Honor shook his head. “That is not a wise idea. If and when Val Dagan manages to come through the portal, it will be with his personal guard and you don’t want to be anywhere near here when he does.”
Hellfire stared to argue Sami cut her off. “Hellfire—”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “No, don’t tell me I can’t stay here. You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
Brimstone, who hadn’t said a word, shot Sami an apologetic look and turned to his sister. “Helly, if Nix can get out of there, she will. Don’t forget, Dawson is with her. I don’t know what the deal is with that guy, but he seems to care for her a lot. He did take a few beatings for her after all. I don’t think he’ll let anything happen to her if he can help it.”
Hellfire stared at him. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not leaving.”
Brimstone let out an aggravated sigh and grabbed her arm. “You think I want to?”
Hellfire shrugged. “I have no idea what you want.”
Brimstone glared at her. “I don’t. I hate the idea of leaving her there, and not being here when she shows up. But if what Honor says is true, it’s dangerous to stay. You need to listen to him, he knows this asshole Val Dagan.”
Hellfire snarled, but Sami spotted the tears in her eyes. He ached to pull her into his arms, but with how angry she was, didn’t dare. Not yet, anyway. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate it. Her anger was probably all that kept her from completely losing it. Wiping the tears away angrily, she continued to glare at her brother.
“It’s not safe here and it could be weeks, months, or even years before it opens,” Brimstone said, softening his voice.
Hellfire turned away and a funny expression crossed her face as she wiped at her eyes again. “Fine. How do we get to our portal?”
“I will take you,” Orion, who’d been silent said.
“Shit.” Hellfire sighed. “I’m so sorry about your father.”
Orion nodded and without another word, turned and started to walk away down the trail. The rest of them followed and when they came to a fork in the road, they said goodbye to Honor.
“I will see you when we come to pledge ourselves to the Okami,” Honor said. He looked to Orion. “And I will see you, nephew, when you get home.”
Orion just nodded but didn’t say a word.
Sami kept his eyes on Hellfire as they silently made their way through the forest for another half an hour.
“Are you the new Guardian of the Portals?” Brimstone asked Orion.
“I am,” Orion said in a quiet, sad voice.
“Your father, he knew something was going to happen, didn’t he?” Sami asked, remembering how Drakayeh, Hinah, and Orion had acted earlier.
“He knew he wasn’t going to make it, but didn’t know how it would happen. Mother prayed that he was wrong,” Orion said.
“And you?” Hellfire asked. “You didn’t want him to go ahead with all this, did you?”
Orion stopped. “I—” Suddenly a frown creased his brow. “I had never met any of my mother’s family. I didn’t know them. They were just names to me.” His gaze sharpened on Hellfire. “So no. I didn’t want him to go through with it. I loved him.” With that he resumed walking and they fell in behind him.
“Will you be coming with your mother and Honor to the Okami when they come?” Sami asked as they reached the clearing they’d emerged from just days ago. He was surprised to see the snow once more white and crisp, with no signs of the blood that had covered it earlier.
He wanted to mention that Toren was missing, but just couldn’t bring himself to add any more upset to what had already happened.
Please let Toren be safely back with his pack!
If he wasn’t, they needed to get busy and find the guy because a whole lot depended on it.
Orion shook his head. “No, I need to stay here and keep an eye on the portals now.”
They said their goodbyes and waited while Orion proceeded to open the portal.
“What’s wrong?” Brimstone asked Sami, noticing his quiet demeanor.
“I’ll tell you after we’re on the other side,” he said.
After their near disaster when they last came through this portal, they hurried through without stopping or touching anything, each expecting falling crystal stalagmites or rolling gemstone boulders. Nothing happened other than the cloying effect of the humming magic and they made it out to Earth unharmed.
“So, spill,” Brimstone said once they were headed back down to the parking area.
“There’s a problem,” Sami said quietly, not wanting to bother Hellfire who was walking ahead of them.
“What is it?” Brimstone asked.
