And he’s been talking–communicating–something he was never able to do before.Ithought it was impossible–he’s just anAshDrakeafter all.Butit seems that the curvy little priestess woke something inside him.
“She is ours,”he rumbles in my head.“Sheneeds us.”
I grit my teeth.
“She doesn’t need anything from us,”Imutter under my breath.“She’sback where she belongs–at the temple.Andthey don’t exactly welcome males there.”
I tell myself she’s safe–untouched.Andnot carrying some bastard’s illegitimate child.
But myDrakedoesn’t like that answer.Heshifts again, a low, simmering presence, pushing inside me.
“Not safe,” he growls.
I exhale sharply through my nose.
“She’s in a temple full of priestesses.Howthe fuck is that not safe?”Idemand.
I get no answer–just that same restless pressure and the image of her.
The way she looked when she left me–still flushed and trembling.Stillneeding something she didn’t fully understand.
I close my eyes for a moment, trying to shake it off–to push the thought of her out of my head.Itdoesn’t work.Nothing’sworked.
Not the forge.Notthe work.Notthe long hours beating out hot metal, trying to wear myself out soIcan sleep without seeing her face every timeIclose my eyes.
It’s like something hooked into me during that one encounter we had together and never let go.
“Go to her,”myDrakeurges.“Mustgo to her.Sheneeds us.”
“Fuck,”Igrowl softly and run a hand over my horns.Allright,Ican’t fucking stand this.Ihave to see her with my own eyes–Ihave toknowshe’s all right.
I grab my coat from where it’s hanging by the door and shrug it on without really thinking about it.
This is a bad idea–Iknow it is.Goinganywhere near the temple is asking for trouble.Malesaren’t welcome there, and if theSisterscatch me lurking around,I’llbe lucky ifIjust get chased off.
Still…my hand tightens on the doorframe.
I just need to see her…make sure she’s all right.That’sit–nothing more.Assoon asI’msure she’s fine,IswearI’llleave.
I step out into the late afternoon light beforeIcan talk myself out of it and head for the temple of theGoddessofNature.
I have no idea that whatI’mabout to find there will change my life forever.
18
THERON
The temple sits on a rise just outside the village–all white stone and climbing vines, like something half-grown out of the earth itself.Evenfrom a distance, it looks untouched—too clean, too perfect, wrapped in sunlight and quiet.Afeeling of feminine power hangs around it like an invisible shield.
I keep to the edges of the trees asIcircle it, moving slow and careful.I’vebeen around here before.Closeenough to know the paths–the places where theSisterscome and go.Closeenough to know whereIshouldn’tbe.
I stay low, keeping to the shadows, my boots barely making a sound on the soft ground.Thewind shifts asImove, carrying scents with it—earth, flowers, damp stone.
And thenIcatch a different scent–a familiar scent.
Elowen.
I stop dead as her scent hits me like a blow.
