Her mouth opened and closed. Buried? He looked intact. Not broken and bruised, which was definitely how she felt.
She struggled to remember what had happened. The flash of light, losing her grip... “I fell.”
“Yes, you did. Quite a ways too.”
“Is Sirki okay? How about Jacques?”
“Sirki is fine. And that Satyr is a tough bugger. He’s good, keeps popping up here. Your list of injuries was extensive. How do you feel?”
Dani shrugged. “Sore as hell. What was wrong with me?”
“Broken legs, one arm, ribs, skull, back, extensive internal injuries.”
Her eyes widened. What she’d dreamed wasn’t a dream. “I was dying,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
His energy, wrapping around her. His lips against her skin. His teeth...Effing hell, his teeth. Her entire body went rigid. “You—youbitme.”
His glance skittered away, to look out the window. “I did. Yes.”
The admission triggered an avalanche of memory. Chains binding her to the wall. Hands, holding her down. Remy pushing in on her, his eyes gleaming with his beast and teeth long and sharp . . .
Her heart fluttered and her ribcage spasmed, making it impossible to breathe. She’dtrustedTyrez. And the damned shapeshifter hadbittenher.
His eyes came back to her, and they were gleaming with his inner Dragon. And suddenly, she saw the predator within him, and a male accustomed to getting just what—and who—he wanted.
No.Rindek and Remy had done terrible things to her.By force.She hadn’t been given a choice this time, either.
“It was necessary—” he began.
“You gave me your Dragon virus?” Dani’s voice rose. “You frigging bit me, you bastard.”
Tyrez’s brows lowered. His gaze glowed turquoise.
“You had no right! Am I going to turn into a Dragon, now?” Black wings raced through her head. “Dammit, Tyrez, you had noeffingright!”
He stood abruptly and strode to the door before he said anything more. He paused there, leaning on the frame. “I’m sorry you feel that way.”
Dani’s heart thundered so loud she could barely hear herself think. Then she remembered her dream. How he’d saved Ash from the ocean. How, when she’d touched them, the energy had flowed between them...
Her heart felt as though it was breaking. How could he have done this?
“Why, Tyrez?” Dani’s voice had dropped to almost nothing.
For a moment, she thought he might leave without replying. His expression was difficult to read.
Then he straightened, and said, “Sometimes Fate deals you a tough hand, and you have no choice but to call her on it.”
He vanished out the door, leaving her with her mouth hanging open.
Fate? What the hell was he babbling about? The expression on his face was almost haunted. Her heart constricted around her escalating sense of dread, and her body shook.
His footsteps trailed away—it sounded like he’d gone down a set of stairs. Then she heard the soft rumble of his voice, and a female voice answering him, rather sharply, but Dani couldn’t decipher the actual words. She thought she recognized the female voice, though. Cara? Was she upstairs in the Watcher’s house? Why was she here, and not back at the palace?
To heal her. Cara was a healer.
But Tyrez . . .Dammit.Dani’s mind spun. Remy had bitten her to claim her. He’d been in her head, controlled her. Did the bite now mean she belonged to the big Dragon shifter?
