Page 22

EIGHTEEN

DRAX

“He says he’s willing to meet.” Xanthis tosses her long white hair back. Her wife, Dahlia, is perched on the table next to her.

I wouldn’t say they were pleased to hear from us, but they’ve been kind enough to help so they have my gratitude.

“Thank you again, Xanthis.”

She nods, studying me with intense eyes. “I’m always happy to help mates find their way back to each other.” She glances at her wife. “Love is the only thing worth fighting for.”

Roman makes a gagging noise while Cassius scrunches his nose like he smelled something foul. Atlas, for his part, stares at the women with longing in his eyes.

I would argue that Mac and I aren’t in love, but my heart won’t let me utter the words. I know Mac has warmed towards me since his capture, and even if it’s just because of his circumstances, he knows that I am his mate and will do anything for him. That has to count for something.

“If we could keep this interaction between us, I’d appreciate it.”

Dahlia nods, dragging her fingers through her unruly black hair. “Oh, trust me, I’m not telling Mac’s brothers. They’d descend on that mage and burn down an entire city if they thought they had to.”

I nod, forcing a smile to my lips. Had I known Dahlia had a connection to Mac’s brothers, I’m not sure I would have chosen her. I’m pretty sure Mac doesn’t want his family involved, but I feel the truth in the witch’s words, so I believe her.

“Thank you again.”

“Just go get him,” Dahlia says. “And if any of you can figure out how to get him to stop stealing from demons, that would be great.”

Her comment makes my chest ache for a second. “Does he collect things from other beings?”

She shakes her head. “Rarely. His brothers say he’s always had a particular focus on demon artifacts. It’s not his fault, really. The dragon controls the hoard, but only fate knows why his dragon wants demonic items.”

That is very interesting. I wonder if Mac knows the meaning behind most of his collection. He doesn’t seem to.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The four of us leave the witch and the dragon mage and slip back into the void. I send another pulse through the bond, assuring Mac that we have a plan and we’re on our way.

“Back to Tokyo?” I ask.

“We need a plan though,” Atlas says. “We can’t just show up. Xanthis said you would come with the trade, but she didn’t say we’d be there too. We don’t want to scare Rune off.”

Cassius nods, tapping his chin. “I have an idea. We’ll go to the bar while Drax goes to meet with Rune.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Roman says. “What if Rune captures Drax too?”

“Drax is a demon. He can get out of any trap.”

“Rune is a powerful mage. Who knows what kind of tricks he has up his sleeve,” Roman argues.

“He’s protective of himself,” Atlas straightens his shoulders. “Roman is right. We need to protect Drax.”

“Any other ideas then?” Cassius asks.

“I’ll go with Drax,” Atlas says. “I can protect him against magic.”

“Good plan.” Roman rubs his hands together. “Ready, guys?”

“I need to get the jewel. Be right back.” I blip to my room, grab the satchel with the emerald in it, then rejoin the guys. “Ready.”

“Off we go,” Cassius says.

As we slip into the void again, I send my intentions to Mac.

I’m coming, mate.

MAC

After breakfast and a lukewarm shower with the worst water pressure ever, I’m feeling hopeful again. Drax is coming to get me. I’ll find out later what took so long, but I have an idea it’s because of Rune’s abilities.

I glance over at him as he sits nonchalantly on a stool by his workstation, swinging one leg and waiting.

I’m also aware of the invisible tether between us—the leash, as he calls it—preventing my escape.

I’m annoyed as fuck, but I gotta admit, this guy has mad skills.

I bet Auri would love to get his hands on a mage like this.

While we wait, I scan the room, looking for anything that could be the amulet, but it’s just dusty old shelves with books and uninteresting objects, nothing that calls to me or looks valuable.

“Is this your house?”

Rune scoffs. “It’s my workshop. One of many, but I prefer it here. The locals ignore me, and the air is nice.”

“Where are you from originally?”

“New Orleans.” I pick up on the hint of sadness in his voice when he answers. “But that was a long time ago.”

“Are you immortal? Way older than you look?”

He chuckles softly. “No. I’m mortal.”

I’m a little surprised he’s answering my questions, so I push for a little more. “What’s your big plan? To rule the world?”

He shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “Why would I want to rule the world? That sounds like a lot of work. No, dragon. My goals are simple. All I want is balance. With that, everything else works itself out.”

“But what do you gain?”

“Not everything is about gain. The pursuit of power is what causes imbalances in the first place. I was gifted with abilities beyond most, and instead of using them for harm, I plan to do good.”

“By keeping me prisoner?”

He narrows his eyes. “You’re the one who chased after me. I’ll remind you that you’re also the one pursuing an item filled with untold evil. Why should I allow you to do fate knows what and not intervene?”

His answer stirs my curiosity again. What does Auri want with the amulet?

“Why is it evil? Can you tell me about it?”

Rune tilts his head. “You really don’t know, do you?”

“No. I just wanted it because it’s beautiful.”

He shrugs. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.”

He slides off the stool and snaps his fingers, producing a portrait of a beautiful young woman with jet black hair and piercing eyes. Her smile is soft, but there’s something off-putting about her expression that I can’t quite put my finger on.

“This is Belinda Legarr in her youth,” Rune says. “She was a simple peasant girl in sixteenth century France, but she longed to join the aristocracy. She never could have done so through society, so she resorted to the dark arts, tapping into her legacy as part of a powerful family of witches.”

