be able to discern it.
Possibilities floated through his mind as he dozed. He wondered whether the crystalline ping of the completed barrier would be heard by Slayers , whether it might draw one or more to seek him out. Would his dragonsmoke lure Jorge? Would Jorge’s presence draw Jac to him? Marco didn’t know and he had no desire to hide. The darkfire in the crystal crackled and burned, telling him to trust that Jac would come.
Marco was content to let her choose the time.
When the eclipse was done and the firestorm had sparked, a prophecy unfurled in his mind, as leisurely as a dream. Marco opened his eyes. The words clung to his thoughts with a persistence he knew better than to ignore. He shifted back to his human form, then took a Sharpie marker and began to write the words on the living room wall.
Maybe this was why Jac would come.
* * *
Liz Barrett, marine biologist, wife of a Pyr and a Firedaughter, looked up from her sample as an involuntary shiver rolled over her body. She wasn’t cold, but she’d had the sense of someone walking over her grave. The boat bobbed slightly where it was anchored near the Great Barrier Reef. She looked east, certain the ripple had come from that direction, but there was nothing but water discernible as far as the horizon.
“What is it?” Brandon asked, obviously having noticed her reaction. He was playing with the boys and resting in preparation for his next surfing competition in December, as well as helping a little now and then with Liz’s research. She was part of a team determined to observe the influence of the eclipse upon the fall spawning of the coral in the reef.
Being a working mom with two young sons and a professional surfer husband who traveled to competitions for a good part of the year made their lives hectic enough, without Brandon’s obligations to his kind. She knew that Brandon would likely be summoned by the Pyr during this key year, and hoped they could juggle it all. She doubted she’d be involved in this project all the way through to the fourth eclipse in this sequence, but she’d ditch any project if she could help to ensure the survival of the Pyr .
There would be more eclipses.
“Something. Like a spark, but not.” Liz bit her lip, trying to feel it again. “It was there, then gone. It burned really hot, then cold, then died.” She shivered once more. “I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
“The eclipse is in progress,” Brandon said, scanning the cloudy sky. Although the eclipse might have been visible from this point, the skies were overcast. Liz knew that Brandon could feel its progress because of his Pyr nature. “Do you think you felt the firestorm it sparked?”
Liz shook her head. “I never do. Did you?”
He nodded. “It’s Drake’s. In Virginia.”
“It can’t have been that. This was closer.”
“Darkfire?”
Liz narrowed her eyes as she considered the horizon. “No. Something new. A kind of quickening.” She looked at Brandon. “Does that make any sense to you?”
“No, but it might make sense to someone else. Let me ask the other Pyr .” He smiled and indicated the ocean sample she’d just gathered. “Carry on with your tests and I’ll see what I can find out.”
Chapter Three
The first time was fast and hot, just the way Ronnie needed it. Drake’s urgency was a perfect echo of her own, and the sparks overwhelmed her with desire. She’d never been so impulsive about sex, but it felt absolutely right.
Ronnie was going with it.
Drake lifted her in his arms, balancing her on the counter in his embrace. She knew he would have caressed her, but she wanted him inside her when she climaxed. She turned to straddle him, felt his surprise, then wrapped her legs around her waist. He shuddered when his hardness touched her soft heat, then there was no holding back.
He felt so good, so strong and so resolute. That light brightened even more, becoming almost blindingly white in its brilliance.
Possibilities floated through his mind as he dozed. He wondered whether the crystalline ping of the completed barrier would be heard by Slayers , whether it might draw one or more to seek him out. Would his dragonsmoke lure Jorge? Would Jorge’s presence draw Jac to him? Marco didn’t know and he had no desire to hide. The darkfire in the crystal crackled and burned, telling him to trust that Jac would come.
Marco was content to let her choose the time.
When the eclipse was done and the firestorm had sparked, a prophecy unfurled in his mind, as leisurely as a dream. Marco opened his eyes. The words clung to his thoughts with a persistence he knew better than to ignore. He shifted back to his human form, then took a Sharpie marker and began to write the words on the living room wall.
Maybe this was why Jac would come.
* * *
Liz Barrett, marine biologist, wife of a Pyr and a Firedaughter, looked up from her sample as an involuntary shiver rolled over her body. She wasn’t cold, but she’d had the sense of someone walking over her grave. The boat bobbed slightly where it was anchored near the Great Barrier Reef. She looked east, certain the ripple had come from that direction, but there was nothing but water discernible as far as the horizon.
“What is it?” Brandon asked, obviously having noticed her reaction. He was playing with the boys and resting in preparation for his next surfing competition in December, as well as helping a little now and then with Liz’s research. She was part of a team determined to observe the influence of the eclipse upon the fall spawning of the coral in the reef.
Being a working mom with two young sons and a professional surfer husband who traveled to competitions for a good part of the year made their lives hectic enough, without Brandon’s obligations to his kind. She knew that Brandon would likely be summoned by the Pyr during this key year, and hoped they could juggle it all. She doubted she’d be involved in this project all the way through to the fourth eclipse in this sequence, but she’d ditch any project if she could help to ensure the survival of the Pyr .
There would be more eclipses.
“Something. Like a spark, but not.” Liz bit her lip, trying to feel it again. “It was there, then gone. It burned really hot, then cold, then died.” She shivered once more. “I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
“The eclipse is in progress,” Brandon said, scanning the cloudy sky. Although the eclipse might have been visible from this point, the skies were overcast. Liz knew that Brandon could feel its progress because of his Pyr nature. “Do you think you felt the firestorm it sparked?”
Liz shook her head. “I never do. Did you?”
He nodded. “It’s Drake’s. In Virginia.”
“It can’t have been that. This was closer.”
“Darkfire?”
Liz narrowed her eyes as she considered the horizon. “No. Something new. A kind of quickening.” She looked at Brandon. “Does that make any sense to you?”
“No, but it might make sense to someone else. Let me ask the other Pyr .” He smiled and indicated the ocean sample she’d just gathered. “Carry on with your tests and I’ll see what I can find out.”
Chapter Three
The first time was fast and hot, just the way Ronnie needed it. Drake’s urgency was a perfect echo of her own, and the sparks overwhelmed her with desire. She’d never been so impulsive about sex, but it felt absolutely right.
Ronnie was going with it.
Drake lifted her in his arms, balancing her on the counter in his embrace. She knew he would have caressed her, but she wanted him inside her when she climaxed. She turned to straddle him, felt his surprise, then wrapped her legs around her waist. He shuddered when his hardness touched her soft heat, then there was no holding back.
He felt so good, so strong and so resolute. That light brightened even more, becoming almost blindingly white in its brilliance.
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