He sensed a movement as Rachel stepped up behind him. Cassia’s eyes narrowed on her.
Finn moved so his body shielded her, and she rested a hand on his arm. “I can’t bear to watch another son die,” she said. “I’ve already accepted my death. It makes no difference how I go. And if I can die saving Jacob’s life, at least some good will come from my death.”
No!
But Rachel was already edging away from him. Out into the open. “Look after him for me, Finn.”
She stepped away and for a moment his mind was blank. He refused to accept this. That her life could be over. He’d been in denial. It hadn’t been real.
The gun in Cassia’s hand swung around. No longer aimed at the boy.
“Run, Jacob,” Rachel screamed.
He pulled free and he ran, racing down the steps. Killian swooped in and plucked the boy from the grass and lifted him to safety. But Rachel stood out in the open. Undefended. Cassia’s gun aimed straight at her. And in that moment, he couldn’t allow her to die like this. Not through violence. Not again. He didn’t care how little time she might have left.
Not happening.
His wings formed, and he flew toward Rachel as the first shot rang out. He crashed into her, knocking her from her feet and to the grass. Another bullet singed the skin of his arm, and he whirled around and launched himself at Cassia. A bullet took him in the side, but didn’t slow him. Cassia was out of ammunition, and she tossed the pistol aside. He was almost on her as a portal opened and she vanished. Carried by his forward momentum, he teetered on the edge of the Abyss, pulling himself back and into the air at the last moment.
He landed, then turned around. Rachel lay on the grass. Her face toward him, one hand outstretched, the other clutching her side, blood oozing between her fingers.
Chapter 27
Rachel smiled up at him, and then grimaced in pain. “You said it wouldn’t hurt. You lied.”
Oh, God she was going to break him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. He’d fucked up so badly, and once again she was paying the price for his mistakes.
She coughed, and a trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.
He’d seen enough bullet wounds to know this one was fatal, that she was dying, and inside he howled with pain. But he wouldn’t let her see. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “Just keep breathing.”
“But for how long?”
The sun was fully risen now. The five days of the Covenant were coming to an end. And everything hurt.
“Jacob?” she whispered.
“He’s fine. Don’t worry, we’ll look after him.”
“Don’t let him see me like this.”
He nodded. Reaching down, he scooped her up into his arms, spread his wings, and lifted into the air. The howls of wolves followed them as he flew over the tops of the trees, Rachel clasped against his chest. He could hear her harsh breathing, feel the life draining from her.
He spotted a clearing in the forest and he lowered her to the soft grass.
Stroking the hair from her face, he kissed her lips, tasting the bittersweet tang of blood. “Please don’t die.”
“I wish I could stay. I don’t want to leave you.” She reached up with trembling hand and rested her palm against his cheek. “I love you.”
At her words, something broke inside him. But at the same time, something healed.
“I never loved Marcus more,” she said. “That was part of the problem. I was filled with guilt. Because I loved you so much. I would have done anything for you. If you’d offered me eternity, I would have said yes.” She drew in a ragged breath. “How can eternity be reduced to a few meager minutes?”
The last of his guilt faded. “I love you. I will always love you.”
A smile curved her lips, and her eyes drifted closed.
No!
He couldn’t lose her. There had to be something he could do. Some way to save her.
He dropped to his knees, and for the first time in two thousand years, he prayed.
Dear Lord,
Save her. She’s innocent and truly good. Let her live.
When he looked again, she was so still. For a moment, he thought she was already gone, and cold dread filled him. Then he saw the slight rise and fall of her chest.
He covered his eyes with his hands.
A bright light filtered through his fingers, and he dropped his hands from his face. A golden haze filled the forest as Gabriel landed only feet away from where Rachel lay. Finn waited for hatred to fill him. This was down to Gabriel. But the hatred never came. It wasn’t Gabriel’s fault. Finn and his brothers had betrayed their own people, betrayed the laws of Heaven, and taken the consequences. Take what you want, says God, and pay for it.
They’d all paid.
Gabriel strolled toward them, golden wings furled against his back. He stopped beside Rachel and stood looking down.
“You told her of the Covenant,” he said.
“Did you come here to gloat? To punish me more? I paid. Rachel paid. There is no more due.”
Gabriel ignored the interruption. “You broke the Covenant, and her life is forfeit. I can’t change that.”
Finn looked up at the angel. There was something in his tone. Regret perhaps. “Would you?”
“Perhaps. Seeing you and your brothers fight for your women, give up everything, has made me wonder…” He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. If I break faith with the Covenant, Lilith will gain in power. We can’t risk that.”
“So what the fuck are you doing here?” He wanted to be alone.
“She’s fading. I can’t do anything. But you can. You have the power to give life to the dying. Albeit not perhaps the life they had before.”
Then he was gone.
