The Dragon Legion Collection 9 (31 page)

And just in time. The darkfire cracked like lightning and the park disappeared in a swirl of dust and fallen leaves. They were picked up from the ground and flung hard through the air, as if a tornado had seized them. Drake couldn’t see anything but he reached out and grabbed Thad’s arm, not wanting to lose the younger man.

They were cast down hard upon a stony surface and the wind stilled. The spark in the stone died to a mere pinprick of light as Drake sat up cautiously. The stone even felt cold in his hand.

They were surrounded by fog, but he had the definite sense that they were at some elevated altitude. The air seemed thin and the silence resonant. He felt there was nothing but wind and sky.

He realized belatedly that Thad was unusually silent and turned to the younger man in concern. Thad was fine, but sitting on the ground cross-legged. He was staring at the tip of the fingers on his left hand, probably because golden sparks had lit on them. His mouth had fallen open in awe but he grinned when he looked up at Drake.

“I’ve never felt like this,” he whispered and the light wind seemed to steal his words away. “She’s here. She’s here somewhere and the darkfire has brought me to her!” He leapt to his feet and spun around, holding up his hand in search of a direction. Predictably, the flames flared when he stretched his hand out to one side. The rocks seemed to climb higher there, as if the peak of the mountain was that way.

Drake had time to dread Thad’s reaction before the other man strode to him and shook his hand heartily. “I don’t know when we’ll meet again, Drake, but thank you. Thank you for all you’ve taught me, and all the times you’ve defended me, and everything.” His eyes were alight with anticipation.

“Maybe we should follow the flame together,” Drake managed to say before the light in the crystal shimmered again.

“Your turn is next!” Thad insisted, then shocked his commander by pulling him into a tight embrace. “Thank you, Drake. May the Great Wyvern always be with you.”

And then he was gone, leaping over the rocks in pursuit of the firestorm’s flame. His figure was swallowed by the fog in no time, leaving Drake looking down at the blinking stone in trepidation.

He closed his eyes when the wind raged around him. He kept them closed when he was swept off his feet. He grimaced as the maelstrom spun around him, casting him this way and that, tearing at him like he was made of straw. He both wanted it to end and feared what he’d find when it did. He winced when he fell hard against a smooth surface.

Like concrete.

The wind stilled and snowflakes landed on his face. It was cold and there was a stiff wind, one that smelled of water. It could have been blowing off a lake. He could hear the distant sound of traffic and he sensed the presence of a dragonsmoke barrier, breathed thick and deep. He caught a whiff of gunpowder and sulfur, of the chemicals used in pyrotechnics, mingled with the scents of
Pyr
he had known.

He sensed one particular dragon shape shifter, the leader of the
Pyr
himself.

Drake opened one eye warily, already having guessed where he was. He was in Chicago on the roof of the building that contained Erik Sorensson’s loft, and despite himself, he was relieved. He looked down at the crystal in his hand, only to find that its heart was completely dark. Even when he peered closely at it and strained his vision, he could see no glimmer of darkfire within it.

Its quest was done. Drake was cast into the future to stay.

The darkfire crystal had brought him here as its last act, because its rightful place was in the hoard of the leader of the
Pyr
. Drake pushed to his feet wearily, only having the strength to rise because he knew he would be able to sleep as long as necessary within the protective barrier of Erik’s dragonsmoke boundary.

And that was a greater gift than he’d ever expected the darkfire to give him.

Chapter One

His firestorm!

Thad barely managed to contain his excitement. He was surrounded by a dense white mist, a fog that obscured everything beyond an arm’s reach. Even so, the fog was lit with a radiant orange light, the light of his firestorm, and he spun in place, trying to discern which direction was brightest.

She would be there.

He could see the rocky path beneath his feet and feel the chill of the air, but not much more than that. In three steps, he’d lost Drake completely.

Suddenly, a blue-green flash of the darkfire illuminated the fog behind him. It grew to blinding brilliance then disappeared completely. Thad swallowed, knowing that Drake was gone.

He was alone.

But the firestorm’s light meant he wasn’t really alone. Its golden glow shimmered on his fingertips. He lifted his hand and turned in place and, just as earlier, the firestorm sparked to flames that leapt from his fingertips to guide him to his destined mate. He felt a heat in his body and a tingling of desire, one that reminded him of the earthly aspect of the firestorm. The sparks leapt from his fingertips, as if to urge him to hurry. He took a step, saw the flames build a little higher and felt the heat increase in his body.

What did she look like? What was she feeling? Would he fall in love with her immediately, or would it take time? Thad was desperate to know. He summoned the change in his body with impatience, wanting to have the fullness of his dragon powers for this moment of moments.

Even the change seemed to be fueled by the firestorm. It swept through his body with a vehemence he’d never experienced before, making him feel so powerful that he might have been invincible. In his dragon form, Thad breathed fire at the sky in triumph. He was delighted that even his plume of flames bent in the direction of his mate. Could she feel the firestorm? Was she waiting for him? He took flight, using his keener dragon senses to try to discern more.

The fog was impenetrable, but his heart skipped at the faint scent of perfume. It came from the same direction as the firestorm’s sparks led and was wonderfully feminine. It smelled of flowers and made him think of soft warm skin. Thad closed his eyes and took a deep beguiling breath of it, then flew on at reckless speed.

His dream was coming true.

Before he and his fellow Dragon’s Tooth warriors had been enchanted, he’d had few expectations about the once-in-a-lifetime mating experienced by his fellow
Pyr
. The sparks flew to identify the woman who could bear the child of the dragon shape shifter in question. For most of the
Pyr
Thad had known then, a firestorm was the chance to create a son and not much more. His own mother had been loving and kind, but as a child, Thad had always felt the household was incomplete. He hadn’t been able to name the omission until he came of age.

