Ashes of War (Sons of War)

by Lia Davis

  Seth glanced from Zavier to Ty, then to Markus. “I think Z’s been keeping his own secrets.”

  Zavier grit his teeth and spoke through them. “Those secrets are not mine to share.”

  Ty snapped his head up and let out a growl so loud it rumbled the windows in the room. “Enough! Why the fuck are we arguing over this? I have a death sentence over my head for killing Eros’s daughter. I doubt he’ll even listen to whatever evidence we come up with anyway.”

  Markus cocked a brow. “He has to go through a trial.”

  Ty let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, he’ll go through the trial and most likely twist everything Ash brings up.”

  “Then we have to be prepared when the time comes.” Markus tapped his fingers on the desk, then added, “Gwen and I will leave in the morning to search for the weaver. Amissa and Cyrus are welcome to stay here.”

  Nodding, Ty said, “I know. I thought I was protecting her by keeping her existence a secret. Now Eros knows…”

  Zavier cursed, drawing Ty’s attention. “The imperials attacked her home.”

  Seth finished the thought. “Which means Garrick knows about her.”

  The same thought kept running through his mind. A number of possibilities ran inside his head. The top two being Garrick could have one of his weavers create a locator spell, but Ty wasn’t sure how his brother would get ahold of anything personal to find Amissa. Unless he didn’t need something from Amissa, but Ty. The second possibility would be Eros aiding Garrick in the search. The later seems more plausible since Eros would use whatever reason he could to get what he wanted.

  “What could Garrick have that Eros wants?” Ty wondered out loud, not directing the question to any in particular.

  Yet, Markus answered. “There is the divine dagger from Elle’s painting.”

  Only Ty didn’t remember seeing the dagger or Garrick with it. If he did have it, Ty doubted his brother would just hand it over to Eros or any of the gods. No, there had to be something else the dragon possessed valuable enough for Eros to desire.

  “You know…” Seth began as he paced in front of the windows in the study. “Eros could just being using Gary to get at you. If he succeeded in capturing, or even killing, Amissa, it’d push you over the edge.”

  Drake growled. “Proving to the gods you are indeed insane. Amissa stays here.”

  If Garrick or anyone else touched Amissa, there would be no holding the dragon back. The world would definitely see what it truly meant to deal with an insane dragon.

  Suddenly, the room around him dissolved and he found himself standing in the cold, too-clean room of his captivity. When his vision cleared, he saw himself strapped to a table in the middle of the room. Scanning his surroundings, he noted several large cages around the outer edge of room. A few of them had prisoners in them, but he couldn’t get a clear visual on them.

  The door opened and Elizabeth entered holding an amber jar in one hand and gloves and a dropper in the other. As she approached the table, he thrashed and growled at her, trying to get a hold of her, but the chains binding him made movement nearly impossible.

  “So strong, yet so weak,” she purred as she set the items she carried on the tray next to the table.

  Fury and buried pain flooded his senses as he watched her remove the lid and dip the dropper inside. Memories of the agony those drops caused him surfaced. With a roar, he leapt into the air toward her, but instead of tackling her to the ground and stopping history, he went right through her. Like he wasn’t really there. But he was there. He could see everything in the room.

  A scream cut through the room, shaking the cabinets and pictures on the walls. Pain exploded in his head and his right eye as if he was being tortured all over again.

  “Ty!”

  He heard his name, but couldn’t make his brain work enough to lock onto the voice.

  “Ty.”

  The second voice was different, more commanding, yet softer. Markus. The voice belonged to his brother. Slowly the pain eased and he opened his eyes. The sudden bright light of the study stung his eyes, telling him someone—maybe him—removed his shades.

  Seth’s face came into view, blocking the light. “Dude, you scared the shit out of us.”

  Scowling, Ty realized he was flat on his back on the study floor. His brothers hovered around him like he was an injured hatchling. He pushed to his feet and when he briefly lost his balance, Markus reached out. Shrugging out of his reach, Ty shook off the wave of dizziness and left the study. There was only one person he wanted to have touch him.

