Every inch of him radiated power.
The Bellatis ranged up on either side of Nikolai. And then, they knelt. These powerful warriors prostrated themselves before this creature as though he were their king.
Nikolai arched his own neck and snorted as the object of their admiration shimmered in the sunlight. In an instant, the Unicorn vanished, and in its place stood a man. Tall, broad shouldered, powerfully built, with steel-gray hair that fell past his waist, and clad in a gray bodysuit—not cloth, Nikolai realized. His own hair, woven tightly together.
But when Nikolai looked into the man’s eyes, shock rippled through him. The brows, the shape of the cheekbones, the firm line to the jaw...
No. It couldn’t be. “Whaat are you?”
I am your father, Nikolai. And you and I are going to change this world forever.
* * *
On their way to Coronation Park, Lucas took Aria in search of something better than a bagel.
He didn’t want to confess that a part of him was as eager to determine Nikolai’s fate as Aria was herself. Because shortly after the Satyr had left, Lucas had started to hear hooves.
Every time he closed his eyes, they galloped through his head. And there was only one reason—it had to be Nikolai.
Nikolai had walked away with boots on his large, but very human feet. Not hooves. Yet he had no other explanation for it.
Nikolai had been turned into a horse. Was that the Watcher’s big plan to contain him? He’d heard they were powerful, but that freaked him right out.
He guided Aria to the Forks Market, named for the conjunction of Winnipeg’s two major rivers. Humans had used this spot as a gathering place for thousands of years, but it now housed a thriving marketplace.
With the long, cold winters, the Market had been designed with indoor facilities. But the fall day warmed up enough that they were able to take their brunch outside to the tiered concrete seats overlooking the slowly churning river.
As they seated themselves, Mai chittered at Aria.
“Here you go.” The Dragona offered her a bit of sausage from her plate. “Take this before I dust the shards out of it.”
Lucas shook his head as the little shrew gobbled it up. “I think we’re corrupting her.”
“Well, we’re a little low on bugs.” Aria pulled out her bags of crystal and herbs and liberally scattered it on her breakfast, then glanced around. “Glad we’re able to sit outside. It was way too crowded in there.”
Lucas watched the dusting process and asked, “Are Dragons usually claustrophobic?”
She shrugged. “Can’t speak for all of them, but I don’t like enclosed spaces.”
After pushing through the crowds to get their meals, Lucas was just as happy to be outside. The seasonal nip to the air had cut those willing to brave it down to the minimum. They were still drawing the occasional glance, but nothing compared to what they’d endured inside.
Humans generally did not wear cloaks, but it wasn’t their apparel, or the shades he’d given Aria, that earned them all the second glances. Even partly hidden beneath the fabric’s disguising folds, Aria’s exotic beauty drew admiring stares.
It brought out an inner caveman that Lucas hadn’t known he harbored. Although generally not a physically imposing specimen, his emerald-laced glower had caused more than one male to back away. He figured that any more time spent among the masses might have resulted in a ridiculous altercation with yet another butt or boob ogling human.
Aria stabbed a sausage with her fork and extended her tongue to lick the ketchup off one end before feeding it between her full lips.
Lucas swallowed and tore his eyes away. Maybe there was something to this pheromone thing. Certainly, he was personally reaching new highs—or was it lows? And was it a coincidence that every male that entered her radius acted like they’d been dosed with an aphrodisiac?
Either way, Lucas was, once more, grateful for his cloak. Maybe he needed to take up wearing trench coats. He was pretty sure that was why they were a permanent part of Jacques’s repertoire.
While Aria fed Mai a tiny bit of undusted egg, the human male seated about thirty feet away stared. He was either trying to decide why Aria was putting food into her hair, or he’d also caught the performance with the sausage and was ogling. Lucas was certain that the guy’s “she’s naked under that cape” radar was going into overtime—any self-respecting male justknewthese things.
Lucas shot the guy a glare, and the man looked away.
Aria seemed oblivious to her effect on anything with testicles. “How much farther until we get to the park?”
“Fifteen minutes?” Lucas guessed. “We have to cross the river.”
