Maiara took another bite of stew. The barmaid returned with another dish and a pint, dropping them in front of Alexander from enough of a height that the spoon rattled against the bowl and a bit of the ale splattered over the edge. He wiped up the mess before pushing the extra pint toward her.
“You are welcome among us, Maiara.” Alexander said her name with reverence. Their eyes locked again, and he had to swallow down the rising rush of intrigued dragon.
Always focused on practicalities, Tobias cleared his throat and smoothed his pale blond hair. “Maiara, my brother meant only to help you, but I wonder if I may ask you a favor. You said your father was a trapper. Do you know the wilds of New France?”
She swallowed what was in her mouth. It was impossible to miss how hungrily she devoured the stew. He hadn’t touched his bowl in case she desired a second helping.
“Where do you wish to go?” Her grip trembled around the handle of the spoon, and he wondered how long it had been since she’d last eaten.
Tobias pointed to the blank space where the map blended into uncharted territory.
“I know the ways, but that place is not for you. Very few of your kind have the ability to survive there. The tribes will not be welcoming to outsiders.”
“These people are not our kind.” Alexander interrupted with a broad gesture toward the other patrons.
Tobias elbowed him hard in the side. It was forbidden to tell humans what they were. It was too dangerous to share their secret. “What my brother means is that we are interested in establishing our own land and way of living. We want to go somewhere there are no other people.”
Her brows furrowed over a frown. “How will you survive? Even if you waited until spring, you are too few to work the land.”
“We cannot wait until spring,” Gabriel said. “We must go soon.”
A sound like a muffled laugh came from Maiara, and Alexander watched her hide her amusement by taking a long drink of her ale. “No guide will take you there now. Winter approaches and the path you must take is rough and narrow. If you don’t freeze to death, you will likely starve to death. If you stray from the path, either the French or one of the Iroquois tribes will kill you.”
“Iroquois?”
“There are many native tribes that count themselves as Iroquois. Here, we are surrounded by Mohawk trading routes, and they will not tolerate ignorance of their boundaries.”
“Are you Iroquois?”
She shook her head. “I am Potawatomi. We are Algonquian. These are the names the white men call us. In my language we are Anishinabe.”
Alexander leaned in, fascinated by Maiara’s story. Question after question formed in his mind, and he was about to inquire about her people, when Rowan blurted, “Can you take me to New York?”
That inspired a frustrated groan from Gabriel, who brought his mug down on the table with unnecessary force. “Ignore my sister.” Gabriel pinned Rowan to her seat with a warning stare. “She is confused and ignorant of our goals.”
Distaste twisted deep in Alexander’s chest, and he opened his mouth to defend his sister. They were no longer in Paragon. Rowan should be able to do as she wished. And who had named Gabriel as their leader in this new land anyway? In the end, the conditioning of his childhood won out. As to why exactly, he wasn’t sure. He was afraid to examine the coil of emotion that kept him silent. But he didn’t like it. He didn’t like any of it.
Which made it all the more impactful when Maiara, a stranger in every sense of the word, spoke for him. “Your sister is wise. New York is the more sensible trip.”
Gabriel smoothed his hand over the map. “You only say that because you think we are not suited to the hardships you’ve pointed out. What if I were to tell you the cold is not an issue for us, nor is hunger?”
Maiara tilted her head as her eyes traveled from sibling to sibling. Her sharp gaze missed nothing. “I don’t understand.”
“My siblings and I are abnormally resilient to the cold and are excellent, experienced hunters. It is part of the reason we desire land of our own. We are also trained warriors and do not fear these Mohawks you speak of.”
Becoming very still, Maiara dropped her spoon into her empty bowl and considered his words. When her eyes fell on Alexander, her gaze felt hot where it moved over him and made his dragon coil and stretch inside him. He rubbed his torso to settle the beast. Down, boy.
“I do not have the provisions to make this journey. I cannot guide you,” she stated simply. There was a hint of steel in her words, and Alexander was left to wonder why she was determined they not go into the wilds of New France.