  He needed to find his mate.

  Chapter Ten

  Ash materialized behind an automotive shop in a small mountain town in Georgia. Her nerves were like live electrical wires, making her stomach twist in knots. Taking a deep breath, she forced her legs to move. The man who owned the shop might not be her father. She could be wasting her time with silly childhood hope.

  His name was Evan Martin.

  It didn’t sound much like a Greek god’s name. Then again, it was an alias he used to live among humans. His real name was Evangelos, according to her research. Besides, the oracle was never wrong.

  Rounding the corner to the front of the garage, she cloaked herself with an invisibility spell her mother taught her when she was a teen. She wasn’t ready to face the man. First she had to be sure he was her father.

  Evan made an appearance at one of the bay openings. Ash’s heart stilled for a brief moment as she stared at him. His black hair brushed the tops of his shoulders, but when he lifted his gaze in her direction, he stole her breath. His eyes were identical to her own.

  With a single thought, she teleported back to her hotel room in the nearby town, Dahlonega, and sat on the edge of the bed, her hand over her mouth. A single tear rolled down her cheek. Okay, Ash, calm down and think.

  Rising to her feet, she left the room to head down to the restaurant connected to the hotel. She needed to think, but didn’t feel like being alone. A public place would help, she hoped. So many questions whirled in her mind. Did he know he had a daughter? Did he even want one?

  She shouldn’t have come. Damn, she was such a chicken.

  Ten minutes after taking her seat, the all too familiar presence of a dragon drifted into her awareness. A moment later, Ty sat in the chair across the small round table from her, his lips set in a thin, firm line. Ash sipped her herbal tea and sat back in her chair.

  “I expected you sooner,” she said after lowering her cup.

  He leaned forward and growled, “Can we go somewhere more private?”

  Well, there was a first. He’d actually asked. “I came here to think.”

  After she set her cup down, he reached and gripped her wrist and tugged her closer. “I will not ask again.”

  Yep, he was pissed. Movement behind him caught her eye. The waitress slowly advanced toward them, concern making her brows dip. Ash smiled wide and leaned into Ty, nipping his bottom lip. A low growl rumbled from his throat. His dragon was so close to the surface, she felt him reach out to her without the use of her empathy.

  When the waitress stopped at their table, Ash held Ty’s gaze as she spoke to the woman. “Can you have my breakfast sent to my room?”

  After a brief pause, the waitress answered. “Of course, miss.”

  Once the server walked away, Ty stood, still holding onto Ash’s wrist. She jerked her arm from his grasp and left the restaurant to head to her room. To her surprise, Ty was quiet along the way. However, she could feel his gaze behind those shades boring into her back.

  After entering her room, she turned to face him, arms crossed. Ty let the door slam behind him as he crossed the short distance between them. Holding out a hand, she stopped him at arm’s length. He leaned forward so her palm flattened to his chest. Heat seeped into her flesh and spread up her arm. “What is your problem?”

  He growled and removed his shades. His left eye, the good one, shifted to match the right eye so the dragon looked out b
oth of them. Ash raised her brows. Did he seriously think he could intimidate her?

  After a brief moment, he said, “I looked for you and you weren’t there.”

  “I needed my space. Besides, it’s not like you care anyway.”

  He moved too fast for her to track, which was pretty damned fast. Within a breath of time, he had her back pressed to his front and one large arm locked around her chest. “I care too damn much. My dragon won’t allow anything less. I crave you every second of the day. When you weren’t in the mansion, I had no choice but to track you down.”

  His admission cut through her, making her muscles tense up. The dragon might want her, but the man did not. Just like pouring alcohol into an open wound. Why was she so damn weak when it came to him? Pushing the feeling of rejection away, she twisted out of his hold and faced him. Surprise made his eyes grow round for a brief moment, then his lips curled into a sensual, hungry smile.

