Smoky let out a harsh cry. “I cannot stand that he touched you! That he violated not only your body but your mind!”

“He didn’t rape me! I offered myself to him—”

“To get him out of your mind. Both attacks were violations—and in no way do I believe that he couldn’t stop himself. He’s probably been sniffing after your skirts since the beginning.”

Smoky circled me, glaring.

“You’re my wife—Trillian’s wife. Morio’s wife. I share you with them because it is what it is. But I refuse to share you with anyone else. I won’t share you with some filthy stinking demon who worms his way into your magic and your mind. You are a priestess! He should have had respect for you. How can you defend him?”

Before I thought of what I was doing, I reached out to slap him across the face. A strand of his hair caught my wrist and held it taut. Smoky pulled me to him.

“You’re my wife. No one gets away with harming you. No one. Do you understand?” His voice was thick, and he reeked of musk and anger. “You belong to me. We are paired. Mated. I should carry you off to a dreyerie. I should keep you as a queen.”

I could feel the energy of his dragon self rising around him. The thought that he might actually go through with it this time—he might carry me off along with Trillian and Morio—terrified me. Reasoning with men was bad enough, with all the testosterone, but Smoky was, beneath the gorgeous exterior, all dragon. And a thousand times more stubborn.

“Smoky. I love you. Please, believe me, I love you. But Vanzir . . . he got the short end of the stick. I’m okay. He’s not. He has already been punished by my goddess. She did something far worse to him than kill him. She stripped him of his very nature.”

Smoky trembled, nuzzling my neck. He pressed his lips to mine, savagely kissing me. And then he slowly put me down. When he spoke again, his voice was barely contained. “Go. Give me time. I can’t think straight. If you stay here, I will find him and kill him. Once you are out of the way, I’ll go to my barrow for the night. I can’t look at you right now or all I want to do is hunt down the demon dog and destroy him.”

I stumbled away from him, still afraid but clinging to the ray of hope he offered. Trillian didn’t touch me as I walked by, but he whispered, “I’ll try to talk to him. Best if you clear out for an hour or so.”

“Morio—?”

“He’ll be okay. Just go, my sweet.” And as I hurried down the stairs, angry and afraid and in tears, Trillian turned to Smoky.

The minute I got downstairs, I hurried into the kitchen. “Did Vanzir get out of here?”

Delilah nodded, her eyes wide. Shade looked like he was ready to tackle something. I glanced at my sister, then her lover, shaking my head.

“I told them . . . about Vanzir . . .”

“I thought you might have,” Shade said. “I could feel his dragon rising from down here. In fact, I’m getting ready to leave for a little while. All it would take is one wrong word from me to set him off.”

I nodded. “That’s a good idea. I’m going to take a walk. I need to get out of here, but I don’t want to drive anywhere.” I hunted in the laundry room and pulled on my walking skirt—which Iris had washed—and one of Delilah’s turtlenecks. It was too tight, especially around the bust, and I stretched it all out of proportion, but I’d buy her a new one. Throwing my cape over my shoulders, I let Shade walk me to the door.

Delilah gave me a kiss on the head. “Everything will be okay. Vanzir took off. He took the Chevy.” We’d bought a couple of spare cars for the guys to use—not as pretty as ours, but serviceable.

“Good. But Smoky could trace him in a heartbeat. Okay, I’ll be back in an hour or so. If I get too cold, I’ll hang out at the studio.” We’d turned a large shed on the property into a studio for Shamas, Roz, and Vanzir to sleep in. Occasionally, I sent my husbands down there to get them out of my hair when I wanted a night to myself.

As Shade walked me out into the snowy afternoon, the light was beginning to fade. Late afternoon might as well be dusk—the shortest day of the year was barely a week away. As we wandered into the twilight, I prayed to the Moon Mother that things would calm down. I’d never fully trusted Vanzir, but I knew he hadn’t hurt me on purpose, and I wasn’t one to hold grudges when I knew it had truly been circumstance and not premeditation at play.

Shade cocked his head to one side. “Give him time. His ego’s been hurt.”

