“That's a good point. You should have told her before taking her to bed.”
“I see that now. I was not thinking clearly. I just did not want anything to get in the way of us being together.”
“That's understandable too. You've been alone in the world for so long. Have you apologized and promised you won’t do it again?”
“I tried. It was heartfelt. I hope she can tell it was genuine. But I do not think it will matter.”
“Why not?” Niall asked. His voice had a calming effect, but it wasn’t enough to help settle Davi during such a monumental crisis.
“She's afraid that I'm under the influence of a witch or wizard. At one point she thought I might even be a witch or wizard in disguise. She seemed to have abandoned that idea though. However, she remained convinced that I am in league with a witch or wizard, and if not, that means I’m being controlled by one.”
“The idea is not preposterous. I'm sure I needn't remind you that I was brainwashed by a witch only months ago?” Niall asked, but his tone was patient and kind.
“Those are her thoughts exactly. I am sure she thinks the amnesia makes me more susceptible to attack.”
“She probably is correct on that. Would you like me to come there? I can leave tonight.
“No. I am fine.” He was far from fine, but Davi would not interrupt his friend’s life. This was his mistake, and he was going to fix it himself.
“Are you sure? Nora will be quite upset with me if I leave you with no support. She’s in class right now, but I can have her call you later.”
He did need to talk to Nora, soon. He liked and respected Niall, but it was Nora that he had become close to over the last few months. “Yes, please tell her I called.” After thanking Niall again, he hung up.
Davi wasn't ready for Niall to fly all the way from Ireland. But he was willing to ask Garrett for his assistance.
He dialed the newest number in his phone. “Garrett. If you’re willing, I need your help.”
“Yeah? What’s up man? Happy to help. You need money?”
“No. I need you to come to the Grand Canyon. My mate has left me.”
13
Carolina
Carolina took off on foot and kept going. She ran until the sun began to set. And then she shifted and took off into the night air. It was a big risk, but she really didn't care.
She could go south to Phoenix and try to blend into a city again, or she could go west, farther into the Mojave Desert. The sun, sand, and heat wouldn't bother a dragon.
She chose the Mojave. She couldn’t face a bunch of people right now. She flew for hours until she finally stopped for a drink of water at Lake Mead.
Was this to be her new life? Alone in the desert? Was she destined to lead a solitary life? How was it that Garrett’s clan could exist for decades on end with no disruption, and yet she’d known nothing but that?
She’d had visions of creating a new clan with Davi, but that wasn’t possible if he was cursed by a wizard, or if he was being controlled by a witch. Now that she knew the dangers were still present, she would need to find Lioslaith before she could ever truly relax.
As darkness settled over the desert, she began to doubt her decision to run from Davi. Had she been too rash?
She lay down on the sand. She had no luggage, as she’d left everything in the rental cabin. She had only the bag she’d brought with her on the hiking trail. It didn’t matter; she’d survive. She’d camped rough with the motorcycle club quite a few times, but, then, she’d always had a blanket.
She stared up at the stars. In the home she shared with Jim, they’d been too close to Vegas to properly see the stars. Here, she could see every single one.
She took deep breaths, letting her eyes track the patterns of the constellations.
Not only could she see everything, she could hear everything too. Someone was coming.
Had Davi found her already?
It was not Davi.
She had not felt the presence of this particular female in five years.
This was no shifter. This was a Fae.
Holy shit. She had not had to go search for her mortal enemy. Her former aunt had found her.
“Lioslaith,” she whispered.
Lioslaith sneered. “How kind of you to remember my name.”
“How could I ever forget?”
Her lips curled up, distorting her beautiful face. “You seemed eager to forget your heritage and consort with humans.”
“You knew where I was?”
“Not until recently.” She folded her hands in front of her, a mannerism Carolina had seen her do many times. “I’ve been searching for four years.”
“How did you find me?”
“For once, my luck was fortuitous. I was looking for witches to help me when your mate passed through.”
“You followed him? Here?” Her heart pounded. Her suspicions were confirmed. But now that she had left him behind, she panicked. If Davi was telling the truth, then she had just left her mate unprotected, with no memory, in a place unfamiliar to him. It was unforgivable.
Even if he was compromised, it was not his fault. She had to get back to him.
“Yes. I saw him in Ireland. And lo and behold, I was patient, and he led me straight to you.”
God, no. This was terrible news.
“Now you're worried about your mate?” Lioslaith let out a cruel laugh. “I was at the North Rim when you left him. That was quite a selfish display. I'm not sure why I expected anything different from you. You are your mother's daughter. Prone to betray people.”
Shame flooded Carolina’s cheeks. She did not give a rat's ass about Lioslaith’s opinions. But she cared about her own moral character. And she had left the love of her life alone.
For a dragon-shifter, having a mate willingly leave was unheard of. Losing them was always a tragedy. One that mates struggled to remotely recover from.
If she found Davi, would he forgive her? Would he even be alive? Could she have wiped his memories again somehow?
“Did you hurt him?” she demanded.
“So now you care about your mate's well-being?”
