30. Bree

30

Bree

Parts of me had now gone numb. I wanted the shivering back. This felt more like a slow death.

To distract myself, I leaned hard on the pole. Not that getting us to Jarsk any faster was going to help Mykal. Victor had him, and I was running away.

I wanted to turn the boat around and head back.

That would be all kinds of bad, Riggs hissed through my mind. But I sensed his own fierce desire to fly straight to Murkan and go after his son.

Then, a tickle in my mind. And Caliel was there, but faint and broken. The package has been delivered. I am returning to the stronghold.

That was all, and when I reached for him, I couldn't feel a thing. It was as though he no longer existed.

Caliel and Mykal. They both needed help. I gritted my teeth as the numbness vanished with another flush of heat that threatened to drop me to my knees. I was in no shape to rescue anyone, not even myself.

I'd never felt so weak.

Tyrez says that if the council declares Daize an official traitor, it might give us resources we currently don't have. Like the academy and its students, if we can convince them.

Will they go after Victor?

He hesitated. That would declare open war on the underworld. They'd have to be certain they were in a position to win before they took that step. But covertly sending in a team to get Mykal out would be a possibility.

I pushed on my pole. Marcus and I are the only answer for Victor's Fire Drake. It'll obliterate anyone else.

There's always Nikolai.

I sensed Riggs's worry for his son. But using the Perditor? I wasn't sure of the ramifications of releasing that particular beast.

Yeah. A covert op would be best, Riggs agreed .

Getting to Mykal would not be easy. They'd only managed to extract me because they'd used the Priests as a distraction. That wasn't a smoke screen that could be repeated.

Mykal's best bet is someone on the inside, Riggs said . And that means Caliel.

I only hope Caliel can hold it together .

He's not trained for this kind of thing, Riggs's concern carried clearly through the link.

I wanted to ease his angst with a burst of soothing calm, but my own was at least its equal. And what traveled to him was tainted by what pulsed deep within me. For just an instant, I was consumed by images of him fastening Dragon teeth in my throat, and hauling me to the stars.

Shock permeated me. What the hell was that? Drakes didn't dream of flying, or being hauled upward.

What came to me from Riggs almost took my legs out from under me. That's a Dragon thing, he rumbled through my mind. She's awake inside you, now.

Great. What I didn't need, was yet another toothy female panting after everything with a dick.

I'm coming, he promised.

Not fast enough. Even at Tyrez's best speed, he and Riggs wouldn't get there for hours. I wasn't sure I could hold on. I preferred the burning to this creeping numbness.

In answer, he pulled the sword and sent me a blast.

It reverberated through me, and the collar around my throat heated, before growing cold as the sword's power sheathed it in glowing energy.

I think the sword is affecting the collar, I breathed. Can it block it so it can't be tracked?

I have no idea. But it's worth a shot. He sent another burst, and the collar cooled some more. Encouraged, he said, Hold on to something.

I drew a deep breath, and leaned harder on the pole, while Riggs blasted me with the sword's power.

When I next blinked, I was on my knees.

"Are you okay?" Tez asked. He'd dropped to his own beside me.

I reached up to touch the collar—it felt cold, like regular metal. "Riggs just sent the sword's energy—it might have deactivated the collar."

His eyes widened. "He can do that?"

"Yes. Through our mate link."

He was silent a moment, then said, "Well, deactivating it would really help." He climbed back up and resumed poling.

I turned to look at him. He'd been very quiet since I told him about Mykal, and now I caught him staring at me. His eyes were flaring with color.

What was inside me responded, and it took me a moment to draw breath. When I finally managed it, I said, "Caliel has made the drop."

His mouth straightened. "He's gone back in, hasn't he?"

I nodded. "Yes."

He looked away, toward a substantial barge loaded with produce, heading upriver. The multi-person crew was having a difficult time moving, as the wind was picking up. When I glanced to the horizon, the low, drizzly clouds had turned jet black and swirled restlessly.

