The heady aroma of fresh coffee teased at my nostrils as I sniffed my takeaway mug. So damn delicious. I raised the cup to my mouth to take a sip, but before the heavenly liquid touched my tongue, a huge hand grabbed my arm and my mug went flying.
“Fuck!” I screamed before a hand clamped over my mouth and I was dragged around the corner of the building I’d just been passing.
Oh. No, no, no. This fucker did not realize what he’d just done. It had been hours since my last coffee. Freaking hours! And now it was spilled all over the path and probably seeping into the grass by now.
Uh-ah. Someone was about to feel my wrath.
“Relax, regina mea,” Vali’s velvet-smooth voice chuckled in my ear even as his hand peeled away from my mouth. “It’s just me. You have been so hard to get a moment alone with, I thought I would just grab the opportunity when it arose. So to speak.”
“Literally, apparently,” I grumbled, turning to face him and throwing a fist into his rock-hard abdomen. “You spilled my coffee.”
His grin spread, and his eyes sparkled with mischief. “I’ll get you more—if we can drink it somewhere no one else can find us.”
I arched a brow at him. “Uh-huh? Good luck on that one. Besides, I need to go ink out a whole new batch of accelerated learning spells seeing as Austin isn’t here anymore.”
“I’m still shocked he is letting you touch his tattoo gun; he protects that thing like it’s his child.” Vali pulled a small thermos from his back pocket and handed it over to me. “Maybe after you finish? I would be more than happy to help you recharge any lost magic.”
The implication was pretty damn clear, and hell if I was turning that offer down. The guys have all been run just as ragged as I had been these past few weeks, so I’d been making up excuses not to require their assistance in the recharge department. In reality, I just didn’t want to exhaust them any more than they already were. But if Vali was offering…
“You’re on,” I agreed with a grin, unscrewing the lid of the thermos and finding it full with coffee. Sweet, beautiful coffee. “Shit, you really do love me,” I muttered, taking a long sip and groaning.
“Forever and always, regina mea,” Vali replied. “May I escort you to where you’re going, at least?”
“You may, indeed.” I tucked my hand through his arm and tugged him back onto the path, where the remains of my former coffee stained the slate tiles. “I’m meeting them in the gazebo. What are your plans today?”
“Shifters, again. Which is fine, seeing as River is not yet interested in trying to shift and there were no dragons among your new army.” There was an odd, almost sad tone to his voice, and I glanced at him from the corner of my eye.
“Were you hoping there would be?” I asked, and he shrugged.
“It doesn’t matter, really. But it would be nice not to feel like the last of our kind, you know?” He flashed me a small, self-conscious smile. “It sort of explains why my brother and the other guys were Jonathan’s exceptions to sharing the Omega info, doesn’t it? They are all one of a kind. Or so far, anyway.”
I nodded thoughtfully. “That was sort of what I’d been thinking too, but I keep thinking about that dragon that Bridget was supposedly trying to bond with. Is he still alive, do you think? Granny Winter didn’t say whether Vic and Lachlan actually killed him or not. And if not, are there others?”
“You think there might be some sort of dragon community somewhere in hiding?” Vali gave me a look that conveyed just how farfetched he thought that idea was.
“Well, why not?” I shrugged. “We didn’t know about an entire species living in another realm until Wes went there, and I’d bet there is a whole fuckload of demon subspecies living in… uh… Hell, or wherever they live. Why not dragons?”
Vali stopped walking, jerking me to a stop with him. Luckily, I had almost fully drained his thermos of coffee, so there were no casualties this time.
“You have a point,” he admitted. “But where would we even start looking?”
“Well, if it were me,” I pondered aloud, not really having thought this far into it yet, “I’d check out Romania.”
“Oh?” Vali raised both brows and dipped his head. “Why Romania?”
I rolled my eyes and whacked him on the ass to make him start walking again. “Walk and talk, big guy. I have people waiting on me. I’d check out Romania because didn’t you or Cole say that your grandmother spoke about dragons when you were little? Also, and this probably isn’t the most scientific evidence, but your name is Dragomir.” I shrugged and grinned up at him. “It’s as good a place to start as any, right? Do you have any family left in Romania?”
