Blood Bought: Cruentus Dragons Book Two (2 page)

Athena stared at the Djinni, the only one of his kind who wouldn’t immediately try to kill her because she was a Dragon mate—or so they said. She’d been huddled in the woods, cursing out her cousin, Scarlett, for ditching her to run back to the psycho who’d brainwashed her into thinking she was his mate, when a man and a woman had come upon her. They’d tried to kill her with the glowing balls of light they’d created in their hands.

This man had killed them with his own deadly orbs of light and rescued her. He’d told her to run back to the psycho’s friend, Jonah, who was
her
‘mate’.

She’d run all right. She’d run as fast as she could, burying herself in obscure towns no one would think to search and huge cities where she could be a nameless face.

“He’s not my mate. I’m
not
his.”

“And this pain?” he asked, touching her stomach.

She shrunk away, bile rushing to her throat. “God! Don’t touch me.”

His arms crossed over his chest, and he gave a nod as he glared at her. “He feels the same. Probably worse.”

Worse? There was worse than this?

“What do you care?” she rasped.

“I care.”

“Why?”

His eyes narrowed, and it struck her that he looked like Jonah when he glared like that. “You know, you’re a pain in the ass.”

Sounded like Jonah, too.

“Again, what do you care?”

“Look. I came to warn you. A band of my kind is waiting in
Detroit
. They’re waiting for
you.
” He carefully enunciated each word as if speaking to an idiot, which, she supposed, he thought she was. “They know you’re coming, and when you get there, they intend to kill you,” he told her in a low voice, barely heard over the tires of the Greyhound. “You need to get off this bus at the next stop, and you need to stay off. Change your direction. If you value your life, go back to Jonah. He’ll keep you safe.”

“No, he won’t,” Athena whispered, voicing a fear she’d kept buried inside her. She’d seen Jonah kill with barely any effort. And he despised her. He’d kill
her
before he’d ever consider helping her.

“His life depends on yours, just as your life depends on his…” His brows furrowed as he trailed off. “Don’t you know anything—”

“I know my life has been destroyed,” she snapped. “Six months ago, I was considered a financial genius. Highest in my field, baby. Six months ago, I was planning the wedding of the year, a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful wedding to a man I thought adored me.” She sighed. “I thought I loved him. He wanted to kill me. He was only using me as bait to get my cousin. And poof, it’s all gone. My life, my fiancé, everything. Jonah killed him, you know. My fiancé was trying to kill me and Jonah…” She shook her head. “I never believed in dragons or shape-shifters or…you. They were fine for myths and Dungeons and Dragons geeks and
The Lord of the Rings
. But in the middle of my life…”

She broke off and pressed her forehead to the glass, staring at the rain.

His scent wafted to her as he leaned forward. She held her breath to keep it from wrenching her stomach. The heat from his body so near hers made her skin crawl.

“It’s your destiny,” he told her.

“Bullshit.”

“More like the fodder of war.” The air beside her cooled as he sat against his own seat. “It’s stupid really, rank with the odor of ethnic cleansing, racial hatred and religious crusades.”

War?
“Tell me,” she demanded.

“Tell me you’ll get off the bus at the next stop.”

She sighed. “Do I have a choice?”

“No. I’d prefer not to use magic, but I will.”

“I’ll get off. I’m getting good at changing directions.”

“Except for going the direction you should.”

“Just tell me your annoying story. The bus isn’t stopping for a while. You have time.”

“The Elvish and the Djinn have always been here. For a long time, the Elvish ruled the land, dwelling under the sun, while the Djinn ruled the underground. There are caverns the like of which you cannot imagine. We were always at battle—the Elvish wanted our wealth while the Djinn craved the sun. And we were different…”

“So why don’t you just fight each other and leave the rest of us out of it?”

“I’m getting there, if you’d let me.”

“The Reader’s Digest version would be great.”

He glared at her.

She raised her eyebrows in challenge. “You were saying? You are different…”

“Both the Elvish and the Djinn value pure bloodlines. Both were afraid that they would be tainted by the rival race. We probably would have continued fighting each other and eventually destroyed each other had the Dragons not come here.”

“Come here? You mean they emerged or that they came from…another planet?”

“Another dimension.”

Gee…why not?
Athena pressed her fingers into her eyes. “Another dimension...” she echoed weakly. A Dragon from another
dimension
had done this to her. A Dragon from another
dimension
claimed to be her mate. Great.

“Mm-hmm. And there was one thing the early Djinn and Elvish had in common. They liked to make trouble for the humans of the planet. There were so many humans. They reproduce at a much greater rate than we do. The Dragons were kind to them, and the early humans worshiped the Dragons. In return, the Dragons infused their followers with their blood—the blood you have flowing through you, by the way. They had no compunctions about mixing species. They mated readily with the humans, and it soon became evident that they’d fill the earth with their kind, this mixed-blood race. When they began to mate with some of the free-thinking daughters of the Elvish and Djinn, the war began. Dragons could not take over the earth, they could not taint the pure lines, they could not have our daughters, and they could not be worshipped by the humans—”

“Wait. My life has been destroyed over a…
pissing contest
. Are you
kidding
me?”

“I told you it was stupid.”

“Then why don’t you stop it? Why doesn’t everyone just stop?”

“Why do humans feud with and kill other humans the world over? Tradition, fear, hatred…”

Athena lapsed into silence as she considered everything. A part of her longed to go back to Jonah, though she wasn’t sure why. They’d never had a nice word to say to the other. And she really couldn’t think of anything to say to him now other than “fuck me, fuck me now”—if that could remotely be called kind words. Depended on point of view, she supposed. Most of men would appreciate it.

