For the Love of Her Dragon (9 page)

She
felt her eyes widen…he knew.
Well, hell, he’s definitely more than just a
pretty face
, she mused in her head.

“Just
like witches, dragon shifters also will have no other after they have found
their mate. The details are a little different.” He winked and then immediately
resumed his command of the situation, “But the results are the same and that is
something I could never allow for my brother, or for you now that I’ve met
you.”

“While
I appreciate your stance on the subject, I’m not sure what you or I, for that
fact, can do about it. Royce has made up his mind and now I agree. There’s no
way in
the world
he and I belong together.”

Rian
was just about to speak when a tall, younger version of the man standing before
her appeared over his shoulder. “What’s up, Brother. Holding Royce’s mate
hostage? You know, you’re
gonna
get your ass kicked
for it, right?

Rian
closed his eyes for a split second and took a deep breath. She watched as he
put a patient smile on his face, lowered his arm, and turned to look at his
doppelganger. He looked back to her and she saw affection shining through the
myriad of other emotions in his eyes. “Kyra, let me introduce Rory, the
youngest of the O’Reilly family and biggest pain in the ass you will ever meet.
Rory…this is Kyra.”

“Now
that was not nice, Bro,” Rory chuckled as he slapped
Rian
on the back and then turned his hundred watt smile on Kyra. “Hey there.”

He
reached around his brother and threw out his hand for her to shake. She laid
hers in his and he squeezed slightly before letting go. “You really are a
little bit of a thing aren’t you? And have more power than witches twice your
size.” He looked at his hand and flexed his fingers, as if he could still feel
her power. “Really glad to meet you. Have you dragged Roy outta that cave and
given him a good whack to the head yet?”

“Rory,
now’s not the time,”
Rian
interrupted. “Kyra needs to
work her magic so we can see exactly where Andrew and the other miscreants are
located before it’s too late. Go see Rayne or Aidan, I’m sure they have
something useful you could be doing. I’ll be right behind you.”

“Aye,
aye, Captain,” Rory saluted and smirked. He looked at Kyra again, “Great to
meet you. Look forward to getting to know you better,
Sis
.” He winked
and headed over to where the warriors were preparing for battle.

“Sorry
about that,”
Rian
apologized. “Rory takes the title
of ‘little brother’ to a whole new level.”

“But
you love him,” Kyra added.

“Yes,
I do. I love both my brothers and will do whatever it takes, including beating
the shit out of them, to see them happy.” She tried to interrupt, but again he
put his hand up to stop her. One day she was going to smack that hand down, but
not today. She was tired and hungry and needed to
scry
for the asshole before it got any later.

Aidan
called from the other side of the camp for
Rian
, so
whatever conversation they were about to continue was thankfully cut short. He
did, however, leave her with a parting promise she could’ve lived without,
“We’ll talk later. Do what you need to do and grab a little rest. I think
dinner will be ready soon and if all goes well, we’ll have the traitor captured
before he’s able to hurt anyone else.” Not waiting for her answer, he turned
and headed towards the men, walking like the leader she was now sure he was.

Kyra
climbed into her tent and found all her belongings, along with an air mattress,
sleeping bag, table and two chairs, and a little vanity. They had obviously
taken great pains to make up a tent that was feminine while still useful, and
she appreciated their efforts. At the thought of all that needed to be done, a
weariness soaked into her bones. It was then that she realized it had been
almost thirty-two hours since she’d last slept and she opted for a little
siesta before getting to work.

Finally
settled and ready to sleep, her eyes refused to close.
Figures
, she
thought. Staring at the roof of her tent, she ran through the conversation
she’d had with
Rian
. First of all, she thought of
Rory. How freaky was it that there was
another
brother she knew nothing
about and what on the earth did they feed them that made them so damn big? The
youngest of the brothers was a carbon copy of
Rian
.
If they hadn’t told her any differently, she would have sworn they were twins;
both muscular and strong, but long and lean, where Royce was quite the
opposite. The differences didn’t end with their body types but she really
wasn’t into thinking about anything that could lead her to obsess over
Royce…not tonight, not ever again, if she could help it.

She
planned what to do to locate and stop Andrew from the shit storm he was
planning while trying to bring to the forefront whatever had been trying to
stay buried since
Rian
told her what their family
suffered at the hands of a witch gone mad. Sleep came over her while she was
thinking about all she had learned. With her defenses down, she began to remember
the story that was passed from the Elders of her coven to each witch, right
before she was taught the Siphoning spell.

Kyra
dreamt of the Circle of Witches with her mother at the head, the ceremonial
fire burning in the center and all the faces of those that had trained with her
waiting eagerly to hear what Grand Priestess
Calysta
had to say. Her mother explained exactly what the Siphoning spell was
supposed
to be used for and that it was a grave offense, punishable by a sanction from
the Council, if ever used maliciously or to harm another.

The
room became deathly quiet as
Calysta
told of a witch
many years before that had been of their coven, but accepted a calling and had
gone to live among another race. She told of the witch’s many years of dedicated
service to her adopted family and their kin and how
very
respected she was to all that knew her. Abruptly, the story turned dark and the
Grand Priestess’ voice lowered to an ominous whisper. She reminded each who
listened about the allure of the dark evil and how very important it was to be
ever vigilant against any force that would threaten to turn them from the
light. Kyra hadn’t noticed that day, nor had she thought about it since, but in
her memory she could see a fear and sadness in her mother’s eyes that ran deep.

