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  “We’re still in town,” Quinn informed her, guessing why she had frozen.

  “A castle?” she asked.

  “Palace,” he corrected.

  “Please tell me there’s indoor plumbing.”

  He laughed, a booming sound that echoed in the stone hallway. “Yes. We have indoor plumbing.”

  They resumed walking. He was so tall that she had to tilt her head back really far when next to him to look at his face. “How did you break my blood ward?” she asked him.

  “They’re not unbreakable,” he informed her. “That ward was good, but you don’t have enough magic in your blood to use it to its full potential.”

  “The Warlock said it would work and…”

  He interrupted her. “It works against eighty percent of the population. Those of us with more magic can easily break it though.”

  “Is there a way for me to reinforce it? I can’t give myself more magic.”

  “You could if you were a vampire,” he muttered, a comment she was certain that he had not meant to say out loud.

  A Vampire Pegasus, that would be a sight. She scoffed and he looked at her questioningly.

  “Vampire Equine just doesn’t have the weight to it that would cause others to be scared.”

  He chuckled softly. “No, it doesn’t.” He was quiet a moment and then said, “You could add symbols, like Devil’s Traps, to the doorway. It would keep out most Demons.”

  “Not you, though,” she guessed. He was old and powerful. Incredibly powerful.

  “No,” he agreed.

  “Is Daewon a Vampire?” she asked.

  Quinn shook his head. “Nope.”

  “What is he?”

  “Unique.”

  She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “Whatever.”

  They finally made it to the bathroom, which was more like a lounge than bathroom. There were chaise lounges, sofas, plush chairs, and a powder room. She used the restroom and checked her appearance. She didn’t look any different from before they’d kidnapped her, save her frown and her missing tennis shoe.

  She plopped down on the couch and sighed. What was she going to do? How many others knew about the horn and what it could really do? How much danger was she in now that she had agreed to help him?

  “Mendra?” Lysander’s voice called.

  She leapt up and looked around. Where was it coming from? “Lys…”

  “Window.”

  “You okay?” Quinn called.

  “Almost done,” she called back. “Just freshening up.”

  Back in the restroom, she found a small window with Lysander on the other side. She rushed forward. “What are you doing here? This is a trap. You have to leave and…”

  “I’m not leaving without you,” he told her adamantly.

  The window was six inches wide at most. “I’m not going to fit through there.”

  “Have they hurt you?” he asked, his voice edged with concern and something else. Anger?

  “No,” she replied and shook her head. “Please Lysander, leave. They want the horn and…”

  “I know,” he answered.

  “Then why…”

  “I’m not going to abandon you. I’ll protect you.”

  “Lynsander, they might let me go if…”

  “Mendra, just trust me. Okay? I’ll get you home safe and sound. Now, go back to them before they get suspicious.”

  She wanted to argue, but instead she said, “Stay safe, please.”

  He disappeared and she rushed to the bathroom door, pulling it open and smiling at Quinn. “All done.”

  He nodded and led her back to the room she had woken up in. Daewon smiled at her and held out a glass of water. “You must be thirsty.”

  She eyed it suspiciously. Would he have put something in it? If they wanted to kill her, why bring her here?

  “It’s safe,” he swore and took a drink himself.

  She took it and downed the entire cup. It was cool and quenched her throat. “Thank you.”

  Someone screamed outside and both of their heads turned towards the sound. Quinn left immediately and Daewon smiled happily. “I knew he would come for you.”

  Mendra looked around the room, shocked to see that it was a dining room and the table was set. “Is that food edible?” she asked him.

  He nodded. “Help yourself.”

  She rushed forward, sitting in one of the chairs and made herself a plate. The gravy smelled heavenly as did the turkey. It was a thanksgiving feast and she ate until she was full. If she needed to shift, she wanted to be at full strength, which she wouldn’t be if she wasn’t full.

  “You’re rather calm for someone who didn’t think she was getting saved,” Daewon commented.

  She speared a piece of turkey with her fork. “Either you’re going to kill me or you aren’t. I can’t control what you do. You’re stronger than me and I have told you the truth, so all I can do is wait. If I’m going to wait, I might as well eat and remain calm while doing it. Freaking out and pacing won’t do anything to help my situation.”

  “You are an interesting creature,” he whispered, his lips lifting in a sexy smirk.

  “What are you?” she asked him while chewing on a piece of bread roll.

  “I’m a mutt,” he replied. “A bit of this and a bit of that.”

  “Are you an original Viking?” she asked. “You feel old, but I can’t tell how old you are.”

  “Yes, I was raised in a Viking village as a boy. How’d you know?”

  She smirked. “You look like a Viking warrior. The suit is stylish, but it doesn’t hide that you’re a warrior.”

  He sat down next to her and twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. “What else can you tell about people? I wasn’t aware that equines could sense age.”

  “I can tell how much power you have,” she replied and looked up at him through her eyelashes. “You have an immense amount. Almost as much as Quinn.”

  His eyes flashed golden a moment. “Almost?”

