Sit back, relax, and discover Sara Humphrey's award winning series!
Enjoy!
"Darkly sensual, rich with
emotion, a wild unsettling ride."
—Christine Feehan,
New York Times bestselling author
He’s the man of her dreams
A long time ago, Zander Lorens was cursed to walk the
earth stripped of his Dragon Clan powers. Every night, trapped in a recurring
nightmare, Zander relives his darkest moment. He can hardly believe it when the
dream changes and a beautiful young woman appears. Zander believes she’s the
key to ending his torment. Finding her in the real world is one thing, but how
will he convince her of who—and what—she really is?
She’s the end to his nightmare
Rena McHale uses her unique sensitivity as a private
investigator, touting herself as a “human divining rod” and finder of the lost.
By day she struggles with sensory overload, and by night her sleep is haunted
by a fiery dragon shifter. Nothing in her life makes sense, until the man from
her dreams shows up at her door with a proposition…
Available March 7th
Chapter 1
Mine. The deep, gravelly voice of
the beast reverberated through the air and ripped through Rena’s mind, with
terrifying force. Mine. Mine. Mine.
The ferocious, ear-splitting
roars of the winged monsters rumbled through the forest and the earth trembled
as the vicious battle raged on. The nightmare had persisted for months, and
even though she was all too familiar with how it would play out, it continued
to horrify her.
Frightened and exhausted, Rena
McHale crouched behind the trunk of the towering pine tree and prayed they
wouldn’t see her this time. Her heart thundered in her chest, and she pressed
her hands against her ears, attempting to drown out the stomach-churning
bellows of the monsters. Sweat trickled down her back, and she kept her eyes
squeezed shut, trying to slow her breathing. She had been here countless times
before, and though the nightmare was always the same, Rena prayed this time would
be different.
It wouldn’t be. They would find
her and they would kill her. She would wake up, terrified and drowning in pain,
seconds after being swallowed by a sea of agonizing flames.
Wicked heat flashed behind her
and seared her shoulder. She bit her lip and swallowed the scream, but she
didn’t move from her hiding spot. The snarls and sharp sounds of gnashing teeth
had gotten closer. Dirt, leaves, and bits of rock rained over her as an
enormous clawed foot skidded past as one beast slammed into the other. Shrieks
of fury filled the forest and the sound was more than she could bear because
Rena knew what would come next. There would be nothing except excruciating pain
while she burned alive.
“Not again,” she whimpered.
“Shit, not again.”
The monster scrambled to its
feet, and Rena opened her eyes in time to see its long spiked tail whip past.
She yelped as the weapon-like appendage slammed into the tree above her head,
and bits of bark showered down, stinging her skin.
“No more! Stop it!” The words ripped
from her lungs in scream after scream, and she shut her eyes, not wanting to
see the fire this time. “Go away and leave me alone! I want to wake up. Help!
Someone, please help me! I can’t take it anymore.”
Rena didn’t know how long she sat
there, screaming the words over and over again. She fully expected the fire to
claim her as it had every time before. But this time, the flames didn’t come.
Exquisite silence filled the air,
and other than the sound of her own breathing, Rena heard nothing. The earth no
longer trembled, there was no more snarling or growling, and instead of fire, a
cool mist drifted over her bare arms like a soothing blanket. Though her heart
still beat wildly against her rib cage, Rena finally found the courage to open
her eyes. The woods were now bathed in golden rays of sunlight, and a white fog
rolled low along the ground, covering any evidence of the destructive battle
that had been raging only moments ago.
With trembling hands, Rena pushed
her stiff body off the ground and stood on shaky legs. She brushed leaves and
dirt off the back of her pajama pants and her tank top, the outfit she had gone
to sleep in that night. She gripped the tree trunk, the bark rough beneath her
palms, and looked around warily, half expecting the beasts to spring out at her
from between the trees, but she was alone.
