Very medieval.
Of course, the older dragon had a few spaces that were actually decorated. His throne room. And the harems. And, Levet assumed, the family chambers.
Mostly, however, it was all very dark and grim.
Just like Synge.
They moved quickly down a long corridor where a few servants were going about their business. Some were half-breed dragons, and others were fey or vampires. All of them were wearing green and gold uniforms with the emblem of a lightning bolt on their upper chest. And all of them looked nervous. As if they were expecting to be torched by dragon-fire at any moment.
Waiting until they turned into a hallway that Levet suspected led to the private quarters, he moved to walk at Tayla’s side.
“So what has Synge’s tail in a twist?” he asked.
Tayla cast a furtive glance around before answering. “Blayze disappeared.”
Levet scratched his stunted horn. How long had it been since they found the female dragon. A day? Two days?
“Already?” he asked in surprise. “Do not mistake me—I assumed she would fly the coop, just not so quickly.”
Tayla’s breath hissed between her teeth as she glared down at him. “Are you deliberately trying to get yourself killed?”
Levet considered. Why were people always asking him such a ridiculous question?
“Non.” He gave a decisive shake of his head. “Not deliberately.”
Tayla briefly closed her eyes, her citrus scent filling the air. Then, with seeming effort, she opened her eyes and continued down the hallway.
“We don’t think that Blayze willingly left the lair,” she said.
Levet blinked. Then blinked again. Although he’d been busy with his imp when Blayze had been returned to this lair, he’d heard that they’d tucked her away and surrounded her with layers upon layers of magic. Not to mention the fact that no one could get in or out of a dragon’s lair.
“She was kidnapped?”
Tayla bit her bottom lip. “It’s impossible to say.”
Levet gave his horn another scratch. “I fear that I am confused, ma belle,” he said. “Perhaps it would be best if you started at the beginning.”
She slowly nodded, her green eyes shimmering with worry in the torchlight as they turned down a new corridor. This one had a faded fresco on one wall. It looked like it depicted a battle between dragons and a legion of trolls.
The dragons were winning.
Predictable.
“You know that Blayze was cursed just hours after she was born?” Tayla was asking him.
“Oui. A most cowardly act.” Levet’s tail twitched. He hated demons who picked on the most vulnerable. “What despicable monster would torture a mere child?”
Tayla’s hands clenched into tight fights. “Demons are rarely known for their warm and fuzzy personalities.”
“Hey, I can be warm,” Levet protested. He glanced down at his leathery, gray skin. “Not so much fuzzy.”
“Levet,” Tayla chastised, her tone sharp. “I need you to concentrate.”
Levet’s wings fluttered, his lower lip jutting out in an impressive pout. Then, realizing that Tayla was genuinely worried, he heaved a small sigh.
Later he would remind her that he was a Knight In Shining Armor who was deserving of groveling respect. For now he would put aside his pride and offer his assistance.
It’s what Knights In Shining Armor did.
“Pardon, ma belle,” he said. “I am listening.”
She grimaced, as if regretting her sharp tone, but she continued with her story.
“Ravel escaped with Blayze after the Dragon Council commanded that the young hatching be put to death.”
Levet rolled his eyes. “Dragons.”
Tayla sighed. “Yes. They are ruthless.”
Levet snorted. “Ruthless does not adequately capture their essence.” He glanced toward the fresco splashed over the wall. They’d reached the part of the painting where the trolls were being toasted into piles of ash by the dragons that circled overhead. “They are savage, deranged, bloodthirsty maniacs.”
Her lips parted to argue. Then she gave another sigh. Not even a female besotted with her mate could pretend that the dragons were anything but brutal killers.
“Some of them,” she agreed, giving a dismissive wave of her hand. “Anyway, after Ravel returned to this lair with Blayze, they called on Char to use his magic to slow time. They had to find a way to keep the stasis spell in place until they could figure out a more permanent solution.”
Char, a dragon half-breed, had technically been given to Baine by his father. Like a scaly, fire-breathing birthday gift. But Levet had spent enough time in Baine’s household to know that Char was considered more a brother than a servant.
The two male dragons had been BBFs for centuries.
Now Levet blinked in shock.
“Char can slow time?” he demanded in surprise.
“His mother was a Dalia demon,” Tayla explained.
Ah. Levet gave a nod. Dalia were fey creatures that usually hid in the frozen tundra of Siberia. They could slow time by casting a spiderweb of power.
“Very rare,” he breathed, more than a little annoyed. He’d never seen Char alter time.
Which seemed excessively unfair.
“Yes,” Tayla said.
Brushing aside his irritation, Levet concentrated on more important matters.
“Did Char kidnap Blayze?” he asked.
Tayla flinched. “He’s being blamed.”
“But you do not believe he is guilty?”
“Char has been my mate’s most loyal servant for five centuries.” Her features hardened, her steps slowing as they neared the end of the corridor. “Baine is certain he couldn’t be involved.”
Levet tilted his head to the side. “And you?”
“I agree with Baine.”
“Because you are a dutiful mate?”
She regarded him with a steady gaze. “Because I know Char. He’s charming, arrogant, and self-indulgent, but there’s nothing more important to him than his loyalty.”
