Yuletide Hearths Pt. 02

Althena nodded. "Yes, and he was already inside. Pryanna opened the door, and she told us that it was fine. He was a distant acquaintance, and she was going to give him a bed for the night. There was nothing odd about her when she said it."

"The next day, we went to her house bright and early, but he was gone. When we asked her about it, she simply told us that she had no idea what we were talking about." Cecily fidgeted nervously. "We didn't push. She deserves her privacy, and it's none of our business."

"And all you remember is the mark?" Dagon pressed.

Closing her eyes, Althena tried to imagine it. "He was a wearing a cloak, black as midnight."

"Then how do you know about the mark?"

How did she know? There was no way that she could have seen it. Confused, she looked at Cecily, but her friend didn't seem to understand either.

"We don't know," Althena admitted. "How is that possible?"

"It's a deflection. You saw a mark of power, in your mind, so you can recall nothing else about the god." Dagon swore. "We won't know unless Pryanna can recall the information. It's possible that Slyvern can draw it out of her."

"But to do that, he'd have to discover the truth," Rubina pointed out.

"He's going to find out eventually. Whoever is responsible is not going to just enjoy his victory in private." Althena was furious. As far as she was concerned, someone had violated Pryanna and that was unforgivable. "She will not like being used as a pawn in a deadly war."

"No," Cecily choked, and tears gathered in her eyes. "She will think she's responsible. She will never forgive herself. What do we do?"

"We hope that Slyvern isn't an idiot," Rubina muttered darkly. "Although frankly, there isn't much hope in that at all."

***

Slyvern was not an idiot, and when Athena and Malcolm finally returned to their home, he could smell Rubina's cottage on them. They carried the magic of her wards on them. Just what had they been doing there?

"Asking after Pryanna?" He asked when he stepped out of the shadows to confront them. For a moment, he considered spreading his wings so there would be no question as to who he was, but it may frighten them. He had to remind himself that these were Pryanna's friends, and he didn't want to upset them.

As irritating as that was.

Neither looked surprised to see him, and that annoyed him. He had a reputation, but he could not seem to cow Pryanna's friends even a little.

Athena did take a tentative step toward him. "Cecily was right. You do feel differently now. I feel you, but I also feel her."

Snarling, he narrowed his eyes and studied the woman. He had brushed it off when Cecily had said it, but now Althena had mentioned it. It made sense if they could feel him that they might feel Pryanna, too, now that he'd marked her, but they shouldn't be feeling him at all.

"Cecily says you are digging for information on how to woo Pryanna. Well, I am not going help you. If you want Pryanna to be happy., you should return her."

"No."

It was obvious that Althena wasn't used to hearing the word "no". Her scowl deepened, and she took a step toward him, but Malcolm quickly snagged her hand and pulled her behind him.

Slyvern approved. "Keep him around. You might live longer," he told her. "Now then, I can tell you that information on your friend will only benefit her. As I pointed out to Cecily, I will not be releasing her from her agreement early, so if you want her to find some happiness for the next for few months, I suggest you give me some information on her."

"Cecily thinks that you might actually care for Pryanna. I'm not as naive. You want information on her so you can manipulate her."

"I already have what I want," he pointed out. "I don't really need to manipulate her."

"You're a god. Why would you care about Pryanna?" Althena whispered, and there were tears in her eyes.

Slyvern felt a moment of panic. It was an excellent question. "She's difficult. If she's happy, maybe she won't be difficult."

A ghost of a smile crossed Althena's face. "Pryanna can be difficult, but I think I would rather her be difficult for you. Thanks for the spell that brought me to Malcolm. Good luck with Pryanna. If you return her in worse shape than when you took her, I will be doing lots of research about how to kill a god."

"Good luck with that." Cocking his head, he studied her alongside Malcolm. She thought she'd lost her friend, was stressed and concerned about her, but there was also still a glow about her.

His gaze fell to the hand that Malcolm had on her waist. It was casual but protective. There was strength there. Slyvern could respect strength.

