Amber (Amber trilogy Book 1)

by Hati Bell

  “Not so sure about that, Dave,” Ian mused. “That Drake guy is a cage fighter and the tall one definitely isn’t one to underestimate.”

  “Bryan, please,” Amber repeated. “This is Zacharias they’re up against, the same man who tried to kidnap me twice. How can you just stand here and let him have his way? What if the roles had been reversed?”

  Bryan watched with a frown as Drake and Logan were encircled by the goblins and, in turn, started to take hits. The fight clearly began to take its toll and they were no longer standing as straight up as they were at first. She could see Bryan was wavering.

  “But they’re not,” Ian said.

  A growing panic fanned through her cold toes and nestled like a piece of ice into her heart. It hurt to see Drake bleed.

  “Maybe not today, but what about tomorrow? Those two have saved me more than once, when you guys weren’t there. You owe it to them to help them. What self-respecting dryad could live with owing a dragon?” she said challenging.

  Bryan cursed a streak. “You stay here. I mean it; don’t you dare to get any more involved. After this, we don’t owe them shit.” A beat later he crashed through the goblin barrier into the eye of the tornado.

  Ian and Dave looked as if they saw water burn… in Hell. It took Ian about a second to come to his senses and rush after his brother. She knew he detested dragons, but would always have his brother’s back. There were four of them now in the pandemonium of dryads, dragons, and goblins.

  “Bloody hell,” Dave cursed, ran his hands through his hair and dropped them to his side. However, his ass did not leave the bench.

  Now that the odds were more even, the fight took a different form. Bryan and Ian were like flashes of lightning darting over a chess board, kicking and smashing goblins all over the board, and then quickly disappearing.

  “Well, Dave?” Amber asked, her voice icy.

  “There’s no way I’m going to help a fucking fire-eater. As far as I’m concerned they can all be wiped out. I hate them.” He glared at Logan. “And him in particular.”

  Amber was about to kick his ass, when Dave cursed. She followed his gaze and saw his predicament. Ian was enclosed in a web of goblins kicking and hitting him. It took one pained grunt from Ian for Dave to dive right into the brawl. With Dave on the dragons’ side, it broke the goblins’ upper hand.

  Zacharias pulled back his men, his eyes tense and steely. “Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything,” he said dryly, with a slight bow to Amber as if he was complimenting her. “Miss O’Neill. It appears as if we keep meeting at the most unfortunate times. Dare I say to hope that the next time will be under more pleasant circumstances. We would welcome someone with your talents into our ranks.”

  “When dragons can fly again,” Ian growled.

  Bryan snorted. “Don’t count on it.”

  “I’m not Meg,” Amber simply said.

  “That’s a pity. Your grandmother could attest to how lucrative it can be to join the winning side.” With those parting words Zacharias turned around and melted back into the fog, the goblins on his heels.

  Drake and Logan looked battered and worn out, leaning over with their hands on their knees. She was relieved to see their wounds already beginning to heal.

  “This is definitely not how I imagined this night would go down,” Ian said, obviously peeved he came to a dragon’s aid. “Don’t you dare tell anyone we bothered to help save your asses.”

  “Believe me,” Drake said, “that won’t be any hardship.” He looked at Logan, concern shining in his eyes, but his brother had his eyes fixed to the spot where Zacharias had disappeared. A beat later he walked away. Drake frowned, wanting to follow his brother, when Bryan’s words stopped him.

  “I don’t know what kind of games your kind is playing, nor do I care, but this is the second time Amber came in his vicinity because of you. Keep my sister off that loan shark’s radar. Stay away from her.”

  Amber frowned. Bryan wasn’t being fair. “It’s not his fault I…”

  “You’re right,” Drake cut her off. “It won’t happen again.” There was a determination to his voice that made her fear the worst.

  Dave nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah, keep with your own kind.” His narrowed eyes darted toward Logan, but he’d already disappeared into the fog.

  Drake gave her an inscrutable look and then followed his brother into the night.

