Abby opened her mouth to protest, but a sharp kick under the table from Stan stopped her before she could say anything.
“We understand,” Stan said. “We’ll report back as soon as we have any information for you all.”
Abby felt her anger flare. Who did Stan think he was, speaking on behalf of both of them to the High Council? He was only coming along as a guard, just in case. She was the one who would be doing all the hard work of uncovering dark magic spells that the Dark Warriors had tried to conceal. With a frown creasing her face, Abby decided she was going to speak up, no matter what Stan thought.
“Your Honor, I’m well-trained in tracking skills and in magical defense. I’m sure Barnabas and Sunny would vouch for my skills. I’d be happy to track the Dark Warriors once we find their trail. I’m not afraid of anything they might throw at me. And I can’t imagine that a mighty dragon like Stan would be afraid, either.”
She said the words “mighty dragon” with as much sarcasm as she could muster, but Stan either didn’t notice or ignored the jab. Councilor Morgan frowned slightly, though, and Abby could tell that she had crossed a line with him.
“I appreciate your bravery and willingness to help, Abby. However, for the moment, all we’d like you to do is investigate the campsite and report back. If we need further assistance from you after that, we’ll let you know.”
Abby was about to protest again, but another kick from Stan stopped her. She kicked him back, hard, but didn’t say anything else to Councilor Morgan. She was realizing that the Head Councilor didn’t truly understand how capable she was. She would show him, though. Not with words and protests, but with actions. She would go on this mission, ignore Stan’s presence as best she could, and prove to the entire Head Council that she could handle anything they threw at her.
The meeting adjourned, and Abby went with Stan down to the supply center where they could restock their packs with any supplies they had run low on. They would leave within the hour, which made Abby happy. She wanted to get away from the city and into the fresh air where she could think clearly, and where she didn’t have to smile and act polite to a bunch of government officials.
The hardest part about all of this was going to be ignoring Stan. He seemed completely unfazed by any of her sharp comments, and, worse, he seemed completely comfortable putting a hand on her shoulder or knee. Abby hated to admit it, but any time his body came in contact with hers, she felt a delightful fluttering in her stomach. She always pushed it away as quickly as she could, but it was hard to ignore the fact that the dragon shifter who had been assigned to work with her turned her on.
It doesn’t matter, she told herself, gritting her teeth. Stan was a handsome man, and his muscular build would have caused any girl to sneak appreciative glances in his direction. But the fact that she appreciated his good looks didn’t change the fact that he was unnecessary weight on her journey. She would do her best to forget he was even there.
“Ready for some fun?” he asked, breaking into her thoughts. He looked at her with those shimmering dark eyes of his, and she felt her heart do a flip-flop.
Forgetting he was there was going to be the most difficult part of this mission.
Chapter Six
Stan had heard friends complain before about how women could put up a wall of ice, but he’d always thought they were exaggerating. No one could be that cold.
He’d been wrong. Abby was acting so cold toward him that he was surprised there weren’t literal snowflakes floating between them. He’d tried to laugh and make jokes. He’d tried to make friendly inquiries about subjects that might be of interest to her, like magical defense or ancient magic. He’d asked her about her hobbies, and she’d only grunted and said she didn’t have time for hobbies. He’d even tried to ask her about her opinion on serious subjects, like the future of the Torch Lake Clan and how the town could prepare for inevitable Dark Warrior attacks.
Nothing got through to her. She wouldn’t talk to him, and most of the time she barely acknowledged that he was talking. Truth be told, it was getting old. The novelty of looking at her pretty face was wearing off now that he realized she might not have been kidding when she implied she was going to spend the whole summer ignoring him.
Besides, he wasn’t even looking at her pretty face right now. He was looking at her back. She was leading the way as they trudged through Black Pines Forest. They had flown to the edge of the forest, and then the High Council had asked them to hike the rest of the way. With the threat of Dark Warriors nearby, it was safer to stay low to the ground, hidden among the trees. Flying made you more of an open target, especially since invisibility shields didn’t work well in the face of dark magic. One of the biggest advantages that the Dark Warriors had was that they knew the best spells for countering invisibility shields.
And so, Abby and Stan trudged through the forest. The weather, at least, was good. The sky was cloudy, which kept the temperature cooler, but so far there hadn’t been any rain. Stan hoped things stayed that way. He wouldn’t complain about camping in the rain if it came to that, but he preferred that things stay dry. Who could blame him for that?
The hike in would take about a day and a half. They’d have to camp out here for one night on the way in, and one night on the way out. There was no way they could make the whole trip in one shot, but from the speed at which Abby was hiking it seemed like she was trying to get to the campsite in a day anyway. Stan watched as the light grew dimmer and dimmer. He didn’t want to butt in and tell her they should stop, if he could avoid it. He knew she wanted to feel like she was in control of this mission, and he wanted to give her that illusion of control wherever he could. Keeping the peace would make his life this summer a lot easier. But as the sky grew darker and they trudged along without any signs of slowing down, he finally couldn’t hold his tongue any longer.
“Abby, we should stop for the night. Otherwise we’re going to have to set up camp in complete darkness.”
