Drakon's Prey (Blood of the Drakon)

by N. J. Walters

  Only Tarrant could make her laugh at a time like this. She was aching and, quite frankly, horny. She wanted her man, and she wanted him now.

  “Be noble later.” She pulled her hand away from his and started to slide it down his taut abs.

  Before she could reach her destination—the impressive bulge in his pants—an alarm sounded.

  Tarrant pulled away, all business as he stalked across the room.

  “What is it?” She jumped off the stool and hurried after him. She didn’t have a good feeling about this. All of a sudden her instincts were telling her they needed to run.

  “Someone is here.” He pushed a button on the security system and the noise stopped. Tarrant pulled an electronic tablet from a drawer and went to work, bringing up one picture after another in quick succession before stopping on a particularly chilling scene.

  A half-dozen men all dressed in black were moving steadily toward the cabin. “Knights.” She gripped the waistband of Tarrant’s jeans as she peered at the screen. “Why are they here?”

  There was no way they could know she and Tarrant were below, was there?

  “Let’s find out.” He tapped the screen. They couldn’t hear any voices, but there was no mistaking the faint sound of movement.

  “I don’t like this,” Tarrant muttered.

  Neither did she. She felt totally exposed. “Do you think they know we’re here?” She whispered even though she knew they couldn’t hear her. Her intuition was screaming they needed to get away. Now.

  “There’s no way. They’re up to something else.” He pointed at two of the men. “They’re wearing cameras.”

  They walked all around the cabin and the surrounding grounds before cautiously stepping inside the structure. When the group split up, Tarrant put several images on the screen so he could keep an eye on all of them.

  “They’re looking for something.”

  “Most likely someone,” Tarrant corrected.

  “Riggs.” Her stomach tightened. Of course her sister would send a team to search for Riggs and his men.

  “Yes.”

  “They won’t find anything, will they?” She’d been injured and out of it, so Tarrant had been left to deal with the aftermath all on his own.

  He kept his eyes on the screen but reached around and pulled her in front of him so his arms were wrapped around her. “No. There’s nothing.”

  She shivered and moved closer to absorb the heat from his body. Tarrant had made sure there was nothing to indicate the other group had ever been here. She didn’t want to think about what he’d had to do—what they’d forced him to do.

  “You okay?” Tarrant kissed the top of her head and then nuzzled her hair.

  The last thing she wanted to do was distract him. “I’m fine.” There was no reason to be afraid. The Knights had no idea there was a bunker below the cabin, and she was with Tarrant.

  Everything would be fine.

  “They’re leaving.” The relief she felt was tremendous. Then Tarrant tensed. “What?” Horror filled her as she watched two of the men setting what looked to be explosives around the cabin.

  Tarrant tossed the table aside, scooped her into his arms, and sprinted toward the big metal door at the end of the hallway.

  They weren’t going to make it.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Tarrant raced to the door guarding his lab, desperate to get Valeriya to safety. He’d be fine, but she was all too human. Fragile. She was calm in his arms, even though she had to know the world above them was about to explode.

  He wanted her as far from the blast zone as possible. He hoped they had a lengthy timer on the explosives, but was doubtful, given the way the men had hustled out of there.

  He felt the vibration before he heard the explosion. Acting on instinct, he shifted. His jeans ripped away as his body grew. There was no time to get Valeriya deeper underground and into his computer lab, which was the most secure place he had.

  His body shifted as his dragon burst forth, eager to protect his treasure. He faced the titanium door and curled his large body and tail around Valeriya. She peered up at him, and he caught the fear on her face just as the blast echoed around them.

  Something crashed and smashed on the floor. The entire place shook as the aftershocks rocked them. He used his head to pushed Valeriya closer to his body. Covered in armor-like scales, he was impervious to anything short of a nuclear bomb, and maybe even that. He’d never tested it to find out.

  He heard a whoosh and smelled smoke. It was coming through the ventilation system. He swore.

