Dream of Me (17 page)

He cursed himself for his pride in thinking that she knew only what she needed at the time. He would like to think that it was his inexperience with females that had put him in this predicament — but that would be a lie. There was no excuse. He needed Elena with him. Not just tomorrow or the next day but everyday that would follow for the rest of his life. Despite their differences he would help her adjust to his world and she would come to see that what she truly meant to him. Hopefully then, the loss of her world would matter less to her.

His sharp gaze jerked down as he saw that she’d returned. His chest inflated with hope as she seemed no longer sad. Instead she seemed worse; this time something akin to rage colored the depths of her green eyes. Yelling into the darkness, he watched as she reached down and plucked one of her slippers from her foot only to hurl it toward the stronghold walls in rage. Against his will his lips curved into a ghostly grin. He could fight past her anger and sharp tongue. The prize of her was well worth the risk.

The Malrai Hin had begun; there was no stopping it now. He would prove to her that he was the right male for her and soon she would forget all that she longed for in the human world.

His wings twitched against his back as his ears picked up the sound of beating wings drawing closer to his position. Turing at the waist, he looked behind him just as Dajran touched down a short distance from him. His face held a grim expression as he strode toward him.

“What are you doing here, Kieran?” he asked, confused. “You should be with your mate.”

“I will be soon enough. What are you doing here? I thought
Li’r
asked you to question the prisoner tonight. Have we learned anything from him?”

“Whatever he could have told us is now useless.”

Rising to his full height and turning to face his friend, Kieran scowled, “What do you mean? Did you find out why they were after my mate?”

“He’s dead. The guard returned and after we interrogated him hours earlier and found him with his throat slashed. Whatever he could tell us is lost to us now.”

“Where was the guard when this happened?’

“I do not know.
Li’r
is furious and he’s having all the prison guards questioned. I do not like voicing the concern that lurks deep within my mind, but I am starting to suspect that there may be a traitor among us.”

Snarling, Kieran turned away at the thought. He could vouch for every one of the warriors under the seal of the
Li’r
. None of them would ever betray their Gu’an, there had to be a mistake. Turning to look back down at his mate, his eyes widened at what he saw. He could feel dark flames building within his veins as he saw Rurik kneeling in front of Elena. He bared his teeth as he saw her hands reach out to grip Rurik’s shoulders as he reached beneath the long folds of her gown. Then she jerked away from him. For a moment she seemed to be saying something with her back to him. Slowly she turned back to face him with a guarded look on her face. What was going on?

As Rurik moved closer and reached out to grip Elena’s shoulders, Kieran felt his feral nature magnify. His claws lengthened to deadly points as he felt his face reflect the monster within himself. It went against everything within his nature to watch another touch her as he had many times. His mind conjured up images of how she would touch him in return, how her eyes would gaze up into his. No other was permitted to that but him!

With a snarl of rage, he launched himself over the edge of the wall. His wings carried him quickly down over his unsuspecting victim.

Tonight he would taste Rurik’s blood and remind his
sou’tali
that she was
his
— and
his
alone.

Groaning, Elena stabbed her fingers through her thick tresses before tugging at them in frustration. What was she suppose to do now? Moving from beneath the cover of trees, her eyes raised as she glared at the dark stone walls of the fortress across the empty courtyard. Was Kieran still on his balcony, waiting for her? She hoped so, because she could care less if he came running after her!

Lie.

Stubbornly she folded her arms across her chest. She would be dead before she went running back to him after he’d lied to her.

On second thought, maybe she would return to him — just so she could give in to her violent desire to smack him upside the head for lying to her. Why would he be so stupid to tie himself — his whole existence to someone he barely knew?
Idiot.

Her nails dug into the muscles of her biceps as her anger mounted higher and higher. Why did he have to be so stupid? Didn’t he care at all about his life? With a hiss of anger she pulled one of her slippers off and tosses it at the stone walls. It barely made it to her mark, but for the time being she could pretend that it had stuck Kieran in his not-so-innocent face.

“Jerk! I hope you fly into a tree, you moron!” she shouted at the empty wall as her pent up anger exploded.

He should count himself lucky that he wasn’t within striking distance,
she thought smugly to herself.

“Lady Elena?”

Jerking to her right, she was surprised that someone had witnessed her tantrum. Stepping confidently through the doorway of the fortress and into the moonlight, she was able to lay her eyes on her observer. Her cheeks heated with embarrassment as she recognized him as one of the king’s guards — Rurik. Just what she need, once Cian heard about how she was outside yelling like a crazed banshee it certainly wouldn’t improve his feelings about humans.

As his legs ate up the distance between them, nervously she turned her attention to the tree tops that were suddenly so interesting. As an awkward pause developed in the air between them, she found herself unwillingly turning to look at Rurik. He simply stood a foot from her with a smirk on his face.

“What?” she snapped at his look of amusement.

