Shattered Spirits

by C. I. Black

  They cleared the gully and cut between two squat office buildings. To the left and up the hill was a strip mall with a twenty-four-hour coffee shop. The cold didn’t bother her much—her healing took care of that—but Ryan needed warmth.

  Mother, he could have died. He had almost died. Panic raced through her. She needed to figure this out.

  They reached the coffee shop, rage and panic thrumming through Capri. She needed to deal with this. Make Ryan safe. But once they stopped moving, she’d have to deal with his shattering mind—except he hadn’t broken apart yet. Maybe there was hope. Please, let there be hope.

  Bright, warm light lit the coffee shop’s front window, giving her a clear view of the entire seating area. At this hour, it was empty. Thank God, and the Mother, and any other deity who might be listening.

  Inside, a chime rang as the door opened and heat flooded over her. Ryan sagged onto a plastic chair at a table that gave him a clear view of all the windows and the front door. His skin was pale and sweat slicked his brow. She couldn’t tell how much blood he was losing beneath the baggy stolen coat. Without a doubt, they’d left a trail to the shop.

  Which meant she needed to call for help now, before more mages showed up.

  A middle-aged woman shuffled out from the back. Her eyes grew wide and froze on the table. Ryan had set the gun in front of him.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled and pulled the weapon under the table.

  “The minute we leave, I want you to call the police,” Capri told her.

  “Why don’t I call them now?” the woman asked.

  “That would do, too.” It wouldn’t give them a lot of time, but if more mages arrived, Capri didn’t want the woman alone and helpless. The catch was, were the police involved in this whole mess? Cooper or Ptolemy could have had enough of her. They could be connected to the mages. Anyone could—

  Except Grey. Grey would never try to kill her. He was too good a friend.

  She pulled the phone from her pocket.

  “Can we trust whoever you’re calling?” Ryan asked. “You can’t rule out that whoever was responsible knows you and has connections.”

  “This guy is safe.” She hoped. No, Grey was safe. He’d help her; she just had no idea how she was going to pay him back.

  She dialed Grey’s number. It rang once, twice, three times. It started a fourth and clicked. It was going to his messages. But instead of the answering machine response, a gruff voice said, “Hello?”

  “Grey?”

  “Capri?” Grey cleared his throat. “This isn’t your number. And it’s almost one. What’s wrong?”

  That’s what she loved about him. Smart. Always knew when someone was in trouble. He was going to make some lucky drake very happy.

  “Capri?” he asked, panic edging his voice. “Where are you?”

  “At the coffee shop on Meyer.” Shit. The words had jumped out before she realized what she was saying. She really needed a break, time to ground herself—and get rid of this damned headache.

  “I’m coming over.”

  “No, don’t—” He couldn’t see Ryan. If Grey knew he was her inamorator he’d… she had no idea what he’d do.

  Grey strode around the outside of the building. In a blink of an eye he’d gated in.

  Damn. “Wait here,” she said to Ryan and went outside to meet Grey. All she’d wanted was a safe place to stay. He could have given her that without showing up, but he hadn’t given her a chance to ask. This face-to-face was dangerous for both Ryan and Grey. If whoever attacked her knew Grey was as good a friend as this, he could be in danger, too.

  “You were supposed to just talk to me, set me up with a safe house,” she growled, “not show up.”

  “You sounded like you needed help.” His gaze traveled up her body, over the ratty blood-stained coat. “And it looks like you need it.”

  “Yes, but if they see us together—”

  His eyes narrowed and the muscles in his jaw tightened. “Who’s the drake?”

  “The drake—?”

  “Yeah, the guy sitting in the coffee shop glaring at me from the corner of his eye.”

  “There’s no—” The only person in the shop was Ryan.

  “I don’t recognize him. But he’s dressed as badly as you.”

  Grey was seeing a drake, or rather a drake’s aura. Which meant Ryan’s aura wasn’t a figment of her headache or stress. It was real.

  Mother, somehow Ryan was now a mage. But no dragon had body-shared with him… unless being her inamorator changed things within him, awakened his magic. Except that wasn’t possible. Only a dragon’s spirit could connect with the earth’s magic and that took time. At the minimum a day and the maximum was years.

  “He’s a friend. He was visiting when… when trouble came calling.”

  “That’s pretty vague.” Grey squinted. “He looks like the human you were with at Nero’s.”

  Shit. Capri yanked Grey around so he couldn’t see into the coffee shop. “He’s not.” Her stomach roiled, and she bit the inside of her cheek. She hated lying to Grey, but it was best for him. He was already in Regis’s black book for keeping Hunter’s inamorata a secret and joining Hunter’s unofficial coterie. If it came out that he knew of another human mage, she doubted even Hunter could protect him. “So can you set us up for the night or what?”

  The vein in Grey’s temple pulsed, and he turned his gaze back to the coffee shop. “What did you say his name was?”

  For the love of—! “I didn’t.” Now was not the time for him to suddenly become jealous. He’d quietly waited for her for centuries, and she supposed she’d quietly waited for centuries for him to give up.

  “I really don’t remember his aura.”

