Authors: Lynda Aicher
Damn, he loved her.
Loved her spunk. Loved her smart mouth. Loved her will and nerve. Loved the fact that she never backed down from a challenge. Loved that she
was
a challenge. The feeling spread through him and into her, riding on the energy and encircling them with the richness of the feeling.
And together, they waited.
Louk rubbed a hand over the long line of her neck, the scales cold and smooth beneath his palm. She rumbled low in her chest and turned her head to look at him. Her big eyes gave a slow, lazy blink as if she was communicating her approval. But he didn’t need her words because he felt it in the energy. It sung on a high note of joy. Of unity and rightness.
A movement from the group forced Louk to bring his attention back to the others before them. Cronus had stepped forward, a bright smile lighting his face that alleviated some of the tension that strung through Louk’s body.
“Beautiful,” Cronus boomed. “Stupendous. Marvelous. Amazing.”
The clear awe in his voice caused everyone to pull his gaze from the enormous dragon to the tiny Elder in an almost humorous move of synchronicity. Louk had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing as the others gaped at the Elder as if he’d lost his mind.
Cronus continued to approach them, completely oblivious to the commotion he was causing behind him. Or at least he gave that impression. Cronus smiled up at Louk and gave him a conspiratorial wink.
You see now why you needed to wait?
Louk smiled at the words in his head and gave Cronus an appreciative nod.
“Wings,” Cronus said loud enough for all to hear. “A dragon with wings. A sight that hasn’t been seen since the benevolent dragons of the West were all hunted down and destroyed. This is truly a glorious sight to see once again.” He was close enough now that he reached out and stroked the tender scales along the dragon Airiana’s snout, displaying his lack of fear at being so close to the dragon’s sharp, deadly teeth.
“Gog, with his slanderous words and gift of persuasion, manipulated the world into believing that the winged dragons of the West were dangerous and harmful to the humans. Much like he has tricked them into thinking the wingless dragons of his serpentine form in the East are the kind and generous dragons. The winged dragons are our lost comrades in the struggle for balance. The Shifters who understood what we had to lose. The ones who fought by our sides until they were eradicated from existence.”
Louk couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There were stories of the winged dragons of the West, but he never took them for meaning that much. Never clearly understood the importance they had played in the battle for the energy.
Cronus circled around Airiana until he stood before her. Before them. “Now, a winged-one stands before us, emerging from the very ones who had tried to kill them all. Surviving despite the odds. Wise enough to hide its truth until it was safe. Until it could once again propagate and soar. You, Airiana, are a gift of great proportion.”
The room hung heavy and silent, all of the air sucked from its mass until there was nothing left for anyone to breath. Cronus stunned the room further when slowly, humbly, the Elder lowered himself down to one knee and bowed his head before the dragon. A sign of reverent homage never before given by the Ancient.
Beneath him, Airiana pranced backwards, swished her tail and jerked her head to look around the room. Louk’s legs expanded and contracted around her sides with each of her deep, labored breaths.
He slid from her back, running a lingering hand of comfort down her side as he dismounted. She tipped her head and for him, her heart was displayed in her eyes. The confusion, the awe, the magnitude of what was happening were reflected in the deep depths.
Behind him, he heard the rustle of movement and turned to see the others, one by one—including his father—follow the lead of Cronus. It was an awesome sight to see the very height of power and authority within the Energen race all kneeling in deference before them.
It took his breath away.
It humbled him as nothing had ever done before.
He turned to Airiana and had to swallow deep to hold back the swell of feeling at what he saw. From the corner of her eye one lone tear pooled then spilled over to streak down the side of her face. Louk moved his hand to brush away the liquid then lifted his lips to press a kiss to the hard scales of her cheek. In that kiss he pushed all of his emotions. All of the hard to find words that he hid behind wisecracks and a mask of indifference. For her he exposed himself and hoped that she understood.
That she accepted.
