Burned (Drake Security #5)

Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

ALRICK

W ith a gasp, my eyes shoot open, but a sharp pain prevents any attempt at getting up. I groan, reaching for my chest and the source of the discomfort. I’m heavily bandaged, but as I feel around, the warm stickiness of blood soaking the gauze coats my fingers.

It wasn’t a dream.

That big-ass lizard threw me across the forest with one swipe of his massive claw. The fact that I’m not dead is shocking, actually, but where the fuck am I? What happened to my brothers?

I try again to sit up, but the pain is too intense, so I sink back into the soft mattress. Peeling my eyes open again, I take in the dim view of what appears to be a lavish bedroom. It’s decorated with heavy furnishings and rich fabrics, but instead of feeling antiquated or outdated, it feels weirdly modern. Like Louis XV entered the new millennium.

A creaking door gets my attention, my senses on high alert for danger. If I’m about to be attacked again, I’m fucked. I have zero energy to fight off an enemy. A man approaches me, carrying a tray. My heart beats a little faster and the strangest feeling washes over me.

I know him.

I squint, trying to wade through foggy memories, searching for a name or how we might have met. I come up blank though, and he pauses, gazing down at me with a complex expression on his seriously attractive face. Like, damn . It’s definitely not the kind of face I should have forgotten.

He’s tall and sturdy, but not insanely muscular, wearing an untucked white dress shirt and black trousers. In the low light I can’t guess his age, but he carries himself like someone a little older—maybe in his midforties. His thick brown hair is styled neatly, and he has just enough of a beard to spark a brief fantasy of rubbing my face on him like an affectionate cat looking for scritches. Even in my gravely wounded state, I’m aware of how insanely gorgeous the man is, and even stranger, the closer he gets, the stronger the pulling sensation in my chest becomes.

“You’re awake.” His voice is deep, steady, sexy, and it vibrates through me, releasing a bit of the pain.

“Where am I?” I grit out through the ache talking causes, holding my hand over my bandaged chest.

“My home.” He sets the tray down on the nightstand. The scent of hibiscus greets me as steam rises from a cup. “I brought you some tea and a little food. You need to try to eat.”

“Who are you?” I rasp through a dry throat.

“I found you wounded in the forest. You were nearly dead, but you’re going to survive now. It will take a while though.”

“You… found me?”

Last I remembered, we were deep in the woods near the coastline, not in a place where people would just be passing by. You typically won’t find dragons just chilling in the woods these days, so what was this guy doing out there if he’s not a hunter?

He doesn’t elaborate, choosing instead to sit in a nearby armchair. “Your injuries are extensive, but I have access to remedies that can help.” He crosses one elegant leg over the other. “Forgive me, but I took the liberty of removing your clothes due to their condition.”

That’s the least of my problems.

“I have to go. My family will be looking for me.” I try to sit up again, wincing at the weariness in my body and the fresh stab of pain that lances through me.

A divot appears in his forehead as he knits his brows together. “I’m afraid you’re not able to go anywhere. I doubt you can walk unassisted at this point, and your chest wound needs time. I assure you that you’re safe here. Very safe.”

I want to argue, but since I can barely nod without searing pain, he’s probably right. I won’t be able to get back to my brothers in this condition. Icy dread fills my gut at the realization that follows. I was injured in battle and I’m sure my dad will find a way to blame me for it. It might be best to avoid punishment until my body is healed too.

He narrows his eyes at me, studying me silently. I shift under his gaze, shaking thoughts of my family out of my mind just in case he can somehow see them written all over my face.

“What happened to you?” he asks.

I manage to shake my head, but even that hurts. I can’t possibly explain that I was dragon hunting with my brothers when we were ambushed. Most humans don’t know they still exist… or that they were ever more than fairy tales to begin with.

I groan in agony and the man shifts toward me quickly, his expression filled with an unusual level of concern from a stranger.

“Here. Have some tea.” The man is on his feet, lifting the cup from the tray and bringing it to my lips.

The liquid is hot and sweet, and immediately soothes the burning throbbing in my chest. It’s not like any tea I’ve had before.

“What is that?”

“Tea with some special herbs in it.”

“You’re not poisoning me, right?” I eye him warily.

Humor briefly dances over his face, but it’s gone quickly. “Why would I bring you here just to poison you?”

“People are fucked up sometimes.”

He nods. “I can’t argue with you there, but I promise you’re not being poisoned. How do you feel now?”

Rubbing my hand over my chest, I’m surprised by the decrease in pain. “Better.”

“Good. What’s your name?”

“Alrick. Yours?”

“Lord.”

I raise both eyebrows. “Your name is Lord?”

“Yes.”

“Interesting.”

“I’m afraid you weren’t found with a phone or any other means of identification.”

“Shit.” I shift, finding it a little easier now. “I don’t remember how I got separated.”

“Why were you there? It’s a desolate area.”

I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him.

“Then why were you there?” I counter.

Lord’s expression hardens. “Are you always so unappreciative about having your life saved?”

“First time I’ve needed it.” I take another sip of the tea.

I study his very handsome face for a moment, aware of his deflection but intrigued just the same. There’s no sense of danger coming from him, but maybe he was doing something he shouldn’t have been there. Making moonshine? Meth lab? Burying one of his many murder victims? Anything is possible.

“Thank you,” I say through gritted teeth, “for saving me. But I can’t tell you why I was there.”

He nods, glancing at his hands for a moment before lifting his gaze to me. “It seems we both have secrets.”

“Sounds like it.” The pain returns suddenly, slicing through my torso to the point that my eyes tear up. “Fuck.”

“As I thought,” Lord says. “The injuries are significant, but you won’t die. Not anymore.”

