“You like being a villain, don’t you?”
That was a no-brainer. “I played by the rules and what did it get me? A broken heart and murdered family. Busted body. Fuck that. So yeah. I learned to harden my heart and give as good as I get. With relish.”
He pulled her to a stop. “I know the feeling.”
“I’m so sorry that you do. I would never have taken your son from you. Especially not like your brother did. If you want, I’ll help you kick his ass.”
With a tender expression, he brushed his thumb against her cheek. “And I would never have allowed the humans to harm yours, or you.”
A tear fell from her eye as those sincere words singed her. “We will find your Maddor for you. You should meet him at least once in your life.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”
“That’s the SOD talking.”
“No. It’s common sense talking. I’m sure he hates me for what my brother did to him. Hates me for not finding him sooner.” He drew his brows together in deep consternation. “You’re right. That might be the SOD talking and not me.”
Rising up on her toes, she kissed his cheek. “You’re adorable when you blush. Uncertainty looks good on you.”
Falcyn savored the gentleness of her touch. “Why are you being so kind to me?”
“I have absolutely no idea. It’s really not like me. I’m usually a major bitch to everyone.” She smoothed down his collar. “But something about you makes me want to leash my claws.”
He fingered her ear. “Yeah. I feel the same with you. There’s a calmness inside me whenever you come near. And I don’t understand it. Even now. Most bring out the beast in me. But you … you seem to bring out only the best.”
Those words made her eyes water. Even stranger, they made her feel giddy like a girl again. Something she hadn’t felt in countless centuries.
More than that, he made her feel safe in a way no one ever had.
It was so peculiar. Not unwelcomed.
But strange nonetheless.
“What are you like in your dragon’s form?”
“I’m sure you don’t want to know. It tends to terrify the natives.”
“I’ll bet you’re beautiful.”
He laughed bitterly. “Bet you’d scream.”
“Bet I wouldn’t.”
“Never met a woman yet who wasn’t a dragon who didn’t scream at the first sight of me in my real body.”
She boldly stood before him, hands on hips, to face him. “You never met me.”
Growling low in his throat, he felt the dragon in him rise up. The beast was hungry and fierce. He expected nothing to come of it.
Yet this time, it worked.
In the blink of an eye, he changed into his shimmering red dragon’s body.
Medea stepped back. Not out of fear.
Out of respect. He was a massive, dangerous beast. Even larger than she’d ever expected. His red scales gleamed as if they held speckles of gold in their red color. Long, bright gold talons and curved tusks protruded, reminding her that he was a predator of the top order.
Indeed, his head alone was larger than her entire body.
Fearless. Breathless, she approached him until she could lay her hand on his large snout.
“You are beautiful,” she breathed, stroking his cheek, beneath his large serpentine red eye. She assumed his scales would be dry and cold to touch, but rather they were soft like rose petals, and yet as hard as warm steel. “Can you understand me?”
I understand you.
She laughed out loud. “You can still talk to me?”
I can.
“This is amazing! Can I ride you?”
His deep rumble washed over her. You already did that, Lady Apollite. I told you that I’m always at your disposal.
She shoved playfully at his snout. “Not what I mean and you know it!”
A saddle magically appeared on his back. Climb aboard.
Yet the moment she started for him, the shadows came closer. At first she thought nothing of it.
Neither did Falcyn.
Not until one snatched her back and they both realized it was a SOD. Wrapping around her, it forced her away from him and covered her body.
Furious, Falcyn changed back into his human’s body.
But it was too late.
The fey demon had her.
11
Furious, Falcyn attacked the shadows, but it did him no good. Not even with his god powers. Because they had no solid form for him to strike and destroy, they couldn’t be killed by conventional or any other means. Rather, they disintegrated as soon as he made contact, only to reappear as quickly as they vanished. Sometimes within nanoseconds.
Over. Behind. One even tapped his shoulder, just to be an asshole.
And all the while they laughed and mocked his efforts. Which only made him angrier.
More determined to find some way to do them harm.
How dare they! He punched and twisted, trying his damnedest to end them. Or at least wring a groan from their throats.
Nothing worked.
“Falcyn!”
Suddenly, he heard Blaise’s shout, along with Urian’s. But he didn’t acknowledge them. Or let their voices slow him down in any way. He had to keep trying to fight and scatter his attackers and reach his Daimon. Nothing mattered past freeing Medea. He was consumed with a frenzied madness to save her, and drive these bastards away.
His blood pounded in his ears. He tasted bile and sweat. One minute the shadows were consuming her and in the next, she was finally in his arms, holding him. Bringing him slowly back to sanity.
She blinked, her gaze filled with total disbelief as she reached up to place her cold fingers to his chin. “Falcyn?”
He could barely breathe as he stared down into those dark eyes. Cupping her head in his palm, he pulled her against him and held her tightly. His breath came in ragged gasps. “Are you all right?”
She glanced about as if in a daze herself. “They were trying to infiltrate my mind … to take me over and make me think their thoughts. It was awful! I was sure they had me.”
“I know. So was I.”
“How did you get me free?”
Brandor rudely cleared his throat to indicate the bottle in his hand. “I threw fey water on them to make them solid, and he beat the utter shit out of them while they were weakened. We were trying to explain to him what to do. But he didn’t listen.”
“He didn’t need to,” Blaise added with a laugh. “Apparently, you can just wail the bloody buggers out of any wet body. Good old Falcyn. There’s no problem so big that it can’t be solved with an adequate supply of canned whup ass.”
Falcyn reluctantly let go of Medea and snorted at the uncharacteristic term from Blaise, which showed that he’d been spending way too much time at Sanctuary lately. “You know, I’ve never really understood that expression. Seriously. If someone says they’re going to open up a can of whup ass on you, it means that someone out there is actually canning whup ass. Truth be told, that’s the guy I’d be most afraid of.”