  She nodded, dipped her finger in some gravy and licked it off. “He has more power than you.”

  He was mesmerized by her movements and she was so caught up in her ruse that she didn’t hear when Lysander came in.

  “Back away from her,” Lysander ordered him.

  Daewon dropped her hair and spun around, rising from the chair in one movement.

  Lysander held a bow and arrow, aimed directly at Daewon.

  “Where’s Quinn?” Daewon asked.

  “A bit under the weather,” Lysander replied. “Mendra, please come this way.”

  Daewon reached for her, but Lysander released the arrow and knocked another immediately. The arrow hit the table between Daewon and Mendra. She’d never seen such a fast shot before.

  She stood up and walked over towards him. How had he defeated the Demon? Lysander wasn’t super powerful. He had some power, but not as much as Daewon or Quinn.

  “Where’s the horn?” Daewon asked.

  “I don’t know,” Lysander responded immediately. “I haven’t found it.”

  “I’m going to get it,” Daewon informed him. “And then I’m going to use it to cross.”

  “You’ll try,” Lysander said with a smirk. “However, you won’t succeed.”

  Daewon glared at Lysander. “We’ll come for you…”

  “I’ll have an arrow with your name on it,” Lysander threatened him.

  Daewon held still.

  Why was he so scared of Lysander? Was Lysander really that great of an archer?

  “It’s time to go,” Lysander told Mendra.

  “Thanks for dinner,” Mendra said to Daewon.

  “You’re welcome to join me for dinner any night that you wish,” he told her.

  Lysander released his arrow and Daewon flew backwards over the table and against the wall with the arrow embedded in his shoulder. “Stay away from her or I will kill you.”

  “Oh? Possessive, are we? I thought you had only j
ust met. She was under the impression that you don’t know her.”

  “I don’t know her, yet. However, she is under my protection now. Stay away from her, Daewon.”

  Lysander backed towards the exit and Mendra followed him, her eyes wide in shock from the events of the night. This was all so crazy. They made it out of the palace with no resistance. Lysander put his bow across his back and reached for her hand. She let him take it and lead her to a car waiting for them. Once they were away from the palace, Lysander found a dark place to pull off and exhaled. “Are you okay?” he asked her, turning to fully face her.

  “They won’t come after us?” she asked.

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “The Demon…”

  “I sent him away,” he replied.

  “How?”

  “I have magic,” he explained.

  “So, we’re safe?” she asked him.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  She unbuckled her belt and climbed out of the car. The night was warm, but there was a wind that gave off just enough chill to ease her worry. She was out. He had saved her. Through some miracle, he had saved her.

  “Mendra?” Lysander asked, worried that she was going to back out of their deal now and run away.

  She turned and threw herself into his chest, burying her face into the crook of his neck. “I was so scared,” she admitted. “I was trying to hold it together, but I was so sure they were just going to kill me. I didn’t know what to do and I thought they were going to kill you and…”

  “You’re safe,” he whispered and wrapped his arms around her. He stroked her hair and held her tightly. “We’re both safe and free.”

  She cried silently as she held on to him. He had saved her. He had done as he had promised and saved her. All of the emotions that she had kept pent up came out and she cried. She cried for an hour, at least. Lysander never wavered, holding her and stroking her hair while murmuring reassuring things to her. She barely heard them, listening to the sound of his heart beat and his breathing.

  When she was finally calmed down enough, she stepped back and looked up at him. “Why did you come for me? They could have had some trap for you.”

  He wiped the tear tracks off her face. “They only went after you to get me. I couldn’t leave you to suffer because of me.”

  “They were actually really nice,” she admitted.

  “I saw,” he whispered, his jaw clenched.

  “I thought if I flirted with him and you didn’t succeed, that he might let me go,” she admitted. It was embarrassing and she blushed as she admitted it to him.

  “It would have worked,” he told her.

  “You’re mad,” she whispered.

  “No.”

  “You’re jealous,” she realized.

  “Maybe.”

  She found that hilarious. Lifting up on to her tiptoes, she kissed his cheek. “Thank you, for rescuing me.”

  He smirked. “I rescue you and all I get is a cheek kiss?”

  She laughed and then said, “If I kiss you on the lips, you’ll know if I’m your soulmate.”

  “And?”

  “And, I don’t want to know,” she told him.

  “Am I that unappealing?” he asked her.

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re one of the most appealing males I’ve ever met.”

  “So?”

  “So, if we are going to work together to find the horn, then I don’t want to know.”

  “Why not?”

  Because if she wasn’t his soulmate, she would know right away that they didn’t have a future together.

  “We should go try to locate the horn,” she said and stepped away from him.

  He let her go, but she knew he would bring this up again.

  They got into the car and he drove across to the other side of town. He scowled as they drove and then he stopped the car and whipped his head around. “It’s nearby,” he replied.

  “How do you know? I don’t feel anything,” she admitted grumpily. She had wanted to be able to help him by being able to feel it too.

