Chapter 5
She was back.
Nikki tried not to glare at Lisette over the book they were loosely holding in their hands, but it wasn’t easy.
The mage wasn’t entirely horrible. She always spoke nicely to them, remained patient and kind. She looked like a gracefully-aged grandmother, with her silver hair in a sleek bob, the jewel-toned dress she wore both comfortable and flattering.
But she also kept coming into their domain, poking at both Nikki and Gunter. Nikki would really prefer it if she just went away. Lisette carried her power around her like a queen would a dramatic cape. She radiated it as well as experience.
She knew all the magical things, and powerful mages could not be trusted under any circumstances. Powerful mages had made their life a living hell.
The only reason why Nikki didn’t evade her completely was she had never done anything to them. And Gunter trusted her. Gunter had not led them astray yet, so Nikki was inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt. By maybe one percent.
Well, alright, it wasn’t only that. She also promised the knowledge Nikki craved.
Nikki’s magical knowledge was a combination of what their parents had taught them and whatever tidbits they’d been able to figure out while with the Jaeggi.
It wasn’t anything comparable to what this old mage knew.
And as much as Nikki wanted to learn at their own pace, it wasn’t feasible.
They were in a war, and no one was going to wait for Nikki to catch up.
The explosion at the old Jaeggi compound still rankled a day later. If they had been smarter, faster, knew more magic, they wouldn’t have been surprised. Gunter wouldn’t have been in danger.
Their heart had been in their throat when Gunter tackled them to the ground. Not out of any fear of danger, but from terror that something might happen to Gunter. He’d been in his human form, soft and fragile. As a dragon, the flames and explosion would have done nothing to Gunter’s lovely scales.
Of course, the unexpected explosion also meant being pinned under Gunter as he protected them with his own body. That had been pretty wonderful. Especially with the explosions and fire and danger. They just wanted to be held by Gunter always, but that wasn’t realistic.
Gunter needed a strong, smart, powerful mage at his side to take care of him and help him in his research.
And that just brought them right back to these magic lessons with Lisette.
Worst catch-22 ever.
A heavy sigh slipped from Nikki’s lips, and they transferred their glare to the book in their hands. It was a beginner’s book to magic. Something they should have mastered years ago. Which also smarted. This was the boring stuff, anyway. When did they get to the chapter about explosions?
“—you’ll need to be aware of power levels when you combine elements, as of course you can create anti-spells if you unbalance things too much—”
Apparently, it was rude to poke someone in the forehead and say “skip intro” when they were talking to you. Nikki eyed her and considered trying it anyway.
“Everything okay? Am I going too fast for you?” Lisette inquired, breaking into the swirling thoughts cluttering their brain.
“What? No. Math. Elements. I got it,” they muttered, trying not to sound annoyed, but judging by the skeptically raised white eyebrow, they had failed pretty miserably.
Right, maybe a magic question to throw her off guard. Nikki was good at diverting people. “You were talking about benign spells and malignant not being compatible, but if you combine the two, what happens?”
“Nothing good,” Lisette assured him.
“Like, narrow that down for me. Are there explosions? Do things melt? The world spins backwards for a while?”
“Usually, it creates a backlash of power that impacts everyone in the area and hurts them.” Lisette lifted a brow in challenge. That brow said your move.
“So, no explosions? Sounds not fun.” Nikki scratched that idea off the list. “Do we need to consider planetary alignments and what they’re doing when casting spells? I always wondered that.”
“Such as…?”
“Like, being aware when Mercury is in retrograde.”
“Oh. No, that has no effect.”
“Good. ’Cause I’m tired of Mercury’s shit. I’m in retrograde now. It’s my turn.”
Gunter snorted, sounding like he was laughing on some level. At least he was entertained. Lisette looked done with Nikki’s shit already.
Pity, ’cause Nikki wasn’t done poking at her. “Can we make our own spells?”
“Of course. Mages innovate new magic all the time.” Lisette looked relieved to have a normal question.
Only it hadn’t been. Psych! “Great, because I think I came up with one. If I say ‘I don’t feel queer enough,’ I feel like I gain 120 qxp—that’s queer experience points—and maybe by level three I can get something awesome, like maybe cast magic missiles. We have magic missiles, right?”
