Kim Knox - Emergence

I grinned at him even as his words warmed me, burning a flush under my skin. “Flatterer.”

“I’m sincere.” His hand cupped my jaw and his gaze held me. “I love you.”

A rush of heat ran over my skin, hot, surprising, and I bit back a disbelieving smile. “I think my gryphon just melted.”

Kaden snorted, and his hand eased to my shoulder. “Good. Though I plan to do more than simply melt you.”

He teased my collarbone, and the rough pad of his mythoi lurked under his touch. I sucked in a quick breath. Yes, I could happily lose hours with this man. Hours. “So…what are we going to do when it’s your birthday?”

His eyes narrowed. “Funny.” He turned me and marched me towards the bathroom.

“It’s a special birthday.” A curved wall of obscured glass hid a circular bath large enough for a gryphon to soak in. She grumbled at me. She’d been too close to water already that day.

Automatic systems activated the silver taps, and clear water gushed into the deep tub. I ignored it. Kaden had shucked off his jacket and loosened his tie. My heart thudded, waiting, eager for the first glimpse of his flesh. “Not every year you’re two hundred.”

“Jaime…” His fingers slid down his buttons. Slow. Too slow.

I grinned at him, waiting, and he knew it, his molten gold eyes gleaming. White material parted, revealing a hint of rippled muscle that I wanted to lick and bite. His shirt slid over his shoulders and dropped to the tiled floor. I think I growled as I stalked towards him, my gryphon already ahead of me in her search for her mate.

Mate. I’d found my mate. It was insane. The need, the love I had for Kaden Rhodes. I’d survived and had fallen into a relationship with the man only the night before…one that would last my lifetime. I couldn’t wait.

The door to the fleet car swung up. Kaden climbed out of the wide interior and offered his hand to me. Cold winds laced with the hint of salt swept around me, washing the warmth from my flesh. I shivered as I followed Kaden out to stand on the hard-packed earth on which the car had landed. Grey, cloud-scudded sky stretched all around, and the nearby island of Islay was a misted blur. Behind us spread a weathered house, as bleak as the sky. A hunting lodge built by Sinon, a place to stay while he thinned the herds of deer living on the island.

I hugged my long wool coat to my body and thought about shifting to my gryphon just to stay warm. The madness of the day told in my flesh. I was tired and I ached. Damn, it would have been nice to stay in London, in a bath…or better yet, in a wide bed with Kaden, where I could happily forget about my aches in the smooth heat of his skin. I held down a sigh. But he had his duty now, and my gryphon berated me for denying his obligation to wield his power.

Amanda saluted. Pride shone from her. “They said they’d stored the nain in the cellars of the house, Lord. And they, of course, await your arrival.”

“Since when do you salute, Amanda?” he murmured.

“Since you became First Dragon, My Lord.” Her mouth twitched. “And being your chauffeur means a pay rise?”

Kaden gave her a lazy grin. “Maybe.”

His expression sobered, and he turned away from her. I felt his tension in the bite of his fingers into my palm. Four women strode around the corner, and my gryphon flared under my skin, driving the chill from my body. Ancient gryphons, born before emergence. Ancient…but not as powerful as my mythoi, as my gryphon had shared in the strength of her mate.

“Good afternoon, ladies,” Kaden said, giving them a brief nod. “Now, kneel.”

“ Rhodes -”

“Kneel.” He growled the word, and the vast shadow of his mythoi, all wings, claws and teeth, surged. The dull sky darkened, the temperature dropping further until I breathed in ice. “I won the right to call myself the First Dragon of the British Isles. I now own all that Sinon did. And that includes you.” He paused, and I knew he enjoyed the raw shock on their faces as much as I did. “Now kneel or I devour you. Your choice.”

Three of them sank to their knees, the shadow of their mythoi hugging tight and chastened to their bodies. They bowed their heads. The fourth remained standing. She lifted her chin, and the growing wind whipped the loose tendrils of her golden hair around her flawless face. Golden eyes glared at him. “You have not taken Lord Sinon’s place.”

