Everything slowed down when she saw Reese in a pool of blood. She’d moved to him and collapsed on the ground as guilt rolled through her. She should have stayed away, kept him home. Anything to keep the foolish human out of the mess, but he came to her and died because he couldn’t accept things were over.
Someone touched her shoulder and everything around them went fuzzy, the sound drowning out. Lonny grabbed Reese’s arm and pulled them both into the office. Everything came back into focus.
“He’s dead. It’s my fault.”
Pulling Lana into his arms he murmured, “Saressa did this. Not you. You can’t blame yourself.”
She clung to Lonny, wanting to tell him the truth. The guilt was too much. The words wouldn’t leave her mouth as she cried on his shoulder.
“Hey, you’ll be okay. I’m right here.”
“He’s gone,” she whispered. And she wanted Reese out of her life, but not like that.
That night, she’d held on to Lonny. The next day he helped her with the mess. They came up with a story that would be acceptable for his death.
And she went home with him, ready to let Lonny in, let him fill up the empty spaces.
He held her, he took care of her all day and night, but he stopped every one of her advances. Maybe he was right.
By dawn, she realized she couldn’t be with Lonny. She was promised to another Fae, one she hated even though she’d never been in his presence more than five minutes. All to get her father out of debt. Even if Lonny was supposed to be her mate, she couldn’t get out of the arrangement. She left without a word, tears in her eyes.
When he showed up at the bar the next day, he took a seat at the counter and looked her in the eye. “What’s changed?”
“I can’t be with a Fae.”
He dipped his head, looking away.
“You deserve better than I can give you.”
“No, that’s not true. Lana, you’re all I’ve wanted for a very long time, but I couldn’t take advantage of your grief. You may have thought you were ready last night, but you’re still hurting over Reese.”
“Not for the reasons you think.”
“I get it, you blame yourself.”
More than he could possibly understand. “It’s not going to work, Lonny. That’s all there is to it.”
Dropping his gaze, he stood and walked out of the bar. Since then, he kept more distance. Only lately, it was definitely worse.
But maybe if he hadn’t been so damned perfect, they would have found themselves exactly where they should have been all along.
“Because you pulled this bullshit last time. I don’t need a gentleman all the time. Sometimes I need that extra push. I was ready to stop listening to all those voices, but you didn’t drown them out and I got stuck in my head again.”
“You needed the space after you lost your boyfriend.”
“Fine, you gave me that, and you gave me the push when I found out you were planning to disappear.”
“That’s all I needed to do? Say I was going to leave for good, and you would have turned around and fell into my arms?” He gave her a sideways glance then focused back on the road.
“Maybe not right after Reese’s death, but a few weeks after.”
“That’s all it took for you to be over him?”
She pushed back against the seat and looked away. “I told you, he was a distraction from you. It wasn’t love. He was safe.”
“I’m not?”
She sighed. “In all the ways that matter. Not in the ways that protect my life the way it is. But honestly, I no longer care about that. As long as you’re there for me.”
“Where else would I be?”
She shot him a glare. “I don’t know, you were planning to leave.”
“Yeah, because you’ve been breaking my heart since you lost Reese. How do you think it feels when I know exactly what I want, and you prove time and time again I can’t have that?” He glanced over. “How many times have you left the bar with someone?”
“I haven’t taken them home. Haven’t gone back to their place. We go for coffee, maybe food, and I realize I can’t do it.” Lana reached over and took his hand. “I don’t know why I couldn’t admit it before, but like I told you, I wasn’t ready to become more than what I am. And I know that will happen as soon as we get together.”
“Yeah, well, I can’t help that, unless I leave and take the temptation away. I thought the only way to make you happy was for me to walk away.”
“That was never the answer.” She let out a breath. “Why didn’t you make a move when you first met me?”
“When you had a boyfriend? After that you were still pretending to be fully human. And until after Isa went through the awakening, we were all trying to make sure she didn’t learn anything about Faery. And then it turns out she isn’t even Henroyld’s.”
“If it wasn’t for Henroyld, my father would never have landed in debt up to his eyeballs.” From what she understood, her father lost the majority of his business due to Henroyld changing the trading laws.
“Yeah, well, I don’t know what to tell you about that.”
“Other than you already don’t like him,” she countered.
He rolled his eyes. “I don’t understand him or why he was so ready to let you go. Unless of course, you weren’t his. And after tonight, I have to doubt that.”
“Guess there is only one way to figure that out.”
“That’s something you need to be damned sure you’re ready for because there’s no going back. And I know without a doubt what you are to me. Don’t take that step unless you’re ready to accept me, all of me.”
“So you’re done trying to convince me to wait?” she teased, knowing that barrier he built was crumbling.
“Swear to me you won’t decide you were wrong in the morning.”
“I swear on my life, I’m going to be there in the morning.” And every morning after.
