Flames & Fervor

by Daniella Starre

  Damon steadied me and kept his hands on my hips, grounding me.

  “Yes, Francesco fought the other dragon. Yes, he brought you here. We are in the mansion of the Three-Tailed Clan.”

  “Three-Tailed Clan,” I repeated dully. “Just how many dragons are there in Philly?”

  “Fifty of us in the clan.”

  “And that other dragon? I take it he’s the one killing the humans? Is he a part of your clan?”

  Damon shook his head. “He’s from the Fanged Serpents Clan.”

  I blinked several times. Should I be more amazed or dismayed?

  Both.

  “How long have you been here?” I whispered.

  “A few months.”

  “And the Fanged Serpents?”

  “Just two weeks.”

  I blinked, perplexed. “What brought both clans here to Philly?”

  “We had been overcrowded where we last lived,” Damon explained. “We settled on Philly and immediately set sail.”

  “Wow,” I murmured. “Two dragon clans are at war in my city. That’s just great. Fantastic. So, when are you going to annihilate the other clan? What they’re doing has to be stopped. They can’t be allowed to just kill anyone they want.” I gulped. “Like they almost did with me.”

  “You will be kept safe,” Damon said. Without warning, he was embracing me and rubbing my back.

  Awkwardly, I returned the hug. His back was every bit as strong and solid as his chest, and I snuggled against him. I shouldn’t have , but the wine made me. At least that was my excuse.

  “I don’t need your protection,” I said. I should pull away, but I didn’t. He was still holding me, and the back rub felt so amazing. Yeah. Totally not moving.

  “Clearly, you do need our protection. Francesco would be ashamed of us all if we allowed you to leave.”

  “Um, I have freedom. I can come and go as I please.”

  Damon nodded. “True enough but that dragon was close enough to smell you. You will get caught by the other clan, and then, you will be dead.”

  “Oh, how nice of you to still assume I can’t protect myself.” I forced myself to wiggle out from his arms. Immediately, I missed his warmth. He was so hot, both looks-wise and temperature-wise. “I can.”

  “With what?” he asked. He didn’t seem to necessarily think I was incapable, at least, so that was a good sign. I absolutely hated it when guys acted like girls were always damsels in distress. That wasn’t me. Hell, I wasn’t ever a damsel in a dress. I was strictly a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal. Although I did like to wear heels when it was practical.

  That my profession required me to wear skirts in order to be taken somewhat seriously really irked me. If I could get away with walking onto crime scenes in jeans, I totally would. But the skirt sometimes helped. A few times, it had armed me. Some people just were plain sexist, and that went for men and women. When you’re an investigative reporter, you tended to meet all kinds of people, and not all of them were pleasant. Not all of them wanted to help. That could make life difficult.

  Thinking back to Detective Hugh Mark, yeah, sometimes the police were the worst offenders of all.

  “At home, I have a gun,” I said. “I do know how to use it.”

  “You would shoot me?”

  “If you gave me a reason to,” I said.

  “Have I?”

  “Not yet, but that doesn’t mean you won’t.”

  A flicker of shock flashed in Damon’s eyes. “You don’t feel safe here?”

  I hesitated. “I do, but I would feel better if I could leave.”

  “I’m not stopping you.”

  I didn’t make a move to leave. “When are you going to take out the other clan?”

  “It’s not so simple. This other clan, the Fanged Serpents, they’re dangerous. They have a history of going around and destroying.”

  “Destroying what? Killing humans?”

  He shook his head. “Not so much killing humans. That’s relatively new.”

  “Oh, how lucky for us,” I murmured.

  Damon gave me a lopsided smile. I must’ve hit my head because that smile did something to me that it definitely shouldn’t have. So inappropriate right now.

  “They have wiped out other clans before. We were hoping to have other clans join us in a final confrontation against them.”

  “You don’t sound too pleased, so I take it they turned down your offer.”

  “I don’t know all of the details yet. Miguel only just got back.”

