Fate Of The Minotaur (Her Dragon's Bane 5) Read Free Page A

misting up as thoughts of past repercussions over her gift came back to her.
    “Yes. There is. I can help you,” Tara said, touching her shoulder.
    Sybil lowered her gaze. “You don’t know me. Why would you help me?”
    “Because this is becoming the home for waifs and strays,” said Dòmhnall sarcastically.
    “Behave,” Tara spat at him.
    “It’s not a lie. Before you came here, there were five dragons living in peace. Now we have a witch, two mortals and a…” He looked at the man who had rescued her but did not finish his sentence. They didn’t want her to know what he really was, and she would go along with that. For his sake. She did, after all, owe him her life.
    “Your life was too dull before,” Tara said, and Sybil wondered how she had the nerve. This Dòmhnall was so intimidating.
    “So what are we going to do with this one?” he asked.
    Sybil made to stand, wincing at the soreness of her arm, which had been bandaged up. “I can make my own way home. The gargoyles are no danger now.”
    “Fin might have saved you this time, but if these things were sent for you, then someone wants you for a reason. That reason is unlikely to just disappear.”
    “Zoah is right,” one of the other women said. “Look, I’m Charlotte. Why don’t you come back to our house, at least for the night?”
    “No. I want to go home,” she said firmly.
    “I don’t think that is such a good idea,” Charlotte said gently. She looked at the witch. “Do you know what is going to happen next?”
    “Fin will look after her.”
    Silence filled the room; her rescuer blushed and once again looked away. He didn’t want to look after her, he had done enough and she would not force him. “I’ll be fine.”
    “No,” Fin said. “I would gladly take you home and keep watch over you.”
    Tara smiled, clapped her hands together and said happily, “Right, that’s settled. Fin will take Sybil home and watch over her like a guardian angel.”
    Sybil simply stared at Tara. How did she know her name? She decided it didn’t matter; she wanted to get out of here before they all decided that the best thing for her was to be their captive. She didn’t need to be kept safe if that meant her freedom of choice was taken away.
    Getting to her feet, albeit a little wobbly, she made her way to what she thought was the door.
    Fin immediately was at her side and guided her, without laying a finger on her, to the other side of the hall.
    Despite his distance, she could still feel the heat of his body. His presence nearly overwhelmed her; she had never been close to a man like this before. It was one more thing she’d avoided. But it looked as if she would have to find a way to put up with him being so close. She soon found he planned to take his task very seriously.
     

Chapter Five - Fin
    She almost overwhelmed his senses. From the moment, he had seen her, with those foul beasts trying to attack her; he had known that it was his duty to protect her. As they walked out of the Stronghold, he felt more relaxed: the dragons that lived there were not friendly towards him. They had used him on occasion when they wanted to get rid of someone; his mind balked at those memories. It was how he had originally met Serena. The dragons had brought her to him because they thought he would eat her. But he had seen in Serena the same kindness he could see in Sybil. And he wanted to protect that. She was an innocent in this world, whereas he was the most disgusting, corrupt creature to have walked the Earth. Maybe by protecting her, he might in some ways appease the Gods, or the Spirits, or whoever it was that you met when you died. Or else he knew he would go to the underworld, what humans called hell.
    Fin wanted to speak, to say something to break the silence between them. But the more he tried to think of something to say, the more his mind went blank, until he found himself in a blind panic. She would think him rude, or dumb. Yes, she would think