He shook his head and then winced at the resulting throb of pain. That power pulse must have scrambled his brains. Dragons rarely experienced random lust, not unless they were exposed to the mating pheromones of a Dragona.
This wasn’t about lust, although it seemed to be a component. Tyrez was as confused as his brother about his reaction to her.
Razir picked up on it. “Whatisit about this woman?” His purple hued eyes scanned Tyrez.
“I don’t know, brother. I am attracted to her.”
“Attracted? She’s not even human. She’sDire.”
“I know. But I want her here.”
Razir stared at him. Tyrez witnessed the struggle in his brother’s expression as he tried very hard to understand.
“You say you’re attracted to the captive Dragon too.”
“Yes.”
“How can you be attracted to both?”
“That, I don’t know.”
Tyrez was as confused about his reaction as his brother.
Razir’s hand waved in the air. “This isn’t a soulbond, is it? I was wondering about that with the Dragon. But it couldn’t be with this woman. So... What?”
“I don’t know,” admitted Tyrez. The powerful emotional ties associated with the soulbond were not a common thing. “But you yelling at me is accomplishing nothing but making my headache worse. So please finish your beer, and go.”
Razir quaffed the beer in one long gulping session, then slammed the bottle down again. “Well, you’d better figure it out. When father discovers she’s here, there will be hell to pay.”
“Yes, I know. It will help if she can tell us something useful about Rindek. That is my hope.” He focused on Sparkle. “Jacques,” he said.
Sparkle twitched the last of her feathers into place, shook two loose along with a small cloud of ash, and vanished.
“Hope that’s all she’s taking to her boss,” Razir said through gritted teeth as he headed for the ledge. “What are you going to do if that woman starts flinging boulders at you?”
“Duck,” Tyrez replied. “Even if she takes out a wall—where is she going to go?”
Razir considered. “Point.”
“I’ve got guards stationed at the ramps,” Tyrez told him.
His brother snorted. “She’ll be flinging vases and flowers at them. Our mother has been busy decorating. All right, I’ll bow to your extra thirteen years of wisdom.” His wings sprouted from his shoulders as he reached the edge. “Just don’t prove me wrong.” And he jumped off.
Tyrez turned away, moving to the kitchen island. He deposited his brother’s beer bottle into the recycling bin, then pulled out a tray and set a pitcher of ice water on it.
It had been hours since he’d placed the woman on his bed. Surely she was awake by now.
12
She dreamed:
Dani had never felt so free.
Flying was incredible. Better than running as a Dire.
She chased Ash through the clouds like a puppy chases a hare—clumsy, but gaining confidence with every wingbeat. Then a huge, dark shadow passed above her, and Dani ducked away.
Her heart thudded hard—she wasn’t alone in these clouds, and whatever cruised above her certainly wasn’t Ash. She caught the gleam of blue and green—another Dragon, much larger than Ash, stalked them.