She turned around to face him, a challenge in her eyes. “I didn’t know dragons were afraid of the dark.”
At that, Stan’s anger finally flared. “Abby, you’re being ridiculous. You know we can’t reach the mission site tonight. It’s not going to make a difference in our mission if we walk another hour tonight or not. But it is going to make a difference in how difficult it is to set up camp.”
Abby glared at him, but she did stop. She slid her hiking pack off her back in a huff and stormed toward the small clearing that Stan had been pointing to.
“Fine. If you want to throw in the towel already, then so be it.”
“Abigail!” Stan’s voice was stern, and something in his tone must have been enough to really get her attention. She froze in place. Her back was to him, so he couldn’t see the expression on her face. But he could see the tension in her shoulders. He didn’t care anymore if he offended her, though. He was done being treated like this. He slid off his own hiking pack, letting it fall to the ground, and marched up to her. He spun her around and pushed her up against a tree trunk that was only a few feet away from her, bending his face so that it was only inches from hers.
“What are you doing?” she demanded. He had to hand it to her. She was as fearless as she claimed to be. Even in the face of an angry dragon, when most women would have been cowering, she stood tall. Her voice showed only annoyance, not panic. But Stan was going to find a way to get through to her. His dark eyes flashed as they looked into her defiant blue ones.
“You listen to me, and listen good. I know you think you’re invincible, and that you don’t need me. But this attitude you’re having needs to stop. I don’t care how special you think you are, or how advanced your magical skills are. I’m a dragon, Abby. A dragon. Didn’t they warn you about us in that fancy school of yours? We’re strong. Our hide is nearly impervious to magical attacks, so I’m not afraid of anything you might throw at me. And, oh, by the way, we’re pretty nice, until you make us angry. And you are making me pretty damn
furious right now. I didn’t agree to move to Torch Lake so that I could be condescended to by a sassy little wizard.”
Stan paused to catch his breath. Abby’s face showed the slightest glimmer of uncertainty, so he continued on with his rant, hoping it would get through to her.
“You need to stop this attitude, or I’m going to go tell the High Council that you’re impossible to work with. And trust me, the last thing you want is for the High Council to think you can’t work with dragons.”
“I don’t need you!” Abby said, finally finding her voice.
“Yes, you do. Maybe you don’t need me to protect you, but if you ever want to have a meaningful career in Torch Lake, you need me. If I tell the High Council you don’t play well with others, which is pretty much my impression of you right now, they’re not going to offer you a job or another internship when you’re done at the Academy. The High Council values teamwork, Abby. As they should. In case you hadn’t noticed, you and I are on the same team here. So stop pushing me away and start working with me. You’re not proving how tough you are by refusing to work with me. You’re only making me angry.”
Stan put his face right in hers as he spoke these last words. His jaw was set in a furious clench, and his brow was furrowed by fury. He did his best to maintain his angry expression, but it was surprisingly hard to do when he was this close to her.
She was intoxicating. Even though she was one of the most obnoxious women he’d ever met, she was so damn gorgeous. When he was right up in her face, looking at the way her skin glowed, and staring into those blue eyes that you could drown in, he had a hard time staying angry.
There was a part of him that wanted to kiss her in that moment. He held back the urge—it would have been completely overstepping professional boundaries. But something about her defiance turned him on. He liked a woman with a little spunk. Abby had spunk in spades. She was never going to be a damsel in distress, and he found that incredibly attractive. She had her own opinion, which was infuriating and fascinating at the same time.
Her eyes suddenly softened, and she looked down. “Sorry,” she mumbled. “Let’s just get the campsite set up, okay?”
Stan took a step back. “Yes, let’s.”
They worked in silence, pulling their tents out of their giant hiking packs and digging through their food stores to find dinner. Stan got a campfire going, and Abby cast a spell on it that made the smoke drift sideways into the trees instead of straight up. This would prevent any enemies from seeing the smoke plumes and finding the campsite.
Once the fire was going strong, Stan decided to go take a look around. Abby only nodded when told her this. She was studying a folder of notes, and didn’t seem interested in talking to him. Stan didn’t like the silence, but at least she had stopped making snide comments to him.
He wandered through the woods near the campsite, looking for signs that anyone else had been by before. He found footprints relatively quickly, which didn’t surprise him. This trail was a popular one, and a lot of wizards and shifters came here during the summer to hike. The clearing where he and Abby had stopped had probably been used many times before as a stopover point for groups of campers. Stan followed one set of footprints down to a large river, where a rope hung from one of the tree branches. He smiled as he realized the purpose of the rope. It was at the perfect height and position to grab and swing over the river. If you let go at the furthest point of the rope’s reach, you’d splash right into the deep middle of the river. Stan would have tried it, if not for the fact that the weather was still a bit cool. He also didn’t want to have to ask Abby to do a drying spell on his clothes. He was sure she would find some way to twist that into his slowing down the mission.
Stan took his time walking around the edge of the riverbank, smiling at the plethora of footprints. Maybe he and his dragon buddies could come back sometime for a fun hiking and camping trip. He wouldn’t mind doing something just for the fun of it, for once. Life had been much too serious the last several years.
