by Dixon, Ruby
I know. I believe you. But this one's scared, too. And he took a mate, which you say they never do. And what if he's not wrong? What if we're going to be sitting ducks out here for whatever monster's lurking on the other side? "When?" I ask, because I feel like I have to say something.
Melina looks over at Azar again. "We don't know for sure. It could be tomorrow. It could be ten years from now. We don't know for sure, but Azar feels it might be soon…and we should work together…just in case."
I shake my head. I'm still not entirely sure what my role is here, or Vaan's. "What do you need from us?"
Melina speaks. "Truce—Salorians and dragon-riders both. I know there's got to be several of you by now. We hear the rumors. We see the riders pass over from time to time." She touches Azar's arm, as if prompting him.
"Truce," he agrees sourly. "We will both work together to defeat this menace and then retreat to our respective lairs and live out the rest of our days in human squalor." He gives me another thin-lipped smile. "Or go back through the portal to our own worlds, if we can. I still like that idea best."
"You're not sending a dragon to the fucking Rift, Azar." Melina pushes his hand away and her expression becomes brittle. Remote. "We've talked about this."
He just sighs and shakes his head slightly. "Imagine having a toolbox and not being able to use all your tools to their fullest capacity."
Melina gets up and leaves, storming away in a flutter of yellow sundress.
Azar remains behind, his expression distant and cold. "My mate feels we should all work together to take on this threat. Sometimes we do not see eye to eye." He takes another drink, frowning. "But we still want the truce. I do not want to waste resources fighting your little friends when I could be preparing for whatever is going to be coming through."
"Because you're already stretched too thin," I guess, and his silence tells me everything I need to know. "You're having trouble keeping hold of all the playing pieces you have right now, so you're being forced to seek outside assistance to cover your ass."
Azar remains silent, glaring daggers in my direction. After a long moment, he says, "One does what one must to survive. I am sure you understand such things."
Oh, I do. I learned the hard way that it doesn't make it right, though.
"Are you interested in a truce or not?"
Are we?
I will follow your lead, my mate. You know your people better than I do. I have no wish to save any of them, but I know you feel differently.
I keep my expression carefully blank, though it's not easy. I just…what if he's right? What if something world-ending is about to come through that portal? It could be the truth.
Or it could all be a lie.
I know. I pretend to consider things and tilt my head back. In the distance, I catch the gleam of scales of one of Azar's captive dragons. But if we can do something to help these guys, and help Melina get free of him…I want to do that. No one should be forced to serve this asshole. I can't leave her here with him.
Because she reminds you of your sister.
Melina's older, of course, but I see the same helplessness in her expression that I saw in Dee's when she had to leave with the Brothers of Ash. It's the slow death of hope, and it tears at me. Yeah, that's part of it. The dragons are equally important, though, because that could be you up there.
Never. Not with my mate at my side. Your thoughts anchor me. But I will support you in this. We will do our best to save them and bring them back to the others with us.
Thank you, Vaan. I love you so much. I focus on Azar after sending another wave of gratitude and love toward my dragon. "You want us to work with you? You have to make a few concessions."
Azar drums his fingers on the table. "Go on."
"You want our help, right? I assume that means no attacks on Fort Dallas, and we agree to let each other live in peace."
"Correct. Since your friends do not wish for me to contact their dragons in any way, I would assume that one of you would live here in Fort Dallas and act as a go-between for as long as this threat plagues us both."
What he says makes sense, unfortunately. "And you won't try to take over whoever stays behind?'
"I would not." He watches me and adds, "Before you think to ask, I will not release the dragons I have ahold of now, either."
I suspected that much. Of course, it doesn't mean that we can't work on getting them free anyhow, as safely as possible. If we just so happen to find their mates and free them…well, there's not much Azar can do. And if someone's here in the city, they can work on that directly instead of from afar. "No new dragons, then."
"Agreed," he says swiftly.
