He looked positively wrecked. She’d been so wrapped up in the story she’d almost forgotten why it was important that he tell it. “I love you too.”
“I need a break.” He frowned. “And a shower.”
“And a square meal,” she added, heartbroken to see him like this.
He nodded. “I’m tired. I can’t do this anymore.”
She tossed the rag she was using into the sink and approached him, pulling him into a hug, which he thankfully returned. “You did so well today. That’s enough for now. Go take a shower. I’ll finish picking up around here and maybe scrounge us up some lunch.”
Alexander walked toward the window, opened it, and let Nyx take flight.
“I’m relieved you don’t shower with her.” Rowan gave a low laugh.
Alexander raised his eyebrows. “She’s all I have—the only thing left of Maiara—and I’ve had her for a very, very long time.”
“Right.” She watched him lumber toward the bedroom, his shoulders hunched. Time had not been kind to her brother. “I do want to hear the rest,” she called after him. “I would be honored if you kept the memory of Maiara alive by continuing to share with me, once you’ve had time to rest.”
He gave her a placating wave.
No sooner had he closed the door behind him than she texted Nick and was soon joined by him, Raven, Gabriel, and Tobias inside the small apartment. Raven got to work cooking lunch while Rowan relayed what she’d learned from Alexander to the group.
Perhaps it was because of Nick’s turbulent past that her mate tended to take the supernatural in stride; his childhood reality of being abused was far scarier than learning there were dragons, witches, and vampires living among humans. But while his exterior seemed calm, she knew he was analyzing everything she’d told him with a detective’s mind.
“So, we have a three-hundred-year-old bird who used to belong to an indigenous guide who may or may not have blended into living trees, had survived in the wilderness alone for some time, and feared other Indians who had presumably butchered her people. I’m going out on a limb and saying she wasn’t human.” Nick rocked back on his heels and surveyed the rest of them as if they had the key to solving this mystery.
Rowan tied off one full garbage bag and grabbed another. “I met her. She seemed human to me, but she had magic, that’s for sure.”
“We knew she had magic. I used her healing amulet this year to cure one of my patients.” Tobias rubbed the back of his neck.
“You have it? I thought it was burned with her.” Rowan frowned. She was almost certain Alexander knew nothing of the kept amulet, and she could feel her hackles rise at the thought of what finding out about its existence would do to his already fragile state.
Gabriel confirmed her worst fears. “Yes… He doesn’t know.”
“You fucking bastard. How could you keep this from him?” Rowan gave Gabriel a withering stare.
“I’m sure that’s going to go over well when it comes out,” Nick murmured. Rowan widened her eyes at him in agreement.
“Do you have it with you?” Rowan asked Tobias.
Gabriel growled. “No. We agreed he’d keep it locked away. It’s too powerful to risk it falling into the wrong hands.”
“Actually…”
“Tobias?” Gabriel hissed. “Don’t tell me you did something stupid.”
“I wasn’t sure what we’d be dealing with here with Alexander.” He shrugged. “I’m a human doctor. It seemed prudent to have it in case we needed it.”
Gabriel opened his mouth to tear into him, but Raven held up her hand.
“No, I’m glad he did,” Raven said from the kitchen where she was wrapping what looked like enchiladas and tucking them into two large lasagna pans. “I’d like to analyze her magic. See if I can understand it better. The hawk shouldn’t have survived this long after her death.”
Rowan glanced toward the bedroom door, all her protective instincts waking up. “I don’t care what you do with it. Just keep it to yourself until we get him in a better place.”
Raven understood where Rowan was coming from. Until recently, Gabriel hadn’t known where Alexander was and couldn’t have returned the amulet even if he’d wanted to. But now that they were here, it seemed both wrong to keep it from him and terribly cruel to give it back. Alexander was clearly in a fragile state of mind. Learning what Gabriel had done and seeing the amulet might do more damage than good.
