"Catija," Lotharus said, stowing the book in a drawer and rising up from his perch behind his desk. "Darling, you look famished. Have you been feeding?"
"Where is my daughter?"
A frown tugged his brow. He'd barely stretched his legs before she'd issued a demand. "Sorry?"
"You heard me, Lotharus. Where is Alexia?"
"In the battle, I imagine," he said with a carefree smile. Inside his mind swarmed with possibilities and scenarios.
The Queen eyed him skeptically before notching up her chin. "I want to see her. Now."
"What is this vexation, my love? I told you," he said, moving alongside her. "She is doing what she does best."
"You mean what you trained her to do."
Resentment simmered inside him, rearing up from the lower regions of his mind and body. A dark place he worked tirelessly to keep hidden from the Queen lest his plan--this carefully choreographed masquerade he'd swept her into--would collapse. He would fail.
That couldn't happen.
Taking her hands in his, he plastered a smile on his face and forced himself to hold it firmly in place while he stared down at her. "Dearest, you and Alexia are the only family I have. Never would I do anything to jeopardize that, to harm either of you. This horde means everything to me." He bent, kissing the top of her hand. "But you mean more."
Like a bad aftertaste, the lies he'd just told stuck to the back of his mouth. However, they rolled easily off his tongue and Catija, poor, pathetic Catija, bought into every single one of them. First the anger left her black eyes. Then her face relaxed, resembling more the beauty their historians wrote about...or rather, used to write about. A smile spread across his face, one she mimicked, although he was quite certain she wouldn't if she knew the cause.
Lotharus opened his arms and she came willingly. Enveloping her, he leaned his chin on her shoulder, then bent down and kissed it. A soft moan slid past her lips and she clutched him tighter.
Females, he thought, were so easy to placate, so gullible in their foolish notion of love. It made his plan advance so easily, almost absurdly so. At times, his instincts told him to be wary, to be on alert and always look over his shoulder.
However, no one was ever there.
"Now, why don't the two of us sit and enjoy a meal." Lotharus lifted his head to gaze at the soldier standing guard beside the doorway. He angled his chin toward the open chamber door. Ivan nodded and slid through it, immediately heading toward the dungeon.
The Queen wasn't the only one looking for Alexia. After all, he needed both of them for his plan to work.
CHAPTER TWELVE
DECLAN HAD DIFFICULTY maneuvering through the small crawlspace at first. But then it opened up into a maze of low-ceilinged passageways where he could almost stand upright instead of scooting along hunched over. Four-legged creatures scurried in front of him and cobwebs stuck to the thin sheen of sweat covering his back and forehead. He pushed through them, forcing his mind to focus on what lay ahead and not behind.
But pictures of Alexia, thoughts of her sweet lips and even softer body, plagued him. At the forefront of it all lay the hope she would not find herself outside in the fight he was barreling toward. That he would not be forced to fight her. Or worse, watch one of his kin sink their talons into her flesh.
The thought sent him reeling. He didn't want to be forced to harm one of his own to protect her. Didn't want to stop and consider what kind of a ruler that made him, or place a name on feelings he held in his heart for the vampire princess.
Declan turned sideways, sliding through a fissure in the cliff before finally stepping into the night. Ocean air and rain blanketed his flesh. Each pore screamed out in pleasure at the sense of freedom. He allowed himself one second to absorb the bliss before he maneuvered up the cliff. Once he crested the ledge, his jaw fell at the sight before him.
The plum-and gray-hued sky was bathed in flame. Ear-piercing shrieks of the dragons drowned out those echoing from the soldiers below.
It was as he'd feared. An all-out battle raged on the catacomb rooftop. Death hung heavy in the air; many had already died. The rocky shelf of the cavern roof was slick with rain and the blood of the fallen. He looked up to see at least half of the full force of his dragon legion flanking the sky. They circled the soldiers like vultures, taking turns swooping from the pack to snatch up a soldier in their claws or teeth.
Beneath his skin, the corded tendons of his back itched to shift, to transform and to join the battle.
