Prologue
Gunter roared, sending a blast of dragon fire at another building. Concrete exploded under the heat, and buried timbers burst into flames. Jaeggi mages screamed and ran, scattering like little insects to new hiding places.
There would be no more hiding. The dragons and mages of Burkhard, Valerii, and the Sodalicium had descended on the Jaeggi to deliver justice at last. After five hundred years, the last of the Jaeggi would be destroyed.
But the first priority was finding their lost dragon.
Where the hell was Ravi?
Sora was determined to magically rip the Jaeggi apart until Ravi was found, and Gunter thoroughly approved. Ravi might be a troublemaker and a danger to his library, but he was still a brother—he was family—Gunter had known most of his life.
If something had happened to Ravi...
If they were too late...
Gunter shoved the thought aside as his stomach twisted with more fear and pain. They weren’t too late. They’d get Ravi back.
Flapping his wings, Gunter headed higher to turn and make another pass over the compound. Maybe there was a hidden location. That could be where they’d imprisoned Ravi.
His dragon was trying to suggest that maybe more fire could be used to burn away the hidden bits, but Gunter ignored the suggestion. His dragon believed fire was the answer to everything.
As he completed his turn, a familiar blue streak caught his eye. Gunter blinked a couple of times at the sight of Ravi darting up alongside him.
“Hey, Gunter!” Ravi called out in his usual happy-go-lucky tone, as if he hadn’t been kidnapped by the Jaeggi and scared his entire clan to death.
“Ravi! Where have you been?” The demand might have been softened by Gunter tilting his wings and stretching out his neck so he could bump his snout against the side of Ravi’s head.
He’d never been so relieved to see the bundle of mischief in his life.
For the first time in...well, ever, he felt like hugging his friend tightly.
Ravi laughed and returned the gesture. “Sorry I missed all the fun. I need to see Alric and Sora. I also need you to protect them,” he finished, shoving a small, slender blond human at him. Gunter hadn’t even noticed Ravi carrying a rider. His focus had been on the dragon.
An utterly undignified sound escaped Gunter, but he couldn’t not accept the poor creature.
And wasn’t it just like Ravi to hand a human off mid-flight and not think of the dangers?
Ravi’s passenger looked as panicked by this maneuver as he was, but Gunter got a firm grip and didn’t let go.
He automatically tucked the human—no, mage—close.
Now that Gunter was holding the mage, he could clearly smell the magic wafting off his body.
Ravi had found a mage who didn’t belong to the Jaeggi Clan.
This was a doubly good day then. New mage and a safe Ravi.
If they could destroy the Jaeggi once and for all, it would be the best day ever.
But first, what the devil was he supposed to do with the mage?
“Ravi?”
“Nikki is a mage. Saved my life!”
Gunter softly grunted and nodded. That was enough for him.
He tightened his fingers, careful of his talons so he didn’t harm his passenger.
If he’d come out of that mad, chaotic battle from below, then Gunter wanted to make sure Nikki was alright.
He turned in his flight, heading to the back of the line where he could safely set down, get someone to check the mage over.
Very carefully, he landed outside the battlefield where a small group of mages had set up a triage and healing center for anyone injured.
Gunter attempted to settle Nikki on their feet, but the mage would not be released.
It was like being wrapped up by an octopus.
Every time Gunter got one limb unhooked, another would latch on.
“Wait, wait! Don’t put me down,” Nikki demanded in a harsh whisper. He looked over his shoulder at the other mages and then tightened his hold on Gunter. “Who are all these people?”
“These mages are from my clan. They won’t hurt you. They only wish to help. They can check you over to make sure you don’t need medical attention,” Gunter explained, but it made zero difference on Nikki’s grip.
“Please don’t put me down,” Nikki pleaded. Panic grew in his voice. “I really, really don’t want to be on the ground. I’m much safer in the air. Can we please go back up in the air?”
“With all the spells being flung around, the air is not safe right now.”
“It’s still safer than the ground. I can’t trust mages. I’ve not met a good mage yet. But I can trust the dragons. Please?”
Frowning, Gunter moved a little farther from the gathering of Burkhard mages. In a quiet and safe spot, Gunter’s dragon settled on the ground and pulled his wings around in front of him so that his head—along with all of Nikki—were completely shielded from the world.
“There. No more mages,” Gunter announced. To his relief, Nikki finally put his feet on the ground but didn’t release his arms. Progress. Sort of.
