To save the Valkyrie who broke his heart, the Fae Sea God makes a deal with the Demon Prince of the Aerial Kingdoms, but Pazuzu has a history of stealing the women Manannan loves.
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When Mist visits her parents' home in California, she assumes th...
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"Lord Pazuzu!"
A voice penetrated my languid satiation as I lay on the soft ground cover with Mist draped over my body. I frowned, my thoughts losing their fuzzy edge, and I opened myself to the surrounding air currents.
"Lord Pazuzu!"
The call came again—the air carrying its message more clearly—and I sat up, shifting Mist to the side. She murmured a soft contented sound, and I rubbed a hand down her back.
Tension built in my gut, expanding to my muscles as a sensation of alarm, of urgency, vibrated within the flow of information. Sorting through the strands with quick efficiency, I narrowed the source and looked to the east. Some disturbance in the direction of Dragon's Breath, Lamashtu's sky realm.
"Mist, wake. There is some kind of—"
I'd barely shaken her shoulder when the voice blasted into my mind and I shot to my feet, at last recognizing him.
"Lord Pazuzu... answer, damn you! By the first shell, you're the damned Prince of the Aerial Kingdoms, Dark Angel of the Four Winds. I know you can hear me!"
"What's wrong, Manannan?" His tone was a mix of frustration and anger, but it was the fear-tinged concern that had my chest tightening. What did a powerful sea god like Manannan have to be afraid of here? One-on-one, he could hold his own against most of Muspelheim and my guards wouldn't attack him en mass. The answer came to me in an electrifying jolt—a dragon. Only one of the dragon species was a threat to him. Lamashtu?
Mist blinked, then straightened with awareness. She rose beside me. Poised on the balls of her feet, she searched our surroundings—the sleepy kitten gone and the Valkyrie in charge.
"Some kind of gorilla demon snatched Anna just outside the palace wards. I don't know why she was out on that rocky outcrop, but I can't fly as fast as them. There isn't enough moisture in your air and I don't manipulate air itself the way you do," he said. "They are heading—"
"East... toward Lamashtu's realm," I growled, my fists clenching. That bitch. That Abyss-cursed sadistic bitch. She'd fucking taken Anna. Blood surged in a fiery rage within my veins. Not again... by Tiamat, I wouldn't lose another to Lamashtu's jealousy.
"What's happened?" Mist asked, eyes roving the area for danger and I couldn't help but notice she also watched the sky. She'd dealt with beings that flew before.
"Anna has been taken by Lamashtu's flying gorilla demons. Manannan can't keep up with them, but he tried to follow them," I told her, my thoughts racing. If I attacked Lamashtu, she'd kill Anna before I could reach her. And damn my father to the depths of the Abyss, but I was forbidden from killing Lamashtu.
I ground my teeth, exhaling a stream of smoke. King or not, I wouldn't let his dictates mean I lost another mate. If I had to go to war with him and the other dragons over it, so be it. There had to be some way of getting Lamashtu away from Anna.
"Manannan and I can rescue her if you can distract Lamashtu," Mist offered.
My heart thumped a double beat. That could work. That could...
But then my shoulders slumped and I shook my head as the flaw in the plan hit me. "Lamashtu's realm, Dragon's Breath, is another sky island. You won't be able to get there or sneak into her mountain fortress on your own. You'd just be handing yourselves over to her minions."
Mist smiled slightly, her hand rising to cup my cheek. "I can fly, my lord. Faster than Manannan, actually, since his power is water, while mine is a mix of water and air. I can't manipulate liquid water to any great degree, but there is a reason my name is Mist." She stepped up into the air as if a staircase was below her and wrapped a cloak of fog around her.
If air hadn't been mine to command, I wouldn't have perceived the thickened mist below her feet, or been able to detect her behind the screening. She really had been holding back in our sparring sessions. Despite the circumstances and frustrated fury demanding action, demanding destruction, a spark of admiration warmed my chest and I found myself smiling.
"You really have been keeping secrets, my clever, powerful Valkyrie." I reached through her fog to clasp her waist and draw her to me for a quick press of lips. "Is Manannan able to disguise himself as well?"
Mist smirked, humour glinting in her eyes for a moment before seriousness bled through as she nodded. "Yes, although he requires thicker cloud. I can hide Manannan, Anna, and I."
Releasing her waist, I took her hand and tugged her through the twists and turns of the garden to the terrace off my suite and inside. "Come. I won't have you fighting naked and weaponless." With a flick of power, I gestured to the small weapon room adjacent to my bedroom and unlocked the door for her. "Take what you wish for weapons and armour." While she chose, I pulled out a new set of trousers, tunic, and boots to replace what I'd torn from her body earlier.
She emerged a minute later with a pair of swords and a couple of daggers, as well as vambraces and a flexible chestplate made from my own black dragonscale. My heart gave an extra thump. Did she know?
"Here. Put these on," I told her, clearing my throat from the lump that had risen.
With quick movements, she dressed and strapped the weapons and armour in place. "I'm ready. Let's go get Anna back."
I strode out to the terrace and shifted into my dragon. "Up you go. I'll take you and Manannan as far as I can, then the two of you can split off as I draw Lamashtu out."
She ran lightly up my forearm, her weight barely noticeable as she settled between the spines on my shoulder. I held her there with ropes of air as I launched upward.
"We're on our way, Manannan. You and Mist will get Anna out while I distract Lamashtu," I sent ahead as my wings shot us toward him.
"We won't let her die like Inanna," he growled.
"No, we won't." Even if I had to kill that evil bitch and forever earn the enmity of my father. No fucking way was Anna dying today.
A/N: Although I've resolved my laptop issues, I'm dealing with a flooded basement and my son's health issues on top of the start of semester to get my courses ready for students. For the next weeks, I'm going to only update once a week on Fridays until I can get things under control again. I'll let you know when I'm ready to resume twice-weekly updates.
In addition, do check out our 30 Days To Save The World short story anthology on @writersconnx There are 39 fantastic stories across all genres and mine, The Newtonian Twins, is available now. For more action/conspiracy thriller/sci-fi blended with romance, the first chapter of Gallows Tree Conspiracy is available on my REAM page for everyone to read, regardless of if you are a subscriber or not. Of course, if you are looking for something spicy in the meantime, episodes of Breaking The 4th Wall are available on Amazon.
