by Liliana Hart
I felt the whisper against my skin, just as when he’d changed my clothes before dinner. Only this time I was afraid to look down. I could already tell there was much less there than had been before.
“You’re wasting time with parlor tricks, Julian. We have many things to talk about.”
I took my seat on the throne. The blood was gone, and only the softness of the velvet touched my skin. I noticed the wisp of smoke curl out of Julian’s nostril and knew he was irritated that I’d taken his place of power. Good. That made us even. Because I was furious with him.
I crossed my legs. There were slits up both sides of the gown all the way to the hips, and he took a step toward me before he could stop himself.
“I don’t think my throne suits you, Rena. I had something a little more—primitive in mind for you.”
“Chains in the dungeon, no doubt.”
“Never. I was thinking more along the lines of this.”
He nodded his head to the space next to me and another throne appeared out of thin air. A smaller version of his, just as plush and ornate. Just as ancient. But a lady’s chair.
“I would have you rule at my side,” he said. “Think of how powerful we could be.”
“I don’t know, Julian. I don’t think you’ll be very comfortable there. It looks a bit small.”
He threw his head back and laughed, a full-bellied laugh that echoed off the walls and sent tingles low in my stomach. He looked surprised at the sound.
“You’re right,” he said. “This is much more suitable to us.”
He snapped his fingers and both thrones were gone. In their place was a bed the size of a lake. I was lying in the middle of it.
This was not like any bed I’d ever seen. It put the one in my room to shame. This was a carnal bed, a bed for vices and wicked things. Things I was desperately trying not to think of.
“You’re a bad man, Julian. How are we supposed to speak of important matters when it is obvious your mind is elsewhere?”
He gave me a smoldering look, and I felt his power slowly creep around my body so it held me in a loose embrace. His dark hair was unbound around his shoulders and his clothes changed before my eyes. Gone was the suit he’d been wearing at dinner and in its place was a pair of black lounging pajamas. His chest was bared, so I had a beautiful view of hard ridges of muscles that rippled across his chest and down his stomach. He was broad and smooth, and I longed to run my hands over him. My hand moved toward him instinctively, but I jerked it back just in time.
“You look good for your age,” I said with false bravado. I was losing the battle and he knew it.
His eyes crinkled at the corners in silent laughter, and he stalked toward the bed—a dragon on the hunt.
“So what should I get for answering your questions?” he asked. “I’m an expert at negotiations.” His accent was thick and his breathing heavy.
“You’ve had many years of practice.” I closed my eyes against the onslaught of his power. It felt as though his hands were already touching me. They started at the pulse in my neck and slowly skimmed downward toward my breasts. My nipples hardened under his invisible touch and a moan escaped my lips.
“What do you propose?” he asked, reverting to the old tongue.
The bed dipped down and I opened my eyes. He crawled toward me, and his muscles flexed with every movement that brought him closer. I couldn’t remember my own name, much less think of why I’d gotten on a plane and ended up in Belgium.
“Come now, chérie, surely you can think of something worthwhile.”
He was too close. I couldn’t breathe. He reached down to touch me just as I got my brain back under control. I knew I wasn’t ready for any kind of contact. Just our hands touching was enough to make me lose control of every power I had. I scrambled off the bed in a hurry, all sense of decorum forgotten, and left him lounging in satisfied male pride.
“I want to know where the missing Drakán are,” I blurted out.
“Ahh, you wish to ask me questions? Is this correct?”
“Yes.”
“And what shall I get in return? These are negotiations after all.”
“What do you want?”
His gaze left my face and traveled slowly, sensually down my body, and I knew instinctively I was blushing everywhere.
“That is a dangerous question,” he said. “What would you say if I asked for your body in return for these answers I’m supposed to give?”
“I’d say, no.”
“Very well, then. I suppose I will have to settle for a kiss.”
“Just a kiss?” I asked, not trusting the gleam in his eyes.
“Of course. You doubt my word?”
“Absolutely. I don’t trust you, Julian.”
“Wise beyond your years as well as beautiful. But yes, this time I promise nothing more than a kiss. The rest will be up to you.”
“Agreed,” I said before I could change my mind. “But I want my questions answered first.”
“Yes, yes,” he said. “Ask.”
He flicked his wrist and the bed was gone. In its place was a chaise lounge in the same red velvet and gold trim as his throne.
“Please get on with these questions. I am most eager to get to my part of the negotiations.”
“I don’t suppose you can change my clothes to something a little more appropriate for a business meeting?” I asked.
“Of course, but why would I do that when I can see all of your lovely body the way it is displayed now?”
“Never mind,” I said.
I took a deep breath and tried to think of a good place to start without giving away too much information.
“If you’re tied to your clan members as you say, then you know Jillian is dead,” I said.
He grew solemn at the mention of his fallen clan member. “Yes. It is why I knew you’d be coming to me. I saw you in her last moments. I saw what you did for her. I’m grateful for the mercy you showed her.”
“There have been more like her. Dozens more. And humans as well.”
“I am also aware of this.”
