“I can’t have a child,” she reiterated.
“Then something has to change,” he countered, thinking suddenly of Rafferty Powell. Hadn’t that Pyr’s mate, Melissa, been unable to have a child when the firestorm sparked between them? “The firestorm knows that you and I belong together. That’s the important point. The firestorm is never wrong.”
She shook her head. “Gods, you’re stubborn.”
“Good thing you’re not,” he retorted before he could stop himself. She bit back an unwilling smile and fussed with her coffee, avoiding his gaze. Why? Was she unconvinced? Or did she feel guilty about deceiving him? “You’re sure this can’t work.”
“Of course, it isn’t going to work!” she said, putting down her mug. “I made a deal and if I succeed, you’re as doomed as your fellow Pyr.”
“My fellow Pyr?” Kristofer was shocked by that detail. He must have heard right at Bones.
She nodded. “All of you.”
Kristofer crossed the room in two steps and backed her into the counter, letting the firestorm flare to sensual radiance between them. “Why would you agree to help with such a thing?” he demanded in a low growl.
She swallowed but didn’t retreat. “I’ve hunted a dragon before. It’s not that different. Kara and I are the last two of the Valkryies, at least the last two who ever leave Valhalla. I can’t not help her!”
“You’d trade me for Kara.”
“I already did.” She took a deep breath and drained her coffee. He had to admire that she didn’t play word games, even if he didn’t like this truth. She eyed him, then shook her head. “Not you specifically. If anyone chose you, it was Maeve.”
“No,” he said with resolve. “It was the firestorm.”
She rolled her eyes in exasperation.
“But still, one Valkyrie for an entire race?” He made a skeptical sound.
She flushed, looked at his tattoo, then dropped her gaze. “A race of dragons. That’s an important detail.”
“You happily agreed to condemn all of us.” He wanted her to admit the worst of it. He was hoping she’d waver, just a little.
“I wasn’t happy about it,” she said crossly, then her voice rose in challenge. “Don’t pretend you wouldn’t make the same choice if one of your fellow Pyr was held captive. You’d do exactly the same, no matter who was in Maeve’s sights.”
It was true.
“You bet your ass I would,” Kristofer agreed with heat and watched her eyes widen at his tone. “But the difference is that no one is going to die because of me, not even your sister.”
“I don’t think you have a choice. Either you die or Kara dies.”
“There has to be another solution. We have to trick Maeve.”
His mate gave a short laugh, one that sounded bitter, and turned to fill her mug again. “Good luck with that. She can read minds, you know.” She shuddered involuntarily at the very prospect.
“You know more about her than me.” Kristofer leaned his fists on the counter and glared at her. “How do we bust free of this curse? There has to be a way.”
“We don’t. There is no we. If I do, it’s because you didn’t.” She sighed. “Nothing says that there’s a way to achieve a happy ending for everyone.”
“I say there is.”
“Kris, you’re not the one making the rules...”
He grinned, liking that she’d used his name. “No, I’m the one who’s going to break the rules. The way I figure it, Maeve is assuming we won’t ally with each other. Let’s defy her expectations. Let’s work together to defeat her.”
She blinked. “Why would I risk my sister’s survival for that?”
Kristofer tried the more diplomatic argument first, hoping she’d find it persuasive. “Because we have common ground.”
“Like what?”
He ticked off the points on his fingers. “We’re not average. Neither of us. Doesn’t it feel good to be able to be honest with someone, other than your own kind, about what you are and what you can do?” Her gaze slid away from his. “We don’t have to lie to each other or explain our natures, and at the same time, we both know what it’s like to hold back or hide.”
She sipped at her coffee. “Honesty is important to you.” Her tone was neutral, carefully so.
“I think it’s important to everyone who matters.” He tapped her shoulder. “I think it’s more important to you than you want me to realize. You don’t fool me, Valkyrie. I know all twenty-seven names, you know. I could guess yours.”
Her sidelong glance was fearful. “You couldn’t.”
“You should have more faith. We’ll just work through them in order and I’ll wait for you to twitch.”
She almost smiled. “I don’t twitch.”
“I met Eirene already and you’re not her,” he said, ignoring her claim. “Your sister is Kara, so that’s another. There’s Gerde.” He watched her and she didn’t twitch. “And Gunna.”
“Trust my luck to meet a dragon shifter who knows his Old Norse lays,” she muttered but he could tell that she was concerned.
“More common ground.” Before she could argue, Kristofer ticked off another point on his fingers. “We’re both warriors, and good at what we do.” He indicated another finger. “Because we’re both cursed by Maeve.” She kept her gaze fixed on her coffee as he made his final and strongest argument. “And because people like Maeve don’t keep their promises, no matter what happens.”
“She’s not people.”
“Individuals, then.
His mate sighed and nodded reluctantly. “You’re right about that. She already changed the rules. I delivered you to Fae, but now she wants something else. That’s why we’re here.”
“What does she want?”
“Some book.” She shrugged, but she was watching him. “I was hoping you would know about it.”
