“Rhennic—” Layla started, but he held up a hand as if commanding one of his soldiers to silence.
“Not now, Layla.” Rhennic spoke brusquely, without any of his usual tenderness. “We’ll hear the full story later when we’ve all had a chance to cool off. You know, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t particularly care that your drakaina wanted Hunter. I don’t really care that he’s Bound to us, even if it comes with side effects. What I care about is that you rush off into dangeralone, without considering any of us. That hurts, Layla. That fucking hurts and you know it. You disrespect me and everyone here with your rash actions. And some part of me… I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“Rhennic!” Layla protested. But Rhennic just held up his hand again and shook his head, a dark warning in his violet eyes for her to say no more. Joy was nowhere in him as he turned with a brisk military clip, following the way Fury and Reginald had gone.
Silence devoured the night. Someone reached out and gripped Layla’s hand and she blinked, realizing tears were shedding down her cheeks. Turning, she found Rikyava gazing at her with a terrible look as if asking if she was okay. Shaking her head, Layla reached up her other hand, wiping tears away with her wrist. Everything was crumbling; the peace she had so recently found siphoning away on the cold desert winds. Barrenness opened up inside Layla, though she could feel her drakaina coil around her in a deeply loving embrace, steadying her. There was nothing she could do about her accidental Bind with Hunter; she had done all she could to not make it worse. Layla knew it and her drakaina knew it, but her men didn’t.
And that made her hurt, so hard.
Someone moved in to cuddle her from behind, as if feeling her immense heartbreak from her lovers punishing her rather than supporting her. But before that person could touch her, Adrian’s whip-cold gaze was on them. “Put your body on hers right now, Rake André, and I swear to everything that’s holy I will rip you apart.”
“Easy, Adrian!” Dusk reached out with a shocked look, setting a hand to Adrian’s wrist, though Layla felt Rake step carefully away from her.
“I don’t want trouble, Adrian.” Rake spoke in that calmly measured voice of his, “but in case you can’t see it right now, Layla’s hurting from all her lovers coming down so hard on her. She didn’t Bind Hunter on purpose; it was an accident. And I believe she had a tough choice in the Dragon bone-yard. She chose what she needed to, to heal her rift with her drakaina… even though it took her straight to our enemy.”
“I stand with Layla, too.” Luke spoke solidly from Layla’s left, staring Adrian down with that junkyard-dog look in his hot emerald eyes, which he did so well. “She does what she needs to, when she needs to. Hesitation isn’t in her nature, but neither is vindictiveness. If she made a choice to put herself directly in danger without any of us to protect her to go figure this Bind out, she had a damn good reason. And I trust that. Do you, Adrian?”
Adrian’s eyes had swung to Luke, and Layla saw Adrian’s Dragon rise up hot and furious in his gaze as he got ready to rip Luke a new one. But before Adrian could snarl at Luke, Rikyava spoke up. “You can hate Luke all you want, Adrian, but he speaks the truth. Was it dumb for Layla to go into the über-Dragon’s lair without any of us? Probably. But it was also brave. Layla’s whip-smart, she’s fucking full of bravery, and understands Hunter better than any of us. I can’t even imagine how scared she must have been, diving into all of this alone. It’s not like she ran off to be with Hunter, Adrian. She turned him down, despite their Bind. And then pulled out some serious magic to escape from his goddam dangerous nowhere-realm that evenAscendantscan’t find – and return to us.”
At Rikyava’s words, Layla suddenly saw Dusk’s eyes clear. With a slow blink, he looked to Layla, shock filling him instead of anger. “Layla?” Dusk spoke quietly. “Were you in danger at Hunter’s realm? Did he wish to… make your Bind permanent?”
“Yes.” Layla spoke softly, feeling her heart grip as she willed them to understand. “Hunter essentially made me an offer while I was there. He offered to give it all up, if I came to him. If I let us Bind each other fully and took him as a mate, he would have abandoned his agenda of world domination, and tormenting all of us – the whole meal deal. But I couldn’t do it. At the last moment, I saw the truth… he was just too far gone.”
Reaching up, Dusk rubbed a hand over his lips as a terrible comprehension dawned in his eyes. Moving forward, hard tears shone in his eyes as he took up Layla’s hands and kissed them, first one and then the other. Curling her close in his arms and cradling her to his chest, he spoke to her so softly no one could hear but her.
“Did Hunter rape you?”
“Almost.” Layla choked, her heart soaring with relief that one of her men finally understood. “My magic got me out of there just before it happened. I made a portal using the ether… but I don’t really know how I did it.”
“Oh, Layla!” Dusk’s strong arms swallowed her as he poured a soothing waterfall of rumbles straight into her heart. Layla choked, her body shuddering with a hard wave of relief as tears rose up fast. Dusk held her close now as she finally broke down from everything she’d been through; her insane whirlwind of a journey, the scary unknowns she’d faced, and how Hunter had nearly trapped her with his awful dominance and selfish nature. But the worst part of it was that none of her men had understood when she’d returned – and to have Dusk’s merciful acceptance of her now was more than Layla could hold emotionally. As she cried in Dusk’s arms, she felt Rake, Luke, and Rikyava embrace her also, wrapping around her in a tight knot.