“That’s it?” Her voice shook and
sounded odd as it broke the silence. “All I had to do was have a crybaby fit to
make those two assholes vanish?”
The words were barely out of her
mouth when the earth shook with the familiar thunderous footsteps of the
monsters.
“Oh great,” Rena whispered. She
pressed her back against the tree before peering around the trunk in search of
the threat. Another tremor rattled the ground and the tree branches wavered
above as her heartbeat picked up. “Wake up, girl. Come on. Wake the hell up.”
Run. The man’s voice, a deep,
gritty baritone, whispered around Rena out of nowhere, making her go completely
still. This was new. Right now. You can’t let him find you. Not like this. He
won’t understand.
Her eyes flicked open, and she
scanned the dark, misty woods for the source of the voice. “Who won’t
understand what?”
As far as she could see, there
was no one there but her. Rena gasped as another tremor rocked the earth so hard
she almost lost her footing. It was getting closer.
Now! His voice, filled with
urgency and a hint of impatience, seemed to come from nowhere and yet he was
everywhere. Run, woman. Move!
Another tremor. Stronger now.
Dangerously close.
“Where the hell am I supposed to
run?” Rena asked in a shaky whisper. “This is a nightmare, and there’s no place
to run to, unless I wake up. Which I would love to do, by the way.”
A brilliant crimson light flashed
past the trees to her left, like a mirror glinting in the sun, and that’s when
she felt it.
The spirit stream.
The warm, soothing strand pulsed
and wiggled through the air before sliding beneath her skin like ribbons of
silk. Rena sighed at the pleasurable sensation as it seeped into her chest.
Moments later, she detected the
source. It was coming from the red light flashing in the distance, calling her
to safety like a siren.
Spirit streams, a term she had
come up with years ago to describe the unusual phenomenon, were like an
invisible trail of bread crumbs only Rena could see and feel. She had no idea
why or how she was able to sense them, but she had never been more grateful for
the gift than right that second.
Ever since Rena could remember,
she had been able to detect the invisible trail left behind by all living
creatures. She could find any person on the planet by simply connecting with
their spirit streams. She had never found one in a dream before because she had
to touch an object the other person had held in order to connect.
But then again, this was no
regular dream. More like a recurring nightmare.
Move your ass! The man’s voice
was louder this time and rife with impatience. Unless you enjoy getting fried
like a chicken?
“Bossy and sarcastic?” Rena
glanced over her shoulder as another tremor hit. “What a charming combination.”
Rena ran as fast as she could
toward the otherworldly red light, her arms pumping with the effort. She ducked
beneath a low-hanging branch but stumbled when the ground shuddered again
beneath her feet. She regained her footing and an earsplitting roar filled the
air but Rena didn’t look back. Fear gripped her by the throat and her heart
threatened to beat right out of her chest, but she kept running toward the
light.
If she followed the spirit
stream, it would lead her to safety. She didn’t know how she knew that; she
simply did. Deep in her gut, she was confident whoever was talking to her was
inherently good. Spirit streams didn’t lie because they possessed the essence
of the person they belonged to.
Good or evil, the truth was
revealed every time.
A wave of heat flashed over her
back as the deafening sound of the beast’s footsteps grew nearer still. Leaves
crunched and branches cracked loudly as the monster tore through the woods,
giving chase. With one final push, Rena broke through the tangle of branches
and found what looked like a dead end. A rocky wall blocked her path, but the
spirit stream drifted to the right and Rena followed it, even though it seemed
to be going nowhere.
When she rounded the side of the
mountain, she discovered a small opening in the rocks, and the crimson light
flashed from within. With the beast bearing down, there was no time to ask
questions. She dropped to her knees and crawled into the narrow space, inching
along on her belly. Rocks and dirt scraped at her, but she kept moving toward
the light, which glowed brighter and larger.
