Fury of Fire (35 page)

The shaking got worse, launching her into full body tremors. “I didn’t m-mean for anyone to g-get hurt.”

“I know.” His soft tone reached out in a soothing wave, stroking her, gifting her with understanding she didn’t deserve. “Hold on tight, baby. We’re headed into the waterfall.”

Her throat closed up tight as Bastian flew around the river bend. It would’ve been easy to blame the quick shift in flight for the pressure banding her chest. But Myst was done lying to herself. She was to blame. All the denial, her fear and refusal to accept the truth about Bastian had created a ripple effect. And as much as she wanted to, she couldn’t take any of it back.

Now she must own her part in this night’s pain.

No matter how terrible the consequences.

Her mind kicked up all kinds of awful things, presenting worst-case scenarios. Maybe the Nightfuries would point the finger: hate her, blame her, reject her out of hand. A quick mind-scrub and a boot to the ass was all they’d need to toss her out of Black Diamond. But the worst thought—the one that made her truly afraid?

Maybe Bastian didn’t want her anymore.

Cool mist landed on her bare arms. The wet brush was light, a barely there sensation that made her glance up. Rumbling with majesty, the waterfall came into view. Falling like a curtain, the cascade rippled blue and white in the moonlight. Without slowing, Bastian flew straight at it. She sucked in a breath and tucked her head, hanging on tight as he sliced through the living wall of water. The cold splash made her jerk, soaking her to the skin. Darkness descended, enclosing them in damp, musty air.

A glow appeared at the head of the tunnel.

Myst released the breath she’d been holding, welcoming the light as Bastian flew beneath the magical globes. The second he touched down on the LZ, he shifted, becoming the man she knew. Loved. Needed more than anyone in the world.

With a sob, she lunged at him. He caught her in his arms, settling on the stone floor, pulling her into his lap, wrapping her in his warmth. Unable to look at him, she burrowed into his body, breathed him in, soothing herself with his strength and familiar scent.

Murmuring, he gave her a gentle squeeze. “It’s all right, Myst. I’ve got you.”

His voice washed in like the tide. Deep and warm, it eroded the earth underpinning her emotional stability. With a crack, she split wide open, and pain hit her like a tidal wave. Needing a lifeline, she hugged him tighter. “Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. It’s my fault.”

“Shh, love. It’s not your fault.” Stroking her spine, he cupped the nape of her neck. “You’re safe now. Relax for me, Myst. Look at me. I need to make sure you’re all right.”

Unable to let go of him, she shook her head.

He kept caressing her, each pass gentler than the last. “Where are you hurt?”

“I’m okay.”

“No…you’re not. Look at me,
bellmia
,” he said, coaxing her to raise her head.

Shivering hard, she obeyed, unlocking her arms from his shoulders. Free of her death grip, he palmed her waist and lifted, setting her astride him. His green eyes met hers, and she sobbed, raising her hand to cup his face. With a murmur, he turned his mouth to her skin and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm.

“Bastian…I’m—”

“Don’t apologize.” He frowned, brushing the wet strands away from her temple. A muscle jumped in his jaw, and he growled, “Jesus. The bastard. He hit you.”

“I made him mad,” she said. “He wanted my energy. I wouldn’t give him any.”

Surprise flared in Bastian’s eyes.

“I figured out how to control the current…the Meridian…and block him.”

“My beautiful female.” His eyes crinkled at the corners, filling with so much warmth Myst wanted to cry. “Have I told you how extraordinary you are?”

“A time or two,” she whispered, accepting his praise before leaning in. Her mouth brushed his, settling softly against his lips. “I’m sorry I ran away from you, Bastian. Dumbest thing I’ve ever done.”

“I won’t argue.” His lips curved against hers before he withdrew and his expression went from teasing to serious. “I handled it badly, Myst. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I…shit. I’ve never done this before.”

“What?”

“Fallen in love.”

And there it was…just what she needed to hear. Unable to hold them back, tears filled her eyes, then tipped over her bottom lashes, and rolled down her cheeks. As Bastian brushed each one away, she said, “God, I’m such an idiot. How could I not have known that I love you?”

His mouth parted, breath hitching on a quick intake of air.
“Bellmia…”

“I do, you know.” She held his gaze, making sure he saw the conviction in hers. “I love you so much it hurts.”

“I don’t want it to hurt.”

“Too bad. It is what it is, but…” she trailed off letting her words hang in the silent vastness of the cavern. “If you ever lie to me again—”

“I won’t.”

“—or get me pregnant without my permission, the next time around…I’ll skin you alive.”

“Deal.” His mouth curved, spreading into a slow, wide smile. Shifting her a little, he hooked his arm beneath her legs and, gathering her up, pushed to his feet. As he turned and walked toward the magical entrance, he dipped his head to kiss her softly. “No more secrets,
bellmia
. We’re in this together.”

“Together.” Kissing him back, she pushed her fingers through his hair, playing with the softness at the nape of his neck.