Under his hands and lips he felt the energy pulse, meld and shimmer. She pushed her answer back over the current, and his heart tightened to near bursting. Before he could react, she shifted back to her human form and was in his arms, kissing his mouth in a tender reception.
He had her answer.
The raven sung in delight as it swooped and soared on the wind of change. Then it perched on the edge and waited, crouched in expectation for the moment when the tides would begin to turn.
Chapter Twelve
Airiana put all of her feelings into the gentle kiss with Louk. It wasn’t masterful or all consuming, but it spoke with a depth that sometimes only simplicity could provide. She was overwhelmed with everything that had been said, but mostly with what she felt from Louk. His love poured through the energy and engulfed her in its warmth.
Security.
She pulled back, rested a hand against his cheek and captured his deep blue eyes in her gaze.
“You,” she whispered. His eyes closed as he breathed in her word like he was absorbing them into every poor of his body.
She waited until he reopened his eyes so he would see the truth of what she had to say. “I never understood what the wings meant. I only knew that I was different. That it couldn’t be good. The wings went along with the feelings and doubt I held inside about what the Shifters proclaimed. Their words never felt right. Never rang true to me. And the wings definitely weren’t right in their world.”
“And now?” he asked.
“I understand. For so long, the energy has been pushing me to find the truth while warning me to stay quiet. It guided me here. To you. To where I belong.”
Louk exhaled and after a long moment, cocked a grin. “Then it’s a good think I caught you this morning.” He winked, pulled her in tighter and whispered, “It looks like you need some help keeping that sweet ass safe after all.”
She frowned, but the fire sparked inside and she was far from mad. She licked her lips, slowly, before she replied softly, “This ass that you keep referring to has some kicking to do just as soon as we’re alone.”
He chuckled. “I look forward to the challenge, but don’t think I’ll go down easy.”
“I can only hope that you do.”
A full, deep laugh burst from his chest and echoed through the chamber. With that, she was back on stable ground. Intuitively, he had known she needed the challenge to get her bearings and shake the vulnerability that had assaulted her.
The low rumble of a throat clearing reminded her that they were not alone. She stepped back, but Louk kept her pulled tightly, protectively, to his side. She was almost afraid to admit how good it felt to have him next to her. To have someone by her side. She had stood on her own for so long it was completely foreign to have a man that would give everything to defend her. Be with her.
For her.
She looked to the Ancient, the one who had so completely changed her world, and asked the question that still plagued her, “How? How do I have wings and how did this,” she gestured to her and Louk, “happen so fast?”
The man assessed her for a moment as if he were judging what to say. Finally, he smiled. “The wings are an anomaly that do not have an answer. I suspect you will understand when the time is needed. For now, be happy for where it has brought you. As for the other, the energy has a way of knowing when it finds something it needs. Of bringing together compatible sources even if the sources are oblivious to the why or how.”
Cronus stepped forward. “Together, you will bind. Together, you are the first of the balance that will give us hope. It is not just you, Airiana, that we honor. But, it is also you, Loukianos, the one who saw what was underneath and had the courage and wisdom to hold tight to the treasure.”
The Ancient turned so he stood beside them and addressed the entire group. “The battle has begun. The year of the dragon is on the horizon and at its end looms the Apocalypse, a lifting of the veil that has kept our worlds hidden from the humans. For Gog will not care who sees our power. He will not care who he harms or what he destroys. The dragon is stirring. His long years of entrapment are at an end. The balance is shifting with the ever-rising tide of strife, war, death and pestilence. The negative energy is prevailing, and the bars on his cage are weakening. All we can do now is prepare.”
Louk tensed, his arm tightening around her shoulders. “How does that involve us?”
“You are the first in the balance that will give us a chance. It is the power of The Two that woke the dragon. But it is the same power that will save us from the dragon. A veritable catch-22, but the first step in a game that must be played.”
“More of the cryptic talk,” Louk said, frustration edging his voice. “Whatever happened to simply saying what you mean?”