With sweat dripping into her eyes
and panic creeping in, Rena finally came to the other end of the narrow tunnel,
and what she found left her speechless. It emptied into an enormous cave with a
glittering pool of bright-blue water lit from beneath. She climbed down the
sloped, rocky wall carefully, and when she finally reached the bottom, she
looked around in awe. The sheer size of the underground chamber and the
serenity of the space was enough to leave her humbled, but it was what was
buried inside the wall that left her speechless.
Curled up in a fetal position,
behind layers of translucent quartz and stone, was one of the beasts that had
been haunting her nightmares. Rena let out a shuddering breath and moved closer
to the crystalline surface. The creature was as beautiful as it was terrifying.
A prism of crimson and gold glinted behind the frosted wall in a breathtaking
kaleidoscope pattern.
“Whoa. That is so cool. I’ve never
seen one when it wasn’t trying to kill me. What is it? It looks kind of like
a—”
She reached out to touch it.
Don’t! The man’s voice echoed
through the cavernous space. Not in the dreamrealm.
Rena dropped her arm to her side
and spun around, scanning the mammoth cave for any sign of her new friend.
You must go to him and find the
others like yourself. The Amoveo can help you…and him. He must be awakened in
the earthly plane by his mate. It’s the only way to break the curse, and we are
almost out of time. If you don’t reach him by All Hallows’ Eve, he will be
trapped here forever.
“Okay, first of all, what curse
and who are the Amoveo?” Rena said slowly. “Second, there are no others like
me. Trust me. I’m a total freak. Just ask any of the foster families I lived
with and they’ll confirm it.”
Silence.
“Hello?” Rena settled her hands
on her hips and looked around. “Yo! Mister? You still here? And what’s this
business about a mate?”
You don’t know about the Amoveo?
His voice was thick with surprise and a fair amount of confusion. How is that
possible?
“Please,” Rena scoffed and swept
her arms in big circle. “This fits right in with the rest of my weird-ass life.
Listen, I appreciate you saving my ass back there and everything, even though
this is only a dream. albeit a really weird dream, but what’s with the monster
in the rocks? Why have those two assholes been killing me night after night and
who must I go to?” She settled her hands on her hips again and arched one
eyebrow. “And while we’re at it, who the hell are you?”
Silence, heavy and thick, filled
the cave once again and Rena practically choked on it.
I’ve never encountered one like
you before.
His voice and spirit stream
bounced off the nooks and crannies of the rocks, effectively masking his
location. Another first.
“Yeah? Well, I’ve never been
interrogated in my own dream before. I call us even.”
What’s your name?
She answered the ludicrous
question. “Rena McHale.” This dream was her subconscious. Why would she ask
herself her own name? “Why? What’s yours?”
Pick up the stone.
“That’s a weird name,” she
deadpanned.
Pick it up! We don’t have time to
waste. Not anymore.
His voice boomed louder, from
behind her this time. Rena spun around and spotted a jagged piece of red quartz
perched precariously on a rocky outcropping along the wall. About the size of a
large egg, it glowed from within, like the water in the pool. Rena let out a
slow breath and ran both hands through her short brown hair before lacing her
fingers behind her head.
“Does this have to do with that
curse you mentioned?” she shouted to the empty cave. “I’m not buying what
you’re selling, dude. I have enough problems without getting involved with some
weird curse.”
Pick it up. Now! It’s the only
way.
“It’s a good thing you’re a
disembodied voice and not a real live guy.” Rena dropped her hands to her side
and cautiously approached the stone. “I’d have to deck you for being so damn
bossy.”
Please. He dragged out the word
as though it was painful for him to ask her nicely. Pick up the stone.
“Jeez.” Rena rolled her eyes
before scooping it up. “Fine.”
The instant the quartz touched
her fingers, the cave erupted in an explosion of light. Another spirit stream
that was almost identical to the other but far weaker in strength whispered
beneath her flesh. Rena sucked in a shuddering breath and wanted to open her
eyes but couldn’t. They were heavy with sleep.
As darkness closed in, the man
whispered, You are his only hope.
