SkyFall (Taken on the Wing Book 2) (14 page)

“
You won
’
t remember coming in here,
”
he pushes the magic as hard as he can and
rocks with nausea, swallowing to keep his dinner in place.

“
No,
”
she says again but she speaks to her
hand. Her knuckles whiten as one fights the other over the relic. It
’
s a sign her magic is strong and Cooper
keeps up his mental assault.

“
You want to go home but I asked you to
stay as my companion on your terms. I kissed you and you know I want more but
you trust I
’
ll respect your terms.
”

Cloud uses both hands to touch her lips
with the memory of a kiss that never happened.

“
Who is Soar to you?
”
Cooper needs the false memory to fit or
it won
’
t last.

“
Lover,
”
she whispers.

“
And why did you come here?
”

“
To
spy,
”
she says. Although he
suspected that sort of deception all along it pains him to hear it from the
young dragonkin. She continues though, easing his concerns about her handlers.
“
Lev thinks you attacked his eyrie and
mine at Welch Peak but Soar thinks there
’
s
something else going on. I trust you, Daniel. I don
’
t believe you
’
d ever hurt us.
”

Bless her. Cooper wants to pull her out
and end this twisting of her memories but he
’
s running out of time.

“
I took a phone call and you, you nosey
gryphon, listened in. Soar came here to spy,
”
Cooper
lies.
“
We caught him and he
’
s confined one floor down from yours. You
’
re scared we
’
ll hurt him. When you leave my suite you
won
’
t remember admitting you
’
re a spy or the green treasure before
you, will you, you nosey gryphon? You
’
ll
grab your things so it looks like you were never here. You
’
ll free him and escape up the south
stairs from the roof out of sight from my patio. You
’
ll never escape through the bar.
”

At least the last part is true.

“
Yes,
”
she says as a promise to forget. If the
Will spots the gold glow of her eyes they will take her.

Cooper seizes her left hand and presses
it to his, the key in between.

He whispers in the old words as a thin
line of saliva leaves the corner of Cloud
’
s
mouth and her eyes roll up, hiding the glow of gold to be replaced with deeply
green-tinted whites. Cooper passes control of the box and the stone lock on the
door to her and only her. Unless Cooper dies or asks for the key back she won
’
t remember it at all. Cloud is now the
master of the relic and nobody will ever get to it but her.

“
Leave,
”
he commands. She
’
s out of his apartment and running down
the hall by the time Cooper has the box locked and the chamber door closed. Her
uneven steps make him wince at the pain she must be in, running on a fractured
ankle. He staggers to his bathroom to throw up then goes to wait before the
picture of himself for his grand-sire Aledaar to take him into custody. If he
’
s lucky he won
’
t die in front of the giant sketch. Lady
Eve
’
s tears protect him from the
Will influencing him into surrendering the relic but that doesn
’
t mean they have nothing to use against
him.

They have his daughter, Flay, who serves
the Will but not due to any gold relic influence. She
’
s
a green dragonkin and immune to Aledaar
’
s
gold relic but she
’
s in love with a gold
dragonkin, the son of Master Fury, and her loyalty to the Will protects the
lives of both her mate and Cooper.

The hand-drawn man behind the glass doesn
’
t look much younger than he does now and
Cooper tries to mimic the slight smug smile. Happier times, rebellion and the
rush of running head-long into the future with a beautiful mate at his side and
armed with nothing but grand and honourable ideals.

Tonight, those ideals and the hope Cloud
proves as brave and resourceful as she seems are all he has.

Soar drops his aching and disheveled body
on the bed. He
’
s locked in what appears to be
one of Cooper
’
s
‘
rooms
’
on the floors high above the
bar. Why he
’
s imprisoned and not dead is
only a mystery if he
’
s stupid enough to believe
Cloud hasn
’
t been caught. He gets up and
bangs on the door.

“
Why the hell am I in here?
”

“
Master Soar,
”
the voice in the hall
says.
“
Shut the hell up.
”

He has some recollection of his bruised
face in the mirror before he woke up on the bathroom floor, his stomach
churning undigested reserve and honey.