Probably not Jonah. He didn’t appreciate her language. If he was feeling what she was, he’d get over her mouth quickly. He could kiss it into silence.

Her pussy clenched at the thought. Mmm…his lips on hers. His arms around her, keeping her safe from this stupid war.

“Why are you helping me?” she asked suddenly. “And do you have a name?”

“Not that I’ll tell you.”

“Of course.”

“Look. Not all of us are—” He broke off and grimaced against whatever he was going to say. “Let’s just say, not all of us are ‘hip’ with the purebloods’ plan. It’s antiquated and simpleminded. But it’s also unsafe to go against the majority. Deadly.”

“So there are more like you?”

He gave a short laugh. “Actually, no. Not that I know of.”

So she should assume any Elvish or Djinn would shoot first and destroy her later. Her life was as dismal as the sheeting rain now pummeling the bus. And after no-name guy’s story, she was pretty sure she’d be better off with Jonah. Trouble was she had no idea how to get to him.

She’d just have to keep running. Her eyes closed against the storm drumming down around them. Vaguely, she noticed the bus slowing. With the weather as bad as it was, she wasn’t surprised. Could the driver even see the road? She could barely make out the trees lining the rural highway.

“Oh no,” the Djinni beside her breathed.

“What?”

He grabbed the backpack at her feet and thrust it into her lap. “Hold onto that. Give me your hand and don’t let go.”

Athena heard the screech of the vehicle’s doors being forced open then saw two men surge up the steps and into the aisle, their blue eyes glowing like gas-lit fire. Before she could scream, knowing she was trapped, the world around her seemed to turn electric as it prickled across her skin. Her surroundings faded and there was nothing but black.

* * * *

Riven of the Djinn caught Athena into his arms as they materialized in a safe room within the
Ojos Del Salado
mountain. He supposed she wouldn’t be thrilled that he’d stolen her from the States to visit the Atacama region of
Chile
, but he’d needed direction. His boss was here in this compound, and he’d tell Riven his next move. Riven’s first choice was to take Athena to Jonah, but since he had no idea where to find
that
Dragon…

He looked down at his charge, wondering if she knew where to find Jonah—not that she could tell him now. The Djinn wards had a tendency to overcome humans, and Athena was no different. Unconscious, she breathed shallowly, her features pale. They were emphasized by her black-brown hair and brows. Her looks hinted at her Greek heritage—her name confirmed it.

“What did you do to her?

Riven glanced up to find the leader of the compound striding toward him. Behe,
AKA
Behemoth, headed this clan and the Dragon Council and gave Riven orders. Strong in Dragon magic, Behe had no doubt sensed Riven tearing through the fields protecting the compound. Since Riven did that on a regular basis, he also didn’t doubt Behe knew where to find him—in this safe room where he gave Riven assignments and received covert information. However, Behe looked a bit stunned to see the woman.

“She fainted coming through the wards. Not unusual. She’ll be fine in a few moments.” Riven’s lip curled. “My
kinsmen
came upon us. It was
transporation
or death. Of course, I chose magic to save her and avoid discovery.”

Behe nodded. “I’ll contact Jonah.”

Riven hefted her slight weight higher in his arms and made to hand her over. “I’ll leave her in your care then—”

“No. Last I heard, Jonah is searching
New York
for her since he’s sure she’ll return there. He’s fading quickly, overcome with the affliction of the mating call. It’s vicious when unanswered. I need you to take her there. We can waste no time saving them both and restoring his strength. It’s quickest—”

“I can’t see him. He’ll know.” Riven would not speak his secret here, a secret few but he and Behe knew. Even unconscious, part of Athena might hear his revelation if he spoke it. He would not.

Behe raised a brow to refute his reticence. “And that would be so bad?”

“I wish you didn’t know.”

“But I do. Jonah must be told—”

“No.”

Behe sighed. “Fine. But only because I value your service.”

Another Dragon came in, eyeing Riven then looking to Behe. He spoke softly to their leader, his words too low for Riven to hear, then the Dragon swiftly left the room and the scene he would no doubt be ordered to forget.

“Jonah
is
in
New York
,” Behe told him. “Take her to the
New York
compound. The leader, Levi, awaits you and will take the woman from there. You will have opportunity to depart before Jonah arrives, though I urge you to meet with him soon.”

“Sure, okay,” Riven answered, knowing full well he’d avoid that meeting at all cost. “While I am here…do you have orders, my leader?”

“Yes… Lucan of the Cruentus Clan was lost to us for many years. He mated before he rejoined the clan, but now he knows not where his mate is. We must find her before your
kinsmen.
”

A harsh breath pushed through Riven’s nose. “So I’m the bride catcher again. Can’t these women stay put?”

“And make our lives easy? They’re too headstrong for that. Now be off. Jonah will waste no time getting to Levi’s compound.” He smiled. “And you have your orders. You can run without worry before he gets there.”

With eyes narrowed at Behe, Riven opened his wards and let the energy of his magic flow over him. The force pulled at his middle then he was flowing through the vortex, speeding towards
New York
.

* * * *

They’d found her. And he’d found
it
.

Jonah lifted the spell he’d copied from the crumbling pages of his people’s past and folded it into a small square then shoved it in his pocket. Transcribing it hadn’t been easy. The archives of Dragon magic weren’t physical. The ancient ones had hidden the tomes in the ether far out of reach from most. Only healers like Jonah or those strong in Dragon magic could access the knowledge, and then, only in bits and pieces. He’d projected his being through the mists of space and time to walk amongst the memories of the ancient ones. Since he couldn’t very well take notes in his spiritual form, he’d returned over and over, transcribing the incantation a line at a time until he had the whole written here.