by Brenda Trim
Stepping closer to Finn, she scanned the park for danger. “What is that?”
“Fuck,” Finn cursed as he pulled out a comm unit. “That’s the alarm. We’re under attack.”
“What?” Talysia screeched as her body trembled with fear. “How is that possible? I thought there were spells keeping everything out of the city.”
“They’re coming in from the sky. Fucker’s got wakati attacking from the sky. They’re birds, and the females have glowing green beaks. Stay right here. If any make it through the Maahes, remember their bites aren’t fatal unless they peck you numerous times. I’ll be back soon.”
Finn kissed her quickly then quickly shed his clothing. Talysia was stunned as she watched citizens run and duck beside tree trunks and in the alley that she could see across from the park.
Finn cupped her cheek, bringing her gaze to his handsome face. There wasn’t an ounce of fear on his handsome face, and it was sexy as hell.
Her eyes traveled the length of him, and she got a full view of his naked body. At the absolute worst time ever her skin tingled, and her core tightened. All she could think was that she wanted a piece of the sexy dragon. His shaft hardened under her gaze, making her eyes widen.
His finger encouraged her head to tilt back, so she met his gaze. The smirk on his face was as appealing as the rest of him. “You’ve got to stop looking at me like that, Songbird. I am needed elsewhere, or I would give you what you’re craving.”
Shaking her head, she tried to hide the way her face heated. “I can’t help it when you stand there naked in front of me,” she admitted with a peck to his lips. “Be careful.”
“Wait for me and I will show you more of my naked body,” Finn teased with a sexy smirk.
Talysia was surprised to find her heart was rapidly beating for another reason altogether. How this male managed to make her forget Unseelie forces were attacking at that very minute was beyond her.
Before her next heartbeat, a bright light flashed then a dragon stood next to her. His massive slate gray body was bigger than the airplanes on Earth. It’s enormous head lowered and she gazed into a faceted eye that was the color of a chocolate diamond, and as big as her fist.
In his human form, Finn’s eyes had a jewel like quality, but it was so much more pronounced now. Running her hand over the side of his skull, she laughed when his hot breath chuffed out of his mouth and blew her hair back from her face.
Screeches above made Talysia look toward the sky. The second her gaze landed on the blue and red birds she wished she hadn’t. To call those massive things birds was an understatement. They were smaller than the dragons but were nowhere close to the size of the birds on either Calypso or Earth.
Fear coursed through her for Finn and the other Maahes, followed by the urge to flee. She was a sitting duck in the middle of the park.
“Stay hidden in the trees, Tal. We will keep you safe, but you must stay put so they can’t track you,” Finn sent her using his dragon mind speech. Without a desire to become a snack for the Unseelie, she took off toward the trees to hide.
When Talysia took off, Finn launched himself into the air and flapped his wings to hide her movement from the wakati above. As soon as her footsteps faded, he was in motion.
To the South of his position, Blaine, Slate and a dozen other Maahes were engaging a couple dozen Unseelie. The protections were designed to keep them away from the city. Why the fuck were they hovering above a major park in the middle of Duamutef?
“Nice of you to join us,” Blaine told Finn in dragon mind speech.
“I got here faster than if I had been at home, douche dick. How the hell are these creatures so close to the city? Are the protections down?” Finn asked.
Blaine’s massive form swooped low them turned and darted toward a couple of wakati. “The Rowan sisters changed the scope of the spell. Angus wanted to test the waters.”
Finn felt his mouth go slack. What was the king thinking? Not that he was questioning their leader, but he wondered why make such a move when they returned from Ahscar only an hour ago. None of them rested much the night before. After nearly collapsing when they reached Ahscar, they agreed to rest for a few hours before continuing to the castle.
No one wanted to leave the city and royal family unprotected for any length of time. There was no doubt Cyril was planning a major strike and they all wanted to be on hand if they were needed.
A sudden stab of pain in his lower abdomen made Finn bellow and blow out a stream of fire as he lowered his head. The snarl left his mouth when he saw the female wakati that flew underneath his body. Their bellies were their most vulnerable portion.
It was covered in soft scales whereas the rest of their hide was covered in nearly impenetrable flesh. Blood trickled from a wound on his stomach. Finn swiped his talons toward the female. The sharpened edge cut through the wakati’s wing and the bird tumbled through the air.
Finn shot a fireball at the falling form and was relieved to see the wakati bounce off an invisible barrier. “It’s a fucking dome.”
“And it’ll fry these fuckers the more they touch it,” Blaine replied to Finn’s thought with an almost maniacal laugh. Suddenly, the king’s action made sense. He wanted Cyril to think they were weakened.
Even now, Finn noticed not many knights were sent to respond to the incursion into the city’s airspace. Let the asshole think they weren’t able to muster more. It would lull him into a false sense of superiority.
