by Elle Thorne
Matteo stepped closer. “I’m Matteo. You’ve been under a very trying ordeal. It’s normal to forget some things. You’ll be better after you’ve rested.”
“And probably eaten,” Samara said. “I have something in the pot, keeping warm. Roasted meat and potatoes.” Then she added, “I typically prefer Sam.”
Moments later, Samara had guided the trio to the same room Jolie had been in before. The one with the fire and the pit. She’d served up a wooden plate full of warm food for Blaise and set her at a little table. The rest of them scattered about the room in wooden chairs and stone benches.
“This is more people than I’ve ever had in here,” Samara noted drily.
Jolie found herself wanting to hug the blood elf for having helped Blaise. And Matteo. More than before, she really liked her and, again, puzzled at Griz’s hostility toward her.
Once Blaise had finished eating, she turned to Samara. “Thank you for helping me. Saving me. Feeding me.”
The hospitality in this valley wasn’t limited to Mae, it seemed. “Yes,” Jolie added her own expression of appreciation. “Thank you so much for all the help you’ve been.”
Samara tipped her head regally. “So, you no longer need to save your friend, it would seem.”
Jolie paused to let that settle in.
“Now what?” Matteo asked her.
“In an ideal world, now I’d be on a plane to Denmark to find out—” She stopped. She’d blurted. Damn her. She’d blurted out her thoughts without a filter to give her pause. She hadn’t really revealed any of this to Samara, and she had a bond with her. What if Samara took issue with her going halfway across the world?
Samara leaned against the wall, white hair gleaming in the dim lighting, her face giving nothing away. “To find out?”
In for a penny, in for a pound. Might as well be straight up with the blood elf. “What happened to the coven I was with. The dragon who guarded me.”
“Without papers? ”Matteo asked. “I’m assuming you don’t have papers. How were you planning to get there?”
She clenched her jaw. “I hadn’t thought that far. How did—you have papers? A passport? Visa? Whatever is needed?”
Matteo chuckled. “Funny you ask because no. I don’t. They were manufactured for me, courtesy of one of Mae’s friends. I was brought here on a private plane.”
Jolie leapt to her feet. “I hate to ask. I mean, Mae’s done so much already, but do you think…?” She shook her head. “Never mind.” It was too much to ask of someone she’d just met. To forge papers to get her out of the country and into another. To get her on a private plane. The fuel costs. The hassle. The trouble. Too much. Way too much for her to even consider asking for.
“You don’t need any of that.” Samara stepped forward.
Matteo scoffed. Jolie considered scoffing but didn’t want to insult the one she had that damned blood bond with. “Why wouldn’t I need any of that? What do you propose?”
“First,” the blood elf began, and then more swiftly than even a preternatural eye could have caught, she was across the room and had Matteo pinned to a wall, a dagger at his throat. Not a tiny dagger like the one she’d used in the ritual to rid him of the cursed spell.
No, this was a long scimitar made of pure energy. It gleamed its obsidian power, resting tenderly, almost like a lover’s touch, against his throat.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Matteo swallowed. Andare a puttane! Che cazzo. How the hell did she move like that? She was quicker than a shifter, even. And that said a lot.
Blaise squeaked a tiny yelp, her face had blanched.
Jolie ran across the room and put her hand on Sam’s arm, nudging it just enough to cause that crazy energy sword of hers to draw blood. He felt it beading on his flesh.
“Careful,” Sam whispered to Jolie. “You made me draw blood.”
Crazy damned blood elf. Matteo’s dragon roared his indignance at the situation. No being was superb to a dragon, none had ever proven to be in Matteo’s life. To be taken so quickly and swiftly by the blood elf was a blow not only to his dragon’s pride, but also to his and the dragon’s sense of self-preservation. If he could have shifted in this tiny area, if he’d had the time, he’d have used dragonstrike to kill her.
Sam gave him a cryptic half-smile then shook her head. “Don’t even think of it.”
