Leif breathed out a long sigh of relief, and smiled as the room broke into applause for him. When then clapping died down, Councilor Morgan addressed the issue of Leif’s job.
“Even though the dragon training program is changing, you will still be in charge of working with the incoming dragons, Leif. Only now, you will be showing them how to acclimate to life in Torch Lake, and running them through training exercises to keep them in good fighting shape should the need arise.”
Leif nodded. He could live with that, happily. He liked this new straightforward method better, anyway. He never felt good about bringing dragons here without expressly telling them that they were trying to get them to stay in Torch Lake, even though the dragons all knew that that’s what was happening. He glanced over at Seth and Evan, wondering what they were thinking of all of this. They had, after all, been brought here under the pretense of a dark monster mission, which they had now completed. And they hadn’t been here long enough to fall in love with Torch Lake, in Leif’s opinion. Were they going to sneer at the High Council’s new plan, collect their payment for killing dark monsters, and go home? Councilor Morgan seemed to have the same questions. He turned to Seth and Evan, and smiled warmly at them.
“Seth and Evan, we appreciate all you have done for Torch Lake. You may be wondering why I brought you here today, since this is mainly a meeting of the leadership of Torch Lake, and the two of you are not even official citizens of the city. The fact is, we would love to have you stay here, for reasons that are hopefully obvious to you at this point. We need help standing up against evil, and dragons are the best defense against darkness. You will of course be paid for the dark monster mission you completed, but if you are willing to continue on in Torch Lake, we will place you in prestigious positions helping Leif and Clint at the Dragon Utilization Department. We will also pay you additional bonuses for agreeing to stay and help our cause. I know you have not had time to get to know Torch Lake as well as we had hoped you would have, but I hope you can see that our town is committed to fighting evil, and that this is a wonderful place where shifters and wizards can live in harmony. We’re really proud of the community we’re building here. If you need time to think about it, take some time. The offer is on the table for as long as you need to think about it.”
Leif held his breath as he waited for Seth and Evan to respond. He knew that no one would blame him if they decided to leave. The training program had been ended early for reasons completely beyond his control, after all. But the idea of his first two dragon trainees leaving still hurt his pride. He had poured so much time and effort into his work, and he hated to see all of that go up in smoke because the Dark Warriors had made a move he never could have anticipated.
Seth and Evan exchanged a glance, and Leif could tell that they were both thinking the same thing, although he had no idea what that thing might be. Evan smiled at Seth and nodded, and Seth seemed to take that as confirmation to speak out about whatever was on his mind.
“Your Honors,” Seth began, standing. “Evan and I have been honored to be here in Torch Lake, and to be a part of the great community you’ve built. I will admit that, when I first came here, I had plans to complete the dark monster mission as quickly as possible and get out of here. I know that comes as no surprise to most of you, since that is the attitude many dragon shifters have when they arrive here.”
“Certainly,” Councilor Morgan said.
“But the thing is,” Seth continued, “I witnessed something today that completely changed my mind about Torch Lake. I saw one of your top leaders run off on an unauthorized rescue mission. Many High Councils would have blindly condemned him, not caring to ask themselves whether he had done the right thing or not. That’s why I didn’t want to be part of a clan anymore. I was tired of blind obedience, and blind condemnation. But today, Evan and I have both seen Leif Redding stand up to a High Council and be commended for it, because he did the right thing. And we’ve realized that it’s still possible for a clan to follow what’s right, instead of following a leader without really thinking about what they’re doing. We’ve realized that it’s possible for a High Council to listen to their citizens and not just demand absolute obedience.”
Leif felt his heart swelling with pride and gratitude. Everything these two were saying about his town was true. The High Council wasn’t perfect, but at least they recognized that. And the citizens did their best to follow their hearts and fight for what was right and good.
“I’m very honored to hear you say those things,” Councilor Morgan said. “We do try our best to acknowledge when we might have made a mistake, or when our citizens might know things we do not.”
“Well, you’ve done a good job, Councilors,” Evan said, speaking up as well now. “But I really want to give credit to Leif. His courageous actions today made me realize that this is a town I want to be a part of. For my part, I plan to stay. And I don’t need any extra bonus to do so. It will be my pleasure to be part of a town like Torch Lake.”
“Agreed,” Seth said. “Leif has inspired me to join in the never-ending fight against evil. It would be my honor to serve Torch Lake with Leif. I don’t need any extra bonus to do so. Torch Lake has already paid me enough.”
Leif felt all eyes in the room turn to look at him, this time with great admiration. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. Not only were his first two trainees going to stay in Torch Lake, but they were also giving him direct credit for their decision. He had never expected this. Suddenly, this day was looking up. It had been a long, hard day, but if his dragons stayed it would all be worth it. Leif realized that everyone was looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to comment. He felt Sofia squeeze his hand encouragingly under the conference table, and he smiled, then stood.
“Thank you, Seth and Evan. I’m humbled by your words, and I’m grateful that you’ve decided to stay. It’s been my honor to serve you during your time in Torch Lake, and it will be my honor to continue to work with you as we move forward with new challenges for the Dragon Utilization Department. It won’t be easy, but I know that with so many wonderful dragon shifters on our side, we can do a lot to hold back evil.”
