by Brenda Trim
Tugging the door open, she entered the complex. She was surprised to find the entry dark and dank. Aside from that there was nothing in the foyer. Troy paused beside her and scanned the area.
Izzy noticed a drop of red liquid next to a flight of stairs; otherwise, the room seemed empty. Troy was heading toward the blood when she grabbed his arm. She pointed to a desk off to the side.
Willing her panting to stop, she crept toward the desk and checked behind and underneath. Standing straight she joined Troy and together they started up the steps. Troy held up a hand right before they reached the first-floor landing.
Izzy scanned the floor and walls as they ascended and didn’t see another sign of trouble. Slowing her breathing, Izzy focused her energy to her ears and listened for any hint of where they should be heading.
Of course, the knights weren’t going to make it that easy. There wasn’t even the squeak of a door or floor board. Reaching the landing a second later, Izzy broke off to the right while Troy went left. On silent feet, her friend made it to the end of the hall without incident.
Izzy wasn’t quite as soundless as she crossed to the middle of the hall. She took in every detail from the stained carpeting to the sage green walls. The scent of flowers mixed with spices and cooked meat filled the air. Stretching her senses, she picked up the faint aroma of decaying flesh, as well.
It seemed to be coming from an apartment further down her side of the hallway. Izzy pointed in the direction of the door, but Troy shook his head. Pissed that he wasn’t listening to her, she nodded and started in that direction.
Before her hand latched onto the knob, a warm hand on her shoulder stopped her. Glancing back, she looked into Troy’s alert eyes. His nostrils flared and he finally nodded his head.
Angling his body in front of her, Troy twisted the handle and pushed the door open. Izzy’s heart was racing in her chest as her brow beaded with sweat. Staying as quiet as possible, they entered the apartment.
Izzy kept an eye out behind them while Troy scanned for intruders in front of them. There was a door on the left that led to an empty bathroom. There was another door on the right before the area seemed as if it opened up into a living area.
The scent of flowers was more intense inside the apartment but so was the scent of decaying flesh. Pressing her body outside the next open door, Izzy tried to slow her breathing. It was loud and the way she was having trouble catching a full breath was making her lightheaded.
Troy jumped into the open doorway in a fighting stance with his knees bent and his fists bladed. Izzy retrieved her knives and joined him, ready to take on whatever knight was in the room.
All she saw was a large bed with a deep purple comforter. Crossing to the door on the opposite wall she opened it to find a closet full of female shoes and clothing. Turning back around she shook her head and they continued to the main living area.
They immediately spotted a creature’s body on a plastic tarp. It was obvious by the open wounds, blackish spots, and limp flesh the thing had been dead awhile. Quickly they cleared the rest of the apartment but didn’t find anything.
“There’s nothing here,” she whispered.
“Crap. They aren’t going to make this easy,” Troy replied just as softly.
“Nope. Demons and Unseelie won’t take it easy on you, so why should they?”
Troy glared at her before the expression left his face. “You’re right. Let’s go to the next floor.”
Following behind Troy, Izzy continued to scan for any hint of where they should go. By the time they reached the second floor she heard chirping. “Down here,” she said in a barely audible voice with her mouth against his ear.
Praying the sounds covered their rapid footsteps, they paused outside the apartment where the noise was coming from. This time she twisted the handle and threw the door open.
Troy entered and was immediately knocked against his back. Izzy didn’t have time to consider her next move. She would be hit if she stayed still too long, so she jumped over Troy’s form and brought her knees to her chest.
She landed in the hall on the other side of him and went into a roll. Sound from what she assumed was the bathroom made her remain low to the ground. Using the weapons in her hands, Izzy thrust her arm into the open space.
She miscalculated and a hand latched onto her arm. Her body sailed through the air in the next instant. Seeing the shower looming in the very close distance, she tried to twist her body in mid-air.
Unfortunately, all she managed was to place her shoulder in the glass door’s trajectory. A second later she slammed into the glass and a loud explosion of sound was followed by glass shattering and tearing through her thin t-shirt to slice into her flesh.
At least she saved her skull, Izzy thought as she landed on one of her knees. Pain reverberated up her legs and nearly stole her breath. Teleport, she shouted to herself. She tried to force her molecules to disappear and reform behind Blaine where he was standing near the door.
Thankfully, Troy grabbed the Maahes and pulled him from the room. Izzy grabbed the knives she had dropped and ran past them but wasn’t as fast as she normally was. The foot she nearly lost in the shark attack had healed completely, but it was far weaker than the other one and was beginning to throb painfully.
The rush to get to the apartment followed by everything after entering the building was taking its toll on the joint. She’d been training for several days but might’ve needed more time, she acknowledged.
She paused outside the open bedroom door to catch her breath. Troy and Blaine were grappling in the hallway. Blaine was holding back, but Troy was far more capable than she thought. He must really want to get good marks on this test, she thought. He’d never shown this level of skill before.
