As if we’d already lost her.
I refused to think about that possibility as Iavo raced back to the city.
Iavo roared when we were still a good distance away. I smell her blood, Zach. His emotions blasted through me and I gasped. Rage. A killing rage.
He was close to splintering. Too close. “She’s not dead. Keep yourself together. She might need you.” I ignored the unspoken understanding that flowed between us. Iavo was close to losing control, to giving in to the darkness. He was close to becoming what we hunted.
If we lost Brittany, there would be no stopping him. He’d kill me first. Most Riven murdered their riders before beginning their rampage through the rest of the human population.
We broke through a cloud and it was my turn to fear the worst. The parking lot was covered in emergency vehicles. An ambulance was parked on a sea of ice, our mate strapped to a bed as they loaded her unmoving form inside.
“Stay out of sight, Iavo. We need to follow them. Find out where they take her.”
Iavo grunted and we waited, ignoring the police officers, the dozen other humans walking around the crime scene with cameras and evidence bags. I didn’t care about any of it. Only her.
The ambulance sped away and we followed from the air to a trauma hospital with a helicopter landing pad on the roof. Iavo landed there and I slid off his back, throwing the satchel of clothing I carried for him in his direction as I took off at a run. “Get dressed. I’ll find her.”
If we didn’t act—and fast—there was no doubt in my mind that she would dead, and very soon.
The elevator took me straight to the emergency triage area and I heard the sound of doctors and nurses scrambling.
“Brittany? Brittany, can you hear me?”
The sound of my mate’s cry of pain nearly made me collapse with relief and I stumbled toward the sound. A thin sheet had been pulled around the bed where they held her, and people were scrambling in and out of the space in a mix of organized chaos.
“Brittany? This is Doctor Wethers. Can you hear me?”
“Doctor?” Her whisper was weak, confused, but alive. She was alive.
“We need to get a splint on that arm. We’ve given you something for the pain, but I need to examine your arm and your leg. Okay? It’s going to hurt. I’m sorry. We have to move your arm and your leg to make sure you can get through the CT.”
“CT?”
“Does your head hurt? Can you see me? How many fingers am I holding up? Brittany? Stay with me. How many fingers do you see?”
“Two….Three…One.” I had to strain to hear her voice.
“Good job. We’re going to stabilize you and get a CT of your head to check things out, okay? I’ve got the orthopedic docs on the way to take care of your leg and your arm. Hang in there. We’re going to take care of you.”
She cried out as the nursing team adjusted her position. I heard the rustling and the doctor walked out into the main area less than a minute later, motioning for a nurse to come over.
“We need ortho. Tell them we’ve got a distal femur fracture and a large puncture wound with a nightstick fracture in the left arm. We’re stabilizing the patient, waiting for a CT of the head, but the femur will need to be dealt with as soon as possible. I’m worried about the bleeding. She could be headed for compartment syndrome. Call neuro and tell them to get their on-call down here. She’d got a pretty significant head injury. Prep surgery and call anesthesia. They’re not going to be able to wait.”
“Yes, Doctor.” I heard the nurse, but my brain was trying to process everything they’d just said.
The doctor looked up and saw me standing there. “Can I help you? You’re not supposed to be back here.” He had intelligent eyes, sharp but kind. He looked like he was about forty years old and I was relieved that Brittany wasn’t in the hands of a first-year resident.
“I’m here for Brittany.”
His gaze darted to my left hand, which I’d anticipated and kept just out of sight. “And are you a relative?”
“I’m her husband.” She was mine, and I made sure it showed in my gaze. The doctor nodded.
“How much of that did you hear?”
“All of it.”
He nodded again and motioned for a nurse who was walking by. “This is Brittany’s husband. Take care of him for me?”
“Okay, sure.” The young man smiled up at me. “Come with me. We’ll get some paperwork filled out and then we’ll find out what’s going on.”
