so high we would not be taken by surprise a second time as he sped back to our cabin. Yes, the traitor must die.
Chapter 4
Brittany, Lincoln Park, Chicago
* * *
The light evening breeze blew through the tall trees, the dead leaves shaking at me as I walked on the narrow stretch of sidewalk that ran along the grass. Off to my left, huge gray rocks covered in graffiti separated a stretch of dead, brown grass from the water of Lake Michigan. Normally, walking along the water’s edge made me feel peaceful and gave me a chance to think. It wasn’t that late and soon I’d be back to the busier area, where I could hear people shouting for their kids to come along. This was my escape; the place I came to get away from the everyday bullshit that was my life. This was where I drove without thinking when I’d returned to Garrett's dorm and he still wasn't home.
Usually, this place gave me a sense of peace. Hope. Tonight, I felt like eyes were on me. And not of the friendly variety.
My ears tuned into the ambient sounds around me, attempting to pick something out of the nothing. There were no footsteps. No voices. There seemed to be no one here, but I couldn’t shake the sensation that I was being hunted. Which was stupid, but I’d never been one to ignore my instincts.
The tree in front of me creaked, groaning as it swayed as if to say, Hurry, Brittany, it’s not safe for you here. A shiver clawed its way down my body. I didn’t have a clue where the nervous energy came from, but I wished it would pass—and quickly.
Picking up the pace, I interlocked my hands in front of me, twirling my index fingers while humming a made-up tune to keep myself company. The tree groaned again, and I stared, making my way over to its massive trunk. I stopped and looked up, my eyes looking from thick branch to thick branch. From underneath, it seemed to have no end, as if it stretched into the sky and beyond the clouds.
My instincts piqued again, and another chill ran through me. The back of my neck prickled, and I quickly turned to see if someone was behind me. The thought of someone watching me, hiding in bushes and following me as I walked, turned from concern to full blown paranoia.
Something wasn’t right—but should I run? Or act like nothing was happening. Would I provoke an attack if I ran? Or if I didn’t? Maybe whatever was out there was just evil, and not paying any attention to me.
My stomach roiled as my mouth filled with saliva. Bending over with my hands on my knees, I took deep breaths until the nausea passed. It was time to get out of the park. Running would have been obvious—though spinning around with wide eyes and searching the area wasn’t much better.
I didn’t care. I took off at a sprint, not slowing until I reached the parking lot,
and people, and my waiting car. Walking quickly to my car, I didn’t look behind me. I could still feel the eyes on me and didn’t want to give whoever or whatever it was the idea they needed to follow me.
Part of me screamed that I was being ridiculous and paranoid, but I knew I wasn’t. Someone was out there, watching me. I hoped when I left they’d lose interest and go somewhere else.
I climbed into my old Buick and locked all the doors. Resting my head on the steering wheel, I leaned back and something poked me in the side. Startled, I screamed, my eyes darting over to see a straw from a fast food cup had been the culprit. The drink inside had spilled into the center console—fantastic. My car was a complete disaster area, and I made a promise to myself to clean it before I went back to try to see my baby brother.
I fumbled with the keys to properly place them in the ignition and start the engine. Several times I missed, catching the entire set of keys in my hand only to have to separate the car key from the others before trying again.
I closed my eyes, making a silent wish for my poor old car. The back end had been rammed by not one, but two cars in parking lots. The offending drivers hadn’t even bothered to stick around once it happened, so it was a miracle the bumper was still holding on. A green door now disturbed the nice black color. I’d had to have it put on after another wreck took the back-driver’s side door out. It wasn’t nice to look at, but it got me where I needed to go.
As I finally got my nervous hands to cooperate, I shoved the key in the ignition, hoping it would start and take me away from this place and away from the current source of my anxiety. There was always a chance it wouldn’t start, and I held my breath every time I turned the key.
My stomach growled, and though the nausea hadn’t dissipated completely, I was well aware of every single thing I’d eaten for breakfast churning inside me. The grease-soaked bacon had tasted fantastic, but I regretted it now.
The car started and relief washed over me, a cautious smile breaking out on my worry-torn face.
Putting it into drive, I pulled out onto the road, the anxiety and the feeling like I was being followed still plagued me. My gaze continued to hop from one mirror to the next. There hadn’t been anyone else walking along that path, and there wasn’t a single car around me now.
Going somewhere familiar, somewhere I felt safe, I pulled a piece of paper with my brother’s last known address on it from the dash and smoothed it over the steering wheel. It was worn from folding and unfolding every time I took it out of my pocket. The ink was starting to fade and the paper was becoming thin and fragile.
Garrett had only been eight when a family took him in and raised him to be normal, or at least what I had assumed would be normal, given the Midwestern address. It was the last time I had seen him, and he was the lucky one.
After all the time that had passed, it was hard to imagine him as a college student. He was frozen in time in my mind as an adorable, funny, little eight-year-old boy. Seeing him again would be like meeting a whole new person. It would be meeting a whole new person. His life, his experiences… They would have changed him, shaped him into someone I didn’t know at all. Someone I’d never met.
The more I thought about it, the more intimidated by the situation I became. I had a deep fear he wouldn’t want to have anything to do with me. It had been many years and it was completely possible he’d scrubbed me, and our loser parents, completely from his mind. Being that young, it would be the best coping mechanism he could have hoped for. Letting us go would have allowed him to move on with his life—but I hoped he still held a place in his heart for me.
When the rear-view mirror stayed empty, I let myself breathe again.