Thad had met his own father when he’d been collected from his mother’s household and taken to Delphi. Theirs had been a short acquaintance and not a talkative one. His father had believed in leaving the training of young dragons to those who did it best. His obligation to his kind had been fulfilled by satisfying the firestorm, creating a son, then bringing the son to be trained when he came of age. Even though Thad had felt a yearning to know more about his father and to build a connection, his father hadn’t shared his dream. After their arrival at Delphi, Thad had never seen his father again.

Drake had been different, even when Thad had first met him. Not only was Drake an experienced and respected commander, but he had married his mate and lived with her and his son. He was the first
Pyr
Thad had ever met who had made that choice. The notion of having Drake as a father and knowing him, of having the ongoing opportunity to learn from him was incredible to Thad.

But so enticing.

He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised that the
Pyr
like Drake were drawn to his command. Alexander was another who had made a commitment to his mate. After the enchantment had been broken, Thad and his fellows had found themselves in a future. There, the
Pyr
who followed Erik Sorensson made permanent relationships with their mates. They were partners, not just biological parents, and worked together to fulfill the mission of the
Pyr
to defend the earth and its treasures. Some of those dragons had multiple sons, which was remarkable to Thad. The
Pyr
almost invariably had male children, since there was only one female of their kind at any given time, but for a dragon shifter to remain with one woman and create a family was a modern notion. The contentment of those
Pyr
was clear to even a new arrival like Thad.

He had yearned to feel the spark of his firestorm in that world.

Yet mingled with the promise of such a partnership was a fear that the Great Wyvern had forgotten the old firestorms or the more ancient
Pyr
. In being enchanted, Alexander and Drake had been separated from their mates. Thad had worried about this. Was it a sign that the firestorm wasn’t forever? Did it mean that the Dragon’s Tooth warriors were different? Did it mean that the firestorm’s promise could be fleeting?

When the darkfire crystal had cast them through space and time, it had been Thad who discerned the truth and Thad who had been most relieved. Now, his own firestorm sparked at the end of his talon. He would do anything to see it satisfied and pledge whatever was necessary to the woman who would bear his son.

His chance to do all that and more was only moments away.

Thad couldn’t wait.

* * *

Aura considered the sparks that danced in the wind with suspicion. They erupted nearby in a sudden flurry, then swirled around her like tiny brilliant orange lights. When they were extinguished, as sparks loosed from a fire are, even more replaced them—yet there was no fire to create the sparks. While she observed them, she felt a strange heat fill her body.

How could sparks create lust? Aura didn’t know but these ones did. She felt her skin warm and tingle, then a flush spread over her body. She thought of pleasure and sensation, hot kisses and ardent nights. She imagined a man, a handsome young man, with dark hair and dark eyes, watching her with a smile and an answering heat in his eyes. His chest was bare and his body muscled to perfection, his skin tanned, his intent clear. Aura swallowed, even as her body responded to this vision.

Who was he?

Even though she only saw him in her mind’s eye, Aura knew she’d never seen him before. His clothing was strange, but she was more interested in the man himself. She’d remember a man that handsome, no matter how long it had been. And why was she seeing him? As a nymph, Aura had the power to see through the guises taken by deities and shifters, to see all of their realities at once.

He had something to do with the sparks. Were the sparks one of his guises?

Aura decided to disperse the sparks. She built herself into a gust of wind, one so violent that it shoved back mist and cloud. The blue sky was clear overhead after that one breath, and the rocky mountaintop bared below.

The sparks, to her surprise, didn’t fade.

In fact, they followed her.

Aura blew down toward the mountain. She shifted shape in a glitter of silver and took human form, the hem of her white tunic rippling around her bare feet. The fog still dissipated around her, visible on all sides but at a distance. She could see a golden glow of light in one direction, and sparks spilled from it. One fell toward her, then flamed more brightly as it touched her. Aura caught her breath as lust shot through her, and she felt her nipples tighten. The spark extinguished itself but not before the man in her mind’s eye came closer. She saw the handsome stranger bend to kiss her, saw his hand rise to cup her breast, felt his breath against her cheek.

She wanted him with a vehemence that surprised her, even though she was a nymph with healthy appetites.

Aura stepped back and eyed the sparks. They weren’t borne by any breeze she knew, and Aura had thought she knew them all. A hot wind could have been her uncle Notus, but it wasn’t him. He was much older than the man in her thoughts and not nearly so alluring. Aura took a deep breath, and the sparks moved in response, changing their direction as if they would have her swallow them.

She hoped by Hades that the sparks—and the man—weren’t divine. She’d seen enough nymphs possessed by a deity in disguise then left to raise a half-divine child—or worse, cursed to take the form of a tree or animal. Aura didn’t want any part of that, but the gods could make themselves so irresistible that a nymph had little choice. The gods understood the desires that existed in every nymph, the love of pleasure, the affection for adoration. It was so much easier to never be noticed, but she’d succeeded at that long enough that she knew she was due for a challenge.

The sparks smelled of earth and fire, of a magic not common on Mount Olympus.

Aura felt her own body turning against her better judgment. She was tingling in anticipation of his appearance, already yearning for a kiss, even before he stood before her.

Who was he? Aura concentrated and a dragon replaced him in her mind, a dragon touched by a fire similar to the sparks that surrounded her.

He was a shape shifter?

Like her?

Aura had never met another shape shifter, other than the nymphs who were her relations. They were all women. A handsome man who could become a dragon, who created sparks from his presence and filled her with lust? This was a dangerous possibility, all the more so because it fascinated Aura. She should run, she knew it, but she wanted to see this marvel.