Levet sorted through his various memories of the half-breed dragon. Tayla was right. Char was arrogant. Of course, his intelligence was doubtful, since he consistently refused to admire Levet’s astonishing skills.
But the one thing he could not deny was that the younger dragon was obsessively loyal to his master. There was nothing he would not do, including giving his own life to protect Baine.
The thought that he would kidnap Baine’s own sister and make an enemy of Synge was unimaginable.
They stepped through the arched opening at the end of the hallway into a small antechamber. The walls had been smoothed and polished to reflect the overhead chandelier that burned with a hundred candles. There were two long benches spaced around the floor, as if this was some sort of waiting room.
Levet’s gaze darted toward the heavy wooden doors cut into the walls. He suspected that each led to a separate area of the private chambers.
The scent of ancient incense was thick in the air, along with a potent musk of a pureblood dragon who was headed in their direction.
Levet’s tail twitched. It wasn’t that he was afraid of the overgrown lizards. Of course he wasn’t. He was a renowned hero who feared nothing.
Still, he preferred to spend his time with pretty fire imps who toasted his body with pleasure, not screaming agony.
He cleared his throat, studying his companion with a curious gaze.
“While I am quite flattered by your invitation, I fear I am not entirely certain why you were so insistent that I come.”
Tayla stood in the center of the chamber, her face pale as she twisted her hands together.
“I’m worried about Char and Blayze,” she told him. “We must find them.”
Levet stepped forward, sensing there was more than just concern for the two missing dragons.
“Why me?”
Tayla did more hand twisting as she ca
refully chose her words. Levet felt a tiny pang. He might have resented Baine for crashing into Tayla’s teahouse and sweeping her away, but he never doubted that the dragon cherished Tayla with every beat of his serpentine heart. And, more importantly, he’d watched as Tayla had bloomed from a shy, skittish fey into a contented female who faced the world with confidence.
Seeing her once again nervous and on edge troubled Levet.
“Baine and his father have just started to form a relationship,” she told him. “Now they’re once again barely speaking. Synge is convinced that Char is guilty and he’s furious that Baine refuses to agree with him.” She sucked in a deep breath. “The sooner we can prove Char wasn’t responsible, the better.”
Levet grimaced. He could understand her sense of urgency. Dragon family dynamics were volatile under the best of circumstances. Now they must be downright explosive.
A very good reason for a smart gargoyle not to get involved.
“Surely Synge’s servants are searching for them?” he suggested.
“Of course, but they’re concentrating on how Char could have slipped out of the lair unnoticed.” She sent him a pleading glance. “I want to discover if something else could have come in and snatched them.”
“That seems unlikely.”
“No more unlikely than Char betraying Baine.”
Levet couldn’t argue with her logic. “You want me to search the lair for an intruder?” he pressed.
She gave a lift of her hand. “I want you to search for the truth.”
“Even if Char is responsible?”
She nodded without hesitation. “Yes.”
Levet heaved a sigh. Only a fool meddled in dragon business, but he was no match for her big green eyes that silently begged for his help.
“Très bien.” He gave a resigned lift of his hands. “I need to be taken to the place where they were last seen together.”
She tossed him a relieved smile before she turned and headed across the floor.
“Through here,” she said, pushing open a door.
Levet followed in her footsteps, peeking into the room.
It was a massive space that was carved out of the stone in the shape of an octagon. Overhead, the domed ceiling was covered with tiles made from gold. There was a delicate painted screen that divided the main room from a small garden at the far end where a fountain shimmered in the glow of the numerous candles.
Levet stepped forward and then came to a sudden halt. He shivered as a heavy sense of doom wrapped around him.
“I feel as if a troll is sitting on my head,” he rasped.
Tayla wrapped her arms around her waist. “You can still feel Blayze’s curse. It makes the atmosphere a bit heavy.”
He tried to ignore the darkness that hammered at him.
“That is like saying a bear is poopy when he is in the woods.”
Tayla’s brows tugged together. “I don’t know what that means.”
Levet wrinkled his snout. “Me either. But it something that I heard at The Viper Pit,” he said, referring to the vampire bar where he used to be a welcomed guest.
Okay, perhaps welcomed wasn’t the precise word.
Grudgingly not eaten when he came through the door might be more accurate.
Levet was distracted from his inane thoughts when the darkness in the room was overshadowed by a thunderous power that made the floors tremble and the air sizzle with heat.
His claws dug into the marble floor. A dragon.
And one who was wielding enough magic to make Levet’s skin prickle with warning.
A shadow fell across the doorway even as the air continued to heat, making Levet’s wings flutter with discomfort. Really, dragons could be the most inconsiderate creatures. If he wanted to feel as if he was being roasted alive, he would return to the volcano.
On the point of complaining, Levet snapped his lips shut as a male stepped through the door and moved to stand in the center of the room.
Baine.
The dragon had chosen his familiar shape. He had a narrow face, with Asian features and almond-shaped eyes that burned with an amber fire. His straight black hair fell with liquid-smooth perfection to just above his shoulders. He was attired in nothing more than a loose pair of dojo pants that revealed the tattoos crawling over his pale skin with a strange metallic shimmer. Someone not accustomed to the markings could easily become hypnotized by their beauty as they pulsed and changed colors.
