Dragon Guardian

by Ophelia Bell

  When the door swung open, she jumped and stepped behind the rear fender of the big pickup truck in the driveway.

  “Cade, you cooking tonight or am I? We’ve got frozen venison or frozen venison. Every goddamn thing is frozen. I found more pie in that freezer, though. Says ‘blackberry’ on it. Does that sound good?”

  Cade shot a look over his shoulder as he positioned another block of wood for chopping. “You know how to work the stove, man. Go for it. Set a timer this time so shit doesn’t burn. It’d be a damn shame if we burned down the Queen’s house.”

  Vrishti stared at the man who stood at the top of the steps, trying to reconcile Cade’s assessment of him with the actual visual. He was beautiful … as beautiful as Aodh, if she’d been shown a photo negative. He had shining black hair that looked like he’d just gotten out of the shower. The wavy locks brushed his shoulders, curling at the ends around the collar of a deep blue flannel shirt. He was the spitting image of his sister, but with far less delicate features. Swirling blue eyes were deep set in a strong-boned face, his wide jaw extending to a cleft chin beneath full lips.

  “Put some fucking clothes on, Cade. I’m freezing my balls off just looking at you.”

  “I’m chopping wood for your goddamn fire, you frigid bastard. I’ll do it how I want … warm enough from the exertion at any rate. Besides, the lady doesn’t seem to mind, do you, kiddo?”

  Cade shot her a grin and Vrishti nearly ducked behind the truck to avoid Neph’s attention for just a little longer. Now that she’d actually seen the man, she really couldn’t bring herself to talk to him.

  But it was too late. Neph’s dark brows rose and he finally turned to look at her. In that instant, Vrishti’s insides turned to jelly. Dizziness overwhelmed her in a way it never had in the moments when she’d talked to Assana, or even to Nyx. They both had the same strange swirls in their eyes, but they were nothing compared to the immense power of Neph’s that seemed to suck her straight into an abyss.

  Gravity failed her then, and the next thing she knew, she was on her back listening to the sounds of a pair of men cursing and calling her name.

  Chapter Five

  Neph

  He hadn’t seen her coming. He’d been so blind to her, he nearly hadn’t seen her when she was standing right in front of him, either. But when the beautiful young woman lost her balance and collapsed, there was no mistaking her presence anymore.

  Cade rushed to her first, calling her name. It took Neph another second of staring in surprise before he jumped to action.

  “Vrishti, kiddo. Snap out of it,” Cade said, and Neph immediately picked up her name and said it too. He ignored the cold gravel under his denim-clad knees, still too shocked by her appearance to care that the cold was seeping into his skin.

  “Vrishti, you’re all right, you’re here,” he said, earning him a shocked look from Cade. He had no idea where the words had come from—they’d just made sense. When Cade moved to scoop her up into his arms, he pushed the big ursa back. “Let me. You still need to get dressed.”

  Neph lifted her easily, leaving her small pack behind on the ground. Cade’s lack of clothing meant nothing to him, really. He just wanted to hold her. It was a strange instinct, but one he couldn’t deny having. That it could only mean one thing was the last thing he wanted to think about right now. He’d focus on that once he got her inside and made sure she was all right.

  Pushing backward through the half-open door, he kicked it closed behind him and headed toward the living room. The fireplace crackled with a huge fire that he’d fed only moments before stepping out onto the porch to … shit, he couldn’t even remember why he’d gone outside now.

  She blinked up at him groggily when he laid her down on the overstuffed sofa. Sweat beaded on her brow and she let out a soft moan when she met his gaze.

  “Seasick …” she muttered, her face growing pale and taking on a distinctly greenish tinge that he was sure had nothing to do with her ursa heritage. She shook her head, swallowed thickly, then closed her eyes and moaned the word “sick” again.

  “Fuck,” Neph muttered when he figured out what was wrong. He rushed to the kitchen, dumped the bowl of cut potatoes onto the counter, and hurried back with the empty dish, reaching her side just in time for her to roll over and retch.

