EXCERPT included below
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Only the dragon can grant my freedom… But the price he demands is everything. There are some things I know I was never ever meant to have... Even if I wish it were otherwise.
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~ ~ ~ EXCERPT ~ ~ ~
This dragon, this man, had besieged a fae castle on his own and forced the Queen of Fairie to a bargain.
I knew something of dragons, even watched my friend marry one while I was dead.
But none of them radiated magic like this one.
He stared at me, evaluating me. His golden gaze made my stupid flesh body feel as if I were being x-rayed by some god who happened to be wearing a white suit.
Heart pounding, I tried to think of the inanest sassy thing that would get me killed. “So I’m wondering, dragon, what’s with all the white? Or are you planning on groomsman-ing at somebody’s wedding?”
He said nothing, did nothing.
“Say something, dammit! Just get this over with and kill me already!”
His voice was smoother, more human than I expected. I’d once known a male phone-sex operator who had a voice like his. “I’m waiting for you to run again.”
“Should I run?” I dropped my voice to a mocking tone. “Is that what makes you hot?”
“I want you to realize how useless it is to run. No matter what, I will find you.” A smile curled his lips. He leaned forward into my personal space, and it was all I could do to not take a step back. “Go on. Try it.”
There was an edge to his tone that made me shudder in a totally inappropriate way. This was also the problem with living, with being alive and having a body—far too often, the flesh had stupid reactions to things your mind knew better than to feel.
“You don’t know what you’re dealing with.”
He stalked around me. The dragon radiated heat so much it was like standing in front of a fire. Despite his clean white-suited appearance, he smelled, strangely…sweaty, in a surprisingly not unpleasant sort of way. Was it an illusion? Even knowing what he was, and how dangerous he was, my body wanted to get closer to the source of the heat, closer to his scent. Illogical, stupid flesh. He caught my gaze with those eyes, and I understood the meaning deer-in-headlights better than ever before.
“You are one who died, reborn for vengeance.” He tilted his head as if finding something remarkable. “Curiously enough, you don’t want vengeance.”
The way he was looking at me, it was as if he could see through my clothes. With my luck, Mr. Magic Dragon had X-ray vision too. “It’s none of your business.”
“I don’t care why you’ve come to be what you are. But you will be useful to me.”
Well, after lying to him and running away, those were the last words I’d expected him to say.
“I have an enemy. An enemy who betrayed my trust, murdered my brother, and has now taken my sister.”
In his eyes I could see a hint of pain, and fury gone cold.
And it struck something inside me, an itch I needed to scratch. The strange magic within me welled up, potent and ready. I knew, like I knew my name, that I could help him. The dragon needed vengeance. He had been wronged, and my magic could correct that injustice with destruction.
Destruction. Death. That was the answer to everything.
The potential for such a delicious ending called to the magic within me, hot, enticing.
And then, like a cold dose of water, I remembered my mother’s words. Whispers trickled, surrounding me, the sound rising until it swirled around me, overwhelming me. Forgiveness…the only way…forgive me…unjust…forgive…peace…
I covered my ears and closed my eyes, knowing it wouldn’t work.
But to my shock, it fucking worked.
There was silence.
I blinked and saw the dragon staring at me strangely.
And my mother’s voice was clear.
Forgiveness is the only way to find peace in an unjust world.
I looked down at my hands. What the hell magic was this? Was I cursed to be haunted by my past?
I knew I should lie, tell him what he wanted to hear, play the willing woman.
But I was tired of that shit. I’d played that game my whole life, and where had that gotten me? Maybe honesty would get me what I wanted.
“I understand,” I said quietly. “But I lied to you. What you want, I can’t give.”
His eyes narrowed. I could feel the pressure in the air change as magic surged around us, threatening and smelling unmistakably of him.
His magic curled around me, deceptively warm and soothing, like a soft fluffy blanket, but one completely flammable at the first spark of anger. “I know you lied. But you will give me what I want. You’ll give me everything.”