Taste of Darkness (17 page)

“So… Fia texted me.” Her words were like the equivalent of a nuclear bomb going off.

His head snapped around until he faced his sister. “When?”

“Before we got on the plane.”

He didn’t respond, not wanting to ask why the female had contacted Keelin. Fia, the female he’d been betrothed to mate, had left him for a royal member of the Devlin clan. Keelin had only discovered it once she’d come out of her Protective Hibernation but she’d remained friends with Fia. Conall had never said one way or another if he minded even though he hated the thought of his sister still in contact with Fia.

“She asked about Drake,” Keelin continued when Conall remained silent. “Said she’d heard from some clan members that he was back and wanted to know if she could come for a visit.”

A shot of pure surprise jolted through him. Fia hadn’t been to their land for hundreds of years. “Alone?”

Keelin’s eyes filled with an emotion that looked a lot like pity. “You know her mate would never let her go anywhere without him.”

“What did you say?” he bit out.

“Nothing. I didn’t have time to respond and I never would have invited her without your approval. I know she hurt you.” Oh yeah, that was definitely pity.

His jaw tightened.

Keelin continued. “It might be a good show of peace-keeping to invite their royal members for a visit, especially after the Veles attack. We’ll need all the support we can get if this isn’t an isolated incident.” His sister was one of the physically weakest dragons of their clan, but she made up for it with her wisdom. Something their mother had chosen to ignore for so long.

He hated that she was right. And he would sacrifice his pride to gain allies. Anything to keep Drake safe. He would never fail his brother again. “You’re right. I’ll let you handle inviting them.” At that, he stood and headed for the mini-bar. A couple shots of vodka would barely affect him with his metabolism, but the burn would be welcome.

* * *

Drake curled his body around Victoria’s wolf, holding her close. He’d sequestered them from the rest of the plane, not wanting to see anyone else. He hated that she’d been wounded, might even… No. He couldn’t think that way. But deep down he wondered if this was his punishment for all the bloodshed he’d caused in Hell. For the way he’d savored killing.

He might have been innocent when he’d gone to Hell, but he hadn’t come out that way. Victoria was sweet and everything right with the world. Everything he didn’t deserve.

Victoria’s poisoning was his punishment. He knew it.

When he closed his eyes all he saw was bloodshed and fire. The memory from his time in Hell was overwhelming, taking over his mind even as he tried to banish it. He didn’t want to think of his time in the realm of the damned, not when he was holding onto the female he loved.

The memory sucked him under no matter how hard he tried to fight it.

Wings spread wide as he stood in the middle of the blood-filled arena reminiscent of the Roman Coliseum from Earth, he screeched loudly, breathing fire on one of the last of his thirty opponents. Thirty? Pathetic. His dragon would have laughed if possible.

The stands around him shook with cheers and screams of anger.

Finally, his last two opponents approached from the crimson-tinged sky that never changed its shade, an Akkadian demon riding a mythical Adze. He’d never seen the two creatures work together, but they wanted him in chains so they must have come to an agreement. The Adze could occasionally shift to other forms, mainly humanoid, but in its true form it looked like a giant dragonfly as it did now.

Screaming, it opened its mouth to reveal razor sharp teeth—which it used to suck its victims dry of blood—as the Akkadian let out a battle cry.

Instead of taking to the air, Drake shifted to his human form, his strength rippling through him as he underwent the change.

The black and red Adze’s wings flapped too fast for most eyes to see, like a hummingbird from Earth, as it flew at Drake.

The Adze’s teeth were filled with venom, dangerous and deadly even to Drake, and he knew he’d have a better chance of defeating it in his smaller form. Being bigger wasn’t always the best. And right now he didn’t want to just incinerate it. He wanted to pull it apart with his bare hands. Wanted to bathe in its fucking blood.

There weren’t many rules in this coliseum. Anything went during the fights and the dirtier the better. The only rule was that no one interfered with those battling. The rule was often broken, it was Hell after all, but those who broke it ended up in chains and dragged deep down into the bowels of a place Drake didn’t even want to imagine. Because if he lost, he’d be taken there too. If they could hold him and he wasn’t certain they could. He didn’t plan to lose and find out what kind of tortures could be meted out on him.

Racing for one of the dead demons he’d killed minutes before, he snatched up a giant bone with a spear attached to it. He wasn’t sure what type of bone it was, but from the thickness and the fact that his fire hadn’t incinerated it earlier he guessed it was from an avian-type creature. Maybe wyvern. There weren’t many in Hell, but he’d fought them and they were difficult to kill because they were so similar to dragons.

Without pause, he turned and threw the bone-spear, aiming for where the rider was heading, not where he was now. Timing was everything.

The spear met its mark moments later, hurtling into the Akkadian demon’s throat with all Drake’s force. Thick, sulfuric-scented blood arched out in a macabre splatter as the demon flew back through the air, its back slamming into the sharp bones of another dead creature on the hard-packed dirt floor. Drake hadn’t expected that, but he’d take it.

One more to go. With the Akkadian demon down for the count Drake turned toward the Adze hovering about twenty feet away, watching and waiting.

Drake wasn’t going to make the first move. Not with this one. The cheers of the crowd grew deafening around them, but he tuned everything out.

He didn’t care about the creatures in the stands. He only cared about his next kill. After spending hundreds of years in self-induced solitary confinement, creating pain made him feel alive again. He’d lost his childhood, could barely remember that weak boy he’d once been. This was the only thing that let him feel something.

Finally the creature moved, flying down toward Drake’s left, its mouth open wide, ready to strike. But Drake had seen this type of creature attack before and knew what to do. Using a nearby broken pillar as a springboard, he jumped on it and propelled himself through the air.

