Saved By Her Dragon (27 page)

“Yeah, there’s some scary shit out there, and the stuff I
felt when we were traipsing over the countryside and through the
caves on the coast of Royce’s homeland made me shiver. It was dark
and evil. Mom’s a tough old bitch and I’m sure she can handle it,
but… ” Anya watched her shudder at the memory and figured whatever
it was had to be more than scary if the incredibly powerful white
witch and her huge mate were worried.

Changing the subject, Anya asked about Kyra’s mating ceremony
and listened intently as her friend painted a romantic picture of
one of the happiest days of her life. It wasn’t long before they
were turning onto the long, two-lane dirt road that led to the only
home she ever remembered. Pulling into the gravel driveway, Kyra
went on and on about the fields of wild flowers on either side of
the lane and the herbs whose fragrance decorated the cool
breeze.

No sooner had they parked the car than Jedidiah, Pop’s oldest
friend and the caretaker of the farm came strolling out of the
barn. Smiling and waving, Anya called to him, “Just here to pick up
some clothes and stuff. Everything okay?”

“Sure is, Little One. Everything okay with you?”

She had called earlier in the week to let Jed and his wife,
Dot, know where she was and had explained about her ‘accident’. Jed
and Dot were witches in her mom’s coven and still practiced the
craft; something Anya was thankful for given the changes in her
life since they had last seen each other.

“Yes, sir. Couldn’t be better. Dot around?”

“No. She’s over at the house. Grandkids are
coming in later today and she’s cookin’ up a storm.”

“Jed, this is Kyra. She’s…”

Her introduction was cut short when Jed cut in, “One powerful
little witch.” He extended his hand to shake and went on, “Nice to
meet ya’. Who’s your kin?”

Anya and Kyra both laughed out loud before Kyra responded
while shaking Jed’s hand. “Nice to meet you, too, sir. My mom is
Grand Priestess Calysta St. Croix and my auntie is Della St.
Croix.”

“Well, hell. It really is a small world. My Dottie was
friends with a Della St. Croix when I met her about a hundred years
ago. Wonder if it’s the same one?”

“I would imagine so. To the best of my knowledge, they broke
the mold when they made her,” Kyra and Jed both laughed at her
joke.

“Tell her we asked about her and let her know to come on out
any time.” Jed walked over and gave Anya a one-armed hug then said,
“I’ll let you girls get to it. I still have chores to get done and
I’m sure Dot’s got a list a mile long for me when I get
home.”

“Thanks, Jed. Give Dottie my love,” Anya called after the
tall, thin man as he ambled back towards the barn.

“I sure will. Take care of yourself, Little One.”

“Little One?” Kyra asked, and Anya saw the glint in her eye,
assuring her Devon was going to hear about her nickname.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what everyone has
called me for as long as I can remember. The story goes that when I
came to live with Mom and Pops I was wrapped in so many blankets
that it took forever to find the baby in the bundle, and Pops said
he didn’t know they made ‘em that little. Somehow that became
‘little one’ and it stuck.”

She shrugged and quickly changed the subject. “The greenhouse
is out back if you wanna check it out while I gather up my stuff.
There should be bags and boxes out there in case you find anything
you want to keep. Jed and Dottie already took what they wanted, so
anything still there is fair game.”

“You sure you don’t need any help?” Kyra asked, staring
longingly at the greenhouse.

Anya swatted at her friend’s arm, “Like you would be any help
at all.” They both laughed and Anya added, “Get over there and have
fun. I’ll holler at you when I’m done.”

Kyra gave her a quick hug then turned, “You’re the best,” she
yelled over her shoulder as she practically ran in the opposite
direction.

As Anya turned towards the house, she caught sight of the
pasture where her pops had taught her to ride. And then, like he
knew she was thinking about him, her favorite horse, Romeo, trotted
into view. Unable to stop herself, she ran to the gate and threw it
open just as the horse met her halfway, nuzzling her cheek. The
look in his large charcoal eyes told her he had missed her as much
as she had missed him.

Pulling him to the fence, she climbed up a rung and then
slung her leg over Romeo’s bare back. It was as if they had never
been apart. He galloped for several laps around the pasture and she
could feel that he was as happy as she with the wind blowing
against their faces. It was almost as good as old times. All too
soon, her ride came to an end as Jed walked out of the barn with
Romeo’s feed. She thanked the man for his help with her dismount
and for taking such great care of her ‘friend’. Making her way back
to the house she decided to ask Devon about bringing her horse to
the lair.

Anya walked in the kitchen door of the only house she had
ever remembered living in and welcomed the smells of home. She was
happy to see that Dot had been watering the herbs that sat in the
window above the sink and loved the fact that no matter how long
her parents had been gone she could still feel their presence.
Making her way to the back of the house and up the steep wooden
staircase, she thought about Devon and sent him a wave of love
through their mating link.

Over the past few days she had been able to talk with Siobhan
and had learned so much more about dragon culture, specifically
what it really meant to be mated to a Guardsman. Anya had been
amazed at the depth and richness of the centuries old race. There
were things that the Elder Healer told her that seemed familiar,
but most of it was new and incredibly interesting. Anya considered
herself extremely blessed to have been literally made to be part of
a race of ancient warriors.

As she walked into her room an eerie feeling of déjà vu came
over her and the marking on her wrist tingled. She stopped and felt
her surroundings like her mom had taught her; nothing more than
memories of her childhood and the happiness that had been shared
filled her senses. Shaking off the weird feelings, Anya retrieved
two suitcases and a duffle bag from the closet and stuffed them
full of clothes, accessories, and old pictures. When her room was
all but bare, she headed downstairs and into her pop’s
office.

