Stolen Secret

by Emily Kimelman Gilvey

  He returned his focus to me. “See you in your dreams, my sweet.”

  Dimitri put an arm behind him, touching my side, as if to keep me in place. Despite my powers, Dimitri still felt the need to protect me. His touch brought me comfort.

  “Come on,” Issa said. “Let’s get moving.”

  Dimitri gave me back the sword, and I slipped it into the sheath before hoisting my pack.

  Dragon did not follow us as we stepped into the trees. I turned back several times and each time found his focus on me. The deep sapphire of his eyes were only a shade lighter than the slowly brightening sky. The trees grew thick, and I could no longer make him out in the shadows.

  We made our way down the hillside, the vampires moving through the forest in graceful leaps. I slid down, grabbing at tree trunks as I went. “Are you sure I can’t carry you?” Megan asked.

  “I don’t know.” I sighed, stopping to lean against a large rock. “But I don’t think I should carry myself on my power, right?” I rubbed at my temple where a headache brewed. “The rules are not totally clear.”

  “It’s not much further now,” Dimitri said, offering his hand.

  “Thanks.” I took his arm, and we continued through the forest. The trees changed, the trunks willower, the leaves bloodred. Dimitri helped me down a tall ledge and, placing me on the ground, gestured with his chin behind me.

  A cave entrance lay in darkness, the scent of wet stone reaching us on a chilled breeze. Issa went ahead, calling out a moment later that it was safe.

  A narrow passageway curved into a larger space. There was enough room for the four of us to lie side by side, using our packs as pillows, and not touch the damp walls.

  I lay awake staring at the aura of my friends as they drifted into their daytime slumber. Sunlight crept into the cave entrance, glowing around the bend by the time I slipped into sleep.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Emmanuel!” His name came out on a sob. I raced across the field. He turned to me, his curls the same, his face the same, those shoulders… everything. Tears blurred my vision as I leapt at him.

  He caught me with a short laugh. My arms went around his neck, and I reached for his lips. Emmanuel kissed me, humming a tune and sending vibrations through my body. My fingers fisted in his soft shirt, and I pulled back, wanting to see his eyes. Those gorgeous eyes I loved so much.

  Emmanuel wore an amused smile.

  “You’re alive,” I said. “You’re here.”

  “Of course I am, my love. Did you ever doubt me?” I shook my head. “Of course you didn’t.”

  “But so much has happened.”

  He brushed a kiss against my forehead, and I reached up to take his mouth again to delight in his energy. “Wait,” he said, his mouth tantalizingly close. “First you must tell me, has the dragon come for you?”

  I blinked at him. “You know about him?”

  “Of course, my love. He wars with me for you even now. Even when you wear my ring.” He pulled my hand from his shoulder and rubbed my bare finger. “Where is it?”

  “He took it; that’s one of the things—” The field darkened, and I looked to the sky, storm clouds circled. “Emmanuel?”

  “You forsake me so quickly.”

  “No, I didn’t. He took it. I couldn’t stop him.”

  “Yes, you can, Darling. You can do whatever you want. You are powerful beyond measure. Certainly more powerful than a dragon.”

  Lightning cracked and… speak of the devil… Dragon Dream Guy stood ten feet from us. Emmanuel put me down. Long grass tickled my bare legs. I glanced down to find myself in the blue dress I’d worn when he proposed to me. But that was back in my bag at the Warlock Society….

  Emmanuel moved out of my embrace, using a hand at my hip to push me a little behind him. “You have finally made it into her dreams,” Dragon called over rolling thunder.

  “Do not tell me you two plan on fighting it out. And wait, hold on, this is a dream?” Dumb question award goes too….

  “You have no right to her,” Emmanuel called. “She has agreed to be my wife.”

  “You have not officially claimed her,” Dragon yelled back.

  Rain lashed down, soaking through Emmanuel’s white shirt and slicking Dragon’s bare chest.

  Could I have them both?

  It was my dream.

  The two men turned to me, their eyes hot with anger.

  “What? You come into my dreams and want to be the boss?” I stepped away from Emmanuel. “The fact is that I’m kind of pissed at both of you.”