You are right. He cannot control much more, Vaan says, his thoughts full of wonder. That is why he agrees so quickly. If he takes on too many he risks losing control of all of them.
Interesting. I'm going to press the advantage, then. "If we send someone to stay, you have to let Melina go."
Azar's expression grows thunderous, and I can practically feel his rage bleeding into the air. "Never."
"You can't keep a woman captive and expect us to work with you. I can't do anything about the dragons, but I can do something about the woman." At least for starters.
His eyes narrow and his shoulders are so tense that he looks as if he could snap. He gets to his feet slowly, hands pressing on the table top. "She belongs to me. This is not up for discussion."
"No deal."
Furious, Azar grabs the table and flips it over, sending the crystal glasses to the ground. They shatter in a million pieces and fruit rolls all over the place. Such a waste. "She. Is. Mine!" He bares his teeth and for a moment, I see the dragon in him, the side he claims he doesn't have. Bullshit.
He will not let her go, any more than I would let you go.
But if she's miserable, I can't leave her here! I can't! I think of Dee and my stomach clenches sickeningly. If I can help her, I have to.
Overhead, the dragons bugle with rage, and I hear distant screams. Is he losing his control?
Before I can say anything else, the door opens and Melina comes out, her expression worried. She flicks her gaze over us, then moves to Azar's side and I see sadness and concern there as she reaches out to touch his arm. "Azar," she murmurs. "Calm yourself. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
He puts a hand out, and when she slips her fingers into his, he grips them tightly, his head down, body strained.
The dragons quiet, and Melina looks over at us again. "I heard your question. I know it may not look like it, but I'm here of my own free will." Her hand lightly caresses Azar's. "And I won't leave his side."
"Even though he's evil?" I can't help but ask.
Melina's smile is small and sad even as she continues to touch Azar's fingers, tracing them over and over again with her own. "Your dragon was one of those that destroyed this world. Is he without redemption?"
"That was different. He was mindless with rage and madness. He's not like that anymore. You’re shacking up with a Salorian."
Melina only smiles again. I can't tell if she's being a martyr or if she genuinely cares for him. Or if she's being mind-controlled as well. Either way, I hate that she's choosing to stay.
We can help her if we are here, Vaan tells me. We can help all of them.
It sounds like you want us to be the go-between. I'm surprised that he's so readily volunteering us, but then again, I've been thinking the same thing. In my mind, it's always been us.
I feel the same. The others will not risk their mates.
I don't want to risk mine! I retort.
Vaan rumbles, and I can feel the amusement roll through him. You are not risking me. Has he not tried to infect me three times now and three times you have pushed him aside? We are perhaps the only ones safe from his attempts. Who better than us to determine if what he says is truth? If it is, then we are needed. If it is not…we are still needed, but to help the others break free from his control.
A
nd what about you and me? Can you live here in this fort? Or will it tear you apart?
I have been here today and it is not so bad. It smells, but I focus on you. We will demand a nest as far away from the others as we can, and when it grows to be too much, we will journey out for a time. Visit the others in their nests nearby. I can manage it. What of you, though? You will be leaving your human hive behind, and your family.
I will. I think achingly of how Dee's going to take it. She won't be happy…but Amy will be there for her, and Andrea, and even Mara. We're needed more here, I think.
I think so, too. It is settled, then.
I nod and turn to face Azar and Melina. "Let's talk."
Epilogue
GWEN
I lie on the concrete with Vaan's human form curled around me, on our makeshift bed in the skyscraper next to Claudia's. We talked for a while longer with Azar and Melina before returning to Claudia, Amy, Emma and Sasha to tell them the news.
The others weren't happy.
Emma thinks we're being tricked. Sasha is openly skeptical of anything coming through the Rift, and Amy just squeezes my hand. Only Claudia agrees with us. She has been having bad dreams, she confesses, of dark things coming through the Rift and thought they meant nothing. "At the time I thought they were pregnancy dreams," she admits. "Now I worry they mean something more."
