“Thank you, Bodark.” And using my hand on his arm, I leaned up and kissed his cheek. “That’s for wanting to protect me,” I told him.
When he was gone I glanced up again knowing that Dane was already gone. “Excuse me,” I told the person that stepped up once Bodark moved off through the crowd and my eyes scanned the room for my Father. “I need to get closer to Dad.”
Gareth and Jace nodded. Jace took my arm and led me through the press while Gareth cleared a path for us and the others followed along in our wake.
“Dad,” I whispered when I pulled him away from Mom for a moment. “Dane is here.”
“Who is Dane?” he asked, giving me a strange look.
“The Black you… ah… the Black,” I told him holding up my bracelet and giving it a shake and understanding dawned. “Apparently he’s been looking for me for a while. Gareth and Jace tell me he came to town not long after I moved here. They don’t like him,” I added and watched as Dad frowned and glanced around the room.
“Where is he?” he asked me and I shrugged, which made him look closer at me. “You can sense him can’t you?” he asked softly.
“Yes, just as I can sense Marcus is behind me to the left across the room,” I told him, then closed my eyes and pictured Dane. “He is… over by the staircase,” I added. “I guess we’ll keep our eye on Mom,” I muttered when Dad scanned the room and made a beeline for the staircase. Obviously he’d picked Dane out of the crowd and was heading in his direction. I turned to look at Lira and Roral, then glanced at Cursed who moved to the other side of my Mother. Owen and Amras spread out, basically encircling both Mom and me, while Kit took up the space to my left and Jace, Gareth and I turned to watch Dad approach Dane across the room.
“Where did Roark go?” Mom asked.
“Apparently we’ve got Blue, Green, Red, Silver, Gold and now Black in the room,” I told her cryptically and nodded when her eyes widened and she too turned to watch Dad.
“This is the one that haunts your dreams?” Mom asked sharply. I glanced at her in surprise and nodded. Either Mi had been tattling or Dad had. I couldn’t remember ever saying anything about my dreams.
Across the room Dane actually went to a knee before my father, which caused heads to turn. Luckily they were on the opposite side of the staircase from Valentine. My Father bid him to rise and they proceeded to have a brief conversation before Dad turned and led him toward us across the floor. Beside me Gareth growled softly while Jace slid an arm around my waist and stepped closer to me. This really wasn’t the place for this, I thought, and watched as Dane’s eager eyes met mine over my Father’s shoulder.
Chapter 17
“Dad,” I said when he reached me, and stepped aside so Dane was standing before me. “You are endangering him. Can’t we do this later… somewhere less public. Somewhere where the psycho Vampire isn’t?” I hissed.
Dad just frowned at me and shook his head. “Dane Elensar, may I present my daughter, Princess Lexi Helyanwe.”
“Princess, tis a pleasure to be meeting ye finally. Been searching for ye for some time, I ‘ave,” Dane replied in a deep voice with a heavy Irish accent. When he went to a knee, I wasn’t sure what to do and reached out my right hand to him, the one with the bracelet. His fingers slipped over mine, and even through the gloves I felt some sort of an electrical surge between us, which I struggled to ignore. Dane’s hand tightened slightly, letting me know that he’d felt the current too. He raised his other hand and ran a finger over my dragons, gently turning the bracelet until he came to the black. His finger stroked his image and he whispered softly. “Ta’ sibh mo banrion.”
“What did you just say?” I asked, but Dane simply shook his head and kissed the back of my hand, his fingers sliding off the black. I looked around at my men to see if any of them caught his phrase. Several of them looked annoyed so I guessed they must have understood him and simply didn’t like what he’d had to say. I wasn’t even sure what language he’d spoken, though given his accent, I supposed Gaelic was a good bet.
