“You really think I’m going to go anywhere with you after you just tried to toss me to my death?” she gave a mocking laugh while shaking her head.
“You were never in any real danger. I never would have allowed you to hit the ground,” he said unconcerned with a shrug of his wide shoulders.
Wow. That’s reassuring…
Stretching his open hand out to her, he waited for her to take it. Her upper lip twitched as she eyed his hand as if it were covered in slime. Patiently, he waited for her to surrender her hand. The idea made her body stiffen and her expression harden. There was no way she was going anywhere with him. She knew with no doubt that he would take her to a place that would suit his comfort and not hers. If he needed to explain he could do it right here — on the ground.
Folding her arms stubbornly across her chest, a smirk curved the corners of her lips as he watched her expectantly with his hand still held out to her. When she made no move to neither take his hand nor move closer to him, Kieran dropped his hand and scowled down at her.
“I do not have time for your childish games,” he bit out, taking a threatening step toward her. Too surprised to mirror his step so quickly, she gasped in surprise as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. Jerking her against his hard frame, he leapt high into the air.
With a hard thrust of his wings, they shot through the night air. Her gasp of surprise turned into a squeal of terror. The strong arms locked around her waist gave her little comfort as she could feel her feet dangling precariously in the empty air. Her arms found their way around his neck, holding onto him so tightly that she heard him gulp as she nearly strangled him.
“You need not strangle me, Var’da.”
“Put me down!” she squealed with fright, her long hair whipped around her face as she squeezed her eyes closed.
He laughed. He actually laughed at her, the bastard. “Isn’t that the reason you are upset with me already? I do not believe I will upset you more than I have already.”
“You know what I meant, you big jerk! I don’t do heights!”
For several minutes he didn’t utter a word. Neither did she for that matter, she was too busy clawing at his skin, refusing to open her eyes. Her heart echoed loudly in her ears as she tried to focus on something else. A moment later the rhythmic beating of his wings changed to a slow sweeping sound. She didn’t risk opening her eyes, but simply prayed that they were landing — soon. Instantly she felt Kieran’s body jerk and shift. When his hands around her waist loosened, she instantly tightened her hold on him, fearing he was about to drop her again.
“Open your eyes, Elena,” he said gently as his warm breath fanned against her face.
Slowly she opened one eye and then the other as she saw they were once again on solid ground. Cautiously raising her eyes to his watchful one, she unclenched her arms from his neck and took a wobbling step back. Her knees threatened to buckle several times before she was able to lean her weight against a strong tree trunk. Kieran watched her with concern; no doubt he was worried she’d fall flat on her face at any moment.
With a stony expression, she pointed an accusing finger at him as she spoke. “That’s twice now that you’ve scared the hell out of me. Do it again and I promise I will rip your wings off, Birdman.” She could tell that he didn’t take her threat seriously as he smiled at her widely and laughed.
Relaxing, he willed his wings away with a simple thought as he took a small step away from her. “Do you recognize this place?” he asked, turning away from her.
Rubbing a shaky hand against her face, Elena turned to look around her. It was their dream place. She remembered night after night of being in this place with him, being held by him. Her body burned with the memory of his strong arms around her as they lay on the cool ground. Shaking her head to clear the image away, her eyes turned to look at his back that faced her. It was the first time she’d actually seen him from behind before.
And what a behind it is…
However her eyes didn’t focus on his muscular buttocks — alright maybe just a little bit. Instead her gaze was drawn to the alluring and confusing sight of his bare back. There were no marks where his wings were or if they’d ever been there. She couldn’t get the sight out of her mind of his dark dragon-like wings she’d seen sprout from his back moments ago. He was magnificent. Her dreams of him had not done him justice. But that didn’t answer her question of what he was.
“You brought me here in our dreams,” she whispered, sliding down the trunk of the tree to sit on the soft grass. “Why did we come here?”
Turning around to face her, he slowly drew closer as his eyes took in the beauty around them with a content smile. The serenity of the pounding waterfall heard in the distance and the lush emerald colors brought an inner peace that he’d not know for some time. “This was my private place. I use to come here as a boy when nightmares of war and death became too much. It’s also the place I shared with you. I have never trusted anyone enough to bring them here. A fitting place as any to tell you the truth about what I am.”
His words warmed her heart, but she forced herself to remain unaffected. What did she really know about him? Was he really a harmless — attractive lamb or a wolf in sheep’s clothing? She needed facts before she gave into her girly side and trusted the man before her. “What are you?” she gently asked as she crossed her legs in front of her. Releasing a slow breath, Kieran leaned his back against a tree as his began his tale.
