“Why would you do that?” He rubbed the skin over his chest.
This was not about the Elysians or about saving her brother. She’d formed a fledgling bond because she’d wanted to. Because it had felt so right.
She tried to form the words but she couldn’t string her thoughts together.
Instead, she opened her heart and poured all her need, her fears, her feelings for him, through their shared connection.
The scarlet orb of his creature throbbed and raced to meet her. It glowed and expanded before falling back into the shape of a dragon. The red of the beast was now streaked with her calming green.
His head jerked back. “My dragon, I can feel his spirit for the first time.” The tendons of his neck moved as he swallowed.
This fledging bond was the first step. If the connection stabilized, they’d become mates.
The repercussions sank in. She staggered, and her knees went weak.
His hands came up to rest on her waist, steadying her.
The warmth of his chest was a furnace. Giving in to the temptation, she leaned in and placed her forehead against the hard planes. “Your dragon was in such pain, I had to calm it. It’s what we empaths do.”
Liar.
She was attracted to him and wanted to bathe in his psychic energy. His dragon was a vibrant fire, so pure and unique, she’d do anything to keep him alive. She wanted to wrap those flames around herself and use his heat to shield herself from those who hurt her.
She had set out to mate with Rage to save her brother. But that was no longer the case. She wanted to take him as a mate because he was hers. They belonged together. He filled a yearning inside her she hadn’t even been aware of.
Shock waves rippled down her spine, and her pulse skittered.
He ran his fingers over the length of her braid, curling the end around his palm. “I’m not sure why you did it, but it’s not only because you are an empath.” The skin around his eyes stretched. “You’re hiding something from me, Pandora, and I am going to find out what it is.”
6
Rage
She went still in his arms.
He’d struck a nerve. A part of him wanted to believe her when she said that she’d reached out to his dragon because she was an empath. But the rational part of his brain felt the desperation in her actions, knew there was something she was not telling him.
He tugged her braid.
Her head fell back, exposing her neck. Her eyes fluttered shut. The brown of her skin gleamed in the light. He ran a finger across the delicate wings of her collarbones.
She gripped his shoulders, her breasts rising and falling.
His heart thudded against his chest.
She was so responsive. She felt so right in his arms.
He could rip out her throat with one careless swipe. He wanted her to live.
She intrigued him, this empath who smelled of jasmine, who looked fragile but had a toughness that hinted at the fighter inside.
He was going to play her game for a little while longer, just until he found out what she wanted from him.
He placed his nose near the base of her throat and inhaled, taking in her scent.
She shivered, and her back stiffened. She didn’t react otherwise.
Her restraint enticed him even more. How far could he push her before she lost control? He was going to tease out her secrets and slake his need for her in the meanwhile.
Trailing his breath up her throat, he nipped her chin.
Her eyes snapped open. “I am not your plaything.” Her voice crackled.
His nerve endings tingled. He was delighted by her show of spirit. “What are you then?” His lips twisted in a smirk.
“Your savior.” She pushed against his chest, and he loosened his grip on her just enough to put a little distance between them.
He kept a hold on her upper arms, not willing to let her go completely.
“You did save my life.” He bared his teeth. “Question is, why?”
“I’d have done the same for any feral beast.” She raised her chin. Her lower lip trembled. Her gaze didn’t waver.
She wasn’t a warrior and yet she was braver than many he’d met and brought down in a fight. He’d do anything to protect her.
“You’re lying again, Pandora.” He leaned in close enough for their noses to almost touch.
Her eyes widened, and she flinched.
“But I’ll let it go—this time.” Pulling back, he did just that. He missed the feel of her body against his at once and cursed himself.
Her shoulders sagged. “Thank you, Rage.” Her voice was polite.
It set his teeth on edge.
Were the Elysians using her to get to him? What hold did they have on her that she was playing this dangerous game with him?
His beast writhed and insisted she was being genuine.
That only confused him further. His chest felt like it would burst.
She shifted her weight from leg to leg and angled her body so she was half turned away from him.
He rubbed the back of his neck to stop himself from reaching for her again.
He wanted to shake her shoulders and demand that she tell him everything. What was it about her that made him want to push her and take care of her at the same time? “I’d fight your demons if you let me, Dora.”
She swallowed, rubbed one arm with the other. Her gaze skittered away before coming back to rest on his face. “Rage, I—” Her forehead furrowed, and she took a step back.
“What is it?” The blood thudded at his temples.
The color leached out of her cheekbones, leaving her eyes too bright in her face. “I sense them. They are coming back.”
7
Pandora
She spun around just as the glass wall behind her dissolved. The metallic scent of sulfur hit her.
Tibor walked in. His face was expressionless, yet there was a set to his jaw, and his dark eyes glittered like black pools of grease. The intention to hurt wafted from him.
He was going to harm Rage.
“My father trusted you.” She stepped in his path, surprising even herself. “You let him down.”
Tibor tilted his head.
