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  Gardelle ripped Lazar from Sachin.

  Sachin watched Lazar closely. He didn’t act as if he were planning to attack back. “Your brother?”

  Gardelle sighed. “Lazar, he must know all of it.”

  Lazar righted himself and nodded. This wasn’t what he’d wanted. He wanted his secrets kept just that, but the time had come for truths to be exposed. He looked to Gardelle. “Kabril will have my head when the truth is revealed. Swear to me you will take Sabrina far from Latravis’s reach. Swear you will keep her safe from him. Tell my little mouse that she is a thief who stole my heart with but a glance. And tell her I am sorry I was not a mate worthy of her.”

  Sachin raked his gaze over Lazar. “I see it now, the resemblance. Do you spy on us for your brother?”

  Lazar growled. “I hate him! I would run him through with my sword and carry his head through the kingdom for all to see. He is a liar, and he rules with fear and trickery. Would I could wash his blood from my veins.”

  “He is not the rightful king,” Gardelle stated clearly. “The rightful king of the Falcons stands before you.”

  Sachin nodded. “So I am coming to understand. Kabril needs to be informed of this.”

  “You have no reason to trust me, and you owe me no debt,” Lazar said to him. “But I beg of you, assist Gardelle in getting Sabrina to safety, far from my brother’s reach. Please.”

  “You shall do so yourself after we speak with the king.” Sachin motioned for them to follow.

  “Sachin, he will kill me. I am blood to his sworn enemy.”

  “And you saved his wife and have become a man he calls friend,” Sachin reminded. “Come. Bend his ear and mayhap he can find a way to assist you.”

  Gardelle sighed. “He is not the only one who needs told all.”

  Lazar’s shoulders slumped. He knew what Gardelle meant. Sabrina. She needed to know the truth. “Should the king allow me to live, I will tell her all she needs to know.”

  “We should tell her together,” Gardelle said.

  Sachin paused. “Tell me she is aware of what we are.”

  Lazar shook his head.

  Sachin rubbed his forehead. “As her mate, you are duty bound to be truthful with her. Gardelle should not be the one now to tell her of this. Not when you are trying to forge a bond with her. The words must come from you.”

  “I know.”

  “Come, we must address the king. He needs to know of all of this,” Sachin said. “And, Lazar, he will need to know if you are ready to do what must be done. If you are ready to regain your throne. The true king must rise. Are you ready?”

  He’d never had the throne, so regaining it wasn’t exactly right, but he didn’t correct Sachin. The throne should have been his when his father passed. The same sickness that had claimed his father’s mind had tainted his brother’s as well. There had been no reasoning with Latravis when the seat became vacant, and Lazar never had much desire to rule a kingdom. Seeing how Latravis had cast their people into centuries of war, of dark times and death, he knew better now. He knew he had to do what must be done for his kind—for the falcons.

  “I am ready,” he said.

  Chapter Nine

  Sabrina opened the door to find Lazar there minus her uncle. She stepped back. It had been days since they’d stumbled over an excuse as to why they had to suddenly leave. Days without any word from them. She’d had it in her head to be angry, but seeing Lazar changed that. “Forget Gardelle?”

  Lazar licked his lower lip. “He’s still handling a few matters. He’ll be here shortly. We agreed it best I return rather than leave you alone any more than we have already been forced to do.”

  Alarm oozed from her, but she wasn’t sure why. “I’m alone all the time.”

  Entering the house more, Lazar eyed her cautiously before shutting the door behind him. He locked it with a slow motion and then turned to face her. Something was wrong. Very wrong.

  Sabrina’s chest tightened.

  “Can we talk?” asked Lazar.

  “I’ll make us some tea.” She made an attempt to head to the kitchen, but he caught her elbow gently.

  “Brina, tea will do little to ease what I need to tell you.” The expression on his face scared her.

  Her hand went to his forearm. “Something happened to my uncle, didn’t it?”

  “No,” he replied. “Gardelle is well. On my flight here I had much time to think upon what you should be told and how to tell you.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  He took a deep breath and seemed to wait forever before speaking. “We should sit.”