  Her heartbeat increased and she stepped back as he stalked toward her. Desire, lust, and need reached out and swirled around her, amplifying her own sexual hunger. Still she continued to back away from him for the pure thrill of being chased and hunted by him.

  The backs of her legs hit the mattress, throwing her off balance so she fell onto the bed. Ty followed, caging her with his arms. Gazes still locked, he claimed her mouth in a fiery need, igniting her from the inside out.

  Unable to stand it anymore, she cupped the back of his head and kissed him. She thrust her tongue inside, meeting his. He moaned and wrapped an arm around her to lift her further up on the bed.

  Her clothes vanished from her body as if he willed it to be. As one of Ares’s sons, Ty possessed the powers equal to the gods. His dragon half provided him, as well as his brothers, strength and primal instincts that amplified those powers.

  Ty broke the kiss and trailed his lips down her throat to her collarbone and further until he took a nipple into his mouth. Tingles of electrical currents raced through her and straight to her core. Her flesh grew more and more sensitive with each brush of his tongue over her nipple.

  When he abandoned her breast, she whimpered, then sucked in a hiss as his mouth covered her pussy. His tongue teased her clit, making her come instantly. Threading her fingers through his hair, she gripped the strands, rotated her hips and rode the wave of bliss.

  He slid two fingers inside her and a rush of hot, bone-shattering sensation surged in her veins. An orgasm ripped through a moment later, making her scream out in pleasure.

  When the last shudder rocked through her, Ty gave one last lap of his tongue and crawled up her body. She waited until he hovered above her, then in a swift jerk of her legs, she flipped them so she straddled his still clothed body. Leaning down, she bit his earlobe, drawing a growl from him. “You’re still dressed.”

  “Then do something about it.”

  With the same divine magic he’d used, she willed his clothes away, removing the cotton and denim barrier from between them. He didn’t take his gaze from hers as she gripped his cock in her hand and guided him inside her. She slowed to allow her body to adjust to his thick cock. After all, this was the second man she’d had sex with.

  Ty tightened his grip on her hips and hissed as she rotated her hips against him. He followed suit, increasing the tempo and the pleasure racing through her. Her control slipped and her senses opened, allowing his dragon inside her mind. The walls she kept up to keep her empathy at bay crashed. His pleasure became hers and hers, his.

  Suddenly, he rolled them over and studied her from above. “What happened?”

  Fear she just broke the trust she’d worked so hard to gain filled her. “I lost control…I didn’t mean to.”

  He drew his brows together, then kissed her with a passion she’d never felt from him before. “Don’t ever apologize to me for being who you are.”

  “I promised you…”

  He bit down on her bottom lip, cutting her off. “That was shared pleasure. And very hot.”

  Another wave of intense pleasure washed over them as he thrust inside her. She fisted the sheets and just let go, loving the way she connected with both the man and the dragon’s spirit within him. Pleasure built higher with each thrust until they screamed in release.

  Chapter Eleven

  In his long life, he’d never been the kind of male to cuddle with anyone. Yet, with Ash he want to hold her, protect her, and give her what she desired. The realization slammed in him as he lied there in the hotel bed, her head on his chest and her red wavy hair draped over them.

  Holding a one-inch wide curl between his fingers, he studied the different shades of red mingled among the strands and did something he swore he’d never do again. He lowered the walls around his heart. “I’m sure I’ll never be the male I once was. You know, before Elizabeth’s torture.”

  Ash raised her head to gaze into his eyes, tugging the curl out of his grasp. With a finger, she traced the scars over his right brow. “I like you the way you are. Damaged and feral. Who else could handle me?”

  His lips twitched. “Damaged and feral?”

  She nibbled her bottom lip, making her look slightly vulnerable. Damn if he didn’t want to be the one biting that lip. “Yep.” Dipping her head, she caught his lower lip in her teeth, then said, “I like my men a little wild.”

