Her Dragon's Fire (28 page)

She barely had the last word out of her mouth before the chair Andrew had just been sitting in sailed across the room. She flinched when it hit the wall, exploding into a mass of broken pieces and splinters. Next, the small bedside table and lamp went flying through the air, along with another chair she hadn’t even known was there. All the while, he was ranting and raving, face flaming, teeth bared, spittle flying. When there was nothing else to throw, he turned on Grace, “You think
I’m
embarrassed?” he roared. “You think Aidan took care of
me
?” he took a step in her direction and she worked hard not to shrink back. “You think I
wanted
to go back to the very people that had left me for dead?” he took another step towards her. “You think…” he stopped mid stride and spun towards the door, standing completely still, his breathing ragged and his shoulders bunched so tight his neck had practically disappeared. He seemed to be listening to something she could not hear. In the next second her senses went on high alert and he turned towards her again, but this time, she saw a small round pendant hanging from a chain in his hand. He was still seething, but in place of the rage she had seen on his face before, there was now an evil smile that made her gasp.

His voice was low and ominous as he spoke, “I’m so sorry our time together has come to an end, but even through my rusty senses, I know your mate is nearby, and I have other things to get ready to make sure I finally get my revenge. So this is where we part ways, Miss Grace Kensington.” And with that, he threw the pendant onto her stomach while saying something that she could only guess was Latin. She drew in a breath to tell him to
go to hell
, but before the words left her mouth, her world went black…again.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

He knew Grace was close, he could feel her with every fiber of his being. But all the false trails and misdirects had made getting to this point infuriating. He was on the brink of losing his mind. His dragon was straining to get free and find its mate. Both man and beast were frantic to have Grace safe with them where she belonged. He silenced everyone around him and stood perfectly still, reaching out with every sense he possessed. She was close, he knew it. He just needed to make sure he was heading in the right direction.

He closed his eyes and thought of the beautiful woman the Universe had made just for him, the blue of her eyes rivaling the blue of a summer sky, her haunting scent. His finger tips rubbed together of their own accord, searching for her silken ebony tresses. He thought of the feel of her porcelain skin as he touched and tasted every inch of her. He knew she was still alive, and he would find her and make it his life’s work to keep her safe from harm.

He knew Andrew was only using Grace to taunt him. The stupid son of a bitch was using the fact that he had taken the one person that meant more to Aidan than anyone else in the world, to make this situation so much worse. He doubted his end goal was to kill her, but he was afraid of what his younger brother was capable of in his attempts to punish him. He knew from the scent trails they had followed that Andrew was losing the taint of the black magic he had absorbed from the wizards; his dragon scent and characteristics were returning. Aidan had even tried to contact him through their mind speak, but apparently it was still not working.

Aidan continued to focus on Grace. He reached through the growing link they shared, trying with all his might to find her. He could feel his brethren and their allies lending their strength and support to his efforts. Just when he was about to give up, he heard what sounded like wood splintering and breaking. He listened more intently and heard it again. That time, there was a spike of what felt like pure adrenalin through the link he shared with Grace; all he had to do was follow the direction the sound had come from and the echo still left in his soul from his mate. He ran faster than he ever had in his life, pushing his enhanced speed to an all time high. The farther into the woods he ran, the more he opened his senses, searching for Grace, but also for any signs of his brother or traps that he was sure to have set. Aidan knew he was being lured into something and he was more than willing to run headlong into hell, if it meant getting Grace back safely.

As he crested the top of the ridge, he spotted a small cabin. He knew that was the place; his mate was in that small building. He sprinted down the hill, still searching for any traps that may keep him from reaching his mate, while directing their search party to make a loose perimeter around the cabin. Grace was his first priority. He would leave his brother to the others.

