‘‘It does not have power over mere mortals, true… but it is the basis of all power to dragonkin.’’
I shook my head, retucking the blanket that was wrapped around me. ‘‘If that’s so, the item I saw wasn’t it. I would have been able to feel something with that much power in it, and I’m telling you that this lump of vaguely dragon-shaped gold did not have any sort of emanations other than age.’’
‘‘You are not a dragon.’’ His eyelids dropped halfway, shielding his gaze. ‘‘It has no power for you to feel because it is not connected to you as it is to them.’’
‘‘All right. Let’s say for the sake of brevity that the gold blob was the phylactery-not that it looks anything remotely like a vessel-’’
‘‘It is a vessel,’’ he interrupted. ‘‘It is part of the dragon heart, that which holds the essence of the first dragon. Your wyvern didn’t tell you that when he ordered you to steal it for him?’’ He shook his head in mock sorrow. ‘‘Regardless of what you think, it is of value to me.’’
My head was still reeling from the last few minutes, leaving me feeling particularly stupid. Now it made sense why Porter had wanted me to steal the amulet, but it didn’t explain why Kostya would keep something so precious in an unlocked chest. Nor did it explain why Magoth wanted a dragon relic when it held no power over mortals-over whom he was always trying to gain control-or over any other beings in the Otherworld. Other than the dragons, of course… The light dawned at last. ‘‘You’re going to use it against the dragons,’’ I said, horror mixing with bile in my gut.
The long, slow smile he gave me would have stripped a few decades off the lifetime of a mortal.
‘‘You can’t control them,’’ I said quickly, fear bitter on my tongue. ‘‘They’re dragons, Magoth. They do not bow to Abaddon. They never have.’’
‘‘Never before has a demon lord held the Lindorm Phylactery,’’ he said in a soft, sinister voice that left me sicker than ever. ‘‘With it, and with the other pieces of the dragon heart, the weyr will come to heel… and I will have the chance to establish a presence in the mortal world.’’
My legs gave out. I fell to my knees, sick to the very depths of my soul with what he was saying.
‘‘Bring me the phylactery, sweet May.’’
I shook my head, knowing full well he might strike out for such insubordination.
‘‘Bring me the phylactery, and you will be rewarded.’’
‘‘There is nothing, nothing you can give me that would make me betray the dragons in that manner.’’
His fingers tilted my head up, forcing me to look into his obsidian eyes. What I saw there scared me to the depths of my being. ‘‘Not even your freedom?’’
I looked at him, unable to speak.
His mouth curved in a wicked, knowing smile. ‘‘If you bring me the phylactery, I will grant you a temporary rescindment of your bondage for… shall we say a century?’’
A century. A hundred years of freedom from Magoth and his demands. A hundred years of happiness with Gabriel, untainted by the stain of Abaddon that clung to me. A lifetime of servitude for the dragons.
I couldn’t do it. There was nothing he could offer me that would induce me to betray Gabriel and his sept, of all the septs, in that way. ‘‘No,’’ I said softly, bracing myself for a blow.
Pain lashed through me with sharp precision. I doubled over, clutching myself against it. ‘‘Sweet May. Lovely May. It would be such a shame to lose a servant as devoted as you.’’
He lifted me up, his eyes blazing as he pulled me against his body, but for once, there was no erotic intent in his expression. ‘‘Do not fail me, May, lest I be forced to recall you to Abaddon, where you will remain until the end of your days.’’
‘‘-too early to do anything. I haven’t had my breakfast yet!’’
‘‘You’re just going to have to wait, Jim. Finding May is more important than feeding you. Gabriel, are you sure she didn’t say anything before she disappeared?’’
The voices reached me even before I fell through the rip in reality that Magoth’s minion had created. I hit the floor, disoriented as I always was when shoved through a tear in the mortal plain.
‘‘Speak of the devil. Ouch. Looks like you’ve been to Abaddon and back,’’ Jim said close to my ear. I felt a faint moist sensation on my shoulder. ‘‘Oh, yeah-hellfire and brimstone. Well, back safe and sound, that’s all that matters. Now can I have my breffy?’’
I hadn’t shaken the dizziness from my head before I was yanked upward and slammed against a hard surface… a warm hard surface, one with arms that tightened around me, which smelled like heaven, and tasted even better. Gabriel didn’t wait to ask me what happened-his mouth took possession of mine with a need that demanded all. I let him plunder away, ignoring my guilt for a moment in order to give him everything I had.
His lips and tongue pulled away from me with violence, his eyes literally scorching me as he looked down, his face set in hard planes. ‘‘I need you,’’ he said in a low, intimate growl.
I blinked for a moment in surprise, glancing to the side where Drake stood next to Aisling. It would appear the demon had dropped me off in Drake’s kitchen. Behind the two of them, Drake’s men, and a woman I remembered being introduced as István’s girlfriend, stood watching with silent interest. Surprisingly, Cyrene wasn’t present. ‘‘Er… right now?’’
‘‘Yes.’’ Gabriel didn’t hesitate-he simply scooped me up in his arms, blanket and all, and headed in long strides toward what looked to be the back stairs.
Aisling glanced at her wyvern. ‘‘I know it’s none of our business, but does May look to you like she’s up to the sort of activities Gabriel is clearly planning?’’
Drake leaned down and kissed her. ‘‘She has been taken from him and returned. It is the way of dragons, kincsem.’’
The last thing I saw before Gabriel leaped up the last of the stairs was Aisling giving her husband an odd look. ‘‘Really? You never did that with me. I wonder if I could get someone to kidnap me for a bit…’’
‘‘Is that true?’’ I asked as Gabriel pounded up a second flight of stairs.
‘‘Yes. You are not harmed in any way?’’
‘‘No, I’m fine. Just a little… er… taken aback by your sudden passion.’’
He slid me a look that was part desire, part amusement. ‘‘I’m sorry, little bird, but you are my mate. I must possess you. It is a primal need, not one that can be controlled. A mortal man might do so, but I cannot.’’
‘‘Oh,’’ I said, not wanting to admit that I found it immensely flattering that the second I was returned, he felt the need to join again with me.
He kicked open the door to our room, setting me down on the bed before locking the door. I was trying to get up so I could untangle myself from the blanket, but before I could, he was on me, unrolling me deftly, his hands trailing little paths of fire as he caressed my thighs, my belly, my breasts.
I don’t know how he got his own clothes off so quickly, but I wasn’t about to ask. His eyes were molten, brilliant with desire. ‘‘Mayling-’’
‘‘I know,’’ I said, pushing him onto his back. ‘‘No foreplay.’’
‘‘I swear to you, we will do this slowly the next time,’’ he answered, pulling me over him. ‘‘But I must have you now.’’
‘‘It’s not like I’ve had a lot of foreplay before,’’ I pointed out as I leaned down to nibble the nipple I’d wanted to molest earlier. ‘‘So I’m not bound to miss- agathos daimon!’’
He took me at my word, not waiting to even find out if I was ready for him, just lunged upward as he pulled my hips down. The sudden shock of his intrusion caused a burst of pleasure that left me bucking against him. He was right, this was a possession, pure and simple, but it was a possession that went both ways. I leaned down to nibble on his neck, savoring the feel and scent and taste of him. I didn’t have to ask for his fire; he gave it to me as I rode him, our mouths finding each other despite the wild dance.