Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
THORNE
Late the next morning, I staggered toward the hearth room, skull splitting, tongue coated in ash and regret. Enchanted alcohol still seeped from my pores. After leaving Serafina… Strike that. After Serafina left me at the pool last night, I’d forgone dinner in lieu of a bottle of Ambrosia.
I’d never been so easily dismissed by a woman that I’d bedded.
Was it not good? Surely it was good. My sexual prowess was legendary, after all.
Her screams in my ears couldn’t have been faked, nor her claws in my back.
Could they? And then there was my dragon flame.
I had never shared so much of myself with anyone before.
Regardless, what happened last night could never happen again. Just as Alaric suggested, I’d screwed Serafina out of my system. Gone. Done. Over. My brother could do anything he wanted with her, and I wouldn’t care. Not at all.
I entered the hearth room—and froze.
The hangover vanished, scorched away in a rush of rage.
Serafina massaged oil into Alaric’s shimmering scales, illuminated fingertips gliding over his exposed flank.
The possessive sweep of his wing above her had flames tickling my throat.
She was dressed in a shift and little else, her bright mop of hair braided down her spine, stray curls framing her face. It was a quaint and intimate setting.
Too intimate.
Outrage exploded in my fractured mind, threatening to split my skull. How dare she touch another male in such a way? Once I shifted, I would rip out his heart, tear open his throat with my teeth. I would—
“Good morning, Thorne.” Serafina turned to me with a bright smile. “I came in search of breakfast only to discover Alaric had returned from his healing soak.” Solar crystals set into the walls illuminated her face, setting her hair on fire. Radiant.
“Look,” she commanded proudly.
I was looking. Looking at the way the oil gleamed on her arms. How the thin shift begged to reveal her full breasts. Noting that Alaric had probably appreciated the same sight.
“At what?” I snarled.
“Alaric’s wound,” she said, barely sparing me a glance. “Did you see my fingers glow? The stone Yaga gave me—it’s helping me to channel the energy.”
“Is it now? Good for you.” I stomped to the cupboard, withdrew another bottle of Ambrosia, uncorked it with my teeth, and chugged.
“Really, Thorne,” Sera said, brow arched, lips pursed like some prudish schoolmarm. “How about some food for a change?”
My teeth ached, sharpening in my skull. “Leave a man to his drinking, wench.”
“Thorne,” Alaric barked, his voice a low warning.
“If you need me, I’ll be neck deep in the family hoard.” I stormed across the room.
“But I do need you.” Serafina’s voice stopped me mid-step.
Something inside warned that I should keep walking, but another part couldn’t resist those five softly spoken words. Damn her.
“Alaric and I have been talking, and I need you to help me rescue Speck.”
No wonder she was so chipper. I figured this was coming.
“You see—”
“Hold!” I raised my palm while moving to my favorite chair and planting my feet on the table. After taking a long gulp from my bottle, I finally faced the pair.
“Proceed.” I rolled my finger, indicating Serafina should continue. “Do tell me all the lovely things you and Alaric whispered about this morning.”
To my delight, her cheeks flushed, and she lifted her chin, declaring in an imperious tone, “Alaric knows everything.”
“Everything?” I arched a challenging brow. He sure as hell didn’t know everything, seeing as how I still had all my limbs attached.
Serafina cleared her throat, stating primly, “Yes, everything. About Yaga’s claims that I can’t break his curse, my being Hathor’s handmaiden, along with the information I gathered about Speck and the others.”
“My, that is a lot. You’ve been a busy girl, sharing all your secrets. Is there some point to this?”
Her cheeks darkened, and I savored the crack in her composure.
“Alaric is on the mend,” she stated, cheerful tone hardening. “It’s past time you both upheld your side of our bargain.”
“Which one was that? I’ve lost track.”
She planted an oil-slicked hand on her hip, her eyes narrowing. “The one where you and Alaric agreed to save Speck if I healed him.”
I uttered a low groan, rubbing my temples. “Ah, yes. That one.” The one we’d both agreed to, assuming we’d find her friend’s corpse, and that would be the end of it.
“Serafina held up her part of our deal, and my word is my bond,” Alaric stated. “It’s time we formulated a plan.”
What the hell? Now he was playing the noble do-gooder? Which left me as the villain. Fabulous. “And if he’s a ghoul?” I snapped.
“He isn’t,” Serafina shot back.
“You don’t know that. You saw that Cookie friend of yours. Those The Dark One captures are taken for a purpose.”
“Then we are about to change his plans.” Her chin lifted, voice fierce. “Whatever’s befallen Speck, I will not stop until he’s free.”
