Page 33 of Awakening Storm

Rhianna tugged away from him. “What’s happening? Why are they fighting?”

The man on the other side thrust his sword into Dillon’s chest. Rhianna drew her hand to her mouth. “Oh God.”

Aidan winged to a position between the Rhianna and the man, and then stretched out his wings, growing in size and towering over the guy as well as blocking Rhianna’s view of the carnage. The man stumbled backward. One by one, the fighters ceased their attacks and their heads turned toward him. When everything was still, Aidan resumed his normal size and flew to Rhianna.

The people nearest to him in the crowd turned their heads to watch him.

“Aidan,” she whispered, extending her arm. He landed on it.

Looks of awe swept across the faces in the crowd. They took a step back almost as a whole. Perhaps there were no birds in the place—or at least none with the ability to triple in size. He peered at Rhianna. Her jaw was set and she stood up straight, giving her a regal appearance.

A rumble passed through the ranks. These were the poor souls Theodora had collected over the centuries, the travelers who had ended up in a different destination from what they’d intended just because they’d entered the Dragon Vortex.

“We must hurry,” one burly man said. The people gathered their injured and disappeared into the buildings like ants into a hill.

Rhianna turned, and three other men moved with their group around to the back of the Falcon station. The man who had been urging Rhianna to fight hustled away.

Aidan relaxed a fraction as he watched the guy’s back as he ran.

As soon as their group rounded the corner. Aidan reverted to his human form.

She threw her arms around him. “I knew it was you.”

He dragged her up against him and kissed her, hard and long, with all the pent-up frustration he’d been holding in check. Jesus, she felt so right in his arms.

“Whoa,” the lanky man next to her said.

“It’s okay,” she said. “Sean, this is Aidan Hearst. Sole resident of Tsuriairando Island.”

Sean bowed slightly at the waist.“Aete ureshi yo,”he said in Japanese.

“Pleased to meet you, too.” Aidan matched his bow.

“Sean is our helicopter pilot.”

Aidan nodded. It was nice to meet people from Rhianna’s life. But he still had to get them out of there.