Dragon Blood

Chapter 17

Luna stood at the top of the Half Dome, overlooking the immense Yosemite Valley. Before her was a two-thousand-foot sheer drop to the base of the mountain. She couldn't see it. There wasn't much to see at all. Heavy clouds swirled around the area, dumping wet snow across the forest and smaller mountains. The cold wind battered against her small humanoid body.

But the cold didn't sooth her as it usually did. Instead, she felt empty. Broken. Tired. While it had been a slim chance, she had hoped that she would feel him here. She hoped she would feel... something. There were thousands of places a dragon could be hidden here. They, whoever they were, could easily hide all three dragons here. That is, if any of them were still alive.

For the first time in her very long life, Luna felt lost. She lowered herself to sit on the edge of the cliff, her feet dangling freely. She didn't know what to do. What was she supposed to do? What was left to do? At least in China she had the comfort of knowing his kin were still in the area, drawn by some invisible call and a feeling that they needed to be there. The few of Nekros's kin who had relocated to California and sworn themselves to Soleil, quietly admitting defeat. Something many of her own kin were beginning to feel.

Luna felt his presence long before she could see him. He was being polite. He could completely conceal his magical signature from any creature. Not his physical one, though. The bastard was a mountain of a male and stood out in every crowd. "Hello Soleil," she said when she felt him only a few meters away.

Soleil, or Quin as he liked to be called now, said nothing until he sat beside her. His magic, hot and primal, curled around her, invisible to the mortal eye. It was not meant to be comforting. It stung her skin and ate away at her own layer of protective magic. She didn't resist. She was in his territory, therefore answered to his laws. "It's been a while, Luna." He said in his deep, melodic voice. "The twenty-first century looks good on you."

She couldn't help but laugh. They'd last seen each other at the dragon summit just after Nekros and Phoenix had disappeared in the nineties. She had been really into grunge fashion, and apparently none of the dragons or kin could take her seriously. She looked at the male. He radiated golden power, keeping him dry and warm in the building storm. He wore dark blue jeans and a black V-neck shirt stretched so tight it might as well be painted on. Not as good as when he was naked, but good enough. She knew he would be able to sense her... she'll call it 'appreciation' for his body. She didn't bother trying to hide it.

"Mind out of the gutter, please." There was a touch of warning in his tone.

"Why?" she asked lustfully, licking her lips. "We both know you didn't leave me because we stopped being attracted to each other."

He tilted his head to look at her, his amber eyes glittering with emotion and power. She hissed in pain as his magic seared her skin, not stopping until she looked away. "What are you doing here?" his voice returned to its normal calm and his magic eased off.

For half a second she debated lying to him. It wouldn't do her any good, but it would annoy the hell out of her arrogant ex-mate. But that half-second past and she told him. "Nekros might be here." She chanced a glance at him. "It came from the Chinese military."

"They are the most trustworthy source I can think of." He snorted derisively.

"I know," she chuckled. "But I couldn't think of anything else. It was either this or stay there. I've been searching the Gobi Desert for years with nothing to show for it. Why not take the chance?"

"I suppose. Was it necessary to bring your abomination with you?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "Judgy. I like his company."