The room once again broke into applause as Leif sat down, and Sofia once again squeezed his hand. Leif’s heart was full. Things were working out perfectly. Much better than he could have expected. Now if only Sofia would be given a job that allowed her to stay close by in Torch Lake. Leif looked over at her and saw the nervousness in her eyes. He tried to look reassuring, but he had a gut feeling that he wasn’t going to like what Councilor Morgan was about to say. He bit his lip as the Head Councilor turned and smiled at Sofia.
“As for you, Ms. Hayes. The High Council, as well as the whole town of Torch Lake, is deeply indebted to you for all you have done. But we would like to ask another favor, if you are willing.”
Leif chewed harder on his lip. He knew that whatever job Councilor Morgan offered Sofia, she would not refuse. She felt a duty to this town, and she knew that, although her cover as a spy was blown, she had still sworn to do whatever was necessary to help hold back the forces of evil.
“I’m here to serve you however I can, Councilor Morgan,” Sofia said bravely.
Councilor Morgan smiled warmly. “Thank you, Sofia. The trouble is that, as you know, Vincent was taken away by members of the Dark Warriors. We don’t know where they took him, and we don’t even know for sure whether he is dead or alive. But we must find out. He is a dangerous man, and, if he’s still alive, he’s going to plan a retaliatory attack as soon as possible. We need to figure out what his status is, and what he might be planning. You are more familiar with the Dark Warriors and how they function than anyone else in this town. We would like you to lead a search party to track down Vincent and see if you can figure out what his next move is. We’ll give you whatever resources you think you need, and we’ll authorize the mission to continue on as long as it takes. We just want this dealt with.”
Leif swallow
ed hard. Sofia’s grip on his hand was deathly tight. There it was, he thought. The mission they had both been dreading, but had both known was coming. Sofia was being sent off for who knew how long, on a dangerous search for a dangerous man. Leif forced himself to squeeze Sofia’s hand reassuringly and smile at her. This wasn’t what they both wanted right now, but he knew they could make it through. They were stronger than a separation. One day in the future, this would all be just a memory.
Sofia took a deep breath and smiled up at Councilor Morgan again. “I would be honored to lead a mission to find Vincent,” she said. “I’m happy to do anything I can to stop the Dark Warriors from spreading their sinister ideas any further.”
Councilor Morgan looked relieved. “Thank you, Ms. Hayes. We are deeply indebted to you, as I’ve said. If you’ll meet me in my office after this meeting is over, we can start going over the details for your new mission. As long as you’re not too tired.”
Leif knew that Sofia was exhausted, but she was too proud to let it show. “I’ll meet you right after the meeting,” she agreed.
Leif barely heard the rest of what Councilor Morgan said. For another half-hour, the Head Councilor talked of plans to get more dragons and stop the Dark Warriors from recruiting any more shifters and wizards, but Leif was too tired to hear what they were saying. He couldn’t focus on anything anymore except the fact that Sofia was about to be taken away from him for who knows how long.
When the meeting was finally over, he tried to get a moment alone with Sofia, but it was difficult. Everyone in the room mobbed both him and Sofia, wanting to hear all about their adventures in the Gray Oasis Forest. Before Leif could get away, Councilor Morgan had swept Sofia off to his office. No one seemed to notice how tired Leif was, or how he wanted to talk to Sofia, too. No one except Jake, that is. When the crowd had finally thinned and Leif was free to head out, Jake caught up with him. Jake had been the head trainer at the Dragon Utilization Department when Leif first arrived in Torch Lake, and he knew Leif better than almost anyone in town.
“Dude, you okay?” Jake asked.
Leif nodded, trying to look convincing. “Yeah. I’m good. Just exhausted.”
“It’s more than just exhaustion.” Jake tilted his head sideways and gave Leif a gaze that seemed to pierce right through him. “You like her, don’t you?”
Leif didn’t bother asking who Jake was talking about. They both knew he meant Sofia.
“She’s something special.” It was all Leif was willing to say right now. He didn’t have the energy to explain how he had suddenly discovered Sofia was his lifemate, and he didn’t want to talk about the fact that he was about to be separated from her by the mission to find Vincent. Jake sensed his reluctance to talk, and merely clapped him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry. They’ll find Vincent quickly,” he said, smiling in that confident way Jake always did. “And when Sofia’s done with her mission and back in Torch Lake with you like she belongs, you’ll have to bring her by the Winking Wizard for some pints to introduce her to all of us.”
Leif smiled back at Jake, trying to look confident as well. But he was far from certain that this mission would go quickly. He hated that his lifemate was about to be taken away from him when he’d just found her, but what could he do? Duty and honor came first.
He just hated that, in this case, duty and honor were keeping him from the best thing that had ever happened to him.
Chapter Seventeen
Sofia stood in the middle of her living room and surveyed her backpack.
“I think that’s everything,” she said, suppressing a sigh. She had sighed enough today to last her the rest of the year.