“We would pay you handsomely,” Gabriel said. “One hundred pounds.”
“One hundred—” She narrowed her eyes. “Pounds sterling are limited in the colonies. If you have this amount, you should invest it here. Your return will be greater. I’m sorry to have wasted your time. Thank you for the food.” She moved as if to stand.
Alarm rang through Alexander. If Maiara left now, he might never see her again. He placed his hand atop hers on the table. Instantly a spark like internal lightning flowed up his arm and sent his dragon roiling. He had to breathe deeply to keep his beast contained. Peculiarly, Maiara was not unaffected. She blinked at him like she was seeing him for the first time.
“You are not from here,” she murmured.
“No, we are not,” he agreed. “We need space and privacy.”
“Where you wish to go, many places are occupied by peoples who have survived in these lands for generations. Some are friendly. Some are not. There are places where the people will tolerate you if you live harmoniously with them and the land. Other places are guarded by evil ones who will kill you before they speak to you.” She paused to sum them all up. “If what you say is true, and you have money for provisions, can survive the cold, and can keep yourselves fed, I can guide you safely to these lands.”
“After you take me to New York,” Rowan said.
Gabriel and Rowan exchanged glances. As always, Tobias was the voice of reason. “As you can see, we have much to discuss among ourselves, but we would like your help settling here, a different place for each of us, far apart and far from the general populace. Can you help us?”
Maiara remained silent for a moment, so long that Alexander feared they’d insulted her in some unknown way. He was relieved when she swallowed and looked him squarely in the eye.
“I will guide you.”
Chapter Five
2018
Sedona, Arizona
Rowan cradled Alexander’s face between her hands, trying to ignore the angry squawking of his pet hawk on his shoulder. His gaze never met hers. He stared, unseeing, across the filthy apartment as if his body was there but his mind had checked out. His skin felt clammy and his pupils were dilated.
Throat thick with emotion, her mind raced. For years she’d suspected Alexander was in a dark place. As the owner of Zelda’s Folly, a New York gallery that frequently bought his artwork, she’d watched his paintings grow darker in both color and content. The letters she’d sent him went unanswered. It was one thing to presume her brother was depressed, quite another to see this. It was like he was trapped inside his own head.
Sensing her increasing despair, Rowan’s mate, Nick, rubbed her back in a show of support. “Stay strong. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
“Yeah. I just didn’t expect him to be catatonic.” She focused the full weight of her attention on Gabriel. “How long’s he been like this?”
“Since right after I told him about Mother and Paragon.” Gabriel crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the kitchen counter. “Wait, no, that’s not exactly true. He wigged out after he explained to me that this is Maiara’s hawk.” He pointed at the bird.
Rowan flinched back slightly and frowned when it was clear Gabriel was serious. “Obviously he meant a descendant of Maiara’s hawk. Her actual hawk must have died centuries ago.”
Gabriel shrugged. “Unf
ortunately, I do not believe our brother has a strong grasp on reality at the moment.”
She sighed heavily. How often did he have these spells? And how exactly was she supposed to tear down the invisible walls he’d built around himself? Her stomach hurt. Alexander deserved better than this, and she, as the one who’d always been closest to him both in Paragon and this world, should have seen it coming. Any sister worth her salt would have thrown caution to the wind months ago and checked on him. She’d been an idiot.
“I don’t know what to do,” she confessed. Gabriel looked as helpless as she felt.
“Tobias took Raven into town with him to find a pharmacy that will fill a prescription for him. He thinks he can help Alexander snap out of it if he can get his hands on some human medications.”
Her brother Tobias was a talented human doctor and an exceptional healer, but that didn’t mean he could deal with dragon-size depression. “Since when do human medications work on dragons?”
“Tobias doesn’t think it will work on Alexander the way it would work on a human. On the contrary, he believes the drug will simply disrupt whatever thought process is stuck on repeat inside his head. With our metabolism, it will be out of his system in a matter of minutes, but the hope is that it will reboot his wiring.”