“That’s not what she looked like when I saw her.”

“No. Her plan backfired, of course, turning her into the village pariah, and for the most part people avoided her, until a fiery new clergyman moved into town and wanted to make a name for himself. He decided that Belinda had to die to prove he had the power to save the village from any evil.”

“Shit.”

“Belinda had no intention of dying, so she summoned a spell that would protect her, unknowingly calling forth a dark power that would ultimately lead to her ruin.”

“The amulet?”

Rune nods. “Belinda had in her possession a necklace, passed down from the many generations of women before her. She used it for the spell, believing that as long as she wore it, she would be safe from the villagers. In essence, she was correct.”

“Okay, so it’s powerful, but I still don’t see how it’s evil.”

Rune raises an eyebrow. “After seeing the state Belinda was in, you don’t believe it’s evil?”

“Well, I mean, that’s what it did to her. Can it hurt other people?”

“Sweet summer child.” He clicks his tongue at me. “Imagine for a moment the most power-hungry person in the world.”

I nod. “Okay.”

“Now imagine they find out this amulet exists. Powerful people never want to die.”

A shudder moves down my back. “I see.”

“Or how about this scenario? Powerful person uses the amulet to control others.”

“I get it.”

“I’ve been chasing this amulet for years, hunting down everyone who even got close to it. Do you know they’ve all died? Every single one of them. Just from touching it.”

“How do they die when it’s meant to keep you alive?”

“You have to know the magic behind it to protect yourself.” He smiles proudly. “And, hopefully, no one but me does. So even if I wanted to give it to you—which, for the record, I don’t—I wouldn’t. You would die, and while I am a lot of things, I am not a heartless murderer.”

“You murdered your family.”

“Yes, but not heartlessly.”

My thoughts immediately go back to Auri and his intentions for the amulet. Does he want to control people with it? Would he need an amulet to do that? He’s a demon, for fuck’s sake. Couldn’t he just possess someone if he wanted to?

“Essentially, I saved your life,” Rune continues. “Even if you don’t see it.”

“What will you do with it now?”

“Nothing. I’ll keep it locked up and far away from anyone who could do harm with it.”

“Is it here?”

He laughs softly. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

Yeah, I really would.

Rune’s face goes blank again and he sways slightly. “Ah. Your mate has arrived.”

My dragon immediately perks up from the depressive slumber he’s been in for days now, and relief floods the bond in my chest. Drax is close.

Rune snaps his fingers and the large steel door blocking the entrance creaks open. I sit up straight, ready to see Drax, but it’s Atlas who appears first.

Rune gets to his feet, making no attempt to step forward, his eyes trained on the handsome gargoyle. Atlas seems equally stupefied, but then I see Drax, my mate, stepping out from behind the large man.

He rushes over to me, but smacks into an invisible shield, snapping Rune out of whatever was going on with him.

“Ah. Not so fast. I believe there’s a deal to be made.”

Drax glares at Rune but nods. “Yes, I believe I have something you’d like in exchange for my mate.”

“I’m on pins and needles.”

Drax produces a velvet satchel and takes out a large, brilliant emerald. It hovers just above his palm, and Rune’s expression lights up.

“Beautiful,” Rune whispers.

“It’s the Emerald of Castle Bainswan,” Drax says.

“Oh, I know what it is,” Rune replies. “Wherever did you get it?”

“That’s for me to know. Do you find it an appealing trade?”

Rune taps his chin, glancing between me and the emerald. “I smell a trap.”

“No,” Atlas says forcefully. “We’re here with good intentions. We just want our friend back.”

Rune’s expression softens when he looks at the gargoyle. “What is your name?”

“Atlas.”

“Atlas,” Rune repeats. “May I?”

Atlas nods as Rune approaches. We all watch as Rune places his hand on Atlas’s chest, and I’d swear the air around us warms and thickens. Drax seems to notice too, as he tilts his head, watching the interaction.

“I see,” Rune says, almost too softly to hear. “I won’t hurt your friends.”

Atlas nods stoically.

Rune removes his hand, putting distance between him and Atlas. “I accept your trade.”

He snaps his fingers and Drax stumbles forward and straight into my arms. I hold him close, happy to feel him again, to smell him, to know he’s safe and we can be together again. My dragon purrs, rising to the surface as scales ripple across my flesh.

“The emerald please,” Rune says, holding out his hands.

Drax hands it over. Now I have to figure out where the amulet is and how to talk Rune into handing that over too.

Too bad I don’t get the chance. Rune smiles, his eyes lighting up. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

And then he’s gone, leaving us alone in a room filled with junk.

“No!”

“Damn mage,” Drax mutters.

“It’s okay,” Atlas says. “I have his scent. We can find him again.”

I get to my feet, looking over the dusty shelves and the few things left behind, but there’s nothing of value here.

“He still has the amulet,” I mutter.

“But we have you,” Drax says, lightly touching my cheek.

“Thank you.” I pull him close. “I felt how hard you worked to free me.”

“Never expect less, Mac. I am yours and you are mine, through thick and thin.”

For once, the reality of this bond doesn’t scare me. Who knows where I’d be without this beautiful, devoted demon in my life? The least I can do is give this mating thing a chance.

“Now what?” I ask.

“We rest,” Drax replies. “Tomorrow, we go hunting for a mage.”