by Dena Christy
Andor bared his teeth. Soon as his brother would kill him, and he would take her for himself. He had to get rid of anyone who would try to take her from him.
“Do you think you can kill me? Do you think you can have her for yourself once I’m gone?” His skin grew hot, and the fire inside him burned hotter. He could now only see his brother through a pin hole of reason, the rest of his field of vision a wreath of flames that would consume those around him.
“This is the madness talking. Don’t let it take you.”
Andor swung his head to look at his minion. He was a good little minion, and he fought the urge to devour him. Very soon he would create death and destruction wherever he went. The fraction of rational thought left to him knew what he needed to do before he slipped into the abyss that he’d feared would consume him from the moment he’d woken in this time and place.
“It is too late, brother. I had to take my dragon form to kill Kevin, and I let the madness in. It will consume me before the night is over. You know what you must do.”
Andor’s madness screamed inside him and with the last of his strength he fought it long enough to spread his arms wide. He wished that Lyssa was not here to witness this, but there was no longer any time to get her out of there. He only had a few minutes left before he tried to destroy those closest to him.
Iszak raised his crossbow, and Andor knew the bolt aimed at him was made of dragon forged iron. At least his death would be swift.
“No.” Lyssa cried out as she knocked Iszak’s hand and the crossbow’s aim was broken. The bolt flew harmlessly out to the side, and missed Andor completely. “There must be something more we can do.”
“It’s too late. Rickman get her out of here. Neither of you need to see this.” Iszak’s voice was steady, but Lyssa could hear the thread of pain in it for what he needed to do. It was a pain that echoed inside her, and she was not about to give up on Andor now, not when he needed her more than ever.
Andor opened his eyes, and they had changed. There was a feral light in them as his irises were made entirely of flames. A predatory smile pulled at the corner of his mouth as he looked at his brother’s useless crossbow.
There had to be a way to save him, a way to bring him back. She refused to believe that he was lost to her. A ball formed in the back of her throat and she swallowed hard to clear it away. Now was not the time to stand here full of regret over what she had done to him. Her leaving him when things got difficult had brought him to this point, but there had to be a way to bring him back.
“Andor, this isn’t you. I know you don’t want to hurt anyone.” Unfortunately, her belief in him had the opposite impact than she had hoped. He laughed and it was a laugh that sent chills down her spine.
“So foolish. Did you think that you could come here, and say a few pretty words and everything would be fine? You had your opportunity to stop this and you ran away and left me. I should thank you, since now I can see things so much more clearly. It is time for me to fully embrace what I am. Your friend Kevin was right, dragons are creatures to be feared, and the world will fear me.”
The guilt she was holding at bay dug its claws deep inside her. She didn’t want Kevin to be right, she didn’t want him to be a danger to anyone. She should have believed in her love for him, she should have communicated that love to him sooner.
“Lyssa, you need to go.” Iszak’s voice was a deep rumbled beside her. She shook her head as he put another bolt in his crossbow. There had to be a way to stop this.
“I’m not leaving him here alone. You can’t kill him, not yet. There must be a way to bring him back.” Her body trembled, and she stiffened her legs to keep herself standing. Now was not the time to fall apart. Andor needed her, and this time she was going to be there for him.
“It’s too late for that. The moon has taken his mind. The Andor you knew no longer exists.”
“I have to try.” Before he could prevent her, she stepped away from him and walked toward Andor. She knew it was a risk approaching him in the state of mind that he was currently in, but she had no other choice. She had to bring him back, she had to make this right. Andor’s eyes glittered as he watched her approach, and it took every ounce of strength she had, every ounce of love for him to make herself continue forward. What if this all backfired on her? What if she made him worse?
“Keep away from him, Lyssa.” She ignored Iszak’s shout behind her. Andor needed her and she was going to do this. She hoped her body blocked most of him so Iszak could not shoot him with a crossbow.
“You should listen to him.” Andor’s lip curled a smile that oozed madness. Was it her imagination, or did his teeth look a lot sharper than usual?
“I won’t believe that the Andor I know isn’t in there. You won’t hurt me.”
She gave a cry when he took her arms in a vice grip and dragged her to him. The crash of her pulse in her ears drowned out the shouts of the others behind her. He wouldn’t hurt her. It was a mantra she repeated to herself as she bid her heartbeat to slow. She didn’t have faith in him before and that was what had brought him to this pass. She was going to believe in him now, even if it killed her.
“You won’t hurt me.”