Just what we needed. A bloody storm.

The wind gusted, suddenly forming fitful waves across the water. The bird, who I now knew as Nemi, returned from where she'd been visiting flowers along the riverbank. She landed inside Tez's hood and offered him a peck on the cheek.

He winced, but didn't move his gaze from the struggling barge. I refocused on my pole technique, which definitely needed work. I wasn't sure I was contributing anything to our forward progress, but the wind was helping push us along faster.

The surrounding terrain had changed—trees and dangling moss had given way to tall reeds as the ground around us dropped. They dipped and swayed in the wind as our little boat rose, and then smacked down into the waves.

Looking ahead, I saw some of the boats taking a right turn up a tributary. Others continued on down the river.

"Which way?" I asked Tez, shouting into the rising wind.

He stepped closer to me and pointed with his chin. "Jarsk is that way. We will have to leave the boat soon, as there are rapids. Merchandise is unloaded at the dockyard two miles upriver, and then carted the rest of the way. We'll be on foot from there."

My pulse increased. I was having enough issues leaning on a pole. On foot wasn't something I was sure I could do. "How far is Jarsk from the dock?"

His gaze measured me. "According to the map, about ten miles, if we go all the way to town."

"We might not?"

"No. Depends on whether we can find other accommodations."

As long as you're close to the town, you can direct us to you, Riggs said .

I relaxed just a little. If I got too wobbly, we could maybe camp until Tyrez and Riggs could get to us.

The wind made navigating into the tributary a bit tricky, but our work began in earnest as we worked sideways into it, and against the current. I was soon panting heavily, and the pole felt like it outweighed me. The waves tossed us around, and I couldn't keep my feet. It embarrassed me. I was in decent shape, and this shouldn't be a big deal.

Tez leaned close. "I've got it, Bella. Just rest, save your strength for the walk."

The softly spoken word resonated clear through me. Did he really believe I was beautiful? Or was it just the pheromones talking? I sighed and set the pole down, clinging to the gunwale of the pitching craft as I lowered myself onto one of the tarp-covered branch piles.

There was a line of boats passing in the other direction, loaded with various kinds of produce, and some were even heaped with loose hay. Their crews were having issues with the waves as well, and I noticed a couple turning around to go back.

The tributary was narrower than the main channel, and it brought us all closer to each other. Tez took a step toward me and leaned down. "Make sure your hood is up, and don't look at them."

It was a reminder that there were hunters out there. The wind had whipped my hood until it sat at the back of my head, and my hair was being tugged loose from the hairpins. Chastising myself to be more careful, I covered myself better and kept my eyes directed ahead.

As soon as I stopped the physical activity, I became aware of just how sick I really felt. The pitching of the boat added an element of nausea to my woes. The numb periods were slowly winning over the shivering and sweating, and the Ice Drake spun increasingly restless circles inside me.

Riggs was a constant presence, but now he said, It's not just the Drake, Breana. Cara was pretty sure that at least some of what you're feeling is the Dragon struggling to be born.

My Dragon. With everything else going on, I hadn't given her much thought. There had never been a case of a Centaur being infected by a Dragon, so we hadn't even been sure that Riggs's shifter virus would work on me.

But now, I closed my eyes and tried to sort what I sensed inside—and there was something else, pacing uneasily but keeping separate from the Drake. Both, however, pulsed with a need that was overtaking me. And the power of it had me shivering and wrapping my arms around my body.

You're not flying fast enough, I said desperately.

He didn't answer right away. But then, he rumbled, I know.

The bustling dockyard extended much farther than I expected.

There was a cluster of buildings that served it—including a small market with stands selling hot meals, and what appeared to be a bar with maybe a hotel on the second story.

The entire place was battening down the hatches for the oncoming storm. The clouds were beginning to roil and swirl, dark and angry.