  “I’m not too sure he wanted me here,” I said. At least, that was how he had come across at first. Then, he seemed to warm up to me, just like I had him. And that Francesco guy seemed to be really protective of me.

  “Miguel was afraid,” Damon said. “Humans aren’t supposed to know about dragons.”

  “If it weren’t for Francesco…” I swallowed hard.

  “Don’t worry about that.” Damon squeezed my hand.

  I had to. Maybe it was weak of me, but I needed to feel his strong arms around me. I wanted to be strong all of the time, but I was trembling. I was weak with relief and fear and on edge. Dragons were real. Two dragon clans were at war in my city, and one side was killing humans. It was more than I could handle. Hell, it was more than anyone could handle. Even a Marine wouldn’t be able to be unflappable in the face of all of this.

  “How was I able to heal so quickly?” I asked as I pulled away. “I know I was injured badly. I thought I was dying.”

  Damon hesitated. “I gave you some of my blood.”

  “You mean like a vampire?”

  Damon rolled his eyes. “Vampires aren’t real.”

  “Thank God for small favors,” I muttered. “What about werewolves? Are there other shifters or just you dragons?”

  “Just us dragons.” He winked. “Why? Always wanted a werewolf for a boyfriend?”

  “No. I prefer leather and wings,” I quipped.

  “That can be arranged. Hell, I’d love to see you in leather and lace.”

  My cheeks were flushed, and I tried to hide my embarrassment. “I don’t think we need to worry about that now.”

  “No?” He cupped my cheek and rubbed his thumb along my lips.

  My heart skipped a beat. I could hardly think while he did that.

  “Why not?” Damon asked. He dipped his head.

  Was he going to kiss me? I wanted him to. I did. I should close my eyes and lift onto my toes…

  No. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. Not yet anyway.

  “I have to go,” I said abruptly.

  “And do what?”

  “I have to get to work.”

  “At this time of night?” Damon shook his head. “Stay the night. We can take you back to your place in the morning.”

  “How well can dragons smell?” I asked.

  “Better than dogs. If you’re worried about the other dragon coming for you, don’t be. He’s dead.”

  “Still, won’t I stink of dragons? Won’t that make another dragon think twice?”

  “Possibly. Which is why you should stay here until all of this blows over.”

  I laughed, but the sound was so sarcastic and without any mirth.

  “Stay here until the war between dragon clans is done and over with. Yeah. No thank you. I think I’m gonna get going now.”

  “I really think you shouldn’t.” Damon moved to block me.

  I rolled my eyes. “Fine. You got a laptop I can borrow?”

  He crossed his arms and leveled me a glare. “Just what is your line of work, anyway?”

  I hesitated. If he knew, he wouldn’t be too pleased. I was an excellent bullshitter, but I had a feeling that he would see right through me.

  “I’m a reporter.”

  “You think we’re going to let you just expose us to the world?”

  I shrugged. “Do you think that I would do such a thing?”

  His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You’re the one who wants to rush off and return to wor
k right after we’re trusting you with a huge secret. You mean to tell me that we should trust you?”

  “Isn’t that how trust goes?” I snapped. “It goes both ways. Look, I’m glad I know. I also wish I didn’t. It’s a lot to take in, okay? I need some semblance of normalcy right now. I know that nothing is as it used to be, but I can’t… I need this okay? To write something. Anything. Even if I can’t… Damnit, Damon! I swore to myself that I wouldn’t be one of those BS journalists who lied to the public. What am I supposed to do now?”

  “Funny,” Damon growled. “I was just beginning to think the same thing.”

  Chapter 8

  Damon King

  I didn’t want to have to force her to stay here. I didn’t want to have to muzzle her. Most of all, I didn’t want Miguel’s fears to be realized.

  But, here we were.

  Audrey’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in suspicion. “What’s that supposed to mean? You want to keep me here against my will now? Bind and gag me?”

