I settled for raising a hand in greeting, but there was no disguising the rapid beat of my heart or the blooming warmth in my chest at his arrival.
Enjoy your little Skin, brother, Vesper said. I’m done.
He tore away from me, and I leapt back just in time to miss a swipe from his tail. And then he was airborne, wings smashing the air as he vanished into the night.
* * *
“I want to come with you,” Stefan said, clinging to my waist.
We were outside the fortress’s nursery wing, a rainbow painted arch that led to a domain where the younglings were raised, tutored, and cared for by the brood mothers. I’d caught sight of a couple of little faces, of tiny wings that fluttered in agitation at the sight of a Skin.
Helgi and the mercs had been shown to quarters in the opposite wing, and I intended to join them as soon as I settled the kids.
“Please, Anya…” Stefan pleaded.
I hugged him to me. “I’m not going far. But I have work to do, and I can’t do that if you’re with me.”
He peered up at me. “Are you going to get Illyrian back?”
“I’m going to try. But I need you to stay here and listen to June while I’m gone.”
June drew him away from me. “I’ll take care of them,” she promised.
“We all will,” Ria, one of the brood mothers, said.
She was in human form now. A big-boned female with kind eyes and a generous smile. Talia, her sister, had a similar look about her, and Gemma and Neddie had fallen under her spell easily, allowing her to carry them to the nursery and to bed.
“Your siblings are now our responsibility too,” Ria said. “They will come to no harm. I swear it.”
“The nursery is the safest place for them,” Dante added. “And the brood mothers are vicious protectors.”
Ria inclined her head. “Your Grace.”
Stefan didn’t look too sure.
I ruffled his hair. “I’ll come and check on you tomorrow night, okay?”
He nodded reluctantly. “Okay.”
He allowed June and Ria to lead him away, and the weight on my chest eased. They were safe. I could focus on my plan. On getting the book to Orion and finding a way to save my dad.
“I’m sorry about your father,” Dante said.
“Vesper told you.”
“He also told me about the drone.”
“I think they found something they want in my blood.”
He frowned. “Then we need to make sure they don’t get their hands on it. We will get your father back, Anya. I will make sure of it.” His gaze was warm and sincere on my face. “With your help we can build an army that can wield technology. We can even the playing field and strike before they have a chance to execute their plans.”
Their plan to alter humans and Skins to create a super army. Their plan to breed wyverns who’d attack Dreki and not Draco.
There was no time to lose. “I want to get started tomorrow. You said you had tech you couldn’t use?”
“Machines of war, yes. Guns and tanks and munitions, but we have no idea how to get them to work. I can take you to the warehouse where everything is stored tomorrow.”
“Good. Then I’ll need a small group of Dreki to start with. Preferably one from each battalion or troop. If I train them, then they can pass down the training to the rest of their men.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Dante smiled, and my heart did a little skip. “There is one more thing. I’d like for our head mageri to speak with you.”
“Because I can communicate with you in my head.”
“Yes, among other things.”
“The fact that your power had no effect on me?” I snorted. “I’m a mutant, Dante. This shit happens.”
“I think it’s more than that. You’re special, Anya, and even the Draco know it. They wouldn’t have expended resources coming after you otherwise.”
“If that’s what you want.”
“Thank you. Primian will be back in a few days. He’s on the battlefield with Orion right now.”
Orion… “Will I be able to meet Orion when he gets back?”
Dante chuckled. “You’ll have no other option. Orion will want to make sure you’re worth our time and resources.”
Good. “A few days, huh?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, let’s make sure we’re productive in that time.”
Chapter Eight
Dante led me through stone corridors and past moonlit windows, where ledges were visible jutting out periodically from the fortress walls. Each ledge led to a huge window.
“Landing spots,” Dante said. “For Dreki to come and go.”
I looked up at his face, lingering on his jaw and pausing to savor the curve of his bottom lip. Arousal filtered through my limbs. What the fuck was wrong with my libido? How could looking at a man make me ache for his touch? I tore my gaze away and focused on the vista.
Most looked way too narrow to house a regular-size Dreki. “Can you all change size?”
“Yes,” Dante said. “Some with more aptitude than others. Most can shift mid-flight. It comes in handy during battle when we’re forced to dodge munition fire from the Draco planes and bombs.”
I caught sight of an obsidian Dreki in the sky, hurtling toward a ledge and morphing into human form upon landing. My pulse quickened in recognition.
Vesper.
A figure ran out to join Vesper and they stood on the ledge talking.
Dante sighed and leaned against the window ledge, looking out. “His bark is nothing compared to his bite,” he said. “I’m sorry you were forced to endure his company.”
I wanted to agree with him but that would be a lie. Vesper was abrasive and short. He was rude and brash, but he was honorable. “He saved my life in the warping.”
Dante went still. “You went into the warping?”
“He didn’t tell you?” My brows flicked up in surprise. “I’d have thought that was a vital part of our journey.”
The corners of Dante’s mouth dimpled in displeasure. “No, he didn’t, and yes, it is. I don’t understand why he would choose