“Maeve’s book,” he mused, remembering something. He glanced at the string on his wrist and gave it another tug. It was time to negotiate and call his mate’s bluff. “Here’s the thing about making an alliance,” he said softly. “It would be to your advantage for me to help you get the book. We need to make a deal that’s also to my advantage.”
“What do you mean?”
He could guess from her tone that she wasn’t used to needing anyone and didn’t even like the suggestion.
“If I know where the book is, and the firestorm isn’t real, then I could just make a deal with Maeve myself. And given the choice, you have to know that I’d save my kind before I saved your sister.” She stared at him in shock but Kristofer nodded with confidence. “You’re the one who said I’d do the same thing in your place.”
The suggestion clearly outraged her. She swore with a vehemence that was admirable and creative. Then she jabbed a finger into his chest, sending a surge of white-hot desire through both of them. Kristofer nearly moaned aloud. “You can’t do that!”
“Of course I can and you know it.” He smiled, letting her worry about it.
She glared at him.
He let his smile broaden.
She paced the length of the kitchen and back, then confronted him again, hands on her hips. “But you don’t think the firestorm is fake,” she said. “You won’t betray your destined mate.”
Kristofer lifted a brow, betting it would make him look unpredictable. “Are you sure?” he whispered.
She paled and her eyes flashed. “You are the most infuriating dragon I’ve ever met,” she said shaking a finger at him.
“Thank you,” Kristofer said calmly. “You make number one for annoyance factor among the Valkyries I’ve met, too.”
She exhaled and seemed to be fighting to control her temper. “Do you know where the book is? Because I’m not going to promise to work with you unless you have something to offer.”
“I don’t, but I might know someone who does,” he admitted. “Good enough?”
Her eyes narrowed. “No. Find out first and then we’ll talk deal.”
&nb
sp; Kristofer pulled out his phone, unable to keep from thinking he was making progress.
He was going to get this right.
Four
A purposeful Pyr was an incredible sight.
Never mind a half-naked one who was completely ripped.
In her kitchen.
Trying to change her mind about the firestorm with kisses that melted her bones and her resolve.
Well, there’d only been two so far, but Bree desperately wanted another one of those long slow ones.
Worse, she wanted to participate.
She had to remind herself that being bound to Kris for all eternity would not be good. The endless party of Valhalla was a far cry from his romantic view of the firestorm. He’d become disheartened and she’d have to watch the light die in his eyes. No way.
Because the fact was that she could have listened to him argue in favor of the firestorm all day long. It touched her that he had such faith in it and that he was a complete romantic. She liked his determination to find their common ground and make it work—even though, the longer they talked, the more she felt like a rat for having gotten him into this situation in the first place. His commitment to honesty only made her feel worse about the deal she’d made, because she appreciated honesty, too.
If he wasn’t deliberately deceiving her, he was as different from that old dragon as it was possible to be.
Which was funny, if she thought about it.
As much as she hated to admit it, he might be right about the merit of combining resources. She didn’t have a lot of choice, though, which irked her. He really could just make a deal with Maeve, one that didn’t benefit Kara. She was pretty sure he trusted the firestorm, but not completely so.
And he knew it. Why did dragons have to be so perceptive? Bree was used to being the one who made the rules, or broke them. Negotiating was as new to her as making an alliance.
“He’s not answering,” Kris said with concern. His fair brows drew together and he made another call. Bree leaned closer and tried to see the date and time on his phone, and he glanced up. “Looking for more dragon prey?” he asked softly as the other phone rang. Was he taunting her? If so, he really was fearless.
“Looking for the date. Maybe the time.”
He glanced over her apartment and she saw the moment he realized that she didn’t have any electronics. There was an empty shelf where a microwave should be, and her fridge and stove were the simplest models available. There was just the big round clock on the living room wall.
“Isn’t your phone charged?”
“I don’t have one.”
He blinked, hung up, then pulled up the date and time and showed it to her. Three in the morning on the day after she’d gone looking for Kara. She hadn’t been in Fae that long, although it had felt like an eternity. She hoped Kara was still okay.
“Thanks. I’m a bit of a Luddite.”
“A bit,” he echoed, widening his eyes. “I didn’t think there was anyone left in New York who didn’t have a cell phone.”
“I can’t stand being on a tether,” Bree said, feeling a need to explain. “Those things are snitches and spies. You can be tracked by GPS when you have one, and there’s no telling how many are monitoring your calls.”
He watched her, his surprise clear. “Maybe you’re a bit paranoid, too.”
“It’s about marketing, not about espionage,” she said impatiently. “I don’t want to be watched or followed, so I don’t have any devices. No internet connection. No computer, no phone...”
“Okay, I get it.”
“No, you don’t. Not really.” Bree confessed more than she’d planned because he was listening to her. “I can hear it, you know. I can hear the electricity in the wires in the walls and I can hear the signal in the telephone lines. It’s buzzing all the time. I can hear the hum of the air conditioners and the rhythm of the fans and the water in the pipes and the pumps in the basement of the building—never mind the traffic in the streets and the rumble of the subways and airplanes.” She stopped and took a deep breath. “I’d rip the wiring all out of the walls if I could, just to be surrounded by silence again. There is no better sound than the wind and the sea, the echo of your breath and the beat of your heart, and not one other thing.”
