Karos

by Susan Hayes

  “I shouldn’t have done it.”

  “I’m taking it as a compliment. I made the big, bad dragon lose his mind for a second. I’ll just have to wear a turtleneck tomorrow to hide the bruise, or we’re going to have a lot of explaining to do.”

  He stroked a finger over the spot on her neck. “There is no mark. You will not need to hide anything from the others if you wish to do so.”

  She caught a note of discontent in his voice. “I don’t know what I want to do about us, yet. This is all too new. Will you be in trouble or anything?”

  He shook his head. “The Pyrosians understand that matings like ours happen without warning. They will be happy for us. I had already decided to inform Keth about it in the morning.”

  A flash of irritation hit. “Uh huh. When did you plan on mentioning it to me? I spent today wondering what the hell was wrong with me. I was in the middle of a crisis and couldn’t stop thinking about you, when I should have been focusing on getting Hanna and Lily back.”

  Karos’ expression turned sheepish. “I did not realize you were experiencing the rux. You are human, so I was not certain this even was a true mating fever at first. And while you might have felt unfocused, it did not show. Until that kiss, I had myself convinced that this would pass.”

  “You still should have told me.”

  “I haven’t had to communicate my thoughts and feelings to anyone since I left home. It will take me some time to remember how.”

  “Same here.” She loosened her legs from around his hips as she spoke.

  He took the hint, easing their bodies apart before setting her back on her feet and wrapping her in his arms again.

  “We will learn this together. And when I frustrate you too much, we will come to this place and work through our frustration.” He grinned. “I will have fond memories of this place now.”

  He wanted her to stay with him. In fact, he was talking like it was a given. She’d agreed to one night, not forever. She had a job to do. People to protect. She couldn’t stay here. That was… She slammed the brakes on that entire train of thought. She could worry about that after they’d found Hanna and the others. This moment was just the calm before the storm, and she wanted to stay in it for as long as she could.

  “I like this place too.” She pointed at the ceiling. “But I think I’d like to add some fond memories of your place, too. Your bed has got to be more comfortable than the wall.”

  “It is.” He kissed her tenderly, then released her. As she stepped away from him, he swept a hand between them, and in the space between heartbeats she found herself clad in a soft, sumptuous robe of deep crimson with a pair of soft slippers on her feet. He was dressed in an identical outfit, though his robe was trimmed in yellow.

  “Thank you.”

  “It is my honour to gift you with anything your heart desires, my sadina. All I have, and all I can create, is yours.”

  She followed him to the damaged door. “For now, all I want is a nice, soft bed, and another round of really incredible sex. Think you can handle that, Big Red?”

  He gave her a look that made her blood sizzle in her veins. “I know I can.”

  Chapter Six

  Karos woke to an unfamiliar sensation – Megan was tracing gentle fingers over the scars that marked his back from shoulder to hip. He hadn’t been with anyone since he’d been injured. The last beings to touch him had been the medical staff assessing his readiness to return to combat. Megan’s caresses were far more pleasant.

  “Good morning.” He didn’t move. Didn’t want to do anything that would end the pleasure of having her hands on him. He had a confession to make to her this morning, and once he did, his mate would not be happy with him.

  “Morning.” Her voice was still husky with sleep. “How did you get these?” She stroked his back again.

  “The war against the renegade temples. I was in dragon form at the time, and one of the enemy managed a lucky slash of her claws. She got my wing, too. I managed a controlled crash landing that saved my life, but it left me with those scars.”

  “Do they show in your dragon form, too?”

  “They do. Though on my dragon they look different. The scales grew in white instead of red.”

  “And your wing?” She chuckled. “I can’t believe I’m lying here asking you about your wings. It’s hard to imagine you as anything as other than the man I see.”

  He rolled over to face her. “I will show you my dragon form soon. Then you will understand that I am not a man at all. I am Karos of the Romaki, your sodono.”

  She laid a hand on his chest, and he covered it with her own. Then, she sighed. “We still need to talk about that. I agreed to one night, and it was amazing, but forever? Like you said, we’re not even the same species. I travel. You don’t. We both have jobs. Plans. Lives. I’m not giving up everything to be your mate based on chemistry and your conviction that we’re destined for each other.”

  He had to tell her. After last night, she wasn’t human anymore, either. He’d bitten her, and he had broken the skin. His magic had flowed into her, binding their souls together. The bite had healed in seconds, and that could only mean one thing. She was Romaki now. It had happened before, with Prince Radek and his mate, Piper. He had no doubt it had happened again. But, how did he tell her that his loss of control meant she was already committed, and without her permission? Shame filled him. The Gods may have ordained their mating, but claiming her without permission was not honourable.

  “I do not wish for you to give up anything, my sadina. We will both have to make adjustments.” Even as he said it, he knew she’d be the one to face the greater share the changes, starting with the fact she was now Romaki, complete with a dragon spirit of her own.

  “And yet, last night you were talking about me living here, with you. That didn’t sound like a compromise.” She fixed him with a steady look, her jaw set and a hint of challenge in her eyes.