Lisette rolled her eyes in a clear bid for patience. Or maybe she was praying for Nikki to be struck dumb. “You know very well we don’t. Nikki, do you have a serious question for me or are we done for the day?”
She was still so patient. Nikki would have smacked them at this point. Having a little pity on her, they went with a question that had been rattling in their brain for a while. “Are all dragon scales impervious to fire or is it just the fire dragons?”
Lisette blinked. “No, dragon scales protect all dragons from fire. However, it’s my understanding fire dragons have an added protection against fire simply because it’s their element.”
“But that protection doesn’t extend to their human form, right? It’s all in the scales.”
“To a large extent. They retain their accelerated healing even in human form, but they are also more vulnerable to attacks and injury. Why—”
They pressed on, refusing to be distracted. “So, why can’t they shed their scales in dragon form and make a suit of armor to wear while they’re in their human form? That way they’re always protected.”
Again, Lisette just sort of blinked before new lines started forming around her mouth and across her brow.
Nikki knew that look. It was worry. They’d seen it a few times on Gunter’s face and generally every mage they’d encountered in this castle.
Nikki wanted to sigh again. Why were they all so worried? This was a perfectly logical concern.
Lisette cleared her throat. “Generally, dragons can’t shed their scales.
At least, not at will. Scales will sometimes become detached in a fight when the dragon is injured.
But that’s something Gunter would be able to speak to better than I can.
” She put emphasis on his name like she was verbally nudging him to join in their conversation.
Nikki’s gaze darted to their left, where Gunter had fallen back into deep research mode.
He was wearing worn-out jeans and a faded hoodie that had seen better days, looking both comfortable and perfectly at home in his chair.
He was reading the tiny, old print of a manuscript so closely the tip of his nose nearly touched the page, and his blond hair had fallen in front of his glasses.
Nikki longed to reach over and brush his hair back, but they didn’t want to disturb the dragon.
He was so adorable when he was working, lost to all the world he was undoubtedly trying to save.
Before Lisette could make another attempt to get Gunter’s attention, the steady clack of hard-soled shoes echoed down the hall, growing louder as the person drew closer to the library.
“Gunter, I—” Lisette started in a more persistent voice, but her words were stopped when one of the doors to the library swung open and King Alric appeared.
This was unexpected. Alric had never come down here that Nikki had seen.
Everyone in the clan seemed to jokingly refer to the library as a dungeon and avoided it, unless they needed Gunter.
Nikki couldn’t comprehend why. Sure, there weren’t any windows to the outside world, and it was a bit dark and shadowy most of the time, but there were some very old manuscripts in here.
The sunlight would only damage their fragile pages.
And it wasn’t like anyone was ever locked in here. There were no shackles on the walls, prison cells with iron bars, or torture instruments strewn about the room. The library was cozy and quiet. It smelled of books, old candle wax, and hints of Gunter’s spicy aftershave.
After having explored every nook and cranny of Burkhard Castle, Nikki had decided they liked being down here with Gunter the best. Gunter was good company, and people didn’t come down here all that often, so it was relaxing for Nikki.
Staying in the library meant they could spend the entire day doing two things they absolutely loved: reading and watching over Gunter.
The dragon spent most of his time seated behind a very large desk heavily laden with books, scrolls, other odd papers, dirty coffee mugs, and a desktop computer they’d not seen Gunter use too much.
Their dragon preferred working on paper with a vast collection of pens.
Although he did use a laptop and tablet a lot, too.
Maybe he was one of those who hadn’t fully transitioned into technology yet?
Early on, it had felt natural for Nikki to claim the small table to the right of Gunter’s desk.
They’d then grabbed another more comfortable chair in which they could curl up while reading, and moved the old, hard chair to another part of the library.
They’d also snagged a sweater off the back of Gunter’s chair and were using it as a cozy shawl or blanket when the library felt nippy in the mornings. It was a cheerful and cozy little nook.
Alric only lifted a questioning eyebrow at seeing Nikki ensconced there, but he didn’t say anything either. He looked rather preoccupied.
“Gunter, I—Oh! Lisette, I wasn’t expecting to find you in here.” Alric started as he came around the desk and spotted the head mage.
She rose to her feet smoothly, a pleasant smile lifting her lips. “Nikki and I were having a bit of a lesson today.”