One of the soldiers ran forward and crouched to his knees. His dark leather trench coat fanned to the side as he whipped a crossbow from beneath it. Scores of arrows began to litter the sky, splinters of metal piercing the flesh of the dark night. As some found their marks, the cries of his kin filled his ears.
Declan balled his fists. The creatures of the night were in their element.
Out of the corner of his eye, Declan saw a pink female plunge out of formation from the pack of dragons. Before the vampire could switch his aim, she rained down an inferno, highlighting the rain-quenched rooftop of the rocky shelf above the catacombs. He'd know her anywhere. Tallon.
Declan smiled, despite his anger at her for coming after him. Pride swelled to see his flock was in their element, as well. Resolving to get ahold of Falcon and stop this before any more lives were lost, he turned his concentration inward. Pinching his eyes, he focused not on the wings beneath his skin, burning for freedom, but the calm scent of rain. The droplets tapped against his shoulders, as if they eagerly awaited his foray into battle.
Pulling the clean night air into his lungs, he let it coat them, fill them. Empowered by the free air, Declan stretched his arms out to the sides and kicked back his head, embracing the fire inside him. In a flash, heat and flame ignited over his flesh, turning skin to scale. In one sinuous move, he shifted into his animal form. Declan arched his back and let loose a roar. The earth shook beneath his transformed foot, and again when he slammed his other beside it.
Before he had a chance to touch off, a green dragon appeared beside him.
"Tallon knew you were still alive."
Declan heard his friend's relieved words in his mind. Although dragons couldn't vocalize in animal form, they could speak with their minds if close enough to each other. He turned his head, feeling a smile tug his lips. "Gods, Falcon. It's good to see you."
"And you." Although the green dragon before him didn't smile, he heard the grin in his best friend's voice. One tugged at his mouth, as well, but it was short-lived. He had to get orders to Falcon, had to stop this mess he'd helped create.
"Falcon, you must listen to me closely. Gather everyone you can and retreat back to the mountain,"
Declan said before thrashing his wings in preparation to take off.
Falcon landed in front of him, his green eyes alight with fire. "We risked everything to save you. So, with all respect, my lord, I'm not leaving your side until we are flying back home. Together."
Declan's lips curled. "Don't be a fool. I'm safe now."
"How did you get free?"
Declan's heart pinched. "I'll tell you later."
"And the crystal..."
"It's secure. Now, alert who you can and go, quickly!"
"But..."
"Now!" With that, Declan shot upward.
Once he'd cleared Falcon, he veered toward the rocky shelf. Tallon was nowhere to be seen. However, his eyes fixed on a smaller dragon, yelping and flailing on the rooftop. The vampires circled the wounded creature.
When it tried to stand, Declan recognized the youngling immediately.
Ash.
Declan cursed beneath his breath and vowed to punish the legionnaire who'd let him into battle.
Horde surrounded the fledgling on all sides. If Declan didn't act, Ash wouldn't make it home. At the thought, heat churned from deep within him and coiled up his throat.
Opening his jowls, he screamed a war cry, hoping to take the soldiers' attention off Ash long en
ough for him to catch his footing. It worked.
They spun around, aimed their weapons at Declan and fired. Slicing through the air, Declan somersaulted in a spiral, avoiding the bullets and arrows shooting at him. Although he knew the fireball he was working behind his throat would be enough to barbecue all of the vampires, he focused on one. The one his sister's carefully managed attack had failed to affect--the soldier with the crossbow and the itchy trigger finger.
Ready to spit enough dragonfire to melt the flesh off the lot of them, he parted his lips. The soldier saw him coming and switched his aim. Declan figured one, perhaps two arrows would spear his armored flesh before he managed to kill the son of a bitch, but he didn't slow his course. After all, he'd received much worse than silver-tipped arrows piercing his flesh over the past three days.
The vampire cocked his head down, sighting his scope at the same time Declan roared.
A shotgun blast rang out. The soldier's face whitened before he fell sideways, dead. Declan blinked the rain out of his eyes. Another deafening roar of gunfire echoed in the night, followed by the cries of his enemies. His keen eyes zeroed in on the soldier who'd collapsed on his back, a hole the size of Texas blown through his gut.