  “Out of the car,” he ordered her and climbed out. He took her hand and inhaled sharply. “Yes!” He walked quickly down the sidewalk, turning down a few streets until stopping in front of a house. The house was three stories tall and had a guard standing next to the front door. “It’s here,” he whispered and walked by it as though they weren’t interested in it. The guard didn’t even look at them.

  “Then why aren’t we going inside?” she asked.

  “I have to find out who lives there first,” he told her. “And figure out why they have it. They could have found it and not known what it was.”

  “Or it could be the one who stole it from you,” she suggested.

  He shook his head. “No, he’s dead.”

  He circled back around to the car and drove back to her house. “I’m going to stay the night, if that’s okay with you?” he said as they climbed out.

  More than okay. She didn’t want to be alone tonight after what had happened. Without talking to her, he lay down on the couch and draped his arm across his eyes. She wanted to ask him a million questions, but he was obviously tired and she wanted to make sure he had energy to fight if Daewon came back.

  She changed in the bathroom, since her room didn’t have a door anymore, and went to sleep listening to the sound of his breathing in the other room.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  ..................

  LYSANDER WOKE TO THE SOUND of sizzling bacon and a woman singing. He stretched and realized with a start that he was clothed. He never slept clothed. His mind cleared the fog from it and he remembered he was at Mendra’s. He sat up slowly and saw her in the kitchen. The morning light cast a halo around her golden hair as she danced around in the kitchen, flipping a pancake in a pan and singing along to a song on the radio. She was wearing a baggy shirt and short shorts that showed off her long, beautiful legs.

  “Good morning,” he called to her.

  She spun around and smiled warmly at him. “Morning, Lysander.”

  “You didn’t have to cook me breakfast,” he said as he walked to stand at the bar top behind her.

  She smirked. “Who said this was for you?”

  He laughed and she returned to cooking, but she no longer danced or sang. He wished he had been quiet and let her continue. Something was different about her though, the darkness wasn’t as strong as it had been when they met. Had what happened somehow helped her? How could being kidnapped help cure her?

  “I hope you eat meat,” she said and stopped, spatula raised in the air as she turned to face him. “Do you?”

  He nodded. “I do.”

  She exhaled and lowered the spatula, her shoulders sagging forward slightly. “Phew. Okay.”

  “Mendra?”

  “Hm?”

  “I don’t mean to ruin the mood, but I’m curious about your upbeat attitude this morning.”

  She smiled. “I had some good dreams last night. That’s all.”

  Good dreams?

  ..................

  She knew they were more than dreams, but she didn’t want to admit that to him. It had been years since she had had visions. Last night, those had definitely been visions. Visions of her getting the horn and delivering it to Lysander. Visions of Lysander kissing her.

  Okay, the kissing one may not have been a vision, though she wouldn’t mind it coming true.

  She was going this weekend to get the horn and then Lysander could go home and she could start her rescue. She tried very hard to ignore the ping of pain she felt thinking about his departure. They didn’t know each other well, but she felt connected to him. The way he had protected her last night and been so protective of her had added to it. And really turned her on.

  Lysander hadn’t said anything since she had told him she had had good dreams. He was staring at the oven, but his mind was obviously elsewhere, since he wasn’t focused on anything. What could he be thinking about?
>
  She set his plate of food on the counter in front of him, getting syrup and a glass of milk as well.

  He blinked a few times and came back to reality. “Thank you.”

  She nodded in response and began cleaning the dishes in the sink. Last night she had the best sleep she had had in years. Lysander’s presence in her house had been a huge reason for that. It still surprised her that he had been able to defeat the Demon, Quinn. Even more surprising was the fact that Daewon had been scared of Lysander. Just how much power did he have?

  “Lysander?” she asked to get his attention.

  He was about to take a bite of pancake, but set his fork down. “Yes?”

  “Are you a Centaur?” She had wanted to ask him about it since Quinn brought it up, but there really hadn’t been a good time.

  “Yes,” he replied immediately and without any hesitation.

  She blinked in silence, unable to form thoughts or words.

  “Want to see?” he asked her with a smirk.

  She nodded.

  He stood up and walked to the center of her living room, which had enough room for a full-sized horse to stand in. His body rippled and then he stood before her, his waist up as his human form, but below his waist he had a black horse’s body.

  He really was a Centaur!

  She walked over to him with her mouth slack. She poked his human stomach and then the center of his equine back. His back muscles twitched at the contact and she started giggling. A Centaur. Of all of the things she had expected, a Centaur was not one of them. Her giggling turned into laughing and she clutched at her stomach, unable to stop laughing.

  “Mendra, are you alright?” Lysander asked her, his body reverting to human form.

  “I’m sorry,” she gasped, finally able to get herself under control. “I’m not laughing at you. It’s just…a Centaur? I never expected that.”

  “How did you know, then?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

  “Quinn. When he came here, he asked if I knew a Centaur.”

  Lysander frowned and then sighed. “Of course he did.”

  “So, the Centaur is your true form then?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Yes. Just like the Pegasus is yours.”