Chapter 4

Helpless, Nickie watched as the huge man stumbled to his knees, her heart breaking for him. If she’d had any doubt he wasn’t human, the wicked, tormented sound that tore from him proved it. He might look like a normal man when he wasn’t swallowed in fire, but there was nothing ordinary about him. His broad shoulders heaved as shuddering sobs shook him. Her throat thickened, and even blinking couldn’t quite keep the dampness rimming her eyes from slipping down her cheeks. Glancing around, she noticed the other women all staring. Some looked horrified, and others, scared shitless—but they all kept their greedy eyes on him.

Her mate wasn’t a fucking freak show. “Give him some damned privacy,” she yelled at them, wiping her tears from her face as she stood between him and them as if she could save him a tiny measure of anguish by keeping them at bay.

All but one turned away. With a smirk on her face, Jessica ignored her demand. Instead, she rolled her eyes and smoothed her hair. “I don’t think so. I’ve changed my mind. I’m not handing him over without a fight. As soon as he’s done freaking out, he’s going to have to choose one of us, and I’ll bet I can convince him to pick me,” she said, thrusting her double d’s out in front of her.

Nickie gasped and curled her hands into fists so tight that her nails dug into her palms. They weren’t best buddies or anything, but Jess wasn’t usually an asshole. “Back off. We all got the same information, and that’s not how this works. He only chooses if there isn’t a clear mate. None of you died when he did. Just me. Don’t fucking push me.”

“And if I do? What are you going to do? You’re as weak as a scrawny alley kitten.” As if to prove her point, Jessica got into her space, lifted her hands to Nickie’s shoulders, and gave her a shove. It wasn’t hard, but it was enough to send her stumbling back.

Jessica glanced over Nickie’s shoulder. Her eyes rounded, and her mouth gaped open. All color drained from her face.

One second, Nickie was standing between the she-bitch and Zenon, and the next, she was staring at the widest expanse of naked back she’d ever seen. Steam misted from his skin as though the blistering heat of the day was somehow cooler than he was.

“You dare lay a hand on the one who has freed me?” he demanded in a cool, deadly tone that sent a quiver of fear rushing through Nickie even though his fury wasn’t aimed at her.

Jessica gasped and scrabbled back, tripping and landing hard on her ass not two feet from where Zenon’s collar sat useless on the ground. His chain still lay in the dirt, a stark reminder of what his existence had been.

“Please, don’t hurt me,” Jessica begged.

The woman had acted like an asshole, but she didn’t deserve to die for her stupidity. Needing to put an end to whatever was happening, she reached up and placed a palm between his shoulder blades, stroking his heated skin. His back expanded as he took a deeper breath.

“She didn’t mean anything by it. She’s as desperate to find her…partner, as I was to find you. Please don’t kill her.”

Zenon peered at her over his shoulder. Although rage still burned in his eyes, the tension coiling beneath her palm eased. “For you, this time, I will spare her.”

His gaze flitted to a point in the distance before he nodded and turned to face her again. “Yes. That’s right. I am your partner,” he said as though he’d confirmed it somehow and was affirming it for them both. Behind him, Jessica got on her feet and rushed back to the group of women, skulking her way to the back with her head hung low.

After that display, the only one brave enough to come forward was Jas. She squealed and clapped her hands, then pulled her in for a tight hug. “I told you so! No more dying for you. Twenty sundaes, chickee! As soon as we reach civilization, you’re going to pay up.”

Zenon’s brows furrowed. He looked from her to Jas and back again before addressing the others. “I lay my life at their feet,” he said with a sweep of his hand, indicating them both. “From this day forward, they are under my protection. Anyone attempting to harm either of them will suffer my wrath. Neither human, nor nidhogg shall be spared,” he proclaimed, earning him another round of gasps. When he locked gazes with Jessica, she whimpered, crouching lower.

Nickie didn’t know what the hell a nidhogg was, but it didn’t sound good. Maybe he spoke a different language and it meant something tame, but the way he’d spat the word made her think otherwise.

“I hate to break up the party here, but it looks like we’re going to get hit by that freak storm again,” Jas said, looking up into the sky. “Maybe we should get out of here.”

Nickie followed her line of sight and shuddered. Having been on top of Zenon while he’d risen had dried every molecule of rain from her body, but she didn’t care for a repeat of the drenching they’d gotten.

The flames that had receded from his skin sizzled to life again. “What beast do you use for transport in this time?” He spun in a circle, keeping his gaze locked on the eye of the storm directly above them.

His attention was momentarily caught by her silence and bewildered look.

“Umm…” she uttered, her brows drawing down at the center.

Tension corded the muscles of his back, and his arms bulged as he clenched his fists. “Dragon? Sphinx? Winged horse? How did you come here? Where did you leave your transport beasts?”