  Within quick efficiency, he flipped her to her back and pinned her to the mattress with his body. “I can’t get enough of you.”

  Her emerald eyes darkened a few shades. “What are you saying?”

  A growl escaped him before he could rein it in. “You know what I mean.”

  “Say it, Ty. I want to hear it from you.”

  He studied her for several moments before forcing the words out. “You’re my mate.”

  Her reaction wasn’t what he expected. He’d guessed she already knew they were mates before he said it, but he didn’t expect her to appear relieved he admitted it. Damn female. Before he could roll off her and make his escape like a coward, she cupped his face between her hands and gave him a quick kiss.

  “I will do everything I can to clear you name. Eros will not get away with executing you for something his daughter provoked.”

  Searching her green gaze, he saw only truth. She believed what she said, that she could save his life. “What if I’m not worth saving? I’m not sure what the weaver will unlock.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “You have to believe with me and trust in me. I can’t let you go.”

  His heart ached. The undertone of her words cut deep and was a little too close to a commitment. Yet, for once he didn’t want to run. He wanted to believe. “That is a big request to make.”

  “I know. I’ll wait as long as it takes.”

  Mischief and stubbornness sparked in her gaze, so he decided to change the subject. They would deal with the mating thing later. Like after his life was spared. “Why are you here?”

  All the humor faded from her face and she averted her gaze. She remained silent for several long moments. His patience grew thin. When he let a low growl rumble from his chest, she snapped her gaze back to his. Annoyance lit up her emerald eyes, but there was an undercurrent of sadness hidden in the depths.

  The sadness made his dragon long to hold her, protect her. Gently, he caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. “Tell me, please.”

  “I found my father.”

  He jerked his head back, surprised. Parents weren’t the kind of thing Ty or his brothers thought about. Their existence just was. The only true parent they had—Ares’s son, Drakon Ismenios—died before they were created. All their lives, they’d called Ares father and never gave a thought otherwise. Times like this Ty had to remember that others had parents—a mother and father.

  Of course Ash had a father.

  “Why haven’t you mentioned him? Was he missing?”

  She pressed her palms against his chest and shoved. Rolling to his side, he allowed her to sit up. All the while concern rippled through him, making
him feel uneasy and unsure for the first time since Elizabeth.

  Ash glanced at him from over her shoulder. “My mother always told me my father was mortal and he died. Even as a child, I knew the loss of him pained her, so I never brought it up.”

  “But something changed?”

  Nodding, she rose and walked bathroom where she slipped a black silk robe on. “When I was told to spy on the Sons of War, the oracle pointed me to a group of archives to aid in my research.” She paused and faced him, holding his gaze as she continued. “There was a ledger that didn’t belong. When I asked her about it, she just rambled on about everything is as it should be.”

  Ty rolled to his back and placed his hands behind his head. “Oracles don’t make mistakes. Do you think she placed the ledger there for you to find?”

  “Yes. The ledger was of a god named Evangelos, minor god of messengers.”

  Turning his head, he met her gaze. “And?”

  Leaning against the bathroom doorframe, Ash rolled the tie to the robe between her fingers. “He was cursed to live on earth as a mortal. There was a section missing from his journal, so I don’t know his crime.”

  He studied her for a long moment, waiting for her to continue. When she remained silent, he asked, “What are you not saying?”

  “Mother said he was dead. What bothers me about the whole thing is she believes it. She is deeply saddened by the mention of him, so I’ve never brought it up.”

  “Do you think she’s being truthful about his death?”

  Ash raised her gaze to his, the annoyed fire lighting up the green of her eyes. “She’s a goddess. If he meant nothing to her, she’d just tell me so. Ditto if he used or hurt her in any way. No, she believes he is dead. I’m sure of it.”

  He swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up at the same time. “Get dressed.”

  “What? Why?”

  “We’re going to pay dear daddy a visit.”