“That would be as bad as being imprisoned. No. If I fail, I will have to go rogue.”
Aden's eyes widened as alarm sparked embers of fear in his gut. “Are you crazy?”
“Maybe Alanna will go with me.”
“You can't force her to love you.”
“I don't need to love her to bind my magic with her.”
“She has to come willingly. You know that. Or it won't work. Plus there's the small problem of her being mortal and magic bound.”
Gregori glared at him. “Why the Bells tolled for me so early is a complete mystery. I've had this link with Alanna since her birth. I'm positive this is the lifetime for us and yet the Fates ring them when she's a mere chit. What do they know we don't? There's more at play here than can be seen and of course no one's talking.”
A voice spoke from the doorway to the studio. “You've felt the connection since my birth?”
Both men spun to find Alanna standing with her arms crossed over her chest, wild frizzy tendrils haloing her face. She was livid and it showed. “I was hoping you were long gone,” She wasn't pleased to see him, which didn't bode well for a harmonious relationship.
“I'm here to stay,” Gregori indicated the studio and bedroom. “I was hoping you would share your meager accommodations while I'm here.”
Aden smothered a laugh with his hand.
Alanna was confused by Gregori's comment. “Right. Don't you have a home to go to?”
“This is my home now.”
“You can't just move in. I don't know you.”
“I've lived in your courtyard for the past couple of years. This place is as good as any.”
“I thought you wanted out of here as soon as possible?”
“I want out of this predicament I find myself in. You are part of it.”
“Me?” Alanna practically squawked. “I didn't do anything. I fashioned the dragon. It was Marylebone who put you there. I don't know what for, or why and I don't care.” She held up a hand when Gregori would have spoken. “I don't want to know. Don't tell me.”
“Well, I'll tell you why I'm here instead,” Aden interrupted before things got out of hand. “I'm looking for a large piece of jade. I'm going to craft a new dragon. You have a piece of jade that's suitable and don't tell me you don't. It spoke to me and it's willing.”
Anger snapped in her eyes and he had to fight stepping backward out of Alanna's line of fire before he recalled there was no magic to be wary of.
“I'm saving that piece for something special. It's for me.”
“It's the only piece suitable to hold a large amount of magic. We need it to resemble Gregori as closely as possible.”
Alanna switched her attention to Gregori and her eyes rudely raked his body. Aden's eyebrows rose.
Alanna's lips curled with displeasure. “Good luck to you. You're not taking my piece of jade. I've given enough time to Gregori at this point, and I'm done being his minder, caregiver or whatever you wish to call it. He's all yours. Find yourself another stone and get the hell out of my studio.”
Gregori laughed, a rollicking belly laugh. “Warlocks' Dream, I love your fire, woman! I'm going to enjoy living with you.”
Alanna let out a scream of frustration. Aden thought she was going to stomp her feet like a child but she held her ground and glared at them both.
They were wasting time and Aden knew he had work to do. “We need that jade. I'll find you another piece. I know they're hard to come by, but the one I replace it with will be that much better. Warlocks' Oath.”
Aden tucked his hands into his jeans and rocked on his feet, his lips stretched into a grim smile as he spoke to Gregori. “The Dragons of Marylebone are circling. You'd better be successful, or you'll have all of Marylebone chasing your tail before the fortnight's over. I'm available to assist you in your hunt for the truth. I'm sure Goran will help, once he forgives you for stealing his energy. But be warned. I won't allow our past association to cloud my emotions if I have to hunt you down and forcibly remove your magic.”
Alanna was angry she'd given in and relinquished her most coveted piece of jade. It was extremely rare, the purest piece she'd come across in her career and she seriously doubted Aden would find another good enough to replace it, even with the backing of Marylebone behind him.
But she had other things to worry about. The main one was prowling about her studio like a caged panther, always keeping her in his line of sight, as if she were his next meal and he was about to pounce at any second.
“Witches' Warts! Sit down. You're making me nervous. If you're going to stay here, I'm moving in with Beth.”
He paused, his eyes focused on her and she fought the urge to squirm. “If you move in with Beth, I'll move in there, too.”
