Serpent's Kiss: A Dragonfire Novel (10 page)

“Where’s Viv Jason?” Chandra asked, her blunt question startling Thorolf.

“I don’t know. Why?”

“I assumed she’d still be with you.” She tilted her head to watch him, unreadable again. “Or that you might know where she was.”

“I thought she’d be at the apartment.” That reminded him of the missing period of his life and made him sit up straighter. Was it just the firestorm, or was something else going on? “What difference does it make to you?”

Chandra smiled, looking a lot like the face carved on the pillar.

Was she jealous of Viv? It would just figure that a woman would think another woman was a threat, even when she was in the midst of a firestorm. Thorolf heaved a sigh and gestured to the jungle around them. “I thought we were going to a sanctuary.”

“We were.”

“Did Rafferty mess up?”

Chandra shook her head, amusement in her expression.

“But this is jungle. Where are all the modern conveniences? The bars? The restaurants? The
bed
?”

She laughed, which completely surprised him. “I thought we just agreed we weren’t going to need a bed.”

“We didn’t agree on anything. Besides, a firestorm doesn’t have to be satisfied in a bed.” Thorolf rose to his feet. “I was thinking more about sleeping.”

Her eyes danced with mischief. “Do
Pyr
sleep before their firestorms are satisfied?”

He regarded her warily. “Why are you so happy all of a sudden?”

“I feel better, being here. Safer.” She blew out her breath. “Not having to worry so much about who sees what.”

Thorolf smiled and took a step closer. “Sounds promising to me.”

Chandra held up her hand. “Stay back. I need to think. The distance between us is part of what’s working for me.”

He folded his arms across his chest even as he did as she asked. “I’m probably supposed to be discouraged by that, but it sounds promising that the firestorm is messing with you, too.” She blushed crimson and looked away, catching her breath quickly. Thorolf smiled. “There are other things we need to do, more important things than
thinking
.”

“You ducked my question,” she reminded him.

“Maybe I learned that trick from you.”

Her smile was quick and playful, its unexpectedness making it feel like a gift.

“Is there any steak in this place? Cheeseburgers with fries?” He looked around. “There was pie at the diner near Delaney’s firestorm,” he said, yearning a bit as he remembered.

“Do the
Pyr
sleep before their firestorms are satisfied?” Chandra repeated.

He leveled a look at her, because she’d ducked a question again. “They sleep afterward, with satisfaction. Does that count?”

Chandra tilted her head to study him. “Do the
Pyr
ever really sleep? I thought you just slowed your metabolic rate, so you look like you’re sleeping.” She arched a brow. “Maybe breathe a protective dragonsmoke barrier at the same time.”

Her words stopped Thorolf cold. “How do you know so much about the
Pyr
?”

Was he supposed to be so suspicious of his destined mate? But how could he avoid it? Every other firestorm he’d witnessed had required the
Pyr
in question to explain his nature to his mate, but Chandra seemed to know as much about being a dragon shifter than Thorolf did.

Was that why she’d already decided to deny the firestorm? She had to have a good reason not to want to try the most potent pleasure imaginable.

Although he couldn’t think of a single one.

Instead of answering him, she whistled. Thorolf looked around with trepidation, wondering what she was doing.

Or who she was calling.

There was a hoot then a rustle, a rustle that made him look for snakes in the undergrowth. He didn’t see any, but that didn’t reassure him much. A bird sailed out of the foliage, swooping down to land on a tree near Chandra. It turned to consider him with solemn eyes and was strangely still. It even blinked slowly.

It was a silver falcon.

Where the hell were they? “I never knew there were falcons in the jungle,” Thorolf said, feeling way out of his depth.

“You study flora and fauna?” Chandra smiled at the bird. “That’s unexpected.”

He felt insulted by her tone and folded his arms across his chest. “What would you expect me to study?”

“Women. Intoxicating substances. Jujitsu.” She looked him right in the eye. “Pleasure.”

Well, she’d nailed him without even trying. Thorolf couldn’t bite back his smile. “Want a personal tutor?”

She caught her breath and Thorolf chuckled. The firestorm heated just a bit, its light becoming more radiant between them. He eyed his mate, deciding just where his lesson would start.

She rose abruptly to her feet, her cheeks burning. “Don’t get any ideas.”

“I’ve got plenty already,” Thorolf admitted. She was so uncertain of herself that he eased up a bit. “It just seems odd for there to be a falcon here.” He gestured to the bird. “I mean, it’s light grey in a place that’s all green. How will it hide from predators?”

“Falcons
are
predators.”

“But still, even predators can be prey to something bigger.”

She gave him a slow thoughtful look. “What hunts
Pyr
?”

“
Slayer
,” he responded instantly. “Humans, once upon a time.”

She nodded once. “It’s not indigenous,” she continued, indicating the bird. “It came here with me.”

So it
was
tame. She offered her hand to the falcon as Thorolf watched. The bird flew down immediately to land on her fingers, then she passed it to her shoulder. It wasn’t as big as he’d originally thought, maybe fifteen inches high with its wings folded. It settled itself on Chandra’s shoulder as if it sat there all the time, then regarded Thorolf again.

As if sizing him up. The way it surveyed him without blinking was spooky.

Maybe it was the yellow of its eyes that were spooky.

Thorolf thought about the way Chandra had changed when he kissed her, and wondered exactly what kind of trouble he’d gotten himself into this time. Maybe she was right to want to take it slow.

Not that he ever bothered with caution.

He looked around himself pointedly. “You said this is your sanctuary, right?” Chandra nodded. “So, where exactly are we?”