  He started to answer but stopped and forced himself to consider his next words. It wasn’t something he did often. He preferred to speak plainly. Tali had teased him about it for years, always warning him that when he found his mate, he’d have to change his ways. If she were here right now, she’d be laughing at him.

  “I spoke without thinking,” he admitted finally. “Merging two lives is something that all mated pairs must work through. Though I will confess, I never expected to be one of them. It is likely I will make mistakes.” He paused, then added. “I made one last night.”

  Her lovely eyes widened and she pulled back from him.

  “When I bit you, did you feel something? A moment of connection?”

  She nodded, her expression still guarded. “Yeah.”

  “That was my mistake. I bit you. You didn’t feel it, but I broke the skin and tasted your blood.”

  She stared at him. “But there wasn’t any blood.”

  “Because you healed too quickly.”

  “Humans don’t heal that fast.” Her words were flat, her eyes wary. She understood, but she wanted him to confirm her suspicions.

  “No, they don’t. But Romaki do.”

  “What did you do to me?” Every word was carved in ice.

  He grunted and raked his hand through his hair again. “I claimed you as my mate, Megan. Our souls were blended. I cannot regret that I did it, because you are mine, but I will forever regret that I did it without your permission.”

  “You mated me? That’s what I felt last night?” Shock, anger, and something he couldn’t name flashed across her face, and then her expression hardened.

  He hung his head. “What you felt was the binding of our souls, yes. It is meant to be a special moment, the first of our lives together. I stole that from us. I am sorry.”

  “So am I. And I’m mad, too. You took away all my choices, Karos. I get that I didn’t really have much, not the way this mating thing works with your species, but dammit! I deserve better than that.” She frowned. “And you didn’t tell me this last
night. You waited. Again.”

  He stiffened and averted his eyes. “I know. I was selfish and weak. I should have had better control. I…” He swallowed, then uttered the words that seemed to define his life of late. “I failed you, and I was ashamed.”

  Her expression softened a little. “You definitely failed to communicate. I guess we’re going to need to work on that. I don’t think you need to feel ashamed, but you will definitely be making this up to me later.” She sighed. “But we have other things to do first. Like get our friends back.”

  “Yes.” He reached for her and drew her into his arms. She allowed it, and while she wasn’t entirely relaxed, her next words had no edge to them.

  “So, tell me the rest. I can heal faster, now. What else?”

  “You are my mate in all ways.”

  “Lovely sentiment, but a little light on details. What exactly does that mean?”

  He chose his next words carefully. “You are not only mated to a Romaki dragon, my beautiful bakkia, you are one.”

  “I’m a…” she stared at him, unable to finish the sentence.

  “A dragon, with a dragon’s spirit and magic.”

  “You turned me into a dragon? An actual, I have wings and a tail dragon?” her voice rose as everything finally came together. “And you didn’t think that was an important tidbit to share? We really have to work on your communication. Mates or not, this will never work if you don’t start telling me what’s on your mind.”

  He winced, then gripped her flailing hands in his, and pulled her in tight to his body, his head bowed over hers. “I am sorry.”

  “You’d better be!” Her words came out with a low, rumbling growl that tore loose from her throat and rose, almost to a roar.

  He hugged her, pressing his lips into her hair and holding her tight as she struggled to make sense of it all. “Softly, my sadina. Do not let your dragon seize control.”

  Megan uttered a frustrated snarl, but then she closed her eyes and slowed her breathing. After a moment, she relaxed a little, and her next words were entirely her own. “Tell me everything.”

  Megan’s senses spun and her thoughts whirled so fast she couldn’t hold onto any of them. She had magic? And a dragon she needed to control? There wasn’t enough coffee on the planet for this kind of morning.

  “You are Romaki, now. Like Prince Radek’s mate, Piper. Once human, now…not.”

  “I’m not human,” she murmured, more to herself than Karos. It was hard to grasp the idea. Especially while she was still feeling angry, hurt, and stunned by Karos’ revelations.

  “You are still yourself, Megan Richards. Your soul has not changed, but your body is Romaki now. Stronger. Faster. You will live for centuries, and you have a dragon spirit within you.”

  “One bite did all that?” She moved away from him a little. “This is not an auspicious start to our…whatever this is.” She glowered at him. “You really should feel bad about this.”

  “I do.”

  The way his shoulders slumped and his head bowed made it clear that he felt like crap, which helped a little. Not a lot, but enough that when he reached for her again, she didn’t pull away. It was probably the stupid rux making her feel this way, but she still craved his touch.

  He held her for a few minutes in silence, and she nestled in his arms, working through everything she’d just learned. It didn’t help much. She was still reeling, but time wasn’t going to wait for her to get her head together. She’d have to suck it up and deal with everything later. “This isn’t going to help us with our mission,” she finally spoke up.

  “You are right. But I want to do it anyway. We slept only a few hours. We have hours to go until the deadline. Keth and Eva would notify us if there was any news.” He paused before adding. “And after what I told you, I wasn’t sure you’d ever allow me to be this close to you again.”