“Kyrian’s son, Toren. He’s missing. We think Val Jean is keeping him somewhere,” Sami said.
Brimstone stared at him a long moment. “Fucking Nightwalkers.” Shaking his head in disgust, he kicked at the rocks on the ground.
“Yeah,” Sami agreed.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Homeward Bound
SAMI SAT BESIDE HELLFIRE ONCE AGAIN on the plane home. He was worried about her. She hadn’t said a word and looked pale and shaky.
“Are you okay?” he asked once they were in the air.
Hellfire nodded. Then she curled up and fell asleep.
“Hellfire,” Sami said, shaking her awake a little later.
“What?” she asked, slowly opening her eyes.
“They’re bringing out some food,” he said, hoping that would perk her up.
Once again, Hellfire didn’t say a word. She just sat up and waited, then she proceeded to pick at her food.
“You should eat,” he said, worried about her, but Hellfire just set her fork down and pushed it away.
“I’m not hungry,” she said, as if daring him to push the issue.
Sami sighed, getting even more worried. At least she was drinking water. After their trays were taken away, Hellfire glanced up at him with a vacant look. Whatever she saw in his eyes let her relax, and she laid her head on his shoulder. After a moment, her hand landed on his arm then slowly moved to rest on his chest.
Sami’s dragon began to purr.
Hellfire’s eyes closed. “So tired …”
Though blood began to pump into places it shouldn’t, Sami reveled in having her close to him as all his protective urges flared to life. He would hold her all night if need be.
When he caught the flight attendant’s attention, Sami had her bring them a blanket and careful not to wake Hellfire, he covered her.
A couple hours later Hellfire awoke and as she pulled away, he felt bereft. “Need to use the toilet,” she muttered.
When she returned and slid into her seat, Sami tucked a couple pillows under her along with his arm. “Here, rest,” he said, his heart singing when she didn’t resist. He watched, still worried, as she fell back to sleep.
It was nighttime when they stepped off the plane and made their way through the airport.
“I can’t believe we’re back here without Nix,” Brimstone muttered as they approached Sami’s truck.
Sami nodded. He had hoped they’d have Nix with them when they came back this way. Pulling his keys and fob from his pocket, he popped the doors open on his truck. Once again, Hellfire climbed up into the middle of the seat.
After paying for parking, Sami drove them away from the airport when Hellfire shifted and he heard her sniffle.
“Are you—?” He started to ask if she was okay, but stopped. It was a stupid question. Of course, she wasn’t okay.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, and sat up straighter.
“So ah … where—” Sami started to ask where they wanted him to take them, when Hellfire interrupted.
“Please. Just take us home,” she said, staring out the front windshield.
“Home,” Sami said, not altogether sure if she meant for him to take her to his home, or …
“To our house,” she added.
Sami glanced over at Brimstone
but he just shrugged. “Yeah, we’ve been staying there.”
“Okay,” Sami agreed, though he’d rather have taken her to his home. Then he realized what he was thinking. No, that was a bad idea. He needed to talk to Goldy first.
“I thought you didn’t live in your home because it wasn’t safe there?” he finally asked, remembering how Hellfire and her siblings had been living on the streets. They’d been hopping from one abandoned building to another, ever since their parents were killed.
“We’ve been staying there since the day we searched for—” Brimstone stopped, not ready to say Nix’s name.
“Oh.” Sami nodded but he noticed Hellfire tense up beside him. Whether at the reminder of what they had done in her bedroom that day or her lost sister, he wasn’t sure and wasn’t about to ask.
By the time he turned onto their street, Hellfire was once again asleep with her head resting on his shoulder and her hand in his lap, tauntingly close to his achingly hard cock. Sami was careful not to move and disturb her. He began to slow the truck, when Brimstone suddenly sat up straight.
“Shit,” he muttered and they both spotted the two black SUVs parked in front of the Phoenix’s home at the same time.
“Keep going,” Brimstone hissed, but he needn’t have bothered. There was no way Sami was stopping.
