Immortally Ever After (25 page)

I grasped him, my fingers digging into him as he thrust faster. Every sensation heated inside me as he quickened and drove me harder. He knew exactly what I needed, what I wanted.

He knew me in a way no one ever had before.

“I need you.” His warm kiss stroked my neck. “Always.” He plundered my mouth, rocked my body, and with a sharp jolt, I came, kissing him hard, squeezing his cock as the pleasure of it broke over me.

He tore his mouth from mine, moaning, pushing harder, his entire body tense and hard as he rocketed to his own orgasm. I held him tight, reveling in his release, loving it as he gasped against my ear.

For a long time, I couldn’t move. Didn’t want to. I could spend the rest of my life curled around this man, his cock inside me, and I’d be just fine.

He kissed my shoulder, my neck, his cock softening inside me. I wished we could fall asleep this way.

His breath scraped against my skin. I felt his heartbeat, and mine, both pounding hard. “We’ve got to find a way to get this phone booth out of the minefield,” he mused.

“Hmm…” I pondered the thought while stroking the muscles along his shoulders. “So now you have a phone booth fetish?”

He raised his head, his hair rumpled. “After that, who wouldn’t?”

I kissed him lightly on the nose, held him close. “Thank you for being here with me.”

His mouth tugged up at the corner. “Well, you know how I like to be around when all hell breaks loose.”

As much as I loathed losing the moment, we really did need to get dressed. We gathered my scrubs and his flight suit, and stepped out into the darkening minefield.

The cool air hit me and I hurried into my panties, as Galen handed me my top.

“Aren’t you getting dressed?” I asked, inching the T-shirt over my breasts.

“Sure,” he said, eyes glittering with desire as I shimmied back into my scrubs. We’d have to do something about that later.

For now, it was getting late. The sky was streaked with red. I looked up as a large bird circled over camp. Two more flew in from the south.

Strange.

“What is up with the birds?” I’d seen vultures around camp, but this was something else. For one thing, they were huge. For another, they had tails.

“Those aren’t birds.” Galen stood naked, watching. His body tensed. “They’re dragons.”

Seven hells. He was right. If I looked closely, I could pick out the spikes at their backs, the way their tails curved.

Two more flew in from the east. “It’s almost like they’re assembling.” Right over the MASH 3063
rd
. As I spoke, I saw more coming in from the south.

“Get your shoes on.” Galen was already zipping up his flight suit. “There’s no hiding now.”

chapter twenty-two

We made good time through the minefield. Still, as we ran, at least a dozen more dragons zoomed overhead.

I fought between keeping my eyes to the ground, watching for trip wires, and glancing anxiously at the sky. It was incredible. “Where are they all coming from?”

“The old army. The new army.” Galen moved beside me, with the stride of a trained warrior. “This is a disaster.”

Every MP within a fifty-mile radius would be able to see what was going on.

And there was no way the gods weren’t going to notice.

I’d never needed Galen more than I did now. He was with me in all things. Which meant we had two choices. We could end this war together, or we’d die together. I wanted more than anything to fight for this man, for what we could have.

And it was even more than that. I wanted to give Rodger his family back. To pull Father back from the edge of hell. To let Marius spend eternity the way he wanted, even if it meant he’d spend the rest of his immortal life lounging around on black leather furniture in a trendy loft with those ridiculous mirrored walls and ceilings. They deserved to be happy. We all did.

I wanted to give my friends and everyone who had fought so hard the one thing that we hadn’t dared hope for—peace.

I didn’t know why the dragons had come or what they could possibly do to battle the gods, but I had to think it had something to do with my bronze weapon.

“There she is,” Galen said, as we reached the edge of the minefield.

He pointed down through the cemetery, to the massive dragons clustering at the very center of the camp. They were red, green, gold, black, orange, yellow, their scales glittering against the setting sun. Leta stood in the center of it all, her eyes wild, her chest heaving.

Dragons trampled the bulletin board to matchsticks and crushed the torch stands along the paths. MASH staffers crisscrossed the camp and gathered around the edges of the assault.

