The Dragon’s Aide (Charmed Away Temp Agency #2)

Chapter 26

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Maverick felt his heart stutter in his chest for a split second before he burst into action. His instincts didn’t fight him this time. They were both on the same page. Throwing himself over the edge of the building, he shifted mid air and tucked his wings, making his dive sleeker and faster. Isaac was falling fast, using heavy gusts of wind to slow himself down and give Maverick a chance to get to him. He needed it. Even hundreds of years of flying didn’t prepare him for diving after someone falling off a building. What the hell had Isaac been thinking?

He couldn’t dwell on that. The ground was getting perilously closer, and Isaac’s look of determination faded into something more terrified. He didn’t think Maverick would make it in time. Maverick would rather die trying than fail that little mage who had him so effortlessly enraptured. Throwing out his magic, he nudged against Isaac’s mind to speak to him.

“Use the wind on me, not you. I’ll catch you.”

He’d have to stop pushing against himself to do it, which would make him fall faster, but Maverick only needed a little boost. Isaac needed to trust him.

With a panicked shout, Isaac summoned a gust of wind so heavy, it threw them both towards the ground at breakneck speeds. Maverick was prepared for it, snatching the mage out of the air and against his chest, but he wasn’t going to have enough time to lift off again. He threw out his wings to slow them down, pulling up as much as he could to level them out, but it was no use. They were going to hit the ground.

“Maverick,” Isaac whispered, his fingers digging into his hide. “Scales.”

The scales would minimize the damage, but they’d hurt Isaac, too. “No, I–”

“Maverick! Now!”

Against his better judgment, he listened, summoning the armor-like scales that covered his whole body. Pain blasted against his chest and through his claws as lightning coursed through him. He let out a roar, but powered through it, curling himself around Isaac as they crashed into the ground. Then everything went dark.

He came to slowly, his body aching from the impact. At first, he didn’t remember what had happened, but it all rushed back to him when his ears started working and he heard sirens and screaming.

Isaac.

Forcing his eyes open, he craned his neck, but the pain was too great to get a good look. He couldn’t even feel the mage in his claws because of the pain. He groaned, trying to get himself to shift back to his human form, but nothing happened. His mind was too fuzzy to manage it. Dropping his head against the pavement, he let out a heavy breath. He could only hope that Isaac was okay.

Moments later, they were both surrounded by paramedics. He heard one shout that Maverick was holding someone and felt hands on his hide, trying to pull Isaac free. He growled out a warning, tightening his grip on the mage.

Mine.

A paramedic with two different colored eyes, one sapphire blue and the other the lilac color of the fae, came around so Maverick could see him, his voice low and soothing. “We do not wish to hurt him,” the man said, pressing his hand to his chest where a warm gold swelled in a familiar spell. “On my honor, we will only take him from you long enough to treat his injuries. He’s bleeding, dragon. He needs to be seen. As do you.”

Maverick didn’t care about himself. He would deal with the pain. But he couldn’t heal Isaac himself. He had to trust the paramedics. And the vow of confidence the fae gave wasn’t to be trifled with. Fae may be tricky by nature, but their vows were broken on pain of death. The magic in the spell would suck them dry for daring to break it.

“Only you,” Maverick grumbled.

The fae dipped his chin once. “I will see to him myself and bring him to the hospital. Once he is stable, I will bring him to you.”

There was nothing more Maverick could ask for. He loosened his grip on the mage and the fae disappeared. He pulled Isaac from Maverick’s claws, laying him on a gurney. A whine escaped Maverick as they took him away. He should have controlled himself better. If he’d not lost his temper, Isaac wouldn’t have needed to pull the dragon’s focus onto him. Maverick deserved more than to lose his job for this. He deserved death.

“Your turn,” another paramedic said, resting a hand on his snout. Maverick would scowl if he could, but couldn’t manage more than an irritated grunt. His heart hurt too much.

Several more hands rested on him, and he felt rather than saw the portal spell open up underneath him. Someone his size couldn’t be moved in an ambulance. He never liked portaling. It felt strange to him, like he was falling without moving. When he opened his eyes again, he was in a procedure room of a hospital large enough for his dragon form to fit. Druids moved around the space, checking him over and casting spells. Maverick didn’t care. He only wanted to know about Isaac.

Did he even survive?

He had no idea how long he was there. Time seemed to move achingly slowly and at one point a spell was used to put him to sleep. He fought against it, not wanting to miss any news about Isaac, but several druids ganged up on him and he didn’t have the strength to fight it off for long. He fell asleep, dreaming of Isaac falling and of himself being too slow to catch him. It was horrific, watching the mage hit the ground, all the life and snark gone in an instant, all because of Maverick and his stupid temper. If Isaac survived, Maverick would never allow his temper to get the better of him again. He’d spend all day every day meditating, just to keep himself in check.