  Emmanuel cocked his head. Dragon smirked. “You”—I pointed at Emmanuel—“said you were the man in my dreams.”

  “I never said those words.”

  “Fine, but you certainly implied it.”

  “We are destined for each other.”

  “I love you, so that counts for a lot. But I don’t like lies. And I don’t like out-of-control rage that leads to the near destruction of humans—or your own death. If you hadn’t gone jealous maniac, that cat would never have killed you.”

  Dragon coughed a laugh. “You got killed by a cat?”

  “A Taragon shifter,” Emmanuel said. “One of Ophelia’s familiars.”

  “Oh.” Now Dragon looked like that was actually kind of scary.

  “Also, it was my time again. I needed to enter another world.”

  “To start another zombie apocalypse.” Dragon made it sound like it was Emmanuel’s doing.

  “He can’t control it,” I snapped.

  Dragon laughed at my defense. “He is a deity. You think he has no influence over his destiny?”

  “None of us do,” Emmanuel said. He took a step toward me. Dragon moved forward as well. “We are each other’s destiny,” Emmanuel said, his voice low and insistent.

  “She is my mate,” Dragon said as he crossed the field. “She played the song. You know I had no choice but to answer.”

  I shook my head. “Both of you claim that I am yours by some default setting in the universe. But I don’t think that’s how it works at all.” Rain pinged off my face. “Stop!” I yelled at the sky. And it did.

  I could control everything here. “This is my dream.” I pointed at the ground. “This is my world.”

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  “Well, we found something you two agree on.”

  “He cannot feed you,” Emmanuel said.

  “I know that.” I sighed.

  “You love me,” Dragon declared, all arrogant, macho asshat. I glared at him. He gave me that ridiculously hot smirk. Why did I like that? Ugh.

  Did Dragon look good with his hair wet and his bare shoulders glistening in the sunlight peeking through the quickly departing clouds? Yes. Most assuredly yes. But! That did not mean I loved him.

  Emmanuel and I shared a history that meant a lot to me. My heart beat faster at the very thought of his touch, at the memories of his commitment to me even though he didn’t agree with what I was doing. “I love Emmanuel,” I said.

  It was Emmanuel’s turn to smirk. It looked just as good on him. Come on, Universe, give me a break here.

  “Only because he has wiped me from your mind,” Dragon said, his voice edged with anger.

  Emmanuel’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the dragon. “That’s not true,” I said. Emmanuel looked at me and wet his lips. “What?” The hairs on the back of my neck rose.

  “I wouldn’t describe it as wiping.”

  “Wait.” I put a hand up. “This is not happening.”

  Dragon took a step toward me, and Emmanuel did too. They were getting too close now.

  “Unless you two are interested in the three of us getting it on, I suggest you both back off.”

  Neither of them did.

  I was dreaming. This wasn’t real.

  “You will be my queen,” Dragon said.

  “You will be my wife,” Emmanuel stated.

  “I will be my own.” I stomped my foot. The world shook.

/>   The men looked at each other. “You will protect her while she is in your domain,” Emmanuel said. The statements just keep on rolling with this one.

  “Always.”

  “Then you better get there fast.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Dragon blinked out of the dream. Emmanuel closed the distance between us and pulled me close, covering my mouth with his before I could say or do anything. I melted into him. Energy swirled between us, our love a pulsing thing—almost independent of either of us, its own power. An influence that controlled us both.

  “I love you, Darling.” Emmanuel kissed me again.

  “Wake up!” I blinked and found my gaze not on my love but on the cave ceiling. And it was shaking. I blinked as dust stung my eyes.

  “The volcano is erupting.” Dimitri crouched next to me. Sunlight glowed around the bend and cast an eerie light over his pale skin. “It is still daylight. The others are young and very difficult to wake. We cannot move. But you must go before you are crushed by these rocks.”

  “What?” I sat up, totally discombobulated.

  Dimitri’s blue eyes met mine, and he took my hand. “Darling, you must leave us. You must travel on alone.”