The Adze couldn’t turn fast enough with its chosen trajectory. Drake let his talons free even while in human form and sliced through both wings as he leaped over the creature.

An ear-piercing scream of pain rent through the air as the Adze began its fall to the blood-soaked ground below.

It knew its time was near. Drake was going to rip the rest of its body apart, piece by piece, adding another river of crimson to this god forsaken arena.

His eyes snapped open and he managed to shove the memory back down where it belonged. For now. Guilt and horror suffused his veins even if he understood that survival and vengeance—and probably a touch of madness—had driven him in captivity. He swallowed hard and tightened his grip on Victoria without squeezing too hard. The last thing in the world he could ever do was hurt her.

Now he just needed her to be safe. To live. He’d pay penance a thousand times over, even return to Hell if she would just
live
.

Chapter Fifteen

Drake stared out the window of the dark-tinted SUV limousine, but kept his grip secure around Victoria’s still form draped over his lap. The vehicle was huge enough to accommodate the six of them and the three other shifters who’d arrived at the airport an hour ago. One was driving but the other two dragons from the Petronilla clan were in the back with them.

They’d given him some curious stares but he ignored them. Ignored everyone except Victoria. Her breathing remained steady and she’d actually moved a couple times, but she hadn’t opened her eyes. The few sounds she’d made had been a soft whining, as if she was in pain.

Which shredded him.

“How much longer?” he asked, his words cutting through the otherwise quiet interior. They hadn’t even turned on the radio.

“Twenty minutes out,” Conall said quietly.

His brother sat right next to him, a silent support. Drake hadn’t thought he’d care one way or another about getting to know his siblings, but right now it was a relief to have others in his corner. As if their support could somehow help Victoria.

He hated that she’d been dragged into this. His sweet, loving healer had been poisoned trying to protect his sister. He buried his face against the top of her head, not caring what anyone thought of him. Her scent even in wolf form, was reassuring. She was still here, alive.

And he’d be damned if that changed. Victoria wasn’t going anywhere.

Lifting his head to stare out the long window across from him he frowned at the sight of a neon sign proclaiming the Petronilla Ski Resort was eight miles away.

“Your clan owns a ski resort?” Rhea asked.

Keelin nodded. “Yes. We also own thousands of acres surrounding it that the clan uses for flying in privacy. Our homes are all separated from the resort so you won’t have to worry about privacy. If you need to shift, you’ll have plenty of room to run.”

Drake hadn’t even thought to ask what the clan did for money or anything. He’d been more focused on Victoria, even before her attack. Still was. He also wondered if his parents were in Hibernation near the clan’s homes. Or if they sensed he was back. For that matter… “How is it that I speak English?” he blurted, the question odd enough for the situation, especially with no segue to it. He’d wondered about it when he escaped Hell. When Vega had spoken to him in English in that prison cell, he’d spoken it right back as if he’d known it his whole life.

Everyone turned to stare at him, no doubt wondering if he’d lost his fucking mind. Which he might well do if Victoria didn’t survive.
Fuck.
He couldn’t even go there. He needed to stay positive.

Keelin met his gaze. “Each dragon clan has unique…gifts. We’re not sure why but I think it has something to do with the fact that since the beginning of time we’ve basically been what humans would consider an endangered species. So we have gifts to make up for it. It’s a miracle we still live and to an extent, thrive. The Petronilla clan can communicate in any language, with anyone on the planet. Well, as far as we know. It’s been very useful for business with the ski lodge and our other endeavors.”

Drake just nodded, digesting the information. It explained a lot. Like how he’d known that ritual chant to close the Hell Gate in New Orleans. He still didn’t know the language he’d been speaking or how he knew it, but it was as much a part of him as breathing. Later he’d ask Keelin more when they didn’t have an audience. He needed to remember to censor himself and not just blurt out random things that entered his mind.

The three warriors with them might be part of the Petronilla clan, but to him they were strangers. Which basically equaled enemy. Almost everyone was an enemy until he discovered who’d put him in Hell and how those Veles dragons had known where he and Victoria were. He wondered if it had anything to do with the mating light he’d been putting off. At the thought that he’d been the cause of Victoria’s poisoning, that invisible dagger embedded itself deeper in his chest, twisting and shredding his heart. He’d give anything to take away her pain. To see her open those beautiful eyes.

As they passed a big wood and metal sign on the side of the icy road that said Petronilla Ski Resort, Keelin spoke, as if sensing his unspoken question. “The turn off for our village is five miles from here and we have visible and invisible security. Once in the village we’ll all be protected. And our healer will take care of Victoria.” She spoke with a quiet authority. For some reason her words soothed Drake.

He nodded, swallowing hard. “Thank you.”

True to Keelin’s word, five miles later the driver steered their SUV limo through two high, open gates. As soon as they were through, the gates started to close. There was a small area of shops as they quietly cruised down the main street. Large homes dotted up the side of the snow-covered mountainside. From what he could see, most of the lights were on, making the place look like something out of a postcard Victoria had shown him of a place she wanted to visit in Switzerland.

“We’re almost there,” he murmured to her, hoping she could hear him. It was likely his imagination but he could almost swear she burrowed closer to him.

A mile down the road they pulled into the driveway of a large two-story Swiss chalet log-style home. The only reason he even knew the style was because it was one of Victoria’s favorites.

God, Victoria.
Don’t leave me
, he silently begged, cradling her closer. He couldn’t live in a world without her.

* * *

Tiny shards of silver were raking across Victoria’s insides, trying to claw their way out of her body. At least that was what it felt like. What the hell was going on?

Through a haze of agony she saw Drake sitting beside her, his expression a mask of concern. She wanted to reach out and tell him everything would be okay but couldn’t move. Crap, she was in wolf form.