Lust (24 page)

“This nightmare keeps getting

worse.”

“It’s not a nightmare.”

“No, because that would be too

easy. I could wake up from a

nightmare.”

“This wasn’t your choice?” He

wrinkled his brow.

“No.” I sat down on the rocky

ground. My head was spinning from

the altitude, and I was out of

energy.

Wyatt sat down next to me.

“That sucks. You should have had a

choice.”

“Were you born as a Drago?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “The gene is

dominant like with Pterons, so

when a Drago finally mates any

children are always Dragos.”

“I do envy your ability to fly.”

“You like wings.” He raised an

eyebrow.

“Yes, but I only love one set.” I

smiled.

“I can’t tell you what he thinks.”

“You mean you can’t read his

mind?”

“Nope. I’d heard Pterons were

like that. We are too. I guess we’re

more similar than I thought.”

“Did you also evolve? Like you

used to turn into true dragons?”

“A long, long time ago.”

“Cool. I like your form now. A lot

of girls would find it attractive.”

He laughed. “My guess is if you

weren’t in love with a Pteron you

would too.”

“What do those mean?” I

pointed to the tattoos on his

abdomen.

“They mark me as part of a

clan.”

“Oh?” My eyes traced over the

winding design of black and grey

that crossed his abs and continued

around to his back. “Did you have

them done when you were young?”

He scrunched up his face.

“These aren’t tattoos. I was born

with them. All Dragos are born with

a set. They are all a little different.

Not a single set is the same.”

“Like people. No two are the

same.”

“And snowflakes.” He smiled. “I

know you were thinking that first.”

I buried my face in my hands.

“Can I have no privacy?”

“You can. I can shut it off.”

“Then why aren’t you?”

“It takes some effort, and right

now I need to keep my senses

sharp.”

“In case something happens.”

“Exactly. If you get hurt, Violet

is going to kill me.”

“Can she?” I asked with real

curiosity.

“Are you asking if I’m immortal?”

“Basically.”

“In the same way an Allure is.”

“How old are you?” I was asking

more out of curiosity this time.

“Old.”

“Old like Violet?”

“Older.”

“What? Everyone acts like Violet

is the oldest thing around!”

“Excuse me?” Violet’s voice had

me jumping.

I slowly turned around. “I didn’t

mean that in a bad way.”

“I know.” She held out a crystal

goblet. “Drink this, it will help the

altitude sickness.”

“Great, all that work for

nothing.” Troy walked over holding

a cup.

“That was thoughtful of you.

Surprising even.” She narrowed her

eyes.

“Wyatt made me.”

Violet nodded. “That makes

more sense.”

“How did it go? Did they grant

us an audience?”

She nodded. “Drink this first,

and then we’ll get ready.”

I sipped the cool liquid. It went

down easy, and I drank more. I

could breathe easier. “What do you

mean get ready?”

“We both need to change.”

“Why would we need to do

that?”

“It’s the rules.” Troy rolled his

shoulders back. “For everyone but

us.”

“What do we wear, and why

don’t you have to?”

“You wear robes, and remember

the treaty and our powers.”

“Do you have another ability

besides mind reading?”

“Abilities and yes.”

Violet’s eyebrows drew together.

“You know about the mind

reading?”

“It slipped when she got worried

about me kicking her off the side of

the mountain.”

She turned to me. “Did you

actually believe I’d leave you with

people who would hurt you?”

“Considering you dumped us

alone on a deserted beach, maybe.”

“That wasn’t my fault. I

assumed they’d come speak to us

later.”

I wasn’t going to argue. “Where

are these robes?”

“Inside.” She gestured to the

spiral staircase. “Let’s go.”

“Good luck.” Wyatt smiled.

“You guys aren’t coming?”

“No, this is Allure business.”

“Okay.” I followed her despite

my nerves. There was no reason to

put it off any longer.

20

DAISY

My bare feet were cold as I

walked across the marble floors of

the palace. I understood removing

my shoes out of respect, but

wearing a white robe seemed a bit

extreme even if Violet claimed it

was an equalizer.

Although the robe covered me

more than my usual clothes, I still

felt naked. I took small and

deliberate steps, purposely letting

myself fall behind Violet. The bright

white room felt endless, and maybe

it was. I couldn’t even see the

ceilings because it was so tall, and

other than the doorway I’d walked

through, I hadn’t seen another wall.

Ahead of us all I could see was a

bright light. It was so intense, I had

to look at the floor in order to keep

my eyes open.

I continued to follow Violet.

Despite my concerns with her

trustworthiness, she knew what she

was doing, and she seemed to

know the Elders. Staying behind her

seemed like the safest option.

A shriek escaped my mouth

before I realized what was

happening as someone grabbed my

shoulder from behind. Once the

momentary panic passed, I was hit

by a wave of relaxation. I turned,

not at all surprised to find Roland

standing there.

He grinned as soon as our eyes

met. “I’ve missed you.”

I stared into his brown eyes at a

loss for words. Why was he here?

My headache returned. There was

too much going on for me to

handle. I turned back to find Violet

facing us. She had her arms crossed

over her chest.

She glared at him. “Interesting

time to choose to show up.”

