by Amelia Jade
“You should be more concerned with what we want,” another one said at last.
Dominick eyed him up. He was perhaps an inch taller, but otherwise of similar build. Dragon then, he judged. Dark hair was coiffed perfectly on his head, slightly wavy and pulled off to one side in a manner that never went out of style. His jacket fit him impeccably, as if it had been tailored from the start, instead of altered to fit. Interesting.
“Should I?” Dominick said, standing up straight as the four fanned out around him.
“No need for the dick-waving,” the leader said again. “I’m simply here to tell you to stay away from Rhynne. She’s spoken for.”
Dominick blinked, shaking his head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, did you just try and lay claim to her?” he asked, not quite sure he’d heard correctly.
“Stay away from her,” the leader told him, pointing a finger in Dom’s direction.
“You have no idea,” Dom laughed. “If you think you can claim Rhynne Nova, you are in for one wild ride,” he said, trying to hold back his laughter.
“You think this is funny?”
“Kick his ass, Garv,” one of the others said with a sneer.
Ah. Garviel. The shifter from Fenris. The picture becomes clearer.
“So does Rhynne know you’re laying a claim to her?” he asked. “I’m not really sure you know her if you think this is a good idea. Trust me.”
“Are you going to keep your distance, Treadblood?”
Dom scoffed. “Here in Cadia, we don’t really put much stock on bloodlines and all that old ancestral bullshit. We’ve moved past it, because we gained the brains to realize that it means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. It’s a shame to hear that Fenris hasn’t. It must be such a backwater place.”
For once, Dominick felt like he actually believed it when he said it. The term Treadblood meant that he was of such low class birth, his only use was as a stepping stone to walk over, leaving behind tread-marks as they went. It was crude, and in some of the strongholds, would evoke a powerful reaction.
Dominick, and most Cadians in general, just no longer cared.
The fist flashed out of nowhere with impressive speed, but Dominick had been ready since they approached. His arm shot up and deflected the blow, even as he planted a foot and kicked out hard with the other, delivering a shot right to his opponent’s knee.
But Garviel was fast, and his leg danced away, only taking a grazing shot in the process.
The others charged in. Dom took a blow to his side that sent torment up his ribcage, muscles screaming in protest from the abuse. Another fist landed on his jaw, spinning him around.
“Oh no, I’m not done with you yet,” Garviel said, grabbing Dom by the shoulders and hoisting him upright as his friends pinned his arms.
Dom snarled and lashed out with his legs, but Garviel moved aside. As he darted back in, he delivered a lightning-quick double-blow to his core, driving the air from his lungs. Dominick gasped and struggled for breath as Garviel laughed with his friends.
“Stay away from Rhynne.”
“Fuck you,” Dom spat, blood flying from his mashed mouth.
Garviel wound up, and the last thing Dominick saw was a glint of metal as the ring on Garviel’s hand slammed into the side of his head. He fell to the floor, eyes rolling up momentarily, as the others walked away laughing to each other.
“Motherfucker,” he cursed to himself, rolling onto his stomach after several minutes and climbing to his feet. “Fuck this party.”
He stumbled toward the door. People gave him a wide berth as he snarled at them.
“Dom? Dom!”
He didn’t turn around as he heard Zeke coming up the stairs. Instead he pushed through the doors and out into the warm night air.
“Hey, Dom. Where you going?”
“Home,” he said, spitting out some more blood from his mouth.
“What? Why?” Zeke asked, catching up with him and laying a hand on Dom’s shoulder.
He shrugged it off violently and ignored his friend.
“Holy shit!” Zeke exclaimed as came up alongside him. “What the fuck happened?”
“I told you coming here was a bad idea,” he said. “Rhynne’s boy toy and his friends decided to deliver a message. I guess you could say I got it,” he raged, then stormed off, leaving his friend standing in the middle of the road, completely forgetting that he’d never told his friends about Rhynne.
I guess it’s all out in the open now! Not that it matters.
Rhynne didn’t want him, even though she was carrying his child, and now her upper-crust match had driven that point home.
Dom wasn’t going to abandon his child, but he knew when he wasn’t wanted.
Chapter Eight
Rhynne
Rhynne smiled thinly as her mother began blabbering on the second she got to the Mountain Box. Mina looked on helplessly, mouthing an apology as she and Marincin, her mate, took a seat farther down the table.
Her mother was supposed to be in the Desert Box with the rest of the Council. Unfortunately, she was not. Rhynne really hoped Dom took his time getting that water, so she could get rid of her mother.
“So, my dear, tell me, have you seen Garviel yet?”
“No, Mother. I’m sure as the guest of honor he’s busy.”
“But you should be at his side, shouldn’t you?”
Something inside of Rhynne snapped. She kept her voice as polite as possible, but she was so through with her mother’s interference in her life.
“Come now, Mother. You can’t be serious. You didn’t really think I would be interested in him, would you?”
“Rhynne!” Her mother looked at her, shocked. “What has gotten into you? Garviel is a nice man. He’s well-connected and comes from the same places as you. You two are prefect for each other.”
