Chapter 14 #2
“We had no use for each other. Like many Deuces, he disliked Dragons in general. Given his version, he wished you were a Deuce, though he obviously loved you regardless.” He rubbed his hand over the page of Brom’s book. “The real vision is in this.”
Before their eyes, another few words appeared: Ruby’s destiny. Also double underlined.
Cyn leaned closer. “He must have given this to Moncrief to translate for you, and he did it in the form of fairy tales. To prepare you in a subtle way. But he hoped that if you weren’t Awakened to Dragon, he could thwart fate.”
She stared at the words. “My destiny.” She stood, searching his eyes. “What is my destiny?”
“To face a monster, hopefully in a metaphorical way. To slay the person or people who ordered your parents’ murder.”
“With you. Because I need you.”
The way she said those last words tightened his chest. He had to force his gaze to their names on the page, linked with the plus sign. “For now.”
Her expression hardened. “Don’t worry. I have no intention of clinging to you.”
“I have a prophecy for you, Ruby. You will be the one to walk away from me.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Trust me on this. Remember, especially when our Dragons are pulling toward each other, that you will walk away and never look back.”
Confusion creased her face. “Because I finally get my fill of your arrogance and the way you’ve shuttered your heart and cloaked your feelings?
” She studied him, the hardness in her expression gone.
“I’ve seen the wild flicker in your eyes, Cyn.
I know you haven’t buried your feelings completely.
You don’t have to be bored and alone.” She turned away from him, tucking the book into her bag. “Just saying.”
It wasn’t his Dragon who ached at those words. He had found the perfect woman, the one who could bring his passion back to life… who had definitely brought his body back to life. And he couldn’t have her. Karma. Fate. Destiny, whatever.
He glanced at his watch. “We’d better go. Grayson’s a busy man.”
She hefted her bag, following him out. “Does this Grayson work for the Guard, too?”
“He has nothing to do with the government, which suits me just fine.”
“Is he a Dragon or a Deuce?”
He led the way through the house toward the garage entrance. “Neither. He’s a Caido.”
“Mon didn’t have any Caidos in his stories.”
“He had angels, right?”
“Yeah, but he didn’t have a lot to say about them, only that they had a weapon that looked like some kind of light.”
“Legend has it that Luca, the supreme god of Lucifera, sent angels to police the situation after the gods became physical. Only they became physical, too. I imagine it was hard to resist temptation with gods partaking of carnal pleasures all around them. The angel/human offspring are called Caidos, which is fallen in Spanish. They tend to keep to themselves for good reason.” As she started to open her mouth to no doubt ask why, he added, “Which I will not divulge.”
“Not even later?”
“Not even then.”
“For good reason, I suppose.”
“Very good reason.”
She nodded in acceptance of that. “Do they have wings?”
“Sort of. Like our tattoo that becomes Dragon, their tattoo becomes wings. Not feathers, though. More like energy.”
She shook her head, her eyes wide. He enjoyed her reactions. Everything was old to him, but it was new to her, whether beautiful or terrifying. “What you do need to know before you meet Grayson is that he’s a very old and powerful Caido, so don’t piss him off.”
“Now why would I go and do that?”
He raised his eyebrows. “You have a way about you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, probably ready to say something acerbic. But she may have remembered some of the things she’d done, because she only said, “I promise I won’t hold a gun to his chest.”
“That’s a start.” They walked into the garage, and he popped the trunk, then took her bag and set it inside. “Not that you’d survive a second after that. The only reason I didn’t wipe you was because I knew who you were.”
“Awfully nice of you.” The sarcasm melted away. “Though now that I know what you are, I do feel quite lucky.” She meant it.
“Caidos are sensitive to emotions, so try to keep yours tamped down. The emotional Dragons—Citrines and Carnelians—are particularly troublesome, and you, Ruby, are a Carnelian. And don’t get caught up in the Thrall.”
“The Thrall?”
“People get mesmerized just looking at them.”
She leaned against the passenger side of his car. “So I should restrain myself from drooling, as Dragons are apt to do.”
He laughed, because damn it, she had a way of making him laugh like no one else. “Yes, please.” His humor died quickly. “There’s one more thing you should know about Grayson. He doesn’t like Dragon women.”
“Why not?”
“A female Dragon captured and tortured him for years. I think the experience warped him.”
