by Zoe Chant
Magnus paused. “Yes. But this seemed so real...”
He closed his eyes, trying to recall the details of what he’d seen. There’d been mountains. A flash of gold. Dragons who shared his coloring. And a sense of home.
It was something he hadn’t felt since he’d been freed from the collar.
“I felt... I felt like I belonged,” he said slowly.
We did! It was our home!
His dragon’s insistent voice suddenly crashed into his consciousness.
We were where we belonged! Our home! Our lands! Our clan!
Magnus sucked in a quick, deep breath.
Could it be true? Had he regained at least part of his memories?
But how?
The answer was so obvious he wasn’t sure why he’d had to think about it, even for a moment.
Alanna. My mate.
Raising his eyes to her face, he stared into her eyes, his heart surging.
“Alanna, I think it’s you,” he said, raising a hand to gently cup her face. “Meeting you, being with you, I think it’s bringing back some of my memories.”
“Me?” Alanna blinked at him, her surprise obvious. But then realization dawned in her eyes. “The mated bond. It’s healing your memories.”
Magnus nodded. “I didn’t think of it like that, but maybe that’s the right way to put it,” he said. “Dragons can heal faster when they’re near their mates or their hoard. Stefan and Isaak have told me that dragons don’t even need to eat if they have regular contact with their treasures. Maybe finding you means the damage that was done by the collar has begun to heal.”
He swallowed, looking out of the cottage window to where the sun was beginning to dawn.
Does that mean I really did see my home? He thought, as the golden rays began to shine over the garden. For the first time in years, I have a clue about who I might be? Where I might come from?
Magnus frowned. It had looked like a forbidding place, he had to admit. His home, wherever it was, was hidden amongst treacherous mountains, barely visible from anywhere except the sky. Dragons naturally liked to keep their clan home secret, given that it housed their hoard and their children, but this seemed extreme.
“Do you think it would help to tell me about it?” Alanna asked him cautiously, her hand stroking down his arm. “Telling me some of the details might shake something else loose. Do you know where it was? Which country?”
Magnus shook his head. “No. To be honest, I barely saw anything at all. Mountains. Mist. That’s about it. All I knew was that I was home. I could feel it in my bones.”
“You said you saw other dragons?”
“Yes. But I didn’t speak to any of them – I only saw them in the distance. But I could tell they were from my clan.”
Alanna nodded, but she said nothing. He could feel the warm surge of her thoughts, however – the sudden certainty that they would find where he belonged.
I promise you.
“Do you want to get any more sleep?” Alanna asked, as she lifted her arms in a stretch.
Magnus held back a groan as the sheet fell back from her breasts, revealing their bountiful curves, along with her toned stomach.
God, she’s beautiful.
At that moment, he could think of a lot of things he’d rather do than sleep. But he knew he had to try to restrain himself, for all his dragon was urging him to give into his baser animal instincts.
“No,” he said, managing to drag his eyes away from the beauty of her body. “This is actually a bit of a sleep-in for me. My work day usually starts before dawn.”
Alanna nodded. “No, I get it. It’s the same for me. And anyway, once I’m awake, I’m awake. Plus... I’ve been thinking.”
At that moment, they were interrupted by the unmistakable rumble of a hungry stomach. Alanna glanced at him, looking a little embarrassed.
Find food for our mate! His dragon insisted. She must be hungry after her injury and healing.
“Come on, let’s get you some breakfast,” Magnus said, unable to hide his smile. Instinctively, he glanced at Alanna’s side as she reached for her discarded clothes. The wound that had bled so profusely yesterday was now barely visible – just a faint pink line against her pale skin.
Thank goodness.
He still remembered the rage and horror that had surged through him in those first few moments when he had come across the fight in the forest.
That someone would dare to hurt our mate...!
His dragon reared up, steam rising from its jaws.
Calm down, Magnus scolded it. It’s over. It’s much more useful to keep a clear head now.
The dragon lowered itself sulkily, winding its tail around its body, small, irritated flames spurting from its nostrils. It was clearly unhappy that Casper had escaped them – but Magnus had known he shouldn’t leave Alanna. She had needed his help more than he’d needed to go after Casper.
Once they were dressed, Magnus led Alanna through the cottage to the kitchen.
“Take a seat,” he told her. “I know my way around here – I sometimes stay here when Isaak and Josie aren’t using it, and I need a break from the forest.”
“Do you often need a break?” Alanna asked as she seated herself at the breakfast bar, resting her chin on her hand.
Magnus opened the fridge, considering his answer. “Not often,” he said as he reached for a carton of eggs. “But it’s easy to get lost there. It’s easy to forget how long it’s been since you saw anyone else. Sometimes I think it’s good for me to spend time that’s not... alone.”
It had taken him a while to realize it, Magnus remembered. After everything he’d been through, it had seemed far easier just to cut himself off from civilization altogether. But he’d slowly realized that it just wasn’t good for him. He needed to be reminded that the world wasn’t a terrible place. That there were dragons – and humans – who were good.
Magnus busied himself cracking the eggs into a frying pan and setting the bread to toast. His dragon purred with satisfaction.
