Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Zerek hadn't a clue how best to breach the subject of dragon shifters with Rylie. The fact she hadn't been raised believing in magical beings, complicated the task. But in his experience, getting to the heart of a matter without delay had always proved best. Even if at times that method did not come without shock.

He only hoped Rylie would accept what he was about to divulge to her, because ultimately, she was going to need to believe his revelation. She needed to be aware of who she was, for her own safety. For whoever had betrayed his unit at Culloden would eventually be back to finish the job. And when that time came, the bastard would take down everyone associated with the Draco Slab. Including Rylie and her sisters.

Entering the library, Zerek removed the sword at his back and placed it in the converted umbrella stand near the doorway. "Miss St. George, I believe you know my cousins, Duncan MacGregor and Valentine MacLean." He gestured toward both men who quickly stood and came forward.

"We've met," Val said, taking Rylie's hand and offering a slight bow in what Zerek felt was a bit out of place for contemporary times. But Val himself often stuck out like an oddity in their modern world. "However, I do not believe we've crossed paths for some time."

"We have met, yes." Rylie replied with a genuine smile, her voice sweet and polite. "I believe it was over a book you brought to Craignamore for my sister, Taryn."

Val nodded, then dropped his hand from Rylie's and stepped back.

Duncan, on the other hand, as the complete opposite of Valentine, only came as far as the front side of the desk, one hand jammed into his jean pocket, the other clutched around a crystal brandy glass. "Miss St. George." The curt welcome could not have been more off putting.

Standing firm, Rylie raised her chin. "Mr. MacGregor." She offered nothing more.

The equally cool greeting forced a smile across Zerek's lips. His strong Highland lass was proving quite the delightful surprise tonight and he was starting to wonder how he'd ever let go. "Please, have a seat." He gestured toward the sofa.

As Rylie sat, Duncan pulled up a chair from the pair positioned in front of the desk. Val claimed a seat on the opposite sofa.

Zerek lowered to the cushion next to Rylie.

"What brings you to Dragoncross?" Duncan asked, his voice still clipped.

"I came to discuss purchasing the quartz eagle pulled from today's sale."

Duncan dropped the brandy glass. "You can't be serious." He squirmed to clean up the mess.

"I've very serious. It belongs embedded in the Draco Slab, and I intend to return it there."

Looking up from his crouched position on the tiled floor, Duncan simply gaped.

Valentine leaned forward, his hands steepled. "The Draco Slab contains the evil of the sins committed by the Roman dragon unit it represents. Why would you care to unleash that darkness?"

"God, Val!" Anger flooded Zerek's every nerve. "Why not get right to it, ha?"

Rylie gripped the edge of the satchel resting on her lap. "Did you say dragon unit?"

"Yes," Val answered. "We were brutal in our slayings, at times."

"We?" She glanced at Zerek, a fearful look slowly taking hold of her features.

"What Val means is…."

"I do not need you to speak for me, to your woman, Zee."

Rylie turned back to Val. "I am not Zerek's woman."

"I believe otherwise." Valentine cocked his head to the side, his dark brown eyes going almost black. "How does MacKenzie smell to you, Miss St. George?"

"What?"

"All Dundairians recognize their soulmate by smell." Duncan replied, tossing a sopping rag into the trash bin next to the desk.

"You'll have to forgive my cousins, Rye," Zerek intervened. "Neither of them has much experience around women." Take that. If he couldn't reel-in his closest mates from making a mess of the situation, then he'd force them to behave.

"That's not true," Duncan muttered.

Rylie lifted her head boldly, all fear leaving her face, but Zerek knew better. The grip she'd had on her satchel had grown tighter. "MacKenzie smells of hand tooled, slightly worn, supple Italian leather, mixed with a trace of bergamot."

"And what else?"

Rylie arched one black brow. "And nothing else."

She lied. For him. Why that was, Zerek wasn't certain. But Rylie definitely hid the fact she'd smelled dragon fire on him earlier.

Well done, my brave lass.

For the second time in mere minutes, Zerek smiled to himself. Rylie St. George was not a woman to be toyed with regardless of what she was facing, and now both Duncan and Valentine knew that fact. For behind her fa?ade of appearing a bit conflicted with who she was—five-inch heels and a slingshot definitely did not make for the best pairing—there was a very stable and competent warrioress inside Rylie. And it had nothing to do with her slayer blood.

"I admit my error," Valentine said, leaning back on the sofa. "You are not Zee's woman."

"Can we get on with the matter of the quartz eagle?" He hated it when Val and Duncan didn't cooperate. They seriously needed to come round to acting more like twenty-first century men than the prehistoric beasts that resided within them.

"Wait," Rylie released her hold on the satchel and reached for Zerek's knee.

The heat of her touch spiraled through more than merely his leg, his instant need to adjust his leather pants, increasing. "Rylie?"

"I'd like to hear more about this soulmate theory from Valentine."

"Please, you may call me Val."

Of course he'd turn on the charm, now.

"Well, then Val, are you saying the tall tale about Dundairians and their loves is really true?"

"I am."

"And what do you believe about Bane and the wolves he keeps?"