I was surprised to hear this. I knew of no other Drakán who could see things as clearly as Calista did. Julian either had much better connections across clan lines or his psychic ability rivaled Calista’s.
“And do you know about the ones who have disappeared altogether? The ones who have vanished from the Earth Realm completely?”
I paced back and forth in front of the chaise, my agitation growing with the more I learned about Julian. He lounged lazily, waiting for me to come to my own conclusions.
“Of course you know,” I said. “You seem to know everything. Were you alive during the slaughter of my family? When Niklos was betrayed?”
“Yes, but I was just a boy,” he said. “My father got great enjoyment out of defeating Niklos because of his stupidity.”
“Because he trusted his mate?” I asked.
“Because he trusted anyone. Especially with clan secrets.”
I was disturbed by his answer, though I didn’t know why. “Then you are aware that Niklos was killed because of the other warriors’ ability to travel through time?” I asked.
He nodded once, his eyes a little more wary.
“I’m told that you have the ability to travel. That you’re a Viator. Is this true?”
He gave me a blank look and raised an eyebrow. “If you have already heard such things about me then you know the answer. At least you think you do. Now, if you’ve finished can we please get on with my part of the negotiations?”
“I’m not finished,” I growled. “If you can travel then you must realize that the disappearances of these people could be laid at your feet. The list of those who can do so is rather short.”
“Ahh, and I suppose you’ve already crossed your own father off the list of suspects. The last I checked he also had this ability.”
“Did you kill your own clansman? Are you the Destroyer?” I yelled, a billow of black smoke curling out of my
mouth and nostrils. I closed my mouth in surprise. I’d never had that happen before.
“Ahh, you have such passion. Such hidden depths,” he said, inhaling the slightly sulfuric scent. “And since I told you I would answer your question, then I will tell you the answer is no. I am not the one you’re hunting. I am not the Destroyer.”
“Oh,” I said. “Of course, I’m sure the real Destroyer would tell me that as well.”
“I’m sure you’re right. I can’t prove it to you. Both of my parents were descendants, just as the Prophecy says. But if you search harder, you’ll find there are others like me. It is rare for different clans to meet and procreate, but it does happen.”
“If you are not the Destroyer, then who is?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“I don’t know who the Destroyer is. But he is someone very powerful. Someone with Ancient blood.”
“Will you help me search for him? The Council is supposed to deliver a warrant of execution for me to kill anyone who has become involved with the Destroyer. Contact them and let them know they have your support. The warrant will come through faster.”
“No.” Julian’s answer was definite.
“I beg your pardon? How can you just say no? The Destroyer could affect what’s left of our entire civilization. Not to mention all of these deaths are bound to draw attention to us from the humans. If he lives, then the Prophecy can never be fulfilled.”
“Do you think the Prophecy matters to me? I am king in my own right here among my people. Why would I give it up to see the Promised Child rise to power? I agree that the Destroyer must be stopped, and if I stumble across him, I will kill him simply because he dared to harm one of my own. But that is as far as I’ll go.”
“Fine. I’ll do it without you. I’ll leave first thing in the morning to go hunting.”
“No. You will stay here until I say you can leave.”
“You’re welcome to say no for yourself, Julian. You are not allowed to say no for me. I am the Enforcer. It is my job to kill those who break our laws, and I will see this through.”
“Then you will die.”
“So be it. At least I’ll die with honor instead of cowering in a corner protecting my hoard.”
I knew I’d gone too far. The pale blue of his eyes turned red around the rims and black smoke curled out his nostrils.
“No, you will not die a coward. But you will die a fool. I’ve heard enough of this talk.”
Julian had moved closer without me realizing it. Before I could issue a protest, he touched the back of his hand to my neck and pulled me down so I sat next to him on the chaise. The gentleness of the touch was completely at odds with his obvious anger. And then the bottom dropped out of my world.
His lips found mine in a scorching kiss that left no doubt of his desire. My eyes closed, and colors swirled behind my eyelids. My power sought his and embraced it. The two magics melded together, so I couldn’t tell where mine began and his ended. I went blind with the intensity, so my other senses took over—touch and texture the only things that were important.
His mouth was open and hot on mine. He devoured my lips, nipping and biting the sensitive flesh and then soothing with his tongue. All I could do was grasp his hair tightly and hold on for the ride. A moan came from somewhere, and I assumed it was mine when Julian gave a triumphant laugh and changed the angle of the kiss.
When our tongues touched, a blue flame erupted around us—a swirling flame of such intense heat it should have burned us to ash. But we sustained the heat and fed its hunger, both of us desperate to merge and make the fire whole—a living, breathing power that would have been ours to control. I needed to be a part of him more than I needed to breathe, more than I needed to be. The intensity of his passion and the hardness of his body against mine told me he felt the same.
“Shit,” I said, and tore myself away. I thought of Noah and his vision. What was I doing?
“Not exactly what a man wants to hear when making love to a woman.”
The blue flame began to ebb as I broke our connection, but I could still see the inferno blazing in his eyes and knew that if I were to look in a mirror I would see a matching gaze. I watched in awe as the flame snuffed itself out and left me cold.
