“I was not satisfied with our blending until just now.” Heathren answered as he lifted an eyebrow calmly at Luke. “King Mathii blends his powers easily through the ether. You do not.”
“I have had thousands of years to perfect my craft, Archangel. The young Storm Dragon is new at it. Give him time.” King Mathii chuckled as he lifted a hand to Luke, pouring a soothing wind all through him. Shuddering, Luke sat straighter upon the fountain’s rim, though he still seemed tired.
“I think I need a nap.” Luke spoke abruptly. “Heathren, can we return to this later?”
“I am satisfied.” Heathren spoke with a more genial nod. “You may rest.”
As Luke scooted off the fountain with one last smile to Layla, heading off, Insinio glanced at Heathren. “You’re not doing so well yourself, Ren.” Insinio rumbled in his chuckling basso voice as his bright silver eyes evaluated Heathren, crossing his big buff arms over his massively-built frame. “You blame the boy, but half the fatigue I felt swamping our barrier right now was yours. You need to rest also if you want to be any use for this battle ahead. And that’s not a suggestion.”
“I know.” Heathren sighed as he watched Luke depart. “But I cannot allow Mr. Murphy to lose faith in me. Feeling as if he’s the weak link will make his stubborn personality fight harder, even if he is at the last of his strength. If he knows I am not able to give my all, he will merely become angry with me, which will enter our resonance and cause us to break.”
“Your judgement of Luke isn’t wrong.” Layla spoke as she shook her head. She had to hand it to him, the Fallen Ephilohim could read people. “And if you three and Luke can make even a smallnullax-barrier for solstice night, it’s a win.”
“Seems like everything’s turned out in our favor today. Convenient.” Adrian frowned, as Layla felt his energy churn through the Bind.
“Though not without cost.” Heathren lifted one eyebrow archly. “You three are nearly as exhausted as I am from whatever you’ve been up to today. I felt a strong resonance through the ether at one point, but couldn’t locate it. What have you been doing?”
“We’ll fill you in tonight, Heathren,” Dusk chimed in now as he glanced up from a text on his phone. “Reginald just texted. He’d like all of us main players to meet in his suite on the fourth floor for a private dinner tonight at six pm. We can discuss battle strategy there with Rhennic, who has been organizing all our talents into phases of attack. He’ll want to know about our progress and we can include additional battle-phases from things we’ve discovered today.”
“So be it.” Heathren nodded tiredly now, as Insinio continued pouring support into him through the ether. “Let us retire and regroup at six. I have a few things I must coordinate with my Intercessoria cadre and then Insinio and I shall be taking a rest also. Everyone should see to their people today – we can meet up later to discuss specifics.” With a cordial nod to them all, the Fallen Ephilohim beckoned to Insinio, turning away to speak with their cadre nearby.
Stepping close now that the Ephilohim had gone, King Lethou Mathii clasped everyone’s hands kindly before facing Adrian. “My Heir. Are my Black Spear Dragons protecting your…finding… adequately?”
“They are, my King. Thank you. I appreciate the help.” Adrian nodded back with a smile.
“Good. Such a treasure must be protected, and used when the time is right.” King Mathii spoke with a glimmer in his bright turquoise eyes, as if eager to see what they could all muster against Hunter when the time came. “But the Archangel speaks true that you are all exhausted from your sojourn today. Please, take a rest. A Bind suffers when any of its members are exhausted. If you will excuse me, Layla, Dusk. Always a pleasure.”
With that, the Desert Dragon King moved off with some of his Black Spear guards, escorting him back to the Hotel. Reaching out with a tired sigh now that everyone had gone, Adrian corralled Layla around the waist as Dusk moved in close to her back. “We should probably take a rest, also.” Adrian spoke with a wry smile. “We’re all going to need to save our strength from this point on.”
“Luke’s idea of a nap sounds amazing after all that excitement today.” Layla agreed as she nodded to the Hotel. “What do you think? You two in?”