"Bane MacHendrie is our Alpha. Those wolves are his shifter pack."

Zerek held his breath. While he never intended to remain forever silent on such matters with Rylie, coming out this blunt, this fast, was not his plan either.

"But you're not wolves," Rylie answered. "You're dragons."

He gasped. "Are you telling me you truly believe that, and you don't think Valentine is just pulling a joke?"

"I do believe."

"And you don't fear us?"

"Why should I? I'm not the one I nearly killed tonight. You are."

Duncan stepped forward.

Valentine slowly rose from the sofa.

Zerek jerked to his feet and pulled out the dagger from inside his boot. He jutted out his arm, blocked Rylie from both his cousins. "Take one step closer and I swear I'll gut the two of you."

Rylie gently pushed him out of her way. "I think that shot to the back of your head jarred your brains, Zerek."

"She shot you?" Disbelief slammed Duncan's face.

"Is it bad?" Valentine inquired.

"Yes. And no." He spun back to face Rylie. "These two beasts are more than a threat than you realize, Rye. So am I."

"You're dragon shifters."

"How can you be so fucking calm about this?"

She stood. "Because I'm a slayer. A dragon slayer. Those stories my mum read to me weren't just some sick tales of scaly monsters and the vicious men and women who killed them. They were real, weren't they?"

"Yes. I'm sorry you had to find out in this way, but it's true. It's all true."

A hint of fresh cut rose combined with precisely a single drop of cinnamon floated through the air. Rylie's unique scent. God, but he was beyond in trouble. No way could a slayer be his mate, but she was. He also needed to know why he hadn't recognized Rylie's scent while they dated. But first he had to settle this mess between the dragons and the slayer in the room.

Zerek eyed Valentine. "You," he spat out. "Sit. Now."

He then turned to Duncan. "Park your ass as well."

Both did his bidding.

Now it was time to tame his wild Highland lass, though he doubted using the same tone with her would prove successful. "I'd appreciate it if you'd sit too, Rye. We need to lower the tension in the room as dragon shifters are more beast than human, despite their appearance."

"I'm not going to hurt them, if that's what you're worried about. I told you before, I don't shoot living beings."

"You apparently shot Zee," Valentine said.

"That was an accident."

Duncan harrumphed.

Rylie glared at the man. "I don't like your tone, Dunc. So I advise you change it lest you care to test this slayer as I once told Zerek I never vowed not to shoot a beast. And I'm damn good at what I do."

"Do you really think a marble can take out a dragon?"

"Goliath slayed the giant with a slingshot, so yes, I do. Plus, I shot off Balon's balls and then some. And if you don't believe me, you're more than welcome to volunteer to be the target of my expert marksmanship."

Duncan sat back down. His mouth broke into a wide smile. "Welcome to the family, Rylie. Forgive me for my former rude behavior, but I needed to know if you'd hold up against our crude den. You've proven you can."

"You have indeed," Valentine added. "You must understand, we're very protective of Zee. We're all we each have."

"Like me and my sisters."

"Verra much so," Zerek said. "Though I would have preferred to have revealed everything in a slightly different manner."

Rylie's grip on her satchel eased. "It's all right, Zerek. I'm not upset with Duncan or Val. And while I now have a ton of questions about dragons, Dundaire, even about slayers that I didn't have before, I do want to discuss the Draco Slab. Craignamore depends on it."

"Why is that?" He lowered himself back to the sofa as Rylie did the same.

"The castle is in need of great repairs and my father said we either fix it or go down with it. Now I believe he was serious in making that statement. Both he and my mother died young. Tell me, am I connected to Craignamore in the same way? Did my father die because his castle was dying? Is that truly possible?"

Neither Val nor Duncan uttered a sound.

Apparently it was solely up to him to answer Rylie's most serious question yet. "Dwellings whose cornerstones go back to ancient Dundaire, have been known to be linked to their owners in mysterious ways."

"Then I am dying."

"You'd be surprised at how resilient living, breathing structures can be, Rylie," Valentine said. "Dragoncross is strong as an ox, despite parts of it falling to ruins. And the three of us are very much alive."

Zerek reached for Rylie's hand. "He's right. Craignamore can heal itself, it just might take some time. You'll have to help it."

"That's why I want the eagle," Rylie said. "The Draco Slab can bring in way more money at auction if it were intact."

Zerek hoped he wasn't going to sound too harsh, but he had to be firm on the matter concerning the slab "You can't sell the Draco Slab. It's tied to both Craignamore and Dragoncross. Plus, it probably wouldn't allow you to sell it."

"Are you saying it, too, is a living, breathing, thing?"

He nodded.

"And how exactly am I supposed to fix Craignamore if I don't get the funds to renovate it?"

"Coax it. Love it."

Rylie gave up a soft yet slightly shaky laugh. "That's absurd."

"You just said you believe in dragons and slayers."

"Yes, but living houses?" The look of disbelief was more than evident on her face.

"Just sit back and watch."

Shaking her head, Rylie threw up her hands. "Go for it, fire breather."

"Dragoncross." Zerek realized his more forceful tone might not be what Rylie was used to hearing from him, but the abbey was no Gothic wallflower. "You may now repair your glass Duncan shattered."