After learning of phoenixes a few weeks before, it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that those creatures existed, as well, but it did. “Um, we took the Land Rovers and drove here. They’re on the other side of that copse of trees over there,” she said, indicating where she meant without taking her eyes off him. He tracked the roiling cloud, his jaw clenching harder by the second.

“Run. Run now. Do not pause, and do not look back. Take your beasts as far and as fast as you can. The nidhogg isn’t particular in its choice of meals, and it is voracious.”

Nickie’s heart slammed against her ribs—not in the way it had when it had given out on her so many times before, but in real, blood-curdling fear. “Come with us,” she said, tugging on his arm. Already, the other women, including Jasmine, were sprinting for the trees, but she couldn’t leave him there alone to face whatever was coming.

He tore his gaze from the sky—which, within seconds, had turned a murky, unnatural rust color that left her shaking in her hiking boots.

“I shall not perish, beautiful little human. Not this time. But if you stay, you will die. Go,” he commanded again. “I will rid us of our enemy, then I will find you.”

The way his eyes glittered made her wonder if he was less afraid and more excited about the prospect of being attacked. She backed away a few paces, keeping her eyes on him, not turning to full-out run until he’d focused his attention on the sky once more.

Just don’t fucking die on me again. If she had to go through two heart attacks in the span of a couple of hours, forget the sundaes, Jas would kill her.

***

With the power of the phoenix pounding through him, Zenon scented the wind The putrid stench of decay fouled the already putrid air, leaving nothing but rot to burn at his sensitive nose. He should have known the beast would not leave after a single feeding. It would keep coming back until its belly had been filled, and it took more than one phoenix to slake its hunger.

A rumbling, incessant growl came from the direction in which the females had disappeared. Whatever beast their land rovers were, they sounded ill—listless. No creature in good health made that noise.

The rusty stain swirling in the sky darkened. Wind whipped around him, picking up sand and debris. The rumble of the creatures taking the women away faded as the first hot, fat drop of rain pelted against his chest. For the first time in eons, he welcomed it. Finally free to fight and defend, both he and his phoenix yearned for battle. The victory. The ultimate reclaiming of power that should have been theirs all along.

The heavens opened, the rain pouring down in heavy sheets. He lifted his arms and tipped his head back, taking it in. Reveling in it. This time, he wasn’t at its mercy. “Come, meet your fate,” he whispered into the storm, his words whipped away the second they passed his lips.

With a crack of thunder, the nidhogg broke through the epicenter, its maw open wide. The beast’s loud roar shook the very earth beneath Zenon’s feet. Thick, green scales covered the serpentine body. Sharp spikes protruded from its spine while three sets of dragon-like claws hung below its body, its talons as black as night. Deadly.

The beast could not survive long on the earthly realm, otherwise it would not have retreated while Zenon transitioned. Thank the goddesses for that one mercy. Otherwise, Nickie would have perished. The nidhogg expected an easy meal. It had found him chained and feasted on his body already. But Zenon wasn’t tethered anymore. He was no longer weak. And he would not succumb to the creature barrelling down on him. Never again.

Taking a deep breath, he released his hold on the fire burning in the depths of his soul. Scorching heat exploded through him. More power than he could remember ever possessing filled every part of him, forcing him deep inside while the predator that he was at his core rushed out to meet their enemy in its fiery glory.

The nidhogg landed on the ground, hissing its displeasure at the phoenix through its rows of razor sharp teeth, but rather than return to the hell in which it was spawned, as would have been wise, it remained. What the enemy lacked in cunning or intelligence, it made up for in brute strength and agility. Still, it was no match for a phoenix.

It slithered along the ground, the scrape of scales against pebbles and jagged stones resounding in the dead, empty field. Zenon followed its movement, unblinking. The creature wouldn’t wait for a perfect moment. It would strike hard and fast. It eyed him as it circled, assessing him. Had it been so long since it had last seen a shifted phoenix that it had no concept of the peril he posed?

It cracked its jaw wide. Its screech rent the air, making Zenon’s head pound with the high pitch and tone. Had he been in his other form, his eardrums wouldn’t have withstood the pressure. As it was, it left them ringing for moments after the beast had snapped its mouth shut again.

The creature tensed and that was all the warning Zenon got. As still as stone one moment, it hurtled toward him in the next. Leaping into the air, Zenon flapped his mighty wings, taking him higher. The exhilaration of having nothing but ether surrounding him had him flying faster and harder, desperation driving him to heights he’d stopped hoping to reach again.

The nidhogg roared and gave chase, trying to keep pace, but it didn’t have the strength or speed for that. As much as Zenon wanted to keep soaring and never stop, he had to rid the world of the beast at his tail feathers. If it didn’t find its meal with him, it would return for other creatures to feast upon, and the women—most importantly, Nickie—couldn’t have gotten very far in the few minutes since their departure.