Could she read minds? Did she know what he was thinking? Or did she just assume he and his dragon wanted to retaliate. Either way, Jolie could be hurt in the midst of this, and that was something Matteo would not risk. He glanced at the blonde he’d become fond of. “Might be a good idea to not hold on to her arm while she’s holding this blade so close to my jugular.”
Jolie removed her hands then held them wide. “Samara, please. What are you doing? You were going to list a proposal to help me. Now this?”
Sam pulled slowly away, eyes fixed on Matteo. The wolves at her side. He hadn’t even noticed their approach. Then again, how could he have? One minute, he’s having a conversation, the next, he’s got a scimitar at his neck and he’s backed up against a wall.
“You,” the blood elf said, pointing at him with the sword’s point. “The scoffing and mocking stops. I’ve been patient. I have not killed any shifters, regardless of their treatment of me.”
Matteo knew she was also thinking of Griz. He realized that at any point in time Sam could have killed Griz. Probably didn’t because of her relationship with Mae. He nodded his acceptance of what she was saying. He wasn’t about to apologize. The words simply weren’t in a dragon’s vocabulary. Or at least, they didn’t come easily. Especially not toward someone who’d just attacked, not to mention humiliated, him.
The blood elf’s black eyes blinked slowly. “Now that we have that sorted…” She turned to Jolie. “Denmark. Where in Denmark? Do you know? Can you envision it?” While she waited for Jolie’s response, she made the energy scimitar vanish.
Matteo stared at the spot it had been. This kind of sorcery was not one he was accustomed to. It was nothing like the Draecenguard sorceresses had performed.
Jolie frowned. “I can. But…why?”
Sam held out her hand for Jolie’s. “Take it. Hold my hand.”
Jolie did so.
“Blaise. You also. Hold this hand.” Sam indicated the hand holding Jolie’s, and Blaise put her hand on Jolie’s. Sam’s covered both of those, all three intertwined.
“Now you,” Sam said to Matteo. She held out her other hand.
The dragon roared in Matteo’s mind. Roared a warning. This could be a trap. A trick. Not to trust a blood elf. Matteo wanted to ask what his dragon knew about blood elves, but this wasn’t the time, clearly.
Sam jerked her hand out farther. “Do it.”
Jolie’s eyes beseeched him to acquiesce, and against his dragon’s wishes, Matteo clasped hands with the blood elf’s cool grip.
Samara’s eyes took on a dark-violet glow. What the hell? A surge of energy filled the room. The wolves moved closer to Sam, leaning their shoulders against her body. She aimed their clasped hands at the ground.
Symbols appeared on the stone floor, forming a circle around her. Tendrils of electrified magic rose from them, meeting overhead.
“Ready?” The blood elf’s voice sounded otherworldly.
The charge of magic made Matteo’s hairs stand on end.
Sam dropped her head, said a few words that Matteo couldn’t discern and didn’t understand.
Suddenly, the room they were in vanished. His feet left the ground for a split second, and when they touched down again, they were outside a castle. About twenty yards away from the magnificent and archaic structure.
Sam released their hands. “Did I get it right?”
Jolie gasped. “What? How?”
“What?” Blaise exclaimed. “This is—” She seemed to be speechless.
Matteo would have said that, based on Jolie’s expression and Blaise’s exclamation, Sam got it 100 percent right.
Sam nodded. “I did. This is what you wanted, right?”
“It is.” Jolie turned to Matteo. “I didn’t stop to think. Did you want to come along? I had no idea—”
She was babbling, her mind was probably racing, and if Matteo had to be honest, his own mind was racing as well. Being a shifter, being able to fly, to sense things others couldn’t, see, hear, smell better than humans, all of that was spectacular. But this…
“Unbelievable,” was all he could say.
The blood elf smiled, this time a genuine toothy smile that actually reached her eyes. “It’s a nice trick. But I can’t buckle time. I’d give almost anything for a skill like that.”
Matteo noticed Jolie was still regarding him with concern. He hadn’t assuaged her worries. “Hey,” he took her hand. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.” And it wasn’t lost on him that not so very long ago, he thought this would a very interesting escapade. Damned understatement, that was.
