"How did you-" I looked around for signs of a weapon, but saw none. "How did you kill them? Or rather, destroy their forms?"
May smiled and finished dabbing at a black stain on her shirt. "Dragon form doesn't need weapons. At least, not against some demons. And the priestesses helped, of course."
"We intended to take care of the demons ourselves," Ipy said, picking up a severed hand and tossing it into a bag, along with a knife stuck into half a pineapple. The shaft of the knife was stained black. "But when it became clear that the dragon and his mate would handle destroying the demons, we simply protected our sister while they did the hard work."
"I take it you took care of the first challenge?" Gabriel asked, nodding toward my Xena sword, which Rowan still held.
"Yes." He glanced toward Mrs. P, frowning. "We need to have a talk."
She shrugged. "It won't change anything."
"What won't?" I asked, confused, nodding when May murmured something about them returning to their cabin to change their clothes. They left, and since the models had the cleanup well in hand, Rowan and I sat with Mrs. P.
"I see that your man has been made a dragon." She flashed Rowan a surprisingly flirtatious grin. "I did tell you that the First Dragon would demand payment."
"I had no idea that the payment would consist of my … self," Rowan answered somewhat acidly, although that expression faded and he added, "It could have been much worse. I have to say that being a dragon is rather … liberating."
"You may not have my shiny," Mrs. P said, and I let my gaze roam over her. Dammit, she was getting even younger yet, just in the space of an hour. Her hair was entirely brown now, a glossy walnut that made my plain-old-black-hair heart envious. In addition, the wrinkles were gone, all but a few around her neck and eyes, and her arms were toned and smooth. "My beau needs it. Without it, we can't leave."
"Why don't you just stay here with him?" I asked. "You're both in the Underworld-can't you make your life here?"
"Not so long as Isis is here," she said with a shudder.
I shot Rowan a look. His lips twitched, and I was swamped with the need to kiss him. And lick him. And touch every inch of his wonderful body.
"She would never let us live in peace, and as she's bound to Duat, the only solution is for us to leave," Mrs. P said with a toss of her head. "So all of your entreaties are for naught. I will not give up my shiny."
"Maybe you don't have to," I said slowly, thinking over everything Rowan had mentioned about the ring. I faced him, trying not to notice how bright the gold flecks were in his eyes. Or how the long sweep of heavy muscle in this thighs was outlined in his pants. Or that enticing bit of chest that was exposed by his shirt.
I wondered briefly if I would be able to talk him into a little rendezvous before lunch.
"What are you thinking?" he asked, startling me for a moment with the idea that he could read my smutty thoughts.
A swift glance at Mrs. P-now looking approximately my age-had me biting back a flip answer. The last thing I wanted was a youngish, attractive Mrs. P flirting with Rowan. "I was thinking that if the goal of the dragons is to keep the ring from being used by the demon lord, then the solution is as easy as letting this Osiris fellow have it. If he needs it to get out of Duat, then he's not likely to let a demon get it, and once he's out into the real world, he won't need it. He can simply give it over to the dragons, who can do what they want with it."
Rowan was shaking his head even before I finished.
Mrs. P clicked her tongue and rose from the chair. "I'm going to have a milk bath. My skin needs hydrating. Khenut, do we have any coconut milk left?" She wandered off into the bathroom.
"Osiris will need to consume the power of the ring in order to leave Duat," Rowan explained to me. "It will in effect be destroyed by that act."
"So then what's the problem?" I asked, confused. "It'll be gone, which is what the dragon people-what we dragons-want, right?"
"That's correct, except the essence of the ring will remain behind. And as evidenced by this"-Rowan waved his hand at the black smears on the floor and wall-"Bael does not have any trouble sending demons into the Underworld. They will simply wait for Osiris to use the ring, then collect the essence and take that back to Bael. He will use that to imbue another tool, and we'll be back to the position of Bael having two out of three tools needed."
"Oh. Crap." I thought for a moment, not seeing a clear solution. "This essence … that's what you make?"
He grimaced. "It's what alchemists create when they break magic, yes."
"And what do you do with it?"
He leaned back in his chair, idly watching as one of the priestesses set three bags of trash outside the door. "Generally it's used to create new magical objects. Some essences, especially pure ones, can be used in the formation of a quintessence, which is the most valuable substance in the Otherworld."
"So if we could be on hand when Osiris uses the ring, then you could get the essence stuff, and use it before Bael and his cohorts got to it, yes?"
"I thought about that when Mrs. P told me what her goal was. It would be possible, but I'd need to have an object ready to receive the essence, and I have no way to prepare one here."
"Then we're just going to have to come up with another plan," I insisted. "Because I'm just not going to steal that ring from her."
"It's pitting one woman's happiness against that of the world," he warned.
"Two people who are in love and simply want to live together in peace," I said, standing, my throat feeling tight. Emotions that I hadn't felt since I met Jian swirled around inside me, leaving me more confused than ever.
Did I want to be Rowan's mate? I knew, despite his posturing before the other dragons, that if I told him we had no future together, he would not force me into one against my will. But the thought of going through life without him was frankly unbearable.
"We can talk about it later. We still have to get through the second challenge before the situation comes to a crisis." Rowan got to his feet as well. "I'll put your sword back. It certainly came in handy."
"Rowan … " I put my hand on his chest, feeling both the smooth cotton of his shirt, and beneath it, the warmth and hardness of his chest. "Do you … " I bit my lip, not able to come right out and ask what I wanted to know. I waited a few seconds until the last priestess had drifted back into Mrs. P's room before asking, "Do you really think I'm your mate? It's not just because I was Jian's mate, and thus am able to fill the position, is it?"
"It has nothing to do with him, and everything to do with us." He tugged me forward, my body pressed against his in a way that highlighted our differences. "It's you I want, Sophea. Not any other woman, just you. We were meant to be together-I see that now that the First Dragon opened my eyes. We were fated to travel to this moment in time."
I tipped my head up to kiss him, saying against his lips, "Then imagine us being separated and doomed never to be together. Because that's what you're damning Mrs. P to if the ring is taken from her."
"Damn it," he said, his eyes bright with passion as he sucked my lower lip into his mouth for a few seconds. "I'd say I hate it when you're right and I'm wrong, but the truth is, I love the way your mind works. You are absolutely right, of course. I can't imagine my life without you, and I swear to you that I'll spend every moment of my life making sure you're as happy as you possibly can be."
And at that moment, I knew with a bright, shining rightness that I would not leave Rowan. "And I promise to make your lips quirk the way they do, and to yell at you when you're unreasonable around the other wyverns, and most of all, to make you happy that the First Dragon turned you into someone who could have a wyvern's mate."
His lips were hot on mine, his tongue doing a little dance around mine that made my toes curl. "You have to keep the costumes, though. I like this one, but the Xena one is very … "
"Kick-ass?" I suggested when he hesitated. "Indicative of a strong woman who doesn't need a man? Representative of the inner strength of women everywhere?"
"Sexy," he said, then gave a mock yelp when I pinched his side. "Very kick-ass," he amended. "Although I'd appreciate it if you took me with you for the next challenge."
"Pfft," I said, brushing that away as we went to find some lunch. "It's just a lake of fire. We dragons are all over fire."