His gaze moved from Rage to Pandora’s face. The makings of a frown marred his perfect forehead. “Your father was happy to give himself up for the greater good.” He flicked a spot of dust from the lapels of his jacket. “His duty was to share his emotions with the Sian Web and to help the Elysian’s become the greatest ruling race.” His voice was sincere.
He truly believed that her father had done the right thing? Her stomach twisted with disbelief. “You made sure he gave all his emotions until there was nothing left, until his very life was sucked out of him.” Anger crawled to the surface.
“He sacrificed himself for his race. He delivered on the oath every empath takes. You do remember what that is, don’t you?” His hand descended and landed on her shoulder.
A shudder of revulsion crawled down her spine.
“The oath, Pandora. I’m still waiting.” His voice hinted at the punishment he was capable of.
Fear churned her stomach. “To serve and sacrifice.” She’d repeated those words every day of her growing years. Had come to hate it, even as it burned a path across her brain.
Vesta glided into the space.
Tibor’s head jerked in the direction of the Elysian female.
Pandora took the opportunity and pulled at his grasp. His grip tightened.
Her hands went clammy, and her heart lurched.
“What a good little soldier you are.” Vesta’s voice echoed around the silent space. “So like your father. He had a good heart but a weak will. It’s why he couldn’t survive being plugged into the Sian Web.” She came to a stop next to Tibor.
Her jumpsuit was a contrast to Tibor’s elegant clothes. Yet the two of them fit like the opposite poles of a magnet.
Tibor had led a rebellion against Zach, the leader of the Elysians, and ha
d been exiled. A faction of the Elysians had colluded with Tibor. Tibor had run a coup against Zach and overthrown him. He’d imprisoned Zach on Seychelles.
Tibor had then proceeded to triple the quota of emotions the empaths had to share with the Web in his attempt to increase the emotional intelligence of the population. The plan had backfired, and many of the empaths had collapsed under the workload.
It was also why Tibor and Vesta wanted to break a dragon shifter and plug him into the Web.
Pandora’s parents had volunteered in her place. They’d died for her.
Now it was her turn to make sure she did what was needed to keep her race and her brother safe. Her heart thudded.
“Let her go,” Rage’s voice cut through her thoughts.
His tone was mild, the edge of his English accent more pronounced.
Tibor stiffened.
Pandora knew she had to do something to distract him, to give them a chance.
She wasn’t trained in fighting on the physical plane, yet perhaps the brush with Rage’s energy had sparked something in her.
Tibor moved forward.
She stuck out a foot in his path.
Tibor tripped and fell.
That was all the opening Rage needed. With a snarl that was more animal than human, he jumped to his feet and flung himself at Tibor.
The two went flying, rolling over the side and toward the glass walls which dissolved.
The scent of aluminum hit her with a force that had the breath stopping in her chest. It was Vesta, and she was angry.
A thick cloud of emotions plumed off her. The intent to harm was so strong that Pandora’s stomach churned. The bile rose up, and she tasted the sickness on her tongue.
Rage rolled over, flinging Tibor off, his hand around the Elysian’s neck, squeezing it. The only way to prevent an Elysian from using their telekinetic power was to pause the supply of air to the brain. It rendered them unconscious and unable to manipulate.
Vesta raised her hand, and a dark, greasy psychic wave rolled toward her. She felt the Elysian woman’s pure intent to harm. She wasn’t going to stop, not until she killed both of them. For the first time, she appreciated her psychic senses.
Dropping her shields, she pushed through the onslaught of emotions that rushed at her. A desire to hurt and kill from Vesta, the shared lust between Tibor and Vesta, all of it slammed into her. They cared for each other in their own way.
Pandora’s energy punched into Rage on the psychic plane. Circling the churning vortex of his emotions, her silver-green poured into the center of his crimson.
Rage’s body rippled with the shock of impact, and his body went still. His hands loosened, and he slumped to the floor.
Terror tore through Pandora. What had she done?
8
Rage
Pandora’s psychic energy punched through him and caught him in the chest. It filled his cells and headed for the twisted mass of emotions that churned inside him.
The skin bunched around his eyes.
The shapeless beast within him pulsed and grew stronger until its energy bathed his cells and pushed up against his skin.
His body tensed.
On the psychic plane, her energy collided with his. The shock of it had him rearing up.
It was like she’d poured her essence into him.
Her psychic scent of jasmine beat a path straight to his heart.
He felt powerful and turned on.
Had she created a bond with him? No, it couldn’t be. Why would she? The thoughts jumped around in his head, only to dissolve under the onslaught of their joined energies.
Their combined life force flowed over his shields. It formed a pulsing silver-red barrier with sparks of green shimmering off the surface.
Just in time.
Vesta’s dark psychic energy smashed into him, against their combined energy shield, and was pushed back by their joined shield.
Its psychic impact shuddered through him.
Darkness pulled at the edges of his consciousness, and sweat broke out on his forehead. He loosened his hold on the Elysian male’s neck, and he slumped to the floor.
Rage.