  After emptying her stomach, she managed to sit up, but kept her head bowed and her elbows on her knees. Her color seemed a little more normal now, a warm brown with a ruddy glow that betrayed a love of the outdoors. Dark curls had escaped her thick, black braid and coiled sweetly around her cheeks. He resisted reaching out and touching one, just to see if she was real.

  “Your eyes,” she said in a faint voice he almost didn’t hear.

  “What about them?” he asked.

  “Looking at you is like … sailing in rough water … I’ve never been good with boats. Always get seasick.”

  He let out a sigh of relief. That’s all it was?

  Standing, he headed to the small downstairs bathroom and disposed of her sick in the toilet, then rinsed out the bowl. He glanced up at his reflection in the mirror, into those familiar chaotic depths that hadn’t been calm in eons. His eyes were even wilder now, mirroring the churn of emotions inside him at her arrival.

  No wonder she’d gotten sick after looking at him. He gripped the counter and forced himself to take a deep breath and calm the wildness inside him. It was no easy feat. He’d been angry for weeks, and despite being as even-tempered as any satyr could get—you learned not to give a shit about most things when you were as old as he was—he still had a hard time calming himself now.

  His world felt like it had been falling apart for ages. A slow and steady, but inevitable crumbling that had begun the day they’d banished Meri from the Haven instead of executing her. He’d exiled a part of his own emotional foundation that same day and had paid the price ever since.

  Now that his sister had lost her shit and taken over the Haven, he had nothing. One last mad dash to protect Nyx from herself had only gotten him locked out of his home. His nephew was safe, at least, so Nyx wouldn’t have that on her conscience.

  He supposed it was fitting, now that the world was finally giving up and falling into pieces around him, that he’d be trapped in exile the same as he’d done to Aodh all those years ago. Forced out of the Haven with no hope for return, no welcome in store.

  Except for this girl … as a satyr so tightly connected with the River that he could see events backward and forward for ages, he should have seen her coming. That he didn’t only meant one thing … Vrishti was here for him, and her presence was so significant his life was bound to hers as inextricably as it was to Aodh.

  Slowly the mad storm around his dark pupils calmed, until he even managed to reach a clear, serene aqua again. The shade reminded him of the cove at the mouth of the Haven, with its crystalline waters and pale, soft sand. He hadn’t seen those eyes in the mirror in a while, but he had to get his shit together if she was here now.

  Whoever she was.

  Vrishti … an ursa female. A very beautiful ursa female, as far as he’d been able to tell, despite the wan look he’d left her with. But any more than that he had no way of knowing without actually asking her.

  “Feeling better?” Neph asked on his way back through the living room. He didn’t stop to look at her this time. Even though he was sure there was no danger in making her seasick again, he suddenly felt off balance in her presence. He tossed the bowl into the kitchen sink and turned on the oven to preheat, then went back to chopping vegetables.

  When she didn’t answer, he looked up from his task to see her staring at him, wide-eyed and unmoving.

  “Vrishti … are you well?” he asked. She appeared to have recovered, and had shed a few more layers in the last few minutes. She was no longer green or clammy; her skin had returned to a healthy shade with the pink glow of som
eone who’d recently come in from the chilly winter air. She wore a snug gray Henley and well-worn jeans that were threadbare in the knees. She’d taken off her boots and stood in thick stockinged feet in front of the fireplace, looking like she’d been about to go somewhere, but had gotten frozen in place.

  “Sorry,” she said, dropping her gaze to her feet. “I … um … came because … you’re Neph. And, well … um… Aodh … ah … fuck.”

  Neph couldn’t help but smile at her awkward stammering. It had been a long time since he’d been around a woman who hadn’t already known him for thousands of years. But he had to break the ice somehow if he was going to get anything out of her.

