Chapter 7 #2
She shook her head. “No.”
He stepped forward. He genuinely wanted to discover the source of her powers.
But more importantly, he was eager to use any excuse to be closer to her.
A realization that made him weirdly uncomfortable.
He was a dragon with royal blood flowing through his veins.
A male who was used to females making their desire obvious.
Sometimes painfully obvious. Earning this woman’s trust was new territory for him.
“What if you touch a magic user?” He ran a finger down the side of her face, his touch as light as a butterfly wing. “Like this. Can you absorb my magic?”
“No.” She shivered, the lavender eyes darkening with the same heat that pulsed deep inside him. “There’s nothing.”
“There’s something.” Flames danced over his fingers. A kiss of fire that was a promise of pleasure to come. “And it’s magic.”
Her face flushed, but it wasn’t from the flames. The sweet scent of her arousal perfumed the air.
“Azh.” She lifted a hand to press it against his chest.
“I know, but I’m bewitched.” His voice was husky with something that was more than hunger. Need? Yearning? Fate? “There something tantalizingly familiar about being near you. As if we’ve lived this moment a thousand times.”
Her fingers stroked over his chest, as if unable to resist tracing the edge of his smooth muscles. “You’re distracting me.”
He lowered his head, skimming his lips over her cheek. Her skin was velvety soft and scented with a hint of citrus. Deep inside, his dragon breathed in the bright aroma, growling in approval.
“In a good way?” he asked, brushing a kiss over her lips.
Her fingers curled into his shirt, as if intending to pull him closer, only to abruptly push against his chest.
“In a dangerous way,” she muttered.
“True.” He reluctantly conceded defeat, taking a step back. When he finally took Wynn into his arms, he didn’t intend to be standing in a sleazy hotel that smelled like mildew. “Where did you find the dragon statue?”
“I have no idea.” She held up her hand as his lips parted. “I didn’t have a clue I had dragon magic. Not until you started sniffing around me like a dog.”
“Did you just compare me to a dog?” He arched a brow. “Are you completely fearless?”
“Probably senseless,” she clarified.
He studied her with a vague sense of bewilderment.
Dragon magic was the most dominant force in this world.
It was what fueled the Gyres’ power despite his people being in hibernation for thousands of years.
It should have slammed into her with a shocking intensity.
In fact, it was amazing that it hadn’t crushed her mind and body.
“You genuinely don’t sense the dragon magic that you absorbed?” he demanded.
“There’s a strand of magic inside me that appeared nearly a year ago,” she conceded. “It must have come from an artifact that I touched, but I have no idea when or where it happened.”
“What does the magic do?”
Frustration tightened her features. “I haven’t been able to use it. All I know for sure is that it’s expanding and interfering with my other magic. And that the nightmares started after it appeared.”
Her words sparked a memory. “You said that you’d seen the demons from the gallery in your nightmares.”
“Not those specific demons, but I’ve had dreams where I’m being attacked by goblins with glowing green eyes.”
“But it’s never happened when you’re awake?”
“No...” Her words trailed away as she furrowed her brow.
“You remember something?”
“I saw something similar when that creature in the crazy pajamas touched me.”
“Creature in crazy pajamas?”
“At Hexx’s apartment.”
“The Watcher?” Azh demanded, recalling his own encounter with the powerful being.
“I guess.” She shrugged. “He touched me and suddenly we weren’t in the apartment anymore.”
“Where were you?”
“I don’t know. We were surrounded in a silvery mist.” She paused, as if struggling to remember. “And he changed. He went from looking like a homeless man to a god.”
A low growl of jealousy escaped Azh’s throat before he could stop it. He didn’t want this woman comparing another male to a deity.
“Not a god,” he insisted. “At least not in this world. What did he do?”
“The mist parted to reveal a pit of bubbling green slime.” She clicked her tongue as Azh stared at her in confusion. “I don’t know how else to describe it. The stuff matched the demons’ eyes and the weird magic that was leaking out of them.”
Azh’s jealousy was forgotten as he concentrated on her words. Obviously the Watcher had used his powers to tap into her mind. But had her thoughts led him to a specific location? Or was the magic being spread through various relics?
And did it have anything to do with the dragon magic he could sense?
“Did the Watcher recognize it?”
“I don’t think so.” She pressed her hands against her stomach, as if she suddenly felt nauseous. “The slime attacked him and he looked like he was struggling not to get sucked into the pit.”
“Did he say anything?”
“He told me to run. So I did.” Something that might have been regret rippled over her delicate features. “The next thing I knew I was back in the apartment with Hexx.”
“What happened to the Watcher?”
“He was lying unconscious on the kitchen floor. As far as I know he’s still trapped in the mist.”
Azh turned to pace the cramped floor. What would be strong enough to attack a Watcher? The creature might not be a god, but he possessed the powers of one. And the fact that the male had followed the trail of magic while touching Wynn...
Fear pierced his heart.
“Green slime. Possessed demons. And dragon magic,” he muttered in frustration. “It has to be connected.”