“Please,” I muttered. “Get up, this is embarrassing.” When he rose to his feet I got my first up close view of him. He looked, large. His shoulders were wide and his chest deep. He was clean shaven with short blue black hair that stood up much like Gareth’s. His eyes were darker than Cursed’s, if that was possible, and he had a broad forehead and eyebrows that were thicker than either Cursed’s or Kit’s. His nose flared slightly but wasn’t too large for his face. High cheekbones and wide eyes and like Marcus, neither had ears that were pointed like mine. He was nearly Cursed’s height which made him taller than Gareth but shorter than Kit. His body was heavily muscled and he reminded me of Nick. I had no reason to believe he’d be ugly, and he wasn’t. I suspected any cross between Dragon and Elf would result in beautiful offspring. “I can’t do this now,” I told him abruptly.
Dane’s eyes moved over my face, then wandered down my body and I assumed over Jace’s hand around my waist, since he lifted his eyes and glanced between Jace and Gareth while his eyes narrowed slightly. “Ye’ve been running from me for some time now,” he replied softly, his dark eyes pulling me in. “Lass, I dinna meant to frighten,” he added. “Tis flying with ye was me goal, ye kin?”
I swallowed and gave myself a mental shake. “In your wanderings around this room did you happen to notice the Red?” I asked softly.
“Tis… odd he is.”
“Did he notice you?”
He shook his head slightly. “Both he and the female seem distracted,” he replied with a grimace. “Tis as if they are unaware of their surroundings. I nae think either of them noticed me.”
I nodded and told him, “His Master would like to enslave us all the same way. By being here tonight you risk bringing yourself to his attention. We cannot protect you,” I told him softly. “We aren’t sure if we can even protect ourselves,” I added not much above a whisper.
“Lexi,” Gareth growled softly and I turned to look where he was.
“Walk away, Dane. Do it now. If for no other reason than we might need someone to help us later. Go,” I whispered. He glanced at me, then at the men walking our way and bowed his head and melted into the crowd. “You too, Dad, take Mom to the other side of the room… for my sisters,” I urged him when he hesitated. I breathed again when he offered Mom his arm and the two of them slipped through the crowd in the opposite direction, with their three guards surrounding them. Amras, Cursed, and Owen moved closer, and Kit stepped in to make an imaginary box around me.
Valentine brought Belinda and Marcus in his wake and was walking next to Courday, chatting softly his light eyes watching our group. I saw his eyes flick to my father and stepped forward, bringing his attention back to me. Belinda and Marcus did look odd… they seemed to move fine but it was like their minds were elsewhere. I had to wonder if they were drugged, or if they were merely being controlled by Valentine in some manner. Perhaps they needed to be controlled to be let out amongst the public. Marcus was looking pale again and I could see that someone had been feeding at his neck. My healing was already being undone and I assumed it wouldn’t be long before he was back to the same pale, ravaged person he’d been before I healed him.
Unlike the other night, Valentine seemed more interested in me than in either Jace or Gareth. Surely that wasn’t a good sign, nor did it go unnoticed by any of my men.
“Ah, Princess… may I introduce Valentine Loveless, an old friend of mine?” Courday asked while his hazel eyes roamed over my face and upper chest. His eyes fastened on my neck for a moment and I felt myself still beneath his gaze. The man was incorrigible and not very subtle about his intentions!
“Thank you, Mayor, we have already met. Mr. Loveless, a pleasure,” I replied, though my skin was crawling and I had a sudden itch between my shoulder blades. I didn’t offer him any part of myself and trusted Gareth and Jace to make polite conversation while I tested a theory.
I still had my lower shield in place and dropped it s
uddenly. Valentine was dressed in a black tuxedo with a blood red cummerbund and bow tie. So cliché, I thought unkindly. He would have looked much better in sky blue or a pale green. Red just seemed to make him look more pasty. In front of me Valentine hesitated and his eyes widened slightly. I raised my shields and thought. Such a handsome man… but he really needs a new barber and my God! . what is it with those side burns? This time there was no response from either Courday or Valentine, and I realized with my lower shield raised that they could not hear me. Meanwhile behind me, Kit coughed softly and I knew if I turned to look at him that he’d be covering his face, trying not to laugh. I’d like to strangle Valentine with that damn bow tie then watch as his eyes exploded out of his head and his tongue swelled to the size of a cucumber, I thought fiercely. Beside me Gareth shifted, while Jace’s arm tightened slightly. Again there was no response from either Vampire and I breathed a sigh of relief.