“Really?” Jolie’s tone held doubt.
“Of course. I’m looking forward to helping you put this to rest.” To finding the dragon that had been a part of her life. He was curious about him as well. A dragon that knew Salvatore when he was young. Another dragon, period. That in itself was worth the trip, but compounded with his feelings for Jolie, he wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else. And his dragon approved with a snarling growl.
“The castle doesn’t seem to be inhabited,” Sam noted.
Indeed, it had fallen in disarray. Perhaps no one had survived the attack. Matteo felt an overwhelming sadness for Jolie and for Blaise. Then he had a thought. “Let me go check it out first. Make sure it’s safe.” He gave Sam a look, hoping she’d pick up on the fact the other two should stay here while he made sure there weren’t any bodies—skeletons probably at this stage—laying around which would cause heartbreak.
Sam nodded. “Yes, we’ll stay here.”
“What?” Jolie had her arm wrapped around Blaise and their heads were close together, huddled speaking in low voices, but Matteo’s announcement seemed to have roused her. “No.”
“Yes,” Sam insisted. “It’s for the best. We will stay here.”
“What if—” Jolie paused, then, “Matteo, what if there’s danger in there?”
Sam put her arm around Jolie and Blaise. “He will call us if he needs help. Meanwhile, let’s talk about this place. And we should let Blaise know Matteo’s a dragon shifter. Maybe she’s not familiar with dragon shifters.” She indicated for Matteo to get going with a swift jerk of her head.
“Oh, I am…” Blaise’s voice faded away as she was busy telling Sam that Oiddras had been a dragon and…
The rest of it was lost to Matteo as he strode toward the semi-dilapidated building perched at the top of the cliff.
He took a second to stop and survey the surroundings. In the distance, past the castle, toward the west, blue waters glistened. The North Sea, as Jolie had mentioned. The castle was surrounded by stone walls, and Sam had brought them inside the stone walls. He still marveled at the mode of transportation. Could all blood elves do that? He had questions for Sam, and he also had to admit to a begrudging sense of admiration for the creature. He felt a certain amount of respect for her.
He started the trek toward the castle, steeling himself for what he might find. He came upon a front door made of heavy wood and found he could push it open. Unlocked? Why would it be left open, unless of course, it really wasn’t inhabited?
He walked into the great hall and imagined the royalty that must have once lived there, long ago, only to be replaced by a coven of witches guarded by a dragon. And then there was no one. The room was drafty and dim, but thanks to his shifter sight, lighting wasn’t an issue.
His shifter senses picked up the scent of blood. A lot of it. Old, long gone, but still, much blood had been shed here. He dropped to one knee to get closer to the source, hoping to be able to determine if the blood was human or preternatural.
Too faded. Too old. Too long ago. There were no clues here as to whose blood had been shed.
He was thankful for one thing. There were no bodies or skeletons strewn about. That was a good thing. It didn’t mean they’d survived, but it did mean Jolie would be spared the heartache of witnessing the signs of her old coven’s death.
He strode through the hall and took a look at the staircase that led upwards. Then he noticed a thick wood door by the stairs and opened it. Another staircase, this one led downward. And—
He picked up a scent!
He couldn’t identify it, but something alive had been here. He inhaled again. It was confusing him. He wondered if it had been masked by magic.
He had to know. Especially before he cleared Jolie and Blaise to enter the building.
With this in mind, he cautiously and silently took the steps one at a time into the pitch-black basement of the castle. He thought of other castles he’d been in, when he’d lived in Italy, when he’d traveled through Anatolia. Those had dungeons in the lower levels. Would he find dead sorceresses here? Would he find their bodies? Would he find the body of the dragon that used to guard Jolie? The one she seemed to have been so close to?
It was thus his mind was occupied when suddenly, a swift gust of air displacement drew his attention. Something had moved.
He froze and held his breath to still his heart and his pulse. Concentrating all of his might on his sense of hearing, he listened intently.
There it was. A pulse.
Slow, confident, the pulse showed the one it belonged to was not in fear.