Vali’s lips turned down in a look of distaste, and he gave a short nod. “I do. But this is all assuming I even have any interest in finding more dragons. I’m pretty happy with the setup we have already.”
I smiled. “You mean our unconventional, seven-way interspecies relationship? Cute. But you’re right; it’s totally up to you. We will be pretty solid with just the recruits we have here, I think. Especially now that we’re doing these accelerated learning spells. Look how well it worked for me when I first picked up Austin’s magic.”
“Part of that, regina mea, is just because of how incredible you are.” We had almost reached the gazebo where thirty-odd people waited for me. “Now, take your time on these tattoos; don’t push yourself too hard. I’ll meet you on the steps of the apartment block afterward? We can go for a fly.”
“Sounds perfect,” I replied, leaning up on my toes to give him a quick kiss. Or, that’s what I had intended. Vali clearly had other plans as he captured my face between huge hands, pressing our kiss deeper and more passionate until my knees wobbled.
When he finally released me, our breathing was heavy, and I knew my eyes must have been reflecting the same naked lust that his were.
“Until later, regina mea,” he murmured, then gave me a sexy-as-fuck wink before walking away with a definite swagger to his step. Probably the way you had to walk to deal with a giant boner.
Ugh, focus! Quit thinking about Vali’s massive boner!
“Hey, hi,” I called out to my audience, giving an awkward wave and praying that the heat in my cheeks would dissipate soon. Thank coffee that I’d invested in bras with a little extra padding to save me from showing off my constantly alert headlights to every man and his dog. My oh-so-thoughtful idea to keep my hands to myself in order to save the guys from further exhaustion was just causing a serious pair of blue ovaries. Something I sincerely hoped Vali might remedy later.
Letting my hair fall over my face, I quickly trotted up the steps to the gazebo and set my backpack down on the table that was set up there. I’d picked this location simply because it was a beautiful day and I was going a bit stir crazy being inside so much.
“So,” I announced, clearing my throat and looking over everyone I’d requested for this session. “You all know what we are doing here today?”
The assembled Omega agents were all older than me—even if not a single one looked more than twenty-six—which would normally have made me feel a bit awkward. These days though, age was secondary to power levels, and as much as I hated it, I was easily the biggest badass in town right now.
When no one stuck their hand up to say they had no idea what was going on, I started unpacking Austin’s battery-powered tools and ink pots. Before the twins had left, I’d had them mix up a blood ink for me since we weren’t willing to risk what might happen if I were to ink my own blood into someone. Not until we could test it out first.
“Okay, cool. Let’s start?” I indicated to the empty chair opposite mine. “Anyone game to go first? You can probably tell, but we’re working through all the active agents first in the hopes you might be able to assist with the younger recruits once you’ve got a grip on things yourself.”
“I will,” a young man offered, sweeping sandy-blond hair off his face and taking the empty seat. “Chris Cartwright,” he introduced himself to me, holding out a hand to shake.
“Nice to meet you, Chris,” I replied, taking his hand. “I’m Kit.”
“I know,” he laughed. “Which body part do you need for this?”
I waved a hand. “Doesn’t matter; you pick. It’s only a small design, anyway.”
He nodded and rolled his sleeve up. “Forearm it is.”
Following all the instructions Austin had drilled into me, I used an alcohol wipe to sterilize the area before sorting out my ink and pulling out the little piece of paper with a knowledge rune on it. Just to remind myself. Same as the way Austin and Caleb had accelerated my learning when I was failing at mage-craft, this would allow these agents to learn their own magics a hundred times faster than without it.
“Have you always known what you could do?” Chris asked me once the needle was buzzing and everyone waiting had begun chattering amongst themselves.
“Not even close,” I snorted. “Would have been useful if I had, though. But nope, this is all pretty damn new to me. I dare say you’ve known about magic longer than me, depending how long ago you graduated here.” I looked up at him from under my lashes. He looked barely twenty-three or so, but considering my magic was healing people of their old-age symptoms, he could be eighty-five for all I knew.
