Last of all the Pyr who shifted shape was Rafferty, who had been Kristofer’s mentor. That blue shimmer flashed and Rafferty became a massive dragon scaled in opal and gold, one that moved with deliberation and power. His mate, Melissa, looked on with pride. Their adopted daughter, Isabelle, had remained in school in England and Rhys didn’t doubt there’d been an argument about that.
Kade was conspicuously missing, although no one mentioned it. He’d been the one to provide the stylus that opened the portal to Fae, and Rhys knew he wasn’t alone in thinking that the danger they’d recently escaped had been partly Kade’s fault. Kade had left the Pyr when compelled to surrender the stylus and hadn’t contacted them since.
Ten dragons gathered in a circle as Quinn coaxed his forge to burn hotter and brighter. Without discussing the matter, the younger Pyr left a space for Theo, the descendant of Drake and their informal leader, who hadn’t been seen since he’d stepped through the portal to Fae.
“How shall the scale be repaired?” Quinn demanded. He had a scale in his talons and heated it in the fire of the forge. It was made of gold and heated to brilliant yellow as he turned it in the flames.
“With this,” Bree stepped forward and offered two black feathers. They gleamed in the light of the forge, touched with blue and purple iridescence. “One from Huginn and one from Muginn,” she added as Quinn accepted them.
“Foresight and memory,” Kristofer supplied.
“A gift evoking the element of air,” Quinn said. He heated the scale until it glowed white, then pressed one feather into it at an angle. The feather was immediately incinerated, but the shape of it was left in the gold. He did the same with the second feather, creating a relief of the crossed feathers in the scale. He raised the scale and exhaled dragonfire on it. Kristofer reared back, exposing the space where the scale was missing, and Quinn pressed the replacement into position.
Rhys winced at the smell of burning flesh and the wisp of smoke that rose from the spot. He saw Kristofer tip back his head and bare his teeth at the pain.
“Air,” the Pyr and their mates said as one.
Bree leaned forward and blew on the new scale. It made sense to Rhys that a former Valkyrie brought the quality of air to her union with a dragon shifter. She had been able to fly. She was intuitive. She understood magick and spells—which was a good reason to steer clear of her, in Rhys’ view—and she had given the feathers to heal Kristofer’s armor.
“Earth,” intoned Rafferty, the other Pyr joining him, and Quinn tapped the scale with a stone from Kristofer’s land. The signs of Kristofer’s affinity with the earth were all around them, both in his practicality—an expression of that affinity which Rhys shared—and his work as a stone mason.
“Water,” was the next cry and Bree caught her breath. As Kristofer looked down at her with obvious pride, she lifted a tear from each of her cheeks with her fingertips and dropped them on the new scale. They sizzled and the scale glowed brighter for a moment. “I’m sorry you lost a scale for me and have to endure this,” she whispered, but Rhys heard her words clearly.
“I’m not,” Kristofer said, his tail curling a little more tightly around her.
“Fire!” was the final cry and all of the Pyr breathed dragonfire into the night sky, including Kristofer. The fire in the forge leaped high as if it couldn’t have done otherwise and the very night seemed to be ablaze.
Drake raised his claws. “On this night, we repair the armor of our fellow dragon warrior, but we also form a new union to join forces with the Others in the battle against the Dark Queen. Our fate, indeed our very survival, and that of many other kinds, hangs in the balance and we cannot honorably stand aside.”
“DragonFate,” Hadrian cried. “We will defend the treasures of the earth and the future.”
“DragonFate,” Drake agreed. “I ask for a core group to take command, although all the Pyr will be at this quest’s disposal.”
Hadrian, Kristofer, Alasdair, Balthasar, Arach and Rhys stepped forward. Their movement sent a thunder through the land, as if even the earth approved.
“No matter what it takes, we’ll bring Theo back.” Rhys said. He wasn’t looking forward to entering Fae again, but he would do what had to be done. There was no telling what Theo was suffering.