“You seem to be missing a slipper. Shall I go fetch it for you?” he asked with a teasing grin as his dark eyes flickered down at her single bare foot.

Planting her hands on her hips, her lips flattened into a tight line while her eyes narrowed. “Sure.” Her hand waved dismissively with a spark of her temper. “While you’re at it, why don’t you go run to your king and tell him how the
selfish human
is ranting like a crazy person?” she added at his back as he walked away to retrieve her slipper.

Returning with her slipper cupped tenderly in his hand, Rurik gave her a soft smile, “
Selfish?
Is that how you see yourself, Lady Elena?”

“Why not? Everyone else thinks so,” she admitted, shrugging her shoulders. Glancing up at his face, she met his steady gaze until he turned to look over her shoulders toward Sera’s temple.

His lip curled in loathing for a moment before he spoke softly, “Something tells me you have spoken to Sera.”

Briefly nodding, she found herself wrapping her arms around herself against the memory of her conversation with Sera. “You don’t seem to like her,” she observed.

Shaking his head he wiped away his look of disgust and replaced it with a soft smile. “We do not see eye to eye. She has a tendency to force her own wishes and ideals on others. Some of us are not easily fooled.”

Kneeling in front of her, he gripped her ankle gently as he lifted it off the ground. His action caused her to lean forward as her hands gripped his shoulders for balance. Setting her slipper aside, his other hand reached out to gently brush at the top and sides of her foot in effort to clean away any dirt that may have been there.

“It doesn’t take a misguided priestess to see that you are unhappy here,” he whispered without looking up from his task. “Your mate is just as guilty for your unhappiness. Kieran seeks to cage you; you cannot let him.”

“How would you know that?”

“I can see it,” he answered with ease.

Scoffing at his words while he picked up her slipper once more, she rolled her eyes. “I think you’re seeing things.”

Gently sliding her foot into her slipper, he raised his eyes to hers. “I also see that you deserve a better mate. One that would not wish to keep you from your home that you obviously love.”

His words startled her. She barely knew Rurik. She’d only met him once and he seemed like an okay guy, but the way he spoke confused her. What was he trying to say? “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying, my lady, that if you find that your chosen mate is unworthy I would be willing to offer myself to you. I can give you more than a simple warrior of this world could and even — if it is your wish — a way home.”

* ~ * ~ *

Gasping, Elena struggled to find her voice in mist of the shock that gripped her. “How… how do I know I can trust what you are saying?”

Lowering his eyes down to her ankle that still remained in his possession, Rurik’s lips curled at the corners with amusement. “You trusted Kieran when he promised to take you home… but that wasn’t a promise he could make, was it?” As his words rang true in her ears, she couldn’t help but sense that Rurik was being devious.

Jerking her ankle free from his grip, she paced a short distance from him before turning her head to glance at him over her shoulder. “How do you know that? Have you been spying on me?”

Shaking his head, he stood up, looking up at the dark sky, he laughed, “Do I look like I have the time to spy on you? Given the chance I would, but for now, let’s just say I have my ways of knowing these things.” Tilting his head to the side, he studied her as he took a small step forward. “But the truth remains the same. Kieran cannot return you because he is bound to you, but there are other ways to return you home.”

Spinning around to face him, her arms crossed over her breast, unconsciously fluffing them up for his watchful gaze. “How? Sera said it was impossible.”

“Impossible for
her
and impossible for
Kieran
, but I think you will discover that nothing is impossible for me.” Taking another step forward his hand stretched out to cup her shoulders. Bending his head close to hers, he locked his hard gaze on hers. “I know of a way to get you back home where you long to be.”

Scoffing in disbelief, she leaned her head back from him. “Let’s just pretend for a second that I believe you. What would that mean for Kieran?”

His gaze became sharper than a blade at her question. “What would that matter?” he hissed out between his sharp teeth.

Something about how Rurik’s depthless eyes bore into her caused her stomach to knot with a sickly feeling. His words caused the fine hairs at her neck to strand erect. Did she dare trust Rurik? He was a guard of the king’s after all; didn’t that mean he was somewhat trustworthy? She was no fool by any means. It was obvious by his barely controlled expression and the deceitful masking smile on his thin lips that he didn’t intend to offer her a ticket home for nothing.

When she made no move to answer him, his fingers tightened against the muscles of her shoulders causing her heart to seize with fear. As he glared down at her in hard silence, she watched as he closed up the remainder of space between them. As she prepared to defend herself if she needed to, the choice was taken from her as something barreled straight into the both of them from the side.

Crying out in surprise, she was shoved off her feet. Landing on her back a short distance away, the air knocked out of her at the force of her fall. Coughing, she fought to draw air into her lungs as the startling sound of snarls and fighting erupted a distance from her.

The sound of wings above her forced her to sit up, fearing that someone was about to drop down on top of her. Pulling herself upright, she was surprised as Dajran swooped down from above to land directly in front of her. His hands reached out to grip her by her forearms cautiously as he assisted her to her feet.