Behind Valentine, Marcus’ jerked slightly and his eyes seemed to come into focus. And suddenly it was Marcus gazing out at me from his sherry colored eyes. Beware his mind whispered, and I raised my Dragonsward into place just as an unpleasant force slammed into my mind, bouncing harmlessly off the shinny scales of my second shield.
Beside me Gareth and Jace staggered slightly and my eyes narrowed on Valentine, whose smile dimmed considerably as I stared back at him without flinching. It didn’t even dawn on me that I was staring directly into his eyes and was totally unaffected. Oh well, it had worked on Courday, no reason to believe it wouldn’t with Valentine.
Cursed moved so quickly I might have missed him if I had blinked, he was just there behind Valentine, the point of a wicked silver knife pressed against the side of Valentine’s neck. Owen and Kit flowed next to me, their bodies somewhat ahead of me between myself and the Vampires, while Amras took position behind Claudius. Everyone stood loose and ready, their eyes deadly serious.
“That is Elfin steel pressed against your neck,” I told Valentine softly. “Move and your head will be relieved of its body.” Claudius looked shocked and turned his eyes on Cursed, who pulled back his lips exposing his own set of sharp pointy teeth.
Valentine stood perfectly still, his eyes focused on me. “You will regret this,” he told me calmly in spite of the anger burning in his eyes.
“Oh no, I think it is you that will regret attacking me,” I breathed at him as I took a step forward, putting myself ahead of Gareth and Jace slightly. I knew my eyes had shifted to Dragon by the gold lights reflecting off the floor and their clothing. Inside me Goldy raised her head and bared her teeth, while the tip of her tail flicked back and forth in agitation.
“Attacked you? What nonsense is this?” Courday asked as he glanced between Valentine and me. He seemed genuinely surprised and I had to wonder if he was either a dupe or just that good.
“I believe we’ll be leaving now. It’s obvious your friend has worn out our welcome,” I told Courday.
“Leaving… but you haven’t even danced yet,” he replied, his face looking horrified. “Please, I am sure this is all a misunderstanding,” he told me, his eyes going to Valentine and narrowing dangerously. “A horrible misunderstanding. I am sure Valentine meant nothing by whatever it was he did and will apologize immediately,” he growled, while his eyes nearly drilled holes into Valentine.
I’m not sure what the tie was between these two, but apparently Valentine didn’t want to upset Claudius because he did exactly what he was told. Or maybe it was Cursed pressing the tip of his knife into Valentines pale skin that did the trick. Either way he gritted out, “My apologies, Princess. I did not mean to offend you. Please stay… it would distress Claudius if you were to leave on my account.”
“You have offended me by attacking what is mine. Apologize to them,” I told him, holding my ground and indicating Jace and Gareth, who had stepped up beside me and seemed to have recovered from whatever had hit them. Or was it that it bounced off me and struck them? Either way they had been affected.
Valentine flashed his fangs and his nostrils flared suddenly. I merely raised an eyebrow and clasped my hands together in front of me while I waited. My eyes flicking to Courday who looked like he wanted to kill Valentine himself. “Gentlemen, my pardon,” he replied, his voice a soft hiss that indicated just how insincere his apology truly was. I stared at him for several more seconds then blinked my eyes, returning them to normal as I did so.
“There now. See? Everyone is all better. Why don’t we just leave you alone and go see about the music, I think it’s time we start dancing. You will save me a dance later, Princess?” Courday asked and I hesitated, my eyes staring directly into Valentine’s face, then I nodded and glanced over his shoulder and realized Bodark, Alan, Jared, and Blake had all moved into the crowd behind Valentine. I wondered if he knew how close he’d just come to annihilation. My eyes found Marcus. Thank you! I thought and he blinked, and then dropped his gaze to the floor. Cursed stepped back out of Valentine’s reach and his blade disappeared into his sleeve. Behind Valentine, the others melted discretely back into the crowd.
“I would be delighted to,” I told him, then turned my back on them both, bringing Gareth and Jace with me as I dropped my Dragonsward and caught the look of relief on Jace’s face.
