stare directly into her father’s eyes. “Baine will kill him before he allows this creature to put you in danger.”
There was something in the male’s flat voice that warned them all he wasn’t exaggerating. For Tayla, Baine would destroy Odel without hesitation.
The puce shade of his face paled to an ashen hue. “I won’t,” he choked out. “I swear.”
Tayla reached out to lightly touch Char’s forearm. “Let him down.”
The male scowled. “You’re kind of a buzzkill,” he muttered, obviously disappointed he wasn’t going to get to do something nasty to her father. “Fine.”
Tayla waited until the male had dropped Odel back to his feet before stepping between the two. She’d discovered enough about dragons to know they had a quick temper and were eager to torch their enemies.
She didn’t know if Char had dragon-fire, but it seemed wise to avoid any unfortunate ‘accidents.’
“You were telling me about my mother,” she reminded her father.
The older imp staggered as he tried to keep his balance. With his jaw clenched in anger, he kept his attention locked on Tayla. He was smart enough not to say anything to provoke the half-breed dragon. Char was just waiting for an excuse to rip out his tongue.
“She was beautiful, like you. And so gentle. Like a delicate flower.” An achingly sad smile touched his lips. “All I ever wanted was to keep her close and protect her.”
Pain clenched her heart. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t remember the female who’d given birth to her. Tayla still mourned her loss.
“Instead the vampires killed her,” she murmured.
“Yes.” Their gazes locked, silently sharing their mutual sorrow. “The knowledge that I failed her is like a cancer that is eating at my soul,” Odel continued in harsh tones. “I constantly search for some way to dull the agony.”
Tayla blinked in confusion. It’d never occurred to her that her father felt guilt at her mother’s death.
“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. Arrita wasn’t the only imp killed during the leeches’ bloody spree through New England. “No one knew vampires were in the area, hunting fey.”
Odel hunched his shoulders. “It doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “Without your mother I’m a broken male.”
A mixture of sympathy and annoyance at her father’s habit of wallowing in self-pity surged through Tayla, but even as her lips parted to tell him to man up, she felt the ground shake beneath her feet.
She frowned, abruptly realizing that it was the first mini earthquake she’d felt in several minutes. What had Baine been doing? Had he been injured?
Almost as if he shared her concern, Char closed his eyes, his expression distracted. Tayla held her breath. She’d heard rumors that dragons could communicate telepathically. Several seconds passed, then without warning, the male reached out to grasp her arm.
“We have to go,” he said, his tone warning he wasn’t going to argue.
Her heart squeezed with fear. “Is he okay?”
“Yeah.” The male grimaced. “But he’s going apeshit waiting to know you’re safe. If we don’t get out of here he’s coming to get you himself.”
A ridiculous glow of warmth filled her soul. The magnificent, glorious dragon was worried about her.
“I’m ready.” She lifted her hand to create the portal, only to hesitate. “Where should we go?”
Char sent her a baffled glance. “Home, of course.”
“You mean Baine’s lair?”
Reaching out, Char brushed his fingers down her cheek. “That’s what I said…home.”
Slicing her hand through the air, Tayla led her odd collection of companions into Baine’s throne room. She told herself that the sense of peace was nothing more than relief that they’d all managed to survive.
But even as she glanced around the elegant chamber, Char’s word whispered through the back of her mind.
Home…
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Baine didn’t kill his friend. Char was, after all, a valuable companion.
But it was a close thing.
He’d actually been in a good mood when he’d returned to his private lair. Char had sent word that Tayla was safe and Baine had been able to release his smoldering frustration on the unfortunate assassins and band of trolls.
He’d made the ground shake, he’d spewed fire, and he’d created havoc among the natives.
Three of his favorite things.
By the time he’d left, the castle had been a smoking ruin and the bastards who had been hunting Tayla were dead. Or at least he assumed they were dead.
If any had escaped they now understood that Baine would destroy anyone who attempted to harm his mate.
But he’d barely had time to shift into his human form when his trusted servant entered the library of his private rooms