Another intersection, another nose point, another turn.
“Does everyone have to be invited in to Cara’s?” Aria asked.
Ash answered from behind her. “Dragons can fly right in. We are immune to the confusions in our animal form. But everyone who comes in from the ground has to be guided.”
Wow. That was a big hole in the defenses, as far as Aria was concerned. She knew all too well that not all Dragons were bound by ethics and morals.
Aria supposed that most, however, would avoid tangling with a Watcher. Thinking of Nikolai, she wondered just how powerful Cara really was. She’d said that the Watchers couldn’t stop him.
But that didn’t mean they were helpless.
Because if she had even a fraction of his power, it would be enough to take on a Dragon, and win.
* * *
Lucas sat in the back of the van and stewed.
He was trying very hard not to. But the big, gorgeous Sabre was up there, sitting right beside Aria. And they werechatting, damn it.
Aria had said she wasn’t attracted to him. And the guy was mated, with twin kids, even. It wasn’t reasonable to be so jealous. But something deep inside him refused to be reasonable.
His mind still spun over the Oracle. Who had offered him his hand. And then referred toappendages.
Stored within Lucas’s extensive DNA repertoire was Ash’s sample. He now had the ability to fly as a male Dragon.
The possibilities inherent in that made it difficult to breathe. If he wanted to mate Aria, he needed wings. And at least one particular appendage.
And Ash had known that.
It freaked him out, to be honest. What did it mean? Did Ash want him to have a shot at Aria? Because as long as Nikolai was in the picture, that wasn’t likely to happen.
It wasn’t just about wings and an appendage, anyway. If Aria really dreamed of being grabbed by the throat and hauled above the clouds, wings alone weren’t going to cut it.
Of course, Nikolai couldn’t fly at all. So maybe Lucas was one up on the big guy already. Especially as there was a way for him to gain the size he’d require. Crystal would give him the power to enhance his morph. Maybe then he’d be worthy of her.
But that meant risking something he’d sworn he’d never do. He thought of Sadie, and her sallow, shrunken skin. If he went that route, he’d better be damned sure it was worth it.
He stared between Dani and Ash, to the red-gold curls visible in the passenger seat. It might be worth it.She’dbe worth it.
But what about Nikolai?
The hoofbeats running through his head had vanished, but in its place was a strong sense of unease. Like something was wrong? Or had something upset the big guy? Lucas figured getting turned into a horse might qualify.
Cody purred like a giant cat as he pulled the van over to park it across from the older two-story house surrounded by a tall wooden fence.
“Houston, we have landed,” the big Sabre said. “And for once, I did not have to bleed to get us here.”
The remark elicited a smile from Aria, and Lucas’s lips pulled back from his teeth. The Sabre’s banter just rolled from him, effortlessly charming.
Lucas decided he hated him.
Cody extended a big finger to scritch behind Mai’s ear. “Good work, Mai.”
The little shrew leaned into it, and Lucas sighed. If only the guy was easier to hate.
Aria scooped up Mai, and they all piled out of the car. Cody led the way through the garden gate. Aria paused to wait for him, raising one brow when he hesitated before stepping up beside her.
“You okay?” she asked. “You were awfully quiet back there.”