“Are you well?” I asked softly once Courday and Valentine had made their way out of hearing with Marcus and Belinda in tow. It was odd that neither had made a move to protect Valentine. I took a deep breath and felt the adrenaline flow out of my body when they nodded.
“Your shield seems to be growing stronger,” Jace commented and rubbed at his temple with a finger.
“Or perhaps it is just that it’s never been attacked before?” I replied softly. Gareth nodded while his eyes focused on something over my shoulder. “What is it?” I asked.
“Valentine is heading toward your parents,” he warned me tensely and I swung around to see Valentine glance over his shoulder toward me and smile. Claudius was headed in the opposite direction toward the band in the corner.
“Kit, move them…” I spoke sharply. When he snapped his fingers, my parents disappeared along with their guards just as Valentine came within ten feet of them. “Sorry,” I thought towards my parents, as the five materialized on the opposite side of the stairs from Valentine and out of his line of sight. The guards looked shaken and went into a defensive stance but relaxed slightly when my Father said something to them. Meanwhile, Valentine stopped abruptly and turned to glare at me. This time we all smiled back at him and I leaned toward Kit and asked, “Can you move Belinda and Marcus to the second floor?” then grinned when he snapped his fingers and the pair appeared on the balcony across from us. Both seemed disoriented but neither of them rushed back down the stairs.
“Provoking him will only make him madder,” Jace commented.
I nodded and smiled while I watched Valentine practically lose it across the room he was so enraged. “I certainly hope so. If he gets near my parents again, give him a necklace of crosses and we’ll see if that doesn’t convince him to maintain his distance.”
“I love the way your mind works, Mistress,” Kit muttered as he grinned and turned to watch Valentine, who had finally discovered just where his Dragons had disappeared to. His eyes swung between the Reds and myself, his look promising dire consequences. I merely folded my arms and glared back at him.
“Fill his coat pocket with garlic, Kit,” I told him. “I don’t like the way he’s looking at us.” Kit chuckled and snapped his fingers, while across the floor Valentine staggered and nearly went to a knee while scrabbling to get his jacket off. He threw it to the floor and backed away from it hissing. His eyes were pits of burning fire as he stared across the room at us, the people around him moving away from him. He was causing a scene and Claudius did not appear happy about it. Too much more of his disruptions and he might be asked to leave. I wasn’t sure I wanted him out of my sight, but then I could always send my parents home the fast way.
“Lexi, I thin
k you’ve made your point,” Gareth muttered.
For now, I thought, then turned my back on Valentine and glanced between Jace and Gareth. “I believe I’d like to dance now, can I interest either of you?”
They both smiled but Jace was quicker and he placed his hand on my back, quickly steering me toward the dance floor. The others tagged along while Gareth went to chat with my parents.
“Have I told you tonight how beautiful you look?” Jace asked against my ear while we waltzed around the dance floor.
“Hmmm… let me think,” I teased him while he growled softly and held me closer.
“You feel good in my arms… so perfect. There isn’t much I wouldn’t do to keep you here always,” he admitted.
“I am here,” I told him and cupped his cheek in my palm. “I’m not going anywhere.”
His green eyes searched mine and he looked so serious I wondered what he was thinking. “That I need you,” he told me as his eyes stared down into mine and I felt his mind open to me. “That I want you.” And I fell into his eyes and felt the intensity of his emotions surrounding me, wrapping me in the velvety blanket of his desire until my pulses raced and my breathing became erratic. We danced through two dances before he returned me to the edge of the dance floor where Gareth was waiting. Jace kissed my lips and left me standing in front of Gareth, who was looking at me as if he was picturing me without any clothing on, laid out across his bed. He smelled good to me and I felt my pulse accelerate even faster as he reached for me and swept me back onto the floor.
“Lexi,” he whispered my name and I shivered slightly at the emotion in his voice. “Did you know that every man in this room would love to be me at this moment?” he breathed against my ear.
I shook my head slightly and had to swallow before I could reply. “I know there are several women in this room that would like to slit my throat for being this close to you. They were fairly easy to pick out earlier in the crowd. I think you may have broken a few hearts in this fair city.”
Dragon Rage Page 23
