Something caught the light of the turning fire in his eyes as he opened them and looked at me. "You came here...for me?"

I nodded.

"You risked your life to save me?"

I nodded. "I love you, Crwys Azazel Apollo, whatever your name is. I would rescue you no matter where you were."

Nothing prepared me for the hug that followed, or the sudden appearance of those same leathery wings as they folded around us. He held me close and I held him, kissing his face, his ear, his neck, any piece of him I could get to.

"I love you too," he said.

"I know."

"Dragons...love for life."

And I smiled as I kissed him. "So do Witches who love Dragons," I said against his lips.

TWENTY SIX.

I had him, but we weren't safe. And as I learned when I helped him to his feet, Crwys wasn't at full strength. He'd lost a great deal of blood in his human form and transforming had zapped what was left of his strength. We had to get out of Alfheim, which meant I needed to find Ivan and Bastien and use the knife.

With Crwys leaning heavily on my left side, I checked my back and found the knife still there, but only a single pistol. I pulled it out and checked. It was The Lady. Somewhere in the smoking rubble was my other pistol. But I didn't have time to look for it.

came his quick response. Crossing the throne room was slow but I wasn't letting him fall, and I wasn't going to let him out of my sight. Not until we were back home in that barn. I spotted Bastien's red fur by the door and he shifted in mid run to his human form and took Crwys in his arms. It seemed kind of strange to see the Lycan carry the Dragon as we went back through the door and into the tunnel."Where are you going to use the staff?" Ivan asked as we stepped into the symbol room with the basin of blood.I went to the basin and looked inside as the light came on again. I called my Gnome and smiled as she appeared, her axe in hand. "Here. But I want to get rid of something first." I nodded to my Gnome.My Earth Elemental turned and brought her axe down on the basin. The stone cracked. She struck it again and again, until it was little more than rubble and the blood that had collected was gone.I retrieved the knife and prepared to shove it into the ground."Very impressive, Sam. Now you've really screwed things up."We all turned to face Brendi as she stepped out of the pa.s.sage we came through. She had my other pistol in her hand. I noticed she wore a glove. Smart, since the iron in that weapon would melt her palm. I brought my pistol up and aimed it at her. I saw the bow at her back; the one Arden took from Circe's. She held a blood soaked arrow in her other hand. "It's done, Brendi.""It's never done. I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave just yet. I have all of the Cairns guarded. You can't leave Alfheim.""What exactly did you want the blood for?" Ivan asked. His tone was interesting. It was darker than usual."You can see for yourself. It gave you back your sight and it made Sam impervious to the Dragon's flame," she looked past me to Crwys who was motionless in Bastien's arms. "You give him back to me and I will promise you safe pa.s.sage home.""Sorry," I smiled. "Not gonna happen." I tossed the pistol to Ivan who caught it in mid air and held out the wooden knife. "Put the arrow down and fight me for him.""Fight you? Against a wooden knife?" she lowered the bow. "You wish to make a deal again?""No deal. Compet.i.tion. You fight me.""Sam-" Crwys said."Not now, babe," I said as faced Brendi. "Well? You afraid of me...b.i.t.c.h?""The deal with my father is over," she tossed down the bow and arrow and summoned a long knife of her own. "You are mine!"I sidestepped her thrust and planted my left hand on her bare shoulder. She screamed out as the iron ring touched her skin. I used that leverage to push her down on the ground. The skin where the iron touched puckered and turned black as the poison spread.She looked up at me with wide eyes as I raised the wooden knife. "Never, ever, touch a Witch's man, b.i.t.c.h!" I slammed the knife down into her chest, and as her blood sprayed my face and arms, the knife moved through and stuck the ground beneath. The vibration came as the Cairn was established. The Circle of purple lights appeared, clashing with the blue green light of the symbols.I stood and looked down at her, the knife pinning her to the