He gave a mischievous smile. “Long enough. Was that your boyfriend earlier?”
“Hmm?” I frowned, feeling a bit off base at the word boyfriend. “Vali? Ah, yeah. You could say that. I guess we haven’t really explained what I am to anyone yet, huh?”
Chris smiled. “No, not really. Although there are plenty of theories running around. Part of our intake forms way back when we joined Omega, though, was a declaration that when the time came, we would follow the Director or his delegate without question. So, here we are. No questions asked.”
“Ah, I see,” I murmured, focusing my attention on getting the lines of the rune smooth. “I did wonder why there were so few defections when I called for all active agents to return.”
“Omega has been good to us. All of us. Most of us owe our lives and loyalties to Director Pierre, so we wouldn’t dream of breaking our sworn promises.” Chris winced when I must have pressed a little too hard, and I muttered an apology. “But there was nothing mentioned about fishing for information.”
“Hah,” I laughed. “Subtle. What is the most popular guess on what I am?”
“Uh, witch. Or like, some sort of kickass sorceress.” He eyed me curiously, like I was going to confirm or deny his guesses.
“Cute,” I replied with a laugh. “Witch. If only life were that easy.”
“Not telling, huh?” he murmured. “Okay so what about this guy? Vali? He’s a dragon shifter, right?” I nodded. “You two serious? Rumor was you were with one of the Alpha Team boys.”
This time I did laugh. “We are, and I am. It’s complicated.”
“Sounds complicated,” he agreed as I finished and wiped excess ink from his skin, then healed it for him. “So, no chance in asking you for coffee sometime?”
“None.” I grinned at him. “What’s your species?”
“Griffin.” He beamed proudly with this declaration.
I nodded back at the training block. “Get your ass on over to Vali’s shifter class then. I expect to see you flying laps around this campus by the end of the day.”
Chris gave me a cheeky grin and a salute. “Yes, ma’am.”
I rolled my eyes as he trotted out of the gazebo and my next victim—er, volunteer—sat down. It was a bit unfortunate that Austin wasn’t here to do these tattoos himself and make them genuinely pretty, but I was doing an okay job. The knowledge rune was simple enough, and by the time I’d made it through this lot, I’d be a pro.
Working my way through the rest of the group was actually more enjoyable than I had anticipated. It gave me time to speak with each of them and make a bit more of a personal connection with these people who had so much belief in what we were doing that they had literally placed their lives in my hands.
It was humbling, and it strengthened my resolve to deal with Bridget.
She was just too much of a threat, even without my magic. Not to mention she was crazy as shit, so who knew what insane stunt she would pull next? Assassinating all the world leaders? I wouldn’t put it past her.
This new information about Lachlan had been turning over and over in my head, though, and Chris’s mention of the supernatural rumor mill had sparked an idea.
Now, to make it work…
Sliding off Vali’s scaled back, I looked around at the grassy area he’d landed us on beside a rather serene lake.
“Well, this is romantic,” I teased him, as I politely averted my eyes so he could get dressed without me ogling his junk. Totally kidding, I took an unapologetic look and grinned my approval.
In fairness, he was one hell of a specimen without his clothes on; I was quite sure any woman in my position would do the same.
“Romance was not quite what I was aiming for tonight, regina mea,” the sexy Romanian admitted, pulling a rather casual—for him—sweater on. “I thought maybe you could do with a break from reality for a bit. Or from our reality, anyway.”
Reaching behind a bush, he dragged out a trunk that he must have stored there earlier in the day and flicked the lid open to reveal a pair of shotguns and a stack of fluorescent orange clay disks, along with some other equipment.
Curious, I kept my smart mouth shut while he set everything up and then handed me one of the guns.
“What are we doing, hot stuff?” I finally had to ask, letting my curiosity get the better of me.
“Skeet shooting,” he informed me with a small grin. “Or clay pigeon shooting, depending what part of the world you’re in. Have you done it before?” I shook my head, and his smile widened. “Excellent, so it’s a new activity for you. You can redirect some of that tightly strung brain power into this for a bit.”
