“No one wants to die, Rowan,” he said, his voice lined with grit. “They want the pain to stop.”
She didn’t know what to say. She held his gaze, wondering how to help him.
It was Nick who spoke up. “Pain is nothing to be afraid of.” There was no pity in the look he gave Alexander. “Pain is a reminder you can feel. Fear the day you no longer feel anything. Numb is the worst. Numb is empty.”
“Nick…,” Rowan said.
“No. This guy needs to hear this.” He pointed a finger at Alexander’s chest. “The reason you feel pain is because you had love once and you lost it. That’s horrible. It’s a horrible thing that happened to you. But you had love, all right. You have happy memories. That’s why you feel the pain. That’s something to hold on to.”
The two men stared at each other, each one shifting as if they might either hug or let fists fly. Rowan prepared herself to break it up if she had to, but there was something good happening here. Her brother’s shoulders drooped in surrender, and he started ladling some chili into a bowl.
“Where the fuck did you find this guy?” Alexander asked Rowan.
“Manhattan.” Rowan accepted a steaming bowl and returned to the couch in front of the fire. Nick did the same.
Alexander returned to his chair and started eating. “I can’t tell you more tonight.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to,” she said.
“Don’t go back to the apartment. Gabriel will give you shit if you go back, and you’ll end up cracking and telling him where I am. Just… I need some time.”
Rowan threaded her fingers into Nick’s. “We’ll stay and won’t tell Gabriel a thing.”
“Perfect.”
“Anyway, you can tell us more of the story tomorrow morning.” Rowan stared at him over her margarita, the way she used to when they were kids and she was trying to get him to do something for her.
Alexander rolled his eyes. “I promise you, I’ll try.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, Rowan woke beside Nick as the sunrise cut through the cave opening and showered the sofa bed they slept in with golden rays that made the azure sky and red mountains in the distance seem to glow. The sight was bright and glorious, and Rowan could tell Nick was fascinated. The ward protecting the cave also acted as a window, keeping the inside warm and free from bugs or critters. It made for cozy sleeping and a perfect view.
In the next room, the light glinted off the pile of treasure that Alexander slept beneath. A shower of coins and jewels clattered to the stone floor. Rowan watched a turquoise-scaled paw retract into the dark recesses of the pile.
“I don’t think she’s dead,” Nick mumbled, his eyes never leaving the mountains.
“Huh?” Rowan snuggled in close to him under the faux fur blanket. In the morning light, she traced the scar that cut through his lip and trailed her nail over the stubble of his chin.
“I don’t think Maiara is actually dead.”
Rowan’s hand pressed flat to his chest. “Shhh. Don’t say that so loud.” She glanced back toward the next room where she hoped Alexander was still asleep under his pile of treasure. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Gabriel, Tobias, and Alexander saw her body burn. She’s definitely dead.”
“It’s incredible to me that I am the newest addition to this family but the only one who seems to appreciate this thing you all call magic.” He scrubbed his hand through his whiskey-colored hair.
“What are you talking about?”
“Do dragons commonly have relationships with their pets like Alexander has with his bird? Or is this as crazy as it seems?” Nick gestured in the direction of Alexander’s room where Nyx was asleep on a perch beside the pile of treasure.
“It’s crazy for sure, although if what Gabriel and Alexander said is true, it makes sense. If Nyx is truly the bird that once was his mate’s familiar, then she is the last piece of his relationship that remains.”
“Uh, yeah, explain to me how a hawk can live to be over three hundred years old again?” Nick turned on his side and reached around her to run the tips of his fingers down the length of her spine. If he kept doing that, she wasn’t sure she could explain anything. Her mind would go completely blank.
“Obviously magic was involved in making her immortal. Maiara must have enchanted the hawk before she died.”
Nick’s eyes narrowed contemplatively. “And why would she do such a thing? What was Maiara’s motivation for making her hawk immortal?”
Rowan opened her mouth to answer, but the truth was she had no idea. It was highly unusual.
“After you fed me your tooth and we were bonded, you explained to me that if you ever died, I would die too. My immortality is tied to your magic.”
“That’s right.”
“So if Maiara used her magic to make her familiar immortal and Maiara is dead, shouldn’t the bird be dead too?”
“Maybe. That’s how dragon magic works, but we never really understood Maiara’s magic.”
“Because she was human but had some really insane Midew powers given to her by the Great Spirit, right?”
“Right.”
“Even Alexander doesn’t seem to understand her magic.”
“He said she melded into the trees. Maybe she had some type of nymph blood we never knew about.”
“And if nymphs make something immortal and they die, the magic remains?”
Rowan sighed. “The magic dies too. Actually, I didn’t think nymphs had the type of magic to make something immortal anyway, now that you mention it.”
The corner of Nick’s mouth twitched. “Do you see what’s bothering me? I’m new to this magic and immortality thing, but I haven’t heard you talk about even one creature whose magic outlives them.”
“I don’t know of any. But what other explanation could there be?”