  “What is it?” Her voice trembled, making him angry. She should never have to be afraid. Not anymore.

  “Smoke.” His voice was deeper and more guttural in this form.

  Then he felt the heat. Whatever they’d used in their bombs was fast burning and incredibly hot. They wanted the cabin destroyed quickly and completely. They were probably outside watching and filming the destruction.

  Valeriya coughed and turned her face into his chest.

  He was an air drakon. He could put that fire out in a heartbeat, but if he did, the men outside would know something was wrong. They’d know someone or something was here and wouldn’t stop until they found them.

  She coughed again.

  If he did nothing, she’d die.

  “I’m going to douse the flames and clear the smoke.”

  Valeriya jerked back, her expression fierce. “No. They can’t know about you.” She beat on his chest. He barely felt it. “I won’t let them have you.”

  Once again, his woman was willing to die to protect him.

  He wanted to roar with the injustice of it all. She was the kindest, the bravest woman he’d ever known.

  The heat was making her sweat. Perspiration rolled down her forehead. He had to do something.

  He was an air drakon. The element was his to manipulate.

  He inhaled and pulled all the clean air toward him and created a bubble. It was still hot, but not fatally so. The air was also breathable.

  Tarrant focused like he never had before. He put everything he had into maintaining the bubble of protection around himself and Valeriya. Without his security system, he was working blind. He couldn’t see if the men were still out there. And with the fire crackling and burning above them, there was no way he could possibly hear them, either.

  His phone was most likely destroyed. If his shifting hadn’t done the job, the blast and heat had. And even if it was working, he couldn’t use it in his dragon form. All he could do was maintain the perimeter of safety around them and pray.

  Valeriya’s breathing became labored. The air around them was clean but very warm, bordering on hot. He was fine, but she was struggling.

  “Control your breathing,” he ordered. He knew he sounded gruff, but he was scared to death. He couldn’t lose Valeriya. He’d just found her. After thousands of years alone, he wasn’t about to let that happen.

  He moved one of his claws and dragged it across his opposite arm. It wasn’t easy to pierce his thick hide, not even with a drakon talon. “Drink,” he ordered her. Maybe his blood could help save her.

  She stared up at him, her green eyes glazed. He wasn’t sure she understood him. He tried to ease her forward but ended up pushing her against his arm. She whimpered and he cursed. “Drink.” He said it louder, put more of a command behind it.

  She turned her head and touched her lips to his skin. He couldn’t tell if she was drinking or not. There was no time to check. His shield was starting to collapse, and he was forced to direct all his attention toward maintaining it. If it failed, she was dead for sure. Her human body couldn’t withstand the intense heat and lack of oxygen.

  His muscles trembled and his own lungs began to strain, but he held on. He’d die before he’d release the shield protecting Valeriya.

  It seemed like years instead of minutes until the heat began to recede. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to tell him the worst of it was over. He
couldn’t even risk a glance at Valeriya, fearing he’d lose his concentration if he did.

  There was nothing he could do for her until he could clear the air. Until then, he was doing the only thing possible.

  The air inside the bubble grew stale as the oxygen diminished and carbon dioxide built up. It was time. Tarrant only hoped that the team the Knights had sent was either gone, or that the lowering of the flames would be seen as natural.

  He had to act quickly so Valeriya didn’t suffocate on the smoke-filled air filling his home.

  Tarrant took a deep breath, dropped the protective shield, and exhaled. He wanted to send the dirty air billowing from the hidden ventilation shafts but didn’t dare. It took skill and patience to direct it slowly out the ducts. He counted to ten and then inhaled, pulling fresher air back inside. It wasn’t totally clean, but there was enough to make the space livable for Valeriya.

  He shifted back to his human form and staggered to his feet. Valeriya lay on the floor, unmoving. He spread his arms wide and hit the security plates. They turned green, and he input the code into the keypad on the door. The elevator doors opened, releasing hot air.