Scowling, I inspected my weapon and huffed. “I’m not tightly strung.”
“You are,” he scoffed. “But it’s entirely understandable. You have gone through a lot in these past few months. You’re a completely different person from the one I rescued from the stage at Onyx Auction.” As he spoke, he loaded clay disks into the contraption he’d pulled from the trunk, then held up the string on the end. “To fire the clay pigeons, you pull this, yes?” I nodded my understanding, and he handed me both the string and a pair of earmuffs. Tucking a pair over his own ears, he shouted to be heard. “Let’s try. Pull!”
I followed his—rather simple—instructions and marveled at how far and fast the disk flew before exploding in a puff of dust when Vali’s shot connected.
“That looks fun,” I admitted, nudging my ear protection off as he grinned at me. “But I don’t think I have changed so much. I’m still me. I’m still too sarcastic, a bit selfish, and crazy-addicted to coffee.”
“You are those things, yes. You are still you, but surely you can see that you’re just… a more evolved version? My English might let me down a little on this, but stick with me.” He gave me a wry look and switched positions with me. “Have a turn first; just tell me when you’re ready.”
Following his instructions again, I was delighted when my pigeon exploded in a puff of orange over the lake. It really was satisfying; how had I never done this before?
“So, an evolved version, huh?” I muttered, trying to understand and not brush the subject off. I’d been doing that too much, and logically I knew it couldn’t be healthy to keep ignoring things. “That’s… probably not what I would describe it as.”
“No?” He cocked his head and looked at me with an unreadable expression. “What would you describe it as then?”
I shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable. “I just think that I can’t make excuses for the choices I have made by pretending this is some sort of new me created by our environment. Everything I have done has been a choice. And sure, they haven’t always been the right choices, but I can’t change the past. And I sure as shit can’t excuse the things I’ve done by blaming external factors. So, yeah. I’m still me… just a me that has made some really bad errors in judgement.”
Vali stared at me for a long time before nodding to my gun and picking up the release string once more. I took his unspoken suggestion and exploded six more clay pigeons—and missed two, damn it—before nudging my earmuffs off again.
“I think…” he started, and I hid a smile. Of course that wasn’t the end of it. “I think that is one way to look at it, and an understandable one. But you are in a very unique situation. You’re a leader now, whether you like it or not, and you are responsible for other people’s lives. When you lost Lucy, you let your grief and anguish rule your actions. But haven’t you learned from that experience? Haven’t you grown?” He paused, but there really wasn’t any need for me to respond. He knew I had. “All I am saying, regina, is that sometimes those of us in positions of great power make mistakes, and people get hurt. People die. They only thing we can do is learn from it and try to do better next time, don’t you agree?”
I shook my head, feeling sick at the memories of what I’d done as Dark-Kit. “You don’t understand, Vali. Some of the things I did… it can’t be that easy. It can’t just be as simple as admitting I did a bad thing and moving on.”
He pursed his lips at me and frowned. “Oh no? Well, tell me the absolute worst thing you did, and I bet you I have done something just as bad. Would that make me less of a person? Would you love me less for it?”
Instinctually, I shook my head. “Of course not. I knew you were a bit stained when we met; it’s one of the things I love the most about you,” I admitted. “You’re not perfect. You get me.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Exactly. So perhaps I know what I’m talking about?”
I see what he did there. Sneaky.
“I guess,” I grudgingly agreed. “I’m not telling you my worst, though.”
His lips tilted into a smile. “You never need to, regina mea. I love you just the way you are, dark side and all. But know that you have the option of speaking to me without fear of judgement any time that burden becomes too heavy to bear alone.”
Carefully keeping my gun pointed to the ground—safety first—I snaked a hand into his lush dark hair and tugged him down to kiss me. “Thank you, Vali. I appreciate it more than you know.”
“Now, shall we shoot more shit? It will do us both some good to blow off steam the old-fashioned way.” He gave me a sly smile, and I laughed.
“You mean the human way? Fucking Christ, when did magic become our new normal?” I sighed and tucked my earmuffs back on. “Pull!”
