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She loved the nickname he called her. The reference to her onyx circle and the fox’s eye. The seeker was always on the run and if that was to be her life, she didn’t want to curse anyone else with it.
“The seekers of the past spent more time looking for spells in alternate cultures than looking for artifacts. Once the temple is restored, we will still travel to faraway lands, but much of your research and acquisition can be accomplished within the temple.”
She couldn’t imagine a world where she wasn’t running after the next artifact. It was essential to the druids. To Adara. But if she was restored, then perhaps the task laid before her would change. “How?”
“The temple can show you texts and magic in other areas of the world. The temples communicated with one another, but never moved. Her power is immense, but she is diminished in the realm in which she currently resides.”
She wanted to believe there was an end to the running, but Kell was correct. That wasn’t an option unless the temple was restored and that feat could only be accomplished by one person, and it wasn’t Alana. “That will take time. I can’t stop. Not yet.”
“I am not trying to stop you from your task. I am simply telling you that you will continue with me at your side.”
She closed her eyes. “No. You can’t be with me.”
His mouth hovered above her lips as he spoke. “I will always be with you. Our souls are bound even if we never complete the bonding ceremony. I offer my heart, Alana. My loyalty. My soul. I ask nothing in return.”
Her lips quivered but his mouth closed the distance and the petal-like touch moved through her body unlike anything she had ever felt. Her mind screamed to break free of the tantalizing sensations he created, but her body craved more of the comforting warmth and soft caresses.
Deep within the cave, north of the Colorado mountain that housed the dragons, she sensed she was shrouded by her unwanted warden. Could she take this single moment to rest and recharge? She wouldn’t let things go too far. Despite Kell’s words, she knew there was no future for her. She would have died already if she didn’t have the amulet.
Her fingers moved to the pendant at her chest. The amethyst looked similar to several others sold by her mother, but this one was special.
His soft exploration of her mouth continued and she sighed when he broke the connection. “That pendant. It looks familiar.”
“It was my mother’s. Handed down for generations. It shrouds the wearer from magical creatures. We weren’t sure how it worked, really.”
“Is that how you put Rhadan to sleep in Scotland?”
She cleared her throat. “Yes. That was a tough one. When he looked at me, I wanted to stay with him. He is… potent. I won’t dwell on the fact that while you are all easy on the eyes. He is... stunning.”
“Aye. It is his power and his curse.” His sadness alerted her there was more to the story and knowing how protective the dragons were of their women, she was surprised he wasn’t upset she thought Rhadan was gorgeous.
“He tried to stop me, and the pendant reacted,” she said.
“He was surprised his power didn’t alter your course of action. Has this happened often? Has a dark dragon tried to stop you from completing an acquisition?”
“I have had a couple of instances over the years where a dark has... come across me. They are always surprised. They can’t sense me, but the pendant renders them unconscious for a couple of minutes. Just long enough for me to get away.”
“How do you unleash it?”
“I don’t. It’s reactive. It is only tripped if a being of magic tries to hinder me.” She would be dead a hundred times over if it weren’t for that pendant. There was one being who could track her despite the pendant’s shroud, but he wasn’t immune to its power. Their cat-and-mouse game was coming too close though. She was running out of strength, and her nemesis knew it.
Kell touched her pendant, and it twinkled as if it recognized him. She didn’t have time to dwell on the feeling of familiarity as her chest squeezed and she clutched at it. “What is going on? You are in pain.”
She struggled for breath as the wave of nausea rolled through her stomach. “Oh god.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. I feel terrible. Like someone put my stomach in a blender.”
She rolled to the side as she evicted the contents of her stomach over the edge of the bed. She was glad she had only eaten a power bar and an energy drink in the last four hours. Lime-green vomit looked worse than it smelled.
Kell rubbed her back as she got her breathing under control. With a flick of his wrist, the vomit disappeared, and the scent of the acrid power bar was replaced by vanilla.
She fell back onto the bed and admitted she was glad she wasn’t alone. “I feel like my soul is being ripped from my body. Is there a spell that can do that?”
“Perhaps, but you are not being affected by magic. Have you ever felt anything like this before?” he asked.
She hadn’t thought about it until he asked the question. She never got sick. “I had mono once as a child. I was seven at the time and I thought I was going to die, despite Mom assuring me I wouldn’t. This is worse and I don’t think I have had so much as a cold since then.”