Paperwork? No. Brittany was hurt, badly. She needed Iavo. I believed the doctors and nurses could save her, but she’d be in too much pain. Would take too long to heal. She would suffer because we had failed to protect her and that was not acceptable.
Just as I was about to protest, the elevator opened behind me and I knew it was Iavo by the confused look on the doctor’s face.
Where is she? Iavo’s voice filled my head like a shout but no one around us reacted. Iavo was using dragon magic to turn their attention away from him. He wasn’t invisible, exactly. He just had a way of making sure people didn’t notice him.
“So, how long will Brittany be in there?” I asked the doctor, but pointed to the curtain surrounding her, the stream of people walking in and out, for Iavo’s benefit.
“As soon as she’s stable, we’ll take her to radiology for that CT.”
I nodded. “So, she has a broken leg, broken arm and a head injury. You think she needs surgery.”
No. She is mine. I will heal her. Keep the others away.
The doctor sighed. “We don’t know anything for sure. We’re running a few tests. I’ll have more answers for you soon. We’re taking good care of her.”
“Can I see her?”
He shook his head and the nurse took me by the elbow. “Not yet. You’d be in the way and we’re getting ready to take her to radiology. As soon as she’s stabilized, you’ll be the first to know.”
I allowed the nurse to lead me away, but I was stalling, giving Iavo a bit of help distracting the others. I felt Iavo walk by, saw him enter the space, careful to dodge any humans in his way. He could escape notice, but not if one of them ran straight into him.
When Iavo disappeared behind the curtain, I breathed a sigh of relief and followed the nurse to the admissions station. I gave Brittany my last name and the insurance the Dragonborn used when necessary. The shell corporation owned by the queen and her dragons had served us well through the years. We were wealthy beyond belief, with all the benefits, weapons and homes we needed to do our job protecting the planet, and humanity, from the king’s insanity and the ice dragons forced to do his bidding. The health insurance was rarely used, as dragon magic could heal almost anything, but the insurance was never turned down. We had a no questions asked policy that the queen herself had negotiated years ago. Dragonborn were precious, and there wasn’t always a spare dragon around when someone got hurt.
I filled out paperwork and paced in the waiting room, drinking bad coffee.
Where the hell was Iavo? And what was taking so long?
Iavo
* * *
She looked so fragile, so delicate swallowed up by tubes and machines. She had a strange collar around her neck and needles pushing human medicine into her veins. Her arm was completely encased in a large, hard shell that had been wrapped to keep her broken bones from moving. Her leg as well, but the skin I could see was a terrifying shade of purple and black, and swelling. She was severely injured. As I looked at her, I could hear the green Riven’s taunting laughter as he’d used his magic to breathe her scent toward me, to let me know he’d hurt her.
I’d smelled her blood and panicked. Throwing up a hasty barrier that should keep the humans away for the precious minutes I needed to heal her, I stepped closer to her small body.
Fury pumped through me and the glow of my eyes lit her white bedding and her pale face with a faint yellow shine.
With effort, I held myself in check, pulled the magic back until the glaring
fluorescent lighting took over once more. She didn’t need me to kill anything at the moment, she needed me calm enough to heal her. And I would, if it killed me to do it.
Nothing mattered more than saving her. Nothing. Without her, I was as good as dead. I’d been hanging on by force of will alone for too long. The splinter in my mind was growing, the pain, at times, almost unbearable. But I fought the urge to surrender, to allow the magic to splinter my mind and make me what I hunted. I had hung on for Zach before. And for the hope of finding her.
Brittany.
Calling to the very depths of my soul for the magic, I stepped forward and placed one hand on her injured leg, on the flesh, and the other on the side of her face.
I’m here, love. You’re going to be all right. I promise.
She didn’t respond, which wasn’t a surprise. We weren’t fully bonded, and until she accepted me into her heart and mind, I wouldn’t be able to communicate with her as I did with my rider. I knew, logically, that kind of bond would take time. Especially as Brittany had no idea what kind of creature I was.