  The cave shook again and rocks fell from the roof.

  “I can’t leave you. Or Megan.” My eyes found her still, pale form in the darkness. “Never.”

  “What good will it do for you to become trapped here with us?”

  “I can use my power to hold up the cave until nightfall,” I said. “Then we will all leave together.”

  I spread a bubble of protection around us all. I’d keep my friends safe.

  “You think you can hold up an entire mountain?” Dimitri asked.

  “You think the whole thing is going to come down?”

  “I don’t know.” He looked up, his mouth in a tight line. “Can you wait outside and keep the protection in place?”

  “Maybe? I’ve never tried that before.” Hell, I’ve never tried holding up a mountain before, but there is a first time for everything, right?

  Dust tickled my nose. I glanced up again. Pebbles sat on top of my power, but the smaller particles could get through.

  “Please,” Dimitri begged. “Go.” He stood, pulling me with him. Grabbing my pack, he hauled me toward the cave entrance. The sword knocked against my leg as I stumbled forward.

  Thick beams of sunlight filled with dust cut across the cave floor. I turned to Dimitri, looking up at him. His focus shifted from the exit to me. “Dimitri,” I whispered.

  “This is not goodbye, Darling.” His hand tightened on my bicep. “We will see each other at nightfall.” He gave me a small push, and I stumbled into the light.

  The ground shook again, and rocks tumbled over the sides of my power and landing at the edges of the ring of protection I’d erected. Dimitri stood in the darkness, his eyes burning blue. I backed toward the daylight, not wanting to turn away from him, terrified that I would never see him again.

  “Go,” he whispered. “Please.”

  I went.

  Outside the sun shone through hazy air. The volcano’s ash plume blotted out the western horizon. I dropped my pack and closed my eyes to concentrate on holding the bubble of protection I’d erected.

  “Hey, babe.”

  I didn’t open my eyes—couldn’t risk losing focus.

  “Hey,” I said. “Can you help me out here?”

  “How?”

  “I’m trying to hold up a cave. Your chi is harder than mine. Think you could erect something to hold this steady?”

  An explosion from the volcano shook the ground again, and a section of the cave roof cracked loose, hitting my chi. I gritted my teeth and kept it in place, but the pressure grew. The earth wanted to change. I could only stop it for so long.

  “The volcano is angry today,” Dragon said.

  “I didn’t realize that volcanos got angry,” I said. “I’ll be pissed if you don’t help me, though.”

  “There is no holding up that mountain if it wants to come down.”

  “Do something,” I said, sweat beading on my forehead.

  Dragon didn’t respond. I opened my eyes to make sure he was still there. Dragon stood, shirtless, a few feet away, his narrowed gaze on the volcano behind me. “You want me to be your queen and you won’t even help my friends. You’re such an asshat!”

  He shifted his focus, as if noticing me for the first time. “I will help them, but I can’t hold up the mountain. That will just make her angrier.”

  “Who?”

  “Mother Earth,” he said it like I was an idiot for not knowing.

  I glanced around. “She’s here?”

  The ground shook again, and a section of the cave cracked, hitting my protection bubble hard. I jerked from the impact but quickly regained control.

  “Mother Earth is always here,” Dragon said. “She is the spirit of this planet.”

  Oh, right. It’s all soooo obvious. Before I came up with a snarky reply, Dragon’s aura spread behind him like wings. It glittered opaque green and blue in the sunlight. The ground shuddered, and I fell forward into him. His scent, a rich mix of floral tones and the earthy musk of mud filled my sense, fuzzing my concentration. No-shirt-wearing asshat!

  Dragon’s aura darkened, becoming solid. Giant, solid, scaled wings of silvery greenish blue arched behind him.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Saving them.”

  “How?”

  “Give me some space.”

  I took a few steps back.

  He closed his eyes, tilted his head toward the sky, and opened his mouth. The tendons on his neck came into sharp relief as Dragon bent his knees, threw his shoulders back, and bellowed a deep scream into the air.

  As the sound faded, fire roared out of his mouth. I stumbled further away, the heat suddenly intense.