  “Lazar, you’re scaring me. Just say it.”

  He met her gaze. “You were born for me, my mate, my wife, and long ago I thought you dead. Your uncle whisked you away to live here, in this realm, among humans, away from our kind—bird shifters—for your own safety. Sabrina, know that I thought you gone, forever.” He took another deep breath. “I have been unfaithful to you. I did not know you lived. That is no excuse. I know that now. My brother has wormed his way into your life, and I know not the game he plays or to what end. I do know that should Latravis be made aware that I know you live, it will not go over well.”

  Blinking several times, Sabrina released his arm and backed away from him slowly. She glanced to the side, trying to judge how far she was from a phone.

  Man meat was bat-shit crazy. Just her luck. Sexy and shy of a full deck.

  You sure know how to pick ‘em.

  With clear purpose Lazar stepped toward her, and fear slammed through her. He sniffed the air and froze. “You are afraid.”

  “No,” she said a little too fast. “I’ll start that tea.”

  He reached out quickly and caught her hand in his.

  A scream escaped her.

  Lazar dropped her hand as if she’d burned him. A forlorn look came over him. “My little mouse, I would never harm you. Know that.”

  Her lips trembled. “Okay.”

  “Sabrina, talk to me. Tell me why you are afraid.”

  “Because you’re clearly crazy,” she blurted.

  Lazar tipped his head and grinned. “Ah, you think the tale untrue?”

  “Uh, yes.”

  Yeah, man meat has lost it.

  “Yet you have dreamed of men with wings, yes?”

  Sabrina’s resolve began to chip away. She had dreamed of men with wings. Specifically, Lazar with wings. She nodded.

  “And you have had other dreams,” he said, moving closer. “Dreams of the two of us?”

  Her eyes widened.

  He touched her cheek. “Of us in intimate settings?”

  She yelped.

  He smiled. “Sabrina, think hard. Think of all that has never made sense in your life. And think of Gardelle and how he does not understand many human customs.”

  “He’s foreign,” she protested.

  Lazar merely lifted a brow. “And what of us? What of the dreams I know we have shared? The ones that have had me buried in you?”

  She knew her face was at least three shades of red. Maybe more. “No. No sex dreams.”

  “Really?”

  She gritted her teeth. “Go back to sounding crazy. I liked you better that way.”

  He smiled wide. “I can prove I’m telling you the truth.”

  “How? Going to screw me against the wall?” she snapped.

  He eyed the wall and then her. “The idea is a good one.”

  Sabrina’s legs quivered with desire. She mentally chastised herself and then folded her arms over her chest.

  Lazar touched her lower lip. “Your pout is very sexy.”

  “Lazar.”

  “Do you trust me?” he asked.

  She shouldn’t but she did, as crazy as he sounded. “Yes.”

  With a nod he turned and put his back to her. He pulled his shirt over his head, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing there with giant wings spread out as far as they could go in the foyer.

  Sabrina’s h
ead felt light at the sight of them. Man meat wasn’t human. “You have…wings.”

  Lazar caught Sabrina and dragged her against his chest. He held her as she stirred back to consciousness. “Hello.”

  Her eyes widened at the sight of his wings. She pushed hard on his chest, and he freed her from his hold. She backed against the wall. “Holy crap, you have wings!”

  “I do,” he said. “As does your uncle and Latravis.”

  He thought she might scream or faint again. Instead, she eased closer to him and lifted a hand. She jerked it back right before she would have made contact with his wing. “Will it hurt? Me touching it?”

  “No.” He moved a wing forward, putting it closer to her.

  A slight smile started upon her lips and spread wider and wider as she made contact with his feathers. His cock responded. Lazar had to clench his fists to keep from ravishing her.

  Glancing at his hands, Sabrina gasped. “I hurt you.” She jerked her hand back again.

  Lazar caught her wrist and moved her hand back to his wing. “No. The opposite.”

