Dragon's Heart (10 page)

     
Sonofabitch
! Justin screamed at his cell
phone.
How dare she hang up on me! How
dare she not agree to marry me! After all this time of careful planning, after
finding her at last! I swear I’ll make the bitch pay for this!
She will be my mate!

     
Justin placed
several calls on his cell phone before he left his hotel room.

Maya
had no trouble finding the library. She stood in front of the closed doors,
listening to the muted sound of the voices within. Her hand hovered over the
brass doorknob when suddenly the doors swung opened on their own. Draakar stood
before her, looking every inch the Lord of the Manor born. He gazed into her
eyes. The desire burning in his emerald orbs froze her where she stood. It
scared the shit out of her and she feared her eyes might have been burning
right back at him.

    
The man defined
incarnate perfection. Dressed once again in all black, a long-sleeved silk
shirt and pants hugged his powerful frame. His beautiful long hair lay pulled
back away from his face so she could savor every inch of his finely chiseled
features. Not just his looks drew her, though they were sufficient all their
own, but also the man himself. Even with her eyes closed, she’d still know when
he was near. This fascination with him had to stop. She did not want this.

I told you
if you touch me without my permission, I will kill you where you stand.

     
He said
nothing, merely stepping aside for her to enter, and then she heard him in her
mind.
I bow to no other’s will but
yours—for now.

     
She paused
beside him, sending a sharp glance his way before he turned to face the room.
“Lady and gentlemen,” Draakar said without raising his voice but still getting
the attention of the others. “This is Maya.” Anyone with at least one working
ear could easily detect the clear ring of possessiveness in his tone.

     
Maya pulled her
gaze away from him to look around the room, lined from the floor to about
fifteen feet up with books, but several people were also within the room. Drawn
to them, she didn’t get a chance to examine the books. They all stood, one by
one. Almost everyone bowed their heads when she made eye contact. She
recognized her sandy-headed guide to the stones as well as one of her fellow
hikers; somehow not at all surprised to see them here. Ian grinned at her
before he bowed his head. A tall handsome man she didn’t know stood near the
end of a long sofa, but he too showed her deference.

The
last person in the room, a striking redhead with green eyes, stood near Ian.
She barely glanced at Maya; too busy ogling Draakar with such desire written
all over her face. Momentarily forgetting her earlier antagonism toward him,
Maya wondered why Draakar didn’t take her up on her blatant invitation, but the
dragon part of Maya would have none of it.

I don’t think so!

The
woman’s head snapped over to meet Maya’s blazing gaze. Maya was aware her eyes
flashed golden fire. She could feel the heat in them. She had a point to make
and, my God, she’d make it.

In
fear and awe, the woman dropped to her knees with her chin down, unable to look
at the aura of fury and power surrounding Maya. A neat feat because the woman
wore a long skirt making the position look uncomfortable. Maya didn’t care.

 
Your
name?

Cassandra, my Lady.

Do you know who I am?

Yes.

Never forget again.

I won’t.

I know you won’t.

I swear it!

No need. The minute you do you
cease to exist.

“Oh,
get up,” Maya said shuddering, still not used to hearing voices in her head and
not quite ready to believe one of those voices really belonged to her.

Cassandra
got up awkwardly and looked everywhere but at Maya and Draakar. Ian must have
taken pity on her because he placed his arm around Cassandra and whispered
something in her ear.

     
Draakar never took
his gaze off Maya. She didn’t realize it yet but she had just made the first
move. She had placed a claim on him in front of witnesses, in the usual way of
the brethren, even if she didn’t consciously know it but her dragon did. The
females were quick to claim whomever they considered theirs. He smiled. “Come,”
he said holding out his arm for her to take.

     
For a full
minute, Maya stared at the black silk shirtsleeve covering his arm before
placing her hand on it. She might as well have been holding a band of steel.
Immediately a golden glow surrounded her where she touched him. He lost the
smile around his mouth and gave a low-throated growl, vibrating through Maya’s
soul. When she tried to remove her hand he covered it with his own, sending heat
from his palm to every nerve ending she had. She glanced at her arm, surprised
steam wasn’t escaping through her pores.

No,
he sent to
her only.
By your own free will, you
touched me.

