Dragon's Oath (Northbane Shifters Book 5) Page 6

  Sympathy flickered in his eyes. “You’ll be my guest. We’ll get you cleaned and warmed up.”

  “That can’t be it,” I said. “What else?”

  This time, a ghost of a smile crossed Bane’s face. One of contradiction. Of exasperation, amusement, and satisfaction. “What else? Now you're mine, Tiani, my very own claim.”

  Chapter Six

  Xander

  Jolting awake as though someone had punched me in the chest, I pressed a hand to my heart and looked around. For a moment, I couldn’t figure out where I was or where the added pressure cracking down on my ribcage was coming from. It was a hell of a lot sharper than the usual demands of Winfyre, too, drilling right into my sternum and pinning me down.

  It came back to me in a rush. A dizzy stack of images, from a pair of gray-green eyes and a smart mouth, to a dragon-sized problem. Right now, too, it felt like sleep had sucker-punched me instead of rejuvenating me. But at least I'd gotten a solid, what, four hours? I glanced around, noting the pale light trickling in through the frosted window, and knew I couldn’t go back to sleep.

  Instead, I sat up with a groan and dug my hands into my hair.

  Tiani.

  Stubborn, infuriating, and gorgeous woman.

  I could’ve done without any of that nonsense, especially the latter. This situation was already precarious enough without factoring in the gut-punch of my attraction to her. Or the fact that there was a simple, brutal solution to our mutual problem, my dragon-sized secret.

  Reveal I was a dragon shifter and be done with it.

  Immediately, there was a clamoring and seething of rebellion in my chest. Hadn’t I already given enough? Couldn’t I keep this to myself? This one thing that insulated Winfyre and me?

  Underneath that simmered relief, though. Relief at not having to hide, at admitting it and not having to watch my every move with such a vehement eye. Beylore and Kal had excellent points. Tell everyone, and move on. People could leave or move elsewhere if they wanted to. It wasn’t like I hadn’t proved myself a thousand-fold over the years.

  Yet a stubborn, foolish part of me wanted every last person to stay. I wanted them safe and happy, part of the Northbane family. After everything that had happened—the Rift and losing friends, losing a world and all the dreams that went with it—Winfyre had become a haven. Not just for refugees fleeing the nightmares, but for the people who had established it. Together, we’d built something that promised to outlast us, something that was and would remain a beacon of hope.

  No one knew Winfyre better than I did. Every last dell and hill, the mountains and sea, the trees and, most importantly, the people.

  If only Tiani had come into Winfyre the proper way. She’d be a part of that.

  My mind flashed back to the moment when I’d heard that soft footstep. The shockwave that went up my spine when I saw a woman standing among the shadowed trees. Her eyes had been as bright as the northern lights overhead and twice as alluring. For a second, I’d thought she was a wood sprite or a magical wise-woman.

  Then my brain had caught onto the fact that she was wearing a scarf, camo, and boots.

  From what I knew of the Spirits who did hang around, they didn't dress to hide. They could vanish and reappear at will.

  No, Tiani was real: she was Iris’s friend, and my problem.

  Swinging out of bed, I slipped out the side door and walked into the freezing dawn. Not far from the house, I leaned down and pressed a hand to the frozen earth.

  Peace flooded my veins. As always, I felt the steady thrum of the wards, along with the lilting rhythm of this strange and wonderful place. Every corner had my heart.

  My friends and family said I gave too much of myself to this place, but Winfyre helped me keep my humanity, my soul.

  Before the Rift, my family had owned property up here, and we would come every summer, usually after camp. In later years, my friends would often visit with me. Memories were soaked into this place, and now every nook had a story. Now, after the Rift, I knew this place recognized me and my family. There was a connection, an understanding that couldn’t be put into words.

  What happens if telling everyone that I’m a dragon shifter ruins that?

  What if I destroy our home?

  It was my deepest, darkest fear. That it was all too good to last, and my scaly side would somehow cause this place’s destruction. In the early years, the secret of my shifter identity had caught the attention of Excris and the Stasis Bureau. I wasn’t sure if the former knew what I was, but the latter had wanted to find out. The SB would be replaced by the Skrors, and the Skrors morphed into the Bloodfang.