“Leave no dragon behind,” Timmy said with a smile and his mom hugged him close.
Drake smiled down at his adopted son. “It is a universal desire amongst those who go to war and a noble impulse.” He nodded at the Pyr volunteers, as did Erik. “Your offer is accepted.”
“Know that we can be summoned with a word,” Erik added.
“The DragonFate Warriors!” Hadrian cried and the six of them took flight together. They flew in a tight triumphant circle overhead as the stars brightened overhead.
“I will return to Fae,” Rhys vowed and Kristofer tossed him Kade’s stylus. He snatched it out of the air.
“I will be your second,” Hadrian said. “We know the peril and the price.”
“I will interrogate the Others,” Alasdair said.
“We will hunt the ancient dragon prince, Embron,” Balthasar said.
“We will send him to join his dead brother, Blazion,” Arach added.
“Then it’s left to me to defend the gem of the hoard,” Kristofer said.
At least it wasn’t fused onto his scale.
“We will remain with you,” Erik said and Quinn nodded agreement.
The DragonFate team roared together and breathed another torrent of dragonfire, before landing again. The Pyr all shifted shape at once in a flash of shimmering blue, then shook hands all around. Kristofer kissed Bree then the others clapped him on the back. There was a celebratory rumble, then Quinn’s son Garrett raised his voice.
“Is anyone else hungry?” he asked and they all looked at Rhys expectantly.
“I’ve got this covered,” Rhys said and they laughed together.
Rafferty inhaled sharply, his bright gaze darting to Rhys. “Has anyone felt a firestorm spark?”
“Maybe it was ours,” Kristofer said, drawing Bree against his side. She smiled up at him and another moment passed, although Rafferty looked thoughtful. Rhys felt a stronger simmer of fire in his veins, as if his destined mate was closer, but headed for the kitchen to disguise the golden glow.
Maybe Maeve had turned up the power on her spell.
Either way, Rhys decided that he wouldn’t stay the night.
Two
Lila couldn’t believe it. Saturday night and the restaurant was packed, yet she didn’t think her dragon shifter was there. If she’d been the owner of Everyman Epicure, she would have been watching over everything on what had to be one of their busiest nights of the week. When they approached the restaurant, though, that flame around her fingertips hadn’t gotten any brighter and the heat in her veins hadn’t simmered any hotter.
He wasn’t there. She refused to be disappointed. It would be easier to leave afterward if they had nothing in common except mutual attraction.
She might have left immediately, but Nyssa got in the line.
“I don’t think he’s here,” Lila said.
“I think we should check to be sure.”
Lila shook her head. “I already know.”
Nyssa sighed. “I’m still hungry, and you promised me dinner. It’s busy so it has to be good. Besides I want the whole story as well as a great meal.”
“Not too demanding,” Lila teased.
“Where did you meet?”
Lila hadn’t decided whether to tell Nyssa about the firestorm or not. She nodded at the wall behind the hostess station and changed the subject. “Think he’s worth waiting for?”
There was a huge image of her dragon on the wall, the same picture as was on the website. The image was more imposing when it filled an entire wall. He was dressed in his chef’s whites, his sleeves rolled up to reveal powerful forearms, arms folded over his chest. He looked decisive. He was staring straight out at the viewer wit
h those gorgeous dark eyes, almost as intense in the image as he’d been in real life, and the barest smile lifted one corner of that deliciously firm mouth.
“Hot,” Nyssa said, then giggled. “Definitely worth a transatlantic flight.”
“If we can find him.”
There was a slogan on the sign, too:
Enjoy the best of the best at Everyman Epicure.
You have my guarantee on every bite.
—Rhys Lewis, owner and chef.
“Modesty isn’t a problem, then,” Nyssa said and Lila laughed.
“No, he didn’t seem to suffer from a lack of confidence,” she agreed, then dropped her voice to a whisper. “Maybe it’s a dragon thing.”
“So you did meet him in person?”
