by Susan Hayes
“Your eyes changed. I’ll miss the blue, but I like gold, too. Does this mean you can conjure fire, now?”
He arched a dark brow at her. “Impatient, aren’t you? I’m still waiting for my brain to start working again. Mostly all it’s doing right now is saying ‘mine, mine, mine’ in an embarrassingly smug voice.”
“The fire thing was the point of doing this, wasn’t it?” She regretted the words the second they left her mouth. It wasn’t the reason she’d said yes. It was the excuse she’d needed to give in to the Scorching.
His gold eyes narrowed. “Not for me, it wasn’t. We’re destined mates, Hanna. I know you did this because you feel you had to, and I’m sorry for that. But we’re so much more than that. Why don’t you believe it?”
“Because I don’t believe in destiny. I can’t. Too many people suffer too much for there to be some kind of cosmic plan to it all, at least on this planet.” She shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe if we had Gods like yours, it would be easier to believe, but ours don’t speak to us. They don’t grant us mates or magical powers.”
Jet grinned. “No? I think you’re wrong about that, tani.” He reached up to tap two fingers on either side of her nose. “Your eyes changed colour, too. They are a stunning shade of gold.”
“They are? What does that mean? How? I don’t feel any different. Shouldn’t I have felt that?”
“I didn’t feel anything except the immense pleasure of being with you. It’s possible we both missed something.” His grin widened. “We were rather distracted.”
“We were,” She blushed as she agreed with him. “But what does it mean?”
Jet shrugged, the motion doing interesting things to his chest and shoulders. She had to force herself to stop staring and focus on what he was saying.
“Not many human females have manifested gold eyes. The few that have all developed the ability to conjure and control flame, just like a full-blooded Pyrosian.”
“I can throw fireballs?” The idea both thrilled and terrified her.
“Maybe. We’ll work on that soon, but before we do, we’ll need to hang a blanket or something to block the light of the flames. Our guards might not be the brightest beings to walk this world, but they would certainly notice flames coming from inside our cells.”
“They would.” Her head was whirling as she tried to keep up with her thoughts and failed. There was too much to process, and all she really wanted to do was curl up in Jet’s arms where she was warm and safe. Not that either of them were safe at the moment, and they wouldn’t be until they got away from John and his fear-fueled army.
Jet folded her into his arms and held her tight. “You’re thinking too much. Have faith that things will work out as they should, for all of us.”
“I told you, I’m not much for faith, or Gods, or destiny.”
He stroked her hair, kindling a fresh spark of desire in her breast. “I heard you, but that’s not what I meant. You are the most intelligent, capable female I have met, on any planet. I meant that you should have some faith in yourself. We’re going to get through this.”
“How is it you always know the exact right thing to say?”
He chuckled and kissed the top of her head, a tender gesture that threatened to melt her heart completely. “I’m a diplomat, tani. Knowing what to say and when to say it is pretty much my job description.”
“And you’re very good at it.” She closed her eyes, determined to steal just a few more seconds of bliss. These moments might be all they had, and she wanted to make them last. Reality would return sooner than either of them would like. But when it did, they’d be ready.
Chapter Six
It had been a long time since he’d spent an entire night cold and uncomfortable. It reminded Jet of his time in the military, though the company this time was a vast improvement over his former squad-mates.
They’d passed the time in a quiet cycle of lovemaking, talking, and then a bit of rest before the mating fever overcame them once again. Hanna would slip through the gap in the bars, naked and eager, only to retreat to her bunk once they could think clearly again. He knew it was necessary. They couldn’t know when a guard might check on them, and the last thing they wanted was for their captors to realize that the thing they were most opposed to – a Pyrosian-human mating – had happened right under their noses. Valuable hostages or not, there was no way they’d escape unscathed if the truth came out.
The blankets worked to form a makeshift barrier so he could practice summoning flame. It hadn’t taken long for him to get the hang of it, though it would take more than a few hours to master his new talent.
Hanna hadn’t managed more than a single spark, yet, despite hours of trying. The spark had flashed at the same time as her temper, but she’d been too tired to repeat the feat a second time. She would, though. It was inevitable. She was Pyrosian now.
She saw the changes in herself as another way to defend herself and her friend, Lily. He saw it as proof they were destined to be together despite her lingering doubts.
He rose from his bunk and stretched in a vain attempt to ease the stiffness in his limbs. Between rounds of mind-melting sex, the hard bunk, and the even harder floor, his body had grounds for complaint, but it was all worth it. Getting kidnapped was not a recommended way to meet your mate, but it had worked for him, and he’d never regret it. At least, not if everyone walked away when this ordeal ended.
Hanna sat up when he did, yawning as she ran her fingers through her sleep-tousled hair. Instantly his fingers itched to help, though he was certain that was part of how her hair had become tousled in the first place. He loved her hair, the warm weight of it in his hands, the subtle scent of her shampoo, the way he could wrap it around his fingers as he kissed her… He reined in his lust-muddled thoughts, but it was too late, his cock was hard as hull-plating again. It had only been an hour since they’d last made love. It was going to be a long, trying day.
