“T-thank the goddess I-I’ve found you! Storg sent me. H-have to come now.” The guard panted, trying to catch his breath. Sweat beaded on his broad forehead and his lungs labored beneath his leather vest.
“What’s wrong?” Kaya demanded.
“Don’t know.” The dragon shifter sucked in a huge breath. “Storg told me it was urgent.”
Kaya shared a glance with Ry, and as one, they sprinted through the village and down the lane leading to the compound.
As they neared the private garden entrance, the sound of revelry floated on the air. Laughter and shouting and male posturing competed with feminine titters.
“Where is Storg?” Ry asked.
“Near the cottages.” The dragon shifter had regained his puff and kept up with them on the run back to the compound.
Kaya spotted Storg loitering outside the cottage where Aideen was staying. “What is it?”
Storg sagged against the cottage wall on seeing them before straightening and dragging his hand through his hair. Judging by the state of his braid it wasn’t the first time he’d done this.
“Thank the goddess you’re here. It’s Aideen. I wasn’t sure what to do. Gryffnn is inside her cottage. They were kissing—”
“Pardon?” The mental image detonated Kaya’s temper. A blast of heat seared her heart and mind and left throbbing fury and hurt. The question why hammered in her brain.
She’d thought…
“I’ll geld him.” She shook the stupidity from her brain and darted a step closer to the door.
Ry grabbed her and jerked her to a halt.
“Wait,” he said. “Think. Something is wrong. Gryffnn hates Aideen and her sister. He wouldn’t do this, not after his suffering at Caley’s hands.” He turned to Storg. “Are there any of Aideen’s guards?”
“One. I’ve taken care of him. He’s behind that hedge, tied and gagged.”
Kaya shook away her anger, attempted to force away her surge of jealousy as she listened. “Gryffnn is truly in the cottage with Aideen?”
“Yes,” Storg acknowledged, a deep frown etched into his lined features.
“Think, Kaya,” Ry repeated. “All I’m saying is we should enter with open minds. Are you ready?” Ry glanced at her, Storg and the security guard who had alerted them. “Behind me, Kaya,” he ordered.
The implacable hardness of his voice had her obeying without question. Gryffnn and Aideen. Gryffnn and Aideen. No. No, she couldn’t believe Gryffnn would do this to her. Jealous. Goddess, Ry was right. She did care for Gryffnn. She shoved the revelation to the back of her mind and fell in behind Ry and Storg. The security guard entered the cottage behind her.
Throaty feminine laughter floated from the bed chamber. Kaya’s mouth tightened at the trail of discarded garments, both masculine and feminine.
They crept down the passage in single file until Storg froze in the open doorway of the chamber. Ry stepped up beside him. Kaya wriggled past Ry, desperate to see, then wished she hadn’t.
Gryffnn lay on the gel-bed, naked, his cock thrusting outward and upward like a sword. His eyes remained closed, his breathing harsh and discordant as he sucked on one of Aideen’s breasts.
A naked Aideen straddled his body, the light from one of Narenda’s moons highlighting her ample curves.
“Freeze,” Kaya snapped and pulled out her blaster, aiming it at Aideen.
“Lights on,” Ry ordered.
Illumination flooded the room. It took secs for Kaya’s eyes to adjust to the brightness. She glared at Gryffnn, a pounding in her ears. How could he do this? Her hands curled around the butt of her blaster.
Ry’s words of caution flooded her mind, and she stilled her urge to fire at both of them.
“You dare interrupt,” Aideen said in a haughty voice, the twist of her body pulling her nipple from Gryffnn’s mouth. “We were about to have sex. This is a private matter between me and Gryffnn.”
Thank goodness! They hadn’t done the deed. Yet.
“Gryffnn is betrothed to me,” Kaya spat. “Which makes this my business. Get off him before I put a hole in you.”
Aideen lifted her chin but didn’t move. “I am leader of my clan. Gryffnn leads his, which makes us an idea match. Ask Gryffnn if he entered this cottage of his own volition. He’ll tell you I didn’t force him into this position.”
“Gryffnn,” Storg said in a sharp voice.
Gryffnn didn’t react.
Ry stepped up to the gel-bed and waved his hand over Gryffnn’s face. When he still didn’t react, Ry lifted one of Gryffnn’s eyelids. “Drugged.”
They all glowered at Aideen.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said, her tone haughty.
“Get off him,” Kaya said.
When Aideen raised her brows and sneered at her, Kaya fired her blaster. She didn’t aim to hit, but to make the point that she could and would next time.
Ry and Storg gaped at the hole in the chamber wall, then stared at Kaya. Behind them, the security man sniggered.