The building grumbled.

"Yes, you can also return it to the shelf."

A second vibration rattled the room.

Rylie raised her feet off the tile floor and appeared to be searching.

"He won't gobble you up," Valentine commented. "He does not have a mouth."

She placed her feet back down but didn't look convinced.

A third vibration, this one far stronger than the last, trembled through the library.

Zerek chuckled. "Yes, it is safe to do so in front of the slayer."

Within seconds, the trash bin next to the desk rattled. The clink of glass against glass pinged through the library's cool air as the brandy cup reshaped itself midair. It transformed from shards of glass and dust to a fully mended crystal cup with lightning speed, then flew to the shelf behind the desk and gently landed.

Rylie remained silent; her gaze seemingly glued to the shelf. "That was amazing."

The abbey gave up a little moan.

"He values your appreciation of his work."

Rylie swung her head Zerek's way. "Dragoncross is male?"

"He is. The blood of his builders was poured into his cornerstones, and we are all male."

"I wonder what Craignamore is." Rylie pursed her lips as if thinking over the matter with great effort. "I'm sure men built the castle, but for some reason I always viewed it as being female. Even when it was ruled by my father who never allowed a single feminine item to be added to the décor after Mum died. In fact, he stripped Craignamore of all Mum's belongings, and we lived in sparse surroundings until his death. He even had the colorful wallpapers covered over in gray paint."

Sorrow could easily crumble a living castle, that much Zerek knew without doubt. "Grief can be just as devastating to Dundarian structures as it can be to humans."

A slump overtook Rylie's shoulders.

He wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her, cradle her face in his hands and stare into those bewitching violet eyes reassuring her that everything was going to be fine. But he didn't know that for fact and lying to Rylie, even if it could temporarily put her nerves at ease, didn't seem fair. "There were years when our den fought battles around the world, forcing us to leave Dragoncross for long stretches of time, even decades in some instances. We've only been back since Culloden. And the years immediately following were rife with trouble for us due to the fact we lost our abilities to shift—a detail I'll explain later. I'm afraid we didn't pay much attention to what went on at Craignamore during that period. What do you know about its history?"

With a shrug, Rylie leaned back on the sofa. "Not much. Only that it was built in the eighteenth century, completed in early February, seventeen-forty-six. My father once mentioned the house did not have a very strong foundation. It supposedly suffered from dry rot early on and had structural issues within its first year of having been finished."

Zerek cursed. "Craignamore's completion was only two months before the Battle of Culloden."

"Right, I'm aware of that."

"Catriona and Magnus." Duncan smacked the desk. "It all goes back to them."

"The great love story that never was."

"You're familiar with their tale?" Valentine appeared genuinely shocked, and Zerek had to admit so was he.

"Yes," Rylie said. "Well, not entirely. But I know they never married. I'm a MacHendrie and a St. George but I'm not a direct descendent of either of them."

Zerek pondered how much to reveal in one go, settling on a concise version of the tragic love story. "We were introduced to Catriona MacHendrie and Magnus St. George when Magnus built Craignamore. He was also in attendance at the meeting we had with Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden House. We were supposed to be the Scots' secret weapon against Cumberland. The dragons who were going to decimate the English. And then we were betrayed and left stranded in human form."

"That had to be devastating to the three of you."

"It was," Val answered. "Though we were five at the time. We fear one of the other two betrayed us, though we don't know for sure, or which of them it was. At least we survived though, which is more than can be said for Catriona."

Rylie turned back to Zerek. "According to family legend, and this only comes from the oral history as nothing about this story has ever been recorded that the family is aware of, but Catriona is believed to have been killed right after the Battle of Culloden took place."

"That's correct," Zerek answered. "Hers and Magnus' story was a tragic tale."

"Magnus St. George built Craignamore for Catriona."

"He did," Zerek said.

"I find it sad Catriona died before Magnus arrived at Craignamore. He never had the chance to say goodbye to the love of his life. He died a little more than a year later, the house going to a nephew of his. After that it was pretty much vacant from what my Mum told me until my great-grandfather inherited it. Since then, it's been the family home and occupied."

He was not going to be like Magnus St. George and arrive too late to rescue Rylie. "The only way I see to heal Craignamore, is to make sure Magnus gets to Catriona in time to say his goodbye."

Rylie glared at him. "Well, that impossible. They lived in the eighteenth century."

"Going back," Duncan said, "Could help us all."

Val took a deep breath, then turned to face Zerek. "He's right. It's the only way, I'm afraid."

"What are you all saying?" Rylie studied Zerek's face. "You can't seriously mean we can go back in time?"

Zerek taped his fingers on his thigh, his leg jittery.

Val stood. "Come, Duncan. We need to close the gates."

"That is not a two-man job."

"It is tonight." Val glared.

"Right." Duncan stood and followed Valentine into the hall.

The silence that settled on the library pushed Zerek's every fear to the center of his thoughts. From this point forward, there'd be no going back with Rylie. He was either going to secure her trust or lose her forever once he told her his plans. He hoped it wasn't the latter.