“Who is foolish enough not to fear a dragon,” Matteo said with the self-assurance of a dragon who knew he was damned near invincible. He chose not to think of how a blood elf almost proved that not to be the case.
“Perhaps another dragon,” said a deep voice. He could not see who the voice was attached to, but it held a thrum, definitely a powerful being. Another dragon? How could that be? Salvatore had said there were no other dragons in the world. He’d mentioned knowing Oiddras. But Jolie thought Oiddras had been killed during the attack. He had to take a chance.
“Oiddras.” Matteo said the name with certainty and hoped he was not wrong.
For the second time in not very long, Matteo found himself against a stone wall. This time, there was none of the finesse the blood elf had exhibited. Matteo had been thrown against the wall, and a very large man, one who was as hard as the wall itself, gripped Matteo’s throat in his grip. “Who are you that you know my name?” The words were growled. A warning, without doubt. Hot breath blew on Matteo’s cheek. The hand around his neck was huge. Like a paw.
His dragon was pushing for a shift to protect themselves, but the quarters were close. Not a good idea, Matteo decided. Anyway, he clearly wasn’t the only one who was a dragon here. Oiddras could kill him just as easily as Matteo could kill Oiddras. This was a time for words.
“Jolie is searching for you.”
The hand eased. “How do you know that name?”
“She’s alive. She’s outside. She’s been a prisoner of a sorcerer all this time. She’s worried you’re dead.”
The dragon shifter pulled back and studied Matteo’s face. Matteo took the opportunity to do the same.
He was an older dragon, though he didn’t resemble an old man. He was massive. Tall, blond hair that hung halfway down his back. Wide shoulders, thick chest. A face that looked like it was carved from granite.
“Where is she?” Oiddras scanned Matteo’s features for answers. For truths.
“She’s outside. With Blaise.”
“Blaise?” Oiddras scrubbed his face with his hand. “That explains why I didn’t find her body.” He turned away from Matteo. His shoulders shook, and his voice was choked when he spoke again. “I buried so many bodies. So many. It was wanton. Savage. Pointless. They killed so many. I had wondered if Jolie and Blaise had escaped, been killed, taken capt
ive, or perhaps jumped off the cliff to save themselves.”
Matteo put a hand on the dragon shifter’s shoulder. “Let’s go outside. They will want to see you. They wanted to come in here, but I couldn’t let them. I wasn’t sure if there were any bodies scattered about.”
“I took care of them,” Oiddras said, as though he hadn’t already stated that very fact. “Such carnage. I don’t know why they wanted to do this. I don’t even know who they are. I was left for dead. It took me months in hibernation to heal and even now…”
Matteo didn’t need Oiddras to say what was happening. He’d caught the dragon shifter’s slight limp. “Maybe they were looking for her because she’s a time mage.”
Oiddras whirled around. “What did you say?”
“She’s a time mage. You didn’t know?”
“Oh, I knew. I didn’t think she knew.” Oiddras paced the stone floor in a wide circle, almost to the bars that indicated a cell. He limped away then back, his hand making short work of scrubbing his face, running over his hair.
“She knows. She found out when she buckled time that something was odd. And a blood elf confirmed it for her.”
Oiddras paused, eyes narrowed. “A blood elf?”
“Indeed. She’s befriended a blood elf.”
“Jolie is—” He slammed his fist into his hand. “She’s alive. She’s—” He swallowed. “I need to see her.”
“You seem—if you don’t mind my saying”—and even if he did, Matteo intended to voice his thoughts anyway—“you seem to be invested in Jolie far more than in Blaise.”
“What? Oh.” Oiddras barked a laugh that was low. “I was closer to her.”
Matteo picked up his deception. The scent was pungent, full of duplicity. “That’s not it. So what is it?”
Oiddras said through gritted teeth, “What’s it to you, dragon?”
Matteo scratched his jaw. “Might be that I care for her.”
“I don’t sense a bond. You have not couple-bonded with her.”
He startled. “True.” He wanted to add, yet. But until he’d talked about his feelings with her and found out hers, he didn’t have the right to make any claims. “I have not.”