***
Zander Lorens rubbed the sleep
from his eyes as he reached around blindly for the cell phone that was
somewhere next to his sleeping bag. Early morning sunlight streamed in through
the vents of his tent, and he squinted against it while swearing under his
breath. The dream was still fresh and the woman’s face securely imprinted on
his mind, to say nothing of her energy signature.
For the first time in five
centuries, Zander had hope that the curse could be broken.
When his fingers curled around
the smooth, familiar device, he snatched it and sat up. Bleary-eyed, he
scrolled through the screen, looking for the old witch’s phone number. It was
one of the only non-business-related contacts he had in there. Referring to
Isadora as a friend was probably a stretch, especially since it was one of her
sisters who had cursed him and his brother all those years ago.
Over the years, in spite of the
history between their families, she had become a trusted acquaintance. Hell,
she was a powerful old broad, and if she wanted to hurt Zander, she could have
done it a hundred times over. Complicated past aside, Isadora was his only
surviving connection to the supernatural world.
Zander had no other options.
The early morning chill of the
surrounding mountains crept in, but Zander barely felt it. Excitement and a
healthy dose of nerves had his blood humming. He pressed the phone to his ear
and unzipped his tent. Sucking in a deep breath of crisp morning air, he
stepped out, uncaring of his nakedness. There was nobody there to see it other
than the forest creatures, and since he wasn’t exactly Snow White, they
wouldn’t be paying him any mind.
After six or seven rings, Isadora
finally picked up.
“You better have a damned good
reason for calling an old woman at this hour,” she croaked. “The sun is barely
up.”
“I found her.” Zander tried to
keep his voice even and his eagerness at bay, but it was no use. “Last night.
In the dreamrealm. Arianna was gone, and a woman I have never seen before had
taken her place. She was—”
“Hold on a damn minute,” she
rasped. “Slow down.”
“Zed spoke, Isadora. He actually
spoke.” He let out a short laugh of disbelief and pushed his shaggy, dark hair
off his face while staring at the rising sun. “The voice was more beast than
man, but he uttered the same word over and over again as soon as he saw her:
mine. Don’t you see? The woman in the dreamrealm, whoever she is, has to be
Zed’s mate.”
When the old witch didn’t
respond, Zander thought the connection had been lost. He pulled the phone away
and checked, but he had plenty of bars. He growled with frustration and put it
back to his ear, but two seconds later, a crackling sound erupted behind him.
Zander spun around to see the old
woman standing there, a cloud of purple smoke disappearing around her in the
early morning light. Her long, straight, salt-and-pepper hair hung to her
waist, and her tanned, wrinkled face was covered with a mischievous smile.
Those dark eyes of her twinkled wickedly as they flicked over his naked body,
lingering longer than he’d like on his dick.
“I thought we should talk in
person,” she said with a wink. Isadora pointed one crooked finger at his crotch
before leaning both hands on her tall walking stick. “You better cover up, or
I’m going to get the wrong idea.”
“I’m too old to go diving behind
a tree.”
Zander hit End on the phone and
strode toward the tent as her cackling laughter filled the air. Nudity wasn’t a
big deal for the members of his race. Shit. After five hundred years on earth,
trapped in his human form, nothing was a big deal anymore.
“And I’m too old to take
advantage of the situation,” she snickered. “In this body, anyhow. Now, if I
had used my younger-self potion before my travelin’ potion, we wouldn’t be
doing very much talking, if you know what I’m gettin’ at.”
“I have an idea.” Zander threw
his cell phone in the tent and grabbed his jeans, trying not to imagine what
the old woman looked like under her long robe-like dress. “You know, we could
have continued this conversation on the phone.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” She
leaned on her cane and gave him a sly smile as he pulled his pants up. “’Sides,
given everythin’ you were goin’ on about, we need to be real clear about what
comes next. Best to have this talk in person.”
Zander nodded his agreement and
settled both hands on his hips as he studied the ancient witch woman closely.
