[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
his fury. There weren t many more details other than what I already told you. He kept
trying to put a hand on me, but it wasn t sexual. I think he was trying to control me, and
he was probably trying to control the others as well. They had all fallen asleep, including
the two that were on watch. Not even the smoke or the sounds of fighting woke them.
She frowned. But I also dreamed about the baby, who was lying on me and growling. He
bit me, which woke me up and then I woke the others.
The baby bit you? Dragos laid a hand on her abdomen, where his son s strong,
bright spark nestled.
Her expression turned wry. Yeah, that was my reaction. I really believe he wasn t
trying to hurt me, just startle me. It worked.
Way to go, little man, Dragos told the spark.
He knew that Pia thought the baby believed his name was Peanut. Dragos thought it
was more likely that the baby responded to the love he felt when his mother talked about
him, and in reality he comprehended little more than love and danger. Still, he had acted
twice now to save his mother.
A fierce wave of emotion caught Dragos off guard. He clenched his jaw, blinking.
He had a son. The concept was still new and shocking after several months. He had a
son, a delicate and small very Powerful creature, and already he was so proud of him.
All right, he said, his voice deeper and rougher than usual. You re safe. The baby s
safe. Next item of business.
Pia raised her eyebrows, her expression turning cautious. We have items of
business?
Yes, he said. I m sorry.
She sighed. Dragos, we have enough to think about. We don t have to talk about that
right now.
I do, he told her. I m a bad-tempered bastard at the best of times, and I was on a
hair trigger. The border problems with the Elves, the sentinel issue, all the business
problems, and to top it all off, you were gone. None of that is an excuse, and I m not
trying to make one out of it. I m just telling you, and I want you to know that I heard
every word that you said. And I m sorry.
Her expression softened, and his world became brighter. You re right, it s no excuse.
But I know you have been under a lot of strain.
I can t promise we won t run into this issue again, he said. I ve been used to
solitary rule for a very long time.
We re both feeling our way, she murmured.
And it s too easy for me to slip into old habits and difficult for me to change on
something so fundamental, but I am asking you for patience. I promise that I am trying,
that I will continue to try.
A small grin tugged at the corners of her lips. He raised an eyebrow, not at all sure
that his carefully crafted and quite rare apology should elicit such a reaction. I knew you
were sorry, she told him, when I was standing in the middle of a forest fire with
Calondir of all people, and I was about to cross over to the Elven Other land, and you still
said please.
He narrowed his eyes. What part gave it away?
She laughed out loud, a silvery sound of pure pleasure that danced in his old, wicked
soul, and he felt the magic again, how she lifted him to a better place.
She put her hand to his cheek. Well, I m probably going to regret this, but I ve got to
say it s a good thing you don t listen to me all the time, she told him. Wait, did Hugh
ever get in touch with you?
You mean Monroe? Yes. He called me and then I sent him to Lirithriel House. That s
how I summoned the Wyr. I told him to call New York and then get his ass back here. He
was coming in from the opposite direction I was, and he should be arriving soon. He
gave in and did what he had been wanting to do for a while now. He pulled her close and
held her tightly. She put her face against his chest, slipped her arms around his waist and
heaved a big sigh.
She told him, If you had listened to me, you wouldn t have flown south, and you
wouldn t have been close enough to respond to the fire. Shows what I know.
He pressed his lips to her forehead. If I hadn t listened to you, he said, you wouldn t
have come south in the first place.
I wasn t going to mention that one, she muttered.
I didn t mean that the way you think. He slid his fingers underneath her chin and
tilted her face up. It was a good thing you came south. Not only were your original
reasons valid, but believe me when I say this it is much better to find out about
Gaeleval now so that we can act before he has the chance to acquire more Power. He will
only become harder to stop as time goes on.
I just don t understand why someone would do this, she whispered. Kill so many
people, cause so much damage and take so many others.
He took too many people, he said, thinking. If he wanted hostages, he would have
taken a smaller selection of the most influential Elves. They would have been more
mobile and easier to control. If he is the voice I heard in the Oracle s prophecy, he has an
ambitious agenda.
She shuddered. I remember you said that the voice talked about all kinds of
grandiose shit, birth and death, and gods, and time.
It also claimed to be the bringer of the End of Days, he said dryly. But if all
Gaeleval wanted was pure destruction, he would have stayed here with the Elves he
controlled and he would have fought until everybody was dead. You said he mentioned
something about paving a way to a new age.
She nodded. Yes.
Then I think he must be building an army, he said. And not only did he conscript a
substantial addition to his troops, but he crushed any effective resistance from Calondir.
Those are the moves I might make if I were building an empire.
She looked even more troubled. Persuasion and beguilement are all very well and
good, but how can he control them all at the same time?
For that, I m positive he s using the Machine. As I flew in I could feel the Machine
being used before its Power cut out. That must have been when Gaeleval crossed over.
It s amplifying the Power and skills he already has. I ve seen it happen before. And the
more he uses it, the more it will work on him and affect his mind. He shook his head.
We will confront him soon enough. Right now our meeting time is limited and we need
to move on to our next item of business.
She cocked her head. I didn t know we had an agenda.
I did, he told her.
He bent his head and kissed her, and there it was, the real thing, not some made up,
distant dream. Her gorgeous lips softened and molded to his mouth, just as her slender
body molded to his.
He had been afraid. What a horrendous emotion. He had been scared for her, and the
room smelled like ash and the whole area looked devastated. Aggression and tenderness
fought for supremacy, and tenderness won.
He ran his hands down her body, rock hard and aching for her. He knew this hunger
for her would never ease, never die away. You are never going to get trapped in a
magical forest fire again, he growled against her lips. Do you hear me, Pia? That flight
took millennia off my life.
I m sorry, she whispered. It won t happen again.
Goddamn right it won t, he said between his teeth.
Gaeleval was a dead man walking; he just didn t know it yet. Dragos would find and
stop him because he wouldn t allow the kind of destruction that had come before. But he
was going to rip Gaeleval limb to limb because the Elf had put Pia in danger and because
he had dared to try to take her.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]