Chapter 5
Maddock paced the living quarters, ready to tear someone’s face off. No one had managed to bring Lana back to him. He didn’t give a damn what some king said or did. He was ready to claim what was promised to him.
The daughter of two powerful dragons of separate elements. The secret in claiming the parents was the daughter. Only through blood could that kind of binding be broken. He could claim all three.
Lana’s blood was strong. So much stronger than the weak asshole who had taken her in. Not that he had much choice. Maddock had formed a deal with Henroyld, granting him more trading rights and squashing much of Divad’s, who had defected from Henroyld’s rule, going to Earth to escape persecution for marrying a human woman.
So he gained so much. Divad was forced to turn to him, keeping his business, allowing him to work himself out of debt. Divad hadn’t fought hard before giving in Maddock’s demand that Lana be his payment for help.
But then Reance ripped apart all chance at an arranged marriage. The stubborn bitch wouldn’t give him a chance to romance her. He’d wanted to win her trust, seduce her, give her everything she desired for helping him secure his legacy.
But no, she refused time and time again. Maddock had run out of patience ages ago. The time was now. He was going to have her regardless of what she wanted.
If it weren’t for the last damned Hyter Sprite being there to stop Dormin from capturing her, it would have been fine. But then someone froze the bastard. At first, he thought perhaps it had been Lana herself, coming into her powers, but there had been another dragon hiding in the bar.
And later, Callera had bit the dust, thanks to her flames when the shot rang out. The dart narrowly missed her. And once again, his chance had been shot to hell.
Now, he had Balchek following Lana, who was in a car on the freeway with Elondril. Damned sprite. The trickster could get out of damn near anything.
However, Balchek had a few tricks up his sleeve and had so far gone unnoticed. He watch
ed through a spell that gave him access to his bounty hunter’s eyes. Same as he did with the two before.
* * * *
Balchek drove, wishing he had a way to ditch the assignment, but he knew for a fact that his child would be the next pulled into the Delnias plans if he didn’t succeed.
If only his request to speak with Aeryana had gone through. The Queen of Air would have been able to help him save his daughter, whom he left with a friend in the Air Kingdom.
Finally his phone rang. “This is Balchek.”
“Yes, is it too late to sweep you and Belandra to safety?”
He sighed. “I don’t think there is anything you can do for me. I’m on Elondril and Lana’s tail, and unless you can pull my car out of thin air, I don’t see how that will work. My girl you can save, and I’ll give my life to protect hers.”
“No need for that. Just find an empty lane. You will be sent to a place Maddock Delnias cannot find you or Belandra.”
“I’ll find an empty road.” He hung up and pulled to the empty lane next to the HOV lane. A dark spot filled the area of the car and he drove through, finding himself in a bright and sunny part of Faery. He came to a stop, squeezing his eyes shut.
Someone opened his driver’s door. A hand covered his face. Words were spoken that broke the spell.
“You’re safe and Maddock won’t find you here.”
“Where am I?”
“You’re with your wife’s people now. Harpies won’t let anyone harm Belandra or you.”
His wife had died, ensuring he lived when she gave birth to their daughter, far from him. Balchek climbed out of the car and spotted the Queen of Air. He took another look at who had cast the spell. The King of Fire.
“You have my gratitude. But if there is anything I can do to help Elondril or Laniela, please, let me know. As long as my girl is safe, I want to do what I can to help an old friend.”
Reance smiled. “If I think of anything, I will let you know. But I have a feeling Lana and her friends will have no problem keeping her safe.”
Balchek nodded, but he didn’t understand. As far as he could tell, she was a half human Earth Fae with little to no magic.
“Go to your daughter,” Reance said.
He hurried to Aeryana, who held his two-year-old. “Thank you, Aeryana.”
She smiled and ruffled Belandra’s hair. “They won’t find you here. You will be surrounded by harpies who would be happy to teach your daughter what she needs to know about what she is.”
“You don’t know what this means to me. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you sooner, but we don’t want to tip Maddock off that we’re onto him. He has his fingers in too many pots and we need to sever all his ties without letting someone else come in and take over.”
“Understood. If you need me, you have my help.”
“I’m sure you’ll hear from us.”
* * * *
Maddock’s vision went black and he slammed his fist into the mattress. He climbed out of bed and marched downstairs, trying to come up with a new solution.
Where in the abyss was Elondril taking Lana? He needed her in Faery, in his home. Not wandering around Earth. Patience had never been his virtue, and he had waited over twenty years.
He needed a new recruit. Luther, one of the few people who worked for him without threats and blackmail had refused the job. And if he wasn’t so damned good at what he did, he would have forced him in some way.
His father had earned a reputation of being a drunk and disloyal. Now few would work for Maddock unless desperate. There had to be someone he could coerce into searching for Lana.
He’d heard the Fire King’s voice before the spell was broken. Wherever they were, he was unreachable. And he was willing to bet the king had covered all the details, including the young daughter who had been hidden away.