Nikki huddled closer, peering suspiciously over one shoulder as if tracking where the other mages were at all times. “I don’t want to go near the mages again.”
“I swear to you, these mages can be trusted. They are of my clan. I really need to shift back into my human form. I must speak with King Alric and find out what needs to be done now that you and Ravi have been liberated.”
Nikki did not like this idea one iota. He peered up through his thick lashes, expression doubtful.
Gunter felt that look impact him straight in the heartstrings.
It was sad Nikki couldn’t trust other mages.
The damn Jaeggi’s fault, no doubt. Who knew what Nikki had suffered at their hands to make the mage react so against his own kind.
Gunter felt...not sympathy, but a willingness to help Nikki feel comfortable and safe until he realized there was no reason to fear the Burkhards.
“If it helps, stick with me,” he offered with a smile. “I’ll act as a barrier between you and them.”
As if fate thought this all a wonderful joke, a small hand lightly grabbed the edge of Gunter’s wing and started to pull as if parting a curtain, but he jerked it back.
“Really, Gunter. A battlefield isn’t a good place to play hide-and-seek,” Mage Yuki admonished.
Gunter nearly snarled. Now was not the time. Just the sound of her voice sent Nikki spinning, guard up, vibrating with the need to either fight or flee. “Everything is fine, Yuki. I’ll be along in a moment.”
“Gunter?”
With a huff, he extended his long neck, poking his head out between his wings so he could speak to her while keeping Nikki hidden from sight.
He felt freaking ridiculous. “I will explain later, but everything is under control. Ravi has been found. Maybe you should check that he doesn’t need medical attention. ”
Yuki laughed and waved a hand at him. “Oh, I saw Sora tackle him already. He’s in good hands. I believe they’re talking to Alric now.” She gave him a little pat on the snout like he was being a particularly good dog and walked back over to where the other mages were working.
Gunter rolled his eyes. All mages were precious, but he was beginning to understand all mages were also a handful. Particularly the one still hiding with him.
Pulling his head back into his wings, Gunter bumped his snout into Nikki’s side in an awkward nuzzle, and the mage giggled. The happy sound was surprising and sent up the strangest little bubble of something in Gunter’s heart. “Did I tickle you?”
“I’m super ticklish,” Nikki admitted. But the best part was that Nikki had relaxed his hold. Gunter didn’t hesitate. He shifted back into his human form in a flash.
Nikki yelped in surprise, his face flushing a little. The hold on Gunter’s arm hadn’t lessened any through his transformation, either.
Gunter resettled his glasses on his nose and smoothed some hair out of his face. He wasn’t feeling entirely pulled together, but that was nothing a hot shower, a cup of tea, and maybe a little mage-removal surgery couldn’t cure.
And the surest way to become one clingy mage lighter was to find Alric.
“Come along, Nikki. We need to speak to those dragons over there.” Gunter pointed to where three dark-red dragons stood guard.
They held a defensive ring just outside of the main gates at a temporary command-center.
It was an easy guess that Alric had shifted back into his human form and those dragons were forming a shield to protect their king.
“Will there be mages?”
“A couple probably, but there will be far more dragons.”
“Are you—” Nikki started to ask something else, but the words broke off as he lifted his eyes to Gunter’s face. His astonishingly purple eyes went wide and his mouth hung open, but no sound came out. Surprise. Or rather shock at seeing Gunter in his human form.
Gunter looked Nikki over more carefully now that he had better lighting.
Yes, those really were purple eyes. A deep, galaxy sort of purple.
Genetically speaking, those eyes were one in a million.
(Gunter may have spent too much of his time recently on genetics.) And they were set in a narrow, androgynous face, silky blond hair falling around Nikki’s shoulders in a touchable way.
Nikki was short, with a delicate sort of air, one that made Gunter feel protective.
A beautiful person, no doubt about that.
And one who was still unnerved and clearly uneasy being here.
“Yes,” Gunter started, clearing his throat. “Not quite what most people expect when they think dragon,” he finished awkwardly, clearing his throat again. Nikki’s stare made Gunter feel like he was being analyzed from every single angle. Not a comfortable sensation. “Let’s go.”
He managed to get Nikki to hold his hand instead of his arm as they crossed the grassy field to the dragons. It certainly made navigating the madness easier. They slipped between the guards to find Alric holding an exhausted Cameron while he spoke to Baldewin, Ravi, and Sora.