by Black, C. I.
A manic giggle rippled down the hall, followed by the staccato slap of bare feet rushing along the smooth granite floor.
This was her other reason to wait for Regis. The reminder of what her failure would mean and of what had already been taken from her.
Xanthic skipped around the corner, a childlike joy lighting up his wrinkled and sagging face. Her heart contracted and she shoved the emotion deep within her. That wasn’t Xanthic anymore. Her lover was gone and had been since the crazy human’s soul had overwhelmed him hundreds of years ago.
The Jester cartwheeled to her feet, squatted, and stared up at her. Mother of All, she wanted to believe he was still in there, hidden, protected from the soul sickness. That, however, was impossible and no matter how hard she wished it, it wouldn’t change.
A wisp of pale orange flickered over him, a hint of Xanthic’s aura. For a moment she could see him, see the dragon she’d fallen in love with all those years ago. The glassiness in his eyes was gone, replaced with the fierce intellect she had loved and admired. But it was just her imagination projecting what she wanted to see. Nothing more.
“Lady, lady.” The Jester blinked, the unfocused insanity returning to his gaze. His manic giggle grated on her nerves and yet she still ached to touch him. This ruined human was all that remained of her connection to Xanthic and she wanted that connection back. She wanted Xanthic.
“He’s still in there, you know,” Regis said.
“So you keep telling me.” Her heart skipped a beat and she bit her lip. She forced her focus to stay on the Jester, refusing to give Regis the satisfaction of knowing she hadn’t heard his approach and he’d surprised her. “He’s served his sentence many times over. Allow him an unoccupied vessel.”
“That was my father’s judgment. For me, his sentence isn’t finished.”
Which meant as much as she wished her lover was still in there and sane, he wasn’t. He’d never be permitted an unoccupied vessel because his soul was dead and there was nothing to transfer and Regis wasn’t going to admit it. Xanthic’s death was no longer the lie Regis had told dragon-kind when Xanthic had been caught body-hopping. It was now truth.
“Lady. Lady. Duck!” The Jester snorted, clutching Zenobia’s calf, and ran his mangled hands up her leg.
She shoved him away, knocking him over. Bile burned her throat.
“Is that any way to treat a lover?”
She glared at Regis. The Prince took a step back. His guards, a few paces behind him, shifted and dropped their hands to their sword hilts.
“You know, my Lord, I’m saving myself for you.” She rose from the bench, glided over, and pressed her body against him. “The Jester is a thing, a tool for your entertainment.”
Nero strode around the corner, his gaze catching Zenobia’s. He paused in place for just a heartbeat but his expression remained unreadable.
Zenobia brushed her lips against Regis’s jowly cheek, fighting to keep her lunch down. “He’s a prison for a foolish drake I fucked once. I’m moving on to more interesting men.”
“And she’ll eat you alive, my Prince,” Nero said, flashing her a hint of teeth. “Are you sure you’re a green drake? You’re looking a lot like a black widow at the moment.”
Zenobia eased away from Regis, trailing a hand down the rolls of Regis’s neck. “Don’t be jealous, Nero. Not everyone can be king.”
“No, not everyone can.” Something dark flickered across Nero’s gaze and for a heartbeat she feared he knew her plans, knew she was creating a human mage strike force to take the throne during the final feast of the pahar. But if that were so, why hadn’t Regis arrested her? Why hadn’t he imprisoned her as he had Xanthic?
“The temple, my Lord.” Nero gestured down the hall.
The Jester rolled on the floor like a dog with an itchy back. “The temple! The temple!”
Zenobia forced back a sneer. “I’ll see you in Council, my Lord. ’Til then, my Prince.”
“Doyen Zenobia.” Regis reached for her hand, dropping a sloppy kiss on the back of it, then turned and strutted down the hall, the Jester cartwheeling after him.
Nero acknowledged her with a slight nod.
“Still afraid of the humans?” she asked.
“Diligence is not fear.” He smirked, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Interesting. Perhaps the rumors were true that he wasn’t as much of a Traditionalist as he made himself out to be. She’d push more of his buttons, but that might draw unwanted attention. She’d wait until she was Queen. Then she’d do more than push buttons.
She flashed a hint of teeth. If there was anyone on the Council she might be attracted to, it was Nero. He wasn’t quite as cunning as her, but he showed promise. “Until Council, then, Doyen Nero.”
“Zenobia.” He turned to follow Regis around the corner.
She watched him go and continued staring down the empty hall at the plain granite walls that curved up to the ceiling in a seamless arch. It wasn’t a private hall with restricted access. It connected to too many parts of Court for that. But it wasn’t a heavily used thoroughfare, either. She fought the urge to hug herself against the sudden chill of emptiness within her. No, she wasn’t empty, no matter what she felt in this moment. Her purpose filled her.
A whisper of air fluttered through her hair and she turned to see who’d gated into the hall behind her. It was Kijani, his face set in his usual grim expression. Without prompting, he spoke his power word and jerked his hand in his focused gesture, activating his earth magic ability to shield their conversation from magically prying eyes and ears.