A yelp escaped her mouth when something clamped around her shoulders and dragged her inside the room. On instinct, she started thrashing her body and flailing her arms. As her head moved, she thought Lorne had hold of her.
Realizing she was exhausting herself and getting blood everywhere, she stopped moving and feigned resignation. “That’s it…oomph,” Lorne blurted when her elbow connected with his stomach.
His hold lightened on her body and she managed to get free of his hold. She twisted her body and brought her knee into his groin, making him choke. She wanted to whoop and holler, but now was not the time to celebrate.
She brought the butt of her knife down on his head a second later. She was in motion in the blink of an eye but misjudged his incapacitation and fell to her face when he yanked on her weak ankle. Her cheek connected with the wood floor, making spots dance in her vision.
“Shit,” she cursed and rolled to her back. She lost her knives somewhere under the bed so she used her good foot to kick him in the side of his head. As Lorne flew into the wall, she raced out of the room and into the living room.
Slate was standing next to a kippie in a cage. Screaming, Izzy grabbed a nearby sculpture and swung it at Slate’s knees. Expecting her to go for his face the Maahes ducked and the marble connected with his thigh, making him fall to his knees.
Lifting it overhead, she brought it down on his skull. Remorse filtered through Izzy as Slate crumpled to the ground in a heap and blood trickled from his ears. It wasn’t until after she’d freed the kippie that Izzy returned to make sure he was breathing.
This was far more intense than she anticipated and wasn’t looking forward to the next few days. She might not survive training to be a
Maahes.
“Good job, Izzy, Troy,” Lorne said while Izzy pressed her fingertips to Slate’s throat. “Next time, stay away from the family jewels though.”
“Your fault, bro. You should have expected that. He’s fine, Iz” Blaine assured her. “We didn’t leave anything in the apartment that you guys would be able to kill us with.”
“Fuck, my head hurts,” Slate complained a moment later.
“Sorry,” Izzy told the knight as she climbed to her feet, wincing when her ankle protested.
As she watched Troy and the others enter the room, Izzy noticed Blaine had a black eye, and Lorne’s shirt was torn with a cut across his chest.
“Go get that foot looked at,” Lorne instructed her. “If you need a break in drills, let me know.”
“I can do them. I just need some rest is all,” she insisted, not wanting to be excluded.
“Have Dyson look at it and he can let me know,” Lorne instructed in a tone that meant he wasn’t joking around.
“She will,” Troy assured the Maahes as he grabbed her hand and led her from the apartment, “You were fantastic. Lorne’s lucky he already has his kids, or he might not be having anymore,” Troy teased.
Izzy gigglled and shook her head as she limped down the stairs. “I didn’t hit him that hard. I can’t believe you managed to stop Blaine and then Lorne before he could reach me. You need to show that in training more often.”
Troy’s cheeks turned pink and he looked away. Once outside, she picked up her jacket and realized she left her weapons. “Crap, I need to get my knives.”
Troy’s hand was on her shoulder then his arm snaked around her waist a second later. She was stunned as he pulled her flush with his body. “They will bring them back to the castle.”
Izzy wasn’t able to respond because his lips were on hers a second later. His mouth moved over hers and he held her tighter. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach and her core tingled. He’d kissed her once before, and she had to admit the first time was enjoyable. Sweet and tender. This time was different. Demanding and possessive, and it made her uncomfortable.
When he licked the seam of her mouth trying to shove his tongue past her lips, she pushed on his chest and broke the kiss. Panting, she gazed into wide eyes.
“Why’d you do that?”
Troy kissed her cheek then lifted his head and stared into her soul. “Because you’re mine, and I couldn’t resist.”
What was he talking about? Did he think she was his Fated Mate? Was that even possible? She thought about the insistent tug her mother talked about with her dad. Izzy didn’t have that with Troy. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she didn’t obsess over Troy like her mom had with her dad. Izzy didn’t care what he was doing or who he was with or when she would see him again.
She always imagined her body would just know when she kissed her Fated Mate. Right now her body was rejecting everything about Troy’s advances.
“I don’t belong to you, Troy.”
“Yes, Izzy, you do. Why else do you think you carry the mark of a Tuya? That dragon on your shoulder means you’re mine.”
Izzy disentangled herself from his hold and took several steps toward the door to the apartment complex. “No. That isn’t what it means. I’m sorry if that’s what you thought, but I’m not mating you, nor am I dating you.”
With that she turned on her heels and as fast as her throbbing ankle allowed, she limped back to the apartment with Lorne and the others. They would get her home and she would not damage her friendship with Troy in the process.
She was confused and hurt. Izzy needed space from Troy to gain clarity of what she was feeling. Part of her wanted to explore that kiss and more, but instinct said she should stay away from the male. What that meant, if anything, she didn’t know but her gut said she would find out soon enough.
