Hyacinth, Scarlet - Craving Owen [Tides of Love 2] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever ManLove) (13 page)

He was so lost in his musings he almost missed the moment the boat-aircraft finally began to slow down. “We’re here,” Kyllian said simply.

The vehicle evaporated and they landed on what seemed to be a balcony. Without another word, Kyllian went inside. Shrugging to himself, Hash followed.

Kyllian’s home looked nothing like Hash expected. In fact, it reminded Hash of the few times he’d been on Earth. The walls were see-through glass and the tables transparent. The entire room held an airy, uncluttered feel, even with the many tomes lining the walls.

There were also several comfortable-looking couches, and beyond, a hall that seemed to lead to other rooms. Kyllian didn’t give him the grand tour, though. He made a beeline for the bookshelf and started browsing. Several tomes floated from the shelves and onto the tables. “Start looking,” he told Hash. “We don’t have much time.”

The authority in Kyllian’s voice left no room for argument. For whatever reason, Hash obeyed without comment. Kyllian also joined him in his scrutinizing of the various books. Hash ignored his inexplicable apprehension at the other man’s proximity, forced out the desire to bash the wizard’s face, and focused on the tomes.

He didn’t know how much time passed while they worked in silence. They briefly abandoned the research for a snack in the kitchen and a quick wash, then returned to the books, keeping the chatting to the minimum.

They registered little progress, although Hash still had the impression Kyllian knew something he wasn’t saying. It frustrated him beyond measure, especially since they were supposed to be looking for information on this very delicate situation.

All that stopped mattering when he felt a glow of pleasure course through him. He gasped, an image forming itself in his mind, that of Owen writhing in another man’s arms. A name popped in his consciousness.
Yane.
A mix of anger and arousal assaulted him, the bitter jealousy and dismay he expected combining with something else entirely. He wanted to be there with them. He wanted to see Yane touch Owen, and touch them both in turn.

However, his unreasonable desires didn’t matter in front of reality. Yane was out of both his and Owen’s reach. He would soon get married to Alcharr’s brother, something Hash had been studiously trying to ignore. With Yane taking Owen to his bed, he couldn’t forgo the situation any longer. It wouldn’t be fair to Owen. He deserved better than getting his hopes up with a man who would eventually leave him.

Besides, Hash was Owen’s mate. He held the right and the privilege to protect Owen. So far, he’d failed abysmally, unable to get his head wrapped around the complicated labyrinth of feelings that involved five other men. But no longer. He had to intervene before Owen got hurt.

Kyllian’s voice drew him out of his musings. “What is it?” the wizard asked. “What happened? Is it Owen?”

Hash didn’t have to give any explanation to the wizard. And yet, Kyllian sounded concerned, and oddly, Hash found himself pouring his heart out at the other man. “He’s with Yane, in bed. They’re…together.”

He had trouble even saying Owen was having sex with someone else, but Kyllian understood, regardless. “Ah. He is your mate, then?”

Hash nodded, unsurprised Kyllian had put two and two together. “But you did not claim him,” Kyllian continued.

Hash frowned at the wizard, noticing the unconcealed disapproval in the other man’s tone. “He is human. He’s not ready for everything that’s happening with him.”

Kyllian arched a brow. “Well, it seems someone considered him ready. In the circumstances, you have no say in who he sleeps with, whether it be Yane or me.”

The matter-of-fact tone made Hash see Kyllian truly took for granted that he’d have Owen in his bed. “You do realize I won’t allow you to touch him,” he said between gritted teeth. Yane was different. Yane…Yane would take care of Owen. He didn’t know how and why, but Hash would wait to see what explanations the nymph offered. But the wizard was an unknown factor in this equation, something Hash could not accept.

Kyllian laughed. “Keep fooling yourself, Has’hendral. Perhaps if you try hard enough, you’ll actually manage to think you can stop me.”

Hash shot to his feet, furious. His mate’s arousal taunted his beast, and without Owen there, Hash would have to unleash the primal energies within him on Kyllian.

Flame licked over his skin as his wings burst from his back. Kyllian looked nonplussed as he got up. “Careful now,” he said. “These books are fragile.”

“You shouldn’t keep them around a fire dragon, then,” Hash answered.

His voice sounded like a growl now, his instincts itching to be released. He’d never been particularly good at keeping his beast in check. Fire dragons were by nature impulsive, and Hash was no exception. This time, he didn’t even try.

He lunged forward, straight at the damn wizard who’d gotten on his nerves from the very moment of their meeting. Kyllian lifted a shield between them, stopping Hash’s claws from reaching him. Right. Hash had forgotten about that. He fumed, sending a firebolt at the protective bubble. The energy field rippled and moved but didn’t seem affected by the intensity of the blaze.

As he did so, the wizard waved a hand, and the tomes they’d been studying returned to a shelf, safely out of reach of their impromptu battle. Hash watched him and wondered what kind of wizard Kyllian was. Fayre had never mentioned it. In fact, Fayre rarely, if ever, talked about his older brother. But the young wizard and Kyllian were very much alike, at least regarding magical issues. Fayre was an air mage, so it stood to reason that Kyllian would be one, as well. The way his home looked confirmed this guess.

Armed with this knowledge, Hash considered a new approach. He surrounded Kyllian in a circle of fire, intensifying the heat around them. To his satisfaction, the shield seemed to be made from aerial energy, and the indirect attack began to make it falter, consuming its strength.

For the first time, Hash saw a brief flash of admiration on Kyllian’s face. “Clever,” he said. “But you forget, shifter, that this is my realm. Even if you did have the power to beat me, you can never do it here.”