  “It never ends,” I muttered.

  Rising to my feet, I let the ice-cold air ripple across my skin and pull me from the last vestiges of slumber. I wouldn't worry about that right now; I had to take care of the matter at hand. Tiani. Then I turned and surveyed Rogda’s house, where Tiani and I had spent the night. My eyes flicked up to her window, the room above mine.

  Deep down, I knew she wasn’t telling us something, and it made me unreasonably angry, afraid for both her and Winfyre. I could only hope that it didn't have anything to do with Winfyre, and that she would confess to it sooner rather than later. Because her discovering my secret was bad enough. She'd driven a wedge right through my walls and cracked open my flaws.

  I'd lost my shit last night when I’d gotten found out. A heave of guilt went through me, both for my actions and for the position Tiani had inadvertently landed herself in.

  Before, the selfishness of my secret had been limited. Now, Tiani was irrevocably bound to me. In the end, I did believe she’d made a mistake. I could even understand the steps she’d taken to protect Iris. There was real terror for all her toughness and backtalk.

  She was someone who didn’t underestimate the Bloodfang or Lind, who knew what happened to people who got in their way. Part of me wanted to laugh, and part of me wanted to shake her because it was apparent she’d experienced that first-hand. I was curious to know what Tiani had done to piss them off.

  But I was also scared to know what they’d done to her.

  Standing there, my bare feet burning on the cold ground and staring at her window, I came to a decision. I would not take the simple and efficient route. At least not yet. There was too much going on, too many things to figure out before I revealed my identity. Something else would have to suffice. A grim smile played around my mouth.

  Whether Tiani liked it or not, she and I were going to be spending a lot of time together.

  “No lasting harm,” Rogda Orlov said to Tiani.

  Rogda, Winfyre’s main healer and the Alphas’ self-appointed auntie, fussed over Tiani while I hovered in the background. Rogda and her sons had made it to Winfyre by chance in the weeks after the Rift. They'd been one of our first rescues and the first refugees to come to Winfyre.

  Stocky and strong, but with the elegant lines of a woman who’d shouldered her burdens with grace, Rogda had dark hair swirled with gray, gentle hands, and one eye. She'd lost the other during that rescue when a group of bounty hunters had tried to capture them. For years, I'd felt a certain miserable guilt over it, but Rogda had set me straight.

  “We all have our burdens, Xander, and you more than most,” she’d said once. “You don’t need mine. Besides, I can see better with one eye than most folks could see with a million.”

  “Thanks,” Tiani said and smiled at her. Rogda was universally beloved, even by troublemaking trespassers. “And hey, I like your patch, Ms. Orlov. Snazzy.”

  Rogda smiled indulgently. “Call me Rogda. It was a gift from my great-niece.”

  A new eye patch adorned Rogda’s face, stitched over with a clumsy blue R. If I had to guess, it was probably a present from Drue Grace. Rogda gave Tiani another once-over with her one eye and shook her head. “You’re lucky, girl. Most folks would’ve died of exposure. You Riftborn?”

  “Uh,” Tiani said and circled her thumb over her left wrist. It was a n
ervous habit of hers, one I’d noticed last night during her interrogation. She looked a lot more exhausted and ill by the light of day, sending another heave of guilt through me. “Not that I know of, no.”

  “Stasis?” I asked from where I was lounging against the wall, and Tiani gave a reluctant nod.

  That was surprising. Once I’d found out Tiani wasn’t a shifter, I’d assumed she was Riftborn. Stasis didn’t fit her. Perhaps an undeveloped Riftborn who needed a catalyst to develop, like her friend Iris. But then again, now that I thought about it, that didn’t make sense, either. Tiani didn’t seem to quite fit in any category.

  “Would you like us to test you, dear?” Rogda asked and glanced at me, twinkling. “Yana might have been teaching me a few things about Riftborn and shifter identification.”

  I didn’t want to rush Rogda, but I had to get Tiani settled and get to work. “I can’t wait to hear about it,” I interrupted before Tiani could answer. “But another time. If Tiani is good to go, we have to go. Apologies, Rogda.”