“Oh, goody. Some guy who can probably incinerate me with a look.” She gestured to her clothing. “But I’m the least seductive person around. Well, not the least certainly, but still.”
He got in the car and, when she got in, said, “Don’t underestimate your seductiveness, Ruby.” She had other effects on him, too, besides making him laugh. A deep wanting. Throbbing ache. Effects he also hadn’t experienced in decades. Or longer. He tended to lose track.
She closed her door. “He tolerates you then? I mean, not because you’re… intolerable or anything. Well, you can be. But you being a Dragon and all.”
He simply smirked at her and backed out of the garage. Once he’d closed the door, he sensed their surroundings. “There’s magick in the air.”
“Oh, now you’re being romantic?”
He rolled his eyes at her joke. “Not that kind of magic.” He got out of the car and fought the urge to Catalyze. Even though his yard appeared private, he couldn’t take a chance that some Mundane gardener was trimming bushes or that someone on a boat was out there with binoculars.
He saw the orb skitter across a branch just as Ruby, who’d gotten out of the car as well, said, “Are you hunting bugs again?”
“Scry orb.” His Dragon led him to a large banyan tree at the corner of the property.
“That’s what you killed in the back of my truck, right? The spy orb?”
“Exactly. Which means Smith has found my home.”
“Oh, great.”
He climbed the tree from the back side and spotted the orb perched on a branch.
He needed to grab it before it flew away and would then follow them.
Obviously sensing his magick, it crept down one of the many roots that grew from the branch back to the ground.
Cyn reached down and snatched it, crushing it in his hand with both force and magick.
It splintered into ephemeral bits. “Let’s go, before he shows up to pay us a visit. ”
Thirty minutes later, Cyn pulled into a guest parking spot at the Raphael high-rise. Ruby pulled her long braid over her shoulder and stroked the length of it as she looked at the sign. “Hah. The Raphael. I get it. So, what are we seeing this guy about?”
“Grayson is going to take you back in your memories to the night your father went on the run. Maybe you heard something that might help us.”
Cyn had only told Grayson that he didn’t want Ruby to go any farther than the moment of impact. He didn’t want to take a chance that she’d seen him and buried the memory. He wasn’t ready for her to leave him yet.
Because you want her.
Because I don’t want her out there alone.
She looked around the serene lobby with its blue glass mosaics and a huge wall of flowing water, following Cyn to the coordinating reception desk.
The place was beautiful but austere, making her think of what she envisioned heaven would look like.
They walked to the blue glass reception desk, where a man in a suit waited.
“Cyntag Valeron to see Grayson Winters.” He showed his ID.
The man checked his screen and gave him a nod. “He’s expecting you. Go on up.”
The elevator automatically took them to the twenty-first floor.
The mirrored walls reflected Ruby to infinity, the back of her braid trailing down to the top of her waistband, her shirt not quite meeting it to reveal a slice of her skin.
Her gaze met his in one of those reflections, jolting his heartbeat.
He was glad the door slid open at that moment.
Grayson was already waiting, filling the doorway with his muscular bulk.
“Good to see you, my friend. I appreciate you doing this.” Cyn made the introductions.
Grayson gave Ruby a nod. “Would you like a drink or should we get right to it?”
“Let’s get right to it,” Ruby said, rubbing her hands together in what Cyn thought was a nervous gesture.
Grayson motioned for her to sit on the leather couch and then sat across from her on the thick glass coffee table. “I’ll need to put my hand on you to establish a connection.”
Ruby nodded, her gaze on Grayson. “You can touch me,” she said in a soft, inviting voice. Her head tilted, and her mouth curved in a smile. “Your eyes are beautiful, with little sparks like frost.”
Even his tough little Ruby wasn’t immune to the Thrall. Well, not his Ruby.
Cyn’s Dragon clawed at his skin. Yes, mine. Its tail swished down the center of his back.
Back off. Not ours.
Grayson’s big hands rested on Ruby’s shoulders. “That’s right, just relax.” He turned to Cyn. “Dial back the territorial feelings.”
Ruby blinked, coming out of the spell. “You can pick up his feelings? Territorial feelings?”
“Surely Cyn told you about the whole Dragon-beast territorial thing, especially considering what I’m picking up between the two of you.”
Cyn kept his expression neutral. “I’m her protector and teacher, nothing more.”
Ruby hitched her thumb toward Cyn. “What he said.”