  Tarrant scooped her into his arms and stepped into the box. “Down,” he ordered. When it reached the bottom, he used the retinal scanner and the door opened into his lab. The air was cleaner here as the ventilation duct was farther from the cabin.

  He staggered into the room and lowered them both to the floor. Valeriya wasn’t moving.

  Blood stained her lips, but he had no way of knowing how much of it she’d ingested. “Valeriya?” He lightly shook her. Fear filled him when her head simply lolled to one side.

  He placed his head against her chest but couldn’t hear a heartbeat.

  “No. You can’t die.” He ripped the shirt she was wearing open and listened again. Nothing.

  He grabbed her head and tilted it back so her mouth was open. It was difficult to force himself to go slow and be gentle. If he exhaled too deeply, he’d overinflate her lungs and possibly kill her.

  He placed his mouth over hers and gave a soft puff of breath. He watched her chest rise and fall. Then he did it again.

  “Don’t you fucking die,” he ordered. Frantic now, he placed one hand on her chest and pressed gently. He was so strong he might accidently crush her chest if he wasn’t careful.

  His arm had healed, but he manifested a claw and sliced it open again. He placed the cut over her lips. “Drink.” Droplets slipped down her chin, but some of it dribbled into her mouth.

  “You can’t leave me alone with those damn Knights. You can’t.” He sat behind her and propped her against his chest. With his arm still pressed against her mouth, he implored her. “Drink. For me. Please, Valeriya.”

  Desperate, he gave her his heart. “I love you. Don’t leave me.”

  …

  Valeriya heard a voice as though from a great distance. It was unbearably hot. Her throat was parched and her lips were dry. Her inner organs felt as though they’d been roasted, and her lungs ached like she’d been running full-out for miles in the thick heat of midday at the height of summer.

  Something wet brushed against her mouth, and she instinctively parted her lips. Some of it trickled down her throat, easing the burn. It tasted delicious, better than the coolest spring water.

  She swallowed, letting it soothe her terrible thirst as she drifted in a cocoon of safety, content just to be. As she grew stronger, reality intruded. The armed men. The explosion. The fire. Tarrant.

  She gasped and jerked forward. It hurt to draw a breath, but she didn’t care. Where was Tarrant? She tried to say his name, but all she could do was cough.

  “I’ve got you.” His deep voice settled some of her panic. He was okay. He was here with her. Of course he was. Her drakon wouldn’t leave her.

  Memory came flooding back. He’d protected her, using his body and his abilities to create a protective bubble of some kind around them.

  She tried to sit up and turn around so she could see him, but was too damn weak. “You okay?” she managed to get out.

  He lifted her as though she weighed nothing at all and turned her so she was lying across his legs with one of his arms supporting her shoulders. His hair was damp and his torso gleamed with sweat. A cut on his arm healed before her very eyes.

  She ran her hands over his chest and shoulders. “You’re okay.”

  He nodded. His eyes were glassy and his expression bleak. “You’re the one who almost died.” He jerked her tighter against his chest. “Don’t ever do that again.”

  It was an irrational demand. “I won’t,” she promised.

  He nodded and kissed her forehead and her cheeks. “I thought I’d lost you. Again.” His hand shook as he pushed a damp lock of hair away from her forehead. She stank of smoke and sweat, and so did he, but they were both alive and safe. Nothing else mattered.

  “You saved me.” She touched his cheek. “I knew you would.” It was important he understood she trusted him completely and without reservation.

  “Valeriya.” He buried his face against her hair. Something solid fell across her face. She caught a glitter of green before it fell to her lap. She picked it up and held it in her hand. A drakon tear. Now she knew the gems were the physical manifestation of his tears, she didn’t want any more of them. She’d cherish the ones she had, but she never wanted him to hurt this badly again.

  She’d cry, too, but her tear ducts were completely dried out from the heat.

  A fever began to build inside her. “Tarrant.”

  “What is it?” His eyes were a little bloodshot but they were steady.

