His pale skin erupted in shimmering, diamond-like scales and I surged forward. Sharp pain gripped my chest and belly as I closed the distance. I shot a look to Ro and Keagan. “Get out!” I yelled and they obeyed, retreating into the open bedroom where Keagan and I had made love earlier.
Willem fell to his knees when Llyr released him. The scent of blood filled the air, but I didn’t see any open wounds on Willem. I hazarded a glance at Llyr who was fully dressed. The smell came from him, but his attention was fixed on Willem, his aura barely indicating any pain whatsoever. He wasn’t hurting enough to need help yet, but Willem was in danger of shifting into a feral dragon any second if I didn’t hurry.
I dropped to my knees and gripped his hands in mine. “I’ve got you, Will. Take a breath.” I inhaled as well and focused, found the reserves of power within my dragon soul, and pushed a measure of magic through my hands into the suffering dragon. Within my mind I could feel his soul, still damaged but whole, but I could also sense immense emotional pain within him when I focused deeper on my connection to him as a member of the bloodline.
After a few minutes, he sagged and exhaled shakily. “I’m good, blackbird. You can stop.”
I opened my eyes and met his silvery gaze. His skin was smooth and flushed to a more human tone now, but a deeper pain lingered in his eyes. I looked up at Llyr. “What happened?”
“I’m not the one with the answers. I only got there in time to see a pack of hounds knock Sandor off a cliff and then disappear with him as if they’d drifted.” He directed a dark look at Willem. “Why the hell didn’t either of you shift and fly out of there?”
“No magic,” Willem said. “We were on the trail of a hound when we got word that you’d found the boys, but Sandor didn’t want to turn around yet. We thought whoever the hound was after might have information if we got to them first, or maybe we could stop the hound somehow. But we got there too late and when the hound saw us, there were suddenly a whole pack of them surrounding us.
“They came too fast, diving through our bodies and leaching our power. So we couldn’t do anything but run. I’d have shifted . . .” He stopped and swallowed, his neck spasming from the effort of holding down tears, though his eyes grew glassy anyway. “Without my magic it was all I could do to keep from losing my human form. I know what we’re like when we’re feral. I might have taken a few hounds out with my fire, but with Sandor right there and unable to defend himself, I couldn’t risk it.”
Llyr made a sound of understanding and placed a big hand on Willem’s shoulder. “It could’ve been catastrophic if you’d lost control and wound up in a populated area.”
Willem shook his head. “When Sandor fell, I hoped that somewhere inside him was enough magic for him to fly, but I guess that was too much to ask. Where the hell did they take him?”
Llyr released Willem’s shoulder, leaving behind a bloody hand print. I stood up and turned to him. “Take off your shirt. Now. You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine,” he said, shrugging me off. “I need to go back and let Ozzie know what happened.”
“Not until I heal you.”
Llyr rubbed his bloody hand on his jeans but more blood was still trickling down his arm. He grimaced. “One of the hounds mauled me. It was only a scratch—it didn’t sap much of my power at least. Can you do it fast?”
Looking into Llyr’s eyes I had the strangest feeling of soul-deep connection . . . something I’d never felt with him, even the day I’d sung to him. It warred with my need to maintain emotional distance. My worry for his well-being was irrational, considering the distance I’d kept him at, and it wasn’t just a need to heal and help but a deeper need to hold him close that made no sense. I shook it off as well as I could and stepped closer, gesturing for him to turn.
“Let me see the damage.”
He tore off his shirt and spun around, his muscled back rippling in the late afternoon light coming in from the windows. Several deep gashes lined his shoulders, but they were short, as though the creature had dug its claws in for only a second. It wouldn’t take much effort to heal, but as I reached out to touch his back, my fingertips itched to do more than close the wounds. I hadn’t touched him in weeks and the feel of his hot skin brought back those memories of our joining with a vengeance.
My hand trembled as I rested it over one of his wounds and his muscle flinched ever so slightly. “Are you strong enough to heal me? If you aren’t, I can manage for now. Or I can get the others to replenish your magic. You and Keagan . . .”