After that, the tone of the group changes. If our world is changing again, we need to be ready.
We discuss how to handle working with Azar, and Melina's situation. We set up plans to meet weekly for myself, Sasha, and Claudia. Amy will be returning to Fort Shreveport. Emma wants to retreat farther away to get Zohr out of Azar's grasp, and nothing will change her mind. She agrees to settle close to the old city of Tyler, halfway between Shreveport and Dallas. If there is danger to either fort, it will be easier to communicate with Emma and Zohr in between the most far-flung cities.
It's settled, for better or for worse. Vaan and I will be liaisons between the forces of good and the big bad evil. It's not something I ever thought I'd end up doing, but here we are. Tomorrow we go back to Fort Dallas and start our new life there, in the epicenter of all our troubles.
Vaan's grip tightens around my waist and he kisses the side of my neck. You worry?
I think there's always some worry, I admit. Worry there's something we're overlooking. Worry that I'm going to be putting you into danger.
I share the same worry. How can I not? He brushes my hair aside and continues to kiss down my shoulder, the caress as wonderful as it is welcome. We risk much, but if what he says is truth, we cannot turn a blind eye to it.
No. You're right. I think of Claudia and her dreams, and that worries me. Part of me had been hoping that Azar was full of shit, that we'd come back and the others would tell us we'd been snowed. Instead, Claudia went very pale and Kael had gone to her side to hold her. That told me everything I needed to know. Even if this is dangerous, we can do more good at the center of things than safely in Fort Shreveport.
We are needed, Vaan agrees.
I turn in his embrace until we're facing each other, and I wrap my arms around his neck. I press my forehead to his and close my eyes. This might mean putting us on hold. Our plans. I know we talked about babies and a nest of our own, but I didn't quite imagine it to be in a fort run by a Salorian.
Then we wait a few months. Or a few years. I told you that I am happy as long as I am at your side, Gwen. Nothing else matters. His lips lightly brush against mine in a feather-delicate kiss. I already lost one world. I do not wish to lose another, especially not if it has you in it. I do not like the thought of other creatures invading our homeworld…because this is now my home. I want it to be safe for you and for the young we will have someday. He strokes the hair back from my face and presses a kiss to the tip of my nose. But I am with you. We will take this one day at a time, and if we cannot save the world, perhaps we can save a few drakoni in it, or save the other human female. Or the humans that live at the fort and do not realize what a Salorian is capable of. I do. I know his tricks, and so we are well-armed against anything he should try. He kisses my brow. And if you need to free my mind once more, you can simply send me mental images of your mouth on my cock as you did earlier.
I giggle aloud. You remember that, huh?
It is seared into my brain as nothing else other than your name and your scent. I would know those in my soul.
The breath catches in my throat. I love you so much. Please tell me we are doing the right thing.
We are. Do not doubt yourself. I am with you every step of the way.
I sense the truth of it in his thoughts, and it makes me feel better. Vaan will be at my side, supporting me, no matter what. We're a team and I never have to tackle anything alone ever again. I love him so very much…and I want to show him. I open my eyes and send another mental image to him of me sucking on his cock, even as I push on his shoulder. Lie back for me, Vaan.
You wish to do this? His eyes smolder with heat.
More than anything. I sit up, naked. We haven't had sex yet tonight, but I'm unclothed because it's the coolest in the hot, sticky weather. And right now? It's perfect for the mood I’m in. No clothes to mess with, no delay, just me and my man. I move my hands to my breasts and tease the dark, sensitive tips. The sooner you lie back, the sooner my mouth is on you, I tell him.
He growls low in his throat, a flash of white fang showing before he eases backward. His eyes are such a deep gold that they look orange. I love it, and my pussy clenches at the sight.
Come and put your cunt over my mouth, he demands. I want to taste you.
