Chapter Sixteen Lore
SIXTEEN
Lore
I WRACKED MY brain for another explanation for the giant shadow.
It couldn’t be Logan Blaze; he wasn’t downstairs in the brawl—my internal doubts cut themselves off as another massive shadow soared gracefully by the window. Its serpentine silhouette stretched across the walls, dancing and flickering with the shifting light.
On second thought, it looked like it very much could be who I thought it was.
I swore using one of my new creative expressions.
Sloth was near the door in an instant, his dagger in hand as he cut a sharp glance in my direction.
“You know what that is?” he asked. “This is part of your book?”
I cringed internally.
“Yes. To both.” I might as well rip the bandage off my soon-to-be-wounded pride. “Remember Logan Blaze, the man with the dimples?”
The room temperature seemed to drop a degree or two.
I glanced at the window to see if it had blown open—it hadn’t—and fought the urge to rub warmth into my arms.
“How could I forget?”
“Well… he’s a dragon shifter. Specifically, he’s the alpha of the Black Wings dragon clan. Hence the ‘Black Wings’ part of the title.”
I pointed to the window as the shadow blotted out the sun again. This time, I heard the swoosh of wings as the creature surged by.
“I’m pretty sure that’s him.”
Sloth looked like he was mentally counting until he’d gotten himself under control. He was either wildly impressed by my taste in books or was wishing he’d gotten stuck with a more boring partner in dreamweaving crime.
I didn’t delude myself into thinking it was the former. And he should be so lucky to end up in my twisted tale.
“And?” he asked. “Does he attack the main love interest?”
I snorted.
For all his vast knowledge, Blondie clearly hadn’t read any shifter romances. Otherwise, it would have been obvious.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
Relief was short-lived for my companion.
I hadn’t finished explaining the plot.
“He kidnaps her from the man who tried to enslave her. She turns out to be Blaze’s fated mate, but we don’t learn that until the second book. Though the author gave so many hints that I’m not sure how anyone missed that plot twist.”
The prince glanced up at the ceiling, his lips moving in either silent prayer or colorful cursing.
“Anyway, if that’s Logan, then I’m positive he’s hunting for his mate. He probably senses her somewhere and is narrowing down her location.”
The dragon shifter flew back across the sky, this time low enough for the building to shake from the force.
Logan Blaze would rip the roof off soon to collect his prize.
We should be safe as long as we didn’t catch his attention.
If we posed a threat, then he’d unleash his dragon flames on us. I really didn’t want to end up as barbecue because of my top fictional crush.
I scrambled to think of how he might be used for my test.
The most enticing idea was also the most unlikely. I doubted the Logan Blaze was going to attempt to seduce me.
In the book, Logan only had eyes for the woman he’d felt compelled to protect. That was the first flicker of the mating bond snapping into place.
He’d followed that insistent tug to the tavern.
Then he’d swept in with his giant black bat wings, broke an obscene number of bones, grabbed his mate from the clutches of the man who wanted to cage her, then, well, technically he’d kidnapped her from her kidnapper and chained her in his cave, where they—
Footsteps pounded up the stairs.
Before Sloth could heave the sturdy nightstand in front of the door to barricade us in, it burst open with a thunderous crash.
That was roughly about the same time my jaw hit the floor.
Standing there, dark wings beating like bad omens, was the dragon shifter of legend. I now completely understood how it was possible for characters to release a breath they didn’t know they were holding.
It felt like he’d sucked up all the oxygen in the room and I’d been too overwhelmed by his presence to notice.
Logan Blaze’s golden gaze skimmed over the prince, then fixed to me.
Hunter meets prey.
I swallowed thickly.
“Logan Blaze.”
My voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard me.
“In the flesh.”
His voice was a deep, sensual rumble that resonated like a distant storm. It sent a flurry of butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
By the gods, there was undeniable power in an alpha’s stare, a magnetic force that seemed to reach out and ensnare my very soul.
Even though I didn’t know him, I had an overwhelming urge to submit to his every demand, as if his presence alone commanded unwavering obedience.
If he told me to get on my knees and crawl, I’d weep at the honor.
Definitely not the kind of main character energy I wanted to channel.
I gave myself a mental beating and snapped out of it.
I was correct with my first, seemingly impossible assessment: This test was centered on desire. I just had to resist lusting after my number one fictional crush and calmly switch to a new story without giving in to his temptation.