The worry weighing on Finn melted away when he realized that Talysia and the other residents below them were not at risk. He hadn’t realized how much it worried him to have so many innocents below them in the line of fire.
With renewed vigor, Finn angled his body to the left and shot several balls of fire at the male birds attacking Slate from behind. Three managed to smack into the back of one of them while another fire ball shot right past the group and headed through the barrier.
“Dammit,” Finn cursed as he watched the fireball explode against a tree in the park. He didn’t have time to apologize to the female and her kids as they screamed and ran from the area that was now on fire. He had bigger problems, he acknowledged as the remaining wakati turned their attention toward him.
“Use your flames, not fireballs,” Finn warned his fellow Maahes. “They go through the protective barrier.”
One of his wings dipped as an enemy landed on the outstretched limb, drowning out anyone’s response to his warning. The wakati clung to the leathery skin, digging its smaller claws through the sensitive hide. Like a fish out of water, Finn flopped and flapped trying to dislodge the limpet stuck to him, but nothing worked.
When something collided with the side of his head, he decided to ignore the class five clinger and remain focused on the remaining enemies. Calling his flames from his belly, he let them loose at the beast that rammed his skull moments ago.
The wakati took off but wasn’t able to avoid the fire that licked its tail feathers. Leaving the flames to do their magic on the creature, Finn focused on a female bird pecking the back of Blaine’s neck.
“Seems like you drive females of all species mad,” Finn teased as he pulled up and used his talons to grab hold of the bright green beak. Clutched in his dragon fist, Finn pressed with as much force as he could.
A high-pitched scream left the wakati’s throat and a cracking sound echoed throughout sky around them. When his talons held only pieces of bright green bone, Finn realized he crushed its beak.
Re
leasing a stream of fire, Finn directed it toward the bleeding Unseelie flapping weakly below him. The female bird sank lower and lower and Finn followed. His dipped his wing, trying again to dislodge the fucker clawing at him.
It wasn’t until Blaine flew next to him and grabbed the male that Finn got any relief. His wing ached and sweat broke across his brow. Not getting enough rest after the parasite and magma bath, Finn was tiring far faster than he anticipated.
There were still six or seven wakati in the skies. They couldn’t slow their attack yet. It would leave them to come at them again in the future. “Converge on the remaining Unseelie,” Blaine ordered at that moment.
Finn immediately fell back and hovered next to Caleb in their circle. The wakati started screeching and trying to fly away as soon as they realized they were surrounded. Playing with the Unseelie, Finn charged those that flew up with Blaine and Locke joining him from the sides while Caleb, Slate and other darted after the ones flying down.
Finn caught a male in his talons and started shredding it. Blaine released fire to decimate the blood before it dripped more than a few feet. Finn tossed pieces to Locke and grabbed for another one that tried to get away.
Within moments, Finn and his fellow Maahes had cleared the skies of all enemies. For several minutes they hovered and searched the skies for another attack. Finn struggled to believe this was it and flew several miles away from the city then back while scanning the ground.
Once satisfied there was nothing more coming, Finn headed back to the park. As soon as he landed, Talysia came running from the cover of the trees. Adrenaline was still flooding his system, ramping him up.
“Are you okay?” she asked when she reached him.
“I’m good,” he replied as he grabbed his pants.
“This happens a lot, doesn’t it?”
Finn’s stomach clenched when he heard her question. It did happen to him often. He was a Maahes and his life would always be filled with fighting and danger. For the first time since meeting her, he worried she might not be up for his lifestyle.
Stepping into his pants, he winced as his back pinched with pain. Trying to hide his discomfort, he focused on Talysia and tried to be honest while not making his life sound terribly dangerous. “Yes. As a Maahes I am often in battles. Our dates might be interrupted, but I promise I will come back to finish them.” Shoving his feet into his boots, he watched her closely.
“How can you think about sex when your back is a mess? I know it has to hurt,” she replied.
“I can hardly think of anything else when I’m around you, Songbird. You are the sexiest female in the realm,” he told her honestly. A surge of guilt made his breath catch in his throat. He shouldn’t lie to her. It wasn’t fair to either of them if he was dishonest. When he opened his mouth to take it back, he realized he wasn’t trying to manipulate her.
Talysia was the sexiest female. He had no idea what he wanted out of a relationship with her. He’d thought about a mate before and wasn’t at that point. All he knew at the moment was that she had brought him to life when he was around her. He couldn’t stop thinking about her and wanting her around.
“I’d ask if that was a bat in your pocket, but I know you’re happy to see me,” she teased as she handed him his shirt. “Let’s get that coffee and then I can treat that rash that’s appearing on your back.”
“I see how you are. Getting your coffee before stopping my bleeding.”
Going to her tiptoes she placed a gentle kiss against his lips before laughing. “You’re right. I need a bagel, too.”
Laughing, Finn joined Talysia and twined his fingers with hers as they headed to one of Nolan’s coffee stands. This was a far better way to come down from battle than being back at the castle with the others.