Tez battled the wind to pull us into a spot along an older section of dock screened by some overgrowth, well away from where the larger barges were unloading. There, he had us dump the branches overboard and stow the tarps away. "Empty, the boat will sit for a long time before anyone investigates," he said. "The branches would have caused someone to ask questions."

It was a detail I wouldn't have considered. As the rain began to come at us in driven gusts, Tez kept one sturdy branch and used one of his knives to hack off the smaller twigs. How many knives did the guy carry?

He braced himself against the rocking motion as he stripped off foliage. Holding onto his chosen limb, he jumped nimbly onto the rotting dock before reaching to help me out of the boat.

I tried to ignore the tingle when we touched, and he pulled his hand away once I had both feet firmly on the wood. Firmly being a rather inaccurate description of my swaying motion as I tried to stay upright on a dock that also pitched and rolled.

Or maybe it was me pitching and rolling…

Once he'd escorted me onto the main pier, I paused to look around. We'd risen from the reed beds, and the land around the river once again offered trees, but it wasn't as swampy as nearer to Murkan. Instead, although the road leading away was lined with large trees, I saw open fields.

An agricultural area would explain the barges I'd noticed. The wagons moving along the road supported my theory—they were loaded with fruits and vegetables, as well as animal feed. The river would be an easy-access route for shipping produce to Murkan.

Or it would be, if we weren't in the middle of a hurricane. At least, that is the way it felt. Keeping my hood up was difficult in this tempest, and the rain soaked through to my skin.

Despite my protests, Tez took both packs. Then he handed me the branch. "It'll help you walk," he said, moving close so I could hear him.

My mouth opened to protest, but then another bout of shivering passed through me, and I shut it again. After a few steps, I appreciated the way it helped me balance. The wind threatened to take my shaky feet right out from under me.

"Thank you," I said.

He offered a brief, heart-stopping flash of a smile and led us through the crowd to the shore.

I surveyed the bar and hotel. It would be dry in there. And out of the vicious storm. I moved close enough to ask, "Couldn't we wait for Riggs here?"

He shook his head. "If anyone manages to trace us to the boat, it would lead them right to us," he said. "We're better off to stay moving for as long as we can. I'll get us something to eat, though."

My heart sank at the thought of walking in this weather. Tez unbent just enough to take us into the hotel and bar, where he ordered spiced meat on skewers. Our cloaks dripped as we consumed them at a table tucked in the corner.

They tasted like heaven, and when I nibbled the last tender bits off the stick, Tez rose and got me another. I devoured that too. And then found myself watching him at his second helping, fascinated by his strong white teeth nibbling along the narrow bit of wood.

His eyes flicked to mine, and held. He froze, and they flared a brilliant turquoise. For just an instant, what had been building between us bridged, and the creatures spinning inside me surged to the surface.

Dang it. Riggs frantically pushed them back, and I caught a glimpse of the sword gleaming, the rain running off the blade. Will you quit looking at him?

I obediently ripped my eyes away. What else am I going to look at?

The drunks. The building. The dirty windows. The wagons. Anything, in fact, other than him. Riggs sounded distinctly grumpy. I knew he was desperately worried about his son. But I also sensed his discomfort with his sore personal bits and generally damp condition. It all fed into his general anger at the man I traveled with.

Tez is a trigger, and what's coming off you along the link is sinful. Until you've tried riding a Dragon for hours with a boner to rival all boners, you have no appreciation for what I am currently going through. He growled.

Not my fault, I protested automatically.

He offered a mental sigh. Didn't say it was. I just wish we could get there faster.

I sent him a warm stroke, which threatened to turn into something more, and he had to start over with pushing them back.

Sorry, I offered.

Just think non-sexy thoughts, okay? He requested.

I gritted my teeth as Tez rose, and deliberately did not admire the breadth of his shoulders beneath the cloak as he took us back out into the driving rain.

Ten miles to Jarsk.

I leaned on my makeshift walking stick and followed him away from any sensible shelter. The trees lining the road bent over in the wind gusts, and all too soon, they thinned to the point where they weren't enough to provide a windbreak. The storms blasted across the open fields and whipped viciously at us.