Yes, take care of your mate. Bring her food. Hunting for her would be better, though. Fly to the forest and bring her back a feast of venison.
“How do you like your eggs?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder and putting the dragon’s unhelpful suggestion from his mind.
To his surprise, Alanna hesitated at the question.
“Do you know, I have no idea?” she said, laughing a little nervously. “We just eat what we’re given. I don’t think I’ve ever had to make a choice about it.” She swallowed, looking at him from under her long dark eyelashes. “In the dorms we just get... well, we get something. Lots of carbs and protein. That’s pretty much it. How it tastes and whether we like it is not really a consideration.”
Magnus felt anger surging in his chest, his dragon all at once furious again.
She should be treated like a princess! A queen! How dare they!
With difficulty, he swallowed the anger back down.
“Well, how about for now I do them sunny side up,” he said, pleased that he could remember the term. For a very short while he’d worked as a fry cook in a dingy diner in the backwoods – before he’d gotten fired when it’d became clear his cooking wasn’t even worth the illegally small amount the owner had been paying him.
“That sounds great.”
Alanna’s smile was brilliant, and Magnus had to turn away, before his heart burst.
Happiness – the idea that someone else’s smile could make him happy – was something he was going to have to take his time to get used to.
And we still have a long road ahead of us yet...
“You said you’d been thinking,” Magnus said as he reached for the popped toast.
“I did. Once I woke up, my head started buzzing,” Alanna said. “This isn’t going to be easy, Magnus, but I have to do it. It’d be easier just to disappear, just to let them think I was dead... but I can’t. The more I think about it, the more I know we have to put a stop to
whatever they’re planning.”
Magnus scooped up the finished eggs from the pan, placing them gently on the toast so the bright yellow yolks remained intact.
“There you go,” he said, placing the plate and cutlery in front of her. “I hope you like them.”
“Well they look amazing,” Alanna said, lifting her knife and fork and tucking in. Magnus watched her as she chewed, her eyes lighting up. “Oh my goodness,” she murmured after she’d swallowed. “That’s delicious.”
Magnus couldn’t help but smile. “I’m not much of a cook, honestly. Just wait until you try some of the things Isaak can make.”
Alanna looked up at him, eyes wide. “What kind of things?”
“I don’t even know the names of half of them,” Magnus admitted. “He grew up in Greece, so I’d have a time even pronouncing them.”
“Well, I’ll look forward to that – but for now, this is perfect.”
Magnus smiled as he began eating his own eggs. To tell the truth, he was hungry himself – after everything that had happened yesterday, his stomach felt completely empty.
They ate together in companionable silence, both relishing the meal they badly needed.
“The problem is I don’t know who I can trust,” Alanna said as she mopped up the remains of her yolks with some toast. “I didn’t know you were on Novak lands. It’s a tracker’s job to find these things out. At first I wondered if the tracker who found you had lied, and left out the part about you living under Novak protection – but then I realized they might be innocent, and their message to the coven might have been intercepted and changed.”
Magnus nodded. “So even if you sent a message to your father, you don’t know who might see it first. They might never tell him you’re alive or pass on your warning about being betrayed.”
“Exactly,” Alanna said. “If someone in the coven is intercepting messages, they might tell whoever Casper is working with first. All they’d need to do then is send more people to kill us.”
Magnus frowned, looking down at his empty plate. “Is there really no one you can trust?”
Alanna took a breath, nodding slowly. “Yes. Just one. Well – just one who I know I can contact without having to go through the coven. He’s out on an assignment at the moment, so I can go to him directly. There’s no chance of that message being intercepted.”
“Who?”
“My mentor, Benedict Dacre. I’ve known him since I was a child. He was handpicked by my father – and I know he’s loyal to him. No, more than that – they’re friends. That’s rare amongst dragon hunters. We swear loyalty to each other, but friendship doesn’t usually come into it. But Benedict and my father grew up together. I know I can trust him.”
She reached into her pocket, pulling out a small, slightly crumpled piece of paper. Magnus could see it had something hand-written on it – something that looked like a short letter or personal note.
“He snuck this to me before I left for my assignment,” Alanna said, smoothing the piece of paper out so Magnus could read it.
Good luck, my star apprentice – I know you’ll bring us honor. I’ll be thinking of you, even though I’m away on assignment myself at the moment. Do me proud. And if you need me – you know where to find me. 045867.
- Benedict
“Are those numbers a code?” he asked, frowning.
“Yes. They tell me where he’s on assignment,” Alanna said. “I’ll need a little time to crack it, but once I have, we can contact him. It’ll be the only way to get in touch with someone from the coven without risking interception.”
“You’re sure?” Magnus asked cautiously.
Alanna nodded. “Completely sure. It’s not only that he and my father have known each other forever – it’s that my family and his have always protected each other. Dragon hunters take family honor very seriously. So he wouldn’t only be betraying my father if he got mixed up in something like this, he’d be betraying his family. I can’t imagine him doing that.”
“What about Casper’s family honor?” Magnus asked. “He didn’t seem to have any trouble betraying you.”