“Report.”
“We’re on schedule and everyone remains stable... for the moment.”
Excellent. With luck her soldiers’ sanity would hold until the coup and she wouldn’t have to imprison anyone else. When she had the medallion everything would be fine. Although with the Handmaiden missing and no indication when she’d return, the medallion was useless. Of course, that didn’t mean she should give up on the medallion. Eventually the Handmaiden would be back. It had happened before, and there was nothing to indicate that this situation would be different, regardless of the fact that her men’s attack in the rebirth chamber must have pissed her off.
“I still want the medallion.”
“I’ve got a team on it.”
“Make sure it’s heavy with human mages. We need to keep Hunter guessing for as long as possible.”
“Yes, Doyen.” Kijani pursed his lips and his gaze dipped to the floor.
“Oh for goodness sake. What is it?”
“Howel’s new body has already connected to the earth’s magic and has lightning.”
“What a pleasant surprise.” That was the best news she’d heard all day. Lightning was powerful and the more of her strike force wielding it, the better. “His original vessel didn’t have earth magic, did it?”
“No, Doyen.”
The odds weren’t good that Howel would be able to activate another human’s earth magic before the coup, and while two soldiers were better than one, it would take the human too much time to learn how to use his magic, particularly while under Laoch’s mind spell. “Howel has certainly proven his worth to our cause. He should be rewarded. Kill his current human and give him the empty vessel back.”
“Yes, Doyen.”
It involved more body-hopping but would ensure her strike force was as powerful and sane as possible. Howel would hop back to his original vessel, Kijani would kill the human mage, and Howel would hop back into the unoccupied vessel, heal it, and have lightning. And really. It was just a human. They were tools to be used as dragons pleased. That was the true order of things, the way it should have been from the beginning. Dragons were predators and human were cattle.
CHAPTER 30
Hunter brushed a finger along Anaea’s temple into her hair. It really was closer to the pixie cut she’d had in the dream and not what he remembered from when he’d first met her. She sighed in her sleep and he drew his
hand back. He didn’t want to wake her. She was completely at peace. He could sense it. Her emotions and thoughts weren’t nearly as strong within him as when they’d shared a body, or when they’d made love, but she was still there, a sensual, warm presence. And she’d known exactly what she’d wanted. She’d had no reservations.
He shouldn’t have feared that her desire to be with him was induced by shock. Of course, their new connection helped to ease any doubts. It was surprising, but then, he’d only body-shared once before and so briefly that he had no idea what the consequences really were. This was a fabulous aftereffect. Unlike what they were facing if Regis found out about her. Especially if she had a bit of real sorcerer in her.
The phone rang. Hunter grabbed it before it could ring again and wake Anaea. He could sense her drifting closer to consciousness and wasn’t ready for that, wasn’t ready for her to carry the weight of her world so soon.
“Yeah,” he said into the cordless receiver as he slipped from the bed and padded into the living room.
“You really need to work on your phone etiquette, you know,” Grey said.
“I’ll take lessons when this is done.”
“No, you won’t.”
“Maybe I will.”
Grey snorted. “A few days in a woman’s body and...”
Silence filled the line and Hunter swallowed a groan. Grey was likely jumping to conclusions and was going to be right.
“It’s not the body but the woman,” Grey said.
“Are you calling just to bother me, or have you actually found something?”
“What do you think I am?”
“You’re—”
“Don’t answer that. This day has been difficult enough. Word is that Nero stays at his house just outside of Newgate during the pahar. But he’ll leave after the final feast tonight.”
That would make sense. If Nero was planning something, easy access back to Court would be useful, particularly if those working for him didn’t have the strength to open a gate outside of the city or even have the ability at all.
“I think Nero and I should have a talk.”
“Have fun,” Grey said.
“You don’t get off that easily.” He didn’t want to drag Grey out of Court, but he needed someone to keep an eye on Anaea—he’d at least learned something from the last time. Besides, all Grey had to do was stay in the suite until Hunter returned.
“Whatever you want, the answer is no.”
“You were willing to come to town for Anaea.”
“That’s when I thought something horrible had happened to you.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What do you mean, you thought something horrible had happened?” What the hell had happened while he was trapped in Anaea’s head?
“Nothing, and I’m not going to talk about it. What do you want?”
“Hang out in the hotel with Anaea while I talk with Nero.”
“Anaea’s a big girl. She can look after herself.”
That was what Hunter was worried about. “It’ll be good for you to get out and see the twenty-first century.”
“It’s not an emergency.” Grey sounded pained. “You’re fine. Anaea’s fine. The world is right again.”
Hunter hadn’t thought Grey’s dislike of the human realm had turned into a fear. But considering how bad it had turned out the last time he’d gated over for any duration it didn’t surprise Hunter. “I’ll set up the movie channel for you. You won’t have to leave the suite.”
“I’ve got movie channels aplenty in my lair.”
