by Kyle, Celia
The one who curled around him without any fear or revulsion—emotions he’d been the target of for many turnings. Yet Lily… simply accepted him. No, she was attracted to him and respected him. She had his faith and support. He sensed no hesitation in her feelings when they spoke. Merely a fierce determination to force him to see what she saw. He mentally shook his head. He did not think telling his mate she must be blind would earn her favor.
Lily adjusted her position again, this time throwing a leg across one of his thighs and an arm over his waist. She squeezed him, practically climbing atop him with her tight grip. Her right leg lifted slightly, her knee nudging the juncture of his thighs and teasing his balls. His cock hardened as a sliver of pleasure crawled into his veins. With that single touch, his mind switched from thinking of his mate to thinking of his mate naked. Naked and aroused and panting for him as he sank into her…
Argan gritted his teeth and begged his wayward body to cool. Now was not the time to push their mating.
His dragon believed now was the perfect time. That belief doubled when, with his next breath, he scented Lily’s desire. It was musky, creamy perfection, a scent he could practically taste on his tongue—all sweetness and heat he wanted to explore with his hands and his mouth.
The beast inside him rumbled, pushing him with claw-tipped hands to do exactly as he imagined. But he would not. Not while sleep continued to muffle her thoughts and emotions.
His mental denial was followed by a booming roar inside his head, the feral animal announcing its displeasure.
It was not as if Argan did not suffer. His balls had hardened and pulled up tightly against his body. His cock throbbed in time with his heart, and it would not take much to push him over the edge. Perhaps another nudge of Lily’s knee or even a stray thought from his mate. A dream that involved the two of them entwined in the sheets and unclothed. Lips and mouths exploring every inch…
Argan growled low in his throat and cursed his wayward imagination. Their relationship was growing, their feelings deepening with time and with the assistance of the Bindings. He only hoped that someday his overwhelming want for her would be returned.
But that day was not now. He mentally growled those words to the dragon and it blew a puff of smoke at him in return. It tried to remind him that they were mated at Lily’s demand, but he would not be swayed.
The only path forward tonight was to close his eyes and rest. Tomorrow was another day, another opportunity to woo his mate as honor demanded.
Argan sighed and relaxed into the cushioned mattress, no longer minding resting on his wings as he lay on his back. At first it had been an uncomfortable position, but he now understood why the war master had encouraged him to “get over it” because it “would be worth his while” to do so. Since lying on his back meant Lily curled against him, he had to agree with War Master Taulan. Wholeheartedly.
The soft whoosh of the ocean waves lulled him back toward sleep, the rhythmic waves soothing him and helping quiet his mind. The dragon continued to grumble, but sleep beckoned him.
Until another sound broke through those placid, rolling sounds. Merely a low scuffle but not something he expected to hear so close. It sent his heartbeat rising, the barest hint of adrenaline flooding into his veins. He lifted his head and scanned his surroundings, the darkness making it difficult to see beyond his nose. The moon remained hidden behind clouds and the apartment was too high to receive any light from the world below them.
Keeping his eyes open while he sought to identify the source of the sound, he breathed deeply and sampled every flavor that entered his lungs. The aromas drifted over his palate, his beast assisting him in identifying each one.
And not for the first time he cursed his behavior. The act that had resulted in his captivity. Though he could not regret stepping forward in Lily’s defense. Merely the fact that if he tapped into his dragon’s abilities too hard, he would end up hurting his mate. His eyes burned, the animal fighting to transition to his dragon’s sight, but he resisted the beast. Such a move would hurt Lily. Did it not recall that fact?
But the dragon was a pragmatic, logical being. If an enemy had entered the apartment she could possibly be hurt worse by an attack than by a simple shift in eyesight. Argan grunted but did not spare another thought for the dragon. He was too focused on the world around him.
And the lack of another audible warning.
Perhaps it was nothing. With Lily’s alterations to the apartment, more ambient sounds from the world around them now filter into their space. Preor Tower was filled with couples with young dragonlets as well as single mothers and couples who were not yet bearing. It had to be one of the others in Preor Tower, and Argan was simply sensitive to others, especially since his mating—no matter how it came about—was still so new.
Lily nuzzled his chest, rubbing her nose across his pec before settling once more to use his shoulder as a pillow. His body surged back to life, his desperate need for his mate rushing to the forefront of his mind. Every nerve ending sparked to life, buzzing with suppressed need—a need he was not going to fill no matter how badly he wished to strip Lily bare. He had her trust, her willingness to sleep beside him proof of that, and he would not betray her.
Instead, he would stare into the dark and count sheep like a human. Though he was not sure how to accomplish his task because he had no sheep. He huffed. The lack of sheep did not matter. Preor males were superior to humans. Counting non-existent sheep could not be that difficult.
And yet… he remained staring into the darkness, unable to drift back into unconsciousness. He remained awake, counting his mate’s heartbeats, listening to her breathe. He believed Lily would tell him he was “being creepy” but he did not care. Listening to the beat of his mate’s heart assured him she was alive—safe. He didn’t expect any harm to come to her but a mated male constantly worried for his female. It was his greatest weakness.