Rowan placed a tender kiss on Alexander’s forehead. “I’m here, little brother. You’re going to be okay.” Alexander did not respond.
An ache began in her chest. She’d always been closest to Alexander, ever since the day she’d been beaten raw by their mother for refusing to perform her duties as a princess, a responsibility that had included entertaining a much older dragon who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.
Her punishment had been solitary confinement, a forced adoption of the ruse that she could not participate in the social function due to illness. She would have gone insane alone in that room day and night if not for Alexander. Her dear brother had snuck in with canvas and oils and taught her to paint. Those sessions had been her lifeline, her sanity. He’d cared for her then at great personal risk. Now she would care for him.
Her head felt hot, and she whirled on Gabriel, crossing her arms to avoid striking out. “This is your fault.”
“How so?” Gabriel spread his hands as if the idea perplexed him.
“You pushed him too hard. You always push too hard. Not everyone is a hardened soldier like you. Alexander has always been sensitive. You know that.” She pointed a finger at Gabriel’s face. “You should have been more careful with him.”
Jaw tightening, Gabriel slapped her finger away from his nose. “At least I did something. You’ve known he was mentally disturbed for years and have done nothing but buy the evidence of it and sell it to the highest bidder.”
Rowan inhaled sharply as the barb hit too close to home. Yes, she’d purchased his paintings and sold them in her gallery in New York, but that was because she wanted to make sure he was taken care of financially. A niggling of guilt wormed its way inside her. Was her brother right? Had she purposely chosen to ignore the signs?
“Hey! Don’t touch my girl like that.” Nick’s New York accent grew stronger with his anger. “Rowan thought she couldn’t be in the same room with Alexander without risking your uncle killing them both. Give her a fucking break already.”
“Your girl needs to keep her finger out of my face,” Gabriel snapped. “She also needs to remember that Alexander’s so-called sensitivity is debatable. He trained with the rest of us, and I’ve personally seen his dragon eat a man’s head like it was a cheese puff.”
“Those were extreme circumstances,” Rowan protested.
“He ate someone’s head?” Nick’s eyebrows shot up, and he studied Alexander like he’d been given a new window into his character.
“It was a long time ago,” Rowan said. “And the head in question belonged to an evil bastard who had it coming.” A scuff on the back of his jacket caught her eye, and she ran her hand along his shoulders. Her fingers caught in a tear in the leather, freeing a lodged pebble. She grimaced as it bounced off the chair and onto the floor. “It looks like he was in an accident.”
Nick frowned. “What kind of accident would be responsible for these lines on his wrists?” Rowan saw the detective in her mate rising to the surface. He examined Alexander’s arms as if he were at a crime scene.
“Those are marks from the rope I used to tie him up,” Gabriel admitted.
“What?” Rowan’s voice came out high and sharp. “Why did you tie him up?”
“I needed something to hold him to the chair while he was unconscious.” Shame rippled through her older brother’s expression but disappeared in an instant. Just like Gabriel to dismiss his part in this. He hadn’t expressed near enough regret for what he’d done. Her older brother could be a stinking brute on the best of days.
“Are you telling me that you first knocked him out and then bound him to a chair? What the hell is wrong with you?” She punched Gabriel in the bicep and was rewarded with a small sense of satisfaction when he grunted in pain.
“Oww! His fuckin’ bird bit me!” Nick pulled his hand away from Alexander, a blood bubbling on his knuckle. The hawk flapped her wings and repositioned herself on Alexander’s shoulders.
“There’s something odd about that bird,” Gabriel said.
“Ya think? Who keeps a hawk as a pet?” Rowan led Nick to the kitchen sink and ran his finger under cold water, then grabbed a take-out napkin from a pile on the counter and pressed it to the bite.
Gabriel planted his hands on his hips and cocked his head slightly as he squinted at the hawk. His nostrils flared. “Do me a favor and smell her.”
Rowan nudged Nick. “Would you mind waiting outside for a minute? I can’t smell anything over your scent.”