Stretching his wings wide, he found the current and glided in a wide arc, circling around to face the approaching beast head on. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. As much as he’d relished the idea of toying with it, he didn’t have the luxury of time.

With a screech that rivaled the enemy’s, Zenon launched himself forward. Talons reaching, he grasped the beast in that tender spot at the base of its head. It writhed and thrashed against his hold, but Zenon held tight. Its tail whipped at him from the left, and he braced himself for the impact. With its wicked teeth so close to his body, he didn’t dare release the squirming beast. One of the three curved spikes tore into his side, leaving a gaping, bleeding wound in its wake.

Striking fast and hard, he drove his beak between the scales covering the nidhogg’s neck. It wasn’t difficult to kill them if one knew where their weakest point was. Zenon and his brothers had fought them many times—and won. This would be no exception. The acid of the beast’s blood flooded his mouth, making him want to retch and gag after having nothing to eat in so long, but he dug deeper, not stopping until he reached the artery supplying all three of the creature’s hearts. With a quick snap of his beak, he severed the life supplying blood vessel and pulled back. Only once his enemy lay limp and lifeless in his claws did he release the nidhogg, sending it tumbling to the ground far beneath him.

He wasted no time in following his prey to the earth. Even though he was starved for sustenance, he’d not feast upon the creature’s body. He’d burn it, destroying evidence of it having been on the mortal field. Then he would find Nickie.

The nidhogg was the least of his worries. Those who had captured him would be aware his collar was broken by now. The strand of magic tethering him to whoever—or whatever—had cast it had been shattered the moment the women had set him free. His true enemy would not be far away. Unlike the nidhogg, they would understand the threat he posed. They would not let him escape so easily.

With the fire only a phoenix could produce, he set the beast aflame before shifting back to his human form. Breathing through his mouth, he avoided taking in the toxic fumes. Although they wouldn’t kill him, the vapors would make his head spin and his stomach roll if he inhaled too much of them, and he’d had enough of feeling weak and sick to last him many more lifetimes. Once set, nothing would extinguish the fire until it snuffed itself out.

Turning his back, he strode to where his chain lay useless on the ground, his collar broken in two. The mechanism was simple, yet genius. Two sets of hands had been needed to unlock the latches. No matter how hard he’d tried, he’d never been able to open it on his own. Not that he could have fit his fingers in the tiny holes had he had two extra hands.

And he knew his enemy had ensured no one would find him in that wretched burial ground? Yet, Nickie had.

The warm trickle of blood down his left side reminded him of his injury. He was not concerned. The phoenix would seal the wound and heal him.

In the darkest recess of his mind, a thumping heartbeat sounded. He’d heard it before he’d succumbed to death such a short time ago. It had been erratic and weak—like his. At the time, he’d assumed the pulse belonged to the nidhogg, but perhaps he’d been mistaken. Maybe his brother was closer than he had originally suspected.

“Zandar?” he sent out, his voice loud and clear on the mental link he now found with ease. How could he have forgotten their earlier contact? The steady thumps grew quicker, less steady, but his brother didn’t answer. Had he dreamed it? No, it hadn’t been his imagination. He’d heard him. He was certain of it.

“Zandar, answer me, or I will search all the heavens and each of the hells to find you, and when I do, I will set you ablaze for your impudence,” he threatened, pushing more of his will into their telepathic link.

“You would fry your kin? I would welcome the heat,” came the weak reply he was so desperate to hear.

He drew a shuddering breath, unwilling to let the connection sever again. “Where are you? I will come. Is Zechariah with you?”

“You are free, Zenon? Truly?” Bitter disbelief tainted every word. “She said it would happen. Said we’d be released. I did not dare believe it.”

Pain lanced through him. For all his years of captivity, his hope that his brothers had not suffered his fate had kept him from falling into madness. “Tell me you are well. That you are not chained somewhere,” he commanded.

“I shall not lie to you,” Zandar responded after a lengthy pause.

“Where? Tell me where you are. I will set you free. And what of Zech?”

“Your voice is the first I’ve heard since my capture. I have yet to connect with him. Is she lovely, brother?” Zandar asked, his voice almost wistful.

The odd question gave him pause. Was his brother falling into the madness he himself had struggled against so many times? It didn’t matter. He’d find him and make him whole again. “Who? Is who lovely?” he asked, desperate to keep him talking.

“The one who freed you. Your mate.”

Nickie. Zenon’s breath caught in his lungs. “She is human, brother. Not phoenix. She cannot be my mate.”

Zandar took so long to respond that Zenon thought he wouldn’t. “That is right. It is what she said in my dream. The chosen would be human women of great courage and power.”

Through their telepathic link, Zandar’s weakness beat at him. He wished he could funnel his energy to him, but that was impossible, even for the mighty phoenix.

“Who told you this?” Nothing but cold, dead silence met his words.

“Zandar!” he yelled into his brother’s mind after another moment of silence, but there was no use. The connection was lost.