I moan, because the visual he sends of that along with his words is…stunning. But it's my turn to play, and I'm determined to blow his mind first. My turn, I tell him, and put a hand on his stomach, as if I can somehow keep him down. His shaft rises from his lap, hard and erect, and I reach for him, my mouth watering. The last time I touched him, he was far too hot for me to do what I wanted, and I touch the tip of my tongue to the head of his shaft, licking at the precum that beads there.
Vaan's breath hisses between his fangs.
I gasp in surprise. He tastes spicy and almost sweet, like…cinnamon. "Oh, you are going to have a hard time keeping me off of this now," I tell him, working his shaft with a squeeze of my hand.
He grips the inside of my thigh, then tugs me toward him. Take as much of me as you want, but I am going to take you, as well.
And before I can ask, he's dragging my body over him until my hips are in his face and my thighs frame his neck. His breath fans over my folds and the anticipation makes my toes curl.
So wet. Your cunt is full of honey already. He slides a thick finger into my core, and I cry out with how good it feels. Lower your hips for me, my Gwen. I would taste all of you.
I don't do as he says, though. I wiggle over him, enjoying his groan even as I grip his shaft and tongue the head of it once more. That spicy-sweet taste bursts on my tongue again and I suddenly can't get enough of him. Moaning, I lick him like I did in my mental images to him, nuzzling first at the base of his hard shaft and then dragging my tongue all the way up to the head before putting it between my lips and sucking as if he's candy.
With a ferocious growl, Vaan pulls his finger from my body and hauls my hips down against his mouth. His tongue moves over my folds furiously, as if he can no longer contain himself. I cry out and rock against each swoop of his tongue, unable to resist any longer. It feels so good that it takes my breath away.
Look at how beautiful you are, he tells me, and fills my mind with filthy mental images of his tongue gliding over my wet folds. How perfect.
Are we playing that game? I try to sound casual, but it's hard to concentrate when it feels as if he's going to lick me right out of my skin. Already I'm quivering with every stroke of his tongue, but this wasn't supposed to be about me. It was supposed to be about me pleasuring him. I lower my head, taking the crown of his cock between my lips once more
and stroking my tongue along the tip. I can feel the full-body shudder that tears through him, and his excitement fuels mine. I lick him eagerly, dragging my tongue as pleasurably as I can. I need more of him, though, and I take his length into my mouth, sucking on him and bringing him as deep as I can into my mouth.
Vaan gasps. Gasps.
I love it.
His body arches under mine, and I feel a hot spurt in my throat. He shudders hard, and then his shorn claws dig into my thighs once more. Gwen. His thoughts are so ragged that it makes me gleeful, and I redouble my efforts.
My dragon growls low, and then he's punishing my pussy with heated strokes of his tongue, moving over my clit with the same fierce intensity I'm giving his cock. I whimper around his length, but I don't let go. I'm not letting go until he floods my mouth, and I tell him as much with my thoughts. Vaan snarls and I feel a hand move to my hair. He grabs a handful of my curls and pushes my head lower onto him, and I realize he's fucking my mouth, moving me over his cock, and it's the sexiest fucking thing ever. Even when he pushes so deep that he's butting against the back of my throat and working my gag reflex, I love it. I love how fierce and possessive he is, how lost in need.
A moment later, heat bathes my throat, and he's coming so deep inside my mouth that I can't even taste it. I try to swallow it all down, but I have to pull back, letting him flood my mouth. My Gwen, he groans, and his brow presses against my ass, his body shuddering as he continues to come, hot seed all over my hands and my chin. I swallow what I can and then clean him with my tongue and lips, because I love this, and adore blowing his mind. I love all of him. Even before I'm finished, he nuzzles at my pussy, tongue stroking over my clit. I can feel him panting, trying to recover, but it's important to him that I come, too, and so I move over him, licking at his cock as he works my pussy with his mouth. He teases my clit until I'm rocking back against him, crying out. It doesn't take me long to come, not as worked up as I am, and he cleans me with his mouth, too, lapping up every drop and filling my mind with his pleasure.
We remain as we are, breathless, me sprawled on top of him.