Alanna screwed up her lips, making an expression of disgust. “That’s a little different,” she explained. “The Hadley family and the Carlyle family have always been... rivals, I suppose you’d say. I knew they were angry when my father became Lord High Hunter. They thought someone from their family should have been elected. Obviously I didn’t realize just how angry they were. Maybe no one did.”
“This has clearly been well planned,” Magnus said slowly. “They must have been figuring out how to do this for a while. Perhaps ever since Isaak defeated Bain.”
Alanna nodded. “It seems likely. But... well, think about it. I suppose to them this would have seemed like the perfect opportunity to turn us against each other. We’re sent to hunt a dragon on Novak lands – that would make the Novak Clan leader angry. I’m supposed to be killed by you – that would make my father angry. Do you think the Novak Clan leader would have given you up if my father had requested it?”
Magnus shook his head. “I’m certain he wouldn’t have. Stefan takes protecting his dragons very seriously. Even though I’m not a Novak, I’m certain he would have offered me protection.” He swallowed. “It’s especially important to him because his clan was almost wiped out by a blood feud many years ago. There’s not many Novak dragons left in the world. For a long time, Stefan thought he was alone. It was only a few years ago that he realized his family wasn’t wiped out after all.”
“Oh,” Alanna said, her eyes wide, hand going to her mouth. “A blood feud? That’s horrible.”
Magnus grimaced. Blood feuds were a part of dragon history that made them seem just as bloodthirsty and barbaric as dragon hunters had always feared. A blood feud didn’t just involve punishing the dragon who had done wrong– it meant tracking down and killing their entire family, sometimes their entire clan.
Magnus hated talking about them.
“They’re against dragon law now,” he explained. “Stefan made sure of that. The dragon who gave the order to wipe out the Novaks is gone now. Blood feuds are history. There’ll never be another one.”
Alanna nodded, swallowing. “I suppose something good has come of it, then. But you see how easily things could have gone badly.” She flashed him a small, thin smile. “Casper was clearly expecting you to be a real rogue dragon, or he wouldn’t have left me alive.”
“I’d never harm a human,” Magnus said, shaking his head. “Even if you weren’t my mate. He was wrong about that.”
“But this is why we can’t delay any longer,” Alanna said. “I’m sure he thinks I’m dead. And that means at this very moment he and his family are telling my father he has no choice but to declare war on the Novak Clan.”
“I still don’t understand what they hope to gain by it,” Magnus said. “If there’s peace between humans and dragons, isn’t that a good thing?”
Alanna nodded. “You would think. But you remember what Isaak said – Bain thought of all dragons as beasts. Maybe they’re worried you can’t be trusted. Or maybe they just can’t let go of the past.”
Magnus swallowed. “The past?”
Alanna shook her head slightly, smiling grimly. “I suppose a lot of dragon hunters look back at our history and think we’re not much by comparison now. There used to be a lot of glory in it. Think about Saint George and the dragon, and all the history that people now believe are just legends.”
“Just like dragons themselves,” Magnus agreed, not without a pang in his heart.
“That’s true,” Alanna admitted. “We both have to keep ourselves secret from the world these days. Though, maybe one day...” She glanced at him, the light of hope shining in her eyes. “One day, perhaps things will be different.”
Magnus swallowed, feeling a small glow of hope in his heart almost despite himself. Who knew what might happen in future? He had avoided thinking about it so long it was difficult to do so now. For t
he last two years, he had simply focused on getting through the next hour – the next day – the next week.
More than that had seemed too difficult. Without a past, it was difficult to think of a future.
But we have a future now. No matter what, we will always have our mate.
His dragon’s voice was warm and content. Magnus wanted to believe it.
Perhaps Alanna had heard the thought in his mind, because she turned to him, her eyes shining.
“This is all so new to me, Magnus,” she said, her voice soft. “Not just because... well, you’re what you are, and I’m what I am. That’s only part of it. I just never spent much time thinking about love or relationships before. The only thing on my mind was making my father proud, being the best I could be. Making sure I didn’t let my family name be disgraced. But I want to be more than that.” She swallowed, licking her lips. “I want to be... I want to be a good mate for you.”
Magnus felt his dragon rising up within him.
She could never be anything less! She is perfect just as she is!
Before he could think, he walked around the breakfast bar and drew her into his arms.
She was soft against him, her arms coming up to hold him, her breasts pressed against his chest. Their lips met, and his heart thrilled at the touch of her tongue against his.
The problems that had seemed like insurmountable barriers melted away as he held her, their hearts beating as one.
Mate. My mate.
That was all that mattered.
Chapter Eleven
Alanna
The code hadn’t been too hard to break, once she’d gotten the hang of it. Alanna wasn’t specifically trained in code breaking, but she had a few basic skills, and she knew Benedict well enough to know what he might be trying to tell her.
Shaking her head as she sat in the car next to Magnus, she wondered if Benedict had had some reason to be worried about her on her mission with Casper.
Did he suspect? Alanna thought, watching as the scenery flashed past the window. Did he worry I might be in danger? Not from the dragon, but from the dragon hunters?