“Ego—” I started to protest, but he held up one hand.

“You must understand the nature of dragons. He wasn’t there to protect you. You were hurt. You didn’t tell him about it immediately. Those three things came to a damning head. He might still have wanted to kill Vanzir, but he wouldn’t have been so angry at you. He feels humiliated that he could not keep his family safe. Hell, I feel responsible for you, too, and you are not even my mate. You are my beloved’s sister. And if I feel this bad, can you imagine how much worse your husband feels?”

Shade and I reached the driveway. “Smoky absolutely worships the ground you walk on. The thought of anyone hurting you drives him into a frenzy. He is dragon . . . it is the way.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I think I’m beginning to understand that. It’s easy to forget I’m not dealing with just a man—a gorgeous, strong, stubborn man. But he is a dragon. He’s not a human in a dragon suit. Not even a Fae in a dragon suit.”

“Exactly. Now, would you like me to walk with you? I will if you want, but it might not be wise should he come to find you and discover another dragon at your side . . . even though I’m only half. Hell, I’m not even going to hug you, though I think you need a hug. My smell on you? It would be suicide.” Shade laughed then, and I smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever.

“No, I’ll be fine. We have the wards up. Delilah will come find me if something happens. I could use a little time to myself . . . to think.”

“Then I’ll pop out and go look for Vanzir. I’ll try to help him sort out what to do now. Maybe we can pull everyone through this without a problem.”

“Delilah sure found a keeper, that’s for certain.” I waved as he vanished into the shadows and popped out of sight. Thank gods for levelheaded men. Or at least as levelheaded as they were going to get. And on that note, I also sent a mental kiss toward Trillian. Maybe Smoky would listen to him. Maybe Trillian could calm him down.

After Shade left, I turned toward the trail leading to Birchwater Pond. Delilah had been right. A walk would do me good. I decided that, come rain or shine, I’d manage to get out every day for a quiet stroll. The snow had stopped falling and now a patch of sky was glimmering from between the clouds. Another hour and the stars would come creeping out.

The familiar footpath was welcoming, and my boots left soft impressions in the snow. I sucked in a deep breath, letting the chill fill my lungs as I strolled toward the pond. It had been a long time since I’d taken a walk by myself. Even during the full moons, I was in the sky, running with the Moon Mother on the Hunt, along with a passel of warriors and other witches who followed the Lady of the Hunt.

No, I needed more time by myself.

Up ahead was a bend in the trail, one fork leading deeper into the woods, the other leading to Birchwater Pond, where we often held rituals for the holidays. Where I’d married Smoky and Morio.

As I came closer, I saw a tall form in the trees, clad in a white cloak. His long hair floated on the breeze.

Smoky! Smoky had come to find me! I hurried to meet him. Trillian must have gotten through to him. Thank gods. Now we could get on with taking care of this and figuring out some compromise to keep Vanzir alive and my husband happy. My heart skipped a beat, and the worry and heartache began to ease.

As I rounded the fir tree standing between us, I held out my arms, wanting only to feel his embrace, his kiss. To beg his forgiveness for not trusting him enough to tell him when everything had first happened.

“Smoky, please, please don’t be angry at me—”

But my words fell away as I stared at the man who towered over me. He gave me a slow, lecherous smile.

Taller than Smoky, his hair, almost as long as Smoky’s, was pure white instead of spun silver—now that I was close enough, I could see the difference. He looked somewhat older, though it would be hard to place his age, but I knew he was ancient . . . dangerous and ruthless.

My heart began to race as I turned to run, but his hair reached out to grab me and he dragged me to him.

“No! No! Let me go, let me go . . . please, please let me go.”

I wanted to wake up. To wake screaming to find it had all been a dream. But I was here, facing my worst nightmare.

Clenching his arm around my waist, he pulled me up to stare into his eyes, leaning his head against mine as I struggled to free myself. He pressed his mouth against mine, forcing his way between my lips. I choked as he deep-throated me. I tried to bite his tongue, but a strand of his hair caught me around the neck and squeezed until I stopped.