“Are you hurt?” he inquired gently. His eyes roamed over her even though she shook her head in denial.

Brushing his searching hands away from her, Elena shoved at her fallen hair that had pulled free during her fall. “I’m fine.”

Nodding, he smirked, “Well at least one of you will be.”

Brushing at the smears of dirt on her arms, she raised her narrowing eyes at him. “What are you talking about? What happened? And where is that pushy bastard Rurik?”

Not bothering to answer her, Dajran smirked as he pointed at the sky with amusement.

Scowling, she tilted her head back as she followed the direction of his finger. Her eyes widened, flabbergasted; her mouth fell open. High above them, Kieran and Rurik were engaged in a savage battle of wings, slashing claws and brute strength. Neither backed down from the other, but clashed together like two winged gladiators.

Jerking her eyes to Dajran, her hand rose, pointing at the battle above them. “What the hell are they doing?” she exclaimed with disbelief.

Dajran’s eyes flickered from her to the fighting duo above. “Battling.”

Huffing at his response, she narrowed her eyes at him. “I know that! But why?”

His confused expression turned to a hard, serious one. “Why would you need to ask? Kieran is defending you. Watch how well your mate protects you.” His hand waved toward the sky.

Her fists clenched at her sides. “I don’t need him defending me or protecting me! You guys want to go beat your chest; fine, just leave me out of it.”

His dark brows dipped into a scowl at her words. Most females would be watching with pride that their mate was ready to defend them. However instead this female was looking at the whole action like it was an atrocity.

Shrugging his shoulders, he waved his hand at her in invitation. “Fine, go ahead and stop them — since you can take care of yourself.”

Moving away, her jaw clenched tight at his refusal to help. Once she got those two fools away from another she was going to give Kieran a piece of her mind that he’d never forget. Moving to the center of the courtyard as they continued to clash together violently above, she tilted her head back as she yelled as loud as she could.

“Stop this right now! Both of you get down here!” Neither one of them so much as faltered on a punch or a swipe of their claws. Pursing her lips in irritation she tried once more. “I said, stop it now, you flying idiots!”

Still nothing. Briefly, she turned to look back at Dajran with a pleading look. His answer came in the form of an uncooperative shrug of his wide shoulders. Turning back around, she watched as Kieran lunged forward as Rurik attacked as well. They clashed together with the sound of pounding flesh and the singing of their claws slicing through the air.

She watched with horrified exhilaration as Kieran was able to avoid every strike of Rurik powerful hands. Kicking out, Kieran nailed him in his chest, sending Rurik tumbling through the air until he crashed into the high branches of a tree, only a moment before Kieran bore down on him.

The branches gave away under their weight with the sound of thunderous snapping. They tumbled down the length of the tree in a tangle of wings and thrashing limbs. Her heart squeezed in her chest as Kieran found himself pinned against the truck of the tree. He quickly jerked his head away second before Rurik’s claws barreled savagely through the trunk.

If she didn’t do something soon they would kill each other. But what hope did she have to rip to powerful, enraged gargoyles apart without putting herself in the path of danger? As though a light breaking through the cloudy darkness of her mind, an idea took form.

If at first you don’t succeed — cheat.

Taking a deep breath she called upon her two semesters of theatre that she’d taken during her college years. Slowly she turned toward Dajran; his eyes met hers in confusion as she purposely caused her feet to stumble unsteadily.

“Dajran…” She allowed the words to whisper between her lips weakly. Forcing her knees to give out, she tumbled to the ground in a fake faint. As her body crashed to the ground she closed her eyes and waited. Hopefully her false demonstration would draw the attention of the quarreling duo from each other.

“Elena!” Dajran cried out in fear. He didn’t disappoint her as he rushed to her side.

She expected to feel Dajran touch her with concern but he was never given the chance. Her eyes jerked open in surprise as strong hands jerked her off the cool ground and pressed her against a warm and solid chest. Raising her eyes she saw Kieran’s concerned face hovering over her. His breaths escaped in pants as his heart thundered against her side. Narrowing his eyes, Kieran turned an accusing glare to Dajran who took a cautious step back.

“What did you do to my
sou’tali
?” he snarled. His voice emerged as cold as ice and twice as deadly.

Not allowing Dajran to answer, Elena bucked and fought Kieran’s protective hold. “Zip the macho attitude, Birdman! Your
wing
-man didn’t do anything and put me down you oaf!”

* ~ * ~ *

Flashing a startled look, Kieran struggled to hold on to his squirming mate. What had happened? At Dajran’s shout, instantly the blood haze that had filled him just moments ago suddenly began to fade. Abandoning his mission the rid himself of a rival, he nosedived straight for the fallen form of his mate. Only to be surprised when she sat up in his protective embrace and began to snap her lovely lips at him.