  Catching a glimpse of Tiani’s face, I thought I saw relief. However, when I turned to her, Tiani gave both Rogda and me a winning, nonchalant smile.

  “Yes, I have to start my sentence today,” Tiani confided to Rogda.

  “Next time, use the gate,” Rogda said and patted her cheek. I barked out a laugh, and Tiani looked a bit sheepish. “And try to go easy on our Xander here.”

  Rogda left the room with a gracious nod, and I watched Tiani stiffly get up off the bed. Covered in bumps and bruises, Rogda had told me Tiani would need to take it easy and go slowly over the next week. I stifled a sigh, adding it to my never-ending list.

  Pushing off the wall, I went to the duffel bag on the chair. It was stuffed full of new clothes for Tiani, and on top of it was a new, warmer coat. Picking it up, I held it out for her.

  “So chivalrous,” Tiani said as she accepted the coat. She was wearing an oversized shirt and flannel leggings, along with thick socks. Something about the sight was incongruous with the woman who’d sassed me last night, and I had to fight back a smile. Then she had to ruin it by saying, “So, I guess some of the nice rumors about the Northbane are true.”

  Why are you trying to bait me?

  “Maybe,” was all I responded.

  Tiani had gotten the coat on one forearm but was now struggling to get it up any higher. Every muscle in her body was bunching in agony from the hell she’d put herself through, that was clear to see. My own body tingled with sympathy. That kind of immovable soreness was beyond frustrating.

  “Here,” I grumbled.

  As I stepped forward to help, our height difference became much more noticeable. As tall and long-limbed as Tiani might be, with a straight-edge posture and her chin always jutting up, I still had a good five or six inches on her. It was probably exacerbated by the fact that I was wearing boots, and she was in socks. Either way, I could tell it discomfited her, and amusement curled around my lips.

  “I’m good,” Tiani said and attempted to shove her arm fully into the jacket, her face creasing in pain. “No, Bane, I don’t need—”

  Catching her arm, I stopped her and proceeded to slowly tug on the jacket. Methodically and gently, I lifted her arm, slipping the jacket up over her shoulder. Stepping around to her back, I pulled the jacket around and then helped her get her arm into the other sleeve. Once her arms were finally in, I tugged on the lapels of the coat and fiddled with the collar.

  Chancing a glance at her face, I saw Tiani’s eyes were fixed on my chest, and she was biting her cheek. Pretending she was ignoring me. I shook my head and went to button her coat when she woke up and all but smacked my hands away.

  I held them up and stepped back. “You’re welcome.” There was something about foiling her pigheadedness that made me want to do it on a daily basis. Unable to resist, I added, “I’m not helping you out of it, though. Fair warning.”

  Pulling her hair free of the coat with some serious effort, Tiani tossed it and narrowed her eyes at me. “Stop smirking at me, Bane.”

  Until that moment, I hadn’t realized I was. A wide, satisfied smirk, too, which I quickly wiped from my expression. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure what to say and wished I hadn’t taken any liberties with her coat. Maybe I should have had Rogda help her.

  “Xander, do you need anything for the road?” Rogda asked from the doorway, and I jumped. Glancing over at her, I saw her give me a wide-eyed look and flash a suspicious one at Tiani.

  “No, no, we’re good,” I said and smiled at her. “Thank you so much for letting us crash.”

  Rogda came over and fussed for a second, pulling me down so she could kiss my cheek and remind me to have a decent lunch and not work too hard. Then she said a courteous goodbye to Tiani before hugging me again and vanishing.

  “You inspire loyalty like no one I’ve ever seen,” Tiani said, and I glanced at her. There was no sarcastic edge to her voice, only a thoughtfulness. “That was the one rumor you always hear, how loyal the Northbane are. Not only do I see it, but I think I get it.”

  “Thank you,” I said, a little taken aback and more than a little flattered. “Have I inspired you, then, Miss Elkhadi?”

  Tiani was fighting a smile as she nodded at me and snorted. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

  “I give it two weeks,” I said, and she shook her head, sighing. “All right, come on.”

