Turning, she looked at her maid. “Put it away, Abigail. I intend to wear this one.”
The shock on her maid’s face when she changed into her own white gown was equaled only when she demanded a simple braid draped over one shoulder for her hair.
A girl only gets married once in a lifetime, if she’s lucky, Abigail had told her, trying to urge her to play up the part of the maidenly bride. Ami had refused, standing firm in her decisions even though her heart longed to wear her ancestral dress and to let her maid pile her hair, adorning it with jewels fit for a lady being married inside castle walls. The only concession she made was when Abigail brought her a small box.
“This isn’t a part of your wardrobe,” the maid told her. “Your mother said to tell you it’s a gift… something that has been passed down from generation to generation, since the beginning of time.”
Amileigh ran her fingers over the long, wooden box. It looked old, weathered, and opened with a creak to expose a pendant hanging from a simple chain. She touched it, fingering the gold wire that wrapped precisely around the rough stone. The imprecise edges only added to the overall beauty of the piece. Lilac, she thought. Just like her eyes or… the color of Luke’s lightest scales. The stone, no bigger than her smallest finger, was stunning, commanding in its simple beauty. She held it up for Abigail to help her slip it on. With a smile, she dismissed her maid and sat down in the chair near her window. There was nothing to do now but wait.
Kiernan should have known there was something amiss when he received the note from Luke asking him to meet him in the Room of Embers. The cryptically written message had said something about getting one of the scale pieces as a gift for Amileigh since she’d seemed so taken with them when they were all there. Rereading it while he waited in the empty chamber, he realized it hadn’t actually said that last part, he’d just surmised it through the chicken scratch.
“Damn,” he huffed, realizing their victory the day before had made him lax, not to mention Abra’s coming in for the wedding. He’d shocked a lot of people with the fact that he was married, but he was tired of hiding on all fronts. Now, he wasn’t so sure that all his actions were so well thought out. Acting before one thought was never a good idea.
Just as he turned, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He reached for his sword, but couldn’t unsheathe it before a hard object coldcocked him, causing him to stumble forward a few steps before he hit the ground.
Ami didn’t move when she heard the scuffle outside her door. She’d known they would be coming, she just wasn’t sure how, or when. Her heart beating against her chest, she closed her eyes imagining herself riding across the open field with Kiernan. She’d looked back when the dark beasts screeched and watched Kiernan morph into a beautiful dragon. Only it wasn’t Kiernan. It was Luke.
“Luke,” she whispered, as her door flew open. She stood quickly, coming face to face with Batair Draghan.
“Amileigh McCollum,” he ground out, looking her up and down. “You would have saved us all a lot of trouble if you’d just married me years back.”
Luke’s dragon felt Ami call him. Not the same as when they used their mind speak, but more her heart crying out to his. He stood, ignoring the scowl from her father on the other side of the desk where they’d been having a man-to-man in his study.
“Something’s wrong,” he told the chagrinned man. Not waiting for a response, Luke stormed out of the room yelling to the servant at the far end of the hall to get Kiernan. He tore up the back staircase, stopping short when he saw the bloodied bodies of the two guards laid out on the floor in front of Amileigh’s room. He’d always wondered about the dark spot there, imagining it had been caused by the outside elements, but never blood.
“Ami!” he screamed, stepping over the bodies and pushing open her door, already knowing the door would be empty. He fought against the men who had rushed up behind him… Gairlich, Auley, Amileigh’s other brothers. Back in the hall, he looked up to see a wide-eyed Abra. “Where’s Kiernan?” he asked, his voice breaking with the anguish.
Pulling her wrap tighter around her shoulders, Abra’s eyes pleaded with him, even as she answered. “He went down to the cave… to meet you.”
Luke had never moved so fast in all his life. He grabbed up a sword from one of the fallen guards and flew to the stairs. He heard Gairlich barking orders to his sons and the other men who had already begun to assemble, but he didn’t wait, instead bursting out the East door, coming to a halt just past the exit to the rose garden. He stood in the yard, his chest heaving as he looked around, realizing he had no idea at all where they would have taken her.