  Bryan pulled a face when he saw his torn clothes. “I think we’d better head home. We can’t show up back to the party looking like this.”

  “Yeah well, don’t forget to let your new girlfriend know,” Ian snickered, elevating the tension.

  Despite the night ending in near-bloodshed, Amber smiled at Bryan’s confused look.

  ***

  After she took a shower Amber crawled into bed, afraid to close her eyes. If she was right, and Drake was indeed planning to not visit her anymore, it would be a stormy night.

  But also a better morning.

  She pushed that thought away and got back out of bed. There was no proof that Drake’s nearness was actually causing her any harm. One bad morning, okay, granted, followed by a few days she’d felt her body simultaneously heat up and shiver, wasn’t conclusive proof that Croft was right. She put some music on, unfolded her yoga mat and bent to stretch a little, and then got into the Plank pose.

  A hardly recognizable breeze disturbed the curtains and gently touched her face. She felt his presence before she saw him. A smile formed on her lips.

  He was standing in front of her window, his hair damp, the black strands resting on his shoulders, holding a small plastic bag in his hand. In a flash he knelt opposite her, gently pulling her up with him.

  She had a feeling about why he was here. She didn’t want to hear it. “It was a nice party tonight, not counting how it ended.” Small talk. Yes, she could keep it cool and casual.

  “I wanted to dance with you tonight,” he said. “Only with you.”

  No need to ask what had stopped him. A room filled with people who would have had a fit seeing them dancing would have made anyone think twice.

  “I wanted to dance with you, too,” she admitted. Endless moments of a peaceful silence stretched between them, a relaxing yoga CD the only background sound. She refused to give into negative thoughts. Instead she opted for enjoying their moment together, a rare one where he actually acknowledged being here with her.

  Drake took something out of the plastic bag. It was a CD by Diana Krall.

  “Jazz?” she asked, somewhat surprised.

  He walked to her music station and put on the CD. The first dreamy sounds of a piano filled the room. He held out a hand and she took it, joining him in a slow dance.

  Bésame, bésame mucho,

  Como si fuera esta noche la última vez.

  Bésame, bésame mucho,

  Que tengo miedo a perderte, perderte otra vez.

  The song was in Spanish or perhaps Italian, she wasn’t sure. She didn’t understand the words, but there was a certain yearning in the singer’s voice she understood all too well.

  “I know how music helps against your headaches,” Drake said. “Got this from a vintage CD shop. Hope it helps.”

  She swallowed and her heart plummeted. “Why would I need jazz when I have you? The best remedy there is.” She was being obtuse on purpose, staring at a place over his shoulder. She didn’t want to read in his eyes what his body was already telling her. As long as he hadn’t said the words, it wasn’t time to say goodbye yet.

  Drake tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and lifted her chin, forcing her to look into his eyes. “She won a Grammy,” he said, defending his choice of music.

  It was rude to not be appreciative of a gift; she knew that. However, she also knew the true meaning behind the gesture. “Thank you,” she said, not feeling very thankful.

  “This is the last time I’m here,” he eventually said-the dreadful words, she didn’t want to hear. “I can’t k
eep eluding Kincaid’s and Zacharias’s men on my tail. One day one of them is going to follow me and see where I spend the night. They’ll try to leverage you against me.”

  The thought of not seeing him anymore made her chest ache. “I don’t want to move to London,” she blurted.

  “London?”

  “My father’s thinking about sending me there to my uncle.”

  His jaw tensed then he seemed to force himself to relax. “That might actually not be a bad idea.”

  She scowled. “You’re a horrible friend. You’re supposed to say that it’s a terrible idea.”

  “It is to me,” he admitted. “From your father’s point of view, I get it, though. He wants to protect his treasure. He feels that the worst has yet to come and wants to keep you out of the crossfire.”

  “And what does your instinct tell you?” she asked, a challenge in her tone.

