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

man who had slept on her veranda. Her protector—but this was one thing he couldn’t save her from; this was her curse.
    He stroked her hair back from her face. It was stuck to her clammy cheeks, but his gentle fingers slid across her skin until it was swept back. Then he looked at her intently, concern so clear on his face that she had to reach up her hand and reassure him she was OK.
    “What was it? I thought you were being attacked.” He looked around the room, trying to see where the attacker had fled.
    “There’s no one there. It’s all in my head.” She leaned forward and rested her cheek on his chest. “Just hold me, please.” She listened to the steady, strong heartbeat, letting it calm her and soothe her.
    “Is this what it’s always like?”
    “Prophecy?”
    “Yes.”
    “It’s always horrible.” A shudder passed through her, and his hold on her strengthened. “I’ve tried to fight it. When I know I’m going to have one of these dreams. Once I stayed up for three days, but eventually I succumbed to exhaustion and the dream was there, waiting. Now I know it’s no good to fight it.”
    “Are they always bad?”
    “Mostly. There’s little that happens for good. Not big things and I only see the big things. Tara sees the small things, the bits that make up life. I see the bits that take life away.”
    “What did you see?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
    “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    He moved to pull away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
    “No. Fin, please stay. Would you lie with me? I’ve always had to face them alone. I would like you to chase away the dark. I’m so tired.”
    “I’m just going to run down and shut and bolt your door. It wasn’t bolted, you know. I ran straight in.”
    “I know. I didn’t want to shut you out.” She placed her hand on his and squeezed it, letting him know that she didn’t want to shut him out of any of this. She needed a friend; she needed the warmth of another living creature by her side. And then he was gone. For endless minutes, she thought he would not return, and then he did.
    His weight made the bed dip, and he hesitated, looking at her, before sliding down next to her. She took his hand and draped his arm over her body, entwining her fingers with his when she felt him about to pull back. Staring out of the window, she tried to push the dream from her head. But it refused to go.
    “It was the vampires.”
    He didn’t answer, but his heartbeat quickened and his arm flexed, holding her closer. Protecting her. She looked at the blue sky, wondering how something so bad could happen when the world stayed the same. The sun rose, the sun set, and life carried on. For some, at least those affected by her prophecies, were less lucky. If anyone appeared in her dreams, then there was a good chance they wouldn’t live more than a week. It made it hard to allow people in. But she needed Fin.
    “There is going to be a war.”
    “Between the vampires?” he asked, surprised.
    “Yes. There is a power struggle going on.”
    “I have heard through Charlotte that there has been some trouble in their clan. It was a vampire who wanted to buy Charlotte. He wanted to cause trouble between the vampires and the dragons. They have a truce, and it seems many of the vampires would like that truce to end.”
    “This is not about the dragons.” She turned in his arms to look at him. “I don’t want them to know. The dragons. Nor Charlotte, no one.” It was a lot to ask of him. She had not earned his loyalty in the same way the others had.
    “It is not my prophecy to tell.”
    She looked into his eyes, looking deep into his soul. Placing her hand on his cheek, she stroked it, but he turned away from her gaze. “Why do you hide from me, Fin?”
    “Because of who I am. What I’ve done.”
    “Are you the same person now as you were when you did those things?”
    “No,” he said shaking his head.
    “Well, then,” she said and she lifted