“I have no intentions of hurting Drake. In fact, I want him to live a long, full life. Bonded to me, of course.”
Jelena’s eyes widened with surprise. She quickly lowered them before Zanera saw her relief.
“Wonderful thing, bonding. He’ll be completely under my control.” Zanera grinned wickedly. “The drekking isn’t bad either.”
If sex and bonding were what she needed to use Drake for her plans, she was too late! Not that Jelena had any intention of telling her that. But that didn’t mean Zanera wouldn’t be furious when she discovered the truth. She only hoped Drake could handle her. She had amassed a great deal of power.
“So, do you submit to the drain, or do I finish your poor rejected lover off?”
“I’ll submit.” Her stomach clenched with fear as she prayed frantically for Drake to stay away, just in case. Zanera could well be too powerful for him. Stay away, tali. Stay far away.
Zanera slipped one hand behind Jelena’s neck and pressed the other over her heart. Her eyes narrowed. Nothing happened. “You’re repelling me.”
“No,” Jelena lied. “It must be the cuffs. You’ll have to take them off.” Yes, take them off. Take them off and see what happens.
“I don’t think so.” She raised her palm toward Cordan.
“No!” Jelena smacked her bound wrists under the woman’s arm, making the bolt of energy zag harmlessly out the open ceiling.
Zanera screamed and struck her, knocking her to the floor. Drake’s pendant glittered a breath from her face.
“Jelena!” Cordan cried.
Ignoring her throbbing cheek, she closed her fingers around the pendant and clenched it tightly in her fist. “Go home, Cordan. Go before she changes her mind.”
“You’re not going anywhere!” She pointed her finger at Cordan, and shackles bound his wrists. He was as helpless as Jelena. “No more games, little Guardian. Submit, or I’ll kill you both right now.”
The warmth of hers and Drake’s bond flowed through her, giving her the strength to do what she had to do. At the same time she prayed it would fail them, prayed he wouldn’t feel her stress and come to her. Stay away, Drake. Please! If you love me, stay away.
And then it started. She gasped, her head falling back as a tidal wave of ecstasy swept through her body. She was vaguely aware of Zanera’s panting breaths and cries of passion as wave upon wave of pleasure shuddered through her body, stealing her strength, making her weak. This relentless orgasm had a hold on her body and wouldn’t let go, wrenching a long, loud moan she couldn’t hold back.
Yet, somewhere deep inside her, it felt wrong. Very, very wrong, just like Drake said. Instinct was to resist, to repel Zanera but she couldn’t do that. Zanera would kill Cordan.
“Zanera, stop. You’re going too far.”
But Zanera didn’t stop. She took more. So much more that Jelena thought her heart would stop from the intensity of the wave crashing into her.
Cordan leapt at Zanera, knocking her away. Jelena crumpled to the floor, too weak to help him as Zanera zapped him one last time, killing him. The woman crouched over her, laying hands on her once again. “Now we finish it.”
Jelena tried to repel her, but she didn’t have the strength. Reality scattered like grains of sand in the wind. Everything else faded. Everything but the pleasure, the euphoria. And one last coherent thought… Stay away, my love.
Chapter Eighteen
“HOW DID it go?” Kedar asked. He sat with his feet propped on the same damned velvet pillow he’d made appear under Drake’s feet in his office yesterday. Riordan stood in front of the terminal, having relinquished the chair to Kedar. Mayori hovered beside him, making sure he didn’t screw anything up.
“It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. Threaden was so damned cocky, practically baiting Drake, then just like that” —Galen snapped his fingers— “he dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.”
Riordan looked at Drake. “But you didn’t give him any.”
“I fed the cat.”
Galen laughed and explained, down to every last detail.
Drake froze, his whole body going still. The hair rose on the back of his neck. And he was cold, so cold, like someone trailed ice slowly up his spine. He shivered.
“You all right?” Galen asked. “You look like a specter kissed your soul.”
