of family.'
Darius stilled and glanced over at her. 'How did you know they were… gone?'
'I saw them. In your mind. When you cast the binding spell.'
His shoulders straightened, and surprise flashed through his eyes. 'They were my life,' he said.
'I know,' she said softly, aching for him.
'Perhaps one day I will tell you of them.' The offer emerged hesitant, but there all the same.
'I would love that.'
He nodded, a little stiff. 'Right now, we must search for any information this Jason has about Atlantis and your brother.'
'I'll check the library for the Book of Ra-Dracus .' She looked around. 'I'm willing to bet he's the one who stole it from my brother.'
'I will search the rest of the home.'
With a last, lingering glance, they branched off. The floors were polished mahogany panels, and the decor something out of a medieval home and garden magazine. Upstairs, Grace quickly found the study. Piles of books littered every corner, and some appeared old and well used. She flipped through each one, finding references to dragons and liquid nitrogen, magic spells and vampires, but none were the Book of Ra-Dracus . A large walnut desk consumed the center and a world globe made completely of… what was that? Some sort of jewel, perhaps? Purple, like an amethyst, but jagged like crystal. She studied it more closely. In the center, a waterfall churned around a single body of land. Around Atlantis. And a pulsing sapphire.
Though she wanted to study it more closely, she forced herself on the matter at hand. She moved toward the desk and shuffled through the papers on top. Finding nothing of importance, she withdrew a letter opener and, after struggling for several minutes, pried open the drawer locks. Inside the bottom drawer, she discovered photos that shocked and repelled her. She covered her mouth to muffle her horrified gasp. The graphic images depicted dragon and human warriors covered in a white foam, blood flowing from multiple bullet wounds. Some showed Alex and Teira. The two were lying in a jewel-encrusted cell, dirty but alive. Several held grotesque imprints of tall, pale creatures with eerie blue eyes feasting off the dragon bodies. The humans standing off to the side watched, their expressions a mix of fear, disgust, and titillation.
Why take photos of his crimes? As a momento? To prove the existence of Atlantis? Or did he hope to write a book, How I Like to Kill ? She scowled.
She replayed the vision of her brother that Darius's medallion had supplied. This room wasn't the one Alex first occupied. This was a different room, one she knew resided in Atlantis. Those jeweled walls were very similar to what she'd seen inside Darius's home. When her husband returned to his home, she thought, more determined now than before, she was going with him.
Perhaps Darius sensed her growing disquiet, because the next thing she knew, he stood over her.
'What do you-' He paused, then very slowly, very precisely, reached over her shoulder and slipped the photos from her hands. She tried to pry them from him because she didn't want him to see the travesties done to his friends. He held tightly. 'This is Javar and his men. And these are vampires.'
Vampires. She shuddered. Having proof of their actual existence settled like lead in her stomach.
'I'm so sorry,' she said, turning to face him. His eyes narrowed, but even from those tiny slits she could see their color glowed ice-blue. Fragments of grief radiated from him and into her.
'What else is in there?' He set the photos aside with one fluid motion, a deceptively calm motion.
Allowing him to change the subject, she said, 'That's it. Did you find anything?'
'More artifacts from Atlantis.' Radiating cold determination, he clasped her hand. 'Jason Graves deserves so much more than death. He deserves to suffer.'
Another shudder worked through her, because she knew he would do everything in his power to see that Jason got exactly what he deserved.
And she planned to help him.
Grace wanted to bang her head against the wall.
She and Darius arrived home several hours ago, yet he still remained rigid with tension. He refused to speak. She hated this, hated the remorse radiating from him.
He sat on the couch, his head back, his eyes closed. Not knowing what else to do, she quietly approached. 'I want to show you something.'
His eyelids reluctantly opened. When he offered no reply and made no move to rise, she added, 'Pretty please with a cherry on top.'
Not a single word left his lips, but he stood. Grace wrapped her fingers around his and ushered him into the bathroom. She didn't explain her actions; she simply removed his clothing, then her own. He was in need of loving- and she was going to give it to him. All the loving he could stand.
After turning the knobs and allowing the water to heat, she stepped inside the tub and tugged Darius in behind her. Still he remained silent. Hot water cascaded down their naked bodies, and as she stood in front of him, she lathered his chest with soap.
'I've got a joke for you,' she said, mentally converting jokes she knew into dragon jokes.
He frowned-his first reaction. It didn't matter that he'd only given her a frown. She'd take anything she could get.
'What did the dragon say when he saw a knight in shining armor?'
His brow wrinkled, and he sighed.
'Oh, no, not another canned meal.'
Slowly, so slowly, his lips inched up in a smile.
I did that , she thought with a surge of pride. I made him smile . She basked in the warmth of it and all the while his smile continued to grow. So sweet, so endearing, it lit his entire face. His eyes darkened, becoming that golden-brown she loved. He traced his fingertip over her cheekbone.
'Tell me another one,' he said.
She nearly sank to her knees in relief at the sound of his rich, husky voice. Grinning happily, she slipped behind him and traced her soapy hands over his back. 'It's long,' she warned.
'Even better,' he said, tugging her in front. He nibbled on her ear, dragging the sensitive lobe through his teeth.
'There was a dragon who had a long-standing obsession with a queen's breasts,' she said, growing breathless. 'The dragon knew the penalty to touch her would mean death, yet he revealed his secret desire to the king's chief doctor. This man promised he could arrange for the dragon to satisfy his desire, but it would cost him one thousand gold coins.' She spread her soapy hands over his nipples, then down his arms. 'Though he didn't have the money, the dragon readily agreed to the scheme.'
'Grace,' Darius moaned, his erection straining against her stomach.
She hid her smile, loving that she had this much power over such a strong man. That she, Grace Carlyle, made him ache with longing. 'The next day the physician made a batch of itching powder and poured some into the queen's bra… uh, you might call it a brassiere… while she bathed. After she dressed, she began itching and itching and itching. The physician was summoned to the Royal Chambers, and he informed the king and queen that only a special saliva, if applied for several hours, would cure this type of itch. And only a dragon possessed this special saliva.' Out of breath, she paused.
'Continue,' Darius said. His arms wound around her so tightly she could barely breathe. His skin blazed hot against hers, hotter than even the steamy water.
'Are you sure?'
'Continue.' Taut lines bracketed his mouth.
'Well, the king summoned the dragon. Meanwhile, the physician slipped him the antidote for the itching powder, which the dragon put into his mouth, and for the next few hours, the dragon worked passionately on the queen's breasts.
'Anyway,' she said, reaching around him and lathering the muscled mounds of his butt, 'the queen's itching was eventually relieved, and the dragon left satisfied and touted as a hero.'
'This does not sound like a joke,' Darius said.
'I'm getting to the punch line. Hang on. When the physician demanded his payment, the now satisfied dragon refused. He knew that the physician could never report what really happened to the king. So the next day, the
