Dragon Void (Immortal Dragons Book 2)

by Ophelia Bell

  Whatever it was that made her so certain she couldn’t get pregnant would come soon enough, because he made a silent vow in that moment to never let her go. Being a father didn’t matter so much as long as he could have her.

  Chapter Ten

  Evie

  Somewhere Over the Pacific Ocean

  Present Day

  Evie drifted in and out of sleep for the duration of the journey. Sometime in midday she came awake, her breath catching in her throat at the vast expanse of nothing but ocean beneath them. She ached to shift and fly beside them—to feel the Wind flowing around her wings and body, cleansing her of the residue of confinement she felt coated in. She flexed her muscles experimentally. Her back twinged when she moved and she let out a hiss at the pain that shot through her.

  “I could only heal some of your wounds with the first breath. Whatever they did to you isn’t responding as it should to my healing power.” Gavra’s voice resonated through her ears even over the rush of air. “At this rate, it will take much more healing for the other wounds. You won’t be able to fly again for quite a while, I’m afraid. If you’re willing to breathe me in now, I can give you more.”

  “I’ve been earthbound for fifty years. What’s a few more weeks? But I will take more,” she said. Once she’d taken in another lungful of his spicy breath, she shifted around in the cage of his large claws and peered beneath them. They flew so high, the clouds looked like huge, white islands floating in a crystal-clear sea. This was the world as she remembered it. Her favorite part of the world, too. The part where she’d always been free from worry and at her very lightest. Nothing mattered up here but the state of being in between. In between the fiery sun and the earth and water. Touched by all three, but apart from them.

  Except she’d been touched even deeper by fire, she realized, staring across at Ked, who flew slightly in front of the rest of the group, their bodies aligned in a V-formation.

  The wind rushing over Evie’s body might have chilled her if it hadn’t been for that burn inside her. Just as it had been with Marcus, she wished for Ked’s touch now. She wished for that flame to be fed and fed to the point that it consumed her entirely the way her love for Marcus had consumed her at the end.

  As he’d lain there dying in her arms, her only wish was that they had, indeed, burst into flames, reduced to pile of ashes together. She’d even fallen asleep and dreamed through her pain that it was true, that they’d immolated in their last embrace, and that something wondrous and beautiful had burst forth from their charred remains. Not cherubs, like he’d first suggested the day they’d met. No… A creature part fire, part wind, but all the best parts of them both.

  Chapter Eleven

  Evie

  Brooklyn, New York

  Spring, 1965

  Evie’s body shuddered as much from her crying as from her orgasm. She wanted everything Marcus had suggested. More than anything. She’d dreamed for years of finding her One and having a family with him.

  Marcus was so perfect. Why couldn’t it really be him? Why did she feel such a strong connection, but not the right connection to him? She suppressed a soft sob as he pulled her down to the mattress and enveloped her in his arms, shushing her gently.

  “What is it, Evie? You can tell me anything.”

  She snuffled and shook her head, unable to get any words out at all, which was good because she couldn’t tell him the truth anyway. If only he were the One, she could tell him, and then they could mate and have that baby he so wished for. The one she had always wished for, too.

  But he wasn’t. The tingling rush of magic through her body told her as much. He was definitely human, but he’d been touched by dragons. Blessed. That meant he could never be hers. Ever. That was the nature of a Blessed human. They were rare and gifted. It explained how he seemed to know she was something beyond human. It also explained why he was so attracted to her. Her race and the dragons had very similar auras to untrained senses. It didn’t help that dragons embodied all the elements while still commanding fire as their primary. Marcus had likely been blessed by a White dragon, to be drawn so strongly to a creature like Evie—a child of the Wind.

  The rush of logic didn’t stop the tears from flowing. All that remained once those thoughts faded was the one thought: he belonged to a dragon. And she’d just tried to steal him.

  Even worse… they’d shared energy during all the times they’d made love so far. That meant he’d have started forging a bond with her simply by virtue of the act. He probably didn’t even have a clue what he’d done, either, or why he felt the way he did. Shit, that had to be why he suddenly wanted a baby with her.

  “Evie?” Marcus gripped her shoulder and squeezed, then slid his hand up to her cheek and brushed an errant tear from her eye.

  Evie sniffled. “I’m okay. I just… talking about some things is hard for me.”

  “You want what I want, don’t you? But…” He paused and let his hand slide over her hip and rest on her belly. “It can’t happen, can it?”

  Her throat constricted and hot tears seeped from her eyes again. “No,” she said, forcing the word past the sob that threatened to escape.

  “It’s all right. Shush.” He squeezed her tighter for a moment then moved to tug a blanket over them.

  She let out a heavy sigh once he snuggled back down behind her. Turning in his arms, she peered up at him through wet lashes. “You want something I can never give you. Why aren’t you sending me away?”

  His lips twisted wryly. “I just met you. I’m not the kind of guy to give up after one try. Or…” He pulled out a hand and tapped the tips of his fingers. “Four? Five? I lost count. And trying is ninety percent of the fun.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

  It will never happen. The thought destroyed her, but in the cocoon of his embrace she wanted so much to give him hope. Who knew how long it would take her to find her One? After all, it had been a hundred and fifty years already. It could take centuries longer, for all she knew. Why not find happiness with him for as long as she could?