At last, Layla’s cuddle with the group came unwound. As Rake, Rikyava, and Luke backed away, Dusk turned to Adrian.
“We’ve been fools, Adrian.” Dusk spoke as he held Layla tucked close. “Layla didn’t have any choice when she made the decision to go to Hunter. Her Dragon wasn’t going to come back without her facing him and she knew it. It was lose-lose either way. Either our Bind lost her drakaina forever… or Layla went to see Hunter on her own to face why her drakaina wanted him as a mate. She faced him. It got ugly. He got mean, Adrian – forceful. I don’t think I need to tell you how forceful a Dragon of Hunter’s power can get with a mate he wants – especially one he’s already partially Bound to.”
Adrian’s gaze had been cold upon Layla, but at Dusk’s words, shock suddenly cascaded over his features. And just like that, his eyes cleared of their rage – back to a terrible blue tenderness. “Did Hunter—?”
“He didn’t.” Layla shook her head quickly. “But it was a near thing before my magic got me out of there. I don’t want him, Adrian – me or my drakaina. We saw the truth of him in that moment. Even if my magic makes him feel whole, even if it is partly Bound to him, he’ll never be able to overcome what he chooses to be – the passion of his beast, rather than the compassion of his human self. He can manipulate the ether, but he doesn’t understand true love, only the dark side of it – need. He thought he needed me to have wholeness. So he tried to take me. Not something somebody would do if they really loved someone else.”
Adrian’s dark eyelashes blinked rapidly. And then he was coming to Layla, sweeping her up in his arms and crushing her close. A whole new wave of tears sprung to Layla’s eyes as Adrian held her. When he pulled back, he found her lips, kissing her over and over.
As relief finally filled Layla’s heart.
CHAPTER 28 – LOVE
After telling all her Bound men the story of her hunt for her Dragon, Layla sat back, relieved. At last, her full tale had come out, and it felt so good to have the entire thing off her chest. As she sat on one of the silk chaises near the brazier on the ruined outdoor patio, dressed in one of her emerald-beaded caftan dresses from her room, she watched them each take in her tale. All were dressed now also, in elegant suits or nice jeans and collared shirts, and Layla found herself thankful they were clothed, her distraction minimized as she concluded her tale.
Dusk and Adrian sat on the chaise to either side of Layla, dressed in grey trousers and crisp white shirts with their sleeves rolled up. Both had supported Layla with their touch as she talked, and were now stroking her as she finished. Adrian’s hand had gone to the nape of her neck, Dusk’s to her thigh at a slit in her dress. As Layla finished, she glanced at them, watching them both digest all she’d said. Beyond them, Rikyava and Luke cuddled quietly together on a chaise as they absorbed Layla’s tale, both at-ease now that tempers had died down. Rake André watched everyone with a ready attention still, as if he might need to jump in and play group counselor. Their company around the glowing brazier now included Heathren Merkami, summoned by Adrian; with attentive composure, the Fallen Ephilohim’s long arms crossed over his black battle-leathers as he frowned deeply at everything Layla had said.
Tensions still roiled through Layla’s men, though everyone was calmer and all had listened to Layla’s story without a blowup. And though all of them had been sympathetic at the harrowing ordeal she’d gone through with Hunter, their expressions ranged the gamut now as Layla watched them. Fury had a haunted stare as he watched the darkness, though his massive Siren-drake was calm finally. Rhennic was still angry, though tenderness was in his eyes again at last, as he settled back in his chair with a deep frown. Reginald was quiet, but his very stillness told Layla volumes as he moved one long hand, petting his twin’s unbound silver hair.
Beside her, Adrian’s fire was supportive of her now, though Layla could feel him churning deep inside. Dusk was a rock in the tension flowing all around Layla, pouring a stalwart support into her as her men digested her tale. Heathren betrayed no emotion as he watched Layla, though something in his pale silver gaze held a tenderness she’d never thought possible before their time together.
At last, Heathren issued a hard sigh, pushing up to standing from his chaise.
“I need to make report of all of this to the Intercessoria,” he spoke bluntly as he pinned them all with his piercing gaze. “I may be gone a while, as the Intercessoria decides what to do with this information. At last, we have Hunter’s location, and though the Broken Realm of Vittria has many pockets, at least we know where to begin our search for Hunter’s lair. You’ve done well, Layla. It was a difficult mission, yet for the information we’ve gained in hunting down a vicious serial murderer, I would award you the Intercessoria’s highest honors if I could. Take that to heart in the days to come. I will return soon, for we must now discuss the inevitable: Hunter’s retaliation for you rejecting him in this very personal – and very deep – game of power.”
“I didn’t try to play a game of power with him.” Layla protested, as she and Heathren regarded each other.