The question hung in the sliver of space between them, the whisper landing heavy on Rowan’s heart. She should have thought of those questions, but she’d been too focused on reconnecting with Alexander and saving him from drowning in despair. She’d never assumed the hawk in his painting was the same hawk that was Maiara’s. This was new information. But Nick was right. It was more than a little strange. No wonder Raven had been so intent on studying it.
“You know how you locked Verinetti inside his animal form?”
How could she forget? A former boyfriend and shifter, Michael Verinetti had betrayed Rowan to the New Amsterdam vampires. She’d retaliated by having a witch make an enchanted cuff that she’d had her friend seal around Michael’s leg when he was in the form of an owl. The magic stopped him from shifting back into his human form. Verinetti would remain an owl for as long as he lived. “Of course I do.”
“Well? Maybe something like that happened to Maiara.”
Rowan tucked her chin in to get a better look at Nick’s face. “You think Maiara was actually a shifter and she’s somehow stuck in her bird form and that’s why the bird has lived so long?”
Nick shrugged. “Tell me why I’m wrong.”
“For one, I personally saw the hawk and Maiara together at the same time back in 1699. Maiara definitely did not shift into the hawk.”
“Okay.”
“Second, shifters can’t meld into trees. That’s a nymph thing. And nymphs can’t shift.”
“Hmm. And nymphs can’t do magic, but Alexander says she was a healer and she enchanted the bird.”
Rowan frowned. “Maybe she was a natural witch.”
“Can a witch’s spell outlive them?”
“No. I don’t think so. Not something like immortality.”
Nick sighed. “It doesn’t take an NYPD detective to figure there’s something worth investigating here. I, for one, would like to know exactly how Maiara died and the events leading up to those circumstances.” In his excitement, Nick had raised his voice, and Rowan cringed at the sound of the pile of treasure shifting behind her.
Metal clinked against metal. She roll
ed over in time to see her brother emerge from his pile of treasure in his human form and draw his shiny black robe around his naked body.
“I promised you the rest of the story, Nick,” Alexander growled. “And I won’t go back on my word. I just hope you’ll allow me a cup of coffee first.”
The coffee machine started to run, and the scent of oread filled Rowan’s nose. “Would you and your guests care for breakfast this morning?” Willow’s voice whispered from somewhere near the kitchen.
Alexander’s gaze darted between Rowan and Nick. “Why the hell not? The human would like to hear the rest of the story, and he might as well do it with a full belly.”
Chapter Nineteen
1700
New France
Days and then weeks melted away in the rhythm of travel. As Maiara had predicted, the snow moved in and the days grew short. Between Gabriel, Tobias, and Alexander, they ate well of hunted game and always had a bit of meat left over for the trail. Along with the dried grain, fruit, and nuts they’d brought and rationed and the wild onions and acorns Maiara found and prepared for them, no one went hungry.
But as the temperature dropped, water became harder to come by. The trails, carved by migrating people and animals, bordered streams and waterfalls, but that afternoon everything was frozen.
The snow had started again, white flakes the size of dandelion blooms that floated down and coated them and their horses. Everything white. Everything frozen except for Alexander and his brothers, who were noticeably steaming.
Maiara dropped from her pony beside a river coated in a thick layer of ice. She picked up a stone and struck the surface, but she could not break through to the liquid below. “We need water for the horses.”
“Stand back. I’ll melt it,” Alexander offered.
Gabriel scoffed. “No need, brother.” He slid off his horse and shuffled a few yards out onto the ice. Extending the talons of his right hand, he lowered himself to one knee and punched into the frozen surface. A spider’s web of cracks extended from his fist. Jaw clenched in determination, he leaped into the air and punched again, this time plunging through with a splash. Maiara gasped, undoubtedly fearing for his safety.
Alexander shook his head and laughed. “Show-off.”
Gabriel’s head broke the surface in a steamy rush, his beard dripping. His eyes glowed red from his inner dragon rising to the surface, and steam rose from the water as he warmed the space around him. Wading to shore, he extended his wings and shook like a wolf shaking off rain.
An icy drop hit Maiara’s cheek, and she grunted before leading the horses to the water. “It grows dark. We must make camp here.”
Alexander frowned at the way she shivered. Even under every fur she owned, she couldn’t keep warm. There was no cave or shelter along this part of the trail, and the winter storm had grown until he could barely see her through the falling snow. He would start a fire, but keeping it burning through the night would require constant tending. Nodding his reassurance to her, he started gathering wood in the clearing next to the stream.
“This isn’t good,” Tobias whispered to him. “She’s already shivering, and keeping a fire going in this weather is going to be nearly impossible.”
He didn’t say a word but piled the wood high. Nearby, Maiara removed the simple tent she’d acquired in Philadelphia from the packhorse and began to pitch it in the mounting wind. She had used the tent many times during their travels but never in cold such as this. The canvas bent and bowed in the storm. He finished with the wood and helped her stake it down. Together, they reinforced the supports with ropes tied to nearby trees.
It was completely inadequate for the weather.
While Gabriel and Tobias started the fire, he followed her inside the tent, where she’d spread a pelt over the icy ground. “You’re shivering,” he said.