“Get away from me.” I scrambled back as far as the chaise would allow. “What do you think you’re doing?” My breath was unsteady, heaving in and out rapidly from my lungs. “What was that? What just happened?”
“I kept my end of the bargain,” he said much more steadily. “We agreed on a kiss.”
I was pissed because he was obviously not as affected by the results of the kiss as I was. Before I could stop myself tears came to my eyes. I couldn’t remember the last time I cried, and I wasn’t about to start now. I blinked rapidly to stop the tears from falling.
I looked down and noticed for the first time we were both naked, our clothes disintegrated by the flame.
“That was more than just a kiss,” I said, struggling to breathe.
“Perhaps,” he said arrogantly, his face giving away nothing.
“It will not happen again.”
“Perhaps not.”
“I came here to find out what’s happened to our people. And I will do whatever it takes to see that whoever is involved is stopped. No matter what you say, I don’t believe you are completely innocent in all this. You know too much and are sharing too little. Petyr might have been right when he said your time of power was coming to an end.”
“And who’s going to defeat me, Rena? You? A Drakán so desperate to turn her back on her dragon that she doesn’t recognize a mating fire when she sees one?”
He was right. I had no idea what had just happened between us other than the fact it scared the hell out of me. “Stay away from me, or I’ll kill you.”
“Would the human in you allow you to kill a man who was your lover?” he asked smugly.
“You’ve already made it very clear that you’re a monster, not a man. I won’t forget it next time.”
I turned and walked away, my anger so great I didn’t realize I was trapped in Julian’s dream world. I ignored his taunting laughter, but against my better judgment I turned and looked at him when he called my name. He was magnificent and unashamed in his nakedness.
“I’ve changed my mind about the nightgown,” he said. “I’ve decided I don’t prefer my choice after all.”
The words hit me like a slap to the face. My pride was already damaged and now my self-esteem and ego were following close behind it. I held my chin up and began to turn around again, not bothering to reply.
“You are splendid just as you are,” he whispered in my mind. “And next time, lifemate, your cowardice will not stop me from taking you. You are mine, and you are a worthy opponent. Run while you can.”
I followed his advice. I ran until I couldn’t any longer—until the walls of Julian’s dream world disappeared, and I was left running through the thick blackness of night itself, alone in a place between this world and the next.
I woke in my bed, the stitch in my side a not-so-gentle reminder of where I’d been. My body was unclothed, and the white nightgown I’d gone to bed in was tossed in a heap on the floor. My heart pounded violently in my chest, and when I got shakily out of bed, I saw the sheets had been scorched by fire.
Chapter Fourteen
There was no way I’d be able to go back to sleep, so I splashed cold water on my face and dressed in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved black T-shirt. I slipped on a pair of black ankle boots, and left my hair loose around my shoulders.
It was still shy of noon and my stomach rumbled loudly, but I wasn’t ready to face Julian just yet. Where the hell had the blue fire come from? As soon as I got home I was going to do some digging in our archives. I’d never seen it mentioned in anything I’d ever read, and with my luck any mention of the mating fire was probably in the archives that had been stolen by Dimitris. But if the mating
fire meant what I thought it meant, I knew I wanted to take no part.
I picked up the black cell phone from the desk, and turned it over and over again in my hands. The temptation to call Noah was overwhelming. I wondered what he’d say if I told him pursuing me was pointless because I was already mated to a dragon. Nothing good, that’s for sure. I put down the phone and picked up the gold pen and a piece of stationary instead. I needed a plan, a visible list of goals to help me stay on track.
The number one thing on my list was to get the hell out of Belgium, but I crossed it off and deemed it impossible for the time being. With the power Julian wielded, it would be difficult to leave without his permission.
The second thing on my list was to stay away from Julian. I also crossed that one off immediately. As much as I wanted to keep my distance from the man who could literally become “the old ball and chain,” I still needed to ask him a few pertinent questions. Our discussion during the dream had been interrupted much too soon.
I was finally headed in the right direction with my next idea. The best thing I could do with my forced time in Belgium was to talk to Julian’s clan. They’d give me a little insight into their leader, and one of them might know something about the disappearances. Gossip was rampant among the Drakán, especially with the use of the Internet. There was a good chance somebody had overheard something about the missing Drakán.
Satisfied with the idea, I left the privacy of my room in search of food. I jogged down the three flights of stairs, lost in my own thoughts, so I was taken by surprise when I almost ran into a child no taller than my shoulders and dressed like a gypsy. I did a double take when I realized it wasn’t a child after all, but a woman.
Her pale skin was smooth and flawless, her hair as red as flame and her eyes emerald green. She wore a skirt of filmy layers in shades of red and a white peasant blouse that hung off her shoulders. Her feet were bare, her toenails painted a wicked red, and a silver toe ring wrapped around her pinkie. There was a wisdom of age behind her pleasant expression. I knew at once she was an Ancient.
“You’re quite right,” she said. Her teeth were small and square and very white. “I’m terribly old and quite set in my ways.” Her voice was husky and smooth like fine cognac and her power felt me out, testing my strengths and weaknesses automatically.
