Eleven
Miracle, or Not
The next evening, after they sent Maya back to the ancestors, Saber sat in the village square staring into the fire. Skye and her brother were tucked in their beds, asleep and being cared for by the whole village.
Some things were beyond his or anyone’s understanding, he thought, as he took in the passed-out form of Cass mere feet away. He couldn’t blame the guy for spending the day in a drunken stupor. It was something he was highly tempted to do as well, but the urge to hunt those responsible kept him from joining his friend.
Saber couldn’t help but worry about Cass and why he still lived. He’d heard of instances of bonded mates living past the deaths of their mates, but those were mostly tales—with little or no truth behind it. But for Cass to survive the funeral pyre as well? It was a miracle.
Or was it?
When Cass rose from the fire, he had staggered to Saber and collapsed. “It hurts,” he said. Saber knew he didn’t mean the fire. Cass didn’t have a single singed hair on his head. “It hurts beyond words.”
He just held his friend, then later attempted to lead Cass to the dwelling where Saber stayed when he visited, but Cass pulled away. “No, take me to my home, I need … Maya …”
The next morning, Cass began to drink, while Saber stayed close to him. He had just been mulling over this strange turn of events, when Cass lowered his bottle and met Saber’s gaze.
“Maya broke our bond. Why would she do that?”
Saber had no answer for his friend.
But Cass just shook his head. “I didn’t know she could do that. I was ready to go with her. I would have gone. Even though I felt something else trying to hold me here to this world, I was ready. I wanted to go. I still want to go.”
Saber frowned. He’d never heard of such a thing happening. “You think it’s your bond with your Young holding you here?”
Cass shook his head and, appearing stone sober, gazed off into the distance. “No, someone else. I can feel it … her … it’s female. She’s holding me here to the land of the living.” Then Cass’s green, tormented eyes bore into Saber. “Why? Why would anyone do this to me?”
Fuck it! Saber snatched up a bottle of ale from Cass’s stock pile and took a long drink.
“Do you think whoever this is, is what prevented me from burning last night?” Cass asked.
Saber shook his head. “No idea, my friend, this is all beyond me.”
Cass nodded and stared down into his ale. “I need to join Maya. Even now I feel this—whatever this is—tethering me to this world. I … hate it. Whoever this female is, she will pay, if it’s the last thing I ever do.”
Saber shivered at the finality in Cass’s words, but had nothing to offer his friend. He’d never heard of anyone able to hold someone back from joining their mate in the afterlife. Or someone able to keep another from burning from any kind of distance. Though if anyone could, it had to be the druids. The evil witches knew no end of hate for all Supes, and it would be just like them to do something so horrible.
Filled with loathing for the Ilyium who had tormented dragonkind for so long, Saber held onto the renewed hatred. If nothing else, it may end up being the only thing to keep him sane. Up until now, he knew Adarias would be there to put him out of his misery once he turned rogue. Now, that wasn’t going to happen.
Not Zales, or any of his younger brothers would be able to do the job, and Saber didn’t know of any other dragons strong enough to do the deed. Cass, while once extremely powerful, was now broken and too close to the edge. No, despite whoever seemed to be tethering him to this world, it would be a miracle if his friend survived. Besides, how could he even ask it of the guy after all he’d just lost?
Saber decided to worry about it later. Right now, he needed to get on the trail of those who deserved to die for their part in the latest horrid attack. Luckily, he knew it wouldn’t be hard to locate the Ilyium. He had the individual scents of all who had been there.
Then Saber remembered the female with the mop of fiery hair and his heartbeat sped up. He had momentarily spotted her across the witch circle. Then amid the stench of blood and burnt flesh, he’d caught the slightest hint of honeysuckle and spice. Who is she? More importantly, why had she been with the others? She had appeared upset and horrified. Not the expression of one who believed in what she was doing. Even more, he couldn’t stop thinking about her bright, amber-eyed gaze, or the intense jolt of power that shot throughout his body when he’d met her eyes. It had set him aflame and completely energized him.
Like a sizzle of recognition that resonated deep inside and made his dragon sit up and take notice, it had left Saber stunned. Breathless. The connection felt so deep. So utterly right and powerful. It had almost been enough to distract him at a crucial moment.
Maybe that was the plan? One of the enemy had managed to cut him after all. Saber’s breath grew ragged as he thought of her. Sweet and curvy in all the right places, and her lips … Saber shook his head as his cock hardened in need. Stop it, you fool. How fucked up are you? She’s the enemy. She killed Maya. You don’t need to be thinking of her. You only need her to tell you how to get Adarias out of Hades and then kill her. Saber groaned, his head was about to split apart. Yet no matter how he tried, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew her. Who was he kidding? If he’d ever met her, he’d have never been able to forget.
Saber finished the ale and his aching cock twitched. With a growl, he stood, threw the bottle into the fire, and walked away. It had to be some kind of trick or spell. He’d already met and lost his mate. Yet deep inside, a voice told him to go find her. Oh, I’ll find her, she can’t hide from me. I have her scent and I will search all fifty-two realms if need be.