Grayson took in their earnest expressions and shrugged.
“Look, you don’t have to pretend around me.
I pick up feelings; I don’t judge them.” Grayson focused on Ruby again.
“Go back to the memory you want to explore. I’ll be there, but try not to pay attention to me. It’ll yank us out of the memory.”
Ruby sank against the back of the leather couch as her eyes closed.
She was tough on the outside, but Cyn sensed something big enough could shatter her protective shell and crumble her.
He drew closer and watched as Grayson put her into a hypnotic state.
What exactly was Grayson picking up from him?
Hell, that was embarrassing. But it was more than just territorial.
What Cyn felt for Ruby was foreign, like the rash she had described, an itch somewhere deep inside him.
“Daddy, what’s going on?” she asked in a little girl’s voice. She listened as he must have given her some explanation for their last-minute trip.
“Who’s he on the phone with?” Grayson asked in a soft voice.
“Darren, his lab partner. We go to their house a lot. They sometimes have me over so my parents can go out on a date.” Ruby smiled. “Magda, his wife, says I’m her surrogate daughter. She pretends I’m her daughter sometimes.”
Cyn moved closer yet, eyeing Ruby’s tensed hand on the couch. He had an insane desire to hold it. Resist.
Ruby frowned. “But Daddy’s wigging out, telling Darren, ‘Brom was right. What we’re doing is dangerous.
I’ve destroyed everything. I’m taking my family and leaving.
’ I can hear Darren yelling, but I can’t hear what he’s saying.
Then my mom’s taking me down into the cabin, telling me it doesn’t concern me. ”
Cyn said, “That’s enough, Ruby. We’ve got what we need.”
She shook her head. “I need to see more. Maybe I saw the man who murdered my parents.”
“All you’ll see is the Dragon. That won’t be enough to identify him.”
“It’s a start.”
“All right, we’ll stay as long as we can.”
Cyn’s chest tightened, drawing Grayson’s attention to his pain. The frost glittered in his eyes. He knew Cyn played the part of an assassin during his tenure as a Vega. He’d probably figured out why Cyn didn’t want her to go too far.
Grayson removed his hands from her shoulders, and Ruby snapped out of the memory.
“Why did you break the connection?” she asked Grayson.
“I can only hold on for so long.”
Poor Grayson was picking up Ruby’s disappointment and Cyn’s tangle of emotions. Hopefully he also sensed his gratitude.
To make sure, he gave Grayson a subtle nod. “I told Ruby I would introduce her to the Vega who was assigned to kill her parents. But right now she has to focus on what’s important, like saving her life.”
She pushed up from the couch, her mouth in a pout. “I just wanted to see him, a tiny glimpse.”
Cyn led Ruby to the door, turning to Grayson. “Thank you for your help.”
“Anything for a friend.” Grayson’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve changed since the last time I saw you, what, five years ago. You were easy to be around. You’re not anymore.”
Hell. Before he’d been flat-lined, emotionless, that’s what Grayson was saying. And now? It was probably best that Cyn didn’t know.
“That too will change.” After Ruby stalked out of his life.
“What did that mean?” Ruby asked when they were once again closed inside the elevator. “Why aren’t you easy to be around anymore?” When he didn’t answer, she got right up in his face. “Is it because the previously unfeeling Cyntag Valeron has feelings now? Feelings he’s afraid to admit?”
She had no idea the courage it took him not to act on those feelings, and yet, she called him a coward. He steeled that courage and pushed out the words, “I have no personal feelings for you.”
The elevator door opened, and they walked out to his car in silence. She leaned against her door, facing him. “So you would have no problem if I, say, approached Grayson for a date. You were right. He’s gorgeous and…”
Cyn reacted before thinking, grabbing her wrists and pinning them against the car. “Don’t do that.”
“What? Make you jealous? But you have no feelings for me, so you couldn’t possibly get jealous.” She raised an eyebrow, an impudent spark in her hazel eyes. “Or could you?”
“You’re trying to rile me up so I’ll expose my feelings? Is that what this is about?”
“Yes.” She glanced down where he held her wrists. “I’d say it’s working.”
Damn, but she had him twisted up inside. He leaned so close that their noses almost touched. “Ruby.” This time he could hear that intimate tone she’d been accusing him of.
“Yes, Cyn.”
“Don’t toy with my Dragon. Trust me, you will not like the price.”