Kaya gestured at Aideen with her blaster. “Off.”
Aideen hesitated, and Kaya shot her blaster again, this shot close enough to singe the elaborate coil piled atop the dragon shifter’s head. A tinge of smoke rose from the sizzled locks, and satisfaction sank into Kaya’s bones.
“Don’t make me shoot a third time,” Kaya warned.
Aideen grunted and swung her leg off Gryffnn. She ambled over to a looking glass and shrieked on seeing her hair. “Bitch. I’ll get you for this.”
“I informed you of my intentions. You ignored my advice to move your butt off my betrothed.” She glanced at Ry. “Help Gryffnn up and find him something to wear. I’d help but I still have the urge to shoot something.”
Storg and Ry hauled Gryffnn to his feet, but Gryffnn didn’t react, his head lolling to the side. They ripped a covering off the gel-bed and wrapped it around Gryffnn.
Once she was certain they had Gryffnn in hand, she followed them from the cottage, her blaster at the ready.
“Follow them,” she ordered the security guard. “What is your name?”
“Gregarious,” he said.
“All right. Gregarious, follow them until they’re inside the private quarters and away from Aideen’s people.”
Gregarious hesitated. “What are you going to do?”
“I won’t shoot Aideen, although I’m mighty tempted. You will find me in the private gardens for a while before I retire for the evening.”
He nodded and trotted after Ry and Storg as they manhandled Gryffnn to the family quarters.
Kaya stomped away, long strides taking her to the gardens. The colors and the scents normally left her relaxed and happy. Not this blacklight. The memory of Gryffnn sucking on Aideen’s breast and his rampant erection refused to leave her mind.
Normally, she wouldn’t care. She’d walked in on a man before, one she’d slept with a few times and thought they’d had a non-verbal agreement. She’d laughed at him, told him his cock would shrivel at the next full moon and left.
This time…
Kaya stormed past a bed of mauve flowers, their scent sweet and enticing. She stamped back past, her hand slashing out in the burst of temper. Secs later, she stared at the severed flower heads at her feet.
The truth she’d tried to ignore struck her anew.
She liked Gryffnn.
No, she more than adored Gryffnn.
It was why she’d agreed to this pretense. And the sex…
She huffed out a harsh breath as she tested her thoughts, her feelings. She’d enjoyed the closeness with a man. Gryffnn had seemed to care for her too.
Even though it was obvious Aideen had drugged him, this still ached like a betrayal.
Yes, she needed to think.
* * * * *
Gryffnn woke the next cycle, his head pounding with a ferocity that had him wincing at the light blazing through the unscreened windows and slamming his eyes shut. The hammer in his skull continued while his lethargic brainbox fought to recall what had happened and why every muscle in his body acted as if he’d been in a fight.
Cautiously, he slit open his eyelids and turned his head. He frowned at the discovery he was alone.
Where was Kaya?
A knock sounded on his door.
“Enter.”
Ry poked his head inside the chamber and stepped over the threshold, closing the door behind him. “You’re awake.”
“Barely. Windows semi-screen.” The automatic screens obeyed the order, and the brightness reduced. His head continued to ache while his mouth craved liquid. He swallowed twice, which did little to ease the dryness.
Ry approached the gel-bed. “Do you remember what happened last eve?”
Gryffnn frowned, casting his mind back. He had nothing. He scanned Ry’s somber face, and his stomach twisted into a knot. “What did I do?”
“We found you in bed with Aideen.”
Shock kicked Gryffnn in the middle of the chest. His body jerked, the abrupt lurch setting the hammers in his head into a loud cacophony. He stared at Ry, waiting for him to crack a grin. “You’re lying.”
“Storg and I brought you back to your chamber. Someone drugged you, and you wouldn’t have made the trip without us. You staggered as if you were drunk.”
Fear followed on the heels of his disbelief. He swallowed, his sluggish brainbox juddering into action. “Kaya?”
“She threatened to shoot a hole in Aideen.”
“She saw me?”
“Naked with Aideen. Yes.”
“Phrull.”
“If it’s any consolation, according to Aideen, we arrived before you did the deed,” Ry said.
“Is Kaya…has she left?” Frag it, what had happened? He loathed Aideen. He’d go as far as saying he hated her for the way she’d behaved before on Dalcon and now.
“No, she’s in her normal chamber.” Ry glanced at the corner of the room. “Her bag is here.”
Profound relief had him squeezing his eyes closed and bowing his head. Could he fix this? “My mind is blank. I remember nothing.”
“We’re certain someone drugged you. Perhaps a touch of a sex drug. I don’t know if you have it here but they market it as rabbit in some of the places we visited before we hit Viros. It makes a person desperate to have sex.”