“I’m sure he is nice. In a way. But the answer is no. Not interested, at all. In anything. I’m not going to give it a chance. As soon as it’s finished, he’s gone, and I’ll be happier for it. That’s just the way it is.”
“I see.” Her mother gave her an angry, unimpressed look and grabbed her drink and left, heading off into the party.
“Thank goodness for that,” she said, sagging against the table in relief.
Then she straightened, looking around. Where was Dom? He’d been gone for some time now. She moved out into the Hall to look for him, constantly looking back over her shoulder at the Mountain Box, in case he appeared there, but he never did. Her search took her up to the third tier, the ring where people went to escape the press of the mass of shifters down below.
Inwardly she groaned as another voice sounded from nearby, interrupting her search.
“Well hello, beautiful. Don’t you look like something else tonight.”
“Hello Garviel,” she said, using the same tone on him as she had with her mother.
Turning around she watched him approach. He was wiping at something on his suit that looked like a stain, while flexing his other hand, as if it hurt.
“Oh come on, all my friends call me Garv,” he said, flashing her his best grin.
“I’m sure they do, Garviel,” she said, letting some ice slip into her voice.
“Ouch,” he laughed, but still he closed, coming to her side. “Come on, let’s dance,” he said, moving to take her arm.
Rhynne stepped back. “What the hell do I have to do to get the point through your thick skull that I’m not interested?” she snarled.
That got his attention. “Give us a moment,” he said to his followers, who melted back somewhat.
“Now come on, Rhynne. Let’s be honest here. You aren’t going to be able to make it work with that Treadblood. Don’t kid yourself. He’s half the man I am. We’re a smart match. Trust me, we’ll make it work. I’m not so bad.”
Her jaw dropped open in surprise at his blatant statements.
“Wow. No,” she said, laughing. “Just no. You and I are not going to happe
n. Period, end of story.”
“Just give it a whirl,” he said and stepped closer before she could respond, pressing his lips against hers.
Rhynne froze in shock for a moment, completely surprised that he was being so forward after everything she’d just told him. After the delay she grabbed his shirt firmly and pushed him back.
“Try that again,” she said, her voice as fiery as her temper, “and I promise you will regret it. Now do me a favor and fuck off.” She smiled at him sweetly and stepped past him.
Where she saw Zeke standing at the top of the stairwell, looking at her. He grimaced and shook his head, turning to go.
“Zeke!” she shouted, rushing after him. “Wait.”
The Fire Dragon shifter kept walking down the stairs, ignoring her calls.
“Hey, Zeke. Have you seen Dominick?” she asked, trying to modulate her voice as neutral as possible.
Zeke didn’t turn, but she saw his shoulders roll, like someone does when they try not to get angry.
“Are you joking?” he asked over his shoulder, still not meeting her gaze.
“No?” she asked, confused.
“Maybe you should stop locking lips long enough to ask your boyfriend where he left him then.”
Zeke made to move off, but she grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around, her full fury roused now by the way everyone kept acting like she should be doing something other than exactly what she wanted to do, which was be with Dominick.
“Tell me. Now,” she snarled in his face, her eyes blazing with the fire that burned brightly in her soul.
Zeke wasn’t scared, but he did arch an eyebrow at the intensity of her response.
“Heading home,” he said with a flick of his finger at the door.
Rhynne turned and left, leaving him there without a further word.
***
She darted out through the doors into the night, her auburn hair bouncing crazily as she ran after Dom, thankful for having worn flats that night. Being so close to six feet she rarely did anyway, but tonight it was working in her favor. The ruby-red flats pounded across the cobblestones toward the landing fields out in front of the Hall.
The night was dark, but the moon glittered overhead, completely devoid of cloud cover. With her excellent night vision, she could easily see the figure standing in one of the stone circles. As she closed in on it, a swirl of darkness enveloped him before the darkness was lit by the flash of lightning. It cleared a moment later in a bright flash, followed by a rumble of thunder, and a majestic blue dragon was suddenly standing in the circle.
“Dominick!” she shouted. “Wait!”
The wings had spread wide, ready to propel him into the air, but the sound of her voice paused them. The huge head swiveled around on the long neck and brilliant yellow eyes regarded her suspiciously.
“Why?” he rumbled.
She was startled at the dullness of his voice. There was no anger there, no hate, just nothingness. It was empty of all emotion. As if he no longer cared.
And yet, he’d stayed his course, giving her time to speak. So she better make damn good use of that time then.
“Because I asked you to,” she said.
The dragon head shook slightly and he prepared to take off again.
Not good enough, he was saying.
“Because we need to talk,” she tried again.
The wings spread wide in answer.
“Because I want you to stay, okay? I want you close by.” Her voice caught as she shouted it across the still-shrinking distance, the depth of emotion in her words catching even her off guard.
Dom turned to face her.
“Why must you lie to me like that?” he asked sadly. “You don’t have to pretend anymore. It’s okay. I get it. You’re just playing nice until I’m done at the Academy. Then you can move on with your perfect match. I promise I won’t interfere.”
His legs tensed.
“What the hell are you talking about?” she asked in bewilderment.