Hunter stared at the painting above the desk. Vast, clear sky. He yearned to be there, even if for a moment, a heartbeat. Dreams weren’t enough. Did Grey yearn for the same thing? He hadn’t even seen sky since that awful night in 1946.
“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” Hunter held his breath, waiting for Grey to say something.
Nothing.
“I need you to keep an eye on Anaea and you know I can’t bring her back to Court.”
“Hunter, I—”
“You know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to.”
Grey groaned. “I know. I’ll be there in ten.”
“Thanks.”
“Mother of All, both of you seriously owe me.”
Hunter ran a hand over his smooth head. “Well, you can’t hide at Court for the rest of your life.”
“Don’t start.”
“You’re right, I know. I owe you.”
* * *
Anaea stretched, savoring the feel of her body’s slide against the sheets. She felt whole, complete, and amazed. She wasn’t broken anymore. Of course, she’d never really been broken. She was truly blessed for finding someone who thought she—all of her—was beautiful. Her final days didn’t have to be empty anymore and she was sure as hell going to spend them with Hunter. Yes, he wasn’t really human. But for her remaining three months it didn’t really matter.
It was crazy. She’d never believed in love at first sight, and perhaps this wasn’t exactly ‘first sight.’ But she knew, deep within her, they were meant to be together. Hunter’s presence simmered within her. Wild, feral, magical. She didn’t know how much she believed in destiny, but she did know she was connected to Hunter in a more intimate way than she’d ever been with anyone before.
They still had the problem of someone trying to kill him... and her. Without a doubt he would shut her out, do what he felt he needed to do without her, but she wasn’t going to let him. Even with her fleeting sense of what dragons were, she knew the female of the species was just as formidable as the male. That woman, Capri, and certainly Zenobia were both powerful. She and Hunter would work this out together, whether he liked it or not.
She concentrated on Hunter’s presence within her. He was in the sitting room thinking about something, but she couldn’t tell what. She still couldn’t read his thoughts unless he wanted her to. He was likely trying to figure out how to stop whoever was after them without getting her involved. It was actually flattering that he cared so much for her he wanted to fight her battles. She really wanted to talk about their next move, but she could tell by his mood that now wasn’t the time. Perhaps after a shower.
Perhaps she could entice him to join her.
Now that was a great idea.
She walked to the bathroom and turned on the taps, focusing on how it would feel to have Hunter run his hands over her skin again.
Something rippled through his presence.
She sat on the edge of the tub and waited. But he didn’t come. She pressed her hands to her stomach, imagining they were Hunter’s.
His emotions rippled again, this time with recognizable desire.
I’m waiting, she thought at him and inched her hands over her abdomen.
The desire swelled with hot need. Then he clamped down on it and she was left suddenly cold. Her throat constricted. He’d obviously noticed her invitation, but she had no idea why he’d refused her.
A male voice rumbled over the hiss of the water and her heart skipped a beat. Hunter wouldn’t talk to himself so he was either on the phone or someone was here.
Another voice, masculine but definitely different than the first, replied.
She took a robe from the hook by the door, slipped it on, and eased the door open.
“Well, I’m here.” It sounded like Grey.
The thrumming in her chest eased. Hunter had probably called for help or something. Although he didn’t strike her much as a ‘call for help’ kind of guy.
“You’d think I’d asked you to take Jerusalem.”
“Been there. Done that. Rather not do it again.”
She glanced at the sitting room door but couldn’t see either of the men from that angle so she stepped farther into the bedroom, inching closer to the doorway.
“This’ll be easy. Keep Anaea here until I get back,” Hunter said.
“Independent, is she?”
She couldn’t believ
e Hunter was going off without telling her again. Yeah, she knew he would, but she’d really hoped he wouldn’t.
“It’s part of her charm. But in this case, I don’t want her to get involved.”
For the love of— She could strangle him. And if she wasn’t wearing only a robe and Grey wasn’t here, she would.
“You mean you don’t want Regis to find out you’ve made a sorcerer.”
The heat in her chest, Hunter’s presence, chilled.
“She’s a mage, not a sorcerer.”
“Semantics. Regis won’t care.”
“He won’t find out,” Hunter said.
“You’re playing a dangerous game.”
She moved closer to the door, peering into the living room.
“I don’t need you to remind me,” Hunter growled. It sounded strange coming from Mark.
Hunter stood in the middle of the room. She could see his fury radiating from him and feel it smoldering in her chest. Grey still stood by the front door, duffle bag slung over his shoulder, as if he hadn’t committed to staying. He looked pale, his brows pinched together.
“Hey, Anaea is nice enough to me, but you have to face reality. Magic is magic. There’s no way you can keep her hidden from Regis forever. There isn’t anywhere in the world where you can hide her from the Asar Nergal. And when they find out, it’ll be execution for her and rebirth for you.”
“She’s not a danger.”
“Regis won’t see it that way.”
“I’ll make him.” Uncertainty flickered through their connection. Hunter didn’t believe what he’d just said.
Grey raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
With a growl Hunter leapt for Grey, grabbing the front of his coat and jerking him close. “Really.”