“He’s dead on his office floor.” A cold smile touched Kaden’s mouth. “And don’t think I won’t hesitate to take action against you, Mai. You always told me blood meant nothing.”

His mother. My gut twisted and my gryphon pushed against my skin, her anger palpable. It mixed with my own. Mai was his mother.

She snorted and pulled her wild hair from her face. “And you nulled the gryphon half-breed. Not a clever move. What could a corruption want with a mate?”

Kaden released my hand and I stepped back. I could feel the rise of his mythoi, the shadow thickening into the solid mass of an inky black dragon. Mist thickened around him, and I pulled in a tight breath. He was going to shift. My heart beat hard, and I leaned back against the cold metal of the car. I’d never seen him transform.

The quick blast of air caught my breath and then he reared up, a vast black dragon that stretched his wings into the grey sky. Mai staggered back, stumbling over the women who shrank back from the immense dragon looming over them.

“That’s…you’re… Sinon sealed you. You can’t shift.”

Kaden blasted pale smoke at her and flames flickered in his exhaled breath. He opened his maw, and Mai’s face paled, her gaze fixed on the glistening fangs only inches above her head. A tremor ran through her, her breaths coming fast and hard. His low rumble vibrated on the still air, and he eased closer, his vast, black wings sweeping gusts of air over her. She staggered back, her mythoi contracting around her.

I could feel his thoughts, but only caught the tantalising hints of the words he shared with his mother. They ran like ice through my veins, dark, deadly. Whatever he said had her eyes widening and then she fell to her knees on the compacted earth. Her head bowed and her bloodless hands twisted against her thighs.

Kaden shifted back into his human sheath and ran a hand over his tie, smoothing down his jacket. “Who am I?”

“Lord Kaden, First Dragon of the British Isles,” the four kneeling gryphons murmured in unison.

He held out his hand to me and I took it, feeling its coolness and the wild pulse of his blood. “Now, have you found the point where the nain emerged?”

Mai’s voice was quiet, contained, all resistance gone. “Every gryphon is in the air searching, Lord. We believe it’s not far south of here. Above the waters between Jura and Mull.”

“And Teuthras?”

“He and the five other First Dragons await an audience with you in the great hall.”

Kaden tensed. “They landed here without permission?”

“No, Lord. They wouldn’t dare. We have a light screen set up there.” Mai paused and glanced up. “The whole world witnessed the fight over the Thames. They must ratify your position.”

Kaden nodded. “Continue to look for the energy source.” He waved his hand and the four women seemed to move with it, sliding effortlessly into their gryphon forms. Their wings beat in perfect formation and, after a short run, they lifted into the air, banking left. Kaden let out a long breath and pinched at the bridge of his nose. “Not every day you kill your father and threaten to devour your mother.”

I squeezed his fingers. “Now you can square off against Teuthras and the others, then we get to spend the rest of the afternoon doing more interesting things.”

A smile curved his mouth and his eyes darkened to molten gold. “How interesting?”

My mythoi surged to the surface, her shadow melting into his, and her pleasure radiated through my flesh. I let out a soft sigh, and his mouth covered mine, a light tasting that curled pleasure down to my toes. I stroked a hand over his smooth jaw. He was mine, ours, and the satisfaction, the joy in that feeling would never get old.

He pulled away, and the protests of our combined mythoi rippled through my mind. “I have work to do.”

“Yes, you do.” First Dragons met in private, alone. Anything else was a sign of weakness. I took his hand and pressed my lips to his knuckles. My eyes closed at the familiar taste of him, at the hint of his mythoi rising to the surface. Reluctantly, I let his hand go. “Find me after.”

“You know I will.” Kaden backed away from me, and his beauty even in the grey, March light quickened my pulse. He turned and strode away.