  “Vrishti, look at me.” Thinking quick, he grabbed a couple carrots, made a few quick cuts, and then fixed the pieces to his face … two in the ears, two in his nostrils. Then he screwed up his mouth and stuck out his tongue in the goofiest manner he could think of and crossed his eyes.

  She hesitantly lifted her face and abruptly burst out in laughter.

  “Oh my god!” she blurted out as she doubled over in hysterics. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Please … please stop!” She glanced up at him once, let out another giggle and shook her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she held her stomach, this time it was spasming with mirth rather than nausea, at least.

  He’d done his job. He retrieved the carrot sticks from his face and tossed them into the sink.

  “Better?” he asked with a smile.

  Vrishti sighed and nodded. “I’m sorry about that. I just freeze up around exceedingly pretty people.”

  “It must be impossible to look in the mirror, then,” he said, eliciting a bright blush.

  She rolled her eyes. “Give me a break, have you seen yourself? I mean … wow.” She came toward him, some of her earlier hesitance returning, but she seemed more curious now and less completely overwhelmed.

  “It’s just a face,” he said. “I have many. This is just the one my parents gave me, and the one I don’t have to put any effort into wearing.”

  She slid onto a barstool across from him. “Oh, I like it. Never change.”

  “I’m a water shifter, Vrishti. Changing is what I do.” He focused on her face and shifted his own features to match, right down to the tiny dark mole that adorned her upper lip.

  “Okay, now that is going too far. Not funny.” She scowled at him. “I like you better as you.”

  He reverted to his natural human face, wondering how she might react to the face when it was part of his primal form. His features never changed … only his body and his personality, every desire brought fully to the surface.

  “Good,” he said. “I like me better as me too, but sometimes a different face is required. Now, are you going to tell me your story now that you can string together a full sentence?”

  He turned away while he waited for a response, focusing his attention on the chunk of deer roast he’d pulled out of the huge chest freezer in the cabin’s cellar. With a touch, he made quick work of the crystallized water molecules inside, returning them to a liquid state. Then he put the roast into a pan surrounding it with the vegetables he’d chopped and shoved the whole thing into the oven.

  When he looked back at Vrishti, she was frowning at him.

  “What?” he asked.

  “You’re not a very good cook.”

  “I’m not a very picky eater. This is what we have every night.”

  When she continued giving him a dubious look, he added, “There’s pie. It was already made. All I have to do is bake it. The pies in that freezer are delicious.”

  “I’m not sure if I trust your definition of delicious,” she said, “But as long as you didn’t make it, maybe it’ll be good.”

  “You haven’t even tasted the meat yet. How do you know it won’t be good?” When she lifted her eyebrows and opened her mouth to speak, he held up a hand to stall her. “Wait, don’t answer that. I forgot how seriously ursa take their food. You are more than welcome to alter the meal any way you wish.” He stood to one side and gestured to the oven.

  Shaking her head, Vrishti rounded the bar and pulled the barely warmed pan back out of the oven, then rifled through the cabinets. After a flurry of movement and flying spices, the air was filled with a cloud of delicious aromas. Within moments, she’d put the pan back in the oven with a satisfied nod.

  “There,” she said.

  Neph stood with has backside against the sink, finding it tough to breathe—not due to the spices, but from her sudden proximity to him. There was room for two, but he wasn’t a small man, and her enticing curves were all he could think about. She was in her element, clearly, moving with easy grace that betrayed her years of practice at this very task. It was a mesmerizing transformation from the shyness she’d displayed earlier.

  The very second she discovered him watching, she stiffened and blushed and the moment ended. She retreated to her barstool again, mumbling something about it being good enough for now.

  “I’m sure it’s better than good enough,” he said. “Here’s something I know I can’t screw up … In fact, it’s one of the things I am best at.” He reached for a bottle of wine, uncorked it, and poured her a glass of aromatic red liquid, then filled one for himself.

  She relaxed with her first sip, giving him an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to get in your way. It was just a sin the way you treated that meat. I couldn’t just let that happen.”