Good.
Time to go back over to my brother’s dorm and try again. I’d come halfway across the country to find him. I wasn’t going to give up because his roommate liked to ramble when he was stoned.
Iavo, The Protector, First of His Name
* * *
Shoulder clipped and bleeding from our encounter with the ice dragon, I landed in the field behind our rented cabin and waited impatiently for Zach to get the hell off my back.
The moment his feet hit the ground, I called the Earth’s magic to me and shifted forms, into a man identical in looks to my rider. But I was naked and bleeding, and in no mood to talk, not when the traitor who’d attacked us still lived.
“You’ve looked better.” Zach slapped me on the back, careful to avoid the large gash across my chest and shoulder.
It’ll heal. I need a shower. I answered as I always did, mind-to-mind. I could not speak as the humans did. When I was younger, that fact had annoyed me. Now I realized the gift it was, not being forced to endure conversation with the humans I protected.
I shrugged off Zach’s hand and walked to the cabin. We didn’t bother to lock the door, as we would both know instantly if our lodgings had been disturbed. Dragon senses came in handy once in a while.
I turned the water on as hot as it would flow and stepped into the antique tub, pulling the clean but worn white shower curtain closed.
“Hurry up in there,” Zach shouted through the closed door. “We can’t let him get too far.”
I must heal.
“Well, do it fast.”
Rolling my eyes, I allowed the hot water to run over me, washing away the stench of blood and burn and dragon fire as my body healed. There was nowhere on this planet I could not track a fellow dragon. It could take time, if the dragon was smart, but I was one of the greatest hunters alive. Precisely the reason our queen had chosen me for this mission.
I probably should have hurried, but I hurry for no one. My human rider, Zachary Matthias Murray, could wait. It was almost dark and he wanted to fly north, over the cold expanse of Lake Michigan, and continue our hunt for the Riven. We’d get there soon enough.
After taking my time, relishing the heat, but despising the fact that the water never felt hot enough, I rinsed myself, pulled the towel from the rack, and dried off. Once I was dry, I hung the towel back up, and ran my hands through my blond hair to tame it, even if only slightly.
Even though Zach and I look like twins, his hair listened a hell of a lot better than mine did. When I exited the bathroom, Zach was sitting in the teal plush chair in the living room next to the bathroom door. His gaze immediately sought the wound on my shoulder. Which was gone.
“Good. You’re healed.”
Of course.
“Then let’s go get this bastard.”
He wanted us to hunt the Riven. I had other needs. I needed to hunt our mate, to find her, fill her, claim her over and over until her body was coated in my scent, my heat.
If Zach thought to keep me from my mate, or deny that she was ours, this Riven we hunted would not be the only one who needed killing.
I was close to the edge, hanging on by force of will alone. I hid the worst of it from Zach, despite the fact that our telepathic bond made it impossible for me to keep everything from him. My moods colored his, and when, in the past, I had ached for our mate, he’d become dark and brooding, throwing women at me, hoping a one-night-stand would appease the monster growing within.
Nothing helped. There was only one female on this Earth destined to be ours. And I needed to be with her before the fire in my blood grew beyond my control.
To keep from having another meaningless conversation, I focused my eyes anywhere but on him. It was easy to do while getting dressed. I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans, grabbed a black t-shirt, and stepped into my boots before we made our way to the door. We would track the Riven on land, at least for a while.
The weather was colder than I liked, which wasn’t saying much as I preferred the heat on any given day. But the damp air soaked into my fire dragon’s bones like claws, making me ache all over, especially when I was in this small, weak, human form. But humans didn’t respond well to dragons flying around, spewing fire and ripping each other to shreds. There weren’t many of my kind left. Fewer each year. Mo
re lost to the darkness inherent in our kind. The dragons who had survived the last war were old and frail, failing. And the new generation, the others like me, were having trouble finding the Dragonborn females who could successfully breed the next generation of riders. Our mates, who could give birth to men like Zach. Men born with dragon blood.
I followed my rider out into the chill night air, the cold making me even more irritable than taking a dragon talon across the shoulder had. “Must we do this now? It’s fucking cold,” I complained in my head to Zach. I didn’t mind the hunt, but what I wanted was a warm meal and an even warmer woman in our bed. Our mate was near. I could feel it in my blood, my magic all but shouting at me to go back to her, take her to bed and officially claim her before another dragon found her first.
Dragonborn females were rare. Valuable. And always beautiful. Though they rarely knew what they were, what their birthright would mean, until their dragon and rider claimed them.
I couldn’t wait to teach Brittany what it would truly mean to be mine.
“Ours, Iavo. You will have to share her.”
Only if you beg, human.
Zach laughed, but rolled his eyes at me before saying, “I want her, too, but we must hunt tonight. The Riven was injured as well. He will be hungry. We have to find him before he kills again. Your cock will have to wait.”
Easy for you to say. Zach didn’t feel what I did, the burning in my blood, the constant edge of fury running through every cell, the need to hunt. To find her. To taste her sweet pussy and fill her with my hard…
“If we don’t kill this bastard, our mate will never be safe. You know that.” I could hear Zach’s warning as he turned and started walking toward the trail that led from our lodgings to the lake.
He was correct. Only I could choose our mate, a mate with dragon blood, but now that I had, Zach and I would share her. She would be bound to both of us, by magic and blood, part of us. And unless we killed this Riven, no one would be safe, including Brittany.
Marked at Midnight--Mark of the Dragon, Book 1 Page 4