  His eyes were unfathomable as twilight. They weren’t cast in a shadow like when he was angry, but they didn’t have a merry gleam in them either. “My instinct is selfish, especially when it concerns you. It says you should stay in my sight so I can watch you like a hawk. Even when I can’t talk to you without putting you into danger. Even when I can’t claim you as my girl in public. It says that even the slightest crumbs of time we could spend together, a look from across the room, would be better than you shipped across the country. I’m a dragon. We are selfish by nature when it concerns our treasure. If it were up to me, I’d lock you safely up in the highest tower until the war was over.”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “Lock me in a tower. Seriously? Sounds medieval. Good thing it’s not up to you.”

  He chuckled at her disgruntled look. His fingers traced up along her cheek, catching a strand he curled between his fingers for a moment. “Your father’s right. You know he is. As long as we see each other, Zacharias will keep you in his sight and mind. The moment he thinks there’s something going on between us, it will turn you into a target.”

  “Is this a goodbye?” she asked, hoping against hope. The thought of no longer speaking to him, not knowing what was going on inside his head, hurt.

  He drew the back of his knuckles lightly along her jaw. “That would be the smart thing to do.”

  “Have you ever considered ending the hostilities by just talking to the goblins, negotiating a peace? There’s no good reason why we all can’t just live together. You could suggest this to your grandfather.”

  “Co-existence through diplomacy?”

  “Why not? It’s not like we still live in the Dark Ages. There are no more castles to conquer.”

  “Or dragons to slay?” His lips curled into a sardonic smile.

  “You know what I mean,” she mumbled into his shirt. His fingers absently combed her hair and she relaxed against him.

  “Kincaid Industries is the biggest holding in the south of the country,” he started. “It does business in practically every branch, with offices all over Europe and the States. The goblins, and a group of dragons who have joined them, want to end Kincaid’s monopoly. They won’t rest until they get a piece of the pie. Especially not since they have backup from London now.”

  “So it’s not so much about the hate between goblins and dragon but about money?”

  “Money is power. So it’s always about money,” he said flatly.

  His view obviously differed from Mrs. Hofland’s, who had claimed it was always about a woman. “I was afraid they had gotten to you last night as well,” she confessed, wanting the fear off her chest.

  “I know.”

  He sounded pleased as well as wistful at that thought. She knew why. It was another topic that fell into the category of “Things we don’t talk about”. A category that was becoming quite full. “Zacharias mentioned you defending the Dome,” she said, curious to hear, but also pleased that he hadn’t turned his back on Kincaid. Perhaps there was a family tie there to be saved after all.

  His gaze immediately darkened. “The goblins attacked in the middle of the night. I’m not even sure if I saw them first or they saw me. All I knew was that I wouldn’t let them drive me out of my own home.” He uttered a laugh without humor. “My own home. Ironically, the place I hate most in this world. Oddly, and I can’t even explain it to myself, I didn’t want to give it up without a fight. One day it will belong to me. The house my father, lousy as he may have been, grew up at. I couldn’t just stand by, so yeah, I fought them tooth and nail until every one of those bastards was either maimed or dead. I did it, not only because my life depended on it, but because I wanted to.”

  “Sounds to me you did the right thing, defending your home.” It sounded better than destroying the Dome and other vengeful plans with Kincaid as his mark. Regardless Drake’s feelings about Kincaid, she knew he wanted to be accepted by the man. He might not ever admit it, but he wanted his love and respect, just as his father had.

  He let go of her and took a step back. “Have I? There was only one thing going through my mind when I saw those goblins. If anyone is going to destroy the Dome, it’s gonna be me. No one else.”

  “Perhaps you should give your grandfather a chance.”

  He took her hands in his and started a slow dance. “You’re too good.”

  It didn’t sound like a compliment. “You mean you find me naive,” she said and sent him a glare. Empathy might sometimes be her downfall, but it was difficult to close yourself off to someone when one touch gave you a glimpse into his or her soul.

  “Yeah, that too,” he admitted without elaborating any further.

