He wanted his peaceful, emotionless existence back.

Scowl solidifying, he stepped out onto the street. Don't waste what's left of your life caring for me. I'm going to bed and kill you before I leave, he almost shouted.

This woman's concern was something he couldn't deal with. A woman's concern was not something he knew how to deal with. He shook off her hold and kept walking in the direction she'd given him earlier. She clasped his arm and tried to pull him aside. 'You're not okay,' Grace said, her concern more concentrated. He despised frailty of any kind, especially his own. One corner of his lips lifted in a scowl as he steadied himself. He stumbled when his foot caught on a rock. The sun continued to beat down upon him, growing hotter with every step he took. A trickle of sweat dripped into his eyes, and he wiped it away. He knew nothing of this area, he thought, letting his gaze scan. To do so, he had to visualize his target. 'I'm anxious to question them again.' Darius, too, was anxious to question them, but he couldn't whisk about in this city. 'Do not concern yourself with me.' 'You could whisk us to Argonauts and save us the walk,' she said. He could have drowned in her and died happy. She was like an ocean wave, utterly captivating. Pale blue pants clung to her legs and a sea-green shirt molded itself to her breasts. 'Are you okay? You look pale.' She had changed into new clothing after her bath. 'We'll be there soon,' she said, glancing up at him. Beside him, Grace skirted around a table overflowing with photos. Some of his men were surrounding Javar's palace, preventing the humans from spreading their violence further. He could not allow himself to envision Grace in his future. When this was over, he would-No, he could not think that way. A place that called out to the beast within him-just as Grace did.

This place did not offer the lush, green foliage of his home, yet New York was beguiling and lovely in its own right. The overload to his senses was strangely welcoming. What struck him most of all, however, was the multitude of scents that intermingled and cloyed the air. Even the sun shone brightly of yellow, orange and gold. They glowed from signs they blurred together as masses of people strode past him. Buildings towered as far as the eye could see, stretching toward the skyline-a skyline that was wide and open, cloudy, not filled with crystal and water.

Heart of the Dragon by Gena Showalter