I listened, my lips parting, cold night air drying my mouth. Mick’s last two sentences were delivered in a quiet tone that was filled with wonder. I remembered lying with Mick in the sunshine in the dragon compound in Santa Fe, after the dragons had captured me. He’d smiled at me, his dark eyes full of fire, and said I want to be here to watch you grow.
Tears stung my eyes. Mick’s mission, given to him by the Dragon Council, had been to find me, discover how dangerous I was, and then to destroy me. He’d volunteered for the duty, knowing how lethal the woman who’d created me could be.
For not killing me, for falling in love with me and fighting to let me live out my life, the dragons had sentenced him to death.
“You can’t disobey the Dragon Council, Micalerianicum,” Drake said coldly. “Your orders were to destroy the threat.”
“My orders were to find the threat and contain it,” Mick said sternly. “I have. She’s not a threat to the dragons. Tell Bancroft and his cronies to eat it.”
Drake went silent a moment before he said in a quieter voice, “I advise you not to defy them. They can be ruthless.”
“I know. That’s why I’m sending you, their errand boy, back to them.” Mick stepped to Drake and prodded his forefinger into Drake’s bare chest. “Tell them that Janet Begay is under my protection now.”
Drake hissed a breath. “You can’t.”
“I can. I already have. They are not to touch her. I will watch over her and make sure she does no harm—and that no harm comes to her. Tell the three pains in my ass to back off.”
“Don’t be a fool,” Drake exclaimed, more distressed than I’d ever seen him. “If she has tricked you, you’ll pay with your life.”
Mick shrugged. “If I’m wrong and she goes on a rampage, then I’ll deserve to die.”
The words tore at my heart. Mick was putting his life on the line for me, in this clearing high in the mountains. When it had happened, I’d been oblivious, and I’d grown angry at him for leaving me to wait in the motel room.
I’d lost my patience with him and his mysterious disappearances after a while and left him. He’d watched over me even then, protecting me from harm, and I’d never known.
This time, I was fully aware. My memories of the future came flooding back to me—maybe because in this dream I was doing what I hadn’t done in real life. Those memories hurt, and made me love Mick even more.
“I’m sorry, Micalerianicum,” Drake was saying as I wiped my eyes. “But they won’t allow that to happen.”
I jolted to alertness, pressing aside my warm ideas of how I’d show Mick how much I appreciated him. Drake was looking at the sky, and Mick jerked his head up to stare.
More downdrafts of wind rattled through the clearing. One of the dead trees shuddered and slowly toppled, the sound of its passing smothered by the whooshing of leathery wings.
Two dragons touched down, which again, I’d seen in my future. One was black; the other, pure white. The white one I’d seen only once. Her name was Aine, she was one-third of the Dragon Council, and she was a cold-hearted bitch.
The other was Bancroft, who lived in the dragon compound in Santa Fe and gave Drake orders. Drake wasn’t part of the council—he was Bancroft’s flunky.
I didn’t waste time wondering why Bancroft and Aine had come. Whatever their reason, it couldn’t be good. I didn’t like Drake’s words, or the sorrowful tone in which he spoke them.
I ran forward, screw trying to be secretive. The only thing that could take down a dragon, short of a god, was another dragon.
There were three dragons against Mick. He was good, but I didn’t like those odds.
The dragons were so busy drawing themselves up and being arrogant that they never saw me coming at them until Drake swung around. His dark eyes widened and a look of vast puzzlement came over his face.
“You aren’t supposed to be here,” he said in confusion.
I ignored him. “Stay the hell away from him!” I yelled at Aine and Bancroft. “Go crawl back into whatever volcano spawned you and leave us alone!”
Mick had spun as soon as he heard my voice. “Janet, what the fuck?”
I grabbed his hands and hung on. “They’ll kill you. If you protect me, they’ll condemn you to death. Go and let me deal with them.”
Mick looked at me like I’d gone crazy, and I couldn’t fault him. I hadn’t yet learned to tap the Beneath power in me—I could barely control the Stormwalker.
But the Beneath power was there. I could feel it stirring deep in my blood, eager to come out. Bancroft and Aine must have sensed it too, because they drew back, dragon heads ready to strike.