What the hell?
A flash of blond hair and polished black leather waved past his vision.
Alexia?
Declan closed his mouth in time to stop the flow of dragonfire from killing her and every other vamp on the roof, but he didn't have enough time to slow down.
He'd have to land in the thick of the fray. Jerking his shoulders, he managed to flatten out his dive and land on his hind legs.
The earth quaked and shuddered at his landing.
Rocks shifted underfoot before the edge began to give way under his weight. The brittle rim wouldn't hold much longer.
Shit.
Launching forward into a dive roll, Declan sprung to his feet in half-human form, opting to keep only his wings and his tail. The second he stood, a soldier ran at him with a silver stake. Spinning to gain momentum, Declan wrenched his tail in a wide arc. When it should have struck the soldier's trunk, it hit air. Unprepared, he fell off balance, smacking to his knees on the slick granite.
Once he righted himself, he looked over his shoulder. Alexia held her shotgun in her hands like a stave, parrying and blocking the hulking soldier's stabbing weapon. Using his free hand, the soldier swung a wide right hook. Alexia bobbed, kicking her makeshift staff in a violent upper cut on his chin that sent him reeling backward. He landed on his ass, blood streaming out of his obviously broken nose. She widened her stance as he popped back to his feeet. First, he straightened his black sunglasses and then his shoulders, before circling his fat neck. Eyes on Alexia, he laved the trail of blood flowing out of his nose with the tip of his tongue and crooked his finger.
Without a moment's hesitation, Alexia stowed the shotgun in the holster on her back and ran toward him. However, it was Declan who knocked him to the ground.
When he turned, wide, black eyes met his.
"Declan." Her breathy voice sent lust vibrating though him, but he tamped it down.
"What are you doing out here?" he asked, hearing the dangerous quiver in his voice.
"What does it look like?" she shouted, roundhouse kicking a soldier in the gut before smashing his face with the heel of her hand.
Declan released a frustrated growl and bent at the waist, rolling an attacking vampire over his back before stabbing him through the heart with his tail. "You know what I meant! Why are you fighting the soldiers?"
Alexia aligned herself so they stood back-to-back, looping her arms around his. "Lotharus sicced his puppies on me," she said over her shoulder.
With a grunt, she pushed against him hard enough to make him double over. One second she was behind him and the next she flipped over his head, standing face-to-face with him. At the sight of her, his heart kicked against his ribs. Curtains of wet hair clung to her face. Her eyes flickered at the sight of him, and Declan was instantly drawn into their depths. Every emotion coursing through him was mirrored in her eyes.
Without hesitation, he snaked an arm about her, tucking her slim body against his. A groan hummed along his skin as she fell against him. The hard-boned corset and leather she wore was unyielding and cold against his bare chest. The exact opposite of the creamy, flawless perfection it protected.
She blinked. "He's ordered the soldiers to seize me by any means necessary," she said, clutching his arm and spinning out of his embrace. Keeping one hand on him, she shot the other hand to the gun at her hip. Her focus solely on the soldier closing in on her left, she skinned her Glock and fired.
Declan tucked his chin to his chest to shield his face from the blast. When he spun back around, he saw another soldier pop up behind her. He tugged on her arm to yank her out of harm's way, but she held him in a death grip, her attention still to her left.
"Alex, look out," he shouted.
Before she could turn around and raise her gun, Declan pulled her back to him forcefully. Drawing her into his body, he shielded her with one of his wings and spun his tail, smashing the end into the soldier's head. Hot liquid coated the tip, the blood dripping down the length of it. He yanked it free of the vamp's skull with little effort.
Chest heaving, he slowly stood upright, opening his wing and releasing his grip on her.
Wide eyes looked up at him. "I didn't see him," she said with a gasp.
His lips tilted in a smile. "Good thing I did."
Declan looked down at the beauty in his arms and felt the battle, the world, fade into oblivion. "Alexia, the horde is falling apart. You're in danger."