  Her mouth dropped. “Oh. Oh!”

  He grinned sheepishly. “It is very erotic to have my wings touched by my mate.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “Mate?”

  “The woman created for me. Each shifter male is said to have one. You are basically what makes me whole. It is why we connected on the dream plane.”

  Sabrina watched him for the longest time and then let out a slow, shallow breath. “I’m trying very hard not to freak out right now.”

  “Understandable. You are being shown the truth that something more than humans exist.”

  She gulped. “Oddly, I’m taking the wing thing better than knowing what we’ve done in those dreams. Lazar, I’ve never done any of that with anyone before.”

  He drew her to him. Her arms slipped around his waist, and he held her with his arms and his wings. She snuggled against his chest. “Sabrina, you have no idea how much this pleases me.”

  She glanced up at him. “That I’m a virgin?”

  He nodded, and his chest tightened. “I am not. You have every right to banish me from your bed. I have used endless women. I have sought to fill the hole in my heart.”

  She pressed her fingers to his lips.

  He looked down at her just as she rose to her tiptoes. Their lips met, and heat ignited between them. He drew his wings into himself and lifted her. He could wait no longer. She knew the truth—knew he wasn’t worth her and that he could shift into a bird, and she still wanted him.

  He ate at her mouth and carried her through the home. He made it to the staircase and kissed her deeper and deeper with each step. Gardelle had agreed to give him time to speak with Sabrina alone. He wasn’t sure how long the warrior would deem appropriate before he came barging in, and Lazar needed to be within his mate. He could wait no more.

  Sabrina stopped the kiss cold. She tensed.

  “You do not want me,” he said.

  “I want you, but you need to know something,” she replied. “While you were gone, Latravis’s driver came past. Normally he only ever comes with Latravis, but this time he was alone, and something was off. He kept lingering by the door—sort of sniffing the air.”

  Lazar set her down at the top of the steps. “When was this?”

  “Early yesterday.”

  Panic welled in him. Speaking with the king had taken longer than he’d wanted. While he’d intended to be gone a day at most, he’d been gone three. “Sabrina, change quickly. Put on something warm. We must go. Already he has had time to report back to Latravis that my scent was here.”

  She hesitated. “This is all really happening, isn’t it? I’m not dreaming, am I?”

  He touched her cheek tenderly. “No, ta’konima—my love, you’re not dreaming.”

  A question formed on her face.

  Lazar smoothed her brow. “You wonder why I called you my love.”

  “How did you know?”

  He grinned. “Because I have known you since you were a child, and I have shared intimate dreams with you for the past five years. It is safe to say I know you well, Sabrina. And it is safe to say I love you.”

  She spun and rushed away from him. He’d have taken offense that she didn’t return the words, but he’d already tossed so much at her in a short period of time. He hurried down the steps and opened the front door with the intention of scanning the skies for signs of Latravis’s men.

  Gardelle was there, pacing back and forth on the porch. He looked to Lazar. “I know I promised you time with her, but I thought I could help ease the news of our kind. But when I arrived, I feared what I may walk in upon. I have no wish to happen upon you bedding my niece.”

  “I did not bed her.”

  But I will. The words, while not spoken, were clear.

  “I showed her the truth of what we are.”

  Gardelle’s eyes widened. “And?”

  “She fainted. She is fine now. But, Gardelle, we have a much bigger issue. Latravis knows I was here.”

  Gardelle gasped and shoved past him. “Sabrina! Come quickly!”

  She appeared at the top of the staircase in warmer clothing as Lazar had told her to wear. “I know, and you better believe when this is all said and done you’re going to explain why…” She stopped and then pointed at the open front door. “Men. Flying men!”

  Lazar looked to see falcon warriors headed their way.

  “Go to the basement and hide in the pantry area,” Gardelle commanded. “Bolt yourself in! Go!”

  “Latravis won’t hurt me,” she said.

  Lazar sighed. “That may be true, but the men serving him would if they believed it would hurt me. Their hate of me is great. Go. Do as your uncle commands.”

