Page 20 of Taloned Heart

Still, he listened. The last thing he needed was Lore leaving him somewhere in this grimy place that he’d always hated. Tenebrous would never change, it seemed.

Finally, they made it to the damn monster’s home. Borovoi had always liked the pretty parts of life. His home was still stunning and standing, and that should have been enough warning for them to leave. But Lore refused.

Instead, she brushed the door open like she owned the place and looked over her shoulder with an arched brow. “Are you coming?”

“Inside?” Abraxas flexed his hands and curled them into fists. “It could very well be a trap, Lore.”

“Or he could be waiting for us to find him so he can apologize. You never know.”

He doubted Borovoi was in there, regardless of the man’s intent, when all of this had happened. Borovoi ran at the first scent of trouble. It was how the man had stayed alive all these years.

Ah, but Lore stood there holding out her hand for him to take and he’d never been able to say no to her. Not when she looked like that.

Setting his hand in hers, he grumbled, “Fine.”

Together, they walked into the darkness of the house. His eyes adjusted faster than hers, and he could see how obvious it was that no one had been here for a very long time. Dust had settled on all the tables that were still filled to the brim with magical objects and jars full of beautiful things. The tree in the center was just as lush as before, although its door was no longer open.

He’d only been in here a few times, but he knew that this place hadn’t changed since he’d seen it long ago.

“Oh,” she whispered in disappointment. “Apparently you were right. He’s not here.”

“He could still be hiding.”

She shook her head. “No, I can’t sense him. There’s no magical creatures left in this house at all.”

Abraxas turned into her, ready to pull her into his arms for yet another disappointment that would surely hurt her, but then he heard the distinct sound of a bolt hitting the hard wooden edge of a crossbow.

“There’s still people here, though,” a hard voice interrupted them. “I’m afraid I’ll need you to get back against that wall and tell me exactly what you’re doing here.”

CHAPTER8

Power crackled in her hands at the first hint of danger. The voice was not familiar to her, and unfamiliar meant a threat. Not to mention he’d told them to put their backs against the wall, and Lore had no intention to do that.

If they had to fight their way out of Borovoi’s house, then she would gladly do so.

A slight flash of hesitation burned in her mind, though. Why were they having to fight if the magical creatures had taken over Tenebrous? Everyone could see that she was an elf. She wasn’t wearing her hood over her head, and Abraxas was anything but human.

She needed to play this right. And they couldn’t attack whoever this was like Abraxas intended to. The frame of her dragon’s mortal body was already warping with his anger. A shimmering haze changed what he looked like, and she could see red scales rising underneath his skin. They waited to be released, and he would destroy this entire house if he changed inside it.

“Easy,” she breathed, her voice measured and low. “Take a breath.”

“I will not take a breath,” the unknown man snarled. “I’ll put an arrow between your eyes before you so much as flinch. Take your time turning toward me and we’ll all be fine.”

We’ll all be fine?

She rolled the words around in her head and wondered if this was the first time he’d held someone hostage. It made her question this situation yet again.

Who was this man?

She turned, knowing that Abraxas had heard her and understood she didn’t want him to attack. Not yet, at least. If she had to, she would gladly release her dragon, but right now, she needed to understand what was going on.

Flicking her gaze up toward the grizzled face of the man holding the crossbow, she lifted her hands above her head. “We’re not here to hurt anyone.”

No ears, scales, tail, or any other quality that would make her think magical creature. His beard covered his entire face, a thin layer of grime caking his forehead. He looked... mortal.

Now that was a problem.

If this man was a mortal, then he was living in a very prominent creature’s home. That should make it easy to find him.

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