Alanna blinked. “What? Why?”
“I need to be near you.”
Alanna hoped her heart slamming in her chest wasn't so loud he could hear it. “You wanted to escape only hours ago. What's changed since then?”
“You.”
“Me? I haven't changed. It's you who's morphed into a hulking great warlock. Go somewhere else and glower. I've work to do and it doesn't include you breathing fire down my neck.”
Gregori was so close she could feel his breath on her forehead. His piercing gaze softened just a tad. His dark, fierce compelling eyes locked onto hers and her insides melted to warm sticky goo. Oh my, she was in deep, deep doo-doo. Her eyes widened and she took a step backward, but he only closed the gap with another step himself.
His arm snaked out and he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand, his head quirked on an angle as if considering her like a specimen.
“You're not going to eat me, are you?” she managed. “I'm really not that tasty.”
Gregori chuckled. “You're funny. I like humor in a woman.”
“I'm sarcastic. Not funny.”
His gaze turned serious. “Do you know who I am?”
Oh Sweet Goddess
. “I'm on surprise overload. Don't tell me anything. All I want is some peace and quiet and for you to disappear to hunt whatever it is you're looking for.”
“There's one thing I learned while hunting this morning.” Gregori ignored her. “What I'm searching for isn't outside Raven's Creek. It's here. Near you.”
Alanna fought the urge to flee. She was beginning to comprehend why Rosa had chosen to bury her head in the sand when she'd first met Aden. Usually, it was she, Alanna, who did the chasing when she found someone attractive, and dear Sweet Goddess, Gregori was a Witches' Dream and more. Moisture pooled in her nether regions just by looking at him and that wasn't good.
This man was dangerous. He was going to flame out by all accounts if he didn't mate with his destined love. Unfortunately, he believed it was her. But he was chasing something to prove his innocence for who knew what and he only had two weeks to do it. Two weeks to bind with her when she had no magic to speak of. How the hell would that work?
Alanna wanted to speak, but her wit had deserted her. She rubbed a palm over her forehead and a dull ache threatened to build to a full-on migraine. She looked away, unable to hold his gaze any longer.
“I don't understand,” she said.
His voice softened. “I know. But,” and his index finger caught her chin and tilted it back forcing her once more to meet his eyes, “I have good reason to be here. The timing isn't the best but we will deal with what has been handed to us.”
“And what would that be?”
“I think you know.”
Alanna's mouth opened and closed. He was leaning in. He was going to kiss her.
Oh Sweet Goddess, yes. Oh no. No. Don't.
She whipped her chin away and his lips landed on her cheek. She knew without a doubt that if he kissed her lips she would be sucked up into his aura and be lost completely.
She refused to succumb to the lure of his will even though she silently accepted his was the strongest at the moment.
She put a hand up, palm outwards. “Please,” she said. Such a foreign word to her. “I need some space. My head hurts and I need time to process everything.”
Alanna thought that maybe she'd gotten through to him. She was telling the truth. She didn't know what to think. Rosa and Beth had provided the silence and space she needed earlier as she'd related the morning's events. Even Zelda hadn't pressed her, which she found truly astonishing. Strangely, it was Zelda she wanted to speak with. The old woman would tell her the truth. She wouldn't pussyfoot about, waffling words to appease her.
She spun on her feet and rushed from the room, down the stairs and out of Gregori's all encompassing aura. Each step taking her away, freeing her mind, giving her what she craved. Space.
“Zelda,” she cried and rushed into the Gallery, mindless of whether there were customers or not, flung herself into the old woman's arms and burst into a flood of tears. “I don't understand.”
“Hush, girl,” Zelda's arms wrapped themselves as much as they could around Alanna's tall frame, her hands tangled in the flowing wavy red locks. “No need for dramatics.”
Alanna's body racked with sobs. “I'm not dramatic. Not today.”
“I take it Gregori is upstairs?”
A sliver of disquiet shot up Alanna's spine. “He says he needs to be near me.”
For some reason, this seemed to please Zelda. “It's better than him traipsing about the countryside trying to solve the impossible.”