Lila nodded. “I kissed him. Well, he kissed me first and I kissed him back.”
“Good?”
“What do you think?”
“I think it must have been amazing to have brought you so far. There’s no shortage of hotties in Scotland.”
“Ha ha.”
There was a line of people waiting for tables, but Nyssa turned on the charm and they were soon ushered to a table. The hostess removed a Reserved sign from it before putting down the menus and gesturing to the table with a smile. She had a lovely yellow aura which matched her cheerful competence.
“You really shouldn’t do that,” Lila chided. She hated using her powers to influence situations, unless it really mattered. Nyssa had never shared that view.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you wanted to stand in line for an hour. You said you were hungry, too.” Nyssa opened her menu, unapologetic. “Besides, I need to stay in practice.” She looked over her menu at Lila. “That’s your problem. You never practice, so you can’t charm when you need to.”
“Not a lot of candidates on North Rona.”
“You might be wishing you’d kept in practice when you meet your dragon. He looks a bit stubborn, maybe even fixed in his ways.”
Lila didn’t reply. It had been so long since she’d charmed anyone that she wasn’t even sure she could do it anymore. She was hoping the firestorm would make her irresistible by itself, but she didn’t know much about it.
“Well?” Nyssa asked. “Do you see him?”
“I still don’t think he’s here.”
It felt good to sit down and the little patter of water from the fountain by the door was particularly soothing. People would probably notice if she jumped right in, though. Lila was already feeling a bit parched from being out of the water for so long.
She surveyed the restaurant, wondering how much of the design Rhys had done. She’d guess a lot. He seemed like someone who liked to manage all the details. So much earthy pragmatism.
Rhys. She liked his name.
They’d passed an outdoor patio on their way in, fenced off from the street with a railing. There were window boxes of herbs and flowers all around the perimeter of the patio, obviously pampered since they were still in bloom this late in the year. She’d guess the plants had been changed with the season, as the planters were thick with blooming chrysanthemums. There was a roof over half of the patio, and wooden tables with steel chairs. The street and busy traffic seemed very distant, so just approaching the restaurant gave the sense that you’d found a haven.
The interior was a big square, with that patio outside the wall that led to the street. The kitchen was at the back: the wall was open to display it and the people at work there. The dining room had Saltillo tile floors, and a long bar of dark wood with stools on one side. There were exposed wooden beams overhead and red brick walls on either side. The palette was earthy, and it was both welcoming and cozy. Lila thought they might have been invited into a dragon’s lair. The food smelled wonderful. There was a chalkboard beside them on the one long wall with the specials written on it. The restaurant was packed but not as noisy as Lila expected. She realized the ceiling was covered with cork to absorb the sound and the sound of that fountain definitely helped.
Their waiter was young and handsome, a cheerful foodie in his twenties. He had a healthy radiant pink aura and the easy manners to match. He introduced himself and Nyssa soon charmed him into revealing that the chef was away for the weekend. Ryan admitted this was very unusual, that Chef was always in every day. He recommended the special and two other options then went to get their drinks.
Lila knew for sure then that her dragon wasn’t still in Fae. That was good news. And she’d been right about him wanting to manage every little detail. Lila had a similar fondness for staying on top of everything, and she always had a plan when she had to be absent. There had to be an easy way for the staff to contact Rhys, and she could guess what that might be.
“Plan B?” Nyssa asked but Lila was already on her feet.
She went to the end of the bar where she’d noticed there was a phone. Time to try that charm factor. The bartender came to her with a smile, another handsome guy in his twenties. His aura was orange, tinged with some of the confidence that Rhys shared.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I changed my mind about the kind of wine I’d like and Ryan has already put in the order.”
“That’s no trouble. What would you prefer instead of the Chardonnay?” He put the glass aside, because he’d already poured it. “We have a nice Pinot Grigio by the glass, or a Semillon Blanc...”