Indeed, as the wizard spoke, the fire summoned by Hash dwindled and died. Hash growled, not exactly surprised by the display of power, but still frustrated. He felt the shift course over him. If he couldn’t burn the man, he’d just use brute force.

But before he could unleash his beast, Kyllian’s magic flowed over him, so intense it nearly choked him. His fire retreated under the assault, swamped by the hurricane of power. But the spell didn’t have the same nature as the unnatural binding from the crystal, and Hash broke free of it. He considered shifting but thought better of it. The wizard obviously had an advantage here, even if Hash did change to his second form. “You coward,” he snarled at Kyllian. “Fight me like a man.”

Kyllian grinned coldly. “Tell you what. I’ll stop using my magic if you stop using yours. Let’s settle this the old-fashioned way.”

“Deal,” Hash said immediately. Even if his beast itched to tear at Kyllian’s flesh, he could very well pummel the wizard into the ground with his fists.

The wizard nodded and beckoned him closer in a mocking gesture. The game was on. With the speed of lightning, Hash attacked but was surprised when Kyllian dodged him. His instincts warned him of the wizard’s next move, and he managed to evade a kick that would have sent him flying to the ground. Hash grinned. He’d underestimated his opponent, but he didn’t mind. He always liked a challenge.

The second kick came instants after the first, but Hash blocked it. He grabbed Kyllian’s leg and threw the man toward the wall. Kyllian landed on his feet like a cat, smirking. “You’re going to have to do better than that.”

And so it went. Punches and kicks flew, sometimes missing, sometimes striking true. Hash got in some good hits, but Kyllian didn’t seem deterred. In fact, he attacked with relentless persistence, showing a strength Hash wouldn’t have expected from a magic user.

In the back of his mind, he continued to feel Owen’s pleasure, increasing more and more. It gave him a ferocity that Hash almost didn’t recognize, the need to exorcize his arousal so intense it shrouded his brain.

He knew he was getting lax in his defense, but he couldn’t help it. For that reason, a part of him wasn’t surprised when the wizard dodged one of his hits and countered it, sending Hash to the floor. In a heartbeat, he jumped on Hash, pinning him to the floor with his weight.

“Enough,” Kyllian said. “As much as I enjoy playing this game with you, we don’t have time for it.”

Hash could have easily thrown Kyllian off him. But their gazes fixed and a spark of electricity flew between them, something entirely unconnected to their battle. Hash’s dick, still hard from the feeling he experienced through Owen, responded to Kyllian’s proximity. He swore he saw an answering flash of heat in Kyllian’s silver eyes. The man didn’t even try to hide it. His erection rubbed against Hash’s leg, demanding attention. Hash felt uncomfortable at the realization that his own arousal increased at the feel of the other man’s cock against him. What would it be like, he wondered, to have the wizard in his bed? Gods, no, he shouldn’t be thinking about this. He already had too much on his plate. How did his brother deal with the mechanics of his relationships? Perhaps Hash should have asked instead of attacking him.

Kyllian didn’t try to exploit the phenomenon in any way. He just got up and extended his hand to help Hash to his feet. “Come on. We still have work to do.”

Hash took the wizard up on his offer. He gripped Kyllian’s hand and lifted himself off the floor. As he did so, he registered the mess they’d made of Kyllian’s home during their battle.

The apology was on his lips, but he couldn’t quite say it. As a rule, he hated to apologize. Thinking clearly, he knew Kyllian was right, at least to a certain extent. Hash had not claimed Owen and therefore could not demand any explanations. But admitting that out loud was out of the question. In the end, Kyllian had been out of line with his vulgar statement.

So he just waited in silence while Kyllian waved his hand in the air, setting everything back in place with just a flick of his wrist. The books returned to their previous position, and Hash mentally sighed as he plopped back down on the couch to resume the research. Owen and Yane wouldn’t leave his mind, and his body still sizzled with unfulfilled arousal. The paragraphs blurred in front of his eyes as he imagined Owen moving with Yane, their beauty entwined in a dance of passion. He saw himself joining them, touching them, showering their bodies with kisses and caresses.

He was so lost in his fantasy he almost missed the moment Kyllian let out a victorious sound. Pushing the images of Owen and Yane to the back of his mind, he focused on the wizard. “What is it? What did you find?”

For a few moments, Kyllian didn’t answer. But when he did look up, his expression was glum. “Something I would have preferred to never see in my life.”

Hash got up and went around the couch to scan the pages Kyllian studied. The wizard’s musky scent filled his nostrils, fueling his arousal, but as the information in the book started to penetrate his consciousness, all thoughts of sex disappeared. “A necromantic crystal? But how?”

To his knowledge, necromancers were very rare. Few people knew that the plague after the flood had been fueled by their magic. As such, the rest of the wizards hunted them down and eliminated the guilty parties. Even so, spots such as the plague lands still lingered. It was unfathomable that no one noticed the accumulation of dark power in all these years.

“I do not know how. The only explanation I can find is that somehow, the necromancers who created it also managed to disguise it from other wizards.” Kyllian took a deep breath, as if struggling for calm. “It seems we’re being taken for fools. But I won’t stand for this. That crystal is going down, if it’s the last thing I do.”

“Pardon me for saying,” Hash intervened, “but the very purpose of this intervention was to fix it. Have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t forgotten, no,” Kyllian snapped at him. “It’s only because of the promise I made that I’m not going back to destroy it right now.”

“So what are you going to do, smart guy? We’re supposed to be saving Yane from imminent war.”

“As long as the crystal exists, there can be no peace,” Kyllian answered. “And, if I’m not mistaken, the crystal isn’t in any jeopardy in the first place. It will be recharging soon.”