Next time he wanted to have Talysia waiting naked in his bed.
* * *
Chapter 12
Worms wiggled in Izzy’s stomach as Troy twined his fingers with hers. At nearly eighteen years old, she had yet to go on her first date and wasn’t intimately familiar with males. Most of her friends were actually males so she never talked to them about what dating or anything was like.
The few female friends she had were either younger or dating her best friend Donovan and asking what it was like to kiss him was just awkward, and made her stomach upset. She didn’t want to hear that.
When she asked Troy to go with her for ice cream, she hadn’t intended for it to be anything serious, but it seemed he had other thoughts in his head.
Troy’s voice startled her out of her silent musings. “Are you on the rotation for drills today?”
“What? Oh, uh, yeah, I am. I’m on through the weekend. Have you heard what we can expect?”
Shaking his head, Troy’s hair fell into his eyes. There were times he was eager and involved in training and other times it seemed as if he didn’t care. It made her wonder if he was only following in his dad’s footsteps.
“No one gave us specifics, but this morning Blaine told me to keep my communicator on,” he replied.
“Same here. Legette said they could text us at any moment and we have to respond right away. Are you nervous?”
“Nah. I’m ready. I can do anything the knights can,” Troy boasted as he puffed his chest out. Izzy had to stifle her laughter.
Troy was always bragging. His confidence was the one thing she didn’t like about him. No one could beat every enemy and she was afraid that would come back to bite him in the butt one day. His overconfidence might just get him hurt, or worse.
“I’m afraid. The reason they’re pushing our class to be ready faster is because Cyril is planning something. At least that’s what Angus thinks. If they need us we have to be ready. That’s a lot of pressure,” she admitted.
Troy squeezed her fingers, and Izzy thought he was trying to comfort her but when she cocked her head to the side, she saw the way his mouth was pursed, and his eyes narrowed.
“The Maahes don’t know what Cyril is planning. How can they? They haven’t heard any rumors, have they?” he asked.
“No. At least not that I’m aware. I don’t know who they would have heard information from. Most Unseelie don’t talk, and those that do are too busy attacking to share their orders,” Izzy explained.
“Red Caps and Bugganes are singled-minded creatures for sure. Don’t worry about the attacks. I’ll protect you,” Troy promised. The sentiment was sweet and made her think he did see this as a date.
She should clarify, but she wasn’t sure how to do that without seeming like she was making assumptions. Once again, she wished her mom was there to give her advice. “Thanks for coming with me to get ice cream. After the bomb and shark attack, I didn’t want to make the trek alone,” she informed Troy, hoping that clarified the situation.
“I’d go anywhere with you, Iz. Besides, I want to try the mocha chocolate flavor Nolan just added. I suppose you’re getting the strawberry flavor. Again,” he teased with a smile.
Smiling, Izzy nodded her head. “Of course. Strawberry is my fav. I just hope Nolan still has some of the last batch of berries. He said that would be it until a new crop comes in.”
Troy held the door open for her and she tugged her hand free to enter the shop. “Izzy,” Nolan called out. “How’s my favorite vampire?”
“I’m good. Please tell me you have some strawberry ice cream left,” she replied.
“Sure do. What’ll you have, Troy?”
“The new mocha chocolate, please
,” Troy said as he dug money from his pocket, and placed it on the counter as Izzy accepted a cup from Nolan.
The moment Troy paid, their comms beeped in their pockets. Swallowing the bite she just put in her mouth, Izzy read the screen.
“Crap. We have to be at an apartment building in fifteen minutes,” she said aloud.
Looking forlornly at her cup of melting desert, she was about to toss it into the trashcan when Troy stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You can eat it on the way. It’s a good eight blocks from here.”
“Good idea,” she said as she followed him out the door. Spooning the treat into her mouth as she ran wasn’t nearly as easy as she expected and, after eating half of it, she tossed the container into a trashcan.
She checked the weapons strapped under her coat. There were two small blades, unlike Troy who had a broad sword attached to his back under his jacket. The large weapon was too big for her to easily wield. She did far better with the knives. When she was in control she could teleport and sneak up behind enemies.
“Do you know if the Maahes are fighting us today?”
They were running down the street, and while she was out of breath and sweating, Troy wasn’t winded at all. “I imagine so. Otherwise, we won’t learn to think on our feet.”
“Then we shouldn’t use our weapons,” she decided.
“Why not? We are supposed to incapacitate our enemies.”
“But we shouldn’t kill them,” she practically shrieked.
“We aren’t dealing with novices. These are trained Maahes who will be able to dodge any blow and avoid injury.”
Izzy wasn’t so sure, and they had no more time to discuss strategy. They were at the building and racing up the stairs. Not wanting her jacket in the way of retrieving her weapons, Izzy removed it and dropped it on the steps.