Finn sat staring at the spot where he had stood. Shock froze him in place. His mind whirled. Could it work?
He moved closer, stroked her face. Her eyes remained closed. Shit. She was unconscious.
Could he do it again? Make a decision for her? He’d spent two thousand years living with regret for his betrayal. He’d given something she had never asked for, never even been offered. And she’d died for it.
The sun was now almost overhead. He was running out of time. Soon she would be beyond his reach.
Then he remembered her words: If you’d offered me eternity, I would have said yes.
Hope whispered through him. Insubstantial but present where there had been none for so long.
Rising to his feet, he willed the change to come over himself. Within seconds, he stood on all fours, sniffing the air, scenting the fresh blood, the odor of death. So close. Everything always seemed simpler in wolf form. He knew now what he had to do. He padded toward her, buried his nose in her throat, breathing her in. Licked her face.
He sat back, studied her for a second, and then lunged, sinking his fangs into the tender flesh where her shoulder met her neck. Her warm blood filled his mouth, trickled down his throat.
He lay by her side for a long time. Noting the passing of the hours and the continued rise and fall of her chest with each breath as the deadline passed and she wasn’t taken from him. He watched the wound heal over to leave her skin unmarked, and still he held his hope in check.
At one point, Killian appeared at the edge of the forest. Finn growled, and he went away again. But he was aware they watched from a distance.
When the sun went down, and the full moon rose over the horizon, she stirred.
He shifted back into human form, and gathered her in his arms.
As her eyes opened, he whispered the words. “I love you. I will love you for eternity.”
She opened her mouth to answer, then her eyes widened, and her spine arched, her head fell back, and she screamed.
The moon was full, and the night was bright, the ground soft under her feet, and she dug her sharp claws into the earth.
Twisting her head, she stared at the midnight black fur that covered her skin. Around her the world was s
harply defined. Her ears pricked, picking up the sound of the wind through the pines, the cry of a kestrel somewhere high above her. The air heavy with the scent of growing things, of rich, damp soil, decay, and the musky aroma of wolf.
Her muzzle twitched, and she searched the trees. He stood close by, a huge golden wolf, watching her with his silver eyes. He caught her gaze, yipped once, then turned and headed into the darkness of the tall trees.
They ran through the forest, the pads of her paws making no sound on the soft pine-needled floor. She splashed through the shallow ford of the river, no longer afraid. Effortlessly, she weaved her way between the tall trunks of the pines, chasing the golden wolf. As the trees thinned, she picked up speed, running ever faster, until she was aware of nothing but the wind flowing past her, the wolf just ahead.
They reached the edge of the forest and raced side-by-side under the full moon, filled with an excitement she had never realized existed. She felt wildly alive, filled with joy. She sat back on her haunches and howled to the moon. The golden wolf sat beside her, and together they sang.
When Rachel opened her eyes, she lay naked on a bed of pine needles, under the cover of a huge overhang of rock. Despite her lack of clothes, she was warm, heat radiating out from the equally naked man lying behind her, his arms and legs wrapped around her, holding her close.
She’d been dying. Shot. She looked down at her stomach, where she had taken the bullet, a shudder of remembered pain running through her. But the wound was gone, vanished as though it had never existed. She’d known it was over, had felt the life force leaving her. She hadn’t wanted to go. And somehow, he’d saved her.
It seemed unbelievable, but she was a werewolf.
Poor Papi was going to have a fit. And she didn’t want to think what the Council of Elders would say if they ever found out. The thought made her smile. She was pretty sure if Papi believed in werewolves at all, he would consider them creatures of Satan. When in fact they were Finn’s creatures. Did that mean she would have to do what Finn told her? As Dawson did? She wasn’t sure that was going to work. But they’d figure something out.
She was alive.
So was Finn and Jacob. Papi. A wave of sadness washed over her—some of her wolf protectors hadn’t made it; she’d seen their bodies strewn around the house. They’d died still protecting her. She would mourn them later.
She pulled free a little and turned so she was facing her guardian angel—he would always be an angel to her—and searched his beautiful face. Her husband. Her werewolf. Her angel. He was watching her in return, his expression wary. They hadn’t had a chance to talk last night. Almost as soon as she had regained consciousness—something had happened. Something she’d thought at first was proof that she had, in fact, gone to Hell. Her body on fire, wrenching pain, as though she was being torn limb from limb.
Finn had told her to relax, to let it take her, and she’d trusted him, and the pain had gone.
“I’m a werewolf then?” she said. “How? Why?”
“It was down to Gabriel. I prayed—the first fucking time in two thousand years—and the bastard came. He reminded me that I had the power to bring the dying back to life. The idea had never occurred to me.” Reaching out, he caressed her face with his big hand, and she leaned into his touch. “Christ, it was so close. I nearly left it too late. I wasn’t sure I had the right. That maybe you wouldn’t want to live like this. I hope…” He sat up and ran a hand through his short hair. “Tell me I haven’t fucked up again.”