I wiped a hand over my mouth and let my eyes close. Not the birthday I was expecting. Not at all. I straightened my shoulders and stared over the smooth stone of the hunting lodge, the high windows reflecting the swift-moving clouds. Kaden had gone. I pushed down the nervous fear, my gryphon soothing me with the knowledge that there had never been a dragon quite like Kaden Rhodes before. A smile broke from me. Yes, there was no denying that.

A solid wooden door broke the blank length of the outer wall, and I pushed at it. A square courtyard, rough-tiled and lined with similar wooden doors, lay beyond. I found a compact boiler room and a door opened onto a small breakfast room. Amanda hastily scrambled to her feet, her chair scraping against the worn tiles. She was followed by the five other people seated at the wooden table. Amanda bowed her head.

“Lady Jaime.” Her tone held respect and none of the earlier teasing. “How may I help you?”

I stopped my fingers curling into tight fists. I was the First Dragon’s mate. This was my life now. Still, it was bloody strange to have people bowing and scraping before me. “I’m exploring.” I smiled and the pride of my mythoi kept my spine straight. “Thank you for the offer, Amanda.”

She met my smile. “My honour, Lady.”

In the kitchen-populated by yet more bowing staff-I found a stone staircase that twisted up to the next floor. Thankfully, the wide landing it opened onto was empty. I let out a heavy breath and ignored the way my gryphon preened at the deference paid to us.

Light flooded in from the long windows set over the main staircase, and the large, square landing presented me with more door choices. The master bedroom, with its vast, dark four poster bed, was out. Sinon had slept there, I could feel it, and my gryphon reared at his scent. I was thankful to slam the door. I found another long, light bedroom, its bay window looking over the misted grounds.

Somewhere in the house, Kaden thrashed out his place in the hierarchy of dragons. My gut twisted at the thought, and I sought the comfort of the wide bed. If they didn’t recognize his ascension… Shit, I hated being caught up in dragon politics. I kicked off my boots and dropped my coat over a nearby chair. Damp air chilled me, and I crawled under the covers, hugging a pillow, burying my face in it and finding the soft scents of lavender and chamomile. I breathed them in, and my gryphon spread a soothing calm over me. She had no doubt about Kaden’s power. None. And her confidence let my tired body find rest.

I awoke to find a hot mouth against my neck, and the familiar scents of my mate slid deep into my lungs. I arched my spine, luxuriating in the large hands sliding down my ribs.

“You’re still dressed,” Kaden murmured, his fingers making quick work of the buttons on my trousers. “Not the gift a First Dragon should come back to.”

I opened my eyes and let my fingers tease through his dark hair. He was naked, and the smooth muscles of his back were too much of a temptation. I explored him, the heat of his skin a joy to touch. “Your meeting went well?”

I felt his smile against my skin, and my heart squeezed. “You had any doubt?” He pushed my trousers down, taking my underwear with them. “The worldwide broadcast of my battle with Sinon smoothed the way.” I heard the smirk in his voice. “Though I’ve been politely banned from using flame again.”

“Shame.” The word came out on a gasp as Kaden teased hot fingers along the bared crease of my thigh.

“And they have no idea what I am either.” His soft laughter stirred my damp skin. “Though I think they now have an unofficial ban on a dragon-gryphon mating.”

“And we’re the exception?”

His eyes held mine. “Always.”

My gryphon stirred and then surged at the presence of her mate. Their melting heat as they coalesced ran liquid fire through my blood. Kaden stiffened, but the molten want in his gaze, the desire, the love there, caught my breath. “We want you.”

I stroked his cheek, the love of this man and the mythoi bound into his blood making my heart light. They were mine, ours. Forever. Yes, the best-and most unexpected-birthday present I could ever have. I didn’t deny the bright grin that broke out, Kaden mirroring it. My mouth teased his, and satisfaction slid hot under my skin at his indrawn breath. “You have us.”