Sweet Goddess
. It had to be really bad. “He's done something terrible and yet you're happy he wants to set up house for the duration of his stay in Raven's Creek. With me! I don't understand.”
“He hasn't done anything terrible. Others believe he has and he wants to prove his innocence. But that's not the real reason he's here, and my bet is you already know why?”
“I'm not ready for someone like him. I've no power. It's bound as tight as that bun on the back of your head,” Alanna sniffed, rubbing the torrent of tears from her cheeks. “I'm a complete waste of space with no talent to speak of. Even Aden has had to create a dragon to replace Gregori when I should have done it myself.”
“Not in the time we needed it done.” Zelda gripped Alanna's arms, her eyes returning to steel. She leaned back and it seemed she was sizing her up. “Your magic is part of your soul, but you're more than that. Dig deeper. This is an opportunity to find out what you're made of. To understand what it is like to have potential without magic. Use this opportunity instead of moaning about it.”
“Moaning. Magic is my soul. It's who I am from the tip of my toes to the very last strand of hair on my head. Without it I'm nothing.”
“You cannot be a great witch without understanding and respecting those around you who are not lucky enough to possess such power. Start listening. Start looking. Learn to live in this world first. Then the rest will come.”
Alanna hiccupped the last of her tears away. “But what about that hulking great Dragon hovering upstairs? What am I going to do with him?”
The sorceress's lips lifted in a wicked tilt. “I don't know. What will you do?”
What would she do? Alanna trudged back upstairs. She couldn't call on her magical potential, the touchstone of her existence on this earth to assist her. The world weighed heavily on her shoulders and she slumped forward as she stepped into the studio once more, ready to spar with Gregori.
She stopped. The room was empty. He'd gone! Her spine straightened. Where in the world of Witchdom was he? She held her breath and listened. The soft sound of someone snoring lightly lured her to her bedroom. There he was. Stretched out on her bed, commanding all of it. His head rested on palms cupping the back of his head, his legs crossed at the ankles.
He was Sleeping Handsome.
He'd removed the tight shirt he'd been wearing. Her heart fluttered in her chest. Oh yessireebob! He had abs and a six-pack. Hells bells, maybe even an eight-pack. A strange emotion caught in her throat. She wanted to climb onto the bed and lie down next to him. Lower her mouth to taste his skin. Run her hands over the planes of his chest. The thought snuck like a thief into her mind, the temptation so strong, and the sensation so real, it felt as if she was physically touching him. An arm moved and it was as if it curled to hold her. She swallowed hard and stepped back, out of the doorway, placing physical distance between them. She was confused. Overwhelmed. Aching with a need she'd never felt before.
Dear Sweet Goddess.
She felt vulnerable and yet strangely protective. Marylebone wanted more than just a piece of Gregori. They were watching, waiting, ready to pounce the second he showed any signs of leaving Raven's Creek or flaming out. Being a Dragon, he undoubtedly knew all the little dragon hunting tricks and how to out-maneuver them all.
What in the name of the Goddess had he done? She was trying to be strong. To be fierce. Except that when in his company she became a malleable piece of putty, which she didn't like. All those tears today. She hadn't cried in forever. And now she was crying all over the place.
Zelda was right. She needed to learn how to live in this world without magic. Watching him while he slept was sending her libido into overdrive. She turned away from Gregori and walked to the stone on the plinth and stood hands on hips, studying its shape. As long as her magic had been gone, she'd wallowed in her own self-pity, refusing to believe her magic and her talent were separate entities. What if everyone was right and she was wrong? That her talent as a sculptor was not dependent on her magic.
She conceded life without magic wasn't as bad as she'd expected it to be. She was learning to utilize her discretion more, to think things over before making decisions or taking action. This, she figured, was what Rosa had been trying to drill into her over the years. What her tutors at Kowhai Coven had attempted to instill. Why her parents had refused to allow her to use magic for all things. She accepted there was a certain satisfaction in doing by hand, just as Beth chose to in the kitchen; of thinking things through and then only having to do it once instead of several times until she eventually got it right.