Authors: C. I. Black
Shattered Spirits (40 page)
“Is she yours?” Her gaze dropped to Darkness.
Right. The cat. Not the woman. “Yeah. Well
…
a friend’s, but he’s
…
” Mother, he was going to tell her Andy was dead. Way to impress a girl. “The cat is mine,” he growled.
The woman picked Darkness up and the kitten’s purrs grew louder. More light flickered from the woman’s eyes. He hadn’t imagined it. She was a mage.
“Mine likes to escape, too.” She held Darkness out to him. “You’ll get used to it and notice the signs soon enough.”
He took the cat, who rubbed her face against his chest and curled into the crook of his arm. “Thanks. Are you visiting someone?”
Man, why had he asked that?
“I moved in last week. 306.” She smiled, a delicate flashing of teeth that zinged through him.
“306,” he said. Even the beast was stunned by her.
“Yeah.” Her smile deepened, and she strode past him. Her door clicked open and closed and he still stood there, still stunned.
“Hey, who was that drake?” a new voice asked.
Grey stood in front of Diablo. He hadn’t even seen the silver drake approach.
“I have no idea. But I intend to find out.” And the beast within rumbled with agreement.
* * *
Capri eased into the doorway to the solarium in Raven’s and Nero’s house for human mages. Ryan sat among the flowers and ferns and bushes at one of the wrought iron café tables, bathing in early morning sunlight. It shimmered off the crystalline snow powdering the grounds beyond the large glass windows.
It had been just over a week since her soul had chosen him and Katar had killed him and Anaea had brought him back to life. Capri’s heart still stuttered at the sight of him, partly in fear because he broke so many dragon laws, but mostly in awe that their love survived. He should be dead. Her soul shouldn’t have bonded with a human. And he shouldn’t be a mage.
Yet he was, she did, and he lived on.
They both lived on and even the small things had worked out. Most of Katar’s human mages had been killed at Barna’s gala and the few who remained had been taken into custody by the Asar Nergal. Anyone involved in blowing up her house was either dead or arrested and she and Ryan were working on plans to rebuild. His ex’s exposé had been discredited with some surprising manipulation by Tobias which made Ryan look like a hero. Even Cooper had been mollified by being given credit for ending a new-to-the-city gang’s attempt to assassinate Barna.
And while Capri had yet to leave the Royal Coterie, she knew where her loyalties really lay. Her job with the Clean Team was still important—perhaps even more important—now that Ryan was a part of dragon-kind’s secret, but if a drake… say Hunter, decided to take the throne, she’d throw all her support behind him. Heck, if Nero wanted the throne she’d support that, too. There was a reckoning coming for Regis. She didn’t know when or how, but it was coming.
Ryan reached for something on the table, but didn’t pick up his mug of morning coffee. Instead, he grabbed his pocket knife and ran the blade across his palm. He hissed as blood welled from the cut, but it didn’t ooze over his hand like it should have. He wiped what little blood there was with a tissue and frowned at his uninjured flesh.
He now healed like a dragon. He hadn’t manifested a true sorcerer’s ability like Anaea had, but whatever the rebirth spell had done to him, he was more than just a human mage.
“It’s not changing,” he said without glancing up. “Are you going to stand in the doorway and stare at me all morning, Capri?”
“And here I’d thought I’d been quiet.” She stepped into the solarium and followed the narrow path to his table to stand behind him. “It’s soul magic. Once it’s activated, you can’t make it go away.”
His gaze leapt to hers, strong, filled with passion. It slid a shiver through her, fueling the desire she knew belonged only to him and no one else. She’d thought Eric had been the one, and she had loved him, just not the way she loved Ryan. They looked so much alike—which wasn’t surprising since Eric was Ryan’s great, multiple times, uncle. Perhaps those humans who believed in reincarnation were right, and Eric and Ryan shared a soul. Right family, wrong time period.
Ryan’s frown deepened and his gaze slid to the knife on the table. “I just don’t want any surprises. Anaea doesn’t know what she did, but she claims my soul is like yours now. Not a dragon, but eternal. She says the notes in the Handmaiden’s grimoire talk about how the rebirth spell can work on any being if his earth magic is strong enough, and that the rebirth process enhances that magic.”
“And you don’t believe her?” Capri hadn’t believed Anaea at first, either. But every morning Ryan sliced his palm and healed. It was true. She knew it soul-deep—and she wasn’t going to accept that it was just wishful thinking on her part. “Have you foreseen something?”
“No. Just
…
it’s a little hard to believe.”
“I thought we’d dealt with disbelief when I imparted everything I knew into your head in one fell swoop.”
He flashed his teeth, part in challenge and part in sexual invitation—he was getting so good at that. Mother, it made her hot. “I’m a slow learner.”
She snorted. “No, you’re not. You’ve already figured out how to push my buttons.”
“What buttons would those be?” he asked, his smile deepening, his fingers trailing a searing line up the inside of her arm.
She gasped, desire coursing through her. “Stop. Please. I have trouble saying no in greenhouses, and there are children around.”
“There aren’t any right here.” He tugged her into his lap, his hands sliding under her shirt, skin on skin.
“Raven will kill us if we traumatize any of her children.” Capri dipped her head close, brushing her lips against his. Two could play this game.
“I’d foresee it if she was going to. And—” He closed his eyes for a second then opened them, freezing her in place. “Nope. Nothing. No death for anyone on the immediate horizon.”
His hand slid up her back, found the clasp on her bra, and unhooked it.
“You know you’ll live forever. You can afford a little patience,” she said.
“Later. Right now, let’s pretend I’m still mortal.”
He captured her lips with his, hungry and claiming, searing his essence again and again on her soul. A purr bubbled in her throat and she let it rumble through her. Hot, needy, safe. This was the true bonding of souls. Drake. Human. It didn’t matter. They would fight for each other—they might even fight with each other—and they would face the world together. They didn’t make each other whole. They were complete souls already. But their love made them stronger.
Thanks for reading SHATTERED SPIRITS.
I hope you enjoyed it!
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Other Books by C. I. Black
THE DRAGON SPIRIT SERIES
Immortal Coil, Book 1
Shattered Spirits, Book 2
THE MEDUSA FILES
Case 1: Written in Stone
Case 2: Heart of Stone
Case 3: Escaped From Stone
ABOUT C.I. BLACK
C.I. Black has always lived in a world of imagination. When she’s not daydreaming, she puts her flights of fancy down on paper writing urban fantasy and paranormal romance books.
Shattered Spirits
Copyright © 2014 C. I. Black
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are entirely the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual locals, events, or organizations is coincidental.
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