Shit.

He should have known better than to close
his eyes when Rabbit was near. Bastard must have slipped him something. Soar
’
s knuckles hurt but other than sore
muscles from a struggle and the shiner he hasn
’
t been roughed up by Cooper
’
s guard. Maybe he just got out of hand
and they locked him up for his own good.

Maybe he got lucky and neither he nor
Cloud have been busted for spying. Another wave of nausea hits and he finds
himself banging on the door again. This time he hears a familiar voice but she
doesn
’
t make any sense so Soar
dismisses her strange command as a remnant of the booze and drugging.

“
You
’
re so tired,
”
Cloud growls, her voice strains like she
carries both big males on her back.
“
You want to sleep.
”

Then there
’
s the sound of their two large bodies
going down as one drops to the floor and the other hits the wall before sliding
down to join the first.

“
Crap,
crap, crap,
”
she mutters and Soar hears
movement outside and another thud as one body rolls over. The first three keys
she tries don
’
t work and Soar has time to
cross his arms, pissed with jealousy over what he saw on the roof and hopes it
comes off as disapproval over how she
’
s
chosen to handle her assignment.

“
Soar,
”
she pushes her way in and goes straight
to him. His anger only lasts for a moment as she hobbles in and throws her arms
around his shoulders. Soar gets his around her and her old pack just in time
for her to push away with one hand.

“
You shouldn
’
t have come,
”
she insists. Her swollen wrist is shoved
protectively between her breasts. With her good hand, Cloud grabs his elbow and
stands on one foot.
“
Honestly, you nosey gryphon
and how much have you had to drink?
”

Her nose wrinkles.

“
At least I wasn
’
t on the roof drinking and making out
with Cooper.
”

Cloud
’
s cheeks blossom as her eyes pop wide
open and she puts her fingers to her lips. Then she jumps as a massive roar of
thunder rattles the building.

“
Wasn
’
t,
”
she says and Soar doesn
’
t have to see her blush deepen to know
she
’
s lying. He saw the two of
them on the roof.
“
We have to leave. I was doing
fine until you showed up and started asking questions.
”

I was?
He could have been. Damned if he can
’
t remember it.

“
I know exactly what
’
s going on here, Soar,
”
she spins and heads for the door.
“
And if you want to stay here and be
punished for it feel free. I
’
m leaving. This is my mission
and I
’
ll say when you debrief me.
”

“
Damn it. Wait, Cloud. Hold the door.
”

Soar hauls both unconscious guards into
the room and breaks into an angry reserve-scented sweat with the effort.

Then he kicks one in the thigh.

“
That the one who hurt you?
”

“
No,
”
she hisses.
“
That was Lawrence teaching me a lesson I
’
d never learn from you or Sky.
”

“
And that is?
”

“
Don
’
t test me, Soar,
”
she shoves her pack in
his hands and he loosens the straps to put it on.
“
I
’
ll knock you out and carry you home if I
have to.
”

She
’
s
right. If Cloud figured out what Cooper is up to and Soar was snooping around
they can
’
t waste any time. He gets an
arm around her waist and starts to take her down the hall but she pulls him in
the other direction.

“
Stairs,
”
she orders.
“
We go up. There
’
s cameras in the elevators and the
stairwells but we
’
re just a few flights from the
top and the door to the roof and will be gone by the time they send anyone.
”

“
Cloud,
”
Soar tries, pushing her against the wall.
She tries to resist but her pulse peaks in her neck giving away just how much
her body still listens to him.
“
Please tell me where he kissed
you.
”

The gold flecks in her eyes flash and he
expects a harsh reply to rub his face in it.

“
I don
’
t...
”
she replies.
“
I mean, he kissed me and asked me to stay
with him as his companion on my own terms. I know he wants more than that but
he
’
ll respect my terms.
”

“
Where?
”

“
Maybe,
”
she tries then she starts to repeat
herself as the elevator bell rings.
“
He kissed me and
—”

“
Move,
”
Soar has her in his arms and through the
door into the stairwell as the elevator door slides open.