Kiernan. He had to find his great grandfather. Abra had said he went to the cave, but which way? He tried to listen, to sense Ami, but there was nothing, until he was hit with a sudden burst of yellow light. He could see Kiernan laying on the floor, the wall of water cascading behind him.
“Hold on, Ami,” he whispered before he began to run.
The trek down to the Room of Embers took a lot less time than it had the day he, Kiernan, and Ami had walked from it to the house. He’d thrown caution to the wind, the visions flashing through his head showing bits and pieces of the cave, a rather large man grunting in what could only be an angry pursuit, and darkness. She wouldn’t have his night vision, and if the man was a Dubhagan Blend, he would. At least Luke suspected as much. He touched his chest over his heart to quell the hurting. It didn’t help. He could sense her fear.
“Kiernan!” He knelt down by the man he would one day call his great grandfather, the memories of his life with the older man on fast forward playing in his head. Tears welled in his eyes as he reached out a shaking hand, working up the nerve to feel for a pulse.
Sucking in a ragged breath, Kiernan turned his head. “Go,” he croaked out, one finger on the hands crossed over his chest pointing to the center passageway leading from the Room of Embers.
Standing, Luke looked down at the man who had yet to move more than just enough to let him know he was alive. “Don’t leave me, old man. I’m going to need you, you know.”
Kiernan coughed on a chuckle and Luke squatted back down. “I’m not going anywhere. History’s already proven that,” he managed in a raspy whisper. “Go, Luke. Find her.”
Luke covered the hands over Kiernan’s heart with his own and squeezed. I’m coming, Ami, he thought before standing up and taking off down the middle corridor at an all-out sprint. They were too close to the cave’s exit. Through her vision, he was starting to see bits of light.
“Luke!” Ami heard him coming and screamed, barely able to lunge forward beyond the grasp of the man who had killed her guards and tried to take her hostage. He’d almost succeeded, but when she’d delivered an unexpected blow to his manhood, he’d dropped to the ground, losing his hold on her. Ami had seized the moment, surging forward into the forest instead of turning back to the house. If she could get to the caves, Kiernan had showed her all the best places to hide. Only she hadn’t counted on seeing Kiernan laying there near the pool in the Room of Embers, blood oozing from a cut to the side of his head. His hands had been placed over his heart much like they were for the dead.
She’d frozen, staring at her old friend, willing his chest to rise to alleviate her worst fear. It hadn’t happened. Or maybe it had and she just couldn’t tell. The sound of footfalls behind her had spurred her forward. She could almost hear Kiernan’s voice in her head telling her to run, that if he was dead, her getting herself caught wasn’t going to bring him back. So she had run, though her gawking ate away at her precious lead and Batair had almost caught her twice. Only her better knowledge of the caves had saved her, allowing her to zig and zag through some of the narrowing corridors. But he was closing in on her. She could feel the heat of his body as he lunged for her. His hand grazed her back and knocked her toward the rocky wall of the cave. She went down and he was on her, pinning her arms above her head with one hand while the other closed around her throat.
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br /> “Back off, Tavish. The girl’s ours.” He leered down at her. “I’ve waited a long time for this.” He leaned toward her and Ami whipped her head to the side just before his mouth found hers. Batair tightened his grip on her throat and she sucked in a raspy breath.
“Get off her, you evil freak.”
Luke. She tried to focus on the direction his voice had come from.
Batair laughed, the smell of his breath making her want to gag. “You truly are stupid, aren’t you? Did you really think I’d just up and let you have this lovely Prihom? Do you think I don’t know who you are?” He ran his nose along her jawline and Ami whimpered. “I don’t need her, but we have plenty of Blends who would gladly sink themselves into something as pretty as this.” He shook his head. “Go back to the future, boy,” he growled. “I’ll kill her before I give her to you.”
