She waved a slender hand. “Tell me about the power. You must have discovered something.”
“Not as much as I hoped. There is a female who seems to echo with our magic, but she is most certainly not a dragon.”
“Echo. What does that mean?”
“It’s in her, but not fully a part of her.” Another wave of frustration rolled through him. “I need to return.”
“The opening remains?”
“No.”
“Ah.” Zanna’s lips twisted into a mocking smile. “Then you intend to bend the rules to suit your ambitions? Like I did?”
Azh shook his head. “I trust it will open again. The Watcher is unaware of the danger, but the magic of the treaty will ensure that I’m allowed to protect us.” Azh turned to leave the cell. “First, however, I have some research to do.”
“Research on what?”
“Kazak.”
“Kazak? Our mythical homeland?” A sharp laugh echoed through the cell. “Only a fool would believe that’s anything but a fairytale.”
“Maybe it’s a fairytale, maybe not.” He shrugged. “I chose to believe the warnings of our forefathers.”
“Trust you to waste time with looking through moldy old books instead of taking action against our true enemy, the Watcher,” the queen taunted. “You’ve always been more a scholar than a warrior.”
Azh halted at the barrier, turning to regard the older woman with a vague sense of regret. There’d been a time when dragons had exalted in their brutality. They delighted in battling each other as much as they did their enemies. The bloodshed had eventually been contained by Zanna’s cunning leadership, directing their violent tendencies to destroying anything that wasn’t a dragon. Vampires, demons, and the increasing tribes of humans.
The future, however, wasn’t going to belong to those stuck in the past. As technology expanded and times changed, they would need intelligence to survive, not mindless cruelty. The only way to continue as a species was to adapt. He truly believed that.
Still, looking to the future didn’t mean forgetting their history. His earliest ancestors had warned of a darkness that remained a threat to his people. And that there would come a time when they would have to prepare to battle back the evil with an ancient magic that would be returned to the dragons when it was most needed.
He had no idea if the female was somehow involved in the warning, but he was going to make sure he’d searched through every damn book in their vast library that referred to the mysterious magic.
“Knowledge is a formidable weapon,” he assured his companion.
“Might makes right. Never forget that...” Zanna deliberately paused, her black gaze searing over him. “Son.”
Azh bowed. “I’ll keep that in mind...Mother.”
He stepped through the barrier and left behind the female who might have given him life but had never seen him as more than a competitor for her position as queen.
* * * *
Wynn was running on empty by the time she plodded up the stairs leading to Hexx’s apartment. She’d managed to return to the abandoned building with the skipping stone, but her magic had been sputtering on empty.
The only good news was that there’d been no stalker waiting for her in the darkness.
She huddled in the corner of the old fish shop for over an hour, assuming that he was waiting for his moment to pounce. When nothing happened, she’d slowly inched her way out of the building and down the silent streets.
Could she have finally gotten rid of him?
She grimaced.
She wasn’t overly modest. She knew that she was smart, quick to adapt, and capable of making the hard choices. That had been the only way to survive. But she was no match for a dragon.
Dragon...
A shiver raced down her spine. She was too tired to try to wrap her brain around the fact that there was a mythical creature roaming the streets of New York City. But wait. He wasn’t just roaming the streets. He was following her around like a hunter stalking his prey.