“Many centuries ago, my people existed in your world and for a time both our species lived peacefully together. Your people gave my kind a name — gargoyle. But not much after that did your people turned against us. We were accused of being demons — abominations of evil. We were hunted and many were killed all because of our unique gifts.”
“Gargoyles? That can’t be. Gargoyles are myths. The only time I’ve even heard of them is people placing stone statues around their home. Many believe they offer protection, but they look nothing like you do. You look human — except for your wings, wherever they went to,” she said, pointing at his lack of wings.
He smirked back at her. “Our wings are a part of our inner magic; we call upon them when needed. Besides our sou’tali our wings are our most precious possession. It is a risk to have them displayed all the time.”
Rolling her eyes, Elena mumbled, “Plus it must make doorways challenging.”
Shaking his head at her softly muttered words, he continued, “Deep within all Garmorian’s is the need to safe guard any weaker than themselves. Our honor demands it. For a time we did provide protection to your people, but we were soon seen as a threat. Seeing that there could be no peaceful coexistence between us, we fled. It is said that it was then that the veil was formed between our two worlds by our Goddess. Since then no Garmorian has entered the human world, until I did. However, we found our new home was also home to others.”
“There were other gargoyles already here?”
He sadly shook his head. “No. They were different, but were like your people in the way they possessed a humanoid form. They called themselves Kelithians. They possessed golden hair and fair skin that was beautiful on sight. But inside they were — are dark creatures. They possess an insatiable greed and dark powers that could control the earth around them.”
Beginning to feel more at ease, Elena rose to her feet and moved a step closer. “What happened?”
“They wanted this entire world for their own and like the humans they saw us as the abominations of the earth. They sought to snuff out our lives, so we fought. For years we gave ourselves into bloodshed of each other. We became like savage beasts, hungry for the taste of blood and destruction. They say it was then that the Goddess finally grew angry at the constant bloodshed and decided to end it. To punish us she took away our gift to dream seek. Our ability to find our mate’s through dreams and bind them to us.”
“That seems strange. Couldn’t you just find your “mates” in a more normal way?” she a
sked, making quotation marks with her fingers at the term mates.
“We cannot discover our mates in any other way. Dream seeking forms a bond with our chosen one. It is stronger than anything on this earth. If you and I had met any other way, I would have felt the uncontrollable attraction that I feel for you but I wouldn’t know that you are mine. I would be driven mad with needing you but never able to tie your soul to mine.”
Elena shook her head at all the information he had given her. Inside her a war waged between reason and the possibility that everything he was telling her was true. If their so called “Goddess” had taken away their ability to discover their mates, how had he found his way into her dreams? “How is it that you can come in my dreams if you lost that ability?”
Slowly he took a step towards her. Leaving but a hair’s length between them, his hand reached out to stroke a single finger down her cheek gently as he looked down at her startled eyes. “I believe that my Goddess has shown favor to her children. In the mist of so much death, she led me to you. She has given my people a second chance and I won’t question her priceless gift. You are the first to cross over into our world which makes you incredibly valuable to my people.”
Her lips parted wordlessly as his words caught her by surprise. “What are you talking about?”
“You represent the hope of my world.”
Pulling away from his caressing hand, Elena shoved a frustrated hand through her long tresses with a groan. “Look; even if I believed in all of this — and I’m not saying I do — I have a life on my own world.”
Frowning, Kieran’s entire body became tense. “This is your world now.”
Rolling her eyes at his stubborn attitude she planted her hands on her hips as she glared up at him. “Listen up buster, just because you and I have some type of dream-bond-mojo going on — according to you, that doesn’t mean that I plan to just drop everything I have in my own life just for you. I barely know you and you don’t know that first thing about me.”
“I know that you are mine and anything else doesn’t matter,” he stated with a shrug of his shoulders.
Rage and anger were too kind of words to describe what she was feeling in this moment. She liked him better in their dreams when she could pretend that he was imaginary. Did he really think that he could just drag her to some alternate world and decree that she’d live there and like it? It was ridiculous that she’d leave her business and her friends to live in a strange world with a man she barely knew.
“I can’t stay here.” Her eyes sought to discover his reasonable nature — if he possessed one.
Shaking his head, his hands gripped her upper arms tightly. Teeth clashing together, he prayed for patience as he struggled to assure his skittish mate. “I know this is all new to you, but I will prove to be a worthy mate for you. I am a warrior of my people. You will always be protected and you will not want for anything,” he stated proudly. Any female would be honored to have a warrior as a mate; he knew it would be no different with Elena.