  “Of course not,” I said, trying to smooth things over. “I think you can understand where my worry stems from.”

  “I do,” she admitted, “but that doesn’t mean that I have to stop living my life because I discovered your secret. Let’s just say that if there are several dragons from the Fanged Serpents that are going around slashing people to death, that others will find out about the dragons.”

  “It’ll be the last thing they ever find out,” I pointed out.

  Her face blanched. “I need to get out of here,” she said.

  She rushed past me, and I didn’t stop her. I could smell that Francesco was right around the corner. He was dying to talk to her face to face, and he deserved to. Maybe her savior would be able to talk some sense into her.

  As for me, I was beside myself, sick with worry. An icy dose of fear was trying to douse my inner fire, but I would never allow that to happen.

  A low growl formed at the base of my throat, but I suppressed it. It could too easily give way to a howl. Yes, dragons howl too, not just wolves. A howl right now would only frighten Audrey all the more.

  Her fear. I felt it as keenly as my own. Giving her my blood meant that we had bonded. I had been too afraid to mention that part to her. In a few days, my blood would pass through her system. That bond would either strengthen or fade away. Either she would love me or hate me. Honestly, I was fine whichever way the chips might fall.

  Or so I told myself. She might be a human, but she had some power to her, an inner spark of her own. She wouldn’t lie down without a fight, and I had a feeling that when she did return home, she’d make sure to go nowhere without her gun. Not that she would have much luck with a gun against a dragon. Our hides are too thick. Bullets can’t penetrate them. A grenade might possibly do some damage. Our claws are made of a material that isn’t found anywhere else in the world. Only that can slice through us. Well, they say diamonds are the Earth’s strongest mineral, so maybe a diamond blade could kill us. Possibly.

  The hum of faint voices came to me from the hallway. Audrey and Francesco were talking, as I suspected they would. Good.

  I left her room. In the hallway, Audrey glanced at me. She already looked more calmed down. I fumed to myself. Why had I been the one to set her off? I hadn’t meant to upset her. She took me off guard. I couldn’t think around her. She made me worry about her. I wanted to protect her.

  But she doesn’t want your protection.

  Too damn bad. Nothing was going to happen to her.

  A look crossed over her face, one that I couldn’t understand. She and I were still staring at each other. Francesco was still talking. That guy never stopped.

  I nodded to her. She shrugged, but she did offer me a small smile at least. Maybe she wasn’t so angry with me anymore. I hoped that was the case.

  Stupid. I was being stupid. There were fifty dragons within my clan. I had to worry about them first and foremost.

  Was it possible that the blood bonding went both ways? I wouldn’t have thought that possible, but clearly, something was there. There was something simmering beneath the surface between Audrey and me. She had to feel it too. For whatever reason, I longed for her. I wanted to hold her, take away her worries, kiss her, rip off her clothes…

  I had to readjust as I stalked down the hall. Miguel was in the study, drinking some scotch. I gestured for him to pour me some, and he gave me a double.

  “Good man,” I said. I swallowed half in a single gulp.

  “She seems to be…”

  “Reckless?” I suggested. “Dangerous? Irrational? Eager to get herself killed?”

  Miguel’s jaw dropped open, and he shook his head. “Maybe she was different for me, but she seems… amazing. What a chica.”

  I shook my head and downed the rest of my drink. “I doubt she likes being called that.”

  He shrugged. “So far, no, but it will grow on her. She will love it as she will love me.”

  It was a good thing I hadn’t stared to pour more scotch out of the decanter because I would’ve spilled it.

  “Love?” I repeated, shocked.

  “Why do you look as though you have swallowed a fly?” Miguel slapped me on the back.

  I brushed him away, poured that scotch after all, and drained my glass for a second time. Then I slammed the glass onto the ground, not hard enough to break it, and walked over to the impressive floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the city.

  “She knows about us,” I said.

  “Clearly. She was attacked by one of our kind and recused by another.” Miguel crossed over to join me. He carried over his drink. He was nursing his. Then again, I didn’t know how much he’d had before I’d entered.