Carolina steeled her voice. “You will die if you harm him.”
“An empty threat. You could not defeat me last time, and you're out of practice now. You're soft and weak after living with humans for so long I could smell your stench all over Las Vegas. Did you think you were cute, helping those miserable humans? You should have let them die. They were all drug addicts and prostitutes and gamblers.”
Carolina’s stomach twisted. She had helped them, she knew it. “How can you judge them for their vices when you are a murderer?”
Her former aunt lifted her chin. Her tone was beyond haughty. “We are superior to them.”
“You didn't always believe that. Were you ever truly my mother's friend?”
Lioslaith’s eyes grew flinty. “Do not speak to me about your mother.”
“She loved you. She loved you as a sister. She convinced our clan to take you in as part of us. Because you were alone. You had nothing and no one. And I loved you too. And you killed her. You killed all of my clan.”
She roared. “You know nothing of which you speak!”
“Then tell me! Tell me how you could betray my family?”
Lioslaith was silent.
Carolina suspected the Fae didn’t have an answer. Maybe she had been the wizard’s victim. Maybe she’d been brainwashed just as Davi’s friend Niall had been.
She clearly wasn’t going to answer. Carolina changed topics, hoping for some answers. If she could get to Davi, maybe his Texas dragons could help.
“How could we not feel your presence?” Carolina asked.
“I learned many tricks from the wizard I loved. I retained them all, and expanded on them. Once again, you dragon shifters ruined my life. After searching through Europe for several years, I finally found another group of witches in Ireland. They did not fully trust me, but they allowed
me to accompany them during several of their spell meetings. Just as I was becoming a trusted member, your kind killed my friend. Then to deepen the wound, they killed the last of the witches.”
Could she be talking about Davi's friends? Was this about Niall and Nora and this group he referred to as the Texas shifters? They had killed several powerful witches over the past few years. One of them had been Nora’s mother.
“This witch who is your new mentor, was her name Niamh?”
“How did you know that?”
“Because she was evil, and so are you.” If she’d been consorting with them, maybe she was irredeemable.
“I am not evil. I fell in love. And you turned your back on me. Just like your mother did. Clearly you don't understand what it's like to fall in love. Do you so easily walk away from your one true mate? What kind of monster does that make you?”
Lioslaith was right. Leaving Davi made Carolina a female with no moral character.
Lioslaith wasn’t finished. She held up her hands. “You've been with humans for so long. You’ve forgotten what it's like to have to defend yourself. Lioslaith stepped closer, and Carolina could see the wild look in her eyes. She was unhinged. Carolina had to stay alive long enough to get back to Davi and apologize. She could not fathom dying before she saw him one more time.
She had to let him know that she was wrong, and that she loved him.
Her former aunt began to chant, and her skin began to glow. She was using her Fae abilities to channel a witch’s spell, something Carolina didn’t know was possible.
Carolina would have to shift to defend herself. She would not fly away. She wouldn’t risk Lioslaith chasing her somewhere else, and finding someone else to harm. Especially not if that someone was Davi.
14
Davi
Davi was getting closer. He could feel his mate.
Thank God she had not blocked him, permanently or otherwise cut him off, because he would have lost his mind. If she forgave him, he would spend the rest of their lives making things right with her.
Davi came flying over the hill just in time to see a female Fae holding her hands up toward Carolina.
He glanced back. Garrett was right behind him. The rock star had insisted on coming all the way into the desert, searching for Carolina. Davi would owe him forever.
He picked up speed. She might be furious with him, and might never forgive him, but he would still lay down his life to save hers.
This must be the Fae she had spoken of. The Fae that had destroyed all of their lives.
Davi would not let her do so again.
Nora had taught him a few things about defensive magic. He even knew a simple spell to repel a witch. He wasn't sure if it would work on a Fae. At the time, he had not known they were a possible threat.
The only Fae he had met was another female named Fallon, who was married to Brennan, one of the Texas shifters.
His time in the military had honed his skills and made him a more potent fighter.
He dropped to the ground and breathed fire toward the Fae. She thwarted him, chanting another spell, which blocked the fire.
“You,” she hissed. “You are the one I want. You ruined my life. You took my Henri from me.”
He quickly shifted into his human form, pulling on a pair of pants from the bag he’d tied around his neck.
In the sky, Garrett stayed in his dragon form, circling, watching the scene below. If things went downhill, Davi would need Garrett to fly Carolina away. That was what they had planned. He just hoped Carolina would cooperate.
“He deserved to die,” Davi said. It wasn’t a sentiment he often expressed, but Henri-Augustin had been a cruel, malicious wizard. Davi suspected he’d wanted to take the entire clan captive and channel their power, using them for his own evil purposes, just as the witch had done to Niall, and the werewolves had done to Nora.
“Once I have you on your knees, I’m going to shred your mate right in front of you,” the Fae said, spitting each word out. “You will live long enough to see her head separated from her body, and then you will die too.”
Davi had a few tools in his arsenal as well, though. Nora had taught him more than just memory spells. She had taught him defensive spells.