“Repeating it will not make it true. I could snap you in half in a heartbeat. What makes you think that I won’t do it? It took a fraction of a second to kill Kevin. What makes you think that I won’t do the same to you?” His face was so close that his warm breath fanned across her cheeks, and she could see nothing of Andor remaining in his eyes. There was no warm silver left in there, only red hot flames. It came to her that she was talking to the dragon that lurked inside Andor. It had pushed aside the man, and she had to do something to bring the man back. Something that would soothe the dragon as well.
“You killed Kevin to protect yourself, to protect me. It wasn’t because you had a desire to kill anyone. You won’t kill me because you love me.” As she said it, she knew that while what was coming out of her mouth was true, it wasn’t all of it. The book that Rickman gave her mentioned the curse, and it also said what would break it. Her love for Andor would bring him back, but he had to know what was inside her. “I love you.”
His grip on her arm went slack, and he back up. His face tightened and she could see the struggle going on inside him as the dragon tried to maintain control. It was working, but he needed help. She walked up to him, placed her hand over his heart and looked up at him. All the love she felt for him flowed through her body, and she imagined it coming out of her hand into his heart.
“I love you. Please some back to me Andor. I love you.” She repeated the refrain as she willed him to feel her love. A heavy leadened feeling came over her and she fought the despair that wanted to consume her. It was taking too long for him to respond. She’d told him too late. The dragon was not soothed by her declaration, and she’d lost Andor.
“Lyssa?” He said her name, in the voice she would know anywhere, and a sob escaped her. She looked up at him, into his warm silver eyes and her lower lip trembled. She’d done it. She brought him back. “Is it true? Do you love me, even while knowing what I am?”
“Yes. I love you and I shouldn’t have left you the way I did. This is my fault. You would not have had to go through this if I’d only believed in you. If you don’t want me in your life anymore, I’ll understand. It seems like all I do is bring you trouble.”
He pulled her to him and held her close. The steady beat of his heart pulsed under her ear, and she put her arms around his waist. If this was the last time she would get to hold him, she was going to savor it.
“I’m not letting you go now. You’re my mate, we belong together and I love you.” His words whispered against her ear, and she let go of the emotion she’d bottled up inside her and sobbed her relief against his chest. He held her close, his hands moving in slow soothing circles on her back, and the comfort he offered calmed her. She pulled back and looked up at him, and he used his thumb to wipe the tears from her cheek. “The time for tears is ove
r. We love each other, and I want there to only be room for happiness between us. It is time to go home.”
She moved to his side, and he tucked her up against him. They approached Rickman and Iszak, and Andor let her go to stand in front of his brother.
“Thank you for trying to keep your word. I should knock your teeth in for letting her come near me, but I suppose that if you hadn’t, I would now have a dragon bolt in my heart.” Andor held his hand out to his brother, and Iszak gripped it.
“I’m sure you will do the same for me. Perhaps it would be a good idea if we get out of here.”
Lyssa went forward and put her arm around Andor’s waist.
“There is one more thing that needs to be done. All traces of Kevin need to be eliminated.”
“Rickman and I will take care of it.”
Lyssa remained tucked against Andor’s side as they walked toward the cars. Kevin’s car stood not too far away, and she supposed that Rickman and Iszak would have to dispose of it.
“Are we taking our car and leaving Kevin’s for them?”
“No. Once they dispose of Kevin’s vehicle they will need ours to get them back home. I have another idea for how we are to get there.”
“Another way? Don’t you think it’s a little too far to walk?” Under normal circumstances she enjoyed a hike, but tonight’s ordeal had been exhausting, and she wanted to get home where they could express their love for each other in private.
“I am not suggesting that we walk, I am suggesting that we fly?”
Fly? She stared at him for a long moment before the pieces clicked in place. He wanted to take his dragon form and fly them both back to his house. Nervous excitement raced through her veins at the possibility of seeing him as a dragon. What would it be like to soar through the air on his back? One concern held her back.
“Are you sure it isn’t dangerous for you? You’ve only just come back to yourself. Will it be safe for you?” She looked up at him as he came toward her and took her hands.
“I would not have suggested it if there was any danger to you or to myself. Your love has broken my curse and taking my dragon form is quite safe.”
“Then I’d love to fly home with you.”
He smiled at her as he stepped away from her and put some distance between them. She didn’t know what she expected to see, but his transformation into a dragon was gentle and beautiful. He closed his eyes, and in an instant he was surrounded by a whirling mist that enveloped him and grew bigger until he stood before her, in the form of a red dragon.
