A line of dragons, I shit you not, at least twenty, and not all of them from the desert zone. I could see the wash of blue and greens on some who bore a distinct resemblance to ocean serpents, and the smaller dragons of dark greens and earthy browns who I recognized as forest dwellers, and lastly, the most magnificent were the icy blue of the winter beasts.
Braxton seemed both awed and fierce as he tucked me in closer to his side. I could see a part of him wanted to run to the dragons, be with the wild brothers from which his animal descended, but the fear was real also. He was afraid to lose me, and I didn’t have the words to reassure him. I had no idea what the next few days were going to bring, and I especially didn’t want to be the north in the dragon king compass. Whatever the hell that meant. All I did know was that it looked as if it didn’t much matter what either Braxton or I wanted.
Louis was blunt. “Let’s keep moving. They are merely curious for now, but we don’t have time if that curiosity turns into something more.”
He ushered us along, silent Quale leading us through the rocky terrain. The tension radiating from Braxton was palpable, his energy actually tingling along my body everywhere we were touching. My eyes flicked back to the line of dragons, following, but never closing the distance between us. It did seem that they were protecting our backs, making sure we made it out safely.
“I never wanted this for you, Jess.”
I spun my head to find Jonathon close. His eyes were flashing with so many emotions. I had never seen the strong alpha so shaken. “This mark has taken so much from our lives, ripped our family apart, and now it’s as if we are all strangers.”
I looked to Mischa. My twin was watching us closely, her eyes a little shimmery.
“We should have fought harder to stay together. You and I should have run with Lienda and Mischa. I’m so sorry, I put my pack and council responsibilities before my family and I have never regretted anything more than that.”
Louis moved aside so I could fall in next to my father. We hadn’t stopped moving, we were almost out of the desert now and approaching the stone spiraling path out of this sanctuary.
I took Jonathon’s hand. “You did the best you could, Dad. I have no doubts, it’s easy to look back in hindsight, but you sacrificed a lot so that we might live and have a chance to rebuild our family. We have hundreds of years ahead of us, we just need to get past this tiny snafu in our path. I don’t blame you at all, and I love you as much as I always have.”
I was speaking for Mischa as well, hoping she was holding on to the bonds of family, especially when it came to trusting her new buddies. Jonathon squeezed my hand, a smile blooming across his face as he released me. He had scented truth in my words, and it calmed his wolf.
As we started along the rock, I glanced back over my shoulder to find the line of dragons had disappeared. I faltered minutely. What the … how could twenty or more massive lizards just fade out? With that level of mad skills, dragons could literally take over the world if they had the numbers.
Which is exactly what the king knew when he created the marked.
My hand was in Braxton’s now, his thumb rubbing up and down the pad, the motion soothing. It reminded me of the millions of times he had calmed away my worries and hurts. I tilted my head up to him and he knew without any words what I wanted. He dropped the briefest of kisses onto my lips. Soft, with just the flick of tongue, it had me groaning very low under my breath. He would be the death of me, but shit, what a way to go.
His grin was perfect as he pulled away, all dimples and flashing white teeth. He looked happy, which I was coming to realize made me pretty happy too. Yeah, I was a sap.
In no time we reached the end of the path, the yellow barrier sparkling in the dimness. It felt like a thousand years ago that I ran out of the car and threw myself into this mountain. So much had happened, and yet it was really no time at all.
Quale stepped closer to the exit. “Are you all ready? You must move through quickly so I can return the protections. The Four are out there, and should they make it inside, they’ll be too strong for us to battle.”
The fruit twins scowled simultaneously at the mention of the hunter quads. If they’d all been born the same year, then no doubt they’d crossed paths with them many times, especially since they were marked, and those damn hunters were good at their jobs. I wondered who had hunted the marked before they were born, and how the twins had remained free, unlike so many other marked.
Questions for another day.
Quale muttered a few words and the barrier dropped. Wind howled. The real world appeared to be having a snowstorm of the ass-kicking variety. Awesome. The sanctuary was like being in another realm, one completely controlled by magic, right down to the weather. The seven of us stepped free, leaving the mystic behind. I noticed the brothers exchange a glance before the yellow shield was back up, blocking Quale from view.
I hugged my arms to my body, and shimmied closer to Braxton. The warmth of his body was like stepping into a hot bath. Without saying anything he wrapped his arms around me.
“Come on.” Louis had to shout to be heard over the temperamental weather, even with supernatural senses. Peering around Braxton’s bulk – although not removing myself from his arms because I wasn’t an idiot – I could see that Louis had the step-through already open.
I took an extra second to hug myself very tightly to Braxton. This might be the last moment of happiness I had for a while and I was going to milk the hell out of it.
He lifted me closer to his face and said, “It will be okay, I will keep you safe.”