She still thought I was human. Zach’s twin brother. A one-night stand. A fling that Zach and I could walk away from. The truth was that I was dragon, and I had made my choice. She was mine. There was no arguing or pleading with the primordial dragon that dwelled within me. I was not human. I had enough honor to let her go, should that be her choice. But without her, I would splinter, kill my rider, be hunted by the others. Zach and I would be no more if this beautiful creature wasn’t strong enough to love us. To accept the truth.
We let her believe because she needed to feel safe and the truth would terrify her. So many lies.
Leaning over, I placed my forehead on her chest and pushed healing dragon fire into her broken body. She was Dragonborn, her cells able to use what I gave her to heal as a primitive human could not. I poured my heart into her. My life. I called upon my connection to Zach, and to my mother, the queen of dragons. I needed magic, and I would steal it if I had to, kill if I had to, to keep her alive.
I pushed deeply into my mate’s body, searching for her life force, her soul. I needed her to fight, to help me heal her. I found the light of her life, her energy, swirling around her heart and I pushed heat and love to her, merging my light with hers, surrounding her with comfort and love. Letting her know I was there, keeping her safe.
When the magic died and her body refused to accept more, I pulled my energy back and lay unmoving, spent. Near death. My magic depleted beyond anything I’d ever done before. My mother, the queen, would feel me here, on the brink. She would know something terrible had happened to one of her own.
Pressing my ear to Brittany’s heart, I let the now steady beat soothe me. She was stronger, out of danger, her body healed. The doctors would scramble for explanations, but I could not allow my mate to suffer just to avoid rousing humans’ suspicions.
I sacrificed much to protect all humanity. This once, I would choose to protect what was mine first. My heart. My soul. My mate.
Brittany.
She gasped, as if she’d heard me, and her free hand rose to tangle in my hair. She ran her fingers through the strands, her fingertips caressing my scalp so that I nearly succumbed to sleep.
“Iavo? Are you all right? Where’s Zach?” Brittany asked. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on? Am I in a hospital?”
She asked about me first? About Zach? She was the one lying on the brink of death in a hospital bed. She was the one who had survived an attack by the Riven. An attack that was my fault. I braced for her anger, for the hurt I knew would be in her voice when she learned the truth. You have every right to be angry. We never meant for you to get involved in any of this. We came to hunt the beast that attacked you today.
She froze and her heart raced. “Why can I hear you inside my head?”
I knew, when my soul wrapped around hers, I knew I had taken away her choice, but I couldn’t take it back. Didn’t want to. I imprinted on you. We are mated. Now you can hear me as Zach does.
“Imprinted? What’s that supposed to mean? You’re not a baby bird.”
No. I am a dragon.
“Oh God. I thought I was hallucinating. He was green. A dragon. He threw me in the air and tossed me around like a rag doll. He breathed ice! I thought I was tripping. But I wasn’t, was I?
No. We were sent here to hunt him, to bring him to justice. I failed my queen. I failed you. Please forgive me. I lay unmoving, praying she could still love me after I had failed her, allowed her to be hurt. It was a mistake I would not make again. I would hunt the Riven without mercy, without sleep.
As soon as I knew Brittany would be all right.
Her hand moved to the back of my neck, soothing me with a touch in a way no one had ever been able to do before.
“There is nothing to forgive, Iavo. You saved me.”
I sat up and shook my head, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. As I inspected her for further injury, I noticed there were still splatters of blood on her perfect face. I got up and grabbed a wet-wipe and softly rubbed the dried blood from her soft skin.
Her hand gently came up to cover mine, her eyes gazing up, looking for answers I wasn’t sure I could give her. “Please,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. “Tell me what’s happening. Where is Zach? What is going on? Why did that monster attack me?”
I nodded and lowered my hand. But I needed to touch her, to soothe the hurt I saw in her eyes. Leaning forward, I held her gaze and gently pressed my forehead to hers. Because you are mine. He must have scented me on your skin. I am sorry, mate. I should not have touched you before he was dead, but I could not wait. I needed you. I was too close to splintering.