He could see the front door and what appeared to be a single window in the structure as he barreled towards his destination. He was plotting his entrance when every one of his senses screamed it was a trap. Stopping dead in his tracks, he scanned the area. To his right, trying to remain hidden was just a trace of the bond, that up until about seven months ago, he was sure he would never feel again. Andrew was returning to a complete dragon shifter, just as nature had intended, but Aidan could not be sure that he hadn’t learned other more dangerous tricks. He did not know the man that now inhabited the body of the brother he had once considered his closest confidant.

He probed the best he could, not sure if Andrew was able to pick up on his intentions. He knew he was walking into a trap, but he would walk through the fires of hell to get to Grace. The trick was going to be getting to her alive. He was sure that his younger brother was bringing the fight to him; therefore it only stood to reason that Andrew did not want to hurt Grace anymore than he already had. Standing and waiting was killing him. He sent a message to Rayne along their unique and private connection,
“Andrew is to my right, hiding behind a tree. Can you sense him?”

“No, but there is a blind spot where you indicated, so that must be him. Your connection with him was always stronger than the rest of us. I’ll swing around and come up behind him. You wanna hit him head on?”
Aidan could hear his old friend holding back his anger, allowing him to take the lead.

“Yes, let me know when you’re in place. Everyone else needs to hold their positions until we get him out in the open.”

“I’m on the move.”
Aidan felt Rayne disconnect. He took a deep breath and counted to five, knowing that Rayne was just about in place, he yelled towards the tree he knew concealed the traitor. “I know you’re there, Andrew. You might as well come out and show yourself, you coward!”

He waited another count of five. He was picking up more and more from Andrew, none of it was good. “What are you afraid of
little
brother? Afraid to stand up to someone your own size? Is hurting women your new game? First, Rayne’s mate, and now mine?” He continued his taunts until he knew everyone was in place, ready for his signal, and then he threw out the one insult he knew would get a reaction.

“I know what it is. You’re so used to having people cover your ass that you don’t know what to do now that you’re on your own. Let’s face it, Aaron and I had your back all of your life. Then you hid behind the hunters, never really getting your hands dirty, just pulling the strings, cavorting with the enemy; always for your own purposes. Let’s face it, you don’t have the balls to come out and face me. YOU ARE THE COWARD!”

Aidan felt his brother losing control, his anger burning hot and his aggression rising, right before he heard the crackle of fallen leaves. Andrew was coming in hard and fast, just the way Aidan wanted him. If he could keep him angry and fighting, his younger brother would make mistakes, mistakes that would help Aidan capture him and more importantly, let him finally get to Grace.

Aidan turned just as Andrew launched himself at him with his short dagger drawn. He drew his broadsword just in time to block the strike that was headed for his chest, throwing his brother’s momentum off, causing him to land on his ass. Aidan advanced and Andrew leapt to his feet in his fighting stance. They stood staring at one another, waiting for the other to make a move. Aidan could feel the others closing in. Out of the corner his eye, he saw the body of a giant cat slinking through the treetops. He recognized Max and knew that although they did not share a mind speak connection, he was incredibly attuned to the dragon shifters. Aidan knew the Panther King would know what to do when the time came for action.

He focused again on his brother; the last seven years had not been good to him, he looked weathered and beaten. The wildness in his eyes definitely attested to all they had learned about him in the last six months. Black magic was deadly shit and Andrew had been immersed in it for a long time. No matter how he searched, Aidan could find no shred of the brother he had raised and cared for all those years. All he saw was the man who had held a knife to Kyndel’s neck and ran off with his beautiful Grace. A man he would try to capture and take to the Elders for a Tribunal, but would kill without remorse in the blink of an eye. No one, brother or not, could hurt his mate and get away with it.

Andrew lunged at him. Aidan spun to the left, kicking out and connecting with his brother’s lower back. Andrew stumbled forward but spun, striking out with his free hand, connecting with Aidan’s shoulder. Aidan used the momentum to swing his broadsword at his brother’s neck. Andrew ducked, but not before Aidan’s sword left its mark on his upper arm. Andrew advanced just as an explosion sounded at his back. Both men stopped, Aidan afraid to take his eyes off his brother but getting a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as an evil grin appeared on Andrew’s face.