He trailed off, leaving the question unasked, but the subtext was crystal clear. I frowned and shook my head, dismissing it. I didn’t want to think about the complicated turn my life had taken today. Instead I forced myself to focus on the deep gouges in his shoulders and the shallower scratches that ran down his lower back on either side of his spine.
“I’m strong enough.” Summoning the dragon magic within me, I exhaled a lungful of shimmering smoke and swiftly commanded it into all his wounds. They healed almost instantly, with very little effort, unlike the exercise in endurance I’d had while healing Keagan’s wounds. Llyr’s hadn’t been as bad, but they hadn’t been superficial either. It was as though my dragon magic had grown even more potent after mating with Keagan, even though I couldn’t use both elements at the same time.
Llyr let out a soft grunt of surprise and flexed his shoulders. I blinked at my handiwork . . . nothing but broad, unmarred olive skin lay beneath my hand, still streaked with blood but otherwise whole.
“That was fast,” Llyr said, turning to face me. His eyes swirled the tiniest bit, a tell of his that he was using his power either for manipulation or connection. I tore my gaze away.
“Don’t,” I said, not wanting to break down in front of him. Something had changed how I saw him, and I didn’t understand it any more than I understood what was happening between me and Keagan and Rohan. I shot a look at Willem instead. “Are you all right? I can give you more.”
The big dragon had conjured clothing for himself and moved to the chair Rohan vacated earlier. He sat watching us with his elbows resting on his knees, his expression grim. “What I need right now is to find out what happened to Sandor. I wish to fuck we’d mated, so I would have a solid bond with him. I can’t fucking sense him now.”
Llyr’s gaze remained on me for a moment longer before he blew out a soft breath of frustration from his nose and turned to Willem again. “The hounds had the opportunity to rip you two to shreds but didn’t. We knew they were after marked members of the bloodline so they should have gone for your throat based on all our evidence, not Sandor. You should be dead, but instead they abducted him.” He paused and crouched in front of Willem, looking up at the big dragon intently. “I may not be able to read Sandor’s future to know his fate right now, but I can read yours. You will be made whole. That much I can tell you.” His brow twitched and frowned as his gaze grew distant. He seemed to be looking through Willem instead of at him. “I see a smiling woman and many sunrises in your future.” His intense, distant look focused again and his brows relaxed. He smiled. “I don’t see your death, Will. I think this suffering is short-lived. I can’t promise that means we’ll get him back, but I have to believe it does.”
Some of the tension and worry drained from me once Willem’s worry eased just a little. The big white dragon stood from his seat. “I’ll let the two of you talk,” he said, then slipped out onto the balcony overlooking the Bay. When Llyr rose and turned back to me with fresh intensity, I tightened my stance again and set my jaw. “What?” I challenged.
“This is no time for secrets, Deva. Do you want to tell me why you sent Keagan and Rohan away or should I go ask them?” He gestured at the closed door to the bedroom.
I turned and retreated toward the sound of Bodhi’s voice, needing to put distance between myself and the potential pain my pair of lovers . . . mates . . . represented. Not to mention the pain that confession would dredge up if I were to share the details wi
th Llyr. But he followed, the look in his eyes evidence enough of his determination to drag the story out of me, and with every step I had the strangest craving for him to wrap me in his arms and hold me. The four hounds collected around him, more attentive to him than they’d ever been, though he didn’t seem to notice.
Looking at him confused me now. I’d never wanted to confess my feelings to him so badly before. After the pain he’d caused, the last thing I wanted was to talk to him. That kind of confidence had always been reserved for only one person in my life . . . Ozzie. Even though he hadn’t given me the opportunity to really open up to him for a year, Ozzie was the one I always longed to talk to, to tell my worries and fears and know that he was willing to share the burden. He’d been that for me at one time but I still didn’t know what had changed.
Tears pricked at my eyes and I felt a sob surging forth. I really fucking needed that right now too. “Where’s Ozzie?” I asked, my voice cracking.