When he came to again, he was no longer in his dragon form. He was lying in a hospital bed in one of those itchy gowns, attached to spells monitoring his vitals. The pain had dimmed to something more manageable, though his hands still throbbed. He stared at the ceiling, trying to come to terms with what happened. Silently berating himself. This was all his fault.

“I should have forced you to take a vacation,” Ozen murmured. Maverick rolled his head, finally taking in the rest of the room. His friend sat in a chair beside him, his arms crossed over his chest. His mate was nowhere to be found. It was strange to see them apart. Since their mating, Ozen had not been apart from his mate for longer than a few hours. By the looks of his suit, Ozen had been here a while. And there was no evidence anyone else had been there with him.

Swallowing hard against a dry throat, Maverick’s first and only question was, “Isaac?”

Ozen pressed his lips together tightly. “Alive. That’s all they’ve told me for now.”

Not good enough. Maverick tried to force himself to get up, grunting with the effort. Ozen was on his feet in seconds, pushing him back down with a scowl. “Maverick, stop. You can’t move right now. You’re hurt and–”

“I need to see him,” Maverick growled, fighting against his friend’s hold. Normally, it would be easy for him. His strength vastly overpowered Ozen’s. But either injury or the spell work left him drowsy and weak. He couldn’t manage to fight him off.

“Maverick!” Ozen protested.

Before Maverick could gather the strength to fight him off, the door to his room opened and a familiar set of mismatched eyes stepped in. He raised an eyebrow at Maverick and Ozen before stepping aside and holding the door open to allow a group of druids to wheel another bed into the room.

“As promised, dragon,” the fae said, gesturing towards the bed. “Apologies for the wait. It took a while to stabilize him. His magic keeps throwing off sparks.”

Twisting, he craned his neck to see around the druids, who were busy setting up spells to monitor Isaac. He was asleep, his bright pink hair disheveled and his face pale, but he was in one piece as far as Maverick could tell. After the druids were finished, the fae male moved to the other side of Isaac’s bed, pushing it until it was up against Maverick’s. It got him a few dirty looks from the druids, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

“I made a vow. That vow isn’t complete until the dragon’s mate is returned to him.”

For a moment, his focus was so fully on Isaac, he didn’t hear what the fae had said. Then it sank in.

Mate?

It hit him in a rush so intense, he swayed in the bed and Ozen had to steady him with his hands on Maverick’s shoulders. Mate. No. Isaac wasn’t his mate. Maverick had been alive for hundreds of years without feeling the urge for a mate. He didn’t deserve one. Especially after what had just happened. The fae was wrong.

Tell that to his dragon, who was roaring in his head so loudly, Maverick could hear nothing else. It took him a few moments to steady the beast so he could think clearly.

“How do you know?” Ozen asked, his voice muffled with the ringing in Maverick’s ears. Maverick wanted to know the answer to that, too, so he shook off the dragon’s raging growls, trying harder to focus on the fae man.

Bi-colored eyes flicked to him, and his head tipped in a sign of curiosity. “Were you unaware of it?”

“It’s not true. I am unmated. He is a legal aide in my office. We’re not–” A snarling growl ripped from his throat, cutting off his protest. The fae man smirked.

“Your dragon sees things differently. Well, whatever your relationship, I vowed to bring him back to you. I’ve done so. His physician should be by soon to update you on his recovery. Be careful touching him if you truly aren’t his mate. His magic is turbulent. I think he’s protecting himself.”

A common occurrence with injured mages. If they’re rendered unconscious, their magic turns volatile to protect themselves until they’re re-awakened. He’d seen it before in a water mage. The poor druid who was assigned to help him was soaked and freezing from water and ice attacks by the time the mage woke up.

The fae male didn’t walk out of the room, but instead disappeared through a portal just as the door to the room opened again and Taron and another of their friends, Dorian, stepped inside. Taron looked serious for once, his mouth drawn into a frown. Dorian was calmer, but no less concerned. They both stepped up beside Ozen, studying Maverick in turn.

“Are you well? I saw the news,” Dorian said.

Maverick shook his head. He was still reeling from what the paramedic had said. He didn’t know what Dorian was talking about. “News?”

Taron scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Oh yeah. It’s everywhere. Dragon crashes in the middle of the city, leaving a crater in a major roadway. It’s all anyone’s talking about.”

Guilt ate at him, and he glanced at Dorian again. “Was anyone else hurt?”

Dorian shook his head. “No. It’s sort of a miracle, honestly. Everyone who was in the area said it felt like they were hit with a blast of air that knocked them out of the way and cushioned their fall.”

Air. Wind. Isaac.

Jerking to look down at the little mage, he felt his mouth fall open. Isaac always said he could handle himself. That he wasn’t afraid of Maverick or anyone else. Maverick knew he was strong. He’d felt his magic several times. He never expected him to be so powerful that he could knock away everyone who might have gotten hurt in the crash and protect himself at the same time. Just who was this little mage? And why did his dragon seem so determined to claim him?