After the first mile, I was staggering more than walking. I could barely feel my legs. Tez said nothing, but paced himself to me, and he took advantage of every opportunity to let me sit down in small patches of bushes along the ditch, where I was out of the wind.

About three miles in, I sank my butt down on a boulder that marked the end of a farm driveway. My pulse was tripping as though I'd run a marathon. As I attempted to catch my breath, I looked away from Tez and out at a herd of shaggy grazers with their tails turned into the storm. They were watching us with small, curious eyes.

There were fields dotted with farm buildings all along this route. Cropland, and pastures, all looking rather dark and dreary in the driving rain.

I rubbed a hand over my damp face. "This is ridiculous," I complained, squinting upward to the roiling clouds. "We're never going to get to Jarsk before the sun sets."

With the late hour and the storm, the wagon traffic on the road had dwindled to nothing—a clear indication that the pursuit of commerce was over for the day. When I glanced at Tez, his mouth was pulled into a grim line.

He moved closer. "I've been looking for a spot to spend the night," he admitted.

I shivered in another wind gust and looked up the drive. "Do you think any of these farms would rent us a room?"

He shook his head. "Not worth the risk. I want us to stay hidden."

"We don't always get what we want." The rather flippant words slipped out before I could stop them. I certainly wasn't at my best, but as he glanced at me, and our eyes met, the word want seemed to reverberate between us.

A growl through my mind, and another frantic bout of wrestling with the scaled demons inside me.

Quit— Riggs began.

Got it, I answered, looking away. But it was almost impossible to do, this time.

A tiny mote of movement being blown across the pasture turned into Nemi. Tez put a hand out to grab her out of a gust. She clung to his finger, chirping, before bravely fighting the wind to head back the way she'd come.

Tez spoke to me without looking. "She's found something that might work."

I stifled a groan as he picked a path through the fence, and we leaned into the wind, dodging little pats of manure as we walked across the pasture. The shaggy-haired creatures watched us pass and then fell in behind us as if they'd accepted us as their new leaders.

I was hardly leader material at this point. I swayed and staggered my way over the uneven ground. Tez dropped back to support me, first with a steady hand on my elbow, and then with his arm wrapped around me. His proximity threatened everything I'd been holding at bay, and I sensed Riggs's desperation as he struggled to keep it all together.

We hadn't gone far when he was almost carrying me—my legs refused to bear my weight. My decrepitude left the job of leader to the tiny bird at the head of the procession, which was a lot of responsibility in this storm. She seemed undaunted as she led us over a rise, and I saw it.

I took a moment to send a mental message of gratitude to the animal-shelter gods—they were serving me well. The large three-sided affair had the important virtues. Its solid wall was to the wind, and it was bedded with straw. For a crazed moment I pictured us curled up with the shaggy beasts following us, but then I saw that it was tall enough to have a loft.

I'd have much preferred a warm, dry bed, but I'd settle for just dry and not blowing at this point, so long as I could stop walking. Or rather, hobbling.

The dense cloud had sucked most of the light from the sky, but there was no doubt that somewhere out there, the sun was sinking below the horizon. I examined the surroundings carefully, sensing Riggs was looking through my eyes.

The farmhouse wasn't in sight, but the drive wound around a hill nearby. A rocky outcrop protruded just to the south of the shelter, and a patch of forest was at its base. Between it and the shelter was a small natural pond that had been fenced off, likely to keep the livestock from churning the banks to goo with their hooves. The wooden shelter itself was old but in good repair, and had been painted red. It had a trough out in front, with a hand pump that no doubt drew water from the pond. A single, ancient, enormous tree overhung both shelter and trough.

That visual should be good enough for us to find you, Riggs said. We'll follow the road from Jarsk to your location.

"Riggs says they won't have an issue finding us here," I told Tez.

"Good," he answered, and led us around the back of the shelter.

