Breath of Air (34 page)
“So do you think this bounty hunter will find Dante?”
He smiled slowly, his eyes sparking with that same excitement that she had noticed before whenever he discussed demons. It was his life’s work and his passion, after all, to keep any and all demons at bay.
“Jackson Murphy is the best there is. He used to be an Enforcer before he decided to go rogue and hunt demons on his own. Normally Thea wouldn’t allow that, but Jax is just that good at what he does. So don’t worry, if anyone can find Dante, it’s him.”
“That’s good.” She sighed, feeling marginally better. “I hope I get to meet him someday. He sounds…interesting.”
“You might not like him as much as you think, but I’ll let you be the judge of his character when you meet him.”
“Why wouldn’t I like him?”
He couldn’t help but be amused by the simple innocence in her expression.
“He’s arrogant, unapologetic, and rough around the edges. But, he’s also extremely intelligent and invaluable as a demon hunter.”
“I see…well, I would still like to meet him, even if he is…rough. Too bad Blythe already doesn’t like him.” She looked troubled as she remembered how her friend had mocked the demon hunter without even knowing him. “I hope they get along okay.”
“Even if they don’t, he won’t stay long after he’s caught Dante.” Rian said absently, distracted by a strand of her hair that had fallen loose beside her face. He tucked it behind her ear, noting how she still tended to blush when he touched her. He had no idea why he enjoyed it so much.
“You never asked me about it, but I feel I should tell you.” He paused, his eyes meeting hers. “I was eight years old when you were taken. I remember you offering me a flower that night, just as I remember refusing to even look at you. I have always regretted it, but it was easier then to just ignore you. I wasn’t allowed to make friends; that wasn’t what my purpose was. I was born to be a warrior and a protector, cold and detached, and my father always made sure I knew that. And so I ignored you, and when I found out you were gone, presumably dead, I cried for you. The only other time in my life that I cried was when my mother died.”
She felt her own eyes fill with tears as she watched him silently, her heart full of an emotion she couldn’t quite describe. It was somewhere between sympathy and a deep, resounding regret for something she knew she had no power to change.
“You have no idea how relieved I was when I found out you were alive, and back home. And when I first saw you, it felt as though no time had passed. You were so much the same, yet I knew I should leave you alone. But once again, you were persistent.” His lips twitched into a smirk as he reached up and brushed away a tear that had fallen down her cheek. “So thank you, for opening my eyes and giving me something I never thought I’d have. For once in my life, I am no longer cold.”
Humbled beyond words, she threw her arms around him and held on tightly. Feeling it wasn’t enough, she pulled away and crushed her lips down on his, pouring everything she had into it so he could have some idea of what she was feeling.
He kissed her back, his hands fisting in her hair and holding her against him. She curved into him, her hands resting against his chest as she gave everything she had. She wanted him to know, without words, that she was his.
Maybe it was the effect a kiss under the moonlight had on her mood, or maybe it was the insurmountable emotion his words had evoked inside of her, but quite suddenly and unexpectedly, the wind began to blow.
And blow it did, quite fiercely in fact, howling around them with a stunning and unmatched power. It whipped through her hair and circled the bench, sending leaves soaring into the star studded sky.
She broke the kiss, startled by the interruption. But when she realized that she felt the rush of the wind not only on her skin, but in her heart, she knew it had been a reaction deep within her soul. Somewhere, beyond the gift of blood in her veins and the heart that beat full with life and power, was the Air Dryad, freeing itself from all boundaries.
An astonished laugh escaped her throat as she rose to her feet, pulling him with her. Sensing the panic and uncertainty in him, she cupped his face in her hands and simply smiled.
“Coming home gave me a purpose; it gave me a reason to find the strength within myself that I never even thought was there. For once in my life, I am no longer weak.” Her voice seemed to resound and echo within the roar of the wind as it swirled around them, a cyclone circling them like a protective cocoon. Her eyes darkened in the light of the moon from a soft gray to deeper pewter, and he seemed momentarily mesmerized by the unbridled power she radiated.
Inhaling deeply, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back, her chest falling in a soft exhale. Slowly, the howling of the wind disappeared, until it was as if it had never existed. When she opened her eyes, all was calm and quiet, and she could hear the chirping of crickets and the song of frogs echoing once more through the courtyard.
“I think you have always been strong, you just didn’t know it.” His voice shook a bit as he spoke, a fact which amused her. Knowing she unsettled him was a special kind of feminine magic. “It took a lot of strength to stay calm when Balgaire tried to take you. And it took a lot of courage to attack him when he had a gun to your head. You could have died, but you fought back instead of giving in.” His hand trailed down her neck gently, caressing her skin as his eyes held hers. “This time, it seems, you saved my life.”
“I guess I owed you, didn’t I?” She laughed, secretly amazed that her plan had worked at all. “The truth is, I thought about dying, and it scared me. But the thought of you dying scared me so much more.” She tilted her head into his hand, enjoying the feel of his warm skin against her cheek. “Almost my entire life I’ve lived without the fear of losing someone I loved, because there was no one I loved. As far as I knew I had no family, no one to care for me. I had no idea just how staggering it was to feel this love inside of me, and to have it threatened. I suppose those feelings make people do things they otherwise wouldn’t, and in my case, it made me do whatever I could to protect you from him. To protect all of you from him.”
In the soft light of the moon, she could tell he was measuring her, weighing her words. After a moment, his eyes softened, and when he spoke, she felt his words echo right down to her very bones.
“You came to us a fragile, broken little thing.” He murmured, leaning in to kiss her softly. “Who knew you would be the one to save us all?”
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