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Realm of Tuatha Dé Danann

Dakkar felt like whistling, but Macha had been in a foul mood for more than a month and hearing anyone happy around her set the goddess off.

He hoped what he had to report would change her mood, though nothing short of handing her the head of that dragon was going to please her. Her frame of mind had gone so far downhill, he’d failed to tease her out of it with hours of making love. She was an insatiable wench, but without passion these days.

A weaker man would take that to heart and feel a failure, but he knew his ability with a naked woman.

It mattered not. He would keep Macha satisfied and partnering with him so that when he handed her the dragon and Treoir, she would in turn give him what he needed to reach his goal. One she need not know of yet.

“How’s the most underappreciated goddess feeling today?” he asked as he strolled in.

Macha sat neck-deep in a marble tub, which required two steps up to reach the platform holding it. She soaked in a bath filled with ... he sniffed. Champagne and lilac. Interesting mixture and he had no doubt it was the finest champagne to be had.

She adjusted her cloud of hair the color of a deep-red sunset, placing the thick mass against a plush, silk pillow that hummed a melodic tune. He loved it when her green eyes turned dark as he made love to her. She had a face that challenged the word perfection and lips fit for a goddess, but he was the man who owned her in the sack.

Eyeing him with a pout, she said, “I am bored beyond belief. I want my island back.”

“I know, love.” He heard the same refrain every single day, which was why he spent most of his time out in the human world, digging for ways to give her that bloody island and dragon.

He waited for her full attention to say, “I come to you with news.”

She arched a perfect eyebrow. “You always have something to tell me, just not what I want to hear.”

Undeterred, he stepped to the end of her marble tub and dropped to his knees on a lower step, then reached into the water to lift out a foot, which he began to massage.

She closed her eyes.

He kneaded the muscles and received a sexy sound of pain, but nothing like what he could pull from her with a night of role-playing. When she lifted another foot for him, he continued working on her as he spoke.

“I have been making interesting progress.” No overt reaction, so he went on. “I have good news and not-so-good news.”

Muscles in her foot tensed.

“There is no benefit to having a meltdown, Macha.”

She opened her eyes to glare at him. “I will do as I please here.”

“We all know that, but your staff is weary from your constantly putting them in a panic.”

Without any acknowledgment of his point, she said, “What is your news?”

“The Beladors have withdrawn a large percentage of their force from VIPER, leaving the coalition in a lurch.”

She lifted her head and the pillow whined. Macha said, “Shh!” silencing the pillow. She asked Dakkar, “Why did the Beladors do that?”

“Daegan claimed some of the Belador families were losing children to the Medb. Evidently Sen didn’t see that as his problem. He threatened the Beladors with repercussions, but the good news in all this is that VIPER needs agents who can handle deadly preternatural situations. For some reason, trolls are coming into Atlanta and helping the Medb steal children.”

Sitting quietly as sparkling bubbles floated around her glorious breasts, Macha said, “What is Maeve after?”

“My best guess is she’s come up with some new plan for capturing the dragon.”

“No. I want his head!”

Water sizzled and sparked. Steam rose from her churning energy.

Dakkar did not want to be burned, which would happen if that water surged and hit him. He could heal, but he’d just as soon pass on being a boiled mage.

“Macha, please.”

She looked around, just noticing the temperature of her bath and stared at it until the happy champagne returned. She leaned back on the pillow, which sighed and began humming again.

Dakkar dried his hands and stood. “Due to the Beladors pulling out of VIPER, Sen asked if I could help. I was authorized to bring in as many bounty hunters as necessary to cover the assignments. I said I’d do it if my people could stay once I brought them in. He agreed. This gives me an inside line on everything that comes up and an edge as we move forward.”

Macha allowed a contented smile. “That is good news.” 

“Quite a bit of good news, right?”

“Yes.”

“It will balance out the not-so-good news that Veronika has escaped.”

Macha shouted, “No! How could they let that happen?” 