  “Heat. Burning me from the inside.” It was familiar, and not like the burn from the fire.

  “That’s my blood healing you.” He kissed her cheeks. “I’m sorry it has to hurt you to heal you.”

  She sucked in a breath and swallowed a moan. The last thing she wanted was for Tarrant to worry any more than he already was. “I’ll be fine,” she managed to get out between bursts of pain. “Doesn’t hurt a bit.”

  “Liar.” There was such love in that one word. He pressed his lips gently to hers and held her as the spasms rocked her. She closed her eyes and hung on until the burning finally eased and left a delicious cooling in its wake. She knew what to expect this time, and that made it easier to endure.

  When she finally opened her eyes, Tarrant was leaning against the wall with her in his lap. “You saved my life again. It’s becoming a habit.” She ran her fingers over his hard jaw. “Thank you.”

  He scowled. Amazing how that expression, which had once scared her senseless, she now found endearing. “Let’s not do it again.”

  “I’m all for that. It’s no picnic.” She knew her drakon didn’t want to talk about it. That was fine by her. Almost dying wasn’t something she particularly wanted to relive.

  “You’re naked.” She’d really been out of it not to notice that until now.

  He gave a small chuckle. “There wasn’t exactly time to change out of my jeans before I shifted.”

  She supposed not. It had all happened so quickly.

  “You’re not much better.”

  She glanced down to find the shirt she was wearing holding only by the last button on the bottom. The rest were gone. She tugged the shirt closed and changed the subject. “What’s happening outside?” It was easy to forget there was an entire world outside Tarrant’s home.

  “I don’t know.” He leaned his head back against the wall. For the first time since she’d met him, he looked tired. It must have taken a tremendous amount of energy to protect her like he had.

  “You need to rest.” She wanted to take care of her man. She had a feeling he tended to push himself until he dropped.

  He dropped a quick, hard kiss on her mouth. “Later.” He gathered his strength and stood, never relinquishing his hold on her. He carried her to the chair he favored and sat. She knew it was useless to try to get away from him, and since she didn’t particul
arly want to, she leaned against him and watched as he pulled up the outside footage from the security cameras.

  “Oh my God.” There was absolutely nothing left of the cabin but a pile of smoldering rubble. Thankfully the flames hadn’t spread to the nearby trees and set the entire forest ablaze.

  “Whatever they used had burned hot and fast. That was smart. The last thing they’d want would be to cause a forest fire. That would bring a huge investigation. As it is, no one may ever know the cabin burned down. There’s no one around for miles, and the smoke it already starting to dissipate. Thankfully, they didn’t wait around. If they had, they might have noticed one wall didn’t burn like the others.”

  “The secret staircase.” She’d forgotten all about that.

  “Yup, but don’t worry. I’ll seal off that entrance and make another,” he promised.

  Tarrant’s fingers flew over the keyboard and he started the footage from where the men left the cabin. Valeriya rested her head on Tarrant’s shoulder and watched the men race away from the area.

  She jumped when the building exploded. “Wow.” The whole thing seemed to implode. Then the fire started. She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry they burned down your cabin.”

  He shrugged. “I’m not. Hopefully they’ll leave this site alone now.”

  There was that. She hadn’t thought about it that way. “From their perspective, they destroyed Darius Varkas’s safe house.”

  “And your sister is sending you a message.”

  Yeah, she hadn’t wanted to think about that. She and Karina might not have been close, but she never thought they’d ever reach a point where her sister would try to kill her.

  Tarrant moved his arm so her head tilted back. His eyes were an icy blue but she could see the warmth smoldering behind them. “You know that, don’t you?”

  She nodded. “Yes. She’s letting me know there’s nowhere for me to hide. She doesn’t know if I’m still in the area, but she’s making it so I have no shelter to run back to.”

  He nodded. “My family is yours now. Karina was never truly your sister. She belongs to the Knights of the Dragon.”