The comment seems veiled, as if he knows something I don’t.

“Drink a little more. Finish the cup.”

I nod without arguing, desperate for some relief. Lord moves to the foot of the bed, sitting next to me, and weirdly, his closeness seems to soothe some of the pain again.

Oh. Maybe he’s a mage. I’ve read plenty about their powers. It would make sense that he would have some kind of healing potion he’s insisting I drink. Or a vampire. I’ve been told they can have a strange effect on mortals… although that one makes less sense than a mage.

Sipping my tea, I search his face for supernatural clues, but he looks like a regular human if you don’t count the otherworldly good looks.

“Are you… by any chance…” If he’s not aware of the world beyond the veil, I’m about to sound like a crazy person, but I could always chalk it up to my injury.

“What?”

“Are you a vampire?”

Lord pulls his head back as his eyes widen briefly, then he sputters a laugh. “A vampire? Why would you ask such a thing?”

He didn’t deny it. “I feel strange. Like you’re doing something to me. Something… not human.” I eye him suspiciously again.

Lord tilts his head, his dark eyes focused on mine. “And what would you know about things that aren’t human?”

My chest thrums with energy, but it’s not fear or apprehension I feel. It’s something much harder to name.

“More than most people,” I hedge, feeling like we’re in some kind of complicated dance, neither of us wanting to show our hand before the other one. “I’ve seen… things.”

Lord’s expression turns neutral, like he’s put a mask on right before my eyes. “I’m not a vampire.”

“A mage then? You’ve used magic on me.”

Lord stands suddenly, turning his back to me as he crosses the large room to a window. He gazes out with his arms folded across his chest, and that strange tugging pulls at my insides again. It’s uncomfortable but not painful, and it’s definitely weird.

“I am not a mage either.”

His voice is low, but somehow, I hear it clearly even with the distance between us.

“But you’re not human.” It’s not a question. I don’t know how I’m so certain, but I can feel it in my bones.

Lord glances over his shoulder, but turns back to the window quickly. He doesn’t say anything for so long that I’m questioning whether this conversation is actually happening or if I’m in some weird coma, imagining the handsome but mysterious man.

“What things have you seen?” he finally asks.

He’s obviously aware of, or at least interested in, the existence of the supernatural, so I’d bet I’m pretty safe admitting what I know.

“I watched a man turn into a wolf once.”

Lord turns slightly, his face still completely devoid of reaction or emotion.

“I think I saw a mermaid in Greece when I was still a kid. She swam right in front of me and stared at me before darting off so fast I gulped a bunch of seawater in surprise.”

Lord remains neutral, but he turns to fully face me again.

“I’ve heard stories of vampires and demons. Of fae. I know for a fact dragons exist. They hide in plain sight, blending in like other humans, but they’re vicious and easily triggered. They’ll kill you for looking at them wrong.”

He flinches. “Where on earth did you hear that?”

“My family. Passed down over many generations. Dragons are to be feared and eradicated at every opportunity.” I recite the words that have been drilled into me my entire life, ignoring the way they make my stomach uneasy and my chest feel tight all over again.

Lord shrinks away from me, and as he does, pain spreads through my body so intense I’m left breathless and gasping for air.

“Oh god.” I clutch my wound, my fingers growing sticky as a gush of blood further soaks the bandages. “Fuck, it hurts.”

Lord is swift as he returns to my side. His presence is like cool water dousing the flame inside my chest, and as he moves my hand away from my wound and replaces it with his, I instantly relax, and relief pushes back the pain.

“How…?” I shake my head, still finding my voice through the haze of torture.

“You need to rest, Alrick. This is too much excitement.”

My gaze blurs as I stare at his face, but I’d swear to all the Viking gods that his eyes turn orange for a second. A smoky scent tickles my nose, but it’s comforting, like the old bonfires we had at our childhood compound before we moved east.

Lord helps me lie back and begins unwrapping my wound. “Lie still. I’ll be right back.”

My thoughts swirl with fog and I feel myself losing my grip on my life force. I try to lift my head again, but it’s too heavy, so I give up. I have to tell him to get me back to my family if I die.

“You won’t,” Lord says, suddenly by my side again.

“Won’t?”

“Die. You won’t. This will sting a little.” He dabs the gash in my chest with a liquid that reeks of the earth, but I can literally feel it working.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

He’s silent as he re-bandages the wound and wipes my sweaty brow with a cool cloth. “A dragon did this to you?”

I nod, trying to take a deeper breath but unable to. “Dragon.” Consciousness is slipping away quickly. “My brothers…”

“Shh, Alrick. You’re safe here. Focus on your healing. Picture your body mending itself. It will help the process.”

With his hand on my chest, the pain fades again and my thoughts mellow. I don’t know what he is, but I know without a doubt he’s not a typical man.

“What…” I’m too weak to finish the sentence so I give up, directing my gaze to the large mural on his ceiling.

It’s a lavish scene of a room filled with treasures—art, jewels, and furnishings. In the center of the mural, a glorious dragon with dark orange scales and brilliant wings of black and orange lounges on a massive gold velvet couch.

My heartbeat grows stronger and my breath steadier. The dragon is… beautiful. Not at all like the angry beast that attacked me tonight.

Lord likes dragons?

Then a new, alarming thought enters my mind. No. Oh gods, no.

I turn my head to find him watching me, his hand still resting on my chest. “Lord?”

A slight smile pulls at his lips. “Rest now. We can talk later.”

With all my might I try to fight the wave of sleep quickly dragging me under, but it’s useless. As I finally give in, one thought bounces around my head.

Lord is a dragon.

And that means he’s an enemy.