She slid the two pans of enchiladas she’d made into the oven and rubbed her growling belly. Baby was hungry again, and he liked things spicy. She’d learned it was common in dragon pregnancies, the hotter the better. She opened the cupboard next to the fridge. With any luck, Alexander kept some hot sauce on hand.
Her phone vibrated on the counter. She frowned at the screen. Avery again.
“Who keeps texting you?” Gabriel asked from where he was helping his siblings clean. “I swear that’s the hundredth time today.”
“Avery.” Raven sighed. “She thinks we’re still on Maui, celebrating our honeymoon. I haven’t told her about Sedona. Too hard to explain why we’re here.”
“What does she want?”
“Remember how my father brought that woman to our wedding?” Raven asked. Everyone nodded, even Nick who had met her entire family that day. The red-headed woman stood out in a crowd. “Her name is Charlotte. Apparently their relationship is serious and Dad desperately wants me to meet her. Avery keeps putting them off, but she’s running out of excuses. She’s wondering when we’ll be home so she can get the two of them off her back.”
“Maybe we should go back,” Tobias said. “You are over four months pregnant, and frankly, things seem further along than they should be at this point.” He looked worriedly at her ever-growing abdomen. “I’d like to get you under an ultrasound and see what’s happening.”
“Uh, I think you should know I’ve been this large for a while. You simply didn’t see it because I used a cloaking spell to conceal it until the wedding. It’s just exhausting using that much magic anymore.” She spread her hands and shrugged. “This is me in all my glory.”
Tobias’s eyes widened. “You should have said something. This is a high-risk pregnancy. You have a dragon egg growing inside your human uterus, Raven. This is nothing to mess around with.”
Raven sighed. “We have time, right?”
Tobias’s expression turned clinical, the doctor in him coming to the surface. “If you were a dragon, I’d say you had two more months, but there’s no record of a dragon being born to a human. With this pregnancy, I think we have to expect the unexpected. Sabrina has a fully equipped medical ward lined up for us in Chicago, but it won’t do us any good if we’re still here when you go into labor.”
Predictably, Gabriel’s protective mating instinct kicked in at Tobias’s words, and he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Tell Avery she’ll just need to deal with your father. We should go to Chicago and stay with Tobias and Sabrina until the baby comes.”
“What about Alexander?”
“Alexander has Rowan.”
“I feel like we made progress today,” Rowan said. “It might be better if I have him all to myself for a while anyway. He seems to get overwhelmed easily.”
Gabriel placed a kiss on Raven’s temple. “You have to think of your health and that of the baby first.”
“You’re right. We should look into flights,” Raven said, more to appease her mate than because she thought there was any rush. “Will the end of the week be soon enough?” That would give her time to analyze Maiara’s amulet. Maiara’s abilities were unique. The idea that she could keep the hawk alive beyond her death was remarkable, and Raven longed to better understand her magic. If she couldn’t use this understanding to help Alexander, perhaps she could use the knowledge to help someone else.
“As long as you’re not having any symptoms, I think that will be just fine,” Tobias said. Gabriel smiled at Tobias as if he considered her agreement a victory. He pulled
out his phone and started checking flights.
Everyone quieted as Alexander emerged from his bedroom, dressed in a fresh pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. Hair still wet from the shower, it dripped onto his shoulders in two dark patches. After an impromptu staring match, Alexander spoke first. “I thought you said something about lunch?”
Raven peeked inside the oven to confirm the shredded cheese had been reduced to melty goodness, thinking she could eat at least half of it. She was relieved both pans were ready to go and pulled them from the oven. “Come and get it.”
She dished out a generous helping and held out the plate to him. “Alexander, can you help me understand something?”
Slowly he took the plate and gave her a tentative nod. Behind him, Rowan shot her a warning glance, but she ignored it. If Alexander would tell her this one thing, it would save her so much time. “Did Maiara identify as a witch like me?”
He stared at the enchilada on his plate like he was trying to decide whether to ditch it and run for the hills or answer her question.