Leaning down, Malcolm whispered something in Althena's ear, and she stared up at him in shock and then growled. "Pryanna likes to study things, especially nature. If you want to bond with her, let her get a nice and close look at your dragon. No doubt, he fascinates her although she will never admit it. Just don't singe her."

Slyvern stiffened. No one came close to his dragon. Most of the time, his dragon was too wild and feral to be near a human. "I appreciate the information."

Spreading his wings to take off, he stopped suddenly and frowned. There was something else he wanted to know. Needed to know. "Is she your first?"

After a moment, Malcolm nodded. Althena looked at the two in confused. "You mean his first woman? No, of course not."

Slyvern ignored her. "Any regrets going down this path?"

Malcolm's response was instant. "Not a single one."

After digesting that, Slyvern spread his wings again and took off but not before he heard Malcolm and Althena arguing. "Why did you lie to him? I'm not your first woman?"

"No, my sweet, but you are the first to have my heart."

Despite the fire coiled up inside Slyvern, there was a chill spreading through him. He'd seen the heat in Malcolm's eyes when he so easily admitted that he'd found love.

And with Gavnir and Cecily.

The damn spell. A spell that he'd created to help him find a suitable companion for his dragon was finding lovers for everyone else. Instead of doing the same for him, it had bonded him with a mate that he was going to lose in four months.

It shouldn't have mattered to him. He'd never expected to find a mate ever.

What the hell was he supposed to do with her?

When he returned to the lair, he could feel the exhaustion weighing down his wings. He hadn't slept since Lucinda showed up. He didn't need much sleep, but he still needed some to be sharp.

Damien was not at the entrance of the cave.

With a furious roar, he flew in so hard the tables and shelves holding his jewels shuddered. "Do not touch her!"

Sitting on opposite sides of the coffee table, each with a cup of tea, Damien and Pryanna blinked at him.

His mate scowled. "Are you damaged in the head?"

"He was supposed to remain outside."

"It's cold out there, and you wouldn't let him have a shirt. We are having tea and a conversation."

"Conversation over." Purple smoke rose up, and then Damien was gone.

Pryanna slowly put her cup down. "Tell me that you returned him to Rubina safe and sound and didn't drop him off into another pocket realm."

"He is with his precious witch." Moving restlessly, he headed to the cauldron. "Is this finished?"

"Not until tomorrow, but so far, it hasn't threatened to explode."

Damn it, he was on edge, and now she was inching away from him, her eyes wide. Even if they weren't mated, he would have been able to smell her fear. Irritated, he closed his eyes and forced himself to take a deep breath. "I should not have entered that way."

"No, you shouldn't have. I haven't had much in the way of company, and Yule is right around the corner. It was nice to have someone to talk too."

Hadn't Rubina said the same thing to him when he'd found her naked in the bed with the brothers?

Yule. The human winter celebration of the gods. Slyvern couldn't remember what the festivities looked like, but he could remember that there was always a congregation of people in the village.

"What would you be doing for Yule right now?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I suppose I would be stringing greenery, practicing the traditional recipes,

and visiting with the neighbors to bring them tidings and good will. We'd be connecting with the earth, thanking it for protecting us against the winter, and acknowledging the death that must come before rebirth."

He couldn't allow her to visit with friends, but he could give her something new to experience. For some reason, it was important to see a smile on her face rather than her usual scowl. She'd been so at ease with the demon. He wanted her to be at ease with him. Slowly, he held out his hand. "Come with me."

Eyeing him warily, she remained rooted in place. "Where are we going?"

Always so suspicious of him."Some place I think you might like. Some place that's not here. I'm not going to abandon you there. We'll just go some place new and talk."

Time seemed to stand still before she slowly walked toward him. Although he didn't deserve it, it seemed she was taking her first steps toward possibly trusting him, and in that moment, she was breathtaking. When their hands touched, he summoned the smoke that was always at his fingers tips. She gasped and clung to him, and then they were gone.

Slyvern had given her no time to put on her cloak or gloves before he'd whooshed her away. The lair was magically enhanced to be warm. She suspected from the heat of the walls that there was fire within the very stone. She was wearing nothing more than one of the practical dresses he'd provided for her.