“What’s the matter, Camille? You aren’t being very friendly. That’s no way to greet a relative, is it? After all, aren’t you glad to see your father-in-law?”

And then, as Hyto laughed, I began to scream.

Chapter 10

Hyto held tight, the strand of hair still around my throat. “At any moment, I could break your neck. Suffocate you. Rip your head off your shoulders. So I suggest you quit screaming.”

I shut my mouth and waited for death—I knew that was why he was here. But instead, he reached up with another tendril of hair and caressed my cheek.

My stomach lurched. “The wards will have gone off. Smoky will be out here, searching for me.” I struggled to talk against the restraint, my throat hurting.

“I don’t think my son will be doing any such thing.” He motioned, and out from behind a towering evergreen stepped the man Giselle had described. He bowed briefly to Hyto. “Meet Asheré, my snow monkey. He negated your wards with a blink of the eye. So nobody’s going to know anything.”

Panic set in. Oh Great Mother, he’s going to kill me here, and I’ll never have a chance to say good-bye to my loved ones.

I was about to beg him—Just let me go and I won’t say a word—when the words died on my lips. Hyto was beyond reason. He wouldn’t listen to me. He hated me. And I didn’t beg. My sisters in danger? My friends’ lives on the line? I’d be groveling on the floor. But I would never grovel for my own life.

“Nothing to say? No protestations? No begging for your life?” He looked at me quizzically, then let out a snort. “Well, no matter. But I can’t go without leaving a calling card. Asheré—prepare the girl.” He threw me to the ground and I stumbled.

Asheré grabbed me by my arms and I opened my mouth to scream again, but with a single word from the monk, my voice fell into silence and I could no longer speak. I struggled but another word from him and I couldn’t move, standing still as night.

We stood there, watching Hyto as he moved to the side. I felt like I was in a dream—as frozen as one of the icicles on the house. Images of my sisters flashed through my mind—they would carry on, but I would miss them so much.

And Smoky, Trillian . . . Morio . . . who would find my remains? I prayed it wouldn’t be one of them—or my sisters. Let it be someone who wouldn’t hurt as bad. My cousin . . . Chase . . . anybody but my family.

Would they mourn for me? I thought of Maggie and tears began to roll down my cheeks. And Iris—at least I knew she would be happy now. Even in the midst of this war, she would have a glimmer of hope.

My thoughts leaped to my father. Would he regret cutting me off? Would he see my soul statue shatter? Would he hold the remains in his hands, wondering what had happened to his little girl? Or would he sweep them away, his heart still as hardened as it had become?

Moon Mother, I thought, please, let my end be easy. Let me go quickly. Let me wander the night with your Hunt, let me find my way to the Land of the Silver Falls and reunite with my mother.

And then Hyto caught my attention. He focused on one tree near the beginning of the trail and, with a loud roar that echoed from deep within his throat, he let forth a stream of flame from his mouth, setting one side of the fir on fire. As it lit up the night, he ripped my cape off my shoulders and tossed it on the ground near the tree.

What the hell? He could just leave my charred body here as a message to Smoky. That would do more than the cape.

Hyto caught the question in my eyes. A deep rumble echoed from his gut. His laugh was like a sledgehammer.

“A calling card, my dear. Simply a calling card. Because you are only half of the equation. I want my son to know I own you. I want to crush him with the knowledge that you belong to me now.”

No . . . no . . . As I realized what Hyto was saying, I frantically tried to move, tried to break the spell, but I couldn’t budge.

He leaned down to stare me in the eyes. “Remember? I promised you when we first met, Anything my son owns is mine, to use or abuse as I see fit. When Iampaatar comes to my dreyerie to rescue you, I will have shattered you so far, so hard, that there will be only little shards of your life left for him to pick up. And then, and only then, will I destroy him.”

I began to shut my mind down as I realized that Hyto really didn’t mean to kill me. Not yet. No, he meant to take me and break me and tear me to shreds. As the panic started to build, he gathered me in his arms and we began to turn, slowly at first, then faster and faster until the world became a blur and I lost consciousness.