ground. Taking my backpack off, I retrieved the water bottle full of metal, uncapped it and handed it to Ivan.He smiled as he poured it directly into her eyes. They bubbled and smoked as the metal ate them away. The water filled her mouth and Brendi was unable to scream.Turning, I gestured for Bastien to join us. Bastien helped Crwys as we each knelt and touched the stop of the knife. Crwys faced me as he put his hand on the rowan and I was pretty sure the knife was the only thing holding him up. "Remind me never to p.i.s.s you off.""Don't disappear on me again." I took hold of his stiff shirt and kissed him. "Now let's go home."TWENTY SEVEN.We showed up back in the barn seconds after we left. Bastien helped Crwys into the house where Cromwell offered him a home, land, anything to remove the curse. Staggering and ignoring the old man's chatter, Crwys removed the curse and then promptly fell into a coma.Arden offered us Gypsy Gardens to recuperate in. I agreed, only because I didn't want to move Crwys around. But I invited she leave and not come back until we were gone. She agreed and called her staff back in to take care of us. No one was going to move me from Crwys's side. I refused to leave his room.Dharma picked Ivan up that same day and the two of them returned to the city to keep the shop open. Prescott was pretty sure I was hiding at Gypsy Gardens, but she couldn't get the proper warrants to search for me. Cromwell did as he promised, and within a week I was no longer under suspicion because the body, and all of the evidence, had suddenly vanished.As to what happened in Alfheim after we left-no one knew. I didn't know if Brendi survived. Or if Medbh did. I didn't care. I had what I wanted and they could all go to h.e.l.l.I hadn't heard anything from Tzariene either. I a.s.sumed she was happy. I did, in some way, slay the Dragon.Levi came by several times to give Crwys blood to help the healing process for his human body. I still didn't understand how that worked, but I didn't ask. Anything that brought Crwys back from being nearly dead was okay with me.We set up house in the room Arden provided. We ate together, showered together, made love as often as we could and eventually I got him out of the house for long walks along the property. The whole place was one gigantic ward, which made me feel safer, for both of us.A month after the incident, in mid to late March, Crwys returned to work, his resignation torn up. Prescott eventually stopped glaring at me when I picked Crwys up at the station, and Levi warmed to the idea of Crwys and I in love.Edmund Blackwood threatened a lawsuit against Arden. Apparently he expected her to die from the curse, and when she didn't, he believed the law would be in his favor. The whole thing seemed kinda silly when Kyle told me over the phone. But the reality was far more serious. Blackwood was a powerful man. And I knew none of us had seen the last of him.Kyle and Jack were together and Kyle explained Jack had been out of town since the morning I came back from the cabin.It was a Sunday afternoon and spring was in full bloom in Louisiana. We drove up to Arden's cabin in Crwys's Mustang for another extended vacation together. He taught me a few things about cooking and he even showed me his true form a few times, but without all the anger and fire. He took me for a ride once.Once.Because riding the back of a Dragon ranked right up there with Sam's Scariest Moments.The third night we settled into the hot tub and clinked gla.s.ses of champagne."What is it?" I asked when his expression saddened."It's just...I never wanted to wreak that kind of destruction again, and the fact I did, still bothers me.""That wasn't your fault, Crwys. It was Brendi.""That doesn't really soften the sting." He straightened up in the tub and set his gla.s.s on the side. "I'm not going to let my guard down again. And that means I'll never trust Arden Vervain again.""You say that though we're at Arden's cabin.""Doesn't mean we can't use her cabin." He looked sad again. "Sam...I don't know what you might have heard about me. What...any of the people of Alfheim said about...me. I want you to know exactly what I was-what I did. You deserve to know what-"I went to him and put my finger over his lips, then lowered my hand to his shoulder. "Not now. Not yet. Yes I want to know, but in time. I