“I need the fire.” Her teeth clacked together. His dragon twisted in discomfort, and he could stand no more.
“Let me help you.” He spread his arms and his wings, as much as the small space would allow, and she did not hesitate to enter them. His eyelids sank as her fresh, green scent filled his nose and the softness of her hair brushed his cheek. Enfolding her in his wings, he lowered both of them to the floor of the tent, using his arms to pull her fur cloak tighter around her. After only a few seconds, her shivering quieted and she leaned her full weight into his chest.
“Do you never grow cold?” she asked.
Alexander thought about the question. “I feel the cold. It’s not as if I can’t tell ice from fire. I can, and I much prefer the latter. But the cold isn’t dangerous to me. It’s never made me uncomfortable to the point I couldn’t eat or sleep.”
“You are always this warm. All of you?” Her gaze darted toward the tent’s flap, beyond which the silhouettes of his brothers worked to build a bonfire and prepare stew from their reserves.
“Yes. Sometimes hotter. We were born in the belly of a volcano. We thrive in the heat.”
She sagged against him. With the weather coming, Maiara had ridden hard with few breaks, trying to get them to the Potawatomi village as quickly as possible.
“Are we close?”
She opened her eyes and peeked up at him. “Two days’ journey.”
“But you’re tired.”
“Yes. I have never traveled so far so fast.”
“Rest now. I will wake you when the food is done.”
“I should help cook.”
“My brothers will do the cooking tonight.”
Tension melted from her body and she sank deeper into his arms. Contentment softened her cheeks, bringing back the radiance he’d seen the first night he’d met her. He tried his best to commit every detail to memory so he could draw her as soon as he could get his hands on his sketchbook.
“Tell me about Paragon.”
He adjusted her in his arms while he considered what would make sense to her. “Paragon is a land divided into five kingdoms. In the ruling kingdom, the kingdom of Paragon, it never snows. I grew up in a palace built into the side of a volcano that we call Obsidian Mountain.”
“Are there trees there?”
Alexander raised his eyebrows. “Oh yes. Our forests are tropical and our flora and fauna are different from what grows here. In the forests of Rogos, that’s the Kingdom of the Elves, it is said every variety of tree grows, one from every realm in the universe. The first time I saw you, I thought you reminded me of an elf, although to be honest, we were never allowed to spend much time in Rogos or with its people.”
“Why not?”
“My siblings and I…” Her eyes were closed and he tightened the wrap of his wings around her. “As I mentioned before, we were heirs to the throne, the sons and daughter of the queen.”
Her eyelids cracked open. “I remember. My people do not have kings and queens.”
“What do you have?”
“There is a leader, white men call him chief, we call him ogama. The ogama has a wise council, one of whom is the healer or Midew. Most of the time, these leaders are men. My mother was a Midew, and she taught me the ways at her side. She was once part of my ogama’s council. They have passed into the Land of Souls now.”
He stroked her hair back from her face, and she closed her eyes again. “I’m sorry.”
She swallowed. “She is the reason I survived. She taught me to hide in the trees.”
Alexander wondered why her mother hadn’t used her power to escape the wendigo’s attack, but if she’d been trying to save the other Midew, some of whom weren’t strong enough to use that type of magic, it was possible she just didn’t have the chance. “How does that work?”
She smiled up at him and narrowed her eyes. “It takes years of training. I cannot teach you.”
Of course not. He tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
“If you were royalty in your land, why did you come here?” she asked.
Alexander pursed his lips. This was not something he liked to think ab
out, and he hadn’t shared it with anyone outside his family before. He longed to share it with Maiara though. He wanted to be known by her. He wanted to know her. “My brother Marius, the oldest of our siblings, was meant to take over as king. On his coronation day, our uncle, the current king, murdered him so that he could retain control of the throne.”
This time her eyes opened wide and her lips parted. “He would have killed you too?”
“Yes. Our mother, the queen, used her magic to send us here. We assume our uncle killed her and our father as well. That’s how it is in Paragon, the oldest brother and sister are king and queen and each take a consort as their mate.”
Maiara narrowed her eyes. “This uncle who killed them, he continues to rule your land?”
“Yes.”
“You said the queen used her magic. Do you have magic too?”
He held up his right hand and wiggled the finger wearing the large turquoise ring that was the source of his magic in his human form. “Yes. Dragons are magical beings. We are born with the ability to protect what is ours. We can make ourselves invisible, fly, have superior strength and speed, and we can also lay protective wards around an area, keep it hidden from view and inaccessible to anything supernatural. It comes from our origins, our nature to hoard and protect treasure.”
“But you said the queen used magic to send you away.”
“Yes, but that’s different. As magical creatures, we can perform spells. We aren’t like witches, mind you. We can’t naturally control the elements with our intention. But we can follow a spell, like a recipe, and it will sometimes work because of our magic. Before her death, our mother had amassed a great book of dragon spells. She enchanted our rings before Marius was murdered. We believe she suspected our uncle’s treachery and prepared the spell she used to save us in advance.”
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