Under his breath, he began to recite one to create a barrier around him. Nora could extend hers for about twenty feet. Davi’s only went two or three feet, but that would be enough.
“Carolina, run. Go!” He didn’t want to worry about his mate. “Garrett, watch her back! Get her away if it gets too dangerous.”
“No! I want to help you!” She shouted.
“I can do this,” he assured her. “I did it before. Go!”
“My hero,” she mouthed in his direction. And to his shock, she listened, and took off running, ducking behind a distant bolder.
The Fae was still chanting
He could feel Carolina, desperate to come out and help. She would never want to hide. But witchcraft, both good and bad, was something he’d learned a little bit about. He would teach it to her, later on, and she could help defend herself next time.
If he’d calculated his spells correctly, he had a shield in place that would repel her spells. The next time he breathed fire, the Fae would have a hard time repelling it herself.
With a jerky movement, the Fae lifted her arms, and energy began to flow.
At the same time, Carolina leapt from her hiding spot, holding a blue lasso. She tossed it, and it twisted tightly around the Fae’s body.
The Fae screeched, and tried to push the lasso away, but she screamed each time it touched her skin.
She whirled around, lunging for Carolina.
Then Davi let his fire go.
The fire engulfed the Fae, who hit the ground writhing. The fire did not burn her, because she had begun to chant, but she could not get up from the ground.
Caroline yanked on the rope, tightening it.
Desperately, the Fae tried to send her own spell, likely one that could seriously incapacitate Davi. From her place on the ground, red energy left her fingertips, heading straight toward him. But it never reached him. The red energy waves hit his shield and dissipated.
Davi closed his mouth, ending the fire. He went to stand over the Fae. Now that she was down, he could kill her with his bare hands.
He went to deal the killing blow, but Carolina rushed forward. “Wait!”
At the same time, Garrett shifted to human form and met them to stand over the Fae.
Davi paused. “You want me to spare her life.”
Carolina nodded. “Yes. I know it doesn’t make sense. But I feel that she has been tricked for so many years.”
Even Garrett looked dubious. “Do you really believe she can be rehabilitated? I'm not aware of any clinics for that,” he said with a chuckle.
Garrett's humor was often poorly-timed. Davi suspected it was because he spent so much time with humans, and also because his clan had never been under threat.
Davi almost felt sorry for the Fae. He knew what it was like to be lost and alone.
“I don’t know,” Carolina said. “I want to ask Fallon and Kellan before we decide what to do.” She frowned, and a wistful look clouded her eyes. “What if Henri-Augustin brainwashed her? What if he was controlling her mind, and then when he died violently, the spell just never wore off?”
“It is worth considering,” Davi said.
The Fae muttered, “Fallon. I have not heard that name in many years.”
Davi made a note of her recognizing Fallon’s name. He would need to mention it to Fallon when he spoke to the Texas dragons. Then he nodded. “Okay. We can call them now and ask for advice. They’ve dealt with this quite a bit.” He turned toward his mate. “What was that rope?”
“It was something I took from our home. It was left behind when the wizard was killed. I’ve held onto it all this time.”
Forgetting about their earlier fight, he wrapped his arm around his mate and hugged her. “My brilliant
mate. Good thinking.”
“I didn’t know if it would work.”
“It was a good time to test it.”
She looked up at him. “You were amazing, once again. Thank you. How did you know the spells?”
“Nora. She taught me.” He kissed her nose. “I’ll teach you too.”
Garrett clapped his hands together. “Okay. As sweet as this is, I’m ready to get out of this desert. I’ve already seen three snakes and a scorpion.”
Carolina rolled her eyes. “Those can’t hurt you, Garrett.”
“I know, but they’re gross. I live in a hotel for a reason.” He gave a dramatic shudder, and Davi and Carolina shared a laugh. “Plus this was the first non-human fight I’ve ever seen.” He shuddered. “Damn, dragons are crazy.”
Carolina shoved at his shoulder, but she was smiling.
“There’s something else I want to test out.” Davi did not remember the Fae from the battle five years prior, but he had sensed a desperation in her.
Davi had not been able to get Carolina’s words from his mind. What if she was correct about the Fae? What if Lioslaith was still being controlled after all this time?
What if Carolina was right?
15
Carolina
Carolina was once again amazed by her mate. Davi was a strong warrior who killed the wizard five years ago, but he now he was also an adept negotiator.
She couldn’t believe she almost lost him again, this time due to her own negligence. She had every right to be upset, but she should not have run from him. She could have explained the situation and asked for the help of the Texas dragons. Or she could have asked for Garrett to introduce them to his clan, so that she would have some backup support.
But rejecting him was the wrong thing to do, and she would never do it again.
She was also amazed that he was willing to spare the life of her aunt. Many battle-seasoned warriors would not have done the same thing. They would argue that she needed to die for her crimes. That she needed to be punished for her sins, and yes, her sins were many. They would also believe that she could not be allowed to ever commit such transgressions ever again.
Soldier Dragon's Second Chance Page 8