Llyr stopped and shook his head. “He’s at home sleeping off the last few nights of flying.” His voice sounded almost tender, which was the oddest thing considering how volatile the pair’s auras always were when they were in the same room together. “I’m here now, Deva. You can trust me. Talk to me.”
He didn’t come any closer. He just stuck his fingers in the pockets of his jeans, waiting.
“I . . .” I faltered, the old hurt he’d caused twisting with the simple need to talk to someone I trusted who didn’t have an agenda. I knew better than that with Llyr. Yet he did have one very specific agenda that I hoped was paramount.
“Your primary duty is protecting me, right? Even after what happened between us.” I remained vague, weary of reminding him of what he’d done. In all honesty I was tired of dwelling on his betrayal, particularly because it was all so confusing to me since he maintained that he’d been honest at every step and my limited turul senses didn’t contradict him. But my memories didn’t lie.
Llyr nodded. “Always. I would sooner die than see you hurt.”
I swallowed. “Something’s wrong with my soul,” I said, my voice catching as the words unlocked the wave of helplessness I’d been barely holding at bay all afternoon. My legs betrayed me at the same moment the flood of sadness burst forth into all out tears. I blindly searched for someplace to collapse but before I could find a chair, I felt strong arms slip around me.
“Come, sweetness, talk to me.” I clung to him as he led me back to the sofa and settled me down on his lap. He was bigger than Keagan, his strong chest as smooth and broad as Rohan’s, but his skin was pleasantly cool to the touch, warming when I rested my cheek against one shoulder. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe, inhaling the sharp scent of wet stone mixed with bergamot. He smelled a little like Ozzie and that scent set me at ease.
Once I caught my breath, I shook my head and wiped my eyes, finally daring to look at him. His aqua eyes were placid pools filled with concern. He lifted a hand and gently pushed my hair behind my ear. I was reminded of the day we’d first been intimate, the day I’d found the bloodline and connected with them for the first time.
Llyr and I hadn’t made love that day . . . he’d been very clear on that point. He’d pleasured me to the very limit of my endurance, in an effort to build as much power as possible to reach the bloodline with the message the higher races needed to send. Because we needed more power, he had assumed his primal shape before we’d coupled. And as a fully primal shifted satyr, lovemaking was not part of his vocabulary.
My body heated at the memory, my gaze dropping to his mouth. I frowned at the faint remnant of blood there and wondered how he’d gotten hurt. Hounds wouldn’t have made marks like that.
“What happened?” I asked, touching his lip slightly and leaning closer. It had been split as though he’d been punched and was now just barely healed over.
He tilted his head back and shook it slightly. “Oz and I had a difference of opinions, that’s all. It doesn’t matter.”
“Is he okay?” I asked, unsurprised that the pair of them might have gotten into it. “Do you want me to heal it for you?”
“He’s fine,” he said impatiently. “And I will survive. I need to hear about you right now. Did you mate Keagan? I can scent him on you, but I still can’t read your future.”
“I did,” I said and took a shaky breath. “I have an ursa soul now, but . . .” I took another breath and gathered my thoughts to try to explain. He squeezed my hip, a gesture I took as encouragement but that only managed to send a fresh jolt of need through my body. I became acutely aware of the fact that all I was wearing was a simple robe. “When Rohan came to the bed after, that’s when the pain started. He didn’t even have to touch me. Now, if I’m with one and the other gets too close, I feel like my soul’s being ripped apart.” I pressed my hand to my midsection. There was only a pleasant hum of magic inside me now. Two separate hums, if I focused. The fact that I even had a soul to speak of, no matter how fragmented it might be, still astounded me. But I had no idea what to do with it. Still, I exhaled slowly, the confession to Llyr easing the burden somewhat.
He stroked my back and kept his concerned gaze fixed on me, frowning as he pondered what I had just told him. “This pain . . . you’ve never felt it before?” he asked.
I started to shake my head, then frowned. “I don’t know. I felt something like it yesterday morning when we went to talk to Maddie. But it makes no sense. It only happened when Ozzie got close. Not pain . . . just discomfort. Like . . .” I struggled for a description, lifting my hands to my head and closing my eyes. “Like feedback, if that makes sense.”