As they passed the vehicles, they saw two men, dressed all in black, standing outside the SUVs with five more in the front yard.
“Is that—?” Brimstone asked.
“Who?” Sami asked.
Brimstone didn’t answer and Sami glanced back. Three of the men were also dressed in black, while another wore the long black robes of the Ilyium. The fifth guy had his back to them and was dressed like a rich businessman.
“Nah, couldn’t be,” Brimstone said as he faced forward again.
“Who?” Sami repeated the question.
Brimstone shook his head. “Nothing, I’m imagining things, but damn, what are they all doing there?”
Sami didn’t answer, he just kept driving, making sure no one followed them. He wove around the neighborhood and when he was sure they weren’t being followed, drove away from the city.
He mentally contacted Tierney and Jax, telling them they were on their way home.
As he topped the rise to their driveway, a feeling of relief settled over him at the sight of his brother and best friend waiting for them.
Sami pulled up, parked the truck, and cut the engine.
HELLFIRE GROANED. Someone was bothering her.
“Helly, wake up,” Brimstone said, nudging her awake.
“Are we home?” she asked and sat up, quickly noticing that they had stopped, and Sami was no longer in the truck.
“Not exactly,” Brimstone muttered.
With a frown, Hellfire glanced out the window and swallowed. Sami was headed over to where his brother and Tierney waited near the front door of their home.
“Why are we here?” she asked, barely listening to her brother’s explanation about the Ilyium at their house, as Tierney and Jax hugged Sami. Wonder where the golden amazon is?
Brimstone grabbed her backpack and Hellfire yawned as she climbed out of the truck. I am so not looking forward to this, she though and started toward the house. A house filled with people who loved Sami, and hated her.
Feeling watched, Hellfire shivered even though she knew the Okami wolves were guarding the place. She fought the urge to glance around and instead raised her chin. As she approached the group on the porch, the step under her foot creaked and three sets of eyes focused on her.
Jax didn’t hide his dislike but Hellfire had to give Tierney credit, she quickly hid her feelings for Hellfire and nodded. “Glad you made it back safe.”
Hellfire blinked at the same time that Sami shook his head. “Not all of us made it back,” he said quietly.
Tierney’s eyes widened. “Oh. Shit. Sorry,” she said and Hellfire got the impression she really was sorry.
Not wanting to talk or think about it, Hellfire walked through the door that Sami was holding open and followed everyone inside.
“Where’s Thaniel?” Sami asked Tierney and Jax when they were all in the kitchen.
“He’s not here,” Jax said. At Sami’s frown, Jax just shook his head, indicating he’d tell him later.
“The bitch that turned him into a Were-leopard showed up here, claiming she knew where his father was,” Tierney said bitterly, yet Hellfire could hear the sadden and pain in her voice.
“His father?” Sami asked, shocked.
Tierney nodded while Jax grimaced.
“We tried to stop him.” Jax shrugged and pursed his lips.
Tierney sniffled but still Hellfire caught the tears in her eyes as she walked away.
“Jax?” Sami asked with a horrified expression. “What if he needs us, we can’t just leave him unprotected, what about the Were-wolves after him?”
Jax nodded grimly as Tierney slammed a cupboard door shut across the kitchen. “I have someone on the inside keeping an eye on Thaniel,” he whispered, staring at Tierney’s back as she pulled a bottle from their liquor cupboard and poured a shot.
“How?” Sami asked, his voice beginning to rise.
“Shh, I’ll tell you about it later,” Jax said, indicating his mate.
Sami frowned and Hellfire could tell he wanted to question his brother further, but he shut his mouth. Hellfire glanced at Brimstone, and at the question in his eyes, she shrugged and then followed both brothers through the kitchen and into the great room.
Hellfire’s gaze was drawn to a really cute Christmas tree in the corner of the room. It was missing a couple branches while others twisted at awkward angles and lights twinkled from it. A good portion of the ornaments hung on the lower branches but somehow, it seemed just perfect.