  The world shook more. A crashing sound drew my attention to the oaks above the cave entrance. The red leaves shook as some unseen enemy tore through the forest.

  A giant boulder bounced off a short cliff and dropped into the next stand of trees, crushing those it hit and tearing through the ones beneath it. The thing was headed straight for us.

  I reached out with my power, catching the large stone midair. It hovered above us. I moved it slowly, sweat slipping down my spine as I concentrated.

  Bringing it over my head, I turned to pass it on, releasing it on the other side of me, so that it hit with a resounding crash and kept rolling downhill.

  A gust of wind hit my back, and a dark shadow blocked out the sun. I whirled around to see Dragon, his wings flapping, rising into the sky, his body shadowing me.

  He turned to the cave, and I followed his gaze. Dimitri, Megan, and Issa stood in the entrance, Dragon’s body shadowing them from the sun.

  I let out a short sob and stumbled forward. “Follow me,” Dragon said, his voice deeper than before, more guttural. The voice of a man who breathed fire.

  The vampires stepped into his shadow more fully. He started down the hillside, into the valley of the pixies. I grabbed my pack and entered the tree line. An explosion behind us threw me forward. Dimitri caught me before I struck the ground. The sunlight hit him for a moment before he dashed back into Dragon’s shadow, holding me.

  Dimitri sucked in a pained breath. “You okay?” I asked, running my eyes over him.

  “Yes.” He nodded. His skin glowed red though. “I can be in sunlight for very short periods.”

  Dimitri put me down, and I looked back toward the explosion. The cave entrance had collapsed.

  We followed Dragon into the valley of the pixies, his large wings providing enough shade for the three vampires. Megan and Issa looked exhausted, their steps unsteady and eyes heavy.

  The world kept shaking, leaves falling from the trees, birds circling in the air. Dragon’s power pooled at our feet, and he picked us up. Dimitri gripped my arm, as if to protect me. Dragon flew into the sky. Issa laid down
on the bed of Dragon’s chi, and Megan quickly joined him.

  Dragon used his shadow to shield them from the sun as we traveled through the air. Dimitri smiled. “What?” I asked.

  “It has been a long time since I’ve seen daytime. It’s beautiful.”

  A haze hung over the verdant valley. The erupting volcano spewed out ash that built upon itself in a magnificent display of nature. Sunlight glistened in a river that wound its way through the forest, making it sparkle and dance. The world without humans did look good.

  “Thank you,” I said, leaning into Dimitri, “for reminding me to enjoy life.” He put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

  “Thank you,” he said. “You’ve given me purpose, adventure, and now this… daytime.”

  Dragon slowed as we entered a cloud. A wet whiteness surrounded us. We moved through it for a few beats, the draft from Dragon’s wings swirling it into whirlpools.

  We broke through the cloud, soaring over a stone tower. Wait, no, it wasn’t stone. It glistened greenish blue, the same as Dragon’s wings.

  The tower was made of Dragon’s chi. He could build with it.

  “Wow,” I said.

  “Amazing,” Dimitri agreed.

  Dragon passed over the tower and lowered into a courtyard. A door flew open, and keeping the vampires in his shadow, Dragon moved us indoors. The chi that had carried us melding into the floor at our feet.

  Dragon folded his wings back into himself and followed us into the shadowed room. “Your friends will be safe here,” he said.

  I turned, taking in the dark room. Like Dragon’s wings, it looked scaled in iridescent blues and green. “Darling,” he said, holding out a hand to me. “If you are still tired, I would offer you a private bedroom for your rest.”

  I looked over at Megan and Issa; they lay curled on the floor, their eyes closed. Dimitri stood next to them, his hands fisted. Dragon followed my gaze. “She will come to no harm, I promise you that, vampire.”

  “She will need to feed,” Dimitri said. “You cannot nourish her.”

  “I am aware that, until we are bonded, she will need to find sustenance elsewhere.” Dragon’s voice came out tight and annoyed. I glanced over at him; his lips were a thin line. Not such a super cool customer after all. I crossed my arms and smiled at him, pleased with his annoyance.