“I think so,” he said, nodding. He stroked a hand down my back and I sagged against his shoulder again, giving up on hating him for the time being in favor of the strangely unexpected comfort I found in his arms. I inhaled again, wishing Ozzie were here.
“Does Ozzie know about Sandor yet?” I asked, glancing at Willem who still stood on the balcony staring off into the sunset.
“No. I haven’t been back to the house yet to tell him. I’ll go once I know you’re all right.”
“Why didn’t he go with you?” I asked. Something about his story didn’t quite gel in my mind.
“He was exhausted after our search for the boys. I didn’t want to wake him. You know he’s going to grill you on your issue when he gets here right? If you don’t want to deal with his pushy attitude, I recommend telling me everything, so I can at least run interference.”
I smirked. “You know him well. Fine. I don’t know what else to tell you though. My power feels like it’s more than doubled—tripled, even. Except I can barely be in the same room with both Keagan and Ro without being in pain. Bodhi helped us figure that part out.” I paused and took a breath, glancing over Llyr’s shoulder to the door to the bedroom where Bodhi was still on the phone with his mom. They’d been talking a while, but his tone had changed a few times suggesting he might have been speaking with a few different people. I knew the joys of having a large family who were constantly prying into your life.
“Is Bodhi a candidate?” Llyr asked. My heart did a flip and I felt my cheeks heat. Llyr smiled. “I thought so,” he said.
“I think he’s still adjusting to all this. He won’t even consider the idea until his mom is out of danger. I guess humans don’t do relationships the way we do.”
“They don’t.” He shook his head. “But Bodhi will come around.”
I chewed on my lip, my attention shifting back to the closed door. “The pain stops when he’s beside me,” I said, nearly whispering because I wasn’t sure if it meant anything.
Llyr made a gruff sound of interest deep in his throat. “May I try something?” he asked. He slipped one hand up my arm and rested it on my shoulder, his thumb barely grazing my clavicle. My pulse thrummed from that slight contact and I tensed, not trusting the way my responses to him had shifted so drastically since the last time I’d seen him—why I suddenly believed I could trust him when I knew better
. But I longed to understand what was wrong. I wanted to find balance with Keagan and Ro so badly. Enough to accept help from someone I barely trusted.
Llyr wouldn’t hurt me now. I could trust that much at least.
“What do you want to try?”
“If I kiss you, I may glean some insight into the issue. It doesn’t need to mean anything.”
“That would be enough? Just a kiss?” I looked at his lips, and swallowed, remembering vividly how he’d first kissed me—my first romantic kiss from a man I craved intimacy with. Of course, it brought back just as detailed memories of other things he’d done with his mouth and I wasn’t sure if my question was meant to ensure that was all he wanted, or if I was asking for more.
His chest rose and fell with a slow, deep breath. “Of course, you know there are deeper ways to meld that provide a greater connection. Your essence . . . your honey.” He paused and his tongue darted out and probed at the cut on his lip. My core ached at the sight. “Your blood,” he continued. “But I wouldn’t ask that of you.”
As much as I wanted his help, the very suggestion of a kiss was too tempting with all the memories of what his mouth could do. I knew I’d want more because there was something about this version of Llyr that made me forget the betrayal, made me want to give him what he asked for. A kiss might be enough for him, but it would never be enough for me.
19
Deva
Before Llyr could offer a more persuasive argument, I gripped his neck and silenced him with my mouth. He didn’t respond at first, a shiver resonating down his big frame before his arms slipped around me. I parted his lips with my tongue and he opened instantly with a groan, pulling me tighter against him. My core flooded with damp heat when I felt his cock digging into my hip, massive and hard as a rock through his jeans.
The unsatisfied desire from earlier raged back in an irrational surge that made me light-headed. My craving for both Rohan and Keagan couldn’t be fulfilled the way I’d hoped, but perhaps this would scratch that itch. I could barely stand to be near this man on a good day. If my two mates couldn’t share me with each other, perhaps they could take turns sharing me with Llyr.
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