Riggs wasn't done. But we have a problem—the storms have reached us. The words were flooded with both his desperation and frantic worry.

Born to gallop the grasslands, and without Caliel's internal guidance, I still didn't think like a flying creature. Walking into this mess was bad enough. I couldn't imagine flying in it.

We aren't grounded yet. But Tyrez says he can't get above it without freezing me. If it gets much worse, we will have to land.

My gut twisted. Any delay wasn't a good thing. And although he didn't say anything more, I could tell his mind was spinning with the implications.

Tez had leaned me against the shelter's back wall and was currently climbing the wooden ladder that had been built into it. It led to a large hinged door that swung open when he tugged on it. He disappeared inside, and then reversed to meet my gaze.

"Can you make it up here?" he asked.

I leaned the branch on the back wall and gritted my teeth as the wind drove rain and debris against the shelter. I sincerely doubted it—my legs were where they should be, but I couldn't feel them. Then Riggs sent me a pulse of sword power, and I put my right foot on the lowest rung.

You were a Centaur , he said. They are even more stubborn than Dragons. You can do this. It isn't that far.

I was still Centaur where it counted, and I was stubborn, so I clamped my jaw tight and lifted my chin before nodding to Tez. "I'm on my way."

Much as I would have liked to say otherwise, it wasn't my personal pep talk or my stubbornness that got me to where Tez waited. It was Riggs, pumping me sword power. When the wind attempted to blast me clear off the ladder, Tez reached down, wrapped long fingers around one of my wrists, and lifted me into the loft.

The strength that he displayed left me somewhat breathless. Once I was up there, he let me go as if I'd scalded him, and my legs folded in an instant. He grabbed me again before I hit the wood, and lowered me to it, before removing his hands and shutting the door against the wind.

In the sudden peace that resulted, I rolled to my knees.

The loft was filled with loose straw. There was a trap door in the floor that they used to toss it down to the shelter below. It was dusty, and I was certain there were spidery critters lurking in the rafters, but oh, thank the realms, it was dry .

Tez was already stripping off his wet cloak, and he reached for mine.

I hesitated. And then, far more deliberately than I wished, my hands moved of their own accord to strip off the cloak.

By the way his eyes widened, he'd forgotten that my upper half was only clad in my sports bra. And my sex-crazed, scaly internal counterparts reveled in the naked flesh I revealed. Or rather, his reaction to it.

Clutching the cloaks, he turned away to hang them close to the open wall of the loft, where it was exposed to the shelter below. The shaggy creatures had moved into it for the storm-tossed night, and some were already bedded down.

Without turning around, Tez pulled his shirt off. The smooth, coppery skin sheathed muscles that hugged his frame. The faint evening light defined every contour, and he was so perfect that I suddenly couldn't breathe.

He refused to look at me as he handed me the shirt. "It would be best if you wear this," he said through clenched teeth.

"You need it, too," I ground out. And I wasn't talking about for warmth. No way I could be trusted with him trotting around like that. Although considering I couldn't move my legs, perhaps he would be safe…

"Take it," he insisted. "Put it on."

It was almost an order, and I automatically bristled. "I don't follow orders."

He looked at me, and his eyes were lit by turquoise fire. Metallic feathers erupted along his cheeks, and fell away again. "Put. It. ON."

My mouth opened. "Say please."

"I don't say please," he growled.

And just like that, my dream became a reality. I swear that somewhere in the background, Fate laughed.

I swallowed and took the shirt. It was warm against my skin, and it smelled like him—spicy, with an undertone of musk. Almost Dragony, but without the ozone.

I shook with a desire that was so strong my entire body ached with it. When I looked back up, Tez had vanished into the mounds of straw.

A pulse of pure, raw power through the link—Riggs was pouring the sword's power to me, giving strength to my failing legs.

Breana, he breathed through my mind. The storm has gotten worse. Until it clears, we're grounded. Which leaves us with a big problem. And much as I hate this alternative, you need to listen to me…