“Did you sleep?” He asked softly.
“Not really. We should have just kept talking.” She flashed him a tired smile. “I liked hearing about Pyros and what it was like to grow up there.”
And he’d liked listening to her talk about her family, her work, and what had led her to create the Haven Network. Her file mentioned family members who had been killed, but now he knew the whole story. How her cousins and their mother had been caught in the middle of a war. Their home had been bombed, the city invaded, and they’d fled with nothing but the clothes they wore. They’d sent letters begging for help from her mother and promising to write once they reached safety. They’d never been heard from again.
“I liked talking to you, too. Hearing about your family, what happened to them. I’ve been thinking about ways to help as many females as we can get to Pyros so they can start over,” he said.
“You want to start negotiating now? Here?” she raised her hands, her golden eyes gleaming with amusement. Her eyes were going to be a problem.
“No, tani. No negotiations. There’s no need. We’re a team now. We’ll make this happen, together. And remember to keep your head down as much as you can. If anyone notices that your eyes have changed colours…”
She gestured to the gap they’d made in the bars. “Here’s hoping they’re not observant.”
They had managed to prop the bar back into place, then covered it with the makeshift privacy curtain. It wasn’t perfect, but it was all they could do.
They tidied themselves up as best they could, using hand wipes and a little of the water left from dinner. The level of activity was picking up in the warehouse, too. The lights came on, voices called to each other in greeting, and two unfamiliar males brought them breakfast in a pair of brown paper bags. The food was nondescript and greasy, but there was plenty of it, and this time, they’d brought him a meal, too.
“No coffee.” Hanna lamented as she dug into her meal. “What do they think we’re going to do, throw it at them?”
He grunted in commiserat
ion. Unlike many of his brethren, he didn’t like coffee, though he understood that it was a favourite among many humans, especially first thing in the morning. “If we were back at the embassy, I’d brew you a mug of korta. I think you’d like it.”
“What’s that?”
“A Romaki beverage with a nice, fruity flavour and a heart-slamming amount of caff— The rest of his words were drowned out by an earth-shattering roar that could only come from one source - a seriously pissed off dragon. Another roar sounded a few seconds later, sending the warehouse into total pandemonium.
He ran to his cell door to watch the chaos unfold while Hanna did the same on her side. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked.
“That is a Romaki dragon in a very bad mood. Our rescue is at hand.”
They watched for a few more seconds, waiting for the area to clear out before they enacted their plan. Most of the Humanity First members ran in the same direction, but a small group were headed for the storage container where Lily and Vykor were imprisoned.
“Oh no.” Hanna pointed to the group. “Is that John with them? What is he doing? Jet, quick. You have to get us out of here before he does something to Lily!”
A closer look at the group revealed why Hanna was worried. The men with John Ashton were heavily armed, wearing full tactical armour, and had almost identical expressions of grim determination on their faces. Whatever was about to happen, it wouldn’t be good for Vykor or Lily.
Help might be coming, but it wasn’t going to be here fast enough. He stepped back from the bars, raised his hands, and summoned his flames.
This sucks. She couldn’t do a damned thing to help Lily. All she could do was watch in fear as the men approached Lily’s prison. Chris and the other guard had disappeared, probably to defend their base. Voices were raised in panic, barking orders or screaming in fear. There was sporadic gunfire, muffled explosions, and occasionally, the bone-jarring roar of a dragon. She could almost swear there were two of them out there, but that didn’t make sense. Jet had said Karos was the only other Romaki in the city.
She clung to the barred door, one eye on their captors, the other on her alien lover. Jet’s outstretched hands were bathed in flames. They flew from his fingers to engulf the door to his cell. She could feel the heat radiating off of him, and she had to keep reminding herself that as his mate, the fire couldn’t harm her.
The flames grew brighter, changing colour from red to orange to white. Near the end, the flames around his hands turned blue, but then the blaze grew so bright she had to shield her eyes.
Jet gave a cry of triumph a few seconds later, and the heat and light vanished. She lowered her hands to see the bars of his door glowing cherry red, the metal warped and bending in several places. He grabbed the loose bar from its spot near the wall and used it to push at the damaged door, ignoring the smoking ruins of his shirt sleeves. A few hard pushes and strikes with the bar destroyed what was left of the gate’s integrity and the whole thing crashed to the ground.
She squeezed through the bars and raced to his side, leaving her shoes behind. They’d only slow her down. Jet tossed away the metal bar, scooped her into his arms, and charged through the still glowing doorway. She pulled her arms and legs in tight, but she still got burns on her legs and feet as he carried her out of their prison. It was a small price to pay to be free.
The second he was past the destroyed gate, he set her down, and they took off running for the far side of the warehouse. The group was inside the other shipping container now, and over the chaos and noise of the fight outside she heard Lily screaming in fury.
“Stay behind me!” Jet reminded her as they closed the distance. They’d talked about this, too. His flames wouldn’t hurt her, but they would hurt anyone else, including their friends. He needed a clear line of sight to avoid harming them by accident.