Her energy signature, like most supernatural creatures, was far stronger than a
human’s. It was the spiritual fingerprint each individual possessed. After
Zander had been cursed, being able to detect those powerful streams of energy
was the only gift he had left.
Well, that and being immortal.
But as far as he was concerned, immortality wasn’t any damn gift he’d ever
wanted. At least, not like this.
“Now, let’s get back to
business.” Isadora thumped her walking stick into the ground with her gnarled
hands. “You think you may have found a way to break my sister’s curse? I
thought the only way to get rid of it was for one of you boys to commit an act
of pure, unselfish love?”
“Since Zed has been trapped in
hibernation in his dragon form for the past five centuries, it cut our odds in
half.”
“Fair point.” She let out a groan
as she settled her round backside on a tree stump next to Zander’s makeshift
fire pit. “But you’re still here. Why ain’t you been able to get rid of the
curse? Ain’t you done any good deeds in the last half a millennium?”
“What a load of crap that turned
out to be,” Zander scoffed under his breath. “I’ve spent the last five
centuries doing good deeds and random acts of kindness all over the globe and
not a damn one worked. Do you have any idea how many cats and drowning kids
I’ve saved?”
“Nope.”
“Well, it’s a lot. Shit,” he
huffed. “I’ve lost count. I’ve fought in wars for the greater good, built homes
for the downtrodden, and bought groceries for strangers. I’ve tossed countless
coins into paper cups that were clutched in the hands of homeless men, women,
and children. Nothing has made a difference. The curse has remained in place.
Zed is stuck in the dreamrealm and I’m…here.”
“Yeah,” she sighed. “You and your
twin brother got screwed.”
“He got it worse than me,” Zander
said quietly. “Zed has been languishing in the dreamrealm. Night after night,
we relive that fight—the one that changed everything. I’ve tried to reason with
him, but he stopped hearing me long ago. He’s…tortured.”
“Grief and regret will do that.”
“He’s been reduced to his most
savage state. The man is gone and only the beast remains.”
“Right, I know all that,” she
said with waning patience. “So what makes you think this woman is the key to
breaking the curse?”
“He saw her, Isadora,” Zander
said with a smile. “And he spoke. I can’t tell you the last time he did that.
It was only one word, but it was a damn good one.”
“Mine,” Isadora said quietly.
Worry edged the wrinkles around her eyes. “So you’re tellin’ me that you think
this woman in the dreamrealm is Zed’s mate?”
“Zed sure as hell thought she
was. Besides, why else would some random woman land in there with us?”
“Why do you think—”
“She’s Amoveo,” Zander said
quietly.
Isadora’s eyes widened, and she
nodded slowly as an expression of understanding washed over her. The Amoveo, an
ancient race of shapeshifters similar to the Dragon Clan in many ways, found
their mates in the dreamrealm. Once they connected there, they could find each
other in the physical plane.
“She’s a shifter. Like you were.”
“No.” Zander’s jaw clenched. “The
dragons were cousins of the Amoveo. We aren’t the same.”
“Pfft.” She rolled her eyes.
“That’s what you call semantics. The Dragon Clan was considered the eleventh
clan of the Amoveo by most everyone—except the dragons. Which of the ten Amoveo
clans is she descended from?”
“From the Fox Clan, I think.”
“Like someone else we knew.”
Isadora sniffed. “Seems a little too coincidental for me.”
Zander pretended to ignore that
last comment.
“Her name is Rena McHale, but I
don’t think she’s a pureblood. If she was, she would know what she is because
she would have gone through her first shapeshifting episode during puberty,
like all of the Amoveo do. There’s no way she knows there’s Amoveo blood in her
veins, which is going to make this a hell of a lot more difficult. I had no
idea the Amoveo could even breed with humans.”
“Most of ’em don’t know what they
are,” Isadora said flatly. “Comes as quite a shock to ’em.”
Zander stilled.
“You mean there are more like
her? Part human and part Amoveo?”