Her voice flowed through his mind. That spring-water essence of her scent urged him to fight back.
Another psychic blast from Vesta balled into him. It was strong enough to shove him back a few feet.
Finding his balance, Rage forced himself to look up.
Tibor stood with his fingers threaded through Vesta’s. They’d joined the force of their powers.
Tibor’s and Vesta’s combined psychic power battered Rage’s newly formed psychic shield.
It retreated but held. Rage’s shield absorbed the psychic energy and pulsed with it. It grew stronger.
The next blast of psychic energy bounced off the shield. It hit back at the Elysian couple.
Vesta staggered.
Tibor grasped her around her waist and steadied her. His jaw firmed. His gaze swiveled to Pandora.
She stood in the corner of the cell, her shoulders hunched. Her features were white, arms hugging her waist.
“Come with me,” Rage snapped.
She shook her head, her eyes moving from Rage to Tibor. They were wide, the silver of her irises boiling over with the force of the energy she was expending.
The emotions leaped off her. She was torn about something. Sweat glistened on her upper lip. She was scared.
He couldn’t leave her. Not just because she had saved his life, but because she made him feel alive.
“I can’t hold this psychic shield without your help.” His voice was soft, even. “Without the shield I’m vulnerable to more Elysian attacks.” He was giving her a reason to go with him.
Something that made her feel useful and justified why she should leave with a stranger.
He held out his hand. “I need you.”
Another boom of black and murky green psychic energy zipped out at them. Their joined psychic shield shook. It absorbed the energy, moving back with the impact of it and then reformed.
The force of it rippled through him.
“If you stay here they will kill you, and you won’t be able to help anyone else.”
She hesitated.
He’d gotten through to her. “Trust me, Dora.” He kept his gaze steady. “Come with me. Whatever it is you need to do, I’ll help you.”
Her jaw went rigid. She nodded, a quick jerk of her head. Closing the gap, she placed her hand in his.
Her skin was cool.
Her palm felt tiny in his. Gripping it, he pushed her behind his back.
Ahead, Vesta raised her chin. Her eyes narrowed. “You are full of surprises, shifter.” A psychic breeze blew back her hair as she raised her palm.
“I aim to please.” Rage thrust out his chest, shoulders taut. He didn’t dare take his gaze off Pandora’s face.
The energy flowed from Pandora, through their joined hands, and into his flaming core which burned higher.
The walls of his shield glistened and solidifed, the surface shining gold with flickers of violet streaking from it.
His shield felt stronger than anything he’d experienced before.
It filled him with a strength and a confidence that had him taking one step forward, then another.
Following his intuition, he channeled their joined energies, and shot it out. The ball of fire zoomed out at Vesta and Tibor’s psychic force, burning right through the darkness, ripping through her shields.
Vesta screamed. Blood oozed from her ears and nose. She collapsed to the floor, her hair flying aside to reveal the burned side of her face. The glass walls surrounding the cage vibrated and dissolved.
Tibor dropped to his knees next to her. He placed his arm under her shoulder, and his eyes met Rage’s. “There are guards all around the cell. You won’t be able to escape.”
Without replying, Rage ran past the Elysians, pulling Pandora along.
She kept pace, her legs eating up the ground i
n tandem with his. Her fingers clutched his.
He felt her muscles hum with suppressed energy.
They ran out of the cell and into the room.
As they passed the control panel, she tugged at his hand.
He stopped.
She hit a button. The glass walls closed around the Elysians with a swoosh, imprisoning them.
“It’ll slow them down.” Pandora’s eyes gleamed.
They ran out of the building. A guard turned to them. The whisper of telekinetic energy from him had the hair rising on the nape of Rage’s neck.
Releasing her hand, Rage bared his teeth and leaped. Covering the distance between them, he slammed into the guard, bringing him down.
The Elysian man’s head cracked against the ground. He didn’t move.
Leaping back on his feet, Rage twisted around.
Pandora had dropped low to evade the other guard. He stumbled and went sliding on the ground.
In two jumps, Rage was next to him. He cuffed the guard on the neck. The man stopped struggling.
Pandora stiffened. One glance at her pale face told him she feared the worst.
“He’s not dead.” He touched her shoulder.
As much as she hated these people, he sensed she couldn’t bear to see them hurt either.
He grabbed her hand, and they set off again.
Reaching the beach, she paused. “Wait.” She yanked him to a stop.
He glanced at her over his shoulder, his forehead furrowed.
“Bran,” she panted, her hair plastered to her forehead. “I can’t leave without him.”
A shout from behind made him stiffen. “If you stay, they’ll kill you and capture me. Then what use will you be to him?”
She hesitated. Here features were pale.
The sound of running footsteps grew louder.
Fear thrummed in his blood. He had to get her out of harm’s way. “You know I am right. Come with me, Dora.”
“Not without Bran.” She set her jaw.
His beast snarled, urging him to do what was needed to get her to safety. “We’ll go to the dragons for help and come back with reinforcements.”
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