Now, standing in the middle of the snow in the thin blue fabric, she wrapped her arms around herself and glared at him.

"If you want me dead, there are faster ways than having me freeze to death."

With a small smile, he waved his hands so the strange mist surrounding them cleared away, and she suddenly realized that most of her cold was from shock and fear. In fact, the area that they were in wasn't cold at all despite the heavy snow that clung to the trees around them.

The heat seemed to come from the large blue pool of water. Steam hissed as it rose from the water, and she moved toward in cautiously and bent down to dip her finger in the waters.

It wasn't just warm. It was hot. With a gasp, she snatched her hand back and looked up to stare at him. She had never seen such a thing before. "Is this your doing?"

"No. This is all natural. The water pools deep enough to be heated by the fires of the core of the earth. I can control that fire, but here, it isn't necessary. Feel free to go for a swim. The water is perfectly safe."

A swim. Her body ached to slip into the water, but it meant getting naked in front of him. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him to give her some privacy, but recent events made her realize that she might not be all that safe alone.

Then, she recalled what Rubina had said. She felt certain urges whenever Slyvern was around. Why not take advantage and satiate herself? There was certainly no reason to fear forming an attachment to him.

Removing her stockings, she hiked up her skirts and sat on the edge of the pool.

Slowly, she dipped her legs in and gasped at the heat that seared her. It was almost too much at first, but after a moment, she began to adjust.

He still stood exactly where he'd landed, but he'd folded his wings against him and was scanning the horizon, his body tense. "Are we in danger?"

After a moment, he returned his gaze back to her. "No. At the moment, we are alone."

Still, he didn't relax, and he looked very much like a guard rather than a god or a potential lover. "Then tell me something."

"What?"

"Anything." The heat began to relax her body, and she closed her eyes. "Tell me about when gods used to roam the world, creating those legends that parents still tell their children."

"Ah. That was a millennium ago. I'm starting to think that we should not have retreated. We were more respected then." There was a trace of humor in his voice, and it made her smile.

"Were you alive then?"

"I was born at the tail end of the era when we roamed freely. When I first learned how to use my wings in my human form, I would fly down to the villages and play with the children. My mother would be furious to find me gone, and when she came to retrieve me, I'd see the fear in my playmates eyes, so I'd spend less and less time there. As children, gods are cherished but also fragile. She was worried what might happen to me."

"Why did the gods retreat?"

"There was a war among us. One that started high in the sky among the cities of the clouds, but it was too violent, and it began to spill lower and lower to the ground. Then, in the span of a night, a single city was wiped off the earth. Tens of thousands of lives lost. Men, women, and children."

Pryanna's eyes widened. "You're talking about Lochinear." There were tales, of course, of the lost city that had disappeared in a single breath. It was the kind of story that no one believed anymore, especially since the tales varied. Some children were told that the entire city was damned because the kids didn't behave. Other said that the city was revered and elevated into the sky. Others still said that it had been flooded and the residents were the origins of water creatures.

"Yes," Slyvern said gravely. "Strange, but I do not know that I would have remember the name if you hadn't said it. I was still young, and I'd only entered the war a few months before the news had reached us of what had happened. Humans were under our protections, and their deaths was considered the worst sin. Immediately, perpetrators were punished, banished to the depths of the earth for the rest of their immortal lives. We disbanded, but the fighting continued over the years. Gods can kill gods, so our numbers dwindled. We were unable to breed as frequently. We pulled away from humans."

"Your parents?"

"I never knew my father, but that is not unusual for our kind. I lost my mother soon after the war ended."

Had he been alone this whole time? Did he have a wife or something equivalent for a while? There had to be some reason that his heart was so cold, but she didn't feel comfortable asking. "Rubina said something about gods sleeping."

"More of a hibernation. Sometimes, it's required for healing. Others, it's just a choice that older gods make. Most of them are sleeping now."

"Have you ever slept?"

"No."

That was it. No additional explanation. Just a no. She opened her mouth to ask another question, but he beat her to it. "Tell me something of yourself."

It was only fair, but when she tried to latch onto something he might find interesting, nothing came to mind. "What do you want to know?" She finally asked.