“Absolutely. A little nap time sounds great. Though, maybe with some other things.” Dusk spoke cheekily now, kissing her neck as Adrian found her lips. But it was sweet and not at all rushed as they kissed her after such a tumultuous morning; and Layla heaved a sigh, enjoying being with them in a quiet moment beneath the summer sun. And then real fatigue swamped her from everything they had gone through today, and she stepped away.
Tugging their hands to head back to the Hotel.
CHAPTER 12 – RELAX
Layla, Adrian, and Dusk had fallen asleep in her bed for the hottest part of the day, dead to the world with exhaustion from their trials in the Thin Ways. As Layla woke, her dark eyelashes blinking open to dappled sunlight streaming in her vaulted windows, the sun was far lower in the sky, on its way toward evening. Still curled around Adrian with Dusk behind her, Layla didn’t move, even though she was sweating and far too warm between them. They’d kicked off all the bedding except for the cobalt silk top sheet, draped low around their hips in the midsummer afternoon. Still, Layla didn’t move as both men breathed steadily in slumber.
The only place she ever wanted to be.
It was bliss laying between them, quiet in the deep afternoon. There was no battle right now, no wrath and frustration as they lay in a repose, sleeping hard while they could. Cuddling closer to Adrian, Layla couldn’t help but hunger for his skin on hers even though they were both slick with sweat. As she moved, she felt Dusk wake with a deep inhalation at her back – wrapping himself more solidly around her as he palmed her hip in sleepy delight.
Curling her into his strong arm, Dusk’s bicep bulged as he pulled her in, his midnight and gold lines of serrated Dragon-scales sparkling in the sunlight that fell across the bed. His body was an inferno, but even as it became intolerable, he began a slow breath, cooling his body and Layla’s with a deep river-water sluice. As Dusk curled Layla closer with a sleepy rumble and a slow smile at her ear now, she felt Adrian wake. He’d lost her skin touch, and with a sleepy growl also, Adrian reached out, palming her waist and trying to pull her back.
“No fair stealing Layla while I’m sleeping, Dusk.” Adrian murmured with teasing possessiveness. Dipping his chin, Adrian’s full lips met Layla’s and she melted into him as he kissed her, deep and slow. Easing closer, Adrian pressed his tall, lean body against hers from hips to chest now as he kissed her more, breathing her in. Sliding a hand down, he hiked her thigh up over his hip, pressing a very warm and very aroused part of himself against her. Behind her, Dusk hadn’t relinquished melding his ultra-fit soccer-player’s body to her back, kissing her neck as he pressed an equally aroused something to her back.
“You snooze, you lose, pal.” Dusk responded with a rumbling chuckle, which sent erotic shivers all through Layla now. “Besides, isn’t the saying,all’s fair in love and war?”
“Let’s not think about war right now.” Layla murmured as Adrian cinched in as close as Dusk, trapping her decadently between them. “Let’s just take this afternoon for ourselves… we don’t have to be at Reginald’s soirée for a little while yet.”
“I like that.” Dusk rumbled at her neck, sending ripples of pleasure through her as Adrian kneaded her waist. But even as Dusk flooded a waterfall of rumbles through her now, making Layla cry out in a heady abandon as her drakaina rose all through her veins in a fire-bright rush, she suddenly realized raising their powers was not what she wanted this afternoon. She loved cavorting as their Dragons; she loved having blissful, carnal sex full of power and magic with her mates. But this was an afternoon for pleasure and not battle; and as she gasped, returning to her human mind, she realized she needed something slower, deeper today.
And without magic for once.
“Can we do it without our Dragons this afternoon?” Layla gasped, reaching back with one hand to corral Dusk’s neck and touch his luscious hair, even as her body arched toward Adrian’s.
“Without our Dragons?” Dusk asked confusedly as he paused by her neck. “You mean, have sex without magic?”