“Something’s wrong.” Something’s very wrong. It hit him so hard he felt gut-punched. Gods, Jelena was in trouble. “Drek!”
“What is it?”
Ignoring Galen, he turned his gaze to the empty corner of his office. The wall burst into flames. The people around him, all except Kedar, swore and leapt back, though they were in no danger. He kept the blaze from spreading, from doing damage.
Drake searched the flickering flames as they shimmered and changed into a living image. For a moment his mind, his heart, refused to believe what he saw. He clenched his fists. He’d kill her. He’d drekking kill her! Forget magic. He wanted her throat in his hands!
“Zanera!”
“Look there, beyond them on the floor.” Riordan pointed. “That looks like one of the Guardians.”
“Cordan,” Drake said. That’s why Zanera had her. Cordan helped her. Only things must not have worked out as he planned. Looked like Cordan might have gotten himself dead. “I’m going after her.”
Galen gripped his arm. “You can’t. It has to be a trap.”
“I know it is.”
“Then why?”
“I love her.”
Galen had no argument for that.
“Zanera will have an edge. She’ll feel you port in.”
The cuff. Drake called it into his hand and showed it to Rainor. “Not if I’m wearing this. It’s charmed to keep others from feeling my magic.” He moved to slip it onto his wrist.
Kedar appeared beside him and touched his arm. “If you put that betrothal cuff on your wrist, you’ve once more accepted her suit. You cannot shame her by removing it after it’s served its purpose.”
Drake didn’t hesitate. The link between them strengthened, telling him there was no time to waste. Jelena needed him now. He’d worry about the ramifications of what he’d done later… if there was a later.
“Be careful.” Galen squeezed his shoulder.
“I’ll do my best.” He wouldn’t return without her.
The charm worked. Zanera didn’t so much as flinch when he ported into the room. She remained intent on leaching the life out of the woman he loved. He threw a jolt of power at her, slamming her into the nearest wall—ten meters away.
A quick glance told him the only other possible threat in the room had a huge hole burned through his chest. Fireball.
Drake knelt beside Jelena. She still lived—barely. He’d kill Zanera for this.
His furious gaze melted the thin wire binding Jelena’s wrists. The link between them warmed, grew stronger.
Her lids fluttered. “Drake?”
“I’ve got to get you to help.”
Zanera smiled, slowly pulling herself to her feet. “I love it when you play rough.”
He wasn’t playing. He was getting Jelena out of here, now.
A jolt of power knocked him on his ass before he touched her. “Now, now, none of that. You’ll spoil the game.”
He threw another jolt at her. It bounced harmlessly off an invisible shield. He compensated, breaking through this time, but it didn’t have the effect he wanted. The shield weakened its power.
Nothing he threw had much of an impact, yet she broke through every shield he managed to erect. Her power staggered him, knocking him to his knees more than once.
Chest heaving, Drake ignored the pain and pushed himself to his feet. Gods, he didn’t know if he could beat her.
Zanera laughed. “Your little Guardian’s life-force has made me strong. You can’t win. I can keep this up until you’re too weak to move, then you can lie there and watch me kill her.”
“No,” he ground out. He took one st
ep toward her and she knocked him flat on his back. The next jolt hit Jelena, sending her sliding across the floor, slamming her against the wall. “No!”
Jelena moaned. “Tali, go… leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” He rolled onto his knees, intent on putting himself between her and Zanera.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Drake.”
He forced himself to remain calm, but couldn’t manage detachment. Not when he wanted to incinerate the bitch. “You really expect me to believe that?”
“Drek with me, right now, and I’ll spare her life.”
“So you can leach me again?”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Bond yourself to me.” She slowly strode toward him, hips swaying, trying to entice him with her body. Her hair floated around her shoulders and face. Her jacket opened, bit by bit, revealing she wore nothing beneath it, as usual. “With our powers combined, we can rule the galaxy.”
Her attempt at seduction gave him a little time to recover, but not enough. His skin tingled as her magic drew him to his feet. “If I wanted that, I could do it without you.”