Rowan spoke up. “Alexander, you don’t have to—”
“No. I’ll answer her,” he said, finally meeting Raven’s eyes again. “The answer is no, but she did practice magic and it was a type I’d never encountered before.”
Chapter Twelve
1699
Colony of New Jersey
Alexander hurried back to the Lion’s Head Inn with Maiara in his arms. Her body was limp and cold despite wrapping her in her clothing as best he could. Using his invisibility, he snuck past the innkeeper and hastened to the room he’d let.
“Willow, stoke the fire. She’s chilled through,” he ordered. His oread hurried to the fireplace and tended the logs. Alexander stretched Maiara out on the bed and tucked her beneath the blankets.
He’d hastily collected her clothing from beside the tree, and now that she was covered, he discreetly withdrew them from under the linens. He cringed when he noticed a star-shaped scar below the collarbone of her right shoulder. What past hardships had this brave woman encountered?
“Shot by an arrow,” Willow said from the place where he squatted beside the now blazing fire.
“You know this mark?” Alexander folded her things and set them on the chair beside the window before layering another blanket over her. He hated the dusky color of her lips.
Willow approached the bed, perusing Maiara with a tip of his head. “I’ve never been shot myself, you understand, but I have seen it. A knife would create a slice.” He made a sawing motion across his arm. “An arrow makes a star.”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed. “Do you know what’s wrong with her?”
Willow turned surprised eyes on him. “I have no idea. If she was simply human, I might suggest she was suffering from exposure but—”
“What makes you think she isn’t human?”
“Oh, she’s human, but she has employed strong magic. Can’t you smell it?” The oread beckoned him closer.
Alexander leaned over her until his nose was temptingly close to her ear and drew in her scent. She smelled sweet as spring grass with a hint of wildflowers. Previously, he’d also smelled the deerskin she wore along with the faint residue of horsehair. Not any longer. Now that she slept naked beneath the blankets, he sorted her scent from the others in the room. Her skin carried the freshness of new green life. The first night he’d met her, she’d smelled of pine, bark, and fresh air. This scent was different. This scent held the crisp tang of magic.
“What is she?” he asked. “A witch?”
Willow rubbed his marble-smooth chin. “No, I don’t think so. Perhaps she is like me, a nymph, but not of the mountain—of the forest. A dryad. Although…”
“What is it, Willow? Please tell me.”
“As I mentioned to you before, if she were a full dryad, she should be hibernating right now. It’s winter and her kind is normally associated with deciduous trees. Once the leaves fall, their spirit goes home and sleeps until spring. Besides, her flesh is undeniably human. That much I know.”
Alexander watched her chest rise and fall, wishing she’d open her eyes. The room had warmed to sweat-inducing temperature, but her hands remained cold and her lips still held that unsettling dusky tint. “Do you think a warm bath would help?” he asked Willow.
The oread was distracted from answering when a slap at the window turned his head. A dark shadow beat against the warped glass. Alexander turned the pewter lock and eased the casement open on its hinge. Maiara’s hawk flew inside, landing on the bed beside Maiara.
“Oh dear,” Willow said. “Poor thing must have been attracted by the light. Would you like me to help you chase it out?”
“No.” Alexander closed the window and locked it. “The bird is her pet. Perhaps its nearness will benefit her recovery.”
After a moment by her side, the hawk fluttered to the pile of her things on the chair and burrowed into them. A moment later she emerged with the otter skin pouch in her beak.
“You brilliant, brilliant bird,” Alexander said. Of course, he’d watched Maiara heal the soldier with her shell. With any luck, he could use the same magic to heal her now. He untied the bag and removed the amulet, again admiring the multicolored sheen that reminded him of the surface of a clear spring pool in the morning sunlight.
He positioned it in the hollow of her throat, the same place he’d observed her place it on the soldier. The hawk bobbed its head as if she approved. At once, Maiara’s lips pinked, and then the tone of her skin corrected to its usual sunny radiance. Inhaling deeply, he slipped his hand inside hers, now warm and pliant. “Maiara?”