Cronus tilted his head then humor lit his face as a mysterious half grin appeared. “You want straight talk then?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. You need to consummate your relationship in order to save the world. That’s about as polite as I can put it.” Laughter sparked in the Elder’s eyes. “Do I need to put it more crudely or do you get my point?”
Airiana felt the heat as it rushed up her neck and over her cheeks, but she didn’t look down. Refused to look away from the eyes that stared at them with speculation.
“Again with the wham bam thank you ma’am.” Louk snorted and shook his head. “Is that all you Ancients think about?”
Cronus raised a brow and laughed. “So the other said the same, and you didn’t take advantage of it? That is truly your loss, Louk.” Mischief danced in the Elder’s eyes. “Let’s hope you don’t mess up a second time.”
Airiana sniffed and stiffened her back. “I think that’s enough talk about…” she struggled for a word, “…us.” She blew out a breath. Talk about getting too personal. “Is there anything else we need to know?”
“Of course,” Cronus said. “But, now is not the time.”
Cronus raised a hand to halt any further questions. “Now, you must go. Time is running short. You can’t stay here, but I have a place where you will be safe.”
“What do you mean?” His father stepped forward, his face pale after the recent revelations. “Why must they leave?”
“Word of Airiana must remain quiet,” Cronus answered, his tone heavy with importance. “Word of The Two must be muted until the time is right. Only the people in this room can know what has happened today. Of what will happen soon.”
The Elder took a long moment to meet the gaze of everyone in the room. The Heads of the House of Fire, Water, Earth and Louk’s father, Air, all inclined their heads in understanding. Louk’s brother Phelix and Xander, the Captain of the Guard, still stood off to the side, but watched and nodded as well.
“Why?” Airiana couldn’t stop herself from asking the million-dollar question.
Cronus leveled her with a gaze filled with age, with a timeless knowledge that suddenly showed on every crease that lined his face. “If
they
know of you, of where to find you, they will stop at nothing to kill you. And, we can’t risk that happening. There are too many leaks, too many who would turn you over for the temptation the Slanderer would offer. The two of you are too important in the strategy of the coming battle to risk your exposure.”
The million-dollar answer did nothing to ease the tension that knotted her muscles into aching balls of stress. How could all of this be true? How could it not?
Louk must have sensed her hesitation because he turned her to face him and leaned his head down until his forehead rested against hers.
“Together. Us,” he said softly, his breath brushing across her skin, his arms circling around her back to enclose her in his warmth. His strength. “Something we’ve both sensed from the start.”
Mine.
The possessiveness resounded in her mind. Together they would be strong.
The love pooled through her and choked her throat. Her heart. She’d never know true, honest love. The kind given freely without expectation, without consequences.
Until him. Louk.
Her dragon stretched its long hidden wings, flapped them in a short little test, then leaped. It drifted on the current, then lifted and soared higher than it ever had dreamed.
Airiana lifted her lips to Louk and showed him what she couldn’t say in words. His mouth met hers half way. Their lips melted together in a combined sigh. The energy was rich with golden power as it flowed between them. It flooded her senses and left behind nothing but warm, building desire.
Her hands circled his waist, pulling him close as the tingling flushed her skin and sent them away, destination unknown. Again.
Chapter Thirteen
His lips were hot, wet and on hers. That was all that mattered at the moment, because that moment was all that was important. Louk had very quickly become everything to her. It was too mind blowing to contemplate, so instead, Airiana simply accepted. There were times when one simply trusted the energy.
This was one of them.
They had arrived at a remote, isolated cabin of sorts, if one classified a luxuriously appointed two-story mountain chalet as a cabin. An immediate check of the place had verified that the structure itself was built within a circular stone wall that vibrated with the energy of the Ancient. It was old, impenetrable and provided them with complete protection.
The chalet itself was stocked as if the owner had just stepped out and planned on returning soon. They could stay there indefinitely.