  If she were in her right mind, she probably wouldn’t. The rux was affecting her deeply, and if it made her act out of character, then it must be doing the same thing to him. That thought helped her let go of a little more of her anger. He was as twisted up as she was. She was going to have to cut herself, and him, a little slack right now.

  “I’m blaming the rux for all our current challenges. At least, the ones I can.” She sighed, and her next words were tinged with doubt and more than a little frustration. “Do you think we’ll get any news about our friends? I mean, we tried everything to locate Lily’s transponder already, and nothing worked. It’s not looking good.” Which was yet another thing the rux was messing with. She should be desperately worried about Hanna and Lily, but she couldn’t hold onto that feeling for long before it slipped away again.

  “I believe that the Gods brought us together for a reason. And it wasn’t so that we could begin our lives grieving for those we care about.”

  “I don’t know your Gods. For that matter, I’m not overly familiar with the Creator my people believe in, but I want to believe you’re right.”

  “Until I found you, I believed I was not worthy of Daga’s notice. The Lady of Flame expects her followers to be honourable, brave, and strong. I have not always been so.”

  “Why would you think that? I haven’t known you long, but you don’t strike me as a coward, or a weak man.” She tapped a finger to his chest and winked at him. “In fact, I know firsthand just how strong you are.”

  “The priests of my temple taught us that the Gods had many ways of showing their displeasure in us. Everything from illness to tragic misfortune was a divine message.”

  “And not having a mate was one of those messages?” she asked.

  “So they told us.”

  She snorted in derision. “Let me guess. You could improve your status by supporting the temples more. Donations. Volunteering. Devoting time and energy to those who communed with this Lady of Flame.”

  “And Solun, Lord of Frost. It wasn’t until the temples attempted to claim they were meant to rule in place of the leaders of the two clans that many of us realized the truth. By then, it was too late.”

  She nodded. “The same thing happens here. People lie, twisting beliefs and religions until it’s not about faith anymore, it’s all about power. Hanna’s mission is to free the women and children caught up in such power plays and give them a safe place to start over.”

  “We will get them back. Her mission will continue.”

  She nodded and eased herself out of his arms. It was time to get back to work. “I’m going to need some clothes before I head back to my room. You made mine go poof, remember?” She waved to her naked body. “I have no idea how to handle this whole magic thing yet, so make with the mojo, please.” She noticed how calm she felt and sighed. This rux thing was a pain. They’d just been talking about Hanna, and a few seconds later her worries had faded again.

  He considered for a moment, then uttered a few words in his language and conjured an outfit for her.

  Megan glanced down to assess what he had done. He’d conjured a pure black version of the uniform the embassy security staff all wore. It lacked the decorative touches and official heraldry of the real thing, but it was comfortable, as were the boots he’d created to go with it. “Perfect.”

  “I thought it might suit you.”

  “Can I wear this for the rest of the day? Or will it suddenly vanish at noon or something?”

  “It will last as long as I draw breath, as will the footwear I conjured for you yesterday. I thought you might like to wear something that shows you belong here.”

  “You thought right.” She gifted him with a soft, sincere smile. “Thank you.” They still had a lot of talking to do, but she could still be gracious. After all, they were in this together, and it wasn’t Karos’ fault that his Gods were messing with them both.

  Megan got turned around more than once on her way back to her room, but she made it there eventually. The extra walking helped work some of the aches from her body, and a hot shower would fix the rest. It had been quite a wh
ile since she’d been involved with anyone, and even longer since she’d spent quality sack time with a lover as vigorous as Karos had proven to be.

  Karos was a puzzle she was only beginning to piece together. He was a study in opposites. Compassionate but closed off. A loyal friend who seemed to spend most of his time alone. It was also clear to her that he felt responsible for everything, even things he couldn’t control. And that was the easy stuff. He was also a freaking dragon. A magic-wielding, shapeshifting alien who had stolen her humanity from her… sort of.

  She’d dismiss the whole idea as bat-shit crazy, but her standards for normal didn’t apply at the moment.

  She snorted in amusement. Her parents would be thrilled. They’d worried she’d never settle down. And as they grew older they worried less about grandbabies and more about who would be there for their daughter after they were gone. There were times she wondered about that, too, but she never let herself dwell on it for long. She’d manage, one way or another, just like she always had.

  It wasn’t until she took off the clothing Karos had conjured for her that she remembered the message scrawled across her legs. The memory of what had been done to her was followed by a rush of guilt and shame. She should have been looking for her friends, thinking about them. Holding them in her heart as she figured out a way to get them safely home. Instead, she’d fallen into bed with someone she barely knew. This rux thing was crazy-making in more ways than one.

  By the time Megan left the shower, her fingers and toes were pruney. She’d scrubbed more of the markings off her legs, along with every trace of her misspent night with Karos. She had to focus.

  When it came time to get dressed, she donned the clothes Karos had conjured. They were a perfect fit, and far better suited to her current needs than anything she’d packed. This was supposed to be a business trip. Her small carry-on suitcase was filled with clothing more appropriate to a boardroom than a brawl, and her only workout wear had been magicked out of existence last night.