“Wonder which one of your precious Guardsmen got caught in my trap?” He paused as if he had all the time in the world.

Aidan would have given anything to knock that shit eating grin right off his smug face, but he had to keep his cool. Whoever had tripped one of the traitor’s traps was sure to be stunned, but would recover. Aidan needed to end this little game and get to Grace. “What the hell do you think you could do that would hurt one of my brethren? You are out of black magic and completely out of touch with your own dragon magic. Hell, you even suck at fighting with your short dagger. Been living the high life, have you
little
brother?” Again he used the taunt he knew his brother hated the most.

The color rose in Andrew’s face as he nearly shook with fury. Aidan could feel that he wanted to attack but was holding back. Aidan threw his senses wide open, but could find nothing but his brethren and the werepanthers. Andrew had to have something planned, but Aidan was running out of time. He had to force his brother’s hand. He needed to get to Grace. He decided the only way to get the bullshit over with was to attack. One way or another, Andrew would be out of the way and he could go to his mate.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Andrew watched as his brother plotted and planned, hoping to come up with a way to get past him and get to his mate. Somewhere along the line he figured the great and honorable Aidan had decided it was perfectly acceptable for him to be collateral damage. As he thought about it, he really couldn’t blame him. After all, he had tried to kill the Commander’s mate, and was definitely responsible for the state Grace was in. But none of that compared to what he had been through, all because of Aidan. One of his traps had already been tripped; he knew that they were surrounded, even though his rusty dragon senses could not pick up anyone but the brother that stood in front of him, and it was obvious that Aidan was planning something. It was written right there in his eyes.

He tried to listen for anyone else approaching. All he needed was the smallest head start in order for the domino effect of magical traps he had set throughout the woods to take out as many of the Dragon Guardsmen as possible, and allow him to get away. There was no way he was going back to the Elders to be tried as a traitor, he still had work to do, revenge to dole out. He needed to get Aidan in the right spot, at the center of the blast. It was time for his brother to die for all that he had caused, all that Andrew had endured. He was debating the best way to get Aidan farther into the woods when his brother raised his broadsword and advanced. Andrew threw his dagger up to block a direct hit to his solar plexus, as he pulled the katana he kept strapped on his back from its sheath and moved to the left. Aidan continued his assault and Andrew worked hard to keep his injuries to a minimum. The continued movement opened the wound on his shoulder, until his arm was coated in blood. His brother was not fighting like he wanted to capture him; Aidan was fighting like he wanted to him dead. He hated to admit it, but his brother had always been the superior swordsman, and with the fear for his mate driving him, he was a force to be reckoned with. Andrew decided to use Aidan’s own force to drive him to the spot less than fifty yards away that would trigger his getaway plan.

As Aidan bombarded him with every move in his repertoire, Andrew attempted to split his concentration between protecting his body and moving them both to the spot that would ensure the success of his plan. Just a few more steps and they would be there. He raised his katana to block a killing blow, just as all hell broke loose. Explosions sounded all around. Dragon Guardsmen and werepanthers, already shifted into their powerful animals, were all running towards him and his brother. Someone had tripped his intricately designed trap, but no one was even near the spot where the key amulet was buried. Considering how the situation was completely stacked against him, he turned tail to run. He threw his dagger at Aidan in the hopes it would slow him down, and took off for a patch of thick brambles that he knew hid a stream he could use to hide his scent while escaping. As he ran as fast as he could, pulling on his long forgotten enhanced dragon abilities, he pulled one of the two remaining amulets from around his neck. He was counting on the fact that Aidan wanted to get to his mate and that he could stay at least one step ahead of the others until he activated the amulet. If the Commander was anywhere nearby, he only had a 50/50 shot at making it out of this cluster fuck.