When I mentioned scenting, she rubbed her hand in an odd fashion on the bedding, as if remembering something that made her uneasy. “Splintering into what?”
A Riven. A dragon who has lost his soul to evil. A merciless killer. Without you, my mind would splinter and I would become what he is.
“And what about Zach? Is he…like you?”
No. He is like you. Dragonborn. The blood of the dragons runs through his veins, but he is human. He is my rider.
“So, he’s not your brother?”
We are closer than brothers. We are dragon and rider. Bonded at my birth. One cannot survive without the other.
“And the twin thing? What’s with that?”
I grinned and kissed her gently on the lips. I couldn’t help it. From death’s door to twenty questions without screaming. That was my courageous mate. My magic allows me to take a human form. When we are young, newly hatched, our rider is most familiar to us and so we take the form of our rider. The twin explanation makes it easier for humans to accept us when we are together. It allows him to speak for me.
“Like in the bar, when we first met.”
Yes. I knew you were ours, but I needed his help to get you to the cabin.
She leaned back on the pillow and closed her eyes, as if remembering our night together. “Yes, well, you did just fine on your own after that.”
I tossed the wet-wipe aside and came to sit down again, but the move was more from necessity than choice. I reached for Zach.
Zach, I am about to collapse. Get me out of here.
Forgetting that Brittany could hear me now, I was shocked when her hand came to my shoulder to steady me. “What’s wrong? Tell me what to do.”
It is nothing, love. I used all of my magic healing you.
Her eyes widened as she looked at me with obvious shock. “What does that mean? Are you going to be okay?”
I nodded and hoped like hell I wasn’t lying as I collapsed in the bed next to her. You’re mine, Brittany. No one will ever hurt you again.
The protective ward I’d been holding to keep the humans away as I healed my mate faltered when I did and a nurse walked into the room. The young man I’d seen with Zach earlier. My clothing was different from what Zach wore, but the nurse’s gaze didn’t get past my face an
d he assumed I was my rider.
“You were supposed to be in the waiting room, sir. You can’t be back here. We have to take your wife to radiology.”
Brittany sat straight up in bed and the nurse looked at her with big eyes and a slack jaw.
“I think he’s in shock. He fainted or something. Can you help him lie down somewhere?”
Chapter 9
Brittany
* * *
They escorted Iavo out of the room, the nurse looking confused. But Iavo, the man I loved—no the dragon I loved—grinned at me as he allowed the nurse to lead him back to the waiting room.
The second he was gone, Zach slipped inside. “How are you feeling?”
“Me?” I waved the heavy splint around, irritated that I still had the dead weight on my arm, and started unwinding the stretchy bandage that held it in place. “I’m feeling much better,” I said, smiling a bit. “But I’m worried about Iavo. And you look like hell.”
He did. His skin was pale. His normally bright green eyes glazed over with exhaustion or pain, I couldn’t tell which.
Zach came over to me and leaned down for a kiss. “You had us very worried, you know.”
I nodded and blinked to hold back tears. My men were here, looking after me, caring about me. I hadn’t had that in a long, long time. I wrapped my good arm around him and clung. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shh,” Zach said. “No apologizing. This wasn’t your fault. It was ours.”
I shook my head as Zach wiped away a tear. “That’s what Iavo said, but I don’t—”
“You spoke with Iavo?” he asked. “You can hear him?”
The corner of my mouth turned up again. “Yes. In my mind. Guess it’s dragon telepathy. Or magic. I don’t know. All I know is that after he healed me, I could hear him.”
Zach’s gaze held mine, the intensity there almost frightening. “And you aren’t upset?”
I kissed him. Hard. “He said you were mine, Zach. That both of you are mine. Is that true?”
Marked at Midnight--Mark of the Dragon, Book 1 Page 8