As he reviewed the wines, Lila leaned over the counter as if trying to see the labels on the bottles. Actually, she was reading the labels on the phone for the programmed numbers.
Rhys’ Cell was the first one.
Perfect.
She realized the bartender was waiting for her reply. “I had something wonderful recently but I forget the name of it. It was kind of grapefruity.”
“A Gewürstraminer,” he said with assurance. “That’s really popular in the summer. Good match with fish but also with turkey.” He bent and surveyed the bottles. “I’ll have to get one from the cellar. It’ll just take a moment.”
“Thank you!” As soon as he left, Lila reached across the counter, lifted the receiver off the hook and pressed the first button. She could hear it ringing somewhere and hoped Rhys answered before the bartender returned.
“Rhys Lewis,” a familiar deep voice replied. Lila smiled at the sound. Rhys’ voice sharpened. “Hello? What’s wrong? What’s happened? Justin? Alexandra?”
“Neither,” Lila said softly. “It’s Lila Isbister.” She thought she saw a little spark dance out of the receiver.
There was a moment of dead silence. “Do I know you?” he asked warily and she knew he’d recognized her accent, if not her voice.
“I was hoping you’d tell me more about the firestorm. It sounded intriguing, and this little spark has become a bit distracting. Maybe we should do something about it.”
He caught his breath. “You can’t be there. Not now.”
“But I am. I came looking for you since you didn’t come looking for me.”
He made a little growl of frustration and Lila felt a simmering heat.
“I thought this mark of destiny was supposed to be irresistible,” she said.
“If it’s real,” Rhys snapped and Lila understood his concern. “This is the house phone,” he informed her tersely just as the bartender returned. The bartender’s eyes widened when he saw Lila on the phone. “You can’t use it for personal calls. It’s my rule and I follow it, too.”
“Then call me back,” she said, and gave him the number for Nyssa’s phone. She hung up then, hoping he had a good memory. “It rang,” she said to the bartender with a smile, charming with everything she had. “I didn’t know what to do so I answered, but it was a wrong number. Someone wanting Chinese food delivery.” She shrugged and to her relief, her charm seemed to hold up.
“We get wrong numbers all the time,” the bartender said easily, then uncorked the bottle. He poured a little into a glass and presented it to her. “Is this what you meant?”
Lila sniffed the
bouquet, then took a little taste, rolling the wine around in her mouth. It was what she’d meant, but she would have taken this glass either way. “Oh, that’s wonderful! Thank you so much.”
He showed her the label. “I’ll change it on your tab, in case you want a second glass. Leave the glass here and Ryan can bring it to your table.”
“Thank you so much.” Lila returned to the table with a bounce in her step.
Nyssa smiled. “Mission accomplished?” she asked just as her phone rang. She glanced at the call display, then laughed and offered the phone. “This would be for you.”
“Yes. It would be.” Lila took the phone. “I do like men with good memories.”
“You’d have to expect that from a dragon shifter,” Nyssa said lightly.
“Don’t say that!” Rhys hissed, obviously having heard Nyssa.
“It’s only the truth,” Lila protested, realizing that he kept his powers secret in human society. They had that in common, probably for similar reasons.
“What the hell are you doing in my restaurant anyway?”
“Having dinner.” Lila met Nyssa’s gaze. Her sister smiled. “But really, I’m looking for you. Isn’t that what I was supposed to do?”
“No!”
“I thought we could satisfy this firestorm of yours.”
“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Then you shouldn’t have kissed me,” Lila replied. “That kiss was an invitation if ever I’ve had one. It was a particularly tempting invitation, actually.”
He made a little incoherent sound of frustration. “It was good,” he acknowledged, sounding grumpy. “But I’m in Vermont!”
“Ooops,” Lila said.
“Lila Isbister,” he said. “Is that really your name?”
“Actually, it’s Dr. Lila Isbister, of the North Rona Research Project based in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland.”
Dragon's Heart (The DragonFate Novels Book 3) Page 4