  Ten minutes later, walking through the crisp morning and breath steaming in front of our faces, Tiani suddenly spoke. “So, why the scaly subterfuge, Bane? I mean, sure, I’ve only met three of your cronies, but none of them seemed like they’d care or mind. And aren’t there a ton of shifters and Riftborn up here? Where else could you—”

  “It’s a matter of safety,” I said stiffly.

  “Yours, I presume?” Tiani asked.

  Stifling a chuckle and a sigh, I shook my head. “Tiani, I apologize. Even though you found that out—unfortunately, I might add—you’re not privy to the reasons or other important secrets of Winfyre. You’re already in enough danger.”

  “I thought you said Orion had been taken care of by Iris?” she asked. “And where are we going? It’s freezing.”

  “She did,” I said. But I’m worried about trouble brewing in the Tiselk, the packless, the Bloodlust, and the disarray of the Greyclaw. It’s not quite a powder keg, but it’s getting there. “And we’re going to a place where you can live. I’ll stop in when I can, and I’ll give you work.”

  “Another holding cell?” Tiani asked. “Great.”

  Oh, she was going to test every last fraying thread of my patience.

  “No, a nice bungalow down on the beach,” I growled.

  This morning, I’d briefly conferred with my pack to get suggestions from them and also to tell the rest of my brothers what had happened. Even though they’d been bursting with questions, I’d held them off in favor of figuring out where to put Tiani.

  As she was a claim, something that was becoming rarer and rarer, I had to keep Tiani somewhere close and inconspicuous. For now, the only people who would know about it were family. I couldn’t imagine that it would stay that way, as much as I wished it could.

  Tristan had been the one to suggest the bungalow. At first, I’d balked. The mention of it alone made me want to crawl out of my skin. I also hadn’t been back there in years, though I knew Beylore and other family members occasionally cleaned it.

  The bungalow was a shrine to what had been and a stark reminder of what had been lost. In some ways, leaving it to calcify meant those memories couldn’t be overwritten. It was preserved, safe. Tristan and Beylore said I treated it like a shrine. Maybe I did.

  However, there was no way Tiani could trek up the mountains to the cabin every day. Nor could I be around to help her hop from the cabin to Cobalt. This made more sense.

  I also suspected that this had been a plan of the pack’s for some time—getting me to move closer to Cobalt and also face my demons in one fell swoop. The former made sens
e, at least; I’d been wondering if I should simply move into Cobalt since that was where my office was and where the bulk of my time was spent. But the thought of being in town was claustrophobic.

  The bungalow was a compromise.

  Glancing to my left, watching Tiani stride along, I had misgivings all the same.

  How the hell were we supposed to cohabitate in peace?

  Chapter Seven

  Tiani

  Well, Xander Bane wasn’t stingy—I’d give him that much.

  The “bungalow” was a sprawling, four-bedroom nook that occupied a lonely dell some distance from Cobalt, with pines wrapping it protectively on one side and the ocean on the other. It was set back far enough from the ocean that you had to take a winding path through the beachgrass to get to the beach. But you could still see the ocean from almost every window. The other views were of the woods and hills, including one break that offered a breathless view of the curve of the bay and the soaring Farthing Mountains rearing up beyond it.

  Apparently, somewhere up in those mountains was where Bane usually lived. Probably perched on a rock and keeping a sharp eye out, too busy and serious for human contact. The wind probably still carried his adulations up there, though.

  Stopping in my perusal of the airy living room, I plopped down and hung my head in my hands. The cynicism and sarcasm dripping out of my mouth and coursing through my mind had been on a constant loop since yesterday. Like a sore tooth I kept biting down on. And, like my metaphor, it hurt me more than anyone else. Yet I kept it up, my only shield.

  Too well did I know the fear simmering below my barbs and bravado.

  In less than twenty-four hours, I’d seen the way Xander Bane commanded a room, handled his business, and inspired a ferocious loyalty. Not to mention absolute adoration, if not outright love.

  And that was with a grand total of four people! Imagine if he turned up that stern, patient charm on a crowd. He exuded a constrained capability even though anyone with eyes could see how powerful, strong, and absolutely goddamn brilliant he was.