A black dragon near the edge belched fire and hit one of the light poles. Black smoke curled into the air, as flames shot up like a giant torch.

Galen and I dodged graves and tried not to lose our footing as we careened down through the cemetery.

I spotted a green horned dragon at the back herding several dragons who had broken out and started running toward the helo pad.

We were in real trouble if the dragons got spooked or decided to go on a rampage. I hoped with everything I had that our new guests weren’t as fragile as Leta had been when she first came to us.

Holly and another nurse stood shocked outside Recovery, as a giant black and gold flecked beast strolled down the path like she owned it.

We kept running.

“It’s the revolution!” Leta bellowed, when we reached her.

No. I gripped her shoulders. “You’ve got to get them out of here.”

Leta’s eyes glittered and her red hair tangled wildly. “They stay. This is your army. I am the bronze dragon. I’m not going to cower or hide. Never again.”

Wrong answer. I held her tighter. “Look, I’m glad you can control yourself now.” At least when it came to shifting. “But you said it yourself. Telling them about us—both of us—was a mistake.”

We could only hope we survived long enough to undo the damage.

She jerked out of my grip. “That was the old way. This is the new one. Maybe we did not plan this, but it is done. These dragons risked their lives to come here. They are not victims anymore and neither are we.”

Galen cursed under his breath. “You’re going to get these people killed.”

Leta glared at him. “These dragons are dead already. They were marked for extermination the moment they chose to leave their posts and come to us.”

The dragons kept landing. They still wore the collars that kept them more animal than human, but they had broken free. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

The dragons spilled past Kosta’s office and into the field beyond as more and more dark forms appeared on the horizon. I spotted the colonel outside, barking orders to Shirley, who frantically wrote on her clipboard while trying to dodge a wayward tail.

No question about it. The revolution was happening. And it was going to fail. There were tens of thousands of humans and other shifters with no telepathy, people who had been trained to kill on order. People who would put down the revolt, who would strike down our chances—and their own—of ever going home again.

“I heal people,” I ground out, as two more dragons landed. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before I’ll tear them apart.” This wasn’t a battle and we didn’t have an army. What we had was an unplanned, chaotic mess.

I spotted Marc. He looked tired, worn. His cheek was bruised and his lip was split open. “Please tell me you’ve been fighting this.”

“I did,” he said, his breath coming in harsh pants. “I have.” He stood between us looking from the dragons to me. “But I think I was wrong.”

“You’re insane.”

“We didn’t choose this, Petra, but it’s happening,” he said. “Right now. You can’t back away and you can’t cover your eyes. You just get to decide how you’re going to stand. And let me tell you this: if the gods are going to slaughter us, I’m going to go down fighting.”

Fuck. “I get your need for revenge.” I craved it as well. And the dragons had even more reason than I did to stand up. They didn’t need to be kept like animals. They didn’t need to be used as weapons. They were hurting. So was Marc. I got that.

This war had cost Marc everything—including me. But drawing weapons against the gods was suicide.

Especially when there was another way. “Medusa’s baby can open portals.”

Marc stared at me. “Sweet Jesus.”

“We can send them home so long as the gods don’t notice the portal we now have floating over the minefield.” I shielded my eyes from the dust as a dragon landed hard right next to us. “I think they’re going to notice this.”

I could see Marc’s mind racing. “We have to get them out of camp.”

“Good idea, and while you’re at it, find a way to stabilize them so we don’t send a horde of half-wild dragons into New Orleans.”

“Let’s go,” he said, leading us through the mass of bodies.

The dragons had lit fires on the communications poles, casting sharp light and shadows onto the crowd.

I looked to Galen. My rough-and-ready warrior stood tall, shoulders back, the entire left side of his face cast in shadows. A sheen of sweat slicked his skin, and he could have used a shave.

Leta snarled when we caught up to her beside the VIP tent. “We are your weapon. Use us.”

She didn’t get it. None of them did. My teeth clenched. My body shook. “I never wanted a bronze weapon.”

I’d never asked for it. And it would be a cold day in hell before I’d use it.