“No!” They were close enough now she could hear what Lily was screaming. “This is insane. You’re insane! I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Leave her. I’ll go, but only if you leave her here where it’s safe. You only need one hostage. Take me.” That had to be Vykor.
They were only a few strides from the door when Lily cried out. Then there was a gunshot that tore Hanna’s hopes to shreds. No!
That was when it all went to hell. Someone bellowed in rage and grief, the sound starting out human but morphing into something far larger and fiercer. It battered at her senses and made the floor beneath them shudder.
Jet stopped dead, throwing out his arms to catch her as she raced by him. “Get back. Now!”
He turned and ran back the way they’d come, dragging her with him.
“But Lily!”
The container started to buckle. Something huge tore it apart from the inside.
“Move!”
The steel walls of the shipping container shredded like tissue paper, and a creature from out of legend rose from the wreckage. She was looking at a dragon.
“He’s purple?” Hanna barely recognized her own voice.
“Apparently.” Jet wrapped an arm around her waist and tucked her in close to his side.
“That’s not one of the usual colours.” She was babbling and she knew it, but she couldn’t seem to stop talking.
“No. He’s something new.” They watched in fascination as Vykor stepped out of the wreckage, then turned and blasted his former prison with a blast of fire that turned the entire container to molten slag, along with everyone still inside.
“Where’s Lily! Oh god, did he kill her?” She raised her voice. “Hey, dragon! What the hell did you do with my friend?”
Vykor’s head snapped up and he stared at her for a long, terrifying second. Then he raised his head, snorted in irritation, and unfurled his wings to reveal Lily lying face down across his back.
She didn’t move, and Hanna’s fear returned tenfold. “Lily!”
She tried to run toward Vykor and his precious burden, but Jet wouldn’t let her go. “Stop, Hanna. We need to stay clear.”
“Clear of what?”
Vykor swung his massive head around so he was facing the wall, then exhaled a cloud of crystalline vapour that enveloped the entire area, covering everything it touched in a layer of shimmering frost. Then he spun and slammed his tail into the wall. There was a cacophony of screeching metal and tumbling masonry, and most of the wall gave way, creating an escape route.
“Clear of that.” Jet sounded slightly awed.
Vykor ambled through the gap he’d made, shielding Lily with his wings as he walked past the still crumbling edges of the hole. She and Jet followed, picking their way carefully through the debris. The cold bit at her feet but she didn’t say anything. All she wanted was to get to Lily and find out if she was alright.
Outside, the overcast sky was a damp and ruffled grey and the wind carried the scent of the sea, along with the promise of rain. A dragon roared above them and she looked up in time to see a crimson beast the size of a tour bus hurtling toward the ground. She expected it to land gracefully, but instead it hit hard, skidding across the concrete and taking out a wall of a neighbouring warehouse.
“That’s Karos?” She asked.
“No. I have no idea who that lunatic is.” Jet pointed to where a second red dragon, even larger than the first, set down. “That’s Karos.”
The larger dragon draped a wing over the smaller one in a protective gesture. “Oi, Romaki dragonmen, Lily needs help over here!”
As strange as the last twenty-four hours had been, seeing two mythological creatures shimmer and transform into ordinary people ranked pretty high on her list. Especially when one of the dragons turned into her friend, Megan.
She stared while Jet laughed.
As Megan and the huge Romaki male sprinted towards them, Hanna finally found her voice. “Megan. What the hell is going on, and why can you turn into a dragon?”
Chapter Seven
“I’m so sorry, tani. I forgot you weren’t wearing shoes.” Jet
stood beside Hanna and held her hand as a Pyrosian medical officer tended to her injured feet. She’d been badly cut exiting the building, and he hadn’t noticed. She’d been burned, too, and hadn’t said anything. He’d promised to protect her, and failed to live up to his word. He needed her trust, and so far, he’d done a lousy job of proving himself worthy of it. Now they were free, he’d have to do better.
“We got out. That’s all that matters.” She glanced over to the vehicle where more medical officers were working on Lily. Vykor had refused to step away, and after his dragon growled at the staff, they stopped trying to move him.
Jet understood how Vykor must be feeling. There wasn’t a force in the galaxy that could make him leave Hanna’s side.
Vykor wasn’t the only one sticking close to Lily. A massive canine lay nearby, watching whatever was going on inside the vehicle with solemn eyes, its wide head resting on its paws.
Hanna had recognized the beast, which had appeared as Vykor handed Lily’s unconscious body over to the medics. Vykor had called the beast Cupcake and said it was Lily’s, and no one seemed inclined to interfere with either the dog or the dragon as they stood watch over their female.
Only after Hanna had been treated and provided with borrowed footwear did he allow himself to be checked over. They treated his bruises, handed them each a bottle of water, a blanket, and sent them on their way with a reminder to stay hydrated and eat something soon. The only thing he was hungry for was Hanna, but he couldn’t start that feast until they were back at the embassy. He couldn’t wait to get home to a soft bed, a hot shower, room service, and a door that only locked from the inside.
They drank their water and tried to get close enough to the vehicle where Lily was being treated to glean something about her condition, but they were shooed away.
