May couldn’t imagine it either. Having the ice surrounding him, knowing that water was so close, yet still inaccessible, could have driven him mad.
“What’s that he’s holding?” May asked as Tansy and Tony fell back, looking exhausted.
Damek leaned closer. “It’s a plant of some kind.”
The gray of the water dragon slowly turned to blue as he drew water from the ice on the walls. The cave drew warmer as the ice disappeared. The dragon grew stronger while her sisters kept chanting over the phone.
Slowly, the dragon unfurled its wings and stretched. It looked around, the slits in its blue eyes narrowing on the men for a few moments before the dragon shimmered and shifted shape into that of a blond man of similar height and size as Damek.
“Damek,” he dipped his head. “
Et tu de haru?”
“You know him?” May whispered. “What did he say?”
“He asked if I have been well.”
“
Es jeck du sur.
Yes, I am well,
”
Damek replied as he stepped forward, took the man by the shoulders and stared deep into his eyes. “I have transferred my knowledge of this language to you. I will give you more knowledge once you recover more.” He still stared into the man’s eyes. “Do you understand?” At the other man’s nod, Damek continued, “Welcome back to the living, my brother.” Damek held out his hand, indicating the plant cradled in the other man’s arms. “Dare I hope you have saved this for me?”
“Yes, brother.” The man nodded. “It is
marsuka
. You wished me to save it. Did you not?”
Damek closed his eyes. “Yes, Adrian. I thank you.”
Adrian spun around as the chanting stopped, looked between the two women and smiled. “Which one of you beautiful ladies is my mate?”
Both Tony and Damek growled a warning as they hurried to put themselves between Adrian and their women.
“Do not think I won’t kill you if you attempt to usurp my mate, Adrian. Brother or not, I
will
kill you.”
“Brother?” May stepped beneath Damek’s arm. Lacing her fingers with his, she let the others know she wouldn’t deny his claim on her. “He’s really your brother?” She frowned. “But you said he’d been imprisoned for at least twenty-thousand years. How the hell old
are
you, anyway?”
Grinning, Damek bent and kissed the tip of her nose. “You don’t want to know, little one. Believe me. You really don’t want to know.” Damek then turned to his brother. “What makes you think your mate is here, my brother?”
“I felt her presence.” Adrian frowned. “I heard her voice among many.” He spun around. “She
must
be here.”
Moving to put himself between May and his brother, Damek bent and picked up May’s cell phone. “She
is
here, in a way.” He held up the phone. “This device can carry a voice over thousands of miles.” He pointed to the phone. “You heard her voice coming from this little box. It’s called a cell phone.”
“Impossible.” Adrian shook his head with a scowl.
“Not any more, brother. This is but one thing you will need to acquaint yourself with before you can function in today’s society.”
“My mate.” Adrian pulled away. “I cannot wait to see my mate. I survived for her. I wrote the spell to only allow me to wake when her voice and essence were near.”
“She is not lost to you, brother,” Damek said, laying a hand on Adrian’s shoulder. “We will introduce you when you are ready.” He took the
marsuka
from him and handed it to his assistant. “I thank you for keeping it safe. It looks healthy, even after all these years.”
“It also has seeds. I used my powers to keep it alive. I programmed my spell to give it some of my water and magic on a regular basis.” He reached up and rubbed his forehead. “I did not think it would take so long for my mate to find me. At least I hoped it would not.”
“You almost allowed it to drain you dry. It’s a good thing we found you when we did.”
Turning to his assistant, Damek said, “Bingham, please escort my brother to the encampment.” Turning back to Adrian, he said, “Go with Bingham, Adrian. He will see that you are submerged for a time to return your vigor, then we’ll talk again.”
“Then you will take me to my mate?”
Damek smiled. “Yes, brother. I will take you to your mate. I’m not sure which one she is, but she must be one of my sisters-in-law.”
With a nod, Adrian followed Bingham out of the cavern and into what he must consider the strange, new world beyond.
“Sisters-in-law?” May asked, raising her brows. “Jumping the gun a bit aren’t we?” She wrapped her arms around his neck with a grin.
“I hope not, little one,” Damek said, returning her smile. “I surely hope not.” He lowered himself to one knee and tears filled May’s eyes. “I love you with everything in my being, May. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” May said grinning through her tears. Kneeling, she threw her arms around his neck. “Oh, yes.”
About the Author
Tianna Xander is the author of over fifty published paranormal, time-travel and science fiction works. She loves reading everything from romance novels, murder mysteries and encyclopedias, to handbooks on solar energy. Tianna is the first to admit she spends far too much time surfing the internet and chatting with her online friends and critique groups.
Having written several novels and working on at least one more at any given time—Tianna still finds time for her family, friends and her many pets. She currently lives in Michigan with her husband, two children, four cats, one big dog and one occasionally terrorized Netherland Dwarf bunny that loves raisins. Her life is anything but boring.