  Her stomach flip-flopped again. Would he refuse to help her if he realized Ryan was a mage… or worse, her lover? She hadn’t thought Grey was a vindictive kind of guy, but did she really know him? Did any drake let another get close enough to truly know him or her?

  “You can’t remember everything.”

  Grey raised an eyebrow. Even in the frigid air, sweat slicked his temples. “Wanna try that again?”

  “I—” She had no idea what to say. In that moment, she’d do whatever it took to keep Ryan safe from dragon-kind. Mother of All, she’d lost her mind.

  She jerked away and ran a hand through her hair. It was loose. Ryan had pulled the chignon free in the greenhouse. Heat swept through her at the memory of his hands and lips caressing her human flesh. Of him sliding thick and hot inside her.

  He glanced up from his coffee and met her gaze through the glass. A hint of a smile softened his expression and her heart thumped in response. Hers. Her heart belonged to him and no other. She had to keep him safe. No matter the cost.

  “Ah, shit,” Grey said.

  She whirled back to him. He stood so still. All sense that he was fighting to hold himself together had stopped. If she hadn’t known he was alive, she might have mistaken him for a statue.

  “He is that human, isn’t he?”

  She held his gaze, trying to figure out what to say. Did she need to protect Ryan from Grey or not?

  “How did I become the go-to man for saving the asses of human mages?”

  A growl bubbled within her. “I can save his ass just fine. What I need is a place to hole up until I figure out who’s trying to kill me.”

  “You didn’t want me involved because he’s a mage, you stupid drake?” Grey met her growl and bared his teeth.

  “I think you knowing about him will put you in danger.” She grabbed the front of his coat and yanked him close. Rage shook her, but she didn’t know why. Grey was going to help. She didn’t doubt he would. But why did he have to figure out what Ryan was? Why did Ryan have to be anything other than what she’d thought he was? She hadn’t wanted things to be more complicated, for either of them.

  Grey jerked from her grasp. “Your little mage is the least of my worries.”

  “He’s not so little.”

>   He flashed his teeth. “You don’t say.”

  Something within her broke. She didn’t know what. Ice swept over her, and her rage turned to fear. Grey’s smile turned fierce, as if her fear were painted on her face. He’d come to a realization about her, one she was sure she hadn’t figured out for herself yet. In that moment, she knew he wasn’t just a good friend to Hunter, he was one to her as well. And she had no idea how the hell she was going to be able to repay him.

  His gaze dropped to her feet. “Those boots are way too big for you.” He frowned. “And where are your pants?”

  That was all he had to say? “It’s complicated.”

  “Complicated?”

  “Yeah, someone blew up my house.”

  “Holy shit. Any idea who?”

  “If I knew that I wouldn’t be coming to you for help. It could be anyone in Court.”

  Warm air swept over her and the chime above the coffee shop door rang. “What’s going on, Capri?” Ryan asked.

  “Just arranging a safe place to stay.” If she didn’t wipe his mind, they were going to have to have a long conversation—part of which involved whatever his earth magic might be. Hopefully it was something subtle, like enhanced strength or speed.

  She bit back a growl. What the hell was she thinking? They couldn’t have a conversation. She had to wipe his mind, and if she could wipe hers, she would. Except now he had an earth magic ability, which meant dragon law demanded he be killed.

  CHAPTER 31

  The apartment Grey sent them to was a loft in a renovated warehouse in a seedier part of town. Ryan had remained quiet for the taxi drive, the climb up the stairs to the third floor, and the march down the dimly lit hall. He looked strained, as if the events of the evening had finally sunk in: they’d had sex. Her house had been blown up. He’d seen things he shouldn’t have seen. Impossible things.

  And there was nothing she could do to fix that.

  His aura flickered, brighter now than before. Whatever earth magic he’d developed, it was growing stronger. She just couldn’t figure out how that was possible. He hadn’t shared his body with a drake—sex didn’t count—so there was no way the magic asleep within his body had been woken. Only the magical strength of a dragon’s spirit could activate a human body’s connection to the earth’s magic.

  Unless being her inamorator had something to do with it. Maybe his soul magic had also been strengthened. Maybe he wouldn’t live a normal human life and she wouldn’t be faced with an eternity of loneliness after he died. That still didn’t solve the problem of him losing his mind once he realized the truth.

  This was such a mess.

  She slid the key Grey had given her into the lock and opened the door. Weak illumination from a streetlight outside the bank of windows on the far wall created a sense of foreboding. She found the light switch and flicked it on. The place was basic and it didn’t look as if Grey had been in the loft for years. Most of the right side of the space was a gym and boxing ring. Dust sheets had been pulled from a kitchen table with three mismatched chairs, and from a bed by the bank of windows, mostly hidden by a series of paper screens. At her feet were two shopping bags, one with clothes and the other with food. Grey was a better friend than she deserved.

  “Wow, you take me to all the best places,” Ryan said.

  “I’m not sure we’re in any position to complain.” She dug through the bags, looking for bandages for Ryan.

  “I’m still trying to figure out what that position is, exactly.” He closed the door and leaned against it, arms crossed, waiting for an explanation.

  What could she tell him? “It’s complicated. Now let’s look at your injuries. I know your ribs were grazed.”