“Of course, you won’t,” I sneered with a tight smile, setting my feet on the floor.
“And we are oath-bound to help her,” Alaric rumbled, all gallant and virtue, still desperate to win her affections.
Thanks to the game he played, I was really going to have to do this. Risk my life for one little shepherd boy.
“They’ll have taken him underground,” Alaric added.
“We should return to Nefarr.” Serafina abandoned her patient, walking to my table where she picked up a cloth to dry her hands. “We’ll find the tunnels they used to infiltrate the keep, sneak into their lair, and free the captives.”
“Easy as that, huh?” I scoffed.
“Do you have a better idea?”
“Yes. I remain above ground and blast molten fire into the holes.”
She slammed the cloth down. “Killing everything, including Speck.”
Alaric stirred upon his pallet, arranging his wing. “Infiltrating the tunnels will take more than one man, and I cannot fit in my dragon form.”
Conveniently leaving me to deal with this alone while he watched from a safe distance.
No wonder he entertained this suicide mission.
Was that it? Did he try to get rid of me?
It was possible he knew more about me and Serafina than I’d given him credit.
Because only an idiot would enter those tunnels on purpose.
Or maybe…three idiots.
Two of them expendable.
With their help, our chances of success rose from zero to trifling.
“I may know a couple of guys,” I said slowly, the words dragging up my throat. “One is an expert with fire, the other, with earth and stone. They owe me a favor.” And a big one at that.
“Hmm,” Alaric grunted. “I know of whom you speak. Former thieves. Both are skilled. It might work. Once night falls, you may fly to Carcerem to collect them.”
So anxious to get me out of his way, he’d given me permission to fly? “I’m sure they’ll be thrilled.”
Alaric ignored my sarcasm. “While you’re gone, I will train Serafina to develop her magic. The stronger she becomes, the more likely she’ll be to break my curse.”
Ah, that explained it. He was eager to be alone with her. The fine scales along my shoulders itched and burned. To shift. To bite. To burn.
Flarking Alaric.
I glowered at Serafina. Yaga warned her not to meddle in Hathor’s business. Bet she hadn’t shared that little tidbit of information during their private massage session. In fact, I was quite certain there were a number of things she’d left out. Things I knew but Alaric didn’t.
“Fine, then. While you’re training her, you can teach her to use her magic defensively. As she did when Mortis attacked her.”
“Mortis? What attack?” Alaric snarled.
I smirked at the expression of panic that washed over Serafina’s face. “Told him everything, did you?”
While she fawned over the dragon. I was the one who knew her secrets. For instance, how she tasted, and the sounds she made when she orgasmed.
Alaric lowered his head, chuffing a growl. “Tell me more about this Mortis.”
“I’ll leave you two kids to it then.” I shoved to my feet and stomped toward the door.
“Thanks, Thorne,” Serafina called out, fury in her tone.
“Any time, Princess.”
SERAFINA
Thorne was gone.
I didn’t know how I knew. I simply did. Maybe it was the dimming of the flame he’d gifted me, the one that had saved my life.
A flame I still wasn’t sure how to feel about.
There were layers to Thorne, to the Draconis blood in his veins, that I hadn’t even begun to peel back. So many masks. So many contradictions.
And yet sometimes…he was exactly what he seemed.
An arrogant jerk.
He hadn’t been thrilled about the plan to rescue Speck, that much was clear. But the least he could’ve done was say goodbye. Instead, he’d slipped away like one of the thieves he’d gone to retrieve—leaving me behind.
Alone.
With his brother.
Alaric lumbered beside me, his bulk crowding the massive hallway. If I wasn’t careful, he could easily smash me between his body and the wall.
We headed to a training area where I could practice my magic.
I was eager to test my gifts, but annoyance buzzed beneath my skin like swarming widow wasps.
Since I’d used the stone to draw the poison from his system, Alaric had recovered quickly.
Now that he was better, he was back to his old self, making it clear my opinion didn’t matter.
“You’re pensive,” he said, the brush of his massive shoulder nearly sending me through the wall.
“Am I?” I stumbled, catching myself on the stones.
“You’re worried about him,” he added, the statement tinged with accusation.
“I guess.” What if the hunters spotted Thorne in his dragon form? I’d seen firsthand the damage they’d done to Alaric. What if, right at this moment, he was speared by their horrible grappling hooks, being dragged from the sky?
“It’s a waste of energy worrying about somebody like him. Believe me, I know.” Alaric’s voice rumbled with annoyance. “Thorne can’t be counted on. You need to watch yourself.”