want to know more of the man you are now, and then I can learn of the man you once were.""I'm afraid you won't love me anymore if you knew-"I put my finger against his lips again. "Shush. Doctor's orders."Dangers still lurked out there, bent on horror and destruction. I had a crazy Leviathan that seemed obsessed with me and making my life h.e.l.l. There was a Faerie kingdom in turmoil, and I was pretty sure it had one h.e.l.l of a power grab going on if Brendi didn't survive. Injustices we couldn't even see or imagine continued in the moments between seconds.But for now, it could all just wait.I smiled as he moved to me and pressed those s.e.xy lips against my own. I had his only kryptonite. The Arrow, which I'd hidden in a place no one will ever find, and myself. I knew I was important to him, just as he was to me. It weakened me to lose him, so I made a personal promise to myself. If anyone ever came between us, they would regret it for the rest of their lives.LOOK for the next book in the Eldritch Files, Elemental Soul, available May 2015!!.Glossary.p.r.o.nunciations:.Crwys - Cruise.Medbh - Mayv Sidhe - Shee.Dijin - Gin Alfheim - Alf-hime Circe - Seer-See.Tzariene - Zar-een.Language:.I am not an expert in Cajun or French, nor am I fluent. But I always had it in my head that while Vampires in New Orleans was a very well thought out trope, Werewolves in the Bayou was just as important. So this is my own blend of the two.Pischouette Mal Pris - Little girl's in a bad situation D'accord - Agreement Cherie - Darling Ma pet.i.te - My little one (feminine) Frere - Brother Soeur - Sister Chiot - Pup Loup de chiot - Wolf pup.Diable du feu - Fire devil Tres bien, mon ami - Very well, my friend Tayeau - Hound.Diable - Devil Tayeau pet.i.te - Small hound, insult; small dog.Tres belle - Very beautiful.Mon frere - My brother Homme mort - Dead man.Je regrette - I regret.Bonne nuit - Good night Jai faim - I'm hungry Mere - Mother.Je sais pa - I don't know M'selle - miss, young lady Le couer - the heart tes-vous bien? - Are you okay?Sa fait pas rien - it doesn't matter Ce qui - What.Pour quoi - Why.Definitions:.Magical Parliament - a grouping of 13 High Witches chosen from all over the world to regulate magic use and the teaching of magic so as to avoid revealing a Witch's presence to the Cowen world. There are more than 13 High Witches at any given time, but only 13 are chosen to serve in Parliament.Demon Realms - worlds that exist outside and yet beside the Material Plane. Other names used for these realms are the Mental, Astral, Abysmal, Ethereal, Peripheral, and sometimes Alfheim.Mother's Tracker - The Parliament once granted tracking rights to some Elder Witches, especially those with Elemental Gifts. The last Tracker to officially receive this right was Samantha's mother, Elizabeth Hawthorne. The right gave them the ability to see, hear, taste, and smell trails left behind by a named target. This is the magic Eliza used to track Dionysus and made it impossible for the Leviathan to escape Eliza's abilities.Elemental Witch - A G.o.d Mother's child who possess all five of the Elemental Gifts; Earth, Air, Water, Fire and Spirit. The combination of the elements make the use of Spirit possible, though small instances can be achieved with little training. Elementals use their own energy to power their magic as they trans.m.u.te the magic inherent in the Material Plane into power.Dianic Witch - A G.o.d Mother's child who does not possess any of the Elemental Gifts. Dianics are given Gifts such as second sight, telekinesis, telepathy, aural visions, clairvoyance, and psychometry.Elder Witch - A t.i.tle given to any Witch possessing three Gifts, one usually required to be Elemental, who serves on the local counsels under a High Witch.Magical Sight / Other Sight - the ability to see magic. All Witches possess this ability, but not all Cowens do. Those that can are usually slightly touched with a Dianic Gift.Circle - Cutting the Circle is the Witch's ability to cut a circle into the Earth, thus creating sacred s.p.a.ce for ritual.Drawing Down the Moon - The ability of a Witch to join with the G.o.d Mother through Her blood in their veins. The phrase is also used by Dianic Witches when referring to creating sacred s.p.a.ce.Athame - Usually a black handled knife. The Witch's ceremonial knife. Represents the Witch's will.