Francesco Marino

I woke up in a wonderful mood. That kiss from Audrey had been unforgettable. Even from just the meeting of our lips a single time, I knew that she had zest and passion unlike any woman I had ever met. Hell, I could tell why she left my car so quickly. She didn’t trust herself around me. Normally, that would have caused me to see about having the lady return to me, but I knew she needed her space. I would not push. She would be back in due time.

Maybe I shouldn’t have told the other two about the kiss. Miguel had cursed me out a hundred different ways in Spanish. Maybe I deserved that. As for Damon, he looked ready to kill me. Yeah, I definitely shouldn’t have said anything, but I had been feeling lighter than a kite afterward. She had made my heart beat again. I had actually not been out on a date in two months. For most guys, that would be the equivalent of three or four years.

I had just finished getting dressed when Miguel burst into my room.

“You can knock,” I said mildly.

“I could,” he agreed. He was fuming, so angry that I was surprised black smoke didn’t exit his nostrils when he exhaled.

“What is the matter?” I asked.

“I am beyond furious.” He started to pace in my room, his speed far faster than one would typically motor.

“About the kiss? I am sorry. I shouldn’t have told you—”

“Not about the kiss!” Well, yes, that bothered me, but that isn’t why I’m so angry. Two reasons. One, we should have gone after the Fanged Serpents already.”

“I know you wanted that from the start,” I began, but he wasn’t done yet.

“And I failed,” he grumbled, pacing even faster now. “I failed to convince the other clans to join with us against them. That is my fault. I was too… I don’t know. I thought I could rally at least a few to join us, but none would step up.”

“Maybe they have been devastated by the Fanged Serpents before,” I reminded him. “They might not yet be willing to lay themselves out on the line because they haven’t the numbers any longer to be able to. They have to survive somehow.”

“Merely surviving isn’t enough!” Miguel roared. “We must live and live how we choose. With whom we choose.” He jabbed his thumb toward his chest as if to suggest himself and Audrey.

“Yes, well—”

“If you had only agreed with me from the start,” Miguel continued.

“Hey, now,” I protested. “Do not act as if this is my fault. It’s not yours either. We must be rational about this. The Fanged Serpents must be stopped, yes. We are in agreement there, but we must be smart about it. We only have our clan versus theirs. If we are to sur… live afterward, we must do all we can to minimize deaths. Do you agree?”

“Yes,” Miguel said. “Go ahead to the study. Get some scotch in glasses for us. I will go and get Damon.”

Before my winged brother could leave, I clasped his shoulders. “Calm down. All will be well in the end.”

“You are far too optimistic for my tastes,” Miguel said dryly. “Go. Scotch. Give me a double.”

“And here I was going to give you a triple,” I joked.

“Go for it,” Miguel said seriously. He ducked out of my room.

Shaking my head, I did head down to the study. I poured three healthy amounts of scotch into each glass.

A few moments later, Miguel burst inside. “Have you seen Damon this morning?” he asked, sounding perplexed.

I shook my head. “I have not.”

“I haven’t either,” he muttered. “Where could he be?”

“It must have been important.”

“So important that he couldn’t tell us about it?”

I shrugged and sipped my scotch. It was a little early to be drinking, but a few sips wouldn’t hurt any.

“Maybe he didn’t have time to tell us,” I suggested.

“Possibly.” Miguel shook his head. “I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

I handed him the rest of my glass. “Drink up. I’m going to see if I can find him.”

“Let me,” Miguel protested. “I can find him faster.”

Just then, the front door slammed.

I was just a teensy bit faster than Miguel as we both raced out of the study. Downstairs, we found Damon. He was bruised and bleeding. We had to carry him to a couch.

“I’ll be fine,” Damon mumbled through a split lip.

“What the hell happened to you?” I asked.

“I had a run in with some Fanged Serpents,” he said.

I glanced at Miguel, whose nostrils flared.

“They took her, didn’t they?” Miguel asked, delivering his question a lot quieter and calmer than I would’ve thought the hot-blooded Hispanic ever could.

Damon glanced away. That was all the confirmation I needed.

“Miguel, you stay with him. Make certain he heals,” I instructed. “I take it neither of you oppose me getting the rest of the clan together and ready for battle?”

Miguel nodded. “Go for it,” he said.

Damon nodded as well. “Let’s char their asses,” he said.

I nodded back and left the mansion behind. With a special whistle that only dragons could hear, I blew it three times long, three short, and three more times long. It wouldn’t take long for the clan to arrive for me to address them.

Slowly, in groups of two or three or singles, they arrived. As I prepared what to say, I realized we might not have a chance. We might fail. Audrey might die. We all might.

But we had to try. The Fanged Serpents were led by a man as bloodthirsty as they came. They would never stop unless they were forced to, and by damn, were we going to do our best to stop them.