And the way Laniela had warmed to Elondril made him believe she would wind up mating him. Something he had tried to avoid as long as possible, because he wanted to be the one to bring her through the awakening.
Once, he’d thought to capture the sprite and enslave him. As it turns out, Reance stepped in and kept him away from the estate when it burned to the ground.
And even if Elondril stuck it to Lana and mated, then he could hold one over the other and get both their help. So not all was lost if they managed to escape for now.
Though an unawakened dragon would be far easier to bind to his will than an awakened one. Granted, he wanted to take the honor of bringing her into her power, but that could easily backfire.
Laniela had the potential to be as strong as some of the ancients.
His mother entered the room. “Have you found her yet?”
She constantly undermined him. His father simply wrote him off far too often. Perhaps he should add killing them to his list of things to do. First, he needed Lana on his side.
He sighed. “Yes, but the fools I’ve sent keep losing her. Two are dead, the other has fallen off the face of the Earth.”
“You’re running out of time. Our seer says she will mate tonight. If she mates, you will lose your chance. Honestly, boy, I don’t see why you insist on taking her. She doesn’t want you. She will never aid you.”
“I’ll bind her to me just the same. I’ll not only gain her assistance, but his.”
“Or your death. You know, I used to wish you were a better man than your father. But the longer I watch you, the more I realize you’re far worse.”
“Because I’ll keep her by my side? I need a powerful woman. You’ve said so yourself.”
“Yes, a woman who wants you. Not one who already despises you and has found the man she loves.”
“If I must, I’ll kill him. It won’t be an issue,” Maddock snarled.
“Do you realize how far she would go to protect him if they seal that bond? Killing him may not be an easy task.”
Maddock paced away. He spun back. “Do you happen to have a suggestion for a mercenary who can get the job done?”
“You won’t like my answer.”
“Why is that?” he snapped.
“Vanya. The woman you threw away because of this inane plan to capture a girl who doesn’t want you. She loved you. She would have made a formidable ally.”
“She’s merely an assassin. She can’t control the most powerful players on the field. I will take the earth kingdom and make it great. Or do you really believe Xander can manage that?”
“Doesn’t matter what I think. You haven’t even given him a chance to lead.”
“He’s a fool. He doesn’t know what our kingdom needs. He’s always been a king’s lackey.”
“General, Maddock. He was the general to the Queen of Air and Earth. If you ever believed Henroyld was stronger than Aeryana, then you’re a fool. You may have bested Xander a time or two, but I recall far more fights you lost when you were children.”
“I’m not a child anymore. And he’s too honorable to resort to my tactics. I’m not worried about Xander, or any of the other royalty.”
“You don’t know them like I do. Every last one of them are playing the long game. You have your sights on the short game. I told you many times you need to start thinking further ahead.”
“And if I’m impulsive and think on the fly, they can’t predict it.”
“Oh, but they can. At least one of them. You aim too high, Maddock. Reance can see everything centuries ahead of time. Why do you think he went along with his mate marrying another man?”
He shook his head. “That is impossible.”
“Nothing is impossible, child. Don’t you know that?”
He took three steps forward and raised his hand, planning to slap his mother.
He went flying back with the flick of her fingers. “Don’t test me, Maddock. The girl you want so badly is out of your reach, and if you keep pushing you will find yourself dead.”
“Won’t you be happy then?”
“You’re a fool if you believe that.” She turned and walked away, throwing up a barrier as he moved forward. He ran into it and slammed his hand against the invisible wall.
“You’ll see. I’ll have her yet,” he sneered.
She glanced over her shoulder and shook her head. “I hope you’re right, but I fear the worst.” She disappeared behind the door.
Chapter 6
“What the fuck?” Lonny muttered, glancing back.
Sure enough, the car following them moved over a few lanes and disappeared. Just when he thought he would have to scrap his plan and go with something else.
“Huh?” Lana turned in her seat to look.
“We had a tail, but they just disappeared.”
“What do you mean?”
“The car following us. He moved a couple lanes over, then disappeared into a portal. Reance, he had to set that up. Other than for Isa, he doesn’t usually intervene this much. I want to know why he’s so interested in the two of us being together.”
She snorted. “You think that’s what he wants?”
Lonny nodded. “He told me to stick around you because you were in danger. He told me I needed to protect you. Hell, he abolished arranged marriages for you. He is stepping in far more than he usually does. It’s not often he gives hints like this.”
“I’m flattered.” Lana reached over, touching his leg. “He sees we’re supposed to be together. I finally see it. So give me a break.”
He sighed. “I told you, we’ll see where this goes. I’m not rushing. And it looks like I’m stuck with you. Now I just wonder who was following and why he gave them an out.”
“Some paid thug,” Lana muttered.
“You don’t know the Delnias family all that well. Maddock is as bad or worse than his father. They blackmail everyone. There are few they simply hire. They gather all the information they can and find ways to use it against whoever they want to use.”
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