“I’ve heard of it. You think she drugged me?” Gryffnn didn’t have to pretend his shock. That Aideen would stoop to such skullduggery.
“Yes.”
“Phrull. Kaya won’t want anything to do with me.” Misery clamped around his chest, squeezing the spark of panic deep inside him and making it explode and ricochet hard enough to batter his poor head.
“Tell her the truth. She already knows about the drug.”
Gryffnn nodded and winced at the shard of pain in his skull. “I’ll shower. It might wash the mud away from my brainbox.”
“There is more, but I’ll see you when you break your fast.”
Gryffnn swung his legs over the side of the gel-bed. His aim was to build a life, a future with Kaya, but getting past this…
He forced himself to stand and almost faceplanted.
Ry grabbed him and held him upright until Gryffnn’s feet took his own weight. “You’ll need help.”
“No. Help me into the bathing chamber, and I’ll take it from there. I’d prefer you to check on Kaya.”
Ry provided the requested aid and left Gryffnn with water pouring over his head. Frigid water to prod him to full wakefulness. As the cold liquid pummeled him, he tried to recall the events of the previous night. Ry and Kaya had gone to the spaceport to check on Aideen’s ships while he’d eaten with his people and the visiting dragons. After that, his memories grew murky.
Once he shivered from the cold, he issued the order for the water to cease. “Water stop. Drier on.”
It was almost an entire mark later before he entered the dining room. Storg, Ry, Kaya and Sable sat at a float-table, cups of delicate green tay in their hands.
Gryffnn took one whiff of the savory breakfast scents and breathed through his mouth. He dropped onto the empty seat beside Sable. When she poured a cup of tay and pushed it toward him, he mumbled thanks and wrapped his hands around the warm vessel. He took one sip and another, the tay warming him from the inside and moistening his throat. Then, he risked a glance at Kaya.
“I’m so sorry about last eve. I don’t understand what happened,” he said.
“Aideen drugged you,” Kaya said. “Not your fault.”
At least she wasn’t screeching at him, although she refused to meet his gaze. “I don’t know how it happened. Or when. It’s a blank.”
“Lesson learned,” Storg said. “We have to watch what we eat or drink, especially you, Gryffnn.”
“Is it common knowledge?” Gryffnn asked.
“Aideen is telling everyone who will listen that you seduced her and then put the blame on her. She is adamant Kaya tried to murder her,” Storg said.
Gryffnn closed his eyes, his stomach churning too much to even consider eating. Great. Just great. How could he look his people in the eye? “Ry, you said you had news for me about your reconnoitering last eve.”
“All six of Aideen’s ships have special units to render them invisible on your tracking systems. We found boxes of precious stones in the hold of one ship, probably the one I spotted traveling over the mountains,” Ry said.
“Aideen is stealing from us?”
“It looks that way, but we need to catch her in the act. None of the boxes we looked through contained unusual stones. If you go accusing them of stealing, you might have trouble proving it.”
Gryffnn tapped his fingers on the tabletop and stopped when the sound arced through his head. “My man should’ve almost reached Dalcon by now. Between him and Jacinta, they should garner information to help us. Jacinta hadn’t turned up anything more than gossip when I spoke with her, but she said she’ll liaise with our man and get back with the info they uncover.”
“What are you going to do now?” Kaya asked.
What he wanted to do was take Kaya to his chamber and lock the door until she forgave him. Then, he wanted to make sure she realized he was serious about a relationship with her. He’d take her and Lys to join his existing family of two. Both Ransom and Sable liked Kaya and respected her. Gryffnn lusted after her and felt more for her than he’d ever experienced for Caley.
But none of that would happen until he dealt with Aideen.
“I’ll speak to Aideen and persuade her to leave,” Gryffnn said. “Surely she won’t want to stay here where she’s not wanted.” He turned to Kaya. “I understand my actions have annoyed you. Hurt you. All I can say is that I’m sorry and had I been in my right mind, you would have found me in our chamber instead of at the cottage with Aideen. I would…will never have an intimate relationship with Aideen.”
Kaya gave a stiff nod, and he took heart since she was finally giving him her full attention.
“How do you intend to entertain your guests this cycle?” Ry asked.
“Run one of your flying exercises,” Kaya suggested. “It will give you a chance to assess their strengths and if you plot a flight path that goes near the mountain range, you can ascertain how the visitors handle the resonance from the precious stones.”
“That’s an excellent idea. Even better, the flying will keep them busy for the entire cycle. I’ll offer a prize for the dragon with the fastest time.” He paused. “Yes, I’ll let them choose an item from our finished jewelry.”