  She nodded.

  Lazar rushed out the door, to put distance between him and Sabrina before allowing his wings to release. Gardelle seized hold of him, stopping him in his tracks.

  “Release me,” barked Lazar. “I must lead them from her.”

  “And end up at the end of one of Latravis’s pikes?” Gardelle demanded.

  Shrugging, Lazar kept an even façade. “If it is called for.”

  “And what then of Brina?” Gardelle increased his hold on Lazar. “You would condemn her to a life without her mate? A life without the possibility of true love, of happiness, of maybe even a family should the bird gods look favorably upon your union as they have done for others recently?”

  A family?

  Lazar had never entertained the idea because it seemed an impossibility. He didn’t relish the idea of leaving Sabrina alone, but he’d not risk her, and he’d do his best to avoid capture and death.

  “I will go and lead them away,” Gardelle said, puffing out his chest.

  Lazar lurched back. “No! You are her only anything. Should something happen to you, she would never forgive me. She looks at you as a father figure and holds much love for you.”

  With that, Lazar burst into the air, his wings emerging. Gardelle followed close at his heels. The stubborn man would not see reason even when his life depended on it.

  In mere seconds the Falco warriors changed course, spotting them. There were six in all. Latravis was not one of them. That wasn’t exactly optimal odds, but it could have been worse. It could have been six on one.

  Lazar cast a knowing look at Gardelle.

  All Falco must die. The message had to be clear. Sabrina was protected.

  Gardelle nodded and charged them.

  These had been men Lazar had once fought alongside. Men who now had orders to bring his head to their king. There were more of the enemy, and the enemy was armed with swords. Gardelle and Lazar simply had themselves—no weapons and no extra bodies.

  Hazim, one of Latravis’s henchmen, snarled and came at Lazar, his sword drawn. Lazar blocked the blow with his forearm and just missed taking a sword to the head. He struck Hazim in the chest and sent the warrior tumbling backward. Normally, he would have followed th
rough, going after the fallen warrior and killing him. There were too many other threats to worry about. He would have to deal with Hazim again.

  Lazar twisted and extended his talons. They sliced through his fingertips, causing no pain. He swiped at another Falco warrior and caught the man by the throat. Skin seemed so fragile beneath the sharpness of Lazar’s talons. The sensation was one that never ceased to surprise him, regardless of how many lives he took. The blow was a killing one. The warrior fell away, tumbling towards the ground.

  Gardelle killed one as well before turning in midair and colliding with another. Hazim returned, snarling at Lazar. “You are the reason my brother is dead.”

  Humbert, Hazim’s twin brother, had been part of the group of guards sent to find and kill the object of the King of the Hawk’s affection. Lazar was one of the guards tasked with the duty. When he’d found Rayna, Kabril’s mate, scared, uncertain of what was occurring and terrified of the birdmen, something within him broke. He could not obey Latravis’s orders. He could not take Rayna’s life. It was then he’d stepped over the line and could never return home while his brother still sat upon the throne.

  “Traitor!” Hazim shouted, spittle flying from his mouth.

  Hazim took another swing at Lazar, but this one was not deflected. Catching Lazar’s upper shoulder, the sword cut deep. Pain radiated through his shoulder, and he turned enough to give Hazim another opening. The blade cut into Lazar’s upper back. It narrowly missed taking his wing.

  “Deserter!” Hate gleamed in Hazim’s eyes.

  Lazar thrust at him with all his might. Another warrior dove at him, sword at the ready. Lazar knew he wouldn’t be fast enough to get out of the way. There was a blur, and Gardelle appeared before him. The sword pierced through Gardelle, and Lazar’s breath caught.

  “No!” He grabbed Gardelle. The force of the man’s limp body knocked Lazar from the sky. They plummeted to the unforgiving ground. With a hard thump, Lazar struck the earth. Gardelle’s limp body lay next to him.

  Hazim landed with ease and stalked towards Lazar. “I will take your head to the king, and he will display it for all to see what happens to those who stand against him.”