“My words exactly. I have no idea how she got out, because Sen forbade us talking about it. He said he hopes she goes after the Beladors and the Sterling witch first. If they don’t stop her, then he’ll come up with an attack plan.”

“He’s a moron.”

“Possibly, but I like the way he’s thinking. I’m all for letting someone else deal with her. In the meantime, you need to stay as far from the human world as you can.” 

“This is terrible.”

He didn’t see the downside. “Why?”

“Are you sure Maeve and Cathbad are behind terrorizing the Beladors?”

“That’s the logical conclusion since the trolls are being lured in with the offer of Noirre majik. ”

Macha fisted the hand draped on the edge of her tub. “If that bitch Maeve captures Daegan, I will lose my chance to kill him and take all that he has stolen from me.”

“I don’t know about that, Macha. Veronika may get to Daegan before anyone else.” 

“She probably doesn’t know a dragon exists. He’s a threat to deities. That means he’s a threat to her as well.”

“My people have been sending me any intel they can scrounge  from VIPER. Word is that Veronika knows a secret the Beladors have been hiding, which has to do with their Maistir.” 

“Quinn? That fool? He had a fling with Kizira. I don’t care if it did happen when they were both young. He allowed an enemy to manipulate him with sex.” 

Who was Dakkar to criticize someone who used his own tactics? “True, but after placing some of my people strategically to make Sen’s life easier, I have learned even more.”

Macha grimaced. “Why make that buffoon’s life easy?”

“Because Sen is the one person in position to do us the most good. When I had possession of the tomb with Kizira’s body—” 

“—which you lost.”

Dakkar tamped down on his irritation. “That body was merely a means to an end.” 

“The end being to trap that dragon and kill him.” 

He deserved an award for patience. “You’re getting off topic. If Veronika does not kill Daegan, I will hand you the dragon. All in good time. But when Quinn was searching for Kizira’s body, evidently he took the Sterling witch in to see Veronika in her cell.”

Macha perked up. “Oh?” 

Without changing his expression, Dakkar smiled to himself. “Yes, and when they left, Veronika went into a screaming fit. Since then, she’s been singing that she knows his secret. I don’t think it’s that he had a relationship with Kizira, because everyone from the Tribunal to you to the Medb found out about that, so what else could he be hiding?” 

Sounding stumped, Macha muttered, “I have no idea.” 

“I will know for sure very soon, but I’m going to make an educated guess and say that this secret will put Veronika at odds with Daegan. I’ve heard Daegan is taking over as Maistir so that Quinn can be gone to handle something personal. That makes me think Veronika is after something Quinn doesn’t want her to get her hands on.” Dakkar could tell Macha, but he wanted her to reach the same conclusion he had. He asked, “What could Quinn and Kizira have been hiding?”

The goddess sat up quickly.

Champagne rushed over Macha’s creamy white skin and damn, what a pair of tits. He almost didn’t hear her say, “You think they had a child?” 

Dragging his gaze from her incredible body, he said, “If they did, everyone will be after a child with Belador and Medb blood. Think of the potential to manipulate that kind of power from the beginning.” 

“Daegan would never allow that to happen.” 

“Exactly, which is why Daegan will be busy hunting for Veronika while Maeve is stalking his ass.” 

“I hate to admit this, but in a one-on-one battle, he might kill Veronika.” 

“Yes, with might being the key word if the Medb stay involved.” 

“What are you going to do?” 

“Sen is hiding Veronika’s escape from his superiors as long as he can. He called me in to strike a deal for the return of Veronika, which we did. She took down one of my hunters. We found his body in a trunk. I intend to find her, make sure she kills the dragon first, then I’ll set my bounty hunters on her.”

She lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow. “What did you ask for?”

“Sen to support me when I tell the Tribunal you deserve the return of Treoir. Those deities will jump at the chance to have you back where you were.”

Finally, he earned a smile and the promise of more to come.