  Now was the moment when she had to do her duty. Except she couldn’t kill him. She’d never be able to kill him. It would be easier to kill herself—and that wasn’t an easy proposition since the only real way to kill her was decapitation or maybe fire.

  In the very least, she needed to erase his memories, save his sanity. But she didn’t want to rip into his mind and make him forget about her. She wanted him to know her, the real her, and accept her for who she was. But that was completely dangerous.

  He didn’t move from the door. “Well, use small words so I can understand it.”

  “I didn’t mean you wouldn’t understand.” Except that was exactly what she’d meant. “I just—” She thought about her power word. Just thinking about it made her head hurt.

  Damn it, just say it and be done with it. But she couldn’t. She couldn’t make herself do it.

  It wasn’t fair. It God damned wasn’t fair.

  “There are things you don’t understand. Take off your coat.”

  “Then help me.” He meant help him understand, not help take the coat off, but her gaze lingered at the sliver of bare chest peeking from beneath his collar.

  Mother, she wanted him so badly. “You’re bleeding. Let’s deal with that.”

  “You’re bleeding, too.” He grabbed her arm, pulled her to him, and opened her coat, revealing the dried blood around what should have been a gunshot. “I know you were shot. I saw it. And I saw that man disappear and reappear. I know what I saw. I’m not crazy.”

  “No,” she said between gritted teeth. “You’re not crazy.” She was in so much trouble. There was no good way out of this. But she had to tell him the truth. Her soul demanded it. She couldn’t lie to her inamorator, no matter how much it was for his own good. “There are things you need to know.”

  “Then tell me.”

  She pulled away before she melted into his embrace and forgot herself in his lips and body. This needed to be done. If he went completely crazy, she could wipe his mind. If he didn’t accept her, at least she’d told the truth. It was all she could do now. Where was Diablo when she needed to shoot something?

  “Take off your coat and let’s see if Grey left us something to drink.” She grabbed the shopping bags and took them to the kitchen table. Grey had sent them a change of clothes—including boots—a couple of microwave dinners, a new cell phone, and a first aid kit. She pocketed the phone and pulled out the kit. “No liquor, but at least we have bandages.”

  “You’re stalling.”

  Yes, she was.

  The muscle in his jaw worked, as if he were considering his options. Then he blew out a long breath and slid off the coat.

  He was gorgeous, all ripped muscle promising strength and protection. And only hours ago, she’d run her hands over his flesh, felt him move within her, shared his breath, bonded her soul to his in a way she couldn’t explain to him.

  Heat swept up her neck. She didn’t want to leave him, didn’t want to hurt him, and had no idea what she was going to do.

  She struggled past that thought and the memory of his skin under her fingers and focused on his wounds. Red bruises and small lacerations covered his chest, arms, and face—he was going to look terrible in about a day—but blood only really wept from the graze along his ribs.

  Thank goodness it wasn’t bad. It was actually a miracle he’d gotten through that with only scrapes and bruises.

  “Are you going to say anything?” He meant her unfinished complicated explanation, but there was a heat in his gaze that said he wanted to talk about something else.

  She opened a package of gauze and pressed it to his side. “Hold this. I just need to cut some tape.”

  “And when we’re done with me, you’re taking off your coat.”

  Her heart stuttered, the memory of his body against hers drawing shivers. “I’m not injured.”

  She cut the tape and pressed the first two pieces to his body.

  He captured her hand as she applied the third piece. “I don’t believe you.”

  “You’ve seen it. I’m not hurt.”

  He drew even closer, capturing her between his arms and the counter. The warmth of his body seeped through the thin coat. He brushed his lips across her cheek and down her neck. His hot breath caressed her too-sensiti
ve flesh and threatened to bring on another purr.

  “Stop stalling. You’re going to bleed to death.”

  God, he felt so good, so right, pressed against her. So right. “I’m not going to bleed to death.”

  Why couldn’t they just be like this forever?

  “But I saw you get shot. Twice.”

  “I know.” She sucked in a quick breath but it didn’t steady her. “You can’t turn back from this. Once you know, you know.”

  “For the love of—” He jerked away.

  She grabbed him and yanked him back, capturing his gaze with hers. “Knowing is dangerous.”

  “As dangerous as someone blowing up your house?”

  “Possibly more dangerous.”

  His eyes narrowed. He didn’t believe her. “If you don’t start talking, I’m leaving. I can look after myself.”

  “Can you look after your sister? Your niece?” Except it could already be too late for them. No. The destruction of her house had nothing to do with Ryan. His family was still safe. He could still be safe if she could convince Diablo she’d wiped his mind.

  He tensed, his body trembling under her hands. “Are you threatening me?”

  “No, God, no. But you need to understand. Once you know, your life will change. Everything will change.”

  “So what?” He rolled his eyes. “You’d tell me but then you’d have to kill me?”

  “Something like that.”

  He slammed his hand on the counter beside her. “Cut the secret agent crap,” he roared.

  Yes, there was a spirit strong enough to stand against her inner drake. Hot anticipation swept through her. She bared her teeth, unable to resist sending him a challenge. His eyes flashed wide.