She sat up and took his hands. “Well, we’re both still alive. So a vast improvement on last time.” Leaning forward she took his mouth in a long, lingering kiss. It was starting to sink in. She wasn’t dead. She didn’t know how long she had, but she would live every second as though it mattered.
She’d see Jacob grow up, hopefully grow old and maybe die. See his children.
And she would have Finn to help her through the hard times. Maybe God had forgiven them both. “Thank you for my life,” she said, and the tension drained from his face.
“My pleasure. Always and forever.”
“What will happen?” she asked. “With Lilith? Are you not still obliged to return to her when the Covenant ends?”
“As it stands, yes. But we’ll find a way. There’s a war coming. Things will change. Old allegiances will be overthrown. Who knows what the world will be at the end of it all. But whatever, I promise that we will face it together.”
She’d been given another chance, and she wouldn’t squander it. And the first thing, the most important thing, was making sure her man knew how she felt. She needed to say the words and say them often.
“I love you,” she said.
He gave her a long smoldering kiss. “I know.”
The End
Embracing the Dragon:
The Flames of Kalleen
K.L. Bone
Embracing the Dragon Copyright © 2017 by Kristin L. Bone
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Cover Art © 2017 by Skyla Dawn Cameron
First Edition: January 2018
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Created with Vellum
This novel is dedicated to Stacey R.
for her patience while I was writing this story
and her never-ending friendship.
Also to my family
for supporting me through every step
of this journey.
Chapter 1
Ash fell from the sky, blanketing the charred ground like cascading snow. Amelia stretched out her fingers, finding the burnt residue cool against her pale skin, lacking the heat responsible for the land’s horrific transformation. As she searched the valley for the conflagration’s source, or any living being, toxic particles coated her lungs with each labored breath.
Normally this lush region would have been filled with the merry songs of chittering birds, and the scattering rustle of creatures hidden amid the tall grass. As she walked the field, the only sounds were the crunch of charred vegetation, and her occasional cough as her chest attempted to expel the smoke-laden air.
She scanned the horizon, seeking flames. Gloomy air surrounded her, with smoke so thick she couldn’t even discern the fire’s glow through its suffocating layers.
Amelia pushed forward, drawing shallow breaths as more particles lined her throat, turning coughs to occasional gags as she reached what should have been the forest’s edge. In place of towering trees, she found blackened stumps. Her heart skipped at the sight, her mind rejecting the ruined vision of the land she had loved.
“What happened?” she asked the desolate terrain. “What, by the gods, took place here?”
She had cherished this land with its lush shrubbery, thick enough to hide even her darkest secrets. A place all were once welcomed to enjoy shaded comfort, perfumed by the sweet scent of fresh grass and wildflowers. Now, only cooling embers remained.
When she reached the clearing’s center, a pitiful squeak drew her attention. She knelt, brushing her hand through ash and soot to find a bird chirping meekly between desperate gasps. Gently cradling the suffering creature between her hands, Amelia closed her eyes.
As though anticipating her intentions, the wren remained motionless against her palms, and its labored breathing eased.
Settling her mind upon the bird, soft-blue light emanated from between her fingers, bathing the unremarkable brown feathers in cerulean light. As Amelia’s power drew out the toxins poisoning the delica
te creature, it first flapped its wings, and then flew from Amelia’s hands.
“Fly away,” she urged. “The air remains poisonous.”
The bird chirped in thanks before fluttering away, though Amelia was uncertain as to the safety of its chosen direction.
She resumed her survey of the ruined forest, helping a struggling squirrel in the same manner she had the bird. As it scampered away, Amelia stood and attempted to brush the soot from her hands, but only managed to smudge the fine black powder.
Without audible warning, orange flames surged toward her, forcing Amelia to jump to her left, rolling through the fire’s debris, hands and knees stinging as they encountered hidden rocks.
A roar resounded, shattering the unnatural silence as Amelia glanced toward the sky to face a looming figure.
Above, darker than the choking smoke, hovered an immense beast, its wingspan casting a wide shadow over her curled form. The deep purple wings had a feathered appearance, glowing with what appeared to be golden flames, though they did not burn. Instead the menacing creature’s wings fanned hotter, reminding Amelia of a forge fire amplified by a blacksmith’s bellow. From an ebony body, its back feet were hooved, but its front arms had claws similar to a bird’s, while larger talons protruded from the outer tips of both wings. A terrifying creature of utter destruction.
The dragon stared down with glinting silver eyes, glowing nostrils framing the fire within. With each methodical beat of its wings, Amelia’s blonde tresses were alternately tugged and blown back in the wash of hot air.
Fear consumed her, stole her breath, and froze every thought. She briefly considered running, but knew she would never escape the creature’s wrath.
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