AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Vanzir . . . what happened, happened. I forgive you. And I forgive myself. And that’s all anybody will ever have to know. I won’t let Smoky hurt you.” As I stumbled out of bed, Hanna shifted. “Why isn’t she in a bed of her own? She can’t just sleep in the chair.”
“She insisted on sleeping near you, to keep watch. I spiked her drink with a sleeping aid. The woman was worn out.” He gazed down at her. “She’s comely enough, but looks harsh . . .”
“She spent five years locked up with Hyto, doing his bidding, watching her son descend into madness because of the dragon. She has a right to be harsh.” I motioned for Vanzir to gather her out of the rocking chair and put her in the bed. He did so, covering her gently with the blankets. Then, as I wrapped the bathrobe around my aching body, we headed out into the main living chamber.
The smell of my love was everywhere—dragon musk, but this was a soothing musk, a gentle, loving scent. Smoky could raze a town if he wanted, but he was my love and my heart. Hyto was a madman. As I sought to unentangle the two in my mind—Smoky took after his father in looks—I glanced around the barrow for the wind-up clock. Here, time slowed, and electronics ceased to work.
Smoky’s barrow was located out near Mount Rainier, in a faerie mound—a barrow he’d co-opted from Titania for his own. Toward the back of the area he used for a living room, a dropoff led to a huge underground tunnel, through which he could fly in dragon form. To the right was the bedroom and bath, and to the left, a kitchen-dining area.
The furnishings were old, heavy wood, expensive antiques, and the scent of cigar smoke filled the air—Smoky was big on brandy and cigars in his own digs, though he abstained from smoking when around me because the smoke bothered both Delilah and me so much.
The scent of cigar was cut with the smell of sizzling sausage, and my stomach lurched. I realized I was famished. How I could be hungry after what I’d been through escaped me, but the fact was, my body craved food. As I achingly made my way toward the kitchen door, it opened and out came Delilah and Trillian.
“Camille!” Trillian dropped the plates he was carrying, and they shattered on the floor as he raced over to grab me up and spin me around. When I let out a shriek of pain, he immediately put me down. “Oh crap, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. My beloved, forgive me.” The look on his face was one I’d never before seen—a mixture of terror and joy.
Holding my sore ribs, I let him lead me over to the sofa and gently pull me down on his lap. “No . . . it’s just . . . I hurt everywhere.” And then, even as Delilah was rushing over, food in hand, I fell into his arms and kissed him deeply, trying to wash the memory of Hyto’s touch out of my mind with Trillian’s eager, loving embrace.
As I finally came up for air, he slid me off his lap and put a pillow behind my back. “Morio would be here if he could. Shade’s at home, watching over him now, along with Rozurial.”
I nodded, biting my lip. “Is Smoky back yet?”
“No, but he will be here soon, trust me, love. Now eat.”
Delilah returned to the kitchen and brought out fresh plates, then fixed me a breakfast of sausage, eggs, and biscuits and a tumbler of orange juice as Vanzir swept up the broken glass. Her mouth was pursed, and she looked like she was about to cry, but I could tell she was trying to keep her composure.
As I forked the food into my mouth, I wasn’t sure what to say. What could I say? Hyto had raped me, beaten me, humiliated me, and I still wore his collar, spelling out that I was his possession. Oh, I could just come out and say, I’m fucked up . . . I can’t get his image out of my mind. Because it was true—no matter how much I wanted to, when I closed my eyes he was there, towering over me, his face a fury, his eyes gleaming with the darkness of insanity. But that wouldn’t do any good except to make them feel worse.
“What . . . what do you need?” Delilah finally caught her breath and her words spilled out, sounding wan and hollow. She hung her head. “I’m sorry—I don’t know what to say, what to ask. Menolly was here all night, pacing, but she had to go home this morning.”
“How long was I out?” I jerked my head up.
“Close to twenty-four hours.” She looked up as the front door opened and Shamas peeked inside. His eyes lit up when he saw me and he opened his mouth, then paused. After a moment, he let out a long sigh and held my gaze, offering me strength without pity, and I gratefully nodded to him.
“Delilah, your phone’s ringing. I answered—it’s Sharah.”
She glanced at me. “I guess I’d better . . .”
“Go take it. When you come back, I have something to tell you.” In my scramble to get away, to find a hiding place where Hyto couldn’t get me, I’d forgotten about Chase, but now the memory of meeting him on the astral flooded back. At least we might be able to rescue him, if nothing else.
As she headed outside, I turned to Trillian. “Is everyone okay? What happened while I was gone?”
“Absolute hell, my love. We were all in absolute hell. Smoky . . . you’ve never seen him angry. Pray you never do. I may be your alpha, but I think he’s all our alpha. Dragons are not to be crossed lightly, and when you threaten their families . . .” He took my hands. “Seriously, I have never seen anyone so anxious to kill. Camille, I’m glad you love him, because now that you’re back, he’ll never, ever let you go.”
I ducked my head. “I hope that he can stop Hyto . . . Trillian—he’s insane. He hated me before; now I can only imagine the torture he has planned for me.” And then I found myself blurting out, “I want to be strong. I don’t want to be afraid of him! But I am—I am so terribly afraid of him. And he can find me . . . he can track me.”
Trillian motioned to Vanzir. “I think she needs a drink. Brandy, please. For the both of us.”
As Delilah came back in, she was smiling, though her lips were still pursed. “Smoky’s back and on his way. He’ll be here any minute. Camille, finish your breakfast. He’s bringing Sharah with him to attend to your wounds.”
Sharah . . . Chase!
“My mind is a little muddled. I was going to tell you a few minutes ago but spaced it again. That first night, I saw Chase. I went out of body onto the astral, after Hyto . . . was done with me.” Biting my lip, I stopped, fighting back the memories. “Anyway, I was on the astral and I saw Chase out there—in body! We may be able to find him if we head out there looking. He can’t get off the astral on his own, but he was alive and well.”
“You saw Chase?” Delilah broke into a smile. “That is good news. And we need every bit we can get.”
Just then, the door burst open and Smoky stood there, in all his glory, with Sharah standing a few steps behind him, looking shaken. Trillian gently backed away from me as my dragon strode toward me, pushing everything that impeded his progress out of the way. And when he reached me, I expected him to grab me up, steeling myself for the pain, but he fell to his knees in front of me and pressed my hands to his forehead.
His voice muted, he whispered, “Can you ever forgive me, my love? Can you ever, ever forgive me?”