Nipping her gently, he licked her bottom lip, gifting her with his taste one teasing flick at a time. “Every step of the way.”

Yeah, that sounded good. Better than good. Fantastic.

And as he carried her over the threshold toward the lair’s clinic, Myst knew she was bound for an adventure. The future lay stretched out in front of them, unproven ground, uncertain in every way but one. Love transformed the landscape, offering shelter from the harshness of the storm.

Home. Yeah, she had finally come home.

The globes swayed, bobbing like jellyfish against the cavern’s ceiling as Rikar flew beneath them. White scales gleamed in the low light, throwing starbursts of iridescent color across stalagmites and uneven stone walls. He didn’t notice the rainbow. Didn’t hear his claws scrape granite or the water rolling off his wing tips go splat on the LZ’s floor. His focus was absolute. Only one thing mattered.

He was going to kill the male. Open him up like a can of sardines. All while making him sing like a canary.

Lucky for him, he didn’t have far to go.

The rogue was chained seven stories beneath Black Diamond, the home he shared with the other Nightfury dragons. Convenient? Not really. Nothing about tonight even approached it. The battle—the whole retrieve and retreat routine—had FUBAR written all over it. Yeah, a total catastrophe from beginning to end. The only good thing about it? Bastian had his female back…had pulled her from enemy claws in the nick of time.

He should be happy about that. Throwing high fives with his fellow warriors and yakking it up, telling war stories, reliving the action over Tequila shots and lime wedges. But that was a definite no-can-do. Not tonight. Not when another female was missing.

Right.
Missing
.

Wishful fucking thinking.

Rikar’s stomach fisted up hard. The Razorbacks had taken her. He knew it like he was standing there, four paws planted on stone, horns on his head tingling, anguish pumping through his veins with every beat of his heart. Now she was in the hands of his enemy, at the mercy of Ivar, leader of the rogues, a psychopath without an off switch.

With a growl, he tucked his wings and stepped over the beat-to-shit Honda in the middle of the LZ, trying not to think about what the bastards were doing to her. But…God help him. He couldn’t turn his brain off. Couldn’t breathe without his imagination firing up, planting terrible images in his mind’s eye.

Christ, he needed to get her back. Had to locate the Razorback lair and pull her free before…

Rikar swallowed the burn at the back of his throat. What a total mind fuck. The need. The obsession. The pain.

He’d only met the female once. One freaking time. Had spent a couple of hours getting his ass kicked by her in a friendly game of pool. Okay, so he was lying. He’d done a little more than that. But he refused to think about the feeding…or how good she had tasted. Rikar shook his head, and water flew as he tried to forget. His behavior. Her acceptance. The fact that his frosty side wanted more, another go-round with a female who drew pure power from the Meridian. From the energy source that fed Dragonkind.

Which made him…what? A sicko? A male without honor or conscience? Yeah, without a doubt. The female he didn’t want to remember, but couldn’t forget, was missing. Was probably in hell right now, suffering at the hands of a Razorback, and what was he doing? Dreaming of her in ways he shouldn’t be.

Angela Keen. She of the gorgeous energy and hazel eyes. God, he wanted her back. He wanted her safe. He wanted the clock to spin in the opposite direction and undo the last three hours. Maybe then, he could’ve prevented his enemies from taking her at all.

Angela
.

Her name whispered through his mind: over and over, again and again. A shiver rolled through him, rattling the spikes along his spine as he pictured her face. With a violent swipe, he tried to erase it the way his buddy, Sloan, deleted info from computer hard drives. But memory was a tricky thing: hard to control, impossible to ignore. And as the bastard got busy planting images inside his head, he accepted the truth. He wished he’d stayed with her that night, taken all she offered, and given more in return.

Which was just plain wrong. In every way that mattered.

Wind rushed in from the tunnel mouth, kicking up dust and the smell of damp earth. A second later, green scales flashed in his periphery. Rikar shifted, moving from dragon to human form, and got the hell out of Venom’s way as the big male set down. Poised on his back paws, his buddy wing-flapped, sending water flying and air rushing, making the light globes bump into their neighbors seventy-five feet above their heads.

Rikar conjured his clothes. Leather settled against his skin, feeling like home as he stomped one of his shitkickers and headed for the entrance into the lair. He glanced over his shoulder at his friend. “You coming?”

“Hell, yeah.” Scales undulating over thick muscle, Venom indulged in another total body shake. Man, with a move like that, the male looked more like a dog than a dragon. “No way I’m missing the show.”

Show.
Right. More like a beat down with death the end game.

Under normal circumstances, it would’ve bothered him that Venom knew what he was thinking. Not tonight. Rikar didn’t give a shit. Transparency was the least of his problems. A female was involved. So, yeah. The Razorback would hurt until he gave up the goods. End of story.

Halfway across the cavern, he heard Venom shift and move in behind him. The sound of their footfalls became one, echoing together, two males moving in unison toward one purpose. Answers. Rikar wanted them. And like the upstanding male that he was, Venom would back him up.

Good thing, too. The next hour would get messy…in more ways than one.