"You have family. A father. Brothers. But when you talk about returning home, it only seems to be for your friends. Why is that?"

Family. Stiffening, she returned her gaze back to the blue waters swirling around her legs. "Family is forced upon you, but it does not guarantee they will do anything to earn your respect. Friends, the family that you choose, are the ones who will stand by you."

Then, before he could ask any more questions about her family, she stood and stripped off her dress in a single move. Not a sound came from Slyvern's side of the shore, and she didn't even look in his direction as she held her breath and plunged into the pool.

The heated waters engulfed her, and for a moment, she felt so very heavy. It was quiet and peaceful down here. How long could she stay before her lungs began to scream for air? How long could she pretend that everything was well in her world?

Panic clawed inside her, appearing so suddenly that she nearly inhaled the water, and she quickly realized it was not her panic but the feeling emanating from a source deep inside her.

It was Slyvern's panic. She didn't know how she felt it, but she did. With a powerful sweep of her legs, she pushed herself up and broke through the surface. On the edge, in Slyvern's place, roared an enormous purple dragon poised to plunge into the pool.

Upon seeing her, it stopped, coiled its neck to be closer, and sniffed her.

"Slyvern," she whispered, stilling in the water and hoping that the man was still inside the dragon. She'd never been so close to this form before, had no idea what the dragon was thinking.

Was she still his mate when he was like this? Or was she dinner?

Rearing back, purple smoke rose, and the dragon disappeared inside of it, leaving only the naked man in its place.

This time, Pryanna did not look away. "You took too damn long," he hissed. "I thought you were going to drown. No human should be able to go without air for so long!"

It was his panic. Slowly, Pryanna moved to her back so she floated, and she closed her eyes. "I have always been able to hold my breath for extraordinary lengths of time. I love the water. It's quiet. Peaceful."

"It's deadly," Slyvern snapped.

Without opening her eyes, she smiled. "Tell me something. Does a dragon, who draws fire from the core of the earth swim? Or is water your undoing?"

"Are you probing my weaknesses?"

"Maybe." She opened her eyes and let her naked body submerge. "Or maybe I just want you to join me."

Then, holding her breath, she arched her back and plunged into the warm depths again.

Under the water, her heart beat sounded even louder as she waited, but she didn't have to wait long. Need seared her, both hers and a pulsing from deep within her, the pulsing that was not hers, and then hands moved over her body.

Not lifting her to the surface but teasing over her skin.

Instinct had her turning toward the source, but the hands moved simply glided around her body and skimmed down her sides. They teased along her thighs and feathered over her abdomen. Parting her legs, she mentally begged for him to touch her, but just when he finally moved closer to the source of her greatest need, her lungs began to scream for air.

With a regretful kick of her legs, she broke the surface and gulped in air. Next to her, the water rippled as he glided up as well, a smirk on his face.

"So you can swim," she breathed as she tread the water.

"The dragon is faster in the water but not adept at spending lengthy amounts of time beneath the surface. It doesn't like the water, but I can play in the water in human form."

Play. Instantly, her heart skipped a beat. He was here now, at her fingertips. All she had to do was move closer and she could finally wrap herself around him and play out the fantasies that had been tormenting her for weeks.

Still, she held back and slowly swam in a circle. "You speak of your dragon as though you are two separate entities. Two minds and two bodies."

"We are, but we are not tied to a particular body. My dragon is still here with me even when I am in human form, and I am with him when his dragon form emerges. We are one and yet we are different."

Curious, she inched just a little closer to him. Even beneath the surface, she could see the gold brilliance of the tattoo that ran along his spine. She'd studied it from afar on the days when he slept half naked and realized that if the tattoo were circular, it matched the markings on the brothers, only theirs were purple.

As she looked at the gold, something tugged at her mind, but it just as fleetingly escaped her.

"Your dragon is the one who wants a companion. Why don't you let him out more when I'm around?"

Turning suddenly, the water swirled around him and he studied her. "Do you

prefer his company over mine?"

"I haven't spent enough time around him to form an opinion," she said simply. "He terrifies me, and I would love to see him more, but I don't know if it's safe."