“Yes, sir. Prince Richard has had
his men out looking for ’em and bringin’ ’em back to his ranch, over in
Montana.”
An image of Zed in his
hibernation cocoon flashed into his mind. His twin brother was deep beneath the
earth, where no one would find him. Humans rarely ventured that far under the
ground, and other than Zander and Isadora, nobody even knew Zed was there.
“They still occupy that land? I
thought for sure they would have sold it off over the years.”
“You didn’t sell yours,” she
said, referring to his property in West Yellowstone.
“It’s all I have left of my
clan.”
“Maybe they feel the same. You
aren’t so different after all.” She shrugged her narrow shoulders and waved one
hand. “Richard and Salinda’s place is more of a compound, really. They had
themselves some trouble over the past few years. Purist Amoveo caused a ruckus.
Guess they were none too pleased about these hybrids popping up. The Council
has been dissolved and—”
“You’re not serious.”
The Council was the Amoveo’s
governing body and was comprised of two members from each of the ten clans.
Eons ago, long before Zander and Zed were born, the Dragons had even been a
part of it. He couldn’t imagine the kind of chaos that must have ensued with
the dissolution of the Council.
“Deadly so, I’m afraid. There
were assassination attempts. Nasty business. I ain’t seen the ten Amoveo clans
fight among themselves like that since…well…since that business with you and
your brother and that Fox Clan girl.”
“That was a long time ago, and
this woman, whoever she is, isn’t Arianna but she is Zed’s mate.”
“Or yours,” Isadora whispered.
“No,” he said adamantly. “I’m not
letting that happen again. She’s meant for Zed.”
“Who she’s meant for ain’t up to
you, now is it?”
“This woman is his only hope.”
Zander grabbed two large, thick
branches and snapped them in half, using his pent-up frustration to do it.
Silence settled between them as Zander squatted down and arranged some sticks
in the fire pit. He stuffed some newspaper underneath before lighting it up.
“’Bout time,” she groused. “It’s
colder than a witch’s tit out here.”
Zander let out a huff of laughter
at her silly comment and shook his head before sitting beside the fire. Isadora
always did have a way of diffusing tense situations. He pulled his knees up and
settled his arms over them as the heat washed over the bare flesh of his chest.
The crackle of the wood as it was consumed by the flames filled the air,
instantly putting him at ease.
For most people, the power of
fire was frightening, but it made Zander feel at home.
“You miss it, don’t you?” she
asked, her voice pulling him from his memories. “The dragon.”
“Embracing my dragon again is all
I’ve wanted, and ironically, it’s the very thing that’s tormenting Zed.” He
tossed another branch on the fire, sending sparks into the air. “If I can get
this woman to the cave where Zed is hibernating and give her a spirit stone from
our tribal land, she might be able to use it to wake him up.”
“That’s a big might,” Isadora
said firmly. “Boy, you got nothin’ but maybes and could bes.”
“Yeah. That’s about all I’ve got
and we’re running out of time. This Saturday is—”
“Oh hell.” She tapped her cane on
the ground and pursed her lips. “It’s All Hallows’ Eve, ain’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Damn,” she said with a sigh.
“Those five hundred years surely did fly right on by.”
Zed let out a bitter laugh.
The past several centuries had
felt more like millennia as far as he was concerned. However, he clamped down
on his moment of self-pity and reminded himself that nothing he went through
could compare to Zed’s painful existence.
“That’s why I need your help. If
we don’t break the curse before sunset on Saturday, then it will never be
over, and Zed will be trapped there. Forever. Tormented. Alone. I can’t live
with that, and thanks to your sister’s curse, I can’t even put myself out of my
own misery.” He sighed wearily. “Living forever sucks…at least living like
this.”
He turned his gaze to hers and
threw a prayer to the universe that she would take pity on him. The old woman,
her long white-and-brown robe draped over her thin form, stared into the fire
but said nothing. He sensed she was weighing her options.