  I curled my hand in an angry fist and gently tapped that fist against the window. “No. Not one of our kind. The Fanged Serpents aren’t dragons. They’re a menace, a blight. They’re an infection that is blighting the world. They leave chaos and destruction in their wake. No more. No longer.”

  “You’re finally willing to fight them?” Miguel asked with a grin. He had always wanted to jump in head first, wings spread, to dive bomb and attack the others.

  I, on the other hand, wanted to take a different approach. I thought that we needed to end the Fanged Serpents once and for all. It truly wasn’t only because Audrey had been caught in the cross-claws that I wished to destroy them.

  Francesco had been torn. As such, we hadn’t been able to reach an agreement at all. Miguel, in the hopes of having the war sooner rather than later, had volunteered to go and seek out other nearby clans to see if we couldn’t end them for once and for all.

  But Miguel told me that none were willing to. He now had so many stories of the horrors they had committed. They had tortured dragons. Chopped off their wings or tails. Forced them to stay in that form for months. Then, they had allowed them to transform back to humans, and they had missing arms or legs or were paralyzed. The wounds on their dragon bodies affected their human counterparts as well. This had been known for centuries, but that knowledge had not been gained from such terrible amputations.

  Two clans at least had been wiped out by the Fanged Serpents. Two entire clans. One had nearly double the number of ours. It was insane to contemplate.

  From what Miguel had told me, the Fanged Serpents would first learn the weakness of whichever clan they had targeted. Then, they would exploit them.

  With the first clan, the Fanged Serpents had poisoned their pond. That clan had lived in Arizona, in the desert. The pond had been where they could drink while in either form. They all died off one by one.

  As if emboldened by their success, the Fanged Serpents then went to a Seattle suburb. There, they killed the dragons by burning them to death. Yes, even though we each contained fire, we could die from the flames. It would take at least three dragons’ flames to kill one of us, but it was possible.

  To turn a strength into a weakness took a great deal of power.

  I shook my head as a terrib
le idea came to me. We needed to know more about the Fanged Serpents ourselves. We must know their motivation. Better yet, we had to learn their weakness for us to exploit it.

  And who better to do that than an investigative reporter? Because I was looking up reporters who were named Audrey in Philly, and only Audrey Wright came up. I wanted to get to know more about her, and sometimes the direct source wasn’t always the best way to get info.

  No. I would never put her in the literal line of fire like that. Miguel already fancied himself in love with her. Francesco most likely did as well, based on the way he had been so damn protective of her from the get go.

  As for me, well, I wouldn’t say I was falling for her, but, fuck me, I was falling for her too.

  I didn’t want anything to happen to her. She had to stay here where we could protect her. If she went out into the world smelling like dragons, she would definitely become a target. There was no doubt in my mind that the Fanged Serpents would find her and kill her.

  That could not and would not happen. Even if it meant that Audrey would hate me, I’d rather that than for her to be killed.

  Chapter 9

  Francesco Marino

  The woman I had saved was one of the loveliest ladies I had ever seen. She had long, red hair and sparkling green eyes. She was so curvy too. Her clothes had been disheveled, torn, and covered in dirt and blood.

  She had burst out of her room as if in a panic. Fury filled me that Damon had angered her so. When she spied me, she hesitated.

  “You’re the dragon who saved me,” she said softly.

  I nodded, mesmerized by her. Inwardly, it killed me that I had saved her from the dragon, but Damon had been the one to save her life. The wounds I’d suffered during the battle had not been life-threatening, but it wouldn’t have been wise for me to give her blood. Not when I wished for my body to heal rapidly. So, Damon gave her his, and she was now bonded to him. I doubted he had told her that part, and I wasn’t about to.

  “Of course I saved you. Why wouldn’t I have?” I asked.

  She blinked. “You had to fight another dragon,” she said. “And it sounds like they’re terrible.”