Sable gasped. “That is a handsome prize.”
“Hopefully it will induce every dragon to run the course,” Gryffnn said. “And I won’t have to worry about Aideen’s dragons taking side trips to steal our precious stones.”
“I’ve heard from Ellard,” Ry said. “They’re already on the way to Narenda and should arrive before blacklight. Ellard intends to fly straight to the area they’re guarding.”
“They’re on the Indy?” Gryffnn asked.
“No, Ellard decided it would make sense to have their own transportation,” Ry said. “Camryn and Nanu were preparing to leave when I spoke to them.”
“Thank you for organizing this.” Gryffnn rose, his head still pounding. He had not a hope of completing the flying course this cycle. He’d organize, take times and wait at the finish line to judge the winner. “Kaya, would you mind walking with me? I wish to show solidarity in our betrothal.”
Alarm surged through him as indecision marched across her pale blue features. He wanted to object, to inform her he had morals and believed in fidelity and faithfulness, yet how could he when she’d discovered him naked with Aideen? Phrull, he wished he could remember what had happened.
Finally, finally, Kaya nodded and walked at his side as he left the dining chamber.
He led her to the communal dining hall where their visitors mingled with his own dragons and broke their fast.
Silence fell as he and Kaya entered. Gryffnn announced the plans for the cycle, but instead of the excited chatter he expected, the silence deepened.
Phrull. He’d expected comments about the situation with Aideen but not this pregnant hush.
“What’s wrong?” Kaya’s irritation rang out for all to hear.
Aideen stood and Gryffnn’s gaze shot to the Narendanite pendant hanging around her neck. Whispers began, low and persistent. Gryffnn gulped, his focus on the pendant traditionally gifted from the leader of the Drake dragons to his mate.
He forced himself to speak. “The contest begins in half a mark. All those who intend to take part should meet at the training field, where my flight captain will show you the flying course.”
“You dare to flaunt your tramp in front of your mate?” Aideen’s voice rang out, cutting through the whispers.
He noticed Kaya caress the butt of her blaster, but thankfully commonsense stayed her impulsive action. Pulling a weapon here would start a war. Kaya smirked at Aideen, her attention on Aideen’s hair. Gryffnn had no idea why but Aideen’s expression turned icy.
Aideen clutched the pendant in her right hand. “Gryffnn gifted me with this pendant last blacklight and I accepted his proposal to join our clans.”
“No,” Gryffnn snapped. “I did not. Kaya is my betrothed. The flying contest begins in half a mark.” He grasped Kaya’s forearm and propelled her out the door.
“Is that pendant special to your clan?” Kaya demanded as soon as they stood in the private gardens.
Gryffnn didn’t understand. “You said the drug incapacitated me last eve, and I was incapable of walking without help.”
“Yes.”
“There is a family pendant that the leader of the Drake clan gives to his mate. I am not the leader. I am standing in for Ransom until he recovers. Ransom has the family pendant, and I presume he has it locked in his personal safe. I don’t have access since only his fingerprint and an eye scan opens the security lock. The pendant Aideen is wearing has to be a fake. Ask Sable if you don’t believe me or contact Jacinta, and she will tell you the same thing.”
“What are you going to do?” Kaya asked, her calmness now going a long way to settling the angst writhing through his gut.
“I’ll call my people together this blacklight and tell them the truth,” Gryffnn said. “I’ll speak to those entering the flight contest now.” He sucked in a huge breath. “Kaya, I have a confession.”
Kaya’s expression hardened. “If I learn you’ve been lying, I will fill you with holes.”
Gryffnn nodded. “Asking you to act as my betrothed was only part of my plan. I have wanted you for a long time, Kaya. You didn’t see me, so I grabbed this opportunity to spend time with you. I have feelings for you and want to build a future with you. Lys too.”
She stared at him, her emotions screened. Fear tiptoed through him, his mouth drying again as he returned her regard.
Her breath hissed out, and the stiffness left her muscles. “I-I want to believe you. Catching you with Aideen wounded me. It made me realize this wasn’t a pretense for me either, that you had the power to hurt me.”
Gryffnn stared at her, his throat tight. “We still have a chance?”
“Let’s take one cycle at a time. And I would speak with Jacinta.”
“Fair enough.” Gryffnn pushed a button on his comm and handed it to Kaya. “I’ll be at the training field, organizing the start of the race.”
“Once I’m done, I’ll bring you your comm.”
Gryffnn hesitated, wanting to kiss her. Too soon. He confined himself to a squeeze of her shoulder and a nod. As he walked away, he prayed he’d done the right thing because he’d hate Kaya to leave him.