“She wakes,” Willow said, blinking out of sight.
Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks and then flew open. Air flowed into her lungs. Maiara jackknifed into a sitting position, clutching the blankets to her chest.
“Where are we?” Her eyes widened, and she surveyed the room with barely contained panic.
“In my room at the Lion’s Head.”
“I am not supposed to be here.” She started to climb from the bed, but his hand landed gently on her shoulder.
“No one saw. I—” How much did she remember about seeing him with his wings extended? “I used discretion.”
She nodded her understanding. The shell had flown from her neck when she’d sat up, and now she swept it from the quilt and into her palm.
“Your bird reminded me about the amulet. It healed you,” Alexander said, glancing at the hawk who now perched on the headboard.
Maiara stared at him as if she were reading his soul, her expression taking on a faraway quality. “Please?” She pointed at the otter skin pouch.
“Of course.” Alexander handed it to her, and she returned the amulet to it, tying the strings tightly before looping them around her wrist. When her gaze met his again, the intensity made Alexander flinch.
“You had wings.”
He swore under his breath. Gabriel would be livid if he shared his secret, as would the others. Then again, they’d shared their true identity with the oreads. If Maiara had magic, perhaps telling her the truth wouldn’t be his worst mistake. Who was he kidding? Gabriel would be livid.
“You were disoriented. Naked in a storm. There was a beast roaring in the distance and a native man.”
“You saw an Indian man? A Mohawk warrior?” She hugged the blankets tighter to her chest.
“I don’t know what tribe he was from, but he wore his hair roached and had a stone around his neck that glowed blue in the moonlight. I saw him from a great distance.” Alexander hated the flash of terror she saw in Maiara’s eyes. “He aimed an arrow in our direction, and that is when I took you and brought you here before he could do any harm. Is he the one who shot the soldier?”
She lowered her chin. “Yes. That man is very dangerous. I never thought he would follow me here among the cmokmanuk.” Before his magic could translate the word, she did it for him. “White men. I thought he would avoid the white men.”
> “What were you doing naked in a snow storm, banging your fists against a tree?”
She raised her dark brows, and the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. “I told you my people slept in the trees.”
He gave her a frustrated look. “What does that mean?”
“Tell me why you have wings?”
He stared at the fire. “It seems we both have secrets.” When he turned back to her, he searched her face. Their gazes met and held. The same arresting force from the first time he’d seen her came again, like standing at the bottom of a cliff and feeling the wind shear off the side, thrusting him forward, driving him toward her.
She must have felt it too, because her lips parted and her expression held the same wonder he thought his must. Did she want to know him as he wished to know her?
“Tell me what you are, Maiara,” he asked softly. “And I will do you the same courtesy.”
Licking her lips, she considered his offer. “It is hard to describe in your language, but I will try. I am a Midew… a medicine woman. Among my people, certain women and men gifted with mystic abilities by the kshe’mnIto… the Great Spirit, join a society called the Midewiwin among whom we study healing and other mide.”
“Mide?”
“Mmm… Magic.”
“What does that have to do with the tree?”
“Kshe’mnIto has blessed me with great magic. Magic that allows me to hide inside the trees.”
“Inside the trees. Are you a nymph? A dryad?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know these words. I am Potawatomi and I am Midew. My magic comes from kshe’mnIto.”
“The one you call the Great Spirit.”
She nodded.
“Why is that man after you… the Mohawk man?”
She shook her head. “Tell me about your wings.”
“Dragon,” he said softly.
“Dra…gon,” she repeated slowly. “I do not know this word.”
Approaching the bed, he sat beside her, his stomach flipping at the thought of what he was about to do. He took a fortifying breath. A dragon’s wings were intimate, private. It was, he supposed, like any body part that was normally kept hidden away. Showing his wings was akin to removing his clothing in some ways. And maybe he owed her this given that he had watched her undress beside the tree like the letch that he was.
The Dragon of Sedona (The Treasure of Paragon Book 4) Page 8
