Light and sound exploded all around. It was as if the entire forest had come alive to consume them. Or at least tear them down. Everything was blowing up like some kind of slick heavy metal light show.
Temporarily blinded and disoriented, Medea had no idea in which direction to head.
Someone grabbed her.
She spun to slug them, only to catch the crisp masculine scent she knew more intimately than she cared to admit. And it was one that was starting to give an innate comfort to her that she didn’t even want to investigate. “Falcyn?”
“Yeah, hang on.” He lifted her and pulled her with him toward her left.
Normally, she’d protest being manhandled like this. But she was so grateful to have someone who could see what was happening that she went along without complaint or assault. Especially since he was being remarkably gentle. In fact, he kept her cradled against him as he twisted and dodged past things she could only guess about.
And that terrified her. She hadn’t trusted anyone like this—with her safety—in more centuries than she could count. Truth be told, she couldn’t remember ever beingthistrusting. It just wasn’t in her. Yet something about Falcyn made it a lot easier than she’d ever thought possible.
By the time they made the woods, she could finally see again. And it was only then that she realized how tightly she was holding on to him. The fact that she had her face buried in the crook of his neck and had surrendered herself completely.
That was even more terrifying than the attackers she couldn’t see.
He was her anchor in this madness that kept her grounded and sane.
Better yet, he was her life preserver. And she both hated and adored that sensation.
What the hell is wrong with me?
How could she ever trust a stranger like this? A dragon, no less?
With her still in his arms, Falcyn turned around slowly to survey their surroundings and to make sure they’d escaped the possessed gallu sylphs.
Although it was a bit painful and her sight was peppered with pinpoints of light, she scanned with him and saw nothing. They appeared safe for the moment.
To her instant regret, Falcyn set her down on her feet. She didn’t know why, but a part of her wanted for him to hold on to her the way Blaise had done with Brogan. To be as reluctant to let her go.
Are you insane?
She had to be. Medea Theoxena needed no one. Not for anything. Emotions were for suckers and fools. Neither of which was her.
Ever.
I willneverbe weak again. Not for any reason.
Not for any person.
That had been the promise she’d made to herself the day she stood over the bodies of her husband and child. The day she’d torn through the human village like a vengeful harpy, laying waste to every being there.
To this day, she could hear their screams and see their faces as she made them pay for what they’d ruthlessly taken from her without regard or remorse. That was the only thing that had allowed her to live with the anguish of her loss. The knowledge that she’d returned to them the same pain they’d coldly served to her.
And still it wasn’t enough. That thirst for vengeance continued to burn within her like the passions of Aphrodite. To that end, she understood why her grandfather had gone wild on the Apollite race over his own son and mistress. She would never fault him for that rage that demanded blood sacrifices to slake it.
But she could have never cursed her own children, even in the midst of that kind of unreasoning grief. Not for anything. That he could do such to her father and her was an unforgivable sin.
And Falcyn understood that loss himself. While they hadn’t killed his son, he’d thought of him as murdered—which was the same range of emotions Medea had lived with. He’d gone through identical pain over the centuries.
No wonder he was barely this side of insane. He lived in the same dismal hell she called home.
That, too, weakened her for him. Bonded them together. It was rare to find anyone who could relate to her fury. To her need for blood atonement. Someone who didn’t judge her for wanting vengeance, even all these centuries later.
Worse, those thoughts brought an unexpected wave of tenderness crashing through her. One that made her throat tight and eyes water.
Don’t, Medea!She couldn’t emotionally afford to go there. Rather, she needed to focus on something else.