Leta bared her teeth. “This is your destiny, not your
choice
.” She advanced on me, ready to pounce. “You owe it to me and to them to—”

“Get back—” Galen ordered, grabbing her, holding her at a distance as she lunged at me.

Four MPs shoved through the crowd. I was almost relieved until two of them took Galen by the arms.

Colonel Kosta stood behind them. “Galen of Delphi, you are under arrest for dereliction of duty.”

Galen shoved a raving Leta back as he struggled against the massive pair of Cyclopes. “You think now’s the time?” he barked.

“He’s helping us,” I explained to the commander. “Yes, he doesn’t belong here, but don’t you think we have bigger problems?”

The commander eyeballed me, the scar on his cheek puckering. “I don’t have a choice.”

“Shirley,” I pleaded to my friend behind him. Not like she could do anything, but Jesus Christ.

Just then I spotted Horace darting over the crowd, torch in hand. “The new prophecy is in!”

The dragons let out a mighty roar. Heat blasted us as they spat fire into the air. Horace landed next to Kosta and cleared his throat. The embers floated down while the PA system crackled to life.

We endured the screech of feedback before the microphone clicked. “This just in from the gods,” Horace announced into the mic.

Leta yanked it out of his hand. “I have something to tell all of you. It’s about the prophecies.”

Oh, no. Oh, shit.

I tried to tear the microphone from her hand, but she was too strong. My skin was rubbed raw as she yanked it away.

“Petra is the doctor who can see the dead,” she announced, prideful. Suicidal. “I am her bronze weapon. And now Petra will use the dragons to defeat the gods!”

The hell I would.

The ground shook as countless dragons roared and stomped their feet. I glanced frantically to Galen, who looked like he could chew nails.

Horace fluttered next to me, visibly pale. “Is it true?” he asked, his voice echoing out over our unit.

The microphone screeched feedback. It was picking up everything. The entire camp was looking at me. I didn’t know what to say. This was not how I wanted to tell everyone. Hell, I didn’t want to tell anyone.

I didn’t know if I could lie to them anymore. They deserved better. My throat tightened and my voice caught. “It’s true.”

The entire camp went quiet, stunned. Shirley stared at me, openmouthed. Even Kosta looked surprised.

Horace cleared his throat. “I don’t want to freak anybody out, but we just got word that the armies are massing directly east of here.”

That sent the crowd into a fervor.

“When were you going to mention that?” Marc snapped.

“I’m trying,” Horace shot back, one wing fluttering harder than the other one, tilting him off balance. “That’s not even all of it. The last prophecy is in.”

Fuck. This was it.

Galen reached for me, but the MPs blocked him.

I was shaking, tense.

Not only was I outed, but chances were, my life was about to go to hell. After this, there was nowhere else to go. It was win or fail.

Horace’s hand shook as he read from a piece of paper. “‘As armies collide…’”

The dragons gave a deafening roar until we were all screaming for them to stop.

Horace yelled over the din.
“‘The healer will face the gods…’”

My chest tightened in shock. I knew this day would happen. Still, I wasn’t ready for it.

“‘… and leave this world forever.’”

“What?” I sputtered. The armies were going to fight and I was going to face the gods—and I was going to lose?

As armies collide, the healer will face the gods, and leave this world forever.

It had to mean something else. Maybe.
Please.

The prophecies were never one hundred percent clear.

What if I didn’t have to die? What if I could just sneak through a portal and leave this world?

But no, I couldn’t run away and leave my friends to deal with the fallout. The prophecy said I had to face the gods. I didn’t see Zeus opening any portals for me, slapping me on the back and letting me go. There was only one way to end things and it wouldn’t be good.

The camp had gone deathly silent. Even the dragons stood mute. We were going to fail.

We always had hope before, a reasonable belief that maybe, just maybe, we could pull this off.

Now?

We were so close to the end. I was going to have to sacrifice myself. I’d have to die. I turned to Galen. At least he looked as furious as I felt.

“This is bullshit,” he said, shocked.

After everything we’d done. After all we’d sacrificed and worked for, hoped and dreamed, it was going to end like this.