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“Ego—” I started to protest, but he held up one hand.
“You must understand the nature of dragons. He wasn’t there to protect you. You were hurt. You didn’t tell him about it immediately. Those three things came to a damning head. He might still have wanted to kill Vanzir, but he wouldn’t have been so angry at you. He feels humiliated that he could not keep his family safe. Hell, I feel responsible for you, too, and you are not even my mate. You are my beloved’s sister. And if I feel this bad, can you imagine how much worse your husband feels?”
Shade and I reached the driveway. “Smoky absolutely worships the ground you walk on. The thought of anyone hurting you drives him into a frenzy. He is dragon . . . it is the way.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m beginning to understand that. It’s easy to forget I’m not dealing with just a man—a gorgeous, strong, stubborn man. But he is a dragon. He’s not a human in a dragon suit. Not even a Fae in a dragon suit.”
“Exactly. Now, would you like me to walk with you? I will if you want, but it might not be wise should he come to find you and discover another dragon at your side . . . even though I’m only half. Hell, I’m not even going to hug you, though I think you need a hug. My smell on you? It would be suicide.” Shade laughed then, and I smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever.
“No, I’ll be fine. We have the wards up. Delilah will come find me if something happens. I could use a little time to myself . . . to think.”
“Then I’ll pop out and go look for Vanzir. I’ll try to help him sort out what to do now. Maybe we can pull everyone through this without a problem.”
“Delilah sure found a keeper, that’s for certain.” I waved as he vanished into the shadows and popped out of sight. Thank gods for levelheaded men. Or at least as levelheaded as they were going to get. And on that note, I also sent a mental kiss toward Trillian. Maybe Smoky would listen to him. Maybe Trillian could calm him down.
After Shade left, I turned toward the trail leading to Birchwater Pond. Delilah had been right. A walk would do me good. I decided that, come rain or shine, I’d manage to get out every day for a quiet stroll. The snow had stopped falling and now a patch of sky was glimmering from between the clouds. Another hour and the stars would come creeping out.
The familiar footpath was welcoming, and my boots left soft impressions in the snow. I sucked in a deep breath, letting the chill fill my lungs as I strolled toward the pond. It had been a long time since I’d taken a walk by myself. Even during the full moons, I was in the sky, running with the Moon Mother on the Hunt, along with a passel of warriors and other witches who followed the Lady of the Hunt.
No, I needed more time by myself.
Up ahead was a bend in the trail, one fork leading deeper into the woods, the other leading to Birchwater Pond, where we often held rituals for the holidays. Where I’d married Smoky and Morio.
As I came closer, I saw a tall form in the trees, clad in a white cloak. His long hair floated on the breeze.
Smoky! Smoky had come to find me! I hurried to meet him. Trillian must have gotten through to him. Thank gods. Now we could get on with taking care of this and figuring out some compromise to keep Vanzir alive and my husband happy. My heart skipped a beat, and the worry and heartache began to ease.
As I rounded the fir tree standing between us, I held out my arms, wanting only to feel his embrace, his kiss. To beg his forgiveness for not trusting him enough to tell him when everything had first happened.
“Smoky, please, please don’t be angry at me—”
But my words fell away as I stared at the man who towered over me. He gave me a slow, lecherous smile.
Taller than Smoky, his hair, almost as long as Smoky’s, was pure white instead of spun silver—now that I was close enough, I could see the difference. He looked somewhat older, though it would be hard to place his age, but I knew he was ancient . . . dangerous and ruthless.
My heart began to race as I turned to run, but his hair reached out to grab me and he dragged me to him.
“No! No! Let me go, let me go . . . please, please let me go.”
I wanted to wake up. To wake screaming to find it had all been a dream. But I was here, facing my worst nightmare.
Clenching his arm around my waist, he pulled me up to stare into his eyes, leaning his head against mine as I struggled to free myself. He pressed his mouth against mine, forcing his way between my lips. I choked as he deep-throated me. I tried to bite his tongue, but a strand of his hair caught me around the neck and squeezed until I stopped.
“What’s the matter, Camille? You aren’t being very friendly. That’s no way to greet a relative, is it? After all, aren’t you glad to see your father-in-law?”
And then, as Hyto laughed, I began to scream.
Chapter 10
Hyto held tight, the strand of hair still around my throat. “At any moment, I could break your neck. Suffocate you. Rip your head off your shoulders. So I suggest you quit screaming.”
I shut my mouth and waited for death—I knew that was why he was here. But instead, he reached up with another tendril of hair and caressed my cheek.
My stomach lurched. “The wards will have gone off. Smoky will be out here, searching for me.” I struggled to talk against the restraint, my throat hurting.
“I don’t think my son will be doing any such thing.” He motioned, and out from behind a towering evergreen stepped the man Giselle had described. He bowed briefly to Hyto. “Meet Asheré, my snow monkey. He negated your wards with a blink of the eye. So nobody’s going to know anything.”
Panic set in. Oh Great Mother, he’s going to kill me here, and I’ll never have a chance to say good-bye to my loved ones.