Stan was about to turn and head back toward the camp when an oddly shaped piece of wood caught his eye. It was smooth and curved, and barely peeking out from behind one of the trees. He went to investigate, and his eyes lit up when he peeked around the tree and saw what it was.
“No way,” he whispered. Someone had left a guitar there. It must not have been too long ago, because the instrument was still in good condition. He could hardly believe someone had forgotten it there, but he was happy that they had. Perhaps one of the teenagers that came out here to camp had had a bit too much alcohol and been too buzzed to remember his guitar. Stan himself had done silly things like that when he was a teen.
He’d also played guitar a lot more as a teen. He’d been quite talented at it, and before he decided to pursue a career as a shifter protector, he’d had dreams of making it big in Nashville. He’d imagined himself as the latest, greatest country music star. Those dreams had faded as reality set in and he realized that he needed to have a solid career choice to fall back on. Disappointed with himself for letting his dreams die, he’d sold his guitar. He hadn’t wanted to look at the reminder that he’d “sold out” on his dream.
Stan chuckled now, thinking of how dramatic his younger self had been. Now, with the benefit of age and life experience, he realized that it was okay to be practical sometimes. Life didn’t always have to be all or nothing. Just because he wasn’t pursuing country music stardom anymore didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy strumming a guitar around a campfire.
With a silly grin on his face, Stan picked up the guitar and strummed it. He winced as the sound hit his ears—the instrument was horribly out of tune. He tuned it carefully, and tried again. This time, the chords he played sounded perfect.
“Like riding a bike,” he said aloud. “It just comes back to you.”
He strummed a few more chords, and then, still grinning from ear to ear, he walked back toward the campfire. Abby was still looking at her notes, and didn’t even glance up as he approached. Stan wanted to shove her up against a tree again and tell her to lighten up, but he figured losing his temper once a day was probably a good limit. So he sat down instead and started playing.
Abby looked up, startled, when the first notes of music hit her ears. She stared at him with a look that was a mixture of annoyance, disbelief, and perhaps just a little bit of awe. Stan closed his eyes so she wouldn’t distract him, and he played his heart out. He went through three whole songs before he stopped and opened his eyes again, grinning sheepishly in Abby’s direction. But his grin froze on his face when he saw her expression.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. He’d expected her to be either blatantly enjoying the music, or to be blatantly annoyed with him. But he’d never expected her to be on the verge of tears. She hadn’t shown a single second of weakness since he’d met her, so for her to be vulnerable enough to let her eyes fill with tears surprised him. It also made him feel like playing the guitar in front of her might not have been the best idea.
She shook her head back and forth quickly, as though trying to shake away the emotion she felt. “It’s nothing. Sorry. It’s just the song reminded me of…someone.”
Stan frowned, and leaned the guitar against a nearby tree trunk. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She didn’t answer. Instead she looked down at the small bowl of food she’d heated up over the fire, and concentrated on eating. Stan felt confused. Abby was the most confusing woman he’d ever met, and normally he would have run as far as he could from her. He didn’t have time in his life to deal with drama. But something kept drawing him back to her. He had a feeling that there was more to her tough, cold exterior than met the eye. So, against his better judgment, he decided to pry.
“Someone?” he asked. “As in some guy?”
She looked up at him warily. “Yes. My father.”
Stan hadn’t expected that. “Oh.”
“My father played guitar, and he used to play for m
y mother all the time. But that was before…before everything.”
“Before the war?”
She frowned at him. “Yes. Before the war. But I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I’m all weepy because I lost my family in the war. I did lose them, but that’s not exactly why I’m upset. I’m upset because my father, and my boyfriend, let me down. They promised me safety, and they failed me. I almost died. I would have, if not for sheer luck. I promised myself I’d never rely on anyone to take care of me again.”
Stan raised an eyebrow. “You’re angry at your dead father.”
“Well, it sounds kind of awful when you put it like that.”
Stan thought about telling her that it was awful, but then he thought better of it. Almost everyone had dealt with death during the war, and he’d seen firsthand that everyone dealt with it in their own way. So he shrugged and reached for his own food, which he’d noticed Abby had warmed up for him. She hadn’t had to do that, and he was surprised she had, considering how harsh she’d been toward him all day. Maybe it was her way of apologizing. Maybe she was a much kinder person deep down than her tough exterior led him to believe.
“I don’t think it’s awful that you’re angry at your dead father. I was just a little surprised. But we all grieve in our own way, and we all feel anger for different reasons. I’m not judging. Just don’t let the past eat away at your future.”
She didn’t look at him for a long time. When she finally did, the tears were gone from her eyes. So was a lot of the animosity, though. “You’re right. But it’s easier said than done.”
Stan took a bite of his food and considered his next words carefully. “Look, I’m not here to try to prove anything. I’m not here to prove that you need to be taken care of. I’m just here to work with you, as a team, to push back the forces of evil. I’m sorry your father and boyfriend let you down, but I’m not here to replace them. I know you can take care of yourself. But I also know that two warriors are better than one. So let me fight with you, if need be, okay?”
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