A soft breeze floated through the apartment, Lily’s force fields allowing the crisp air full entry into their home. He breathed deeply, savoring the clean scent—the feel of the fresh wind sliding over his flesh. Another rush of air flowed through the room, reminding him of the joy he had experienced just yesterday. He had flown. After so long—
The whisper of a sound sliced through all others, the barest hints reaching his ears. He knew that soft whoosh from turnings of training, from turnings of battle. The tiny gasp a warrior’s blade made as it was pulled from its katoth sheath.
Now he tuned out his mate and focused on their intruder. For it was an intruder. A blade could not draw itself from its scabbard. A hand gripped that deadly length of sharpened metal.
He opened his eyes wider, fighting to see through the blackness, but he was unable to find anything in the darkness. His dragon raged, furious they were made useless by the Binds. He could allow the beast to come forward, but such an action would harm Lily—something the dragon would never consider.
Then came a low squeak, a bare foot pivoting on the polished floor, announcing the intruder’s location. Adrenaline flooded Argan’s veins, his blood pounding through his body and flowing into every muscle. His heartbeat rose, a warrior’s instincts bursting forward at the change in their situation.
A male had entered Argan’s aerie, drawn his weapon, and even now eased closer to where Argan rested with his mate. There could be only one reason and it was not, as Lily said, for “shits and giggles.” It was for blood. His certainly. Lily’s? Argan would die to keep her safe.
The squeak of katoth on katoth came next, the low sound identifying the intruder’s position. Close. Way too close. In his mind he pictured the warrior no more than three feet from where they rested, the would-be attacker closer to Argan than his mate. That position allowed a plan to quickly form in his mind—one that would keep Lily as far away from the battle as possible.
Argan squeezed his mate’s shoulder gently, the movement small and paling in comparison to what he ached to do. He wanted to embrace his dra
gon form and fly her to safety. For now, all he could do was tighten his grip for a brief moment and then… he shoved.
Chapter Nineteen
Lily had experienced those “I’m falling to my death” dreams in the past but none of them had ever seemed so real. They’d never ended up with her flailing mid-air and then slamming against the floor, either.
The shout flew from her mouth, sleep still clinging to her groggy mind as she tipped over the edge of the mattress. She scrambled for anything to stop her tumble, fingers scratching at the sheets and nearby night stand, but it was no use. She’d fallen off the edge of the bed and only the floor would stop her. She collided with the hardwood hip first, her elbow and knee soon following, but managed to save herself a head wound. Head trauma and her implants didn’t play well with each other.
“What the… Ow,” she grumbled and slowly rolled to her back, waiting for the rush of pain to ease before she attempted to crawl back into place once again.
She rubbed her hip, waiting for that burst of pain to ease so she could move. The damn thing would be deep purple by morning and she wasn’t looking forward to telling Argan. He’d demand she go to medical and then she’d have to explain everything to Chashan and Khaza. That meant the war master and whoever else he decided to inform would show up on her doorstep to check on her.
Gritting her teeth, Lily rolled to her hands and knees, gripping the edge of the bed to brace herself, but the next sound had her freezing in place. It was a low growl, a deep rumbling that almost sounded like a feral dog. But she knew better. She’d heard that same fear-inducing snarl before. Specifically, when one Preor warrior stood up to another on her behalf.
What the hell was his problem? He hadn’t just fallen out of bed, dammit.
“Argan?”
Then came another growl, the pitch slightly higher, the echoing rumble not lasting quite as long as the one she’d just heard. This was different—wholly alien.
She almost snorted at her own joke. She would have if the crash of something glass shattering into a million pieces hadn’t snared her attention. She swung her gaze to the right, fighting to see through the darkness that crowded her.
She could order Penelope to turn on the lights but that’d blind both Argan and his attacker. Was it worth the risk? She’d wait. For now.
Then came a grunt and a low thud, following which was a drawn-out hiss. More scuffling, feet stomping over the polished wood floors and yet another item in the room breaking. This one sounded as if it was knocked off a shelf.
She only hoped the thud and hiss weren’t Argan. Screw her belongings. She needed Argan to be safe—whole. Nothing was more important than him.
That thought had her catching her breath, a gasp stealing the air from her body. Nothing was more important than Argan? What about her coding? And her inventions? And…
The thought reverberated through her once more. Nothing was more important than the Preor warrior now doing battle in their bedroom. In the dark. Without his dragon to help him.
His emotions flowed through the Binds, pouring into her body faster than she could identify them. Anger. Fear. Fury. Worry. Pain.
That last had her opening her mouth. It had her shouting to her mate and damn the consequences. “Argan, use your dragon!”
Shock whipped at her through the Binds. That emotion was immediately followed by something the healers hadn’t mentioned—a voice. Stilted and using small words, but still a voice.
No. Pain. Mate. The words seemed to be accompanied by a low hiss and a wave of warmth that calmed some of her fear.
“Use it. Now!” She wouldn’t be deterred. She didn’t want him hurt out of some misguided—
No. The word was accompanied by a bolt of fire into her mind, the burn somehow comforting and… she shook her head. Maybe she did have a concussion. That had to be the reason she thought she was psychically speaking to Argan.