The symbols represented the knowledge that Baine had managed to acquire over his long life. Like a moving library.
On steroids.
Levet’s snout twitched at the pounding smell of power and incense and magic.
Folding his arms over his chest, Baine studied his mate before turning his attention to Levet.
“Now isn’t the time for a visit,” he growled.
Tayla moved forward, laying her hand on the male’s arm. “I asked him to come.”
The dragon flicked a brow upward, his gaze lingering on Levet’s lumpy features as if searching for mold. Levet sniffed. He hadn’t had mold on his face since he’d fallen asleep on top of a church in Amsterdam for a few decades.
“Why?” That was Baine. A dragon of few words.
Of course, when you could breathe fire, you didn’t have to say much.
Levet sniffed. “Since when does Tayla have to ask permission for a visit from her favorite demon?”
The brow inched even higher. “Your skull is even thicker than I suspected if you believe that you’re her favorite demon.”
Levet scowled, but before he could retort, Tayla was speaking.
“Levet has a talent for seeing through illusions.”
Baine turned his attention back to Tayla. “So does Ravel,” he reminded her, referring to Blayze’s mother.
Tayla shook her head. “No, she has a skill for creating them.”
Baine paused, considering her words before he gave a decisive nod of his head.
“That’s true,” he admitted. “But I still don’t understand why you would ask the gargoyle to come here.”
Concern darkened her eyes as Tayla studied her mate’s grim features.
“We have to do something, Baine,” she said in soft tones. “For the first time in centuries you have a relationship with your father. I can’t bear to see that destroyed because of a mistake.”
The air sizzled with a blast of heat. “It’s not a mistake,” Baine rasped. “Char would never have kidnapped Blayze.”
Tayla moved back to her mate, laying her hand on the center of his chest. The tattoos whirled over his skin at a dizzying speed.
“I believe that. With all my heart,” she told him. “But we have to have actual proof for Synge.”
The dragon’s lean features softened, his fingers lightly touching Tayla’s cheek. “And you think this creature can help?”
“Hey—” Levet started to protest only to snap his lips shut when the burning amber gaze swiveled in his direction. He was fearless, not stupid. Baine was clearly on edge, causing the air to snap, crackle, and pop with his power. “I am a demon with many talents,” Levet grumbled.
Tayla gave his wing a small pat before lowering her hand. “If Char didn’t kidnap Blayze, someone must have entered the lair and taken them both.”
Baine’s brows snapped together. “Impossible. No one can enter a dragon’s lair.”
Tayla sent her mate a wry glance. “I did it.”
“That’s only because you’re special.”
A flush touched the imp’s cheeks even as she gave a shake of her head.
“I’m happy you think I’m special, but we both know I’m not unique.”
Baine stiffened. “Do you think another fey with royal blood might have snuck in?”
She gave a shrug. “Perhaps. Or it could be a demon we don’t even realize has the same powers as me.”
Baine was silent a long moment, a tendril of smoke curling from one nostril.
“What can the gargoyle do?�
� he demanded. “If there was an intruder, I would have caught their scent.”
“Not if they had the ability to cover their presence with an illusion.”
Another pause. Then the dragon offered a grudging nod. “Fine. He can offer his assistance.”
Levet narrowed his gaze. Pompous jackbutt.
No, wait. Jackass. Oui. That sounded better.
But even as he prepared to inform the ancient demon that he had better things to do than poke around a smelly dragon lair, he caught Tayla’s pleading glance.
“Bien.” Levet squared his shoulders. He deeply disliked dragons. Almost as much as he disliked vampires. But he would do whatever possible to ease Tayla’s anxiety. “Let me do my thing.”
Levet closed his eyes—he’d discovered that it offered a more dramatic effect—then he held out his hand and slowly circled the room. Behind him, Levet could hear Baine muttering beneath his breath.
He caught the words ridiculous and pest. Typical dragon. Jealous of another male who clearly possessed the superior talent.
“He really is the best at detecting illusions,” Tayla loyally assured her companion.
Determined to live up to Tayla’s faith in his skills, Levet fiercely concentrated on his surroundings.
Not an easy task. The lair of a dragon was filled with a variety of demons, which meant there were a hundred different types of magic that threaded through the air. Plus, Baine’s thundering power was battering against him like a jackhammer.
He moved toward the bed in a far corner, his snout wrinkling. The curse swirled around the area like a nasty shroud. Poor Blayze. Her life must be a sheer horror. And now she’d been taken by—
Levet came to a halt, slowly bending down to touch the scorch marks that marred the floor next to the bed.
“Here,” he said.
Tayla moved to stand next to him with a swish of satin. “What is it?”
His brow furrowed as he allowed the lingering magic to settle inside him.
“It is not precisely a portal, but there was some sort of opening created.”
Tayla crouched down beside him. “Fey?”
Levet shook his head. “Dragon.”
There was a shocked silence before Tayla released a harsh sigh.
Dragons of Eternity Collection Page 42