“You are mine, and I intend to prove it right now.” She flicked her finger and his shirt tore open. She reached for his chest.
Drake grabbed her wrist before she touched him. With his other hand, he trailed his finger down one pale breast then circled her dusky nipple. It puckered under his touch.
Zanera gasped and arched toward him.
He stepped back. “I’m sorry, Zanera, but I don’t think I can get it up for you.”
There was no disguising arousal in these pants. When she glanced down, she saw he was telling the truth. Patches of red darkened her cheeks. She jerked out of his grasp—too easily. “I can force you. I have the power to make you want me.”
“Maybe.” He stared into her eyes. “But you can’t take from me unless I let you.”
Zanera called him names that would make his Guild redden, then her eyes narrowed. She jerked her suspicious gaze to Jelena. “That little bitch! You bonded with her, didn’t you?”
He didn’t answer.
“And if I annihilate her?”
“I’ll die.” Jelena’s loss could take years to kill him—slow, painful years—but Zanera didn’t need to know that. Damn it! How could he take her out without ending up a stain on the wall?
“Then the way I see it, you have two choices… let me drain you, willingly, or watch her die.”
If he let her, she’d have the power to release the Jotnar, and he had no doubt she’d kill Jelena as soon as she had him too weak to resist her. He couldn’t let either happen.
She had amassed so much power already. Was there a way to overload her? He had to try. “Fine. Drain me.”
Her brows narrowed. “You won’t resist?”
“I won’t resist.”
She reached for him then paused. “You won’t change your mind halfway through?”
“Do it already.”
She grabbed him and drew so hard she sucked the air out of his lungs. He gasped in a breath and was swamped with the euphoria he’d sworn never to feel again.
He looked at Jelena, saw the tears swimming in her eyes and his heart warmed. She gathered what little she had left to help him; it tingled across the thread of awareness binding them. There was no other choice. He had to do this. He couldn’t let her die.
He visualized his pain, his weakness, the feelings coursing through him. Orange, red, and black cords twisted and knotted throughout his body.
Very slowly, very carefully, he drew in his power, wrapping it around the knotted mess, binding it tight. But he didn’t let go. He kept drawing, letting it build. His body trembled from the fight to keep it in.
Zanera gasped, her head falling back. “Such raw power!” She licked her lips. “It’s even more incredible than last time.” A shudder ran through her body. “Next time, we’ll do it drekking.”
“I don’t think so.” He released the power into her and jerked out of her hold. He staggered. So much energy lost.
Zanera screamed in rage, in pain, and lashed out. Her power struck him, knocking him off his feet, then she burst into a blue fireball. In seconds, all that remained of her was a scorch mark on the floor.
“Ah gods,” he whispered hoarsely. Now he knew what the quartet meant about not using magic to kill. His skin, his flesh, felt as if it were melting off his body in thick, heavy globs.
He drew in several gulps of air and forced himself to his knees. No matter how badly he wanted to lie there and die, he had to get to Jelena. He couldn’t gain his feet, so he crawled.
Ah gods, she looked dead. Her face was gray, her lips blue, the skin around her eyes too dark. But she had a pulse. Barely, but it was there. The link between them, the bond, told him there was no time to port her home… if he had that much power left in him.
Jelena’s lids fluttered as she struggled to open them. His love, fed to her through the thread binding them, was the only thing keeping her alive. She couldn’t keep taking from him; he didn’t have much left. She didn’t want him to die. Her only hope was to beg the goddess to sever their bond, so he may live. “Temple. Anesma.”
“I can’t.”
“Help you.” Lifting her hand to touch him took more strength than Jelena had ever imagined. He wrapped her chain around her hand, closed her fingers over the pendant, and gripped her wrists. His magic filled her with warmth. It was weak, but with the last of hers, it would be enough. “I love you,” she whispered, and ported them to the temple.