Then came a grunt and groan followed by a flare of pain in Lily’s shoulder. She clutched her left shoulder, expecting to find a deep wound. Yet she was unharmed, which meant Argan had been hurt, the Binds passing along pain in addition to everything else. Knowing blood didn’t flow down her arm didn’t lessen the agony coursing through her veins. In truth, it almost made it all worse since she was sure Argan’s agony was double her own. The feelings she gathered through the Binds had to pale in comparison to what he really experienced.
All because he wouldn’t use what the stars had given him.
“I already feel your pain. Use your damned dragon!”
The words had hardly escaped her mouth when pain blossomed in her cheek. Blood vessels burst, and her nerve endings screamed in agony. Her implants buzzed and shook inside her head. The overload affected her circuits more than a physical hit ever could. The shockwaves jerked and jumped through her brain, pinging off bone and metal.
Fuck. She was gonna lose it while her mate needed help. She gritted her teeth and pushed past the uncomfortable trembling of her implants. Penelope. Need. Help. Her limbs jerked and random twitches snared what little control remained. Penelope…
Nothing. No acknowledgment. No response. No hint of the ship accepting the message. Just… nothing.
So she gathered what energy she had, the little bit not sapped by her impending seizure, and reached out for the dragon. She focused on the Binds, centering her attention on the sensations as they flowed between her and Argan. She mentally stared at that rough, feral tendril. Help. Him. I. Feel. Your. Pain.
Then came a roar. A roar louder and longer than any she’d ever heard. The floor shook beneath her, wall at her back trembling, and she jerked as something else hit the ground. Whatever it was, it’d landed at her side, sending sharp shards flying through the air. The razor-edged pieces scraped her skin, peppering her with stinging cuts.
But those could be easily ignored. The other sensations coursing through her could not. The pure agony—a white flame consuming her blood—raced along her veins. It sparked to life and then raged like a vast inferno, scorching everything it touched. Her fingertips ached and then throbbed with a new pain—one that soon spread to her arms and over her shoulders. Her skin grew taut and seemed dry—itching and stinging with the lack of moisture.
None of that compared to the pulsating torture across her back. Her shoulder blades pulled together, muscles tensing and forming tight knots. Her spine snapped and arched, joints cracking from her tailbone to base of her skull. Her flesh rippled, as if something lived just beneath the surface of her skin. Something that wiggled and slid through her body like a reptile through water.
Or a dragon through air.
Lily closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, fighting to remain silent while Argan fought whoever the hell thought it’d be a good idea to break in. The idiot obviously hadn’t realized the ass-kickery her mate could rain down on others. Like she’d told him earlier—Argan was a fighter, a survivor. There was no way he’d lose to someone who had to depend on subterfuge to get the upper hand. No. Way.
She breathed deeply through her nose, bearing the pain as best she could while her mate did the same. Except Argan was not only fighting the intruder, but the pain inflicted by the Binds because he reached out for his dragon. She had no idea how he managed to focus and fight through this agony, but he did. And if he could keep his mouth shut while he went toe-to-toe with another warrior, she could sit quietly.
Until he got hurt. Well and truly hurt based on the blossom of anguish that attacked her side. The burn began just above her hip, sliding deep and through her body. Pierced by an invisible sword, the remaining air in her lungs was forced past her lips in an echoing scream that went on and on—a scream that seemed to never end.
The scream turned their attacker’s focus onto her. First there was a flicker of yellow, the barest flash of brightness that ended nearly as quickly as it’d begun. The intruder’s face remained cast in dark shadows, his face unfamiliar and his coloring shaded by the night.
That split-second s
park was followed by a rushing wave of fire and heat. The attacker spewed a gust of dragon’s fire across the room… toward Lily. There was no time to think—to react. She had merely a moment to stare at the roiling mass as it closed the distance. The scorching heat hit her first, tightening her skin further and sapping all hints of moisture from her flesh. Then came the true flames—the opaque flickers of red and yellow blocking out the world.
A roar surrounded her, enclosing her in a trembling ball of heat, pain and fear. No sounds crept past the rumbling, and no words left her mouth. Nothing but that foreboding roll infused everything.
That was it for her implants. Too much sensation. Too much action for her eyes to follow and too much terror combined with utter devastation. The circuits cut out, one after another—a computer crash unlike any anyone had ever known. Her senses collapsed first—all going silent while the world disappeared. Next went her muscle control, her body collapsing onto the hard floor with a thump. Her head bounced off the wood and she knew she’d have a bruise tomorrow. If she woke up tomorrow.
Finally, her mind shut down. All sense of self evaporated. Any semblance of control vanished, and unconsciousness stole her away.
But not before she had one last thought. Argan…
Chapter Twenty
Argan paced medical, his wings rustling and jerking with his every step while he kept his gaze on Lily. Not even for the briefest of moments did he let his stare waver. He watched and waited, counting the seconds as his mate simply refused to awaken. No matter how many times he told her to open her stars bedamned eyes, she remained stubbornly immobile.