His hand against her throat growing tighter still, Ami could feel her world beginning to spin.
Stay with me, Ami, she heard in her head just before Luke’s laughter rang through the passageway.
“Boy?” Luke laughed again. “I don’t hear any respect in those words, Bait Ear. Is that the best you’ve got?”
The dark dragon Blend growled at the jab.
“Maybe what you really need is for someone to teach you a lesson. I’m pretty sure I kicked the ass of one of your kin in the future,” he lied. The reality was, the Hagan boy had honestly gotten the better of him, but he wasn’t about to let this evil bastard know that. “Why don’t you get up from there and let’s have a go. Show me what you can do against a man instead of a helpless girl.”
Batair laughed, easing his hand back as Ami went limp. He pushed himself to his feet, towering a good four inches over Luke. “You should have just given me the Key, Tavish.” He shook his head, taking a step forward. “Your kind is always the same, letting your heart get in the way. But you want to know what I’m going to do with your heart? I’m going to crush your chest and eat it. And then I’m going to take your girl and watch as one of my brothers…”
Ami winced when she heard the bones of Luke’s hand connect with those in Batair’s jaw. She rolled toward the wall, thankful Batair had fallen for it when she’d faked that she’d passed out. A few more minutes of his hand on her neck and she’d have been out for real. She managed to duck into an alcove just as the dark Blend spread out his hands, his body slowly shifting from man to beast. With a low growl, he bared his teeth, his massive tail slapping against the floor of the cave. “The girl belongs to us, Tavish. She is our key.”
Luke’s laugh caused goosebumps to ripple down her arms. He sounded so ominous as he stepped back, his gaze traveling from the dark dragon’s head to the tip of his tail. “Sorry, Batair, but I’m afraid you’re wrong.”
If a dragon could have crinkled his forehead in confusion, Batair’s surely would have been. He snorted, his deep voice boomed in the cavern as he questioned Luke’s comment. “Wrong? About what?”
“The girl. And me.” Luke took off toward the opening of the cave, the sunlight glistening on his skin. He had to know the dragon would follow him, just as he’d surely known he couldn’t win in a fight against Batair as a man. As he ran, he transformed. “Sorry, old man.” He whipped sideways, slamming Batair into the cave wall. “She was my key, and now my tail’s bigger than yours.”
Roaring, the huge beasts lunged, the sound so near that of glass crashing together it forced Ami to cover her ears. Wings tight at their sides, they rolled, first one and then the other ending up on top. Crushing bones and anguished cries mixed with the echoes of footfalls. Ami could see the armed men from the castle coming down the passageway, Kiernan balanced between one of her brothers and her father.
Dear Lord, she prayed when Batair once again flipped Luke to his back, his huge head seeking access to the delicate flesh at the top of his neck. I need him. We need him. She covered her belly with her hand. She must be carrying his daughter for the dark dragon to have sensed a pure Prihom. She closed her eyes, imagining the three of them walking along the banks of a quiet pond.
“Luke!” someone called.
She heard the castle guard rush forward, opened her eyes as the man she loved stepped back from the dark dragon laying lifeless on the cave floor and transformed. When she stood, he staggered toward her, his lips twitching in what she’d assumed was an attempted smile. Their arms found one another and he stumbled, spinning them so that it was his back that collided against the wall. He let his head loll back, closing his eyes as Ami kissed his neck.
Her tears on his chest caused him to open his eyes.
“Hey, Baby.” His chuckle turned to a moan that he stifled before bringing his hand up to caress her tear streaked face. “Man, this dragon shit is hard work.”
Ami laughed, stroking his cheek and pushing up on her toes to press a kiss to his bruised mouth. “You were magnificent.”
A cleared throat had them turning toward the group of men gathered around the lifeless body on the ground. Gairlich frowned at them. “I believe your mother is waiting,” was all he said before he skirted past the dead dragon and marched by his daughter and the man she loved. Ami looked at Luke and both had to stifle their laughter.
