Lust (22 page)

sometimes being prepared can hurt

you.”

“When can it?” Owen asked.

“When it scares you so much

you can’t function.”

“This is going to be that scary?’ I

hoped she was talking big picture

and not the current situation.

“Maybe.” Hugh and Violet said

simultaneously.

I leaned back against the rail

again. “Fantastic.”

“Nice sarcasm.” Hugh smirked.

Violet smiled at me. “You and

Hugh give each other such a hard

time because you’re meant to be

friends. It’s perfect.”

“I have another random

question.” Why not try for one

more?

“What is it?” Hugh asked.

“Where’s Roland? He isn’t in this

realm. Does that mean he’s back in

the normal world?”

“The normal world?” Violet

crossed her arms.

“You know what I mean.”

“We don’t know.” Hugh returned

to the wheel relieving Owen. I

guess he was sick of the

conversation.

Owen joined me by the railing.

“Then why did you tell us that you

persuaded him to stay back?”

“We did, but he wasn’t where

we left him.”

“Why not?”

“If we knew we might have a

clue where he is…” So much for

Hugh exiting the conversation.

“He went missing?”

Violet nodded.

“How long has it been?” I

needed to gauge a timeline.

“Not long. It hasn’t been long

since we met you.”

“It feels like forever.” It did. I

could barely remember my life

before returning to New Orleans.

Was that a side effect of the

change? The more they told me,

the more questions I had.

“Where would he go?” That was

the next logical one to ask.

“If we knew, we’d find him.”

“He doesn’t want to help me.”

That had to be part of the reason

they didn’t bring him.

“He thinks he’s helping you.”

“Letting me change isn’t helping

me. If he thinks it is, he’s crazy.” I

let out a deep breath.

“He’s not crazy. He’s desperate.

If you end up destroying his maker’s

essence… well, he loses the

strongest personal connection he

has.”

“But even if I have it, I’m not

her. We’re not connected.”

“Are you going to deny the

effect he has on you? The way he

calms you down?” Hugh turned to

look at me.

“No, I’m not denying that, but I

am denying that our connection is

anything close to what he had with

his maker.”

“How would you know?’ Hugh

turned back around.

The boat started to heave up

and down. “I guess I don’t.” I

looked out at the suddenly choppy

water.

“What was that?” Something

flew by the boat. I braced myself on

the railing and noticed two figures

flying off in the distance.

“The Dragos have arrived,”

Violet said in a sing-song voice.

Maybe she enjoyed the Dragos as

much as they enjoyed her.

“Already?” I gripped the railing

even tighter.

“Sometimes they get impatient.”

Hugh turned off the boat.

“Great.” I took a few deep

breaths. I wasn’t sure what to

expect from the Dragos, but that

probably was a good thing. I was

learning paranormal creatures were

never what you expected.

The silhouettes from the

distance moved closer until they

were right above us.

I held my breath as two men

with long, powerful, leathery wings

lined with spikes landed on the

deck in front of us. The tan skin of

their bare torsos was covered in an

intricate pattern of tattoos. They

were both wearing black pants and

black boots.

Owen moved to my side.

“Why hello there,” The first one

grinned at me. His wings were lined

with bright blue that matched his

intense blue eyes. His black hair

was cut short. While I stared, he

retracted his wings. His bright eyes

faded into a lighter shade of blue.

“Hello Troy, how nice of you to

drop in.” Violet held out her hand to

him.

“Don’t act surprised. We’ve had

plans for a while.” He took her hand

and pulled her in so her body was

flush against his. “And when will

you learn to stop trying to shake my

hand?”

“When will you learn that I

prefer a more formal greeting?”

Violet’s voice was lighter, flirtier

than usual. It made me

uncomfortable, in the same way I

couldn’t stand watching my brother

all lovey-dovey with a girlfriend. I

wasn’t sure why I even cared.

He stepped away and looked at

me. “And who is this beauty?”

Owen stiffened at my side.

Violet smiled. “This is Daisy.

Daisy, this is Troy, and that one,”

she gestured to the other winged

creature. “That one is Wyatt.” His

wings had been lined in bright

green that matched his eyes. When

his wings retracted his eyes were a

lighter shade too. Unlike Troy, he

wore his equally dark hair longer.

“That one?” He put a hand to his

chest. “Is that how you speak of me

now?”

“I am merely introducing you.”

Troy laughed. “Oh ex-lover

spats. Aren’t they a blast to

witness?”

“Ex-lovers?” I asked with

surprise. I’d have thought Violet

had been intimate with Troy, not

Wyatt.

“Don’t listen to him, Daisy.

Troy’s only trying to rile me up.”

Violet rolled her eyes. “He’ll fail.”

Wyatt strode over to me and

held out his hand. “Daisy, nice

name. Why are you half-Allure?” He

went straight to the point.

I didn’t mind. “Uh, that’s a long

story.”

He ran a hand through his black

hair. “We have time. I’m guessing it

has to do with why you need a ride

to Mount Majest?”

“Yes.”

“Wait. A ride?” Owen frowned

“Why would Daisy need a ride?”

Troy rolled his shoulders back.

The action accentuated the muscles

in his strong arms. “Because

climbing that mountain is

impossible. You have to fly.”

“I can fly. Daisy is covered.”

Owen took my hand.

“Oh my.” Troy’s lips twisted into

a smile. “Are you one of those

birds?”

“I’m a Pteron.” Owen gritted his

teeth.

“Listen, sweetheart, you can

ditch the bird now. We’re here.”