  “It’s good that you took action. Honestly, Cade’s been griping about my cooking since I got here, but he still insists we take turns. When you live the life that I’ve led, cooking for yourself is pretty low on the list of priorities.”

  She took a deeper sip of wine, her cheeks already flushing from the spirit.

  “I almost can’t believe I’m here. That Nyx was right … you’re right where she said you would be. I just wish she’d told me where Aodh was.”

  Neph went rigid, then leaned across the counter toward her. “What do you mean, where Aodh is? He’s in the Haven, isn’t he?”

  “No. Oh, shit, you don’t know. I should start at the beginning.”

  Neph braced himself for the worst. Knowing how Nyx had been behaving when he’d left, what Vrishti had to share couldn’t be good news, and as she talked, it became clear how bad it really was. Eventually Cade joined them, silently tuning into her story as they set the table and served dinner.

  Neph continued refilling her glass and she continued to drain it, still talking during dinner and only pausing long enough to accept Cade’s profuse and enthusiastic gratitude for a meal that didn’t taste like shoe leather for a change.

  She seemed to be evading some key detail in her story, however. At no point in her explanations of the past week or so since Neph had left the Haven did she explain her presence here now. If anything, he became more and more certain that the Sanctuary was where she should be, not here with him. Except for the obvious instinct that she belonged here with him, logically, rationally, it made no sense.

  Finally, she took a breath and stood to clear dishes. Cade jumped up and grabbed them from her.

  “You sit, kiddo. I’ve got cleanup duty tonight since you cooked.”

  Neph shot Cade a dirty look, but the big ursa just shrugged.

  Vrishti reached for the wine and refilled her glass, giving Neph the sense that she was drinking for fortification more than anything now. She was working up to something, and he needed to let her get to it at her own pace.

  He took a sip of his own wine and regarded her. The intoxicating liquid was nothing compared to her. Her awkward innocence yet bright, sharp mind were endearing … arousing in a way none of the nymphs he’d ruled in the Haven had been. Her lack of presence in his visions of the future was every bit as enticing as any wet dream, because that only proved to him that she was too close to him … too significant an entity
in his own life for him to know exactly what she really meant to him and how she might impact his life going forward.

  She was a wild card, and one he craved stripping down and mounting more than he could believe.

  She’d paused her story and looked away, fidgeting with the stem of her wineglass. She’d gotten to the end, at least to the point of saying, “And here I am,” but still hadn’t explained the why of her presence here.

  “Why are you here, Vrishti?” Neph said.

  “Because you’re the only person who can get to Aodh. We can’t let him stay locked up wherever Nyx put him.”

  “Even if I could get to him, which I can’t, Nyx had a good reason for sending him away. He’s like a magnet for Meri.”

  “But if finding her is such a challenge, isn’t that a good thing? He should at least have the option to choose. He’s hidden from her before without Nyx’s help. Besides …”

  She dropped her gaze again and bit her lip, seemed to steel herself and gather her words, then looked him straight in the eye. “He’s mine. My … chosen mate. Would you leave your mate locked up if you knew how to save him?”

  There was no bite to her words, no accusation, yet he felt the stab of them deep. He wouldn’t leave Aodh trapped in whatever time Nyx had sent him to, but it wasn’t so easy a problem to remedy.

  “My abilities aren’t enough. Yes, I am capable of reaching him where my sister trapped him, but not without my link to the Source. And as long as I’m out here, I have no access to it. The Sanctuary’s portals aren’t breachable from this side by anyone but an ursa, and even then, the two of you can’t get back in until the Equinox. It just isn’t possible for me to use that power to access the flow of time without a link to the Source.”

  Vrishti took another long swallow of wine, her eyes wide and intense. “What if I told you I could give you a link to the Source? I know an ursa spell that lets me access that power.”

  The hesitance in her voice was the only thing that kept him from jumping up and demanding that she show him now. He spread his fingers and pressed his palms flat on the surface of the table, staring across at her.