“I couldn’t let Daisy face the

Elders without me. She has no

maker, but I’m the closest thing she

has to one. The question is why you

think you had the authority to bring

her here.” He put his hands on my

shoulders.

I tried to move out of his

embrace.

Violet glowered. “I’m helping

her.”

“Helping her? No. You are trying

to help yourself.” Roland’s hands

tightened on my shoulders.

“How would this help her?” I

thought back on everything Gabriel

had said. The memories, her

motive. Was it all coming to light?

“She still hasn’t told you?”

Roland spoke with his lips right next

to my ear.

I struggled away from him.

“Told me what?”

Violet shook her head. “Stop

putting negative thoughts in her

head. I’m here to help her. She

wants to stay human. I want to

help. We all willingly accepted the

gift. She should have been given

the choice too.”

“Are you all done prattling?” A

booming voice had me jumping for

the second time in a few minutes.

“Yes.” Violet linked her arm with

mine and tugged me away from

Roland. He easily caught up and

took my other arm, reminding me

of the first night we’d met. It felt

like a lifetime ago.

My heart was beating a mile a

minute as we walked toward the

bright light. I couldn’t see anything

but the light, and that made things

even scarier.

“It’s fine. Everything is going to

be okay,” Violet whispered the

soothing words into my ear.

“Just tell them the truth. Only

the truth.” Roland’s words weren’t

nearly as soothing. Despite the

comfort his touch gave me, his

words sent shivers down my spine.

“I’ll lead everything. Speak when

you’re asked direct questions. I will

handle the rest.” Violet pulled me

closer.

“Be careful who you trust,”

Roland warned.

I felt like a ping pong ball being

volleyed back and forth between

Violet and Roland. I longed for

Owen. He’d keep me focused. I

shook my head. No. He’d be in

danger. It was important I was

doing this without him. I never

wanted to put him at risk.

The light became brighter the

closer we walked toward it. I

continued to look down. The glare

was so strong it hurt my eyes.

“Stay calm,” Violet said quietly.

“The worst thing you can do right

now is get upset.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The Elders will use your

fear against you. Fear is your

greatest weakness.” She spoke in a

breathless tone that made me

question whether she was nervous

too. And if she was, what did that

mean? Was she going to turn on

me?

We continued walking through

the seemingly endless room until

we suddenly stepped through the

light.

I blinked a few times.

“Now you don’t see that every

day, do you?” a low and sultry

female voice said.

I looked up. The intense light

had vanished. In front of us were

ten men and women sitting in

ornate golden chairs that resembled

thrones. They may have been

called Elders, but they didn’t look it.

Each was breathtakingly attractive

and in their prime. Just like Violet.

None looked to be over thirty. Each

was dressed differently, in clothes

that varied from formal wear to

jeans. Evidently they had no dress

code.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

The blond woman sitting second

from the right spoke again. “It’s

rude not to.”

I looked at Violet. She gestured

for me to talk. “You were speaking

to me?”

“Do you usually answer

questions with questions?”

“No.” It took every ounce of

strength I had to talk. I’d never felt

so intimidated in my entire life.

“Then say something.” She

made it sound so simple.

“I don’t even understand what

you asked.” My head spun. I had

never remembered feeling so

confused.

“Permission to speak, Arabella?”

Violet’s voice was strong and

unwavering.

“Granted.” Arabella nodded.

Violet cleared her throat. “Daisy

has had a lot to digest in the past

few days. Please forgive her

difficulty responding.”

“I still do not understand your

presence here.” Arabella crossed

her legs.

“I am here to champion her

cause.”

“Isn’t that her maker’s job?” She

gestured to Roland.

Violet held up her chin. “He’s not

her maker.”

“Yet they share part of an

essence. How is that possible?”

Arabella shifted in her seat,

revealing more of her elegant black

gown.

“She was given an Allure

essence against her will.” Violet’s

face was expressionless. I braced

myself. How would these people

react?

They looked horror struck. “How

do you know it was against her

will?” one of the men asked.

Another Elder jumped in next.

“Do you take the child’s word as

truth?”

Child? Maybe compared to them.

“It was the result of misguided

witchcraft. The residue was still on

her when we met her.” Roland

stepped in front of me. “I can

assure you she did not willingly

take the essence.”

“I couldn’t imagine she’d be able

to. She doesn’t appear particularly

strong.” A male elder sized me up

and evidently wasn’t impressed.

First a child and now weak. These

people were not flattering me at all.

“Tell us the story.” The man

directly in front of me leaned

forward in his chair. “I want to hear

it from you.”

“From me?” I put a hand to my

chest. I could barely concentrate let

alone tell them anything.

“Again with the questions.”

Arabella rolled her eyes.

“Yes, you.” The man tapped his

foot impatiently. “Tell us the story.”

“There isn’t all that much more

to tell.”

“I’m sure there is.” He rested his

inhumanly muscular arm on the

armrest of the chair.

“I was given a magic paste by a

witch that had Allure essence in it.”

“Start before that. From the

beginning.” He wove his hand

around.

“The beginning was taking a

road trip to New Orleans with my

roommate at the time. She wanted

to reconnect with her ex-boyfriend,

and I stupidly went along for the

ride.” I liked to blame it on being

young.

“And what happened?”

I decided to skip over the part