“You have greatly chagrinned my father,” she whispered, kissing him one last time before easing back and taking his hand.
Luke nodded, pushing away from the wall with a groan. “And not for the first time, I’m afraid.”
At the entrance to the cave, they surveyed the skies, seeing nothing until they neared the castle entrance. The fighting men having gone around to a back door, the family made a mad dash up the steps that would lead them into the grand entry hall when the shadows appeared following a rolling earth tremor. Luke squeezed Ami’s hand noting the tremor in her lips when she tried to smile.
“What the hell?” The earth shook violently beneath them, their world dissipating into ripples not unlike he’d seen the morning he’d watched Will climb down the ladder from the battered second story.
“Luke!” Mairi’s voice cried out to him.
Squinting, he could see her, barely, her hazy form turning in a slow circle as the room morphed back and forth between the ruins and the grand castle. He could hear the roaring screech above them, the dark shadows falling over them each time the room shifted to ruins. He looked around to where the others stood, their eyes wide, though no one moved.
Mairi screamed just as one of the dragons swooped toward her and Luke yelled at her to get down. She managed to duck low, barely escaping the grasp of one of the great beasts and backed up against the wall just in time to ward off another attack.
“Mairi,” Luke whispered, reaching a hand toward her only to have her fade before returning again seconds later. He looked up at the solid structure above him and shook his head. He couldn’t see them, but he could hear the roars and cries. The dragons hadn’t stopped. They wouldn’t. They needed her more than ever to help them complete their quest. He looked at Ami when she squeezed his hand.
“You have to go,” she whispered. “You have to help her.”
Taking both of her hands in his, he turned to face her, their eyes locking. “Come with me, Ami.”
She looked around at her family and Kiernan. She shook her head. “I can’t, Luke. This is my world.”
Ami watched Luke’s chest rise and fall, his teeth grinding. She could see the anguish in his eyes as he looked from her to where Mairi huddled against the wall crying out for help.
“You’re wrong,” he ground out, turning back. “I am your world, as you are mine.”
She shook her head again, tears welling in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I can’t go.”
Cursing under his breath, Luke finally nodded. He’d told her once before that being with him had to be her choice. Pulling her to him, he kissed her, his mouth taking hers in a passionate plea for a lifetime. He stepped away. Blinking back tears, he whispered, “I love you,” and took the coin from his pocket. He ran his finger across it and star
ted to fade. “If you change your mind,” he called, tossing the coin toward her as the ripples overtook him.
“I’ll know where to find you,” Ami finished on a sob, watching the coin fall to the ground.
The sound of the spinning coin was deafening in the silence. Ami turned, looking into the faces of those she loved. Her parents, her brothers, Abigail, Kiernan… how could she leave them?
She placed her hand on her stomach. How could she not?
Lunging forward, she grabbed the coin before it reached a full stop. “I love you, too,” she whispered, closing her eyes.
The sounds of screeching cries, claws grazing the broken walls of her ancestral home replaced the silence. Ami opened her eyes to see Luke and Mairi standing much as they had when she’d first seen them.
“Luke!” she screamed. “In here.” She waited for them to run across the foyer and the three of them slipped into the hidden alcove just as another of the dark dragons swooped down, his cry at having lost his prey echoing through the empty halls.
Pressed together in the tiny space, Luke stared down at her for several seconds before placing his palms on either side of her face. “You came,” he whispered.
Ami smiled up at him. “I couldn’t imagine living a lifetime without you by my side, or raising our child alone.”
Luke’s mouth crushed over hers, his hands moving down her backside, pressing her to him.
“Uh, I don’t know what the hell’s going on here, and I’m guessing congratulations are in order, but I think maybe you two ought to put that off until you can get a room. In case you haven’t noticed, there are freaking fantasy beasts flying around out there trying to kill us!”
On Wings of Time (Lochlainn Guardians Book 1) Page 16
