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“I don’t think any of it is interesting.” I wasn’t feeling particularly chatty.
“You’ll want to know this. Your tattoos? They were right in line with several of the blows, but neither tattoo was touched. It’s obvious the chain landed along them, but where your tattoos are, there is no mark—no wound.”
I raised my head. “Really?”
“So help me, yes.” She traced the lines crisscrossing my back. “These will heal. You will have scars, but I think I can minimize most of them. You’ll need to rest, though—”
“I will rest when Hyto is dead and rotting. We have a dragon to kill, and Chase to find.” I then told her everything I could remember about seeing Chase on the astral. Even though she tried to remain professional, I could see the relief breaking in her eyes.
“I miss him so much. But Camille—you have to rest. I can dress these, but if you use them too much, they may tear open and scar—”
“Then color me marked. Menolly lives with her scars, and so can I. And if I am scarred, let it be a reminder that no man will ever touch me this way again. Be he dragon, demon, or devil. I have to get out there again. I have to see Hyto die. I can’t hide at home or I’ll never be able to go out again. Do you understand?”
I turned to her, grabbing her wrist and leaning forward. “Hyto taught me to fear in a way I’ve never, ever experienced. If I don’t conquer this, I’ll have nothing left. I don’t have Menolly’s strength, or Delilah’s athletic ability. All I have are a handful of spells, some of which work when they have a whim to. I can’t let this beat me. If I stay at home, cower in my room, Hyto will have won. I have to exorcise him from my mind. I have to get him out of my head.”
Hanna stood up. “Let her do as she will. Camille is a brave young woman, and I thought sure Hyto would kill her the first night. But she withstood his treatment and even managed to drive him into a rage like no other I’ve seen. If she can come down off that mountain with the wounds she has, then she can withstand another battle.”
She turned to me. “You would make the Northmen proud if you were one of us. You are a warrior woman in spirit, if not in body. And spirit is often far stronger than muscle and bone.”
Sharah let out a long sigh. “You’ll do as you wish, of course. You three always do. All right, but at least let me give you a painkiller. I have developed one that your system can withstand.”
“Will it take me off my game?” I stared into her eyes, challenging her. Flanked by my family, by Trillian and Smoky, I found my courage returning, and I wanted to make them proud. I wanted to make myself proud. I wanted to prove that no pervert could cow me. The memory of groveling at Hyto’s feet stung far more than the blows on my back or anything else he’d done to me. “I have to be alert.”
Sharah nodded, and something told me she knew what I was thinking and understood. “You won’t lose any speed with this one. But it will help you move around without as much pain, and so will the ointments I have for your wounds.”
“Then I will gratefully accept it.” I smiled then, and she leaned in and hugged me as a sister might. “Do you think Hyto might have given me a disease when he . . . when he . . .”
Sharah bit her lip. “You’re pretty bruised up down there. I can give you a potion to dispel any disease he might have. I’ve never had the opportunity to treat a dragon for wounds, let alone an STD. So I don’t really know.”
“I hate asking Smoky about it—just another reminder of what Hyto did to me. To us. But I’d better take the potion, just in case.” I kicked the ground, wincing as the blow ricocheted through my leg muscles. “Damned devil.”>“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.