Leif picked up the bag, and looked at her with surprise. “This thing weighs half a ton. Are you sure you need everything in here? Your back is going to be killing you after about five minutes of lugging this around.”
Sofia grinned. “Nope. Not if I put a weightlessness spell on it. Watch this.”
She pointed her magic ring at the backpack and said “Magicae pluma.” Instantly, the muscles in Leif’s arms that had been flexed under the pressure of holding up the bag went from stiff to relaxed.
“Whoa,” he said. “That works pretty damn good. I feel like I’m holding a feather now.”
Sofia laughed. “Yeah. That spell is one of my favorites. When I was in college and had to lug around what felt like fifty pounds of textbooks, I just cast that spell and, poof! No more backaches.”
Leif laughed. “Yeah, I guess there are all kinds of good uses for that spell. But if you don’t have a backache, who is going to give you a back massage?”
He moved toward her and took her in his arms, rubbing the small of her back gently as she pressed her body against his. She did sigh now. She couldn’t help it.
“Well, since I’m about to be on the trail and away from you for months, or more, you won’t be around to give massages.”
Leif grunted in frustration, and then the air hung heavy with silence. Sofia bit her lip to bite back the tears that wanted to come. She didn’t want to cry now, on their last night together. She kept telling herself that this was temporary. It might be a long mission, yes. But Leif had promised to wait for her, and she knew he would.
She snuggled her face deeper into his chest and breathed in deeply, trying to memorize the scent of him. He responded by kissing the top of her head, and a little thrill went through her. It had been a long, exhausting week. She’d spent the last few days in meetings listening to other wizards and shifters hash out a plan for how to best search for Vincent, and she had contributed to the discussion as best she could. She knew a few places that Vincent might be, the most likely of which was the heart of the Gray Oasis Forest, where all the dark monsters lived. Vincent, and the others who did dark magic, did not fear the dark monsters. They felt confident they could control them with dark magic, and believed that the dark monsters would offer protection against unwanted visitors. In addition to several wizards, Seth and Evan would be coming on the mission, because they needed dragon shifters who could breathe fire to protect from the dark monsters. Sofia had tried to lobby for Leif to come, but even Leif himself had told her it wasn’t a realistic possibility. He was needed here in his role as the head of the Dragon Utilization Department. And so, tomorrow morning, Sofia would put on her feather light backpack and head off to Gray Oasis Forest to begin the search for Vincent. She hoped with all her heart that she was right and that Vincent had hidden by the dark monsters. If he hadn’t, the search was going to stretch on indefinitely.
But Sofia didn’t want to think about that now. She didn’t want to think about Vincent, or the Gray Oasis Forest, or even about her mission teammates. Tonight, all that mattered was that she was here with Leif. They had tried to spend as much time together as they could since arriving back in Torch Lake, but it hadn’t been easy with all of the meetings they had both needed to attend. The city was in an uproar after the break-in at headquarters. Tensions were running high as people questioned over and over how dark magic had managed to once again get a foothold in the city. The High Council had tried to assure them that the situation was under control, and that it was to be expected that the fight against evil would be an ongoing thing. But still, people fretted. And so, the heads of all the government bureaus which were even remotely related to defending against dark magic had been making a big show of working on plans to stop the Dark Warriors and to convince more dragon shifters to come live in Torch Lake.
Now, though, the meetings were over for the day. Sofia and Leif had ordered pizza and shared a six pack of beers before she finally packed her bag. Even that was done, now. All that was left to do was enjoy the last evening she had in his arms for who knew how long. She held him tighter. She wasn’t going to waste her last night with him replaying all the frustrations and busyness of the week. She was going to enjoy the feel of his body against hers.
“I wish I’d realized who you were sooner,” Leif murmured into her hair. Hi
s breath tickled at her ears, and Sofia smiled.
“If you’d realized sooner, that would have meant my cover as a spy would have been blown even sooner. It’s better that it took as long as it did. In fact, it would probably be better if you still thought I was just a bitch audit agent.”
Leif chuckled. “Would it? Then I wouldn’t be doing this.”
He bent his neck and put his lips on hers. Sofia closed her eyes as a rush of his dragon warmth filled her. It still took her completely off guard how wonderful he felt. His kisses were more than just kisses to her. They were like breaths of fresh air, or like fire that filled her and made her feel invincible. The sensations that filled her body when he touched her were unlike anything she had ever known, and she craved his touch more than anything. She had been trying all week not to think about the fact that she was going to have a long time on the road where she wouldn’t be able to enjoy moments like this.
Leif pulled away from her then to grab her hand and drag her toward her bedroom. They had spent as much time as they could in there since getting back to Torch Lake, but it wasn’t nearly enough. They always wanted more, and now, tonight was all they would get for a long time.
Leif pulled her down onto the bed with him, but they didn’t immediately resume kissing. Instead, they snuggled against each other, wrapped in each other’s arms. Sofia wished she could stay there forever, cozy, protected, and safe. For a long time, they were both silent, just basking in each other’s presence. Then, Sofia giggled.
Dragon Rescuing (Torch Lake Shifters Book 3) Page 13