Chapter 27 #2
Don’t think this is the end, female, he thought. We can pretend for now, but I will have you before you get the chance to leave my home.
He intended to make sure of that.
Carwyn stood her ground and raised a brow at him, daring him without knowing just how dangerous that to be.
Kier lifted his right hand, and her expression shifted so quickly into a flinch when the back of his knuckle came towards her cheek.
He found that offensive, considering everything he’d done to gain her faith and trust.
But for once, he wasn’t going to be good and do what made her most comfortable.
He brushed his bare knuckle against the soft, near-perfect skin of her cheekbone, letting her feel the affection he had for her beneath his calm and composed expression while gaining a ghost of her warmth. Her eyelashes fluttered as her full lips parted softly, and Kier gave in to a nagging desire.
He glided the pad of his thumb against her fuller dusky-rose bottom lip. It was so malleable and plump that it shifted under his caress.
The temptation to lean in and brush his own against it, maybe even suck on it, pestered him.
Then as quickly as he made the contact, he broke it.
His tone, hiding everything she’d likely just felt, was deadened as he said, “Yes, let’s begin.” He stepped back and then blew a ring of fire. “Shift,” he stated, and it sucked back to encase him in flames so he could morph into his dragon form.
She’s good at pretending, he thought, watching as she quietly regained her composure to approach the altar.
Once he was done, he placed himself at the head of the altar as Carwyn lifted her hands above Selene’s painted abdomen. He didn’t understand her chant, despite some words snagging recognition with their similarity to dragoncraft.
White magic glittered from her palms, pure and sweet in scent, proving that this had no repercussions for her.
It didn’t spark with red like dark magic, didn’t sour with foulness from decay.
A gust of witchcraft swirled around the alcove, and her hair floated as words poured from her in a steady stream.
Had it been another witch, his hackles would’ve risen. Instead, a sense of ease rolled through him at witnessing Carwyn’s power. The feel of it was inviting, as were many aspects pertaining to her.
The stronger it got, the deeper he sank into it. She’s stunning like this. Strength and will, magic and kindness. Pure-heartedness so evident he could see it, smell it, hear it, and even taste it.
It haloed against her light-brown skin as it swirled up her limbs. It glittered in her hair as highlights, and it reflected in her coal eyes until even the honey-brown in them shone through.
Selene’s chest lifted, her eyes flung open in a shade of red similar to his own, and her pale-pink lips parted on a sharp gasp.
The moment her back hit the stone again, her head darted to the side and her gaze locked on Carwyn.
A war cry belted out of her, and Kier shoved himself between them before she could get her hands on Carwyn, who stumbled back.
Kier had foreseen this and prepared for such a reaction.
“Let me at it!” Selene shrieked, kneeing his abdomen as she fought to get past him. Her arms flailed over his shoulders as she used her feet to try and climb over him. “I’ll claw its fucking eyes out!”
When he wouldn’t relent, Selene punched him in the side of the head, and he grunted at the harsh impact. His muscles locked as he tightened his hold on his squirming, wriggling sister.
“Selene,” he warned darkly.
“Release me, Kier! It deserves death after what it did to me!” By the hiss he heard, she’d bared her fangs. “Come here, foul creature. Now that I’m free, I’ll show you agony!”
When he wouldn’t let her go, she bit into his shoulder before she reached back to dig her nails into his face for purchase... or to possibly gouge an eye. Then something was cast, likely a fireball, and Carwyn squealed as she ducked.
Kier glanced over his shoulder. “Leave us for now.”
Carwyn nodded and bolted, her boots echoing down the tunnel.
Kier threw Selene forward but kept his hands out, ready to grab her. When she attempted to dart around him, he knocked her back, and she screamed as she lunged for him instead.
“A witch?! How dare you let one of them touch me after what they did!”
Rather than fight with her, he put his hand out and palmed her forehead in an unbreakable hold, and her arms swung beneath his elbow. Unless he wanted to be punched, hit, bitten, and likely kicked in the seam repeatedly, he’d rather keep her at arm’s length.
“She isn’t one of those who hurt you,” he told her firmly.
“She was there! I remember her standing over me as they put me to sleep!” Selene tried to back up, but his clawed fingers tangled in her hair kept her head frozen in place. “I’ll end you for this.”
Kier rolled his eyes. “Selene, we both know you care far too much about my life to end it.” He fisted her head tighter, and she went with him to reduce the discomfort he intentionally inflicted when he moved her so their gazes could meet.
“She has been dream walking in your memories. It’s why you remember her being there. ”
She stilled, only to glare nastily at him. Yet there was thought there, orientation as she tried to wade through her own mind to know what was truth and what was someone magically strolling through events after they happened.
“She’s a white witch,” he continued. “I plucked her from the road, not at the place I found you. She has been helping us.”
“You let a witch gallivant through my head, Kier?” she accused with a sneer, and he could practically see the steam whistling from her ears.
He came a little closer to match her hard stare with unwavering conviction. “Absolutely, just so I could see you glare at me about it exactly like this.”
Her slitted pupils tightened in fury while her brow furrowed. So Kier released her hair and pulled her against him until she was forced into a one-sided, tight hug.
“I missed you, Selene. The world is too quiet and calm without you.”
“You insult me upon my waking?” she snapped. “How dare you, you impertinent dragon male!”
The fact that she wasn’t shoving at him to escape told him everything he needed: she was thankful, she missed him also, and she was overjoyed she was returned to him.
He released her, although remained vigilant about her tells as to whether she’d go after the little witch in a murderous rage. She didn’t, instead choosing to fold her arms across her chest as she tapped her foot, one tit slipping over her arms while the other went downward.
“Why could you not wake me yourself?” She raised an eyebrow. “As much as I hate to admit it, your magic is strong in this regard. Why seek help?”
His bruised ego took another hit. “I needed a witch to undo it. The hex was one that not many of us are familiar with. Dragons who are forcibly put to sleep don’t live long enough to be woken.”
Her foot tapped faster as her eyes narrowed again. “Why am I human? This you know how to undo.”
See? No care for her nudity. All of Carwyn’s worries were unfounded.
“It was easier to tend to you while you were in this form,” he admitted, gesturing to her, then to the altar. “Feeding you was simpler. I also worried any interference with your state could make it impossible to break your hex.”
She lifted her chin, lowered her arms, and stormed past him. “Fix it now. I refuse to be in this weak, feeble body a moment longer.”
Her black hair swayed above her backside as she exited his healing alcove to head down his tunnels as if she owned the fucking place. Rolling his eyes, Kier followed her to make sure she stayed away from Carwyn and, as she’d requested, offer his assistance, as she couldn’t make the change herself.
Their strengths were different. He had an affinity for healing spells and undoing hexes, while Selene was better with barriers and attack magic.