I wasn’t deluded into thinking that would be easy.
This was Logan Blaze. In the flesh. I was ready to praise the dark gods who made such a magnificent specimen.
Sloth moved with his supernatural speed and placed himself in front of me, shielding me from our intruder.
And possibly those potent pheromones.
Gods, I needed a fan or less clothing.
Sloth stood so close my chest pressed into his back with each of my breaths. His proximity combined with the heat in Logan’s gaze was making my mind spin wildly out of control with some creative scenarios.
Even knowing I was being manipulated with magic, I couldn’t stop myself from reaching over and running a hand down Sloth’s back, craving some sort of physical connection to take the growing edge off.
He went completely still but didn’t step away from my touch.
Which wouldn’t go over well if we were following the storyline.
Dragon shifters were notoriously possessive.
Only trusted members of their clan could go near their mate during the bonding period. Everyone else was collateral damage.
I halted at that. I wasn’t the shifter’s mate, and unless the Liber Noctem had made that happen, we should—
Fury rolled off Logan as he tucked his wings close and took a step into the room. Naturally, like all proper love interests, he wasn’t wearing a shirt.
I tried, gods did I try to avoid looking, but I was weak when faced with something so godlike in its perfection.
I cursed the authors who dreamed up the dark, brooding bad boys with ill-fitting clothes that showed off their decades of hard training.
Really, it would be rude to not acknowledge such dedication, though.
I peered over the prince’s shoulder and reminded myself that panting was for cats, not humans. And I refused to be reduced to baser instincts.
The primitive little monster part of my brain cackled.
I was just a beast standing upright, wearing a pretty dress.
Logan’s trousers were slung low enough to send non-shifters into heat.
Muscles surged with each of his movements, the dark, swirling tattoos on his chest and abs seeming almost alive, undulating with that raw, masculine power he exuded.
His whole presence was like a vortex that threatened to consume the room. Well, it would have been consuming if it didn’t brush up against a more chilling, powerful presence.
Blondie was pretty darn impressive.
Then Logan moved again, drawing my attention back to him.
A knowing smirk played on his lips when he caught the direction of my gaze. I couldn’t even pretend like I wasn’t drooling.
To be fair, the way his carved muscles tapered to that V with a light trail of dark hair leading to the promised realms was unreal.
Even my nan would have stared.
His grin widened when Sloth cleared his throat in a failed attempt to wrench me out of my lusty daze.
And there were those dimples.
Goodbye, panties.
The shifter could have his way with me. Right here. Right now. Up against the wall, on the floor, the bed. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. But I’d beg for him to choose a starting position before I combusted.
I was suddenly very motivated to fail this test. No one had mentioned anything about me needing to pass them all to win the Trials. That seemed like a pretty critical piece of information to have.
Surely, if I had to lose one round, this would be the one to do so. Death by orgasms was preferable to death by any other means.
Logan crooked a finger in my direction.
“You’re coming with me.”
Absolutely.
Sloth’s entire body tensed.
Absolutely not, then. Spoilsport.
The dragon shifter probably wasn’t talking to me anyway.
I glanced over my shoulder, wondering if Logan’s mate had somehow slipped into our room while we’d been practicing with my mental shields.
Nope. Just an empty bathtub and bed.
And one pissed-off Prince of Sin.
It took only a second more to register what was happening.
“Oh, no.”
I finally understood a basic fact of how the Trials worked. The Liber Noctem created our reality from stories I read, but it also made me assume the role of the main character from each book. Since it twisted the plots to meet its tests, I had no advantage.
This wasn’t good. Well, it was actually pretty amazing for living out my fictional dreams, but for practical purposes, it was very bad.
And I needed to live in the world of logic, not fantasy, right now.
No matter how difficult said fantasy was making things with those half-lidded bedroom eyes.
“Oh, yes.”
The dragon shifter flashed me a look that said no wasn’t on the menu.
If this was how the Liber Noctem planned to seduce me to the dark side, we were royally screwed. It was much more devious than simply attacking my mind.
I’d fantasized about meeting Logan Blaze from the moment he first appeared on the page in his story. He was everything I secretly wanted. Brave, bold, and completely ruthless when it came to claiming what was his.
He was definitely the type to burn the world if it meant saving his one true love, and he wouldn’t think twice.