Page 42 of Payne's Envy

Joy

Deathraka caught the blade with his bare hand. The weapon didn’t penetrate his skin. What was Ryan thinking? His son was different and deadly.

Ryan cocked his head. “Huh?” He laughed. “I like it.”

Then he ported away with Deathraka chasing after him.

“Leave them,” said a female voice.

I spun around and saw Melinda beside my dad on the bank.

She continued, “This will give me time to speak to you before Payne returns. He won’t let you out of his sights for long.”

It dawned on me then. I scowled as all that anger sizzled forth. “Youknewit was Payne. You probably know exactly what’s happening, but you said nothing. Why must you be this way?”

I agreed with August. Witches were ridiculous and cruel. They had information, but wouldn’t share until it served their purpose.

Her beige dress fluttered as the wind picked up. “Yes, I knew it was Payne. You could have had relief, but Payne’s terrified of himself with you.” She cut her gaze to Dad, who visibly tensed. “That’s made him incredibly stubborn, and part of that blame lies on you, Grim.”

“I had good reason,” Dad began.

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “What do you mean?”

“Yeah, I get it,” said Melinda. “But that was the only time it would have happened to Joy.”

“How was I supposed to know?” Dad lifted his hand to his forehead and sighed. “My daughter burned fordays.We couldn’t wake her or stop the flames. I had to make sure it never happened again. It wasn’t until Payne brought her home just now.”

Dad seemed to choke on his words, and I realized he was crying.

“He found you, he saved you, Joy.” He walked to me then, holding his arms out. I let him pull me in. “We couldn’t find you. We couldn’t feel you. It was like you were dead.”

The shock of Payne being a dragon shifter with amnesia had made me forget what had happened. I was in Grim’s woods. The shackles no longer bound me to that cave wall. I was home. Safe as a Reaper could be when the end was near. I sucked in a breath as I buried my face in my father’s shoulder. “I’m back.”

“I haven’t told the others. As soon as I picked up your essence, I followed it back home. When the others try reaching out for you, they’ll come. They’ll all come. None of them enjoyed trying to reach out for you through our powers because…”

They couldn’t feel me. It must have been the shackles that bound my power. No wonder they couldn’t find me.

“Tell me what you were saying about Payne,” I said.

“We didn’t know back then what he did. When he brought you home and I saw you in that form, I knew.”

“Knew what? What are you talking about? What happened in the past?” Why did I feel like I was missing something huge?

“Over a hundred years ago, during the last mating season, Payne made you like him. He made you his mate,” Melinda said.

I lowered my arms.

“Why do I feel you know more than I do?” Dad glanced at Melinda.

“It was always meant to be this way,” she said. “I couldn’t change that. In the past, I meddled too much and hurt two people. I’d never risk making things worse unless the outcome was dangerous. As it was, Payne was meant to leave Grim’s woods. He had to leave back then bring Joy home. I didn’t foresee that he’d forget himself!”

“What’s going on?” I looked back and forth between them. “Do you mean Payne chose me as his mate? That can’t be right.”

“He didn’t know what he did. He had no clue what he was or what would happen, but I can tell youwhyit happened.” Melinda gathered her dress up once more and walked around the riverbank until she stood before me. Then she smiled and took my hands. “He loves you a great deal, enough that his primal roots wanted to make it, so you’d be his.”

“You’re lying. Payne has always run from me.”

“What about when you were kids? What about when you were a teen?” She quirked one brow. “He spoiled you a lot, didn’t he? Isn’t that why it hurt so much when he stopped being himself around you?”

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