Troy flashed his smile at me.

I wasn’t sure if he was joking or

not, but I wasn’t going to wait

before setting him straight. “Owen

and I are together.”

“Together?” Troy looked at

Violet. “Has someone told her she

can’t actually be with anyone

anymore?”

“Yes. That’s why we’re going to

see the Elders.”

“Wait.” Wyatt looked between

Owen and me. “No way, Violet. You

aren’t stupid enough to get the poor

girl’s hopes up.”

“There is a chance. They may

stop the change,” Violet quickly

replied.

Wyatt shook his head.

“Delusional.” He turned to me. “You

will be an Allure. Don’t let her fool

you.”

“I’m not giving up.” I crossed my

arms.

He rolled his eyes. “You’re all

delusional.”

I walked over to the railing.

There was nowhere else to go, but

I couldn’t look at anyone. I couldn’t

handle anyone else telling me I was

doomed—or that everything would

be okay. Things were what they

were, but I wasn’t ready to face the

music.

18

OWEN

The Dragos had to go. I could get

Daisy to the Elders on my own.

They were arrogant fools upsetting

Daisy while at least one of them

was simultaneously hitting on her.

Neither was okay. “Daisy and I can

take care of the rest on our own.”

Violet shook her head. “You’re

not going to get an audience

without me.”

“I’ll fly you both again then. I

managed it fine last time.”

“Daisy doesn’t need a pet.” Troy

put an arm around Violet. She

shrugged him off.

“I never said anything about

bringing Glendale.”

“Hey,” The cat yelled. “I’m not a

pet.”

“I wasn’t talking about

Glendale,” Troy ran a hand through

his jet black hair. “I was talking

about the bird.”

“You little shit.” I lunged for

him, feeling the transformation

before I was even consciously

aware. My fist made contact with

his face.

“Stop!” Violet yelled.

I ignored her. He wasn’t getting

away with disrespecting me and my

relationship with Daisy. I jumped on

top of him, only to be immediately

thrown off.

I looked up from where I’d been

thrown on the deck to see Troy

transformed. His wings flew out

behind him, sharp spikes lining each

one. He let out a large breath of

smoke.

He smiled, crossed his arms,

and retracted his wings as though

we hadn’t just been in a fight. He

wiped blood off his face.

“Impressive. You fight well for a

bird.”

I forced myself to transform

back to my human form. I needed

to stay calm. “Watch it.”

“I’m complimenting you. I

thought you were all city boys who

couldn’t defend yourselves. Maybe I

was wrong.”

“You were very wrong.” I

scowled. My dislike for Hugh was

nothing compared to the way I felt

about Troy.

“Enough of this testosterone

fest.” Violet stepped between us.

“Let’s focus on what’s important.”

I nodded. “Stopping the

change.” Taking care of Daisy was

the priority.

“The quickest route from here

into Energo is through the tunnel

gate.” Hugh crossed his arms. For

his part he’d been quiet since the

Dragos arrived. “I know none of you

flying folks are going to like that

though.”

“We can stomach it if we move

quickly.” Wyatt frowned.

“What is the tunnel gate, and

why are you two even coming?”

The sooner we got rid of the

Dragos, the better.

“Mount Majest is heavily

guarded. Dragos have unlimited

access due to a treaty,” Violet

explained.

“A treaty?” Daisy asked.

“We have some rather useful

abilities.” Troy grinned. “I’ll have to

show you some time.”

The guy never learned. I had to

fight down a growl. My Pteron side

was fighting to come out again, and

it was much more primal and

uncontrollable than usual.

“Are we ready to do this?” Hugh

pointed up toward the sky.

“Wait, we’re stopping here?”

Daisy narrowed her eyes. “I thought

we had a ways to go.”

“Flying will be way faster than

the boat, and we have enough

wings now.”

“Perfect.” Daisy grabbed hold of

my hand. “Let’s go.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me

to fly you?” Troy grinned. “I promise

I am faster.”

“Absolutely.” She straightened

her shoulders.

I pulled Daisy against me. She

was amazing. Completely and

utterly amazing.

“We’re going northwest. Follow

my lead because we have to be

careful where we land.”

“Got it.” I was anxious to get

moving. I wrapped my arms around

Daisy.

I waited for the Dragos to take

off—Troy took Violet and Glendale,

and Wyatt took Hugh.

As soon as they were in the air,

I followed closely. We were finally

getting to our goal, and I didn’t

want to waste a minute.

The flight was ten minutes, and

I enjoyed every moment of having

Daisy in my arms again. The last

flight had been taxing, but this one

was easy, and it helped put me at

ease. The most surefire way to

steady myself and stay calm was to

fly. Add Daisy to the mix, and it was

pure perfection.

I followed behind the Dragos

and started my descent as soon as I

saw them descend. I wasn’t keen

on anything involving tunnels, but I

wouldn’t be the only one

uncomfortable in the confined

space. They’d want to move

through as quickly as I did.

We continued our descent

through the clouds until finally the

ground became visible. All I could

see were ruins of old stone homes.

Interesting spot to choose to land.

I landed on an old stone road,

careful to make sure Daisy didn’t

feel any of the impact.

She looked around her. “Where

are we? Was this once a city?”

By the multitude of crumbing

rubble and the wide streets, I

guessed this had once been a

thriving city, but it was abandoned

now.

“We are not here to sight see,"

Hugh snapped.

“I was just asking a question.”

Daisy bit her lip. “Something major

happened here. I can feel it.”