“I don’t know.” She mimicked his move, looking around as if seeing their surroundings for the first time. “I know how to find this place, but I’m not really sure what or where it is.” She met his gaze with a confidence he didn’t share. “All I know is that it’s safe.”

“That’s nuts. You can’t know it’s safe if you don’t know where it is…”

“But I know I’m safe whenever Snow meets me.”

“Your pet,” Thorolf guessed, knowing she meant the bird.

“She’s much more than that.” Before Thorolf could ask, Chandra continued firmly. “As for this place, I think it might be Myth.”

Thorolf was so surprised that his mouth fell open.

Chandra smiled at him, then got to her feet and strode away. She liked surprising him, he realized, and he hated looking like a dope in front of his mate. She was moving quickly again, the falcon at complete ease with her stride, and Thorolf realized that she might disappear and leave him alone.

At least, he’d be alone if the snakes didn’t find him.

Why couldn’t he stop thinking about snakes? Every vine looked to him like it could come alive, and every leaf appeared to be a viper’s head. He’d never thought much about snakes before, so maybe it was the jungle that made him fear them and their bites. Those wounds in his arm should teach him something about drinking too much.

Something moved in the undergrowth, he was sure of it, and Thorolf jumped. He shuddered as he realized that the firestorm’s light had faded. That it was silvery in this place instead of gold made it seem more insubstantial and ethereal.

As if Chandra could deny it.

As if it might fade to nothing and disappear.

Which would apparently suit his reluctant mate just fine.

Thorolf didn’t like the sound of that at all. He was going to have to change her mind and soon. “Hey!” he shouted and ran after Chandra before she disappeared completely. “Wait up!”

* * *

The mist was gathering along the ground and Chandra could feel the air becoming colder. She spared a glance at what she could see of the sky. It had been twilight here for a long time, no longer day but not quite night. The consistency relieved her, and reinforced her sense that being in her sanctuary was best. They didn’t have to worry about attracting human attention, not here where there were no humans.

As had been the case recently, one edge of the sky was darker, when she could discern it, and there were a few stars glistening there. She’d often wondered if it really was east or not. Once upon a time, it had always been midday in this sanctuary, but steadily the sky had darkened. Chandra understood that an era was coming to an end. She wondered what she’d do when the sky darkened completely to black.

What would be the fate of them all?

Still, something felt different since she’d last visited. Was it colder—or was she just more keenly aware of her surroundings?

Had the firestorm changed
her
? That was a terrifying prospect. She hadn’t changed in several thousand years and wasn’t about to start now.

And why had the firestorm’s light changed color? Instead of having the radiance of the sun, it reminded her of the moon’s luminescence. Chandra didn’t trust that change one bit.

Her lips thinned that she was even experiencing a firestorm. She’d assumed it was a joke of her brother’s, one with more serious potential for his beloved
Pyr
, but her experiment made her wonder. What
had
happened to Thorolf? Could she really leave him, knowing that her presence—or the consummation of the firestorm—might heal him?

What had seemed simple was becoming more complicated by the moment.

Chandra had to work quickly, before things got worse.

She had to find Viv.

She heard Thorolf running behind her, his footsteps getting louder, and smiled at the realization that he’d never sneak up on anybody. He could have been in his larger dragon form for all the noise he made. She could teach him so many things: maybe her brother had planned for that to be part of Thorolf’s allure.

Whatever her brother’s plan had been, the firestorm was making Thorolf—and what he could teach Chandra—nearly irresistible.

“Myth is a place?” Thorolf demanded.

Snow hooted, as if the bird was laughing at him.

Chandra wondered how much information Thorolf really wanted. “That’s what the ghosts say,” she admitted.

“Ghosts?”

She turned to find him frozen in his steps, his expression alarmed. “What’s wrong with ghosts?” she asked, struck by his concern. That a dragon should be afraid of anything wasn’t an idea she’d considered.

“Besides the fact that they’re dead and they haunt people?” Thorolf shuddered. “I do better with living people.”

“I noticed that in the market. And the apartment.” Chandra failed to keep the humor from her tone.

Thorolf gave her a look, then braced his hands on his hips. Mmm. He was seriously good to look at. Chandra wasn’t disappointed that there were no T-shirts to be had in the sanctuary.

He glared at her. “Okay, something or someone is messing with me. Rafferty said I’m turning
Slayer
, but here’s the thing. Most of the
Slayers
I know are dead, and some of them are dead because I killed them. Never mind the shadow dragons, who are also evil and also dead, and have the distinction of having been controlled by the
Slayer
Chen, who might be responsible for this missing chunk of my life. So, meeting up with ghosts, with or without strong links to Chen, isn’t exactly a high priority item for me right now.”

“You sound like a kid who’s scared of the dark.”

“I’m no kid.”

“Compared to what?”

“I’m old enough to have kicked some butt over the centuries.” He eyed her. “How old are you exactly?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because you did that shifting thing when we met, as if you were a hundred different women. Were those past lives, or are you a shape shifter, too?”

Chandra felt a jolt of fear at the reminder of how much she’d revealed to him. “It’s complicated.” She turned away and marched to the structure that housed her library.

“So, you know a lot about me and I know nothing about you,” Thorolf complained. “That doesn’t sound right.”

“Maybe it’s a test of the firestorm.”

“Maybe you like to be the one who has the answers,” he retorted, sounding disgruntled. “Maybe you just like being in charge.”

His comment stung, mostly because it was true, so Chandra pivoted to face him and ended up admitting more than she’d intended. “The portals tend to be where there are a lot of ghosts gathered. I’m not sure why that is.” At his stern look, she shrugged. “I’m not holding out on you. I don’t know. Maybe they’re the ones who remember the stories.”