“I overheard you,” he said. “You told your mother the truth about me, and how you didn’t actually like me.” He shifted, his head coming into the light, and she saw the swelling and split scales on his dragon face. “Although you didn’t have to have your goon squad come and tell me so directly. If you had the courage to do it yourself, I would have been respectful of you, and done my best to keep my distance, as long as you let me see our child. Yet you couldn’t even do that.”
“What the hell happened?”
Dom laughed, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound.
“Your out-of-town boyfriend and his lackeys paid me a visit in a dark corner. I didn’t get the jump on them,” he said bitterly. “He came to rub it in that you had chosen him over me.”
Rhynne felt her jaw drop. “Dominick Carunno, you had better start making some sense right now,” she snapped.
He shook his great head. “What was the line you used? Oh, right. ‘I’m sure he is nice. In a way. But the answer is no. Not interested, at all. In anything. I’m not going to give it a chance. As soon as it’s finished, he’s gone, and I’ll be happier for it. That’s just the way it is.’ Real nice,” he said with a mighty snort of his dragon nostrils.
Rhynne sighed with relief. “Oh Dom,” she said softly. “I wasn’t talking about you. I was talking about Garviel. He’s the one I’m not interested in.” She ran a hand across her stomach, not entirely sure if she did so subconsciously or to drive her point home. “You’re the one I’m interested in.” Her voice dropped another octave. “You’re the one I want.”
Emotion warred within Dom’s face clear enough for her to see. Hope played against what he perceived as reality as he tried to decide if she was telling the truth, or just stringing him along some more. Rhynne stood close, dropping her guard and letting him stare into her soul, in hopes that he might understand. Opening up was difficult for her. It wasn’t something she did often, or had much experience with. But right here, right then, she tried her best. For him.
“Rhynne,” he said softly, and she heard the emotion in his voice, the desire, the want, the need. Heard it so clearly that she ached for him.
“I’m here,” she told him. “Right here, right now. You can trust me.”
“And Garviel?”
She snorted. “Garviel is nothing. I put up with him to keep up appearances, to shut my mother up.”
A voice rang out in the night behind her. “And kissing him? Was that just keeping up appearances as well?”
Zeke strode from the dark. “Tell him the truth, at least,” he said, moving to another standing stone with Amber in tow. “He deserves that much from you.”
He shifted rapidly and extended a wing for his mate to climb aboard, and then with a nod at Dom, launched himself into the air.
Dominick’s dragon eyes blazed, the yellow orbs alight with anger.
“Dom, wait,” she protested, but he spoke first.
“You know what, I’m glad being visited by your match is part of keeping up appearances.” He spoke the word with such vehemence that Rhynne was driven back a step. “Perhaps you should concern yourself less about appearances, and stop being so damn afraid of standing up to your parents.”
His wings snapped out wide.
“Dominick!” she tried again, but he wasn’t listening.
“Don’t follow me,” he rumbled and took off into the night, leaving her behind as tears streamed down her face.
Rhynne sat down hard, cradling her head in her hands as her shoulders shook. She had opened herself up to him, and everything had come so close to being given a chance. A chance that she had been avoiding, yet desperately craving, for so long. Rhynne cared for Dominick. A lot. She yearned to be at his side, to have him next to her. However one wanted to say it, she needed it. And here, on this night, she’d almost been able to overcome her own internal hiccups.
Until Ezequiel interfered.
No, she told herself. That’s not fair, and you know it. Stop trying
to put the blame on someone else. This is your fault, and it’s Garviel’s fault. You didn’t lead him on, but you didn’t stop him right away either, like you should have. So accept part of the blame, and do something about it.
“Rhynne? Are you all right?”
All at once her anger coalesced from burning coals into a towering inferno that rose up without warning and crashed over her. Rhynne flew to her feet as Garviel approached, and without warning, without care, and most importantly, without hesitation, she punched him square in the face.
“DO YOU GET IT NOW?” she screamed at him as he reeled from her blow.
She hit him again.
And again.
“Get it through your thick skull. I do not want you.”
Her final blow sent him tumbling to the ground.
She almost spat on him. It was a close thing, but in the end, she figured he wasn’t worth it.
Turning on her heel, she moved to a stone circle and shifted, winging away into the night as Garviel lay groaning on the ground, trying to figure out what had just happened to him.
Chapter Nine
Dominick
The town of Cadia proper came into view as he soared through the sky. The day was overcast, with thick dark gray clouds covering the sky, limiting the sunlight. In the distance he could see rain falling, but it didn’t appear to be coming any closer.
Lazily he banked to the right, looking at the buildings that formed the core of the city. There was the Cadian Hall, easily visible in the northwest corner of the city. The Guardian Headquarters, with its sprawling lawns and hexagonal-shaped building stood out from its spot nearer to the center of town. The Administration building, a gothic-style building with high-peaked roofs and far more gargoyles than necessary, occupied a large spot in the east end of town.
Today he was out on nominal “patrol duty.” This was one of the primary responsibilities of the Guardians, and Top Scale was firm in its belief that some of the basics should be taught and used during training. So all the cadets were out on different patrol routes that day, with instructions to take note of anything unusual they saw and to report back at the end of the day, or to notify an actual Guardian if something went awry.