* * *
Chapter 13
“Good evening, Beautiful,” Finn beamed when Talysia stepped outside Medure Eats. He was so gorgeous it made her head spin.
Dressed in jeans and a tight-fitting t-shirt, her mouth watered at the ruggedly handsome knight. Smiling, she lifted on her tiptoes and kissed him. The embrace quickly heated and Finn deepened the kiss, tangling his tongue with hers. His hands roamed up and down her sides, and she instinctively lifted one of her legs and brought her core in contact with his groin. His hard length greeted her actions, and Finn latched onto her ass while his other hand palmed one of her breasts.
“We need to go somewhere private if this is going any further,” she panted when she broke the kiss.
Eyes like shiny chocolate diamonds, Finn smiled down at her. “Good idea. I’m ready to ravage your body, Songbird.”
Turned on and eager for more, Talysia nodded her agreement. “Sounds perfect to me.” Her head spun and her vision wavered for a second as her desire spun out of control.
“C’mon, Tals,” he urged when her leg lowered. Damn, this dragon really went to her head, she thought as she stumbled behind him. Her head felt like it was bobbing in a stormy ocean. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
With shaky fingers, she tried to insert the key into the lock. After three tries she was no closer to locking the back door to Medure. Warm fingers settled over hers. “Let me do that for you,” Finn offered. “Are you okay?”
Shaking her head to dispel the dizziness, she collapsed into Finn’s side. A soft groan left her throat. This was not right. Something was seriously wrong. “I…uh…I haven’t been feeling well lately.”
“Do sirens get sick?”
Talysia’s head snapped up with his harsh demand. Why was he angry with her? Oh, he wasn’t, she thought to herself. His eyes were pinched, and he was holding her steady with an arm around her back. The slight discomfort told her the rash on her back was getting worse.
“Sure, like any other species,” she told him and continued talking when he opened his mouth. “We don’t get sick like humans, if that’s what you’re asking, but there are ailments that can affect us.”
“Does it feel like a common illness for your kind? I wonder if Dyson missed something, and you actually were infected by that parasite weeks ago.”
Had it been weeks, she wondered. It seemed as if she just met Finn, but the bombing at Raynah Beach occurred a little over three weeks before. Of course, the attacks kept coming non-stop since then. It was exhausting to think about how much Finn rushed to various battles almost daily.
The demands on his time meant they hadn’t had time to really explore each other. He’d given her several mind-blowing orgasms, but she had yet to feel him inside her body. Now, it seemed her health was going to stop them.
She was beginning to think there was some force conspiring to keep them apart. No, she told herself. It was better this way. Normally, she would have followed her libido and jumped into bed too soon which would lead to heartache.
More times than she cared to remember, Talysia met a male and they jumped right into a physical relationship. One of them would inevitably develop deeper feelings than the other and once they got to know each other there was no way to end things without someone getting hurt.
With Finn, they spent more time talking than anything else and she’d come to know him. Even better was she had yet to discover a trait of his that she didn’t like.
“Songbird?”
Heat crept up her cheeks when she realized he was waiting for her to answer his question about her health while she was contemplating the state of their relationship. Thank the Gods he couldn’t read her mind.
“So
rry. I’m not sure, actually. I’ve only been ill a couple of times in my life. I don’t think it’s the parasite. I haven’t been coughing or had trouble breathing. It’s probably just fatigue. I haven’t been sleeping very well.”
“That’s because a handsome dragon keeps visiting at odd hours,” Finn teased. “Let’s get you checked out anyway.”
Talysia wasn’t so sure about that. “You check me out enough, wouldn’t you say?” she flirted, hoping to sidetrack him.
A chuckle left Finn’s throat. “I need you in good health for what I have planned.”
“I’m fit as a horse. It’s just a little dizziness. Nothing to worry about,” she promised.
Finn wrapped his arms around her shoulders and led her toward the beach. Enough time had passed that families were returning to the coast and enjoying sunny days together in the water.
The beach area was still a couple of steps down from the boardwalk, but the Maahes protecting the area removed the fallen trees every time they changed shifts, so barely any debris remained in the vicinity.
Talysia’s legs shook as she followed Finn. She wasn’t certain where he was going, but she recognized some of the group he seemed to be headed towards. There were two males and a female sitting with their backs to them, so she wasn’t able to see their faces, but she recognized Izzy, Blaze, and their friends.
“Sire,” Finn called out. One of the males turned his head and waved at Finn, making Talysia’s heart race.
“That’s why there are so many knights here today,” she asked as she understood.
Finn’s hand rubbed up and down her arm. “Yes. The queen and her brother visit regularly and since he is the King of the Stoorworm they prefer to meet here.”
Good to see you again, Talysia,” the Cuelebre Queen said with a wave of her hand. There was a little girl that had Angus’s black hair and green eyes, but she looked so much like Keira that there was no mistaking she was her mother.