Leaving her bags in the hallway, Anya headed directly to the
huge painting depicting the landscape outside the very window she
stood beside. Carefully sliding the framed canvas to the side, she
quickly entered the combination to the safe and took out the
heirloom hair combs accented with teardrop opals. Tears filled her
eyes as she thought of all the women that had worn the very combs
she held in her hands on the most special day of their lives. She
reached to shut the safe and once again the marking on her wrist
tingled. Trying to ignore it, she spun the dial on the lock and
pulled the painting back into place. Instead of fading, the
tingling spread up her arm and when she looked at the marking, it
appeared to be raised.

Several things happened at once. Devon’s voice sounded in her
mind, a dark shadow blocked the sun from the window, and Kyra burst
into the room yelling her name. Before she could ask what was going
on, the little witch had her by the arm pulling her down the hall
and out the kitchen door. With all the commotion she couldn’t make
out what Devon was shouting in her head or what Kyra was babbling
on about. Grabbing the wooden railing before she fell down the
stairs, Anya looked up to see four full grown dragons landing in
the pasture beside the barn. She had read tons of books when she
was growing up, most of them containing dragons, and not one of the
descriptions did what she was looking at justice.

The largest of the group, which by size alone she figured had
to be Royce, was a brilliant royal blue with green highlights.
There were two silver dragons, each with unique black markings.
They had to be brothers and therefore, Aaron and Aidan. But it was
the white dragon whose scales seemed opalescent in the sunlight
that drew and held her eye. She felt the connection she had with
the beautiful beast and knew it was her mate. He was absolutely
gorgeous, and as he touched down, she got a look at the curved
horns protruding from his head, the imposing row of spikes that
started at the nape of his neck and ran to the tip of his tail,
where a huge three-sided spade looked as if it could take out a
forest with one swipe.

Her inspection of the majestic creatures was short lived as
the air around her filled with magic and in the next second Devon
was striding towards her in just a pair of jeans, closely followed
by Royce, Aaron, and Aidan. She smiled at her mate, still awestruck
from what she had witnessed, but the look that he gave made her
take a step back. The brick of the house dug into her back as she
took in his furrowed brow, downturned lips, and the way he marched
up the four steps and placed his hands on either side of her
head.

Anya started to speak but Devon lips were on hers before she
could think of what to say. He kissed her long and deep, holding
her captive with just his mouth. Lost to his kiss, she was shocked
when she found herself once again thrown over his shoulder and
hauled back into the house. Acting like he knew his way around,
Devon walked them straight into the family room and placed her not
so gently on the couch, kneeling in front of her. He placed his
hands on her thighs and leaned so close she could see blue and
green flecks swirling in his turbulent grey eyes.

Their staring contest lasted about five seconds, but felt
like a lifetime. She had just started to smile when Devon opened
his mouth, “What
in the hell
are you doing in the middle of fucking
nowhere
by yourself
?”

She felt the smile fall from her face, but not before the
thought of kicking him in the balls crossed her mind.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Devon knew he was acting like a raving lunatic, but the
harder he tried to keep his mouth shut and hear what Anya had to
say, the harder his dragon pushed to take action and the madder he
got. How many times had he told her not to go anywhere without him
until Andrew was caught? What
the
fuck
had she been thinking? He knew he
would never get answers as long as he kept talking, but there was a
disconnect between his brain and his mouth, and apparently his
mouth still had loads to say.

“
Dammit
,
Anya, were you trying to get yourself captured or
killed?”

The look on her face said he should’ve found a way to shut up
approximately ten seconds earlier. Her eyes widened, her lips
flattened, she took a deep breath and he heard her counting in her
head. When she spoke it had a low and ominous ring to it and a part
of him thought he actually heard her growl. “Yes, Devon that’s
exactly what I was trying to do. I wanted to get captured again
because it was just a freakin’ party to be scared out of my mind
twenty-four hours a day and made to practice screwed up magic. Oh,
and let us not forget being in a coma and thinking I was gonna get
eaten by some damned black fog. Best time I ever had.”

She pushed against his chest hard enough that he had to stand
to keep from falling on his ass. Anya stood and stepped around him,
her voice getting louder every few words. “It couldn’t have been
because I knew how tired and busy you were, or how much you wanted
us to be able to be mated this week. It couldn’t have been because
I wanted to keep a promise to my mom and not have you have to bring
me out here to get these.” She thrust her hand out and in it he saw
a pair of absolutely gorgeous combs. The exact combs she had told
him about. He immediately felt like a dick for losing his
temper.

“Of course it had to be because I’m some ditzy broad that you
have to watch over all the time” She stood in the doorway and he
watched the rise and fall of her shoulders as she took several deep
breaths. When she turned the tears in her eyes nearly brought him
to his knees. But it was her words that cut him to the quick.
“You’re never gonna change and that is why this,” she motioned over
her shoulder towards him, “is never gonna work.”

Unable to move, he watched her walk out of the room and heard
the kitchen door slam as she left the house. He sank to his knees,
and that is where Aaron found him almost thirty minutes
later.

“Are you praying or did she kick you?” Aaron joked, but Devon
could see the concern on his face.

Not sure how to answer, he spoke the truth, “I fucked up–she
ripped out my heart and I’m praying for a way to make it
right.”

Aaron sat in the chair beside where Devon still knelt and
gripped his shoulder. “You know I got nothing, but I will admit
that seeing you lose your shit and not act all Zen makes me feel
like you might actually be human.”

Devon snorted and Aaron continued, “But I seem to remember
some advice you gave the old guy and it seems like it might work
for you too.” His friend squeezed his shoulder before letting go
and standing. “You better grovel, my man, and make it
good.”