Her Dragon To Slay(47)

“But what do you hope to accomplish by killing Rayne’s mate?” Aidan sounded like he was talking to a wild animal, trying to calm him, make him see reason. Kyndel was eager to hear his answer, as well.

“I was hoping you had found yours when I saw you sitting on that rock in the park and she had her hand on your arm but then I saw the great and powerful Commander haul her off and heard the sounds of their pleasure. It was then I realized she was his and not yours. Unfortunately, plans were already in motion, so I made a revision. I decided to kill his mate, knowing it would drive him mad. Then he will unleash his wrath on all in his path and you will have to watch it all. I'm going to relish making sure that he saves you for last. I want to make sure you feel the life bleed out of every one of your brethren, because after all, dear brother, you caused all of this.

“We could’ve waited another day to go hunting, there were enough stores to feed everyone for at least a week and we had heard nothing from our enemies but you just had to fly that night. What was so important brother, dear? Tell your faithful Guardsmen what couldn’t wait. Tell them what was so important that you put your younger brother in danger.”

She wished she could wrap her arms around Aidan as he closed his eyes and shuttered as if in pain, “I wanted to see the woman from my dreams, the one my dragon and I had scented on our flight over the city the night before. I hoped she would be leaving the gym, returning to her dorm. I couldn’t resist looking at her raven hair, blue eyes and curvy figure again. I wanted to see if I could glimpse the smile from my dreams; the one that lit up the darkness more than the sun ever dared.” Aidan torturously admitted in a voice so soft Kyndel had to strain to catch all he was saying.

“So for a glimpse of some piece of ass you allowed your brother to be captured and tortured? You gave up and walked away? Tell me brother, did you tell your precious Guardsmen what happened? Did you bring them back to the site? DID YOU EVEN TRY TO FIND ME?”

Again Kyndel cringed knowing this guy was completely gone. He was shaking with rage. Whatever happened during his imprisonment had broken him in ways people just should not be broken and his revenge included taking them all out. She had to believe these big strong warriors could get her out of this but right now they all looked lost and confused. Her only hope was that they snap out of it.

The idiot with the knife at her neck decided to keep his performance going. “You know it just doesn’t matter, brother. I don’t want to hear any more of your excuses or apologies. You’re a coward and a failure and you will go to your grave knowing you could have saved me from all the torture at the hands of the wizards. You could have saved Rayne’s mate and you could have saved your Guardsmen. But you didn’t and now you get to watch what your failure has caused.”

Andrew pulled Kyndel’s hair, jerking back her head until she was looking straight up at the night sky. Her scalp burned so bad her eyes watered. She found it hard to breathe from the pain and the angle he had her neck bent. She closed her eyes and offered up a prayer to the Almighty. She prayed that by some miracle there would be another mate for Rayne and that he would live a very long happy life. She mourned the loss of a love she had just found and would never see grow and flourish. If only she had had a little more time to tell Rayne how she felt. Before she could dwell on anything else she was about to lose, she was jerked back by her hair and flying through the air. She heard a crunch as something slammed into the hard unforgiving rock. She realized in that instant that it was her head and then her world went black.

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

Rayne was about to lose his mind. Aidan and Aaron’s crazy brother, whom they had all believed dead, was standing a few feet from him with a knife at Kyndel’s neck. Rayne saw Aidan acting like a lost little boy with a hope in his eyes that he could save both Andrew and his mate. From the deranged look in his eyes, the chilling account of his capture and torture and the fact he was crazy enough to have planned and executed this elaborate plot against the elite of the Dragon Guard, Rayne doubted there was any hope for this man.

Aaron looked as mad as he felt. He could not tell which brother his friend wanted to beat the hell out of first. There were definitely some secrets revealed here today that would have to be dealt with but right now, Rayne had to get his mate out of the hands of the madman holding her captive and back with him where she belonged. He prayed to the Universe that she would forgive him for all his mistakes. He was starting to lose count of the number of times she had been in danger in the last twenty-four hours and all because of him. He had to get everyone’s head back in the game and bring this stand off to an end.