Kris was watching her, his eyes intensely blue. She might have felt foolish, but that slow smile curved his lips and his gaze warmed. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right. All the noise is part of why I hate cities so much.”
“You can hear the electricity, too?” Bree felt a wave of relief that he not only didn’t think her crazy but he could hear the sound—and he agreed.
“Oh yeah. I try to ignore it, but it wears you down when it’s all around you.” He frowned and shuddered. “When I’m in a big building like this, hearing the electricity and the plumbing and the heating, I feel like I’ve been eaten alive and am trapped inside a great beast.”
“Yes,” Bree exhaled the word.
“And look at all those apartments. So many people. So many eyes.” Kris made a face. “I could never live in the city. I need to hear the earth.” He nodded once, then ended the second call with a frown.
Bree was confused by his words. “But don’t you live in New York?”
He shook his head, emphatic. “Just visiting. I have some land in Vermont. I can’t hear the sea, but it’s me and the wind and the forest, and I like that just fine.” He was scrolling through a list on his phone and looked up so suddenly that he caught her by surprise. “Something else in common,” he said, his eyes dancing wickedly. “I’ll add it to the list.” He grinned and her heart went thump before he pushed a button to make the call.
Someone should have warned Bree that dragons could be irresistible. She drained the last of the coffee in the French press into the mug. It was getting cold, but she needed something to do with her hands.
Other than running them over Kris.
“Alasdair!” he said with pleasure. “Where is everyone? What’s happened to Theo?”
His eyes glittered as he listened, his attention diverted from her. On impulse, Bree took a step closer and reached out, placing her fingertips on the small wound on his shoulder. The firestorm’s light blazed and Kris stiffened.
But then his hand closed over hers and he closed his eyes, holding her finger in place to heal his wound. She could see the tendons tighten in his throat and knew his whole body was clenched, but he endured the pain to be healed. He was shaking a little when it was done and cast her a smile of gratitude, frowning as he listened to his friend. Bree took his free hand and held it in hers, turning it palm up and using her fingertips to sear the last wound. She should never have hurt him, but it felt right to fix what she had done.
After all, she was pretty sure they’d need to fight again before they were free of Maeve. The next time, though, they’d fight together, and Bree was sufficiently honest with herself to admit that she was looking forward to it.
That was when she realized there was only one way she’d manage to convince Kris that their firestorm wasn’t real: if she seduced him and the firestorm’s light wasn’t extinguished, he’d have to accept the truth.
She looked up and met his gaze. He was watching her and her heart leaped as she wondered whether he’d heard her thoughts.
If he’d smiled that slow smile, she would have been lost, but he frowned and returned his attention to the call. She heard the concern in his voice and knew he’d just been told something bad.
Was Maeve’s scheme working from another angle?
And what did that mean for Kara’s fate?
Theo was missing.
Hadrian was missing.
Rhys was missing.
The three of them had followed Kristofer through that portal, along with the bartender, but they hadn’t come back. He felt horrible that he’d led them into a trap, even though he hadn’t known what he was doing. He’d just followed impulse. No, he’d followed his firestorm, just the way any of them would h
ave. He reassured Alasdair that he was okay, confessed that he didn’t really know what had happened, then asked.
“Do you know anything about a book? One that belongs to Maeve?”
“The woman had a book in that story Theo told,” Alasdair said. “The one who was being guarded by the vampire.”
“And attacked by a Fae warrior,” Kristofer agreed. Things were making more sense. “I thought I remembered that right. Any idea where to find either of them?”
“Theo said he flew them to an antique shop in Soho.”
Right. He remembered that, too. “Not too many of those,” he said, tongue in cheek. “Did he say which one?”
“No. Why?”
“I need to get that book to make this right.”
“A book is going to get the three of them back?” Alasdair was understandably skeptical.
“It seems that there’s a Fae Queen named Maeve, who wants to trap the Pyr.”
“I kind of picked that up at Bones. Why?”
“Maybe to make us extinct.”
Alasdair exhaled in a long slow hiss.
Kristofer continued. “But she wants the book and I’m thinking I could make a deal with her. An exchange.”
“Okay. I’ll ask the other guys what they know. And worse case, we’ll go to Bones again and see what we can get the Others to tell us.”
“Sounds good.”
“What about you? Are you okay?”
“More or less.”
“What about your firestorm?”
“My mate says it’s not real,” Kristofer confessed, wondering. When he considered this supposed plan of Maeve’s, he had to admit that a fake firestorm would be the perfect bait.
Alasdair chuckled. “Nothing like a distraction. So, while you’re busy changing her mind about your merit, we’ll see what we can find out.”
“What about that stylus that Kade had?” Kristofer asked. “Where did he get it?”
Dragon's Kiss (The DragonFate Novels Book 2) Page 9