“Will you just stop already?” she shouted, shoving at his chest, not that it did her much good. The guy was like a mountain. “I can’t stay here.”
Taken aback by her outburst and lack of appreciation, his hands abruptly released her as he eyed her with curiosity. “What is so important that you feel you must return?”
“I have a business and friends back home,” Kieran simply stared down at her, unmoving. “Now you can see why I can’t stay here?”
“No.”
“No? Did you not hear me? I can’t stay — I have a life back home.”
“I said no. That is not a real reason for you to leave my side. I need you and I need you here.”
“Then I will find my own way,” she snapped out.
As she shoved past him with a glare, Kieran struggled not to grab her and shake her until her teeth raddled. Who did she think she was to deny him — her soul mate? She should deter to his wisdom, not rebel against it at every turn. He refused to stand for it. Spinning around he charged after her. The smooth line of her back and shoulders tightened with tension. She was aware of his pursuit of her, yet she refused to run from him. The knowledge made his chest swell with pride. This woman was no one’s prey. She was a fighter. Such a female would be worth her weight in jewels for any that wished her for a mate.
Not that any other would…
Regardless, he planned to grab her and take her back to his quarters at the stronghold and not let her out of his sight until this rebellion was settled between them. Just as his dark shadow began to overcast her, he paused. Everything inside him stilled as the air around him became thin. Beneath his bare feet the ground quaked and trembled. Trees groaned as their roots twitched deep within the earth. They were not alone any longer.
Lunging forward he tackled Elena onto her stomach seconds before a massive root shot through the air above them. The thick root hit the earth, sending a vibration through the both of them. Elena gasped in fear as she looked around them. The thick trunks of the trees twisted, groaning and creaking as their monstrous roots exploded from the earth and shot toward them. In a quick motion Kieran rolled the both of them out of the path of another striking root seconds before it hit the earth with a thundering echo.
Tightening his hands around her, he hissed into her ear, “When I tell you to run, I want you to head for higher ground. I will draw their attention.”
“Draw whose attention? What’s happening?” she asked fearfully as the roots drew back toward the trunks, bunching and coiling like snakes readying themselves to strike.
“Run!” he ordered. Leaping onto his feet, Kieran threw himself in the path of a dark root that shot toward Elena. Struck in the chest, he was thrown back against a tree. The black bark cracked beneath him upon impact. Glancing back he saw Elena turn and run as he told her to. But his relief only lasted so long. She came to a skidding halt as the dark tentacles shot in front of her, coiling around each other they blocked her path. From behind her, he saw more tentacles creeping near her, ready to snatch her.
Acting fast his wings thrusted him into the air towards her, unsheathing his claws he was seconds from slashing the sneaky abomination to ribbons. Before he could bring down his deadly hands, two thick roots coiled around each of his wrists, jerking him down to the cold earth as another wrapped around his throat, holding him immobile. He snarled at his confines. He needed to get free; Elena’s life depended on it. There was only one creature that could have spawned this dark magic — Kelithians.
Turning around at the sound of Kieran’s snarl, Elena gasped in terror as she watched vines and roots coil around him like snakes. Jerking to the left and then the right, she saw more slithering closer to her. With the wall of roots and vines at her back and more in front of her, there was nowhere to run.
“Interesting display, Garmorian.”
Turning toward the voice, Elena jerked around as the wall that blocked her path drew away to reveal two smirking men. They looked human to her eyes. Both were fair skinned with short, golden hair. Dressed in what appeared to be dark silk tunics and dark leather trousers, she could see they were far different from Kieran. Around their necks and wrists were bands of gold that caught the light of the moon above. Turning their attention away from Kieran they both turned to their hard gazes on her. Meeting their gaze she could see their eyes were red with a dark pupil. Could they be the other race that he warned her about?
“This is the one?” one of them asked with awe. The second — whom she decided must be the leader — nodded his head with a faint smile.
“Yes. She’s the one we want.”
“Touch her and I will see that you die!” Kieran snarled, fighting furiously against his bonds without result. The fair looking men paid him no attention as they moved closer to her.
“What do you want?” she whispered to them, casting a fearful glance toward Kieran. She didn’t like the way they regarded her like she was a new, shiny discovery.
The second on
e held his smooth hand out to her with a soft smile, “Come with us.”
Dream of Me Page 7