Zanaikeyros - Son of Dragons (Pantheon of Dragons #1)(47)

Zane exhaled an audible sigh of relief, and that worried Jordan even more.

What the heck had just happened, and what had Zane expected?

She swallowed her angst and searched Zane’s expression for some sort of direction: Was she supposed to remain quiet…or respond?

Zane inclined his head, and she took it to mean: Answer him.

“Thank you,” she said in a whisper, though she didn’t really mean it.

“Milord,” Zane prompted softly.

Jordan frowned. And then she got it. “Thank you, milord,” she repeated.

Lord Saphyrius clasped both ethereal hands behind his back and smiled, a warm, tender acknowledgment. And then he turned his attention to Zane. “Who will you be taking with you through the portal?” he asked, his voice, now, matter-of-fact.

“Axeviathon,” Zane answered. He didn’t appear to be afraid.

The lord nodded, demonstrating his approval, and then—just like that—his essence withdrew from the room. He swirled upward and inward, and the dragon vanished.

Jordan plopped down in her seat and fought to catch her breath. After several pregnant moments had passed, she let out a tormented groan. “Does he do that often?”

Zane regarded her…strangely, like he’d never seen her before; and in that odd, cryptic moment, his golden pupils were filled with such raw, unfettered possession, Jordan almost jumped up and ran.

“Not that often,” he said huskily. “Are you okay?”

Jordan winced as she thought about his words: Was she okay?

She was lost.

She was entrapped.

And she was reeling from shock.

No, she was definitely not okay.

She blinked back the moisture of a pressing tear. “Will I ever be okay again?”

f

The words continued to echo in Zane’s mind as he ushered Jordan out of the lair, stepped onto the porch, and stood next to Axe, preparing to open the portal.

Will I ever be okay again?

He didn’t know how to answer that question: not when she’d asked it, and certainly, not now.

Centuries of dragyri had claimed their dragyras, and in the end, the race had always gone on. The women found their place in a strange new world, and the males adapted to the presence of the women. The dragon lords continued to rule, commanding the lot of them, together, and through it all, more sons—more mercenaries—were born.

The cycle seemed as old as time, certainly as old as the Dragyr, and it was all Zane had ever known. But now, as he felt his dragyra’s alarm, he was beginning to doubt the entire paradigm.

The responsibility he felt—the overwhelming weight on his shoulders—was so enormous: Jordan’s heart, her sanity…her sense of well-being; all of it was in his carnal hands, and he had no idea how to teach her.

How to reach her.

How to love her.

How to interpret her perception of right versus wrong from her curious, human perspective.

He only knew that he cared more deeply than he had anticipated—he didn’t expect to feel this much, this soon—and the entire situation made him feel off-balance.

Levi stepped out on the porch, providing a much-needed distraction. He said something to Axe in Dragonese, to which Axe merely grunted in reply, and it reminded Zane of some unfinished business: He still had a question for the youngest member of the Sapphire Lair.

Levi—he pushed the telepathic call into the dragyri’s mind on a private bandwidth—I have a question for you. Act natural.

Levi leaned against one of the blue-and-white stone pillars and crossed his arms over his chest, looking out into the distance like he didn’t have a care in the world. Shoot, he said.

Yesterday, while I was at the temple, you escorted Jordan to the library, correct?

Correct, Levi said.

Did she use the copy machine before she left—did she photocopy any pages from a book?

Levi paused for a couple of seconds, clearly thinking it over. No, he finally muttered.

Zane sighed. Are you absolutely certain?

Yes, brother. I kept a careful eye on her the entire time, mostly out of duty and instinct—I knew she was nervous, and I was trying to make her feel more comfortable. I saw everything she did.

Zane resisted the impulse to nod. Very well. Thank you. He closed the communication and turned to Axe. “Ready, brother?”

Axe placed his hand on his amulet and shifted his attention to Jordan. “Ready when she is.”

Zane extended his hand to his female, trying to conceal his disappointment. “Are you ready, my dragyra? Do you remember what to say?” It was an unnecessary question—Jordan had a mind like a steel trap. Just the same, they needed to keep their stories straight in the presence of other curious humans.

Jordan nodded soberly. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

And with that, Zane raised his free hand, clutched his sapphire, and opened the portal.





Chapter Nineteen

Macy Wilson snuggled beneath the heated white blanket that Patty, her friendly nurse, had given her. She glanced at the IV taped to her inner arm and felt grateful that the preliminaries were over. Macy detested IVs, actually needles of any kind, but Patty had been pretty good at inserting it, and now the worst part was over.

Feeling more bored than anxious, she stared at the large white clock on the wall and frowned. It was already 7:45 AM, and Jordan wasn’t there yet.