"No more than you."
"Exactly. I can't protect you out here," he shouted.
"I don't need your protection."
As if on cue, the sweet scent of her blood filled his nose. Frantic, his eyes scoured her body, settling on her waist. The black leather was shiny, slick with her blood. He narrowed his eyes more in fear than anger. "You're hurt."
Alexia barely spared a glance down before shrugging him off. "It's nothing. I'm fine."
"Fine?" he roared, recalling all too clearly the blinding rage and panic he'd experienced as Lotharus had beat her. The helpless frustration he felt even now, knowing she was hurting yet again. "You're not fine."
She wouldn't look at him. Her gaze was suddenly fixed on something over his shoulder.
"Alexia, look at me...." His words faded when she unsheathed the shotgun from her back and pressed the stock to her shoulder, aiming the muzzle right at him. One eye closed, she cocked the weapon, loading the barrel.
"Duck!"
Declan bent and covered his ears before she'd even finished the order. The shotgun exploded, rattling his brain with numbing force. A body smacked the ground behind him a millisecond later. Heart racing, he lowered his hands and looked up.
Alexia propped the shotgun on her shoulder and shrugged, looking like a cross between a dominatrix and Annie Oakley. An unwitting smile crossed his lips for a moment before a shrill dragon's cry pierced the night. Declan whirled around, his eyes confirming what his heart already knew.
"Tallon," he called in disbelief.
ALEXIA'S HEART KICKED against her rib cage at hearing that name on Declan's lips. A flood of memories poured over her like ice water, and she recalled the female dragon he'd helped escape.
She sucked in a breath and let her gaze follow his to a pink female fighting and losing to a band of Lotharus's soldiers. Three of them had her pinned to the ground on her back. She'd shifted to her dragon form, but still couldn't fend them off. A look back at Declan showed him embroiled in a battle of his own and unable to reach her.
Turning back toward the female, Alexia dropped the shotgun to the stones. Her claws lengthened. Without a second thought, she ran forward, swiping, hacking and slicing Lotharus's soldiers to get to her. Blood, hot and thick, coated her hands, but she managed to grip her pistol with a sure hand. Jumping between the s
oldiers and the felled dragon, Alexia fired rounds into their skulls one by one before they even knew what had hit them.
Inhaling, she pivoted around, expecting to see the dragon on the ground. Instead, what she saw made her heart seem to thud louder than the myriad of gunshots discharging all around her.
The female stood, towering a good ten feet over her, its pink lips quivering with anger, its violet eyes narrow.
"OH, GODS," D ECLAN SAID beneath his breath. "Tallon, no!"
Declan watched in horror as Tallon opened her ser-rated jowls and roared. Alexia's blond hair fanned out behind her from the force of air. She lifted her hands to shield herself, but Tallon's hammerfisted claw back handed her hard. Alexia sailed across the shelf, smacking the rock wall.
Tallon pushed off with powerful hind legs, bounding in a huge leap. She landed directly over the dazed Alexia, straddling her.
"Die, you bitch."
Although it sounded like no more than a violent roar to the soldiers and Alexia, Declan heard his sister's words like a gong in his mind. Panicked, he clamped down his jaw and ran as Tallon's clawed hand snatched Alexia's throat, hauling her off her feet. Alexia dropped her handgun, bringing both hands up to her neck, her legs flailing and kicking the air.
With a roar, Declan swung his tail, punching Tallon in the gut. She dropped Alexia and flew back, landing on the ground so hard a cloud of dust kicked up around her. Hustling to his feet, Declan spun to Alexia. He had to make certain she was okay. Coughing and sputtering, Alexia rolled to her stomach, keeping one hand on her throat as she pushed up to her hands and knees.
Satisfied, he looked back to his sister. She stared from him to Alexia and back at him, abject confusion and disbelief in her eyes.
"You blood-traitor bastard!"
Declan barely had time to register the words before a very human Tallon jumped on his back. Her legs wrapped around his waist. Slim hands circled his neck and pulled.
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