     
All eyes in the
room remained riveted on the couple standing by the door who were oblivious to
everything and everyone around them.
 

     
Do not push me, Dark One.

     
Lord. I am Dark Lord.

     
No creature is Lord of me.

    
Ah, but I’m not just any creature.
“Come, let
us have dinner.” Draakar led Maya to the dining room across the hall and the
others fell in behind them.

A
huge mahogany table with clawed feet dominated the room, giving it a look of
old-world elegance about it. Maya didn’t know much about antiques but it
appeared to match the rest of the house, or rather, castle—pricey. The
table had eight comfortable cushioned armchairs around it, but still large
enough to easily accommodate more. Although she did find it odd there were no
place settings on the dark polished wood top.

She
looked around the room and saw all the walls but one were painted a dark
avocado, and there were electric iron wall scones in the shape of medieval
torches around the room, as well as an iron chandelier with two tiers of
electrical candles hanging over the center of the table. The muted lighting was
enough to bathe the room in a soft glow yet keep it free of shadows. One wall
depicted a scene of a bronze dragon sitting on top of a rocky mountain ledge,
spewing red flame into the sky at a burning purple sun. Maya thought the same artist
who painted the scene also painted the one on the ceiling in her room. Maybe
even created the mosaic in the foyer.

Draakar
escorted Maya to the seat at the right from the head of the table. Ian took the
seat at his left across from her. Ian started to place Cassandra beside him but
the low growl coming from Maya’s throat must’ve changed his mind. A trembling
Cassandra immediately moved herself as far away from Maya as possible and kept
her gaze focused on the tabletop. The guide, James, smiled as he took the seat
beside Ian.
 

Maya’s
fellow hiker took the empty chair beside her. A fellow American, if she
remembered correctly, named Paul. He and his wife, Cindy, were both avid hikers
and had been on the hike to the stones with her. He looked like a cover model
for anything outdoors and his wife looked complete East Coast debutante. They
made a gorgeous couple but she didn’t see his wife. Did that mean his wife
wasn’t brethren? A distinguished-looking stranger, who might be some sort of
businessman, sat next to him. He just looked the part, right down to the staid
pinstriped vest he wore.

    
After they were all
seated, Draakar sat down at the head of the table then went around the room and
introduced them by name. When he got to the guide, Maya spoke. “I already know
James. He was my guide on a hike to the standing stones, along with Paul here
and his wife. They were also part of my group. We all visited the stones. At
this very spot,” she said staring pointedly at Draakar.
 

     
“That’s right,”
Paul replied, looking at Maya and James. “We were all on that hike.” He shook
his head. “I just realized Maya’s right. The stones were here. They drew us to
this place.”

     
“They are still
here,” Draakar said. “The castle stands over them. This is a place of power and
is highly protected. None around here otherwise know of the Stones of Power.
The only reason you were guided to them is because they allowed it, and even
then, you still didn’t know you had been called to them.”

     
“That’s true,”
James said. “All of a sudden I possessed knowledge I didn’t have before, and I
just knew the way to the stones. But I didn’t know their purpose. I only knew I
had to take these people there.”

     
“Most of what
you need to know your dragons already possesses. It is the human in you who
will take some time to come to terms with these truths and understand this
ingrained knowledge.” Draakar’s gazed briefly touched on each of his lost
brethren—
Lost no more
, Maya thought—but his gaze rested
longest on her before continuing.
 

     
You all were able to hear and answer my
call. Your dragons have awakened. That was your first test. You have also
passed the second test. You were strong enough to find your way to this place.
Being here means you can call magicks and be trained to use your powers. As I
said, no one comes here who the Stones do not want.
 

Draakar paused and looked around the room. He had everyone’s
full attention.
There will be many more
trials for you to overcome but it will all be worth it. So far your dragons
have been acting on instinct and guidance from both myself and the Stones. Now
it is time for you to learn to draw from your own powers. To touch Mother Earth
directly yourselves. The Stones have judged you worthy. It is time to claim the
birthright long denied you.

    
How do we do that?
Maya asked.

    
Trust in yourself, both human and dragon.
The first conscious use of power for you will be easy because it is triggered
by one of the more basic instincts of all creatures—hunger. It is
dinnertime. There were no place settings on the table when you sat down. Now
there are.