  Evie’s conscience pricked at that thought. He didn’t belong to her. He was Blessed, which meant he belonged to a dragon, and likely one from the new brood that would soon awaken. But by her math, that was still decades in the future. Would he even live that long?

  Evie blinked through her tears, an idea coming to her. Blessed humans tended to live long lives, but still normal human lifespans without finding a dragon mate. If she kept sharing her energy with him, he would live longer. Much longer. She could keep him until the time came to give him up. Or until she found her One.

  “Three for you, four for me,” she said, sinking back into him, content in her decision. His dragon blessing meant he needed that transfer of energy to prolong his life. Evie would be more than happy to give him all the magic he needed. “Let’s try to top it tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Evie had never found it so difficult to leave a man’s bed before. It didn’t help that Marcus seemed distinctly reluctant to let her go. He clung to her when she rolled over the next morning and sat up, hunting for her clothes. His arms wrapped around her naked hips and his cheek pressed against her thigh.

  “You said we’d top yesterday.” His bright eyes peered up at her from where his head rested on her leg. He gave her navel a flirty lick and then pouted at her.

  “You remember my brothers, right? They’re going to miss me.” Her brothers were probably oblivious to her absence. The truth was she’d lain awake for half the night worrying over her decision. She could see no flaw in her logic—she likely had a true mate out there somewhere waiting for her, and Marcus’s blessing would aim him at a dragon the moment the right one showed herself. But neither of those things were likely to happen anytime soon—or so she hoped.

  Her grandmother always seemed to have wisdom to share when Evie was stuck in such a dilemma. She simply had
to go home and talk to Nanyo to make sure she was doing the right thing before she committed to the idea.

  Marcus groaned and sat up. “Your brothers are probably going to kill me, aren’t they?”

  Evie looked over her bare shoulder at him and smiled. “They won’t if they know how much I like you.”

  Her heart lurched in her chest at the little lie she told. She more than liked him. It took all her will not to strip back down and crawl back into the bed beside him.

  She focused her energy on dressing instead, pulling her blouse over her head and tugging on her calf boots once her skirt was buttoned. She had to get out of there before he tempted her too much, but if her grandmother gave her a favorable answer, she intended to be back in this very bed as soon as she was able to.

  She gave him a long, slow kiss and tried to ignore the dejected look in his eyes when she walked out his door.

  When she got back to the Brooklyn row house apartment she shared with her grandmother and brothers, Evie tugged off her boots, sank down onto the worn sofa, and buried her head in a pillow. The feeling of longing hadn’t left her for the entire short trip. She was alternately elated and despairing. Marcus made her so happy, made her feel so good, but still… he wasn’t the One.

  A weight settled on the end of the sofa by her feet, a warm, gentle hand resting on top of her knee.

  “Welcome home. Did you have an adventure last night?” Her grandmother’s low, smooth voice always reminded her of the hoot of an owl. Both eerie and comforting depending on her mood.

  “No more than my brothers did,” Evie said, pausing for a moment as she noted the general silence in the house betraying their absence. Her brothers regularly frequented clubs after they did their duties in the park and were rarely home before dawn, either. This was the first time in several years that she’d done the same.

  Her grandmother’s strong hand squeezed hers. “You had a bigger adventure than they did, I am sure.”

  Evie sighed and pulled the pillow away from her face. “I met someone, Nanyo. But he isn’t… him.”

  “But he means something to you.” It was a statement, not a question. Damn, the woman always knew her inside and out.

  “Yes. But I can’t have him, Nanyo. I tried to believe this whole one true mate thing was utter bullshit. What if I don’t believe there is only one? It’s been so long, why hasn’t it happened already? What if I don’t believe it’s possible?” After the night she’d had, she was confused as hell, but she was fooling herself if she really thought the man she was meant to be with didn’t exist. She only hoped her conviction that Marcus wasn’t the One was an indication of how strong her feelings would be for her true mate when she finally found him.

  Nanyo shifted to face her, leaning one arm on the back of the sofa, her hand sweeping in a short, graceful gesture. “If you don’t believe there is one, why not just choose this man you met?”

  “I would—or I would try—except he could never belong to me. Nanyo. He is Blessed.”

  Her grandmother squeezed her leg again and Evie watched as the elderly woman squared her shoulders and settled in like she did when she had something particularly wise to share. Evie was struck suddenly by the older woman’s delicate features, so at odds with her long-standing perception of the woman.

  Nanyo was the steel-hardened matriarch of their family. Evie’s parents had left to pursue their dreams, trusting their children to the capable hands of the older woman. But Evie and her brothers were long grown by then. She didn’t blame her parents for their love for each other and their desire to share the majority of their lives together alone. They’d raised Evie and her brothers after a long love affair and had centuries left to spend together without the burden of parenting children who should be able to take care of themselves.

  A light breeze flowed through the room, and in the blink of an eye, Evie’s Nanyo was gone, the wizened, maternal woman sinking into the small frame and someone far more intimidating rising to the surface.