She gasped when she saw him, and tentatively came forward. With a trembling hand she reached out to touch him. His skin was warm to the touch, and smooth like fine leather. The tiny scales on his body shimmered in the moonlight. He nuzzled his head against her, and she put her arms around his neck for a moment.
Any doubt that may have lingered disappeared. Even in this form, he was beautiful.
“I guess we should fly home.”
21
Andor circled the clearing as he brought them closer to the ground. On their way here, Lyssa had laughed with exhilaration as they soared through the night sky. He wanted to fly with her forever, but now that they were close to his home, he wanted to transform back into his human form. He wanted to become one with her and show her just how much he loved her.
He made their landing as gentle as possible, and lowered himself close to the ground so Lyssa could easily get off his back. Once she was off him and standing a short distance away, he closed his eyes and called forth his human form.
“Andor, that was the most wonderful experience of my life. Thank you for sharing it with me.” Lyssa’s eyes sparkled with excitement as the moon shone down on them.
“Thank you for trusting me enough to do it.” The flight home had been a test. They could have taken his car, and left his brother and Rickman to find their own way home, but he wanted to be certain that she knew what she was getting herself into. It was one thing to say that she loved all of him, but another to see the reality of what he was. That she now looked at him with nothing but love in her eyes humbled him.
“Of course I trust you. And your dragon form is beautiful.” She walked over to him and put her arms around his waist. He pulled her against him, and held her. He did not know how he had managed to get so lucky in finding her, but he had no intention of ever letting her go. “You looked just like the glass dragon you bought when we first met. Do you remember that day?”
“Of course I remember. You cannot know my delight when you told me that you loved dragons. I took it as a sign that we were meant for each other. I still have it, and it is yours if you would like to accept it now as a remembrance of that day. The only thing that marred it was Kevin.” He remembered Kevin looming over her in the parking lot, and wanting to do something about him even then. “I wish I had stopped him sooner.”
She pulled back a little and stroked a hand down his cheek. He grabbed it and cradled it against his skin. He did not think he would ever tire of her touch.
“He can’t trouble us any more. We can now focus on what’s important.” Her eyes darted down to his lips, and his arm tightened around her. He took the hand he was still holding and pressed his lips against her palm.
“I want to take you to my bed and make love with you. Before I do that I want tell you again just how much I love you. You were made for me, and I will spend the rest of my life devoting myself to you.” He leaned his head down, and took her lips in a kiss that conveyed all the love and tenderness he had for her. It felt so right, holding her in this clearing underneath the Hunter’s Moon.
She pulled back and looked up at him. “I’m only sorry that it took me so long to realize the truth. I’m so sorry that I didn’t believe you when you first told me.”
“Do not apologize. It was too much for me to expect you to believe something so fantastic without proof.”
“Thank goodness that Rickman brought me that book. I’m sure I would not have been able to stay away from you, once I got over how shocked I felt, but it might have been too late.”
“So Rickman had a hand in bringing you back to me? I had expressly told him to leave you alone, but I’m glad that he did not listen.” His minion had known what he stubbornly refused to see. Rickman had acted because he realized that all Lyssa needed was a gentle push in the direction of believing him, and Rickman had delivered that push. He would have to thank him.
“I’m glad he didn’t listen too. He knew what we were both too stubborn to see at the time, that we belong together. I’m so glad that Portia dragged me to that fair, and I’m also glad now that Kevin was there. If he hadn’t frightened me, I would never have had the courage to approach you.”
“I would have found you. I saw you that day before you came up to me, and from that moment I was struck. I would have found a way to meet you even without Kevin’s interference. And I do not want to talk about him anymore. I would much rather talk about us.”
“And what specifically do you want to talk about?” There was a glint her eyes as she snuggled closer to him. He could feel his love for her growing stronger, and soon merely holding her would not be enough. He would have to express his affection for her with his body, but he did not want to do it here.
He nuzzled her neck and she gave a breathy laugh. “We should go home to our bed and I will introduce all sorts of topics.”
“The first thing I will want to discuss is how much I love dragons. You are the perfect start for my new collection.”
He scooped her up in his arms and strode to the house. She felt so right in his arms that he knew that fate had brought them together, and now that they loved each other, they would stay together.
“I love you, Andor.” Her arms tightened around his neck as she snuggled against him.
“And this dragon loves you.”
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