“Please, Isadora. Put me in touch
with the prince or one of his people. I’ve got to get on that property. You and
I both know that I can’t just walk up to the gates. And I can’t try and sneak
on because they’ll sense my presence. You know I’m right.”
“Can’t say you’re wrong.” A look
of understanding flickered over her weathered face, and she nodded. “But if you
had an Amoveo hybrid with you…one looking for sanctuary…”
“We kill two birds with one
stone: Rena can connect with her people, and I have a chance to free my
brother.”
“Seems more complicated than
you’re makin’ it.”
Zander let out a beleaguered
sigh.
“Can you help me or not?”
“Yes.”
She pushed herself to her feet,
using her cane for support. Zander hopped up before going around the fire and
scooping the tiny old witch up in a big hug. Her frail, five-foot-tall frame
was easily engulfed by his far larger one.
“My sister was a troublemaker and
always sellin’ her magic to the highest bidder. It ain’t right, and if she
weren’t already dead, I’d have a mind to kill her myself. It’s witches like her
that gave all of us a bad rap. I swear. The fairies are a bunch of
troublemakers and we’re the ones who look bad in the human stories. Ain’t
right, I tell ya.”
“Thank you, Isadora.”
He set her down and planted a kiss
on her soft cheek as his gratitude swelled.
“All right, now.” Her wrinkled
cheeks pinkened, and she patted him on the arm. “Better be careful with all
that kissin’ on me. We may be about the same age, but my body ain’t weathered
the years as well as yours.”
Her brow furrowed and her smile
faltered as her gaze skittered over his bare chest. She tapped one of several
scars on his torso with a gnarled fingertip and made a tsking sound.
“I guess you aren’t exactly
unscathed, are you?”
“No, ma’am.” Zander pressed both
hands to his chest and stepped back before extending his arms wide. “But thanks
to your sister, I am indestructible.”
“And handsome as ever.” She
pulled a small glass bottle from one of the folds in her robe and flipped the
cork out with her thumb. “Better stand back, boy.”
Zander did as she said and put a
healthy distance between them.
“I’ll get a message to the
Amoveo. If I had to venture a guess, you’ll be gettin’ a call from a Dante
Coltari. He’s the one been wranglin’ the hybrids to the ranch, but that’s all I
can do for you. After that, you’re on your own. I don’t like to meddle where I
don’t have to.”
Zander arched one dark eyebrow at
her and she shrugged.
“Yeah, that ain’t true. I love
messin’ with people. Keeps my mind and magic sharp.”
She was about to swallow her
potion, but Zander held up one hand, stopping her.
“Don’t give them my real name.
Tell them—”
“Won’t matter. Trust me.”
“Isadora,” he began, “I hardly
think they’ll welcome a dragon to their property. Even before my people were
extinct, we were the outcasts. Some of the Amoveo even helped the human dragon
slayers hunt us into oblivion, Arianna’s father for one.”
Anger surged at the painful
memories, but he stuffed it back down. Better to save it for another day. If he
was going to have to deal with a ranch full of Amoveo, he would need all of his
strength. In his experience, rage was one hell of a weapon.
“Yeah,” she snorted. “But you
ain’t a dragon no more. The dragons are all gone and only exist in human fairy
tales and folklore…for the most part.”
Before he could protest further,
Isadora swallowed her potion and vanished in a cloud of purple smoke. As the
haze of her departure dissipated, Zander’s thoughts went to the woman from the
dreamrealm.
If she didn’t know who and what
she really was, how the hell was Zander going to tell her about him and his
brother? Or that she was Zed’s intended mate?
What a shit show.
Yep. He was fucked. Again.
All he knew was her name and
where she was located. Though the curse had stripped him of virtually all of
his Dragon Clan abilities, he was still able to identify her unique energy
pattern—and it showed him exactly where she was.
He wasted no time. Zander packed
up his tent and backpack, and pointed his Harley in the right direction.
No comments:
Post a Comment