  Evie sat up straighter, clutching the pillow. She never knew whether to be excited or terrified when her grandmother used her magic, but when Sofia North spoke, Evie listened.

  “Denying your one true mate is tantamount to denying the stars in the sky. You know they’re always there, even when you don’t see them.”

  Her grandmother reached out and squeezed Evie’s bare foot. Evie nodded.

  “Your true mate is out there, but Fate likes a meandering path, so how you find him may not be easy. If you feel a connection with this man, don’t deny it. Even though he may not belong to you, he may lead you to where you need to go. You may wind up leading each other.”

  Evie sat up and stared at her grandmother. “You’re saying I should use Marcus to find the man I’m supposed to be with? Isn’t that cruel?”

  Her grandmother leaned toward her and cupped her chin in one dry, cool hand. Evie’s breath caught as he stared into her grandmother’s swirling violet eyes.

  “You have to remember that you are his path, too. Sometimes when you cross paths with a person who affects you deeply, you wind up entwined, until your paths diverge and you go your separate ways. Or not.”

  The older lady grinned and patted Evie on the cheek.

  “Or not what?” Evie asked, irritated by the flippant ending to what she’d thought was a deep vision her grandmother was in the midst of.

  “Maybe you’ll stay together. Who knows? Do you want some ice cream?” The older woman stood up and walked to the kitchen, leaving Evie gaping at her.

  “I thought you were making breakfast,” she said, following with a distinct sense that what had just happened had all been a dream.

  “I want dessert for breakfast. I’m fifteen hundred years old. I should get to have dessert for breakfast.”

  Evie laughed. “You should. I’d love some ice cream.”

  When her grandmother handed her the bowl, she held it back out of Evie’s reach for a moment. Evie raised an eyebrow, curious about her grandmother’s reluctance.

  “Your new friend needs to come here. Not right away, but when you feel the time is right. Bring him home… June. Summer Solstice would be right.”

  Her grandmother nodded emphatically and let Evie have her ice cream.

  * * *

  The next week Evie sang even stronger in the park, attracting a bigger crowd than before. Her brothers barely managed to keep up with her enthusiasm. They didn’t falter, but she could sense their irritation. She was too eager to see Marcus again.

  Near the end of their show, she spied him holding a bouquet of daisies at the edge of the crowd.

  “Another fan?” Lukas asked her when she rushed to get their gear together.

  “The same fan,” she said. “I like him. A lot.”

  “But he’s not the One, is he?” Iszak asked, a hint of warning in his tone.

  “So what?” she said. “He’s amazing enough to be the One. Maybe he is and I just don’t know it yet.”

  “It’s supposed to be instantaneous,” Lukas said. “When you lay eyes on your One… you just know.”

  Evie laughed. “You guys still believe that? What if it’s bullshit? This guy is… well, he’s holding a bouquet of daisies, for one thing.”

  “So why isn’t he bringing them to you personally?” Iszak asked, eyeing Marcus skeptically.

  “Because you guys are jerks.” She shot Iszak a dirty look and picked up her satchel containing some small toiletries and a change of clothes.

  “We’re trying to protect you,” Iszak grumbled and sulked. In spite of his large, powerful frame, sometimes he still resembled the same sensitive boy she remembered from their childhood. When they were kids, he’d always worked so hard to appear tough. Now, he was much harder on the outside than he used to be, and rarely let his sweet, inner core show in public, but Evie knew it was still there. It came out in his mu
sic enough to be undeniable. She wondered briefly if he envied her connection with Marcus.

  “You think I can’t handle myself with one human male who loves making me happy? He is harmless!”

  Lukas jumped in and soon enough she found herself embroiled in an argument with the two of them. The same frustrating argument she always had. They loved her and wanted to protect her—she knew that—but by the Winds could they just let her live her life for once?

  “Evie.”

  It took her a second to register the deep voice speaking her name over the hubbub between herself and her brothers. Finally she turned to see Marcus standing behind her with furrowed brows.

  “Marcus… ah… hi?”

  He smiled and raised an eyebrow. “I hope I didn’t cause this.”

  Evie shook her head, but her brothers’ scowls betrayed the truth. Marcus squared his shoulders.

  “My name is Marcus Calais. I’m afraid I’ve fallen in love with your sister. I really just wanted to give her these flowers, nothing more.” He held the flowers out to Evie. She took them, smiling, her heart beating profusely.

  Iszak pushed himself between Evie and Marcus, staring into the man’s eyes. “Men don’t just fall in love with our sister. What’s your game?”

  Evie bristled and pushed herself in the middle again before Marcus could respond. “What the hell? You have ears, you ass. He said it. It’s the truth, and you know it.” She glared at Iszak, daring him to challenge her. He knew as well as she did that Marcus wasn’t lying or hiding anything. Iszak was just being a supreme asshole for the sake of intimidating someone Evie wanted to be with.

  She shivered inside at the realization that Marcus really hadn’t been lying when he’d said he’d fallen in love with her. But hadn’t she told him the week before that she was going to fall in love with him?