  Bésame, bésame mucho,

  Como si fuera esta noche la última vez.

  “I wish I knew what she was singing.”

  “I can help you with that,” he said. “The song was written by a Mexican girl who had never been kissed. She wrote it for her twentieth birthday. She sings, ‘Kiss me often; kiss as if tonight is the last time.’”

  A moment of silence stretched between them. “Thank you for telling me that,” she said softly. Both of them had never mentioned their kiss and she kind of wished for a repeat. Yup, she was just a sucker for pain.

  His finger stroked her bottom lip and then reached for her locket. “The amber stone,” he said. “It is soft and light and easily damaged.”

  He ended their dance and she knew he was about to leave. This could be their last time together. “I don’t want you to go. Is it… what you want?”

  “What I want?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I want to lose myself in you, starting with your lips, your mouth, take everything. I wanna claim you so no one else can.”

  “Then why don’t you?” she heard herself ask. Oh, God, did I just say that? Out loud? Offering herself to him on a silver platter? Practically gift-wrapped and tied with a big red bow. How humiliating. “That didn’t come out right…”

  His eyes grew dark. “You must have an angel on your shoulder. You can’t say something like that, look at me like that, and expect me to fucking keep my hands to myself.”

  “Yeah, I’m a real angel magnet.”

  He clasped his hand behind her neck and pulled her mouth to his. “One day,” he whispered. “We would only have one perfect day before they would tear us apart. You make me feel like that kid who wore feathers and flew to the sun.”

  “Icarus,” she whispered. “He fell.”

  “Exactly.” He placed a hard kiss on her lips and, without another word, he went to the window and disappeared into the night.

  She was left behind, shivering from the cold without his touch and then simmering from a sudden heat coursing through her veins.

  Her hands flew to her locket, which suddenly felt terribly warm. She yanked her fingers away when the warmth turned into heat and she felt a sharp pain at her chest. She quickly pulled the amber locket up by the silver chain.

  The place where the locket had touched her skin was now red and raw. A large blister had formed, as if her skin had come into contact with fire.

  SEVENTE
EN

  Drake was bored out of his mind, attending peace negotiations inside the old coal power plant. He sat next to a ramshackle window that stood ajar, a salty sea air wafting inside. But he wasn’t interested in water, fire, or air. All he longed for was somewhere far away from here, probably up in her room or out with friends. Instead of being where he wanted to be, he had to suffer through an intricate game of chess where the pawns were real lives at stake and the kings cared as much about said lives as termites about wood.

  His gaze went back to the show that was being put up for the sake of the Council, who had forced both sides to at least talk. He knew, however, it would be to no avail.

  Zacharias sat at one end of a long, wood table, opposite Kincaid. Cujo lay adoringly at his feet, growling every now and then, which made Zacharias glare at the mutt. A reaction Kincaid found amusing, judging by his faint smile. Gregor flanked his grandfather’s right side, while Drake and Henry were given a spot a few feet away. The entire Council was placed between them, with the exception of Amber’s father who had excused himself.

  “These hostilities must come to an end,” Mrs. Hofland repeated. She sat in the middle of the table, as a buffer. “As you know, the essence of diplomacy is to come to an understanding. Which is why we have gathered here today.”

  “All we want is for the riches on the south coast to be distributed fairly,” Zacharias stated. “As they were a century ago.”

  “As you pointed out yourself, that was a century ago,” Gregor said coolly. “Those times are over. I suggest you slither off with your tail tucked between your legs while you still can.”

  “If you could pull your head from Kincaid’s arse for a second, you’ll see that our demands are more than reasonable,” Zacharias sneered.

  That was the beginning of more hateful words being cast over the table. Drake suppressed a sigh when the heated argument began to resemble a vicious cycle, Zacharias claiming foul play and Gregor telling him to go fuck himself, because a real dragon didn’t surrender or take something without a fight. All heads turned to Kincaid eventually, but he kept silent.