In the very spot Drake saw his mother die, Jelena went slack in his arms. “No! Don’t die on me, Jelena. Please don’t die.”
He tried to heal her, but he just couldn’t do it. Zanera had taken too much. He’d released too much. Killing had cost him too much. Ah gods, he couldn’t let her die.
His cry of pain shook the ancient temple.
A pale green glow shimmered at the edge of his vision. The crystal. “Damn you, don’t do this. Don’t let her die. Help me save her. Please.”
His mother’s loving face appeared in his mind, and he knew what he had to do. The transference. It was his only hope of saving her. He knew now how his mother felt, loving someone so much that you’re willing to die for them, that giving up that precious life doesn’t even require debate. He loved Jelena that much.
He prayed to the gods that it would work, prayed that he could do it. Giving up your magic wasn’t something they taught.
He had to try.
He placed his hands on Jelena the way his mother had in the vision and let his power flow. “I love you, Jelena.”
“I LOVE you.”
The soft sweet words she’d waited forever to hear teased Jelena awake. Her body was strange, tingly all over, but it felt so good she wanted to just lie there and savor it a while.
“I love you.” The weak whisper sounded like Drake, but it couldn’t be. He couldn’t be here; he didn’t want her anymore.
She sighed, pushing the puzzle out of her mind, wanting to let the lethargy enfolding her body pull her into sleep. But something urged her to wake. Something wasn’t right.
She forced her eyes open. Drake swayed above her. Ali’ra, she remembered. Zanera drained her. Cordan tried to stop her, and she killed him. Drake. He’d come after her just as Zanera planned. But he won. It had cost him dearly, but he won. She’d used the last of her power to port them to the temple. Why wasn’t she dead?
What was he doing? Her body glowed so brightly that her eyes hurt, and Drake—he glowed from the elbows down, and it rapidly receded to his fingertips.
The transference! His power roiled within her, trying to make itself at home. “No, you can’t do this. Take it back!”
Jelena slapped her hands on his and let it go. Too fast!
The jolt staggered her, leaving her breathless, dizzy, weak. It threw Drake into the air. He landed hard on his back and skid across the floor. He didn’t move.
“Ali’ra, I killed him.” She crawled to him and collapsed on his chest. It rose and fell softly beneath her cheek. Not dead. Thank the gods. She’d be able to tell him how much she loved him. She’d be able to convince him they were destined to be together.
The sweet music of his beating heart lulled her to sleep.
DRAKE WOKE slowly with his arms wrapped around the very warm, very alive, feminine body snuggled against him. He rubbed his face against her silky hair and breathed in deeply, inhaling the sweet scent of exotic flowers. Jelena.
It worked. Thank the gods!
He stilled, opening his eyes. Why was he still alive? He moved his gaze over her beautiful, sleeping face and tightened his arms around her. They were alive. That’s all that mattered right now.
That, and where they were. It was a bedroom, but he didn’t know whose. Most everything was white, but a few wine-colored things were scattered about, like the ties that hung loosely from the sheer white curtains drawn around the bed. It wasn’t Jelena’s bedroom or his own, and he didn’t think they were on Bellariss. It didn’t feel like home.
Jelena sighed and snuggled closer to him, entwining her legs with his. So beautiful, and so alive.
He kissed her softly.
Her lashes fluttered. She arched, stretching her body with cat-like grace, her silky shift brushing his bare chest. He responded without thinking, pressing his growing erection against her leg.
She stilled, blinked a few times, then her eyes widened. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “I love you, too.” she whispered against his chest.
His heart skipped a beat. “What?”
She pulled back. “Those beautiful words woke me before it was too late to reverse the transference.” Jelena’s mood changed so abruptly it surprised him. Especially when she hit him. She shook her hand, glaring at him with angry, tear-filled eyes. “A few seconds more, and you would have died. Why? Why did you do it?”
“Gods, Jelena, I had to. You were dying.” He saw her lying on the floor, gray as death. His throat tightened.
Real Magic Page 28