A loud squeal drew her gaze to a cute little blonde, curly-haired human child and Bastian, a human teenage boy. The girl was bouncing around playing a game on the large screen TV while an attractive blonde human woman watched them with a smile on her face.
Sami’s startled expression told her the presence of the two blonde females was as much of a surprise to him. He glanced at his brother with a raised eyebrow. “What’s Chloe and Lilly doing here?”
“Yeah, we definitely have some catching up to do,” Jax sighed and glanced at Hellfire. “Yes, they’re human,” Jax said as if he knew what she was thinking. “Chloe and Lilly used to live across the highway,” he added, then looked back at Sami. Guilt shone bright in his eyes and his tone grew defensive. “They needed a place to stay, so they are staying here.”
Sami raised his hands. “Whoa, okay, I’m not saying anything.”
Seeing him, the human woman gave Sami a shy smile and climbed to her feet. “Sami, right?” She came over and held her hand out.
Sami nodded and Hellfire found herself gritting her teeth. Then realizing what she was doing, she forced herself to relax. Fuck, what is wrong with me?
I’m really going to be jealous of everyone he comes in contact with?
Then she knew what she was really worried about.
“It’s good to see you again, Chloe. I see Lilly is enjoying herself,” Sami said, smiling at the little girl who was Bastian she was gonna beat him.
“No, you’re not, I got this one,” Bastian said with a grin.
Hellfire jumped when Genna practically flew into the room.
“You get him human girly! Don’t let this human boyo beat you,” Genna said, blue eyes shining with glee as she leaped over the back of a couch and landed between the two, making Bastian drop this controller.
“Shit! What’d’ya do that for?” Bastien growled at her.
“Bastian said a bad word,” Lilly gasped, eyes wide as she waited for someone to do something about it.
“Lilly,” Chloe said but Tierney, who had just joined them, interrupted her by calling the boy’s name.
“Bastian.”
The teenage boy glanced up with an expression of
guilt. “Sorry.” Then, with shoulders hunched, he turned to Genna. “I’m only part-human,” he muttered darkly.
Okay then …
“Yeah, you are.” Genna grinned at him, then grabbed a handful of chips from the bowl on the table in front of them and stuffed them all in her mouth.
Tierney’s amused glance rested briefly on Jax, who looked chagrined.
Sami snorted. “No swearing in the house, eh? That should be interesting.”
“Yeah, you have no idea,” Jax said and Sami chuckled.
Tierney looked at Sami. “Still glad you came home?”
Sami grinned and gave a slight nod. “I missed you guys,” he said then glanced over at the tree. “I see you couldn’t wait for me,” he teased.
“We might’ve, if we had any idea when you’d be home,” Tierney said, giving him a light punch in the arm.
Sami grinned, then turned to Hellfire. “I know you’re wiped, I’ll show you to where you can lie down and get some sleep—”
Then Goldy walked in and Sami paused at the sight of her. Distracted, he continued. “Shit, I’ll, ah … be back in a couple minutes,” he said to Hellfire and then walked over to Goldy.
Jealousy once more ate at Hellfire as Sami approached the other woman. This was the reason she hadn’t wanted to come back here. Trying not to let her hurt show, Hellfire turned away. She couldn’t watch and listened instead to Tierney, Jax and Brimstone talk, only the understanding in Tierney’s eyes burned and that pissed her off even more.
The need to get away grew stronger. Glancing around, Hellfire found Genna’s all-knowing eyes on her as well.
Gah, I don’t need this! How she was going to stay in this place and watch Sami with Goldy was beyond her.
As the last few days caught up to her, Hellfire ignored Genna’s stare, and moved to sit down on one of the empty couches. When she next glanced over at Sami, it was to see him and Goldy walking out onto the balcony. She tried not to watch them through the window but it wasn’t easy.
“Helly, you okay?” Brimstone asked.
She looked up at him and instead caught sight of Sami and Goldy in an embrace. Anger and pain swept through her, quickly followed by nausea.
Dracones Boxset Books 1-5 Page 82