After
a few minutes of silence,
Calysta
finally spoke
again, “You see, my little ones, a true sister of my heart, one of the best
witches I had ever known, was taken from us by dark forces. She was tempted in
a very short time to turn her allegiance from all she held dear in exchange for
a power so malevolent that it caused her to not only take the life of the one
she loved, but also that of the woman’s unborn child.”

There
was utter silence. No one moved, no one spoke, and she tried to remember if
anyone even breathed. All she remembered was every heart beat in the room
beating as one, in a slow pounding of dread. Then her mother spoke, “So beloved
ones, as your power grows so does your responsibility. You must always do
everything in your power to remain in the light, and if you should ever feel
yourself growing weak, you
must
call on your sister witches. But even
that may not be enough.

“So
to make sure we never forget, we share the name of our fallen sister with all
of our coven. When times are hard and you feel you need a reminder of all you
stand to lose, you only need speak her name and you will be filled with a
strength born of our collective love and devotion to the Earth, the Goddess
that blesses us all. Della will hand each of you a pink candle, together we
will light them and invoke the protection of the Power of All. I will speak her
name and the invocation will be complete.”

For
the span of two heartbeats the room was in complete darkness, then slowly
filled with candlelight.
Calysta
, Della, and all the
other elders were spread around the perimeter of the circle holding large red
candles wrapped in sage.
Calysta
looked into each
girl’s face and then said…

“Dammit,
Kyra wake up. You’ve been asleep for almost two hours, dinner’s ready, and
Rayne is anxious for you to get started. He wants us in place before nightfall
but needs you to tell us where to go.” She was immediately awake and staring
into Devon’s face.

“Shit,
Devon, seriously? I was just about to remember something very important. You
waited two fucking hours and couldn’t wait ten more seconds?” She knew she was
yelling and being unreasonable, but
dammit,
she really wanted to
remember that name.

Devon’s
look of total confusion would have been comical any other time, but not in that
moment. “I heard you talking and thought you were awake, so I peeked in and you
were tossing and turning and calling out.”

She
jumped up and flew at him, “What was I saying? What did you hear?”

The
look of concern told her Devon was worried, but instead of lecturing like she
expected, he told her what he’d heard. “You were talking about the Earth and
the Goddess and then you said something in Latin that sounded like
illuminati.
That was all I could make out.”

“SHIT!
Two seconds longer, that was all I needed…just two more seconds.
”
Her
head fell forward and her eyes closed of their own volition as she ran her
fingers through her hair. The thought of pulling out a handful or two crossed
her mind, but she decided it served no purpose. A few deep breaths to get her
disappointment and anger under control and she was able to think straight
again. Why couldn’t she remember who her mother had been talking about and why
would that memory, out of all the others, rear its ugly little head now?

Not
willing to spend any longer worrying about what she couldn’t change, she raised
her head and squared her shoulders. “You said something about food?”

Devon
chuckled, but she could see the tension thrumming through him. He was worried
about her and not doing a very good job of hiding it. “Yes, I did. I figured
that would get your attention.”

“What
are you saying, Dev? That I eat a lot?” She faked annoyance at his comment in
an effort to ease the tension.

“No,
no, no, I would never say that to a lady. I…”

“
Pfft
…a lady?” Kyra scoffed, unable to stop the laugh that
bubbled out. “There’s no lady here.”

Devon
burst out laughing with her and she knew order had been restored, at least for
the moment. She walked over to the tiny camp-style vanity, grabbed her
hairbrush, and attacked her long tresses in an effort to excise a few of the
tangles and at least look like a civilized human when she faced the Guardsmen
outside her tent.

Feat
accomplished and her massive mane tamed with a hair tie, she and Devon exited
the tent and headed towards a long table packed with the largest, fiercest men
she had ever seen. Their sheer size never ceased to amaze her. Shoulder to
shoulder, they sat eating and talking about the battle to come and the common
enemy they would all put their lives on the line to eliminate. They were a wall
of muscle and might and unwavering determination…Andrew didn’t stand a chance.

~
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~
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~

He
watched from a distance as Kyra and Devon exited her tent and walked towards
the others. It was obvious they were becoming good friends. Logically, he was
happy she had someone to watch after her, someone to confide in, and was glad
it was Devon. He was a good guy who would protect her, as well as counsel her
as needed. At least that was what he kept telling himself as his jealousy grew
and his dragon growled his fury when Devon’s hand touched her elbow as they
walked across the uneven ground.

Stop
looking at her. Stop thinking about her. This is the way it has to be,
had
become a constant mantra in his mind from the moment he grabbed her just a few
short hours ago. He had relived holding her in his arms, the feel of his lips
on hers and the amazing sight of her eyes half-lidded with passion. It had
gotten so bad that he had cursed the Universe, cursed Fate, and punched the
rock wall of the cave until his hands were bloodied and beaten. When that
didn’t work, he had contacted Stefan through their unique link, but of course
the Spiritual Elder gave him the same advice he’d been giving him for the
better part of two weeks…
put the past in the past and move on
. If only
it was that easy.

When
he held her in his arms he could feel that they belonged together. A sense of
completion encompassed him and he felt true peace for the first time in his
very long life, but then his doubt and prejudice snuck in. He remembered how
much he loved and trusted
Ilsa
. How in the blink of
an eye she was twisted into some evil shade of herself and had killed the heart
of his family without remorse. Andrew also came to mind. Royce had helped raise
him, watched him grow into a fine Dragon Guardsman following in the footsteps
of his father and brothers, and now they were all fighting to protect those
they held dear from his treachery. How could he trust? How could he believe?