Page 66 of Siren's Gift

Goddess, he was impossible.

“You’re a good man, Nic, but you’ve been forced to make hard decisions to survive. You may not feel it for some time, but yes, you will feel guilty for killing your own blood. You’re too damn loyal not to.”

His hand closed over mine, but the lines of his jaw moved as he clenched his teeth. "I am the monster he made me to be."

I knew exactly what he meant. I’d believed I’d become a monster to save Dominic—betraying him and Frankie in the process. But the truth was simpler: I did what had to be done to protect the people I loved. His life had come before mine. I understood what he felt, down to my core. But he was wrong.

Dominic was nothing like his grandfather.

"You are your father’s son, not his."

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose. I knew he was struggling. "Besides, he only wants you to kill him because it’s the coward’s way out," I added.

His deep chuckle sent shivers through me, and warmth pooled deep in my core. He was so stupidly sexy. Everything about this man crumbled my defenses and urged me to obey hisevery command. Which was saying a lot considering I’d swum away from home to avoid following commands.

"Maybe so, but it’s been a long time coming. I can’t let him hurt anyone else."

"That’s exactly why you’re not the monster here." I smiled and squeezed his hand. "What if there’s a better way?"

His whiskey-hued eyes met mine again and the world fell away. What I wouldn’t give to have that gaze on me forever, to claim this man as mine. I wasn’t sure he’d ever forgive me enough to give me a chance, and to be honest, I didn’t know if I deserved one. Not after the way I left him and ran. Talk about a coward.

His gaze dipped to my mouth, and I resisted the urge to lick my lips. "What other way?"

As difficult as it was to do, I let go of Dominic’s hand and stepped back. I looked at Ichiro, still frozen beneath the force of my magic. He stared back at me with something like pure hatred—it went both ways, pal—then I looked at the beast behind him.

I wasn’t entirely sure what I had planned when I mentioned another way. I just knew death was too good for Ichiro. The moment our eyes locked, grief struck like a tidal wave—sharp, sudden, and suffocating. A grief that was most definitely not mine.

A small gasp escaped my lips. The dragon was sharing his feelings with me. It was a grief and loss so profound, so deep and eternal, that tears sprang to my eyes. This dragon had lived centuries as a puppet for his human masters. Watched dozens of his brethren tortured and murdered by Ichiro in the name of greed.

Suddenly, I knew what to do.

I looked at Ichiro and spoke, but my words, infused with my siren magic, were for his dragon. "You’re no longer boundto Ichiro Sato. No one, human or otherwise, can ever bind you against your will again. You’re free."

Freed from Ichiro and my magical hold, the dragon opened its mouth and released a deafening roar, shaking the estate’s foundation. I stumbled backward a step, both from the trembling ground and the sheer power emanating from the ferocious beast. My hold on Ichiro and Jou wobbled and released.

Immediately, Dominic’s dragon darted between us and the other dragon. He stood in a defensive stance, his back arched like a cat’s. The heat radiating from his body made my eyes water.

Ichiro sank to his knees, eyes wide. “No…this cannot be. What have you done?”

As we all watched in some mixture of awe and shock—and probably no small amount of fear on Ichiro’s part—the dragon’s wispy form solidified. Four clawed paws landed on the ground with a boom, and where I could once see through the dragon to the far wall behind him, now I only saw glistening crimson and copper scales.

He shook his head like a dog shakes his coat, as if relishing a feeling once lost. He bared his razor-sharp teeth in a fierce growl, and molten lava dripped from his lips, sizzling as drops hit the floor. The scent of a struck match filled the air.

I gulped. Dragons were terrifying in their spirit form, but seeing one in the literal flesh? I didn’t know how to describe the feeling. And when he turned his gaze on me, my insides went squishy.

Because instead of eyes, flames filled the beast’s eye sockets. Even without them, I knew he’d fixed his gaze on me.

There would be no shame in finding out I might have peed my pants a little bit. It would be understandable, althoughsuper embarrassing. Unless I was incinerated right now. Then it wouldn’t matter if I had peed.

I really,reallyhoped I hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

Then those twin flames locked on Ichiro and narrowed.

The old man knew he was doomed. Without regard to the dragon protecting Dominic and me, he lurched to his feet and lunged for me, his claws out and ready to shred through my skin like paper.

Before I could even raise an arm to protect myself, the other dragon leaped forward and swallowed Ichiro whole. One crunch—one unusually satisfying crunch—and the man was gone for good.

Frankie was going to be so freaking happy. I grimaced as I remembered how I left her back at the bar. She was also going to be furious at having missed Ichiro’s demise. And for using magic against her.

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