“Sure.” He placed a light kiss on her lips before he slipped from the apartment.
She drifted toward her little brother, keeping a wary eye on Nyx, who watched her with blazing amber eyes surrounded by smooth russet feathers. Rowan focused on the bird and inhaled deeply through her nose. Her inner dragon sorted the scent.
There was the tang she associated with a natural predator. Nyx smelled like any bird of prey, like she was supposed to smell. She was about to tell Gabriel as much when a secondary metallic odor hit her palate. An aftertaste. Underneath the layers of wild fowl was an unmistakable scent of magic. She inhaled deeper.
“It just hit you, didn’t it?” Gabriel said.
“She smells like Maiara’s magic.”
“Exactly.”
“The question is why?” Exhaustion overcame her, and Rowan rubbed her eyes. Their early-morning flight to Sedona had been overly long and subject to delays, and she desperately needed a cup of coffee. Although Gabriel had procured rooms for them at this retreat compound, she hadn’t had a chance to rest and hadn’t eaten anything either. No matter, she hardly felt hungry. Her younger brother’s withdrawn state had chased away her appetite. The unease left behind created an uncomfortable sensation low in her belly.
“We never fully understood Maiara’s abilities. We were new to this world. We didn’t know it was unusual for a human to practice magic back then. If she was a witch like Raven, perhaps this bird was her familiar. She might have used her magic to make it immortal.”
Rowan reached for the bird but withdrew her hand just as quick when it snapped at her fingers. “Immortal and crabby.” She backed off and crossed her arms, tucking her fingers out of view of Nyx.
A knock came on the door, and Gabriel opened it for Tobias, Raven, and Nick, who entered, arms full of groceries.
“What’s all this?” Gabriel said. “I thought you were going to the pharmacy?”
Tobias flashed a dazzling white smile. “Food, drinks, cleaning supplies. Once we wake him up, we’re going to need to get him to eat something. I’ve never seen a more emaciated dragon.”
Rowan dropped her shoulders and rolled her head to stretch her neck in an effort to relieve some of her stored-up tensi
on. A small sense of relief filled her. Tobias would know how to snap Alexander from his unresponsive state. He seemed to have a solid game plan.
“And if we don’t clean in here soon, I’m going to be sick. It smells like something died, and the baby makes me hypersensitive.” Raven dug into one of the bags and withdrew a bottle of disinfectant.
“Where is Willow?” Gabriel asked, seemingly irritated by the idea of his wife cleaning. Willow, Rowan remembered, was Alexander’s oread, one of the nymphs they’d met when they’d come to this world. Oreads and dragons had a symbiotic relationship; the nymphs fed off dragon energy, and in return they served them in a domestic capacity. Rowan had left her oread behind in New York to maintain her residence there. She had no idea what had happened to Alexander’s.
Raven shrugged. “Gabriel, it’s not going to hurt the baby if I wipe a counter.”
Gabriel started to object, but Nick interrupted him. “No, ahh, I got it.” He plucked the spray bottle from between Raven’s hands. “I need something to do to stay busy or I’ll get my fingers bit off sticking them where they don’t belong.” He gave the hawk a sideways glance. “You, take a load off.”
Rowan gave him a quick peck on his cheek. Despite the trials of his past, he maintained a generous spirit. It was one of the many reasons she loved him.
“Here goes nothing,” Tobias said. He injected a clear liquid into Alexander’s arm. Her brother’s eyelids fluttered, but he didn’t respond to Tobias’s prodding.
Rowan knelt in front of her younger brother and gazed up into his still face. “Why isn’t he snapping out of it?”
“Give it a chance,” Tobias said.
Alexander groaned.
“Oh, thank the Mountain,” Rowan said under her breath.
As if on instinct, Alexander turned his head to check that Nyx was on his shoulder. He rubbed his palms along his thighs. When he spoke, his voice was low and threatening. “All of you, get the hell out of my house.”
Rowan spread her arms and forced a light note into her voice. “Is that any way to greet your favorite sister?”
The Dragon of Sedona Page 4
