by Silver Milan
She snuggled against him. “I’d be lost without you, too.”
She had a way of summarizing what he said and feeding it back to him. He liked that about her.
“Oh, and nice wings by the way,” Ariel said.
“Forgot about them.” Slightly embarrassed, Jett rescinded his wings.
“No, I like them,” Ariel said. “They remind me of the knights I saw in the tomb Gwendoline showed me.”
He pretended to look at her incredulously. “You like my wings because they remind you of dead people?”
“No, silly.” She lifted her head from his chest to gaze into his eyes. “They remind of what you are. How noble you are. A dragon knight, protector of the realm. Or the pride, in this case. And me.”
“I’m certainly your protector.” Jett rested a hand against her cheek. “Your most vocal protector.”
Jett heard muted talking. Ariel glanced over her shoulder at the neighboring cabin. “Maybe we should get back inside. I wouldn’t want our neighbors staring at my naked bum.”
“They’ve already seen it many times,” Jett said. “We’re all basically nudists here, remember?”
She shook her head. “Never thought I’d one day be part of a nudist colony filled with lion shifters. With my boyfriend, a dragon, the Alpha.”
“Trust me, I never thought I would be, either,” Jett said. The words filled him with a sudden yearning for his former life. I was a king once.
But all he had to do was look at Ariel and he remembered why he had given it up. Everything he had told her was true. She was worth more than ten thousand kingdoms, ten thousand hoards combined.
As if sensing the turn of his thoughts, she said: “Do you ever miss it? Your old life?”
“Of course I do, sometimes,” Jett said. “As I’m sure you miss yours at times.”
She nodded. “But we both have new lives now. Better lives.”
“That’s right, we do.” Jett cupped her cheek tenderly.
He heard muted talking again, and Ariel took that as the cue to roll off of him. He felt suddenly cold where she had been covering his body.
Ariel stood up and began to dress. Jett rose and wrapped his arms around her from behind, preventing her from slipping on her pants. That was better: the warmth had returned. His manhood stirred.
She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Miss me already?”
He sighed and released her. “I suppose we should get dressed.” He slid the used condom off and tossed it aside.
“Hey, you’re just going to litter like that?” Ariel asked as she buttoned her shorts.
“You’re house training me already?” Jett said.
“Um, yeah?” Ariel said.
He laughed. “I planned to pick it up and throw it in the garbage after we dressed.”
“Oh,” Ariel said. “Well that’s permissible, then.”
He arched an eyebrow. “I’m glad you approve.”
Once he had donned his clothing, he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and true to his promise, retrieved the condom.
The two of them went back inside and he promptly tossed the used condom away in the garbage bin in the kitchen. Ariel had gone to the bathroom, so Jett took a chair at the kitchen table, waiting for her.
When she returned, she said: “Want to go to the city today?”
Jett shrugged. “Sure.” Jett had purchased a tricked-out Ford shortly after permanently joining the pride, so transportation wasn’t a problem. “But I want to talk to you about something first.” He beckoned toward the seat opposite him.
Ariel pulled out the chair and sat down. She folded her legs and repeatedly kicked one foot. A nervous habit of hers.
“So, you really want to train with the witches?” Jett asked her.
“Eventually,” Ariel said. “I’ll start with Jeremiah, like you suggested. See how that goes. We’ll give it a year.”
Jett nodded. He wasn’t sure he should tell her what he knew.
Ariel immediately noticed he was holding back, of course. “What’s on your mind?”
Jett smiled wanly. Can’t hide anything from her. “My sister has sent word that a Potential tester is working through the territories around Midnight. He should be passing through here in a few days. If you really want to go to the Steel Tower, this is your chance.”
She stopped kicking her foot. “You serious?”
“Dead,” Jett said.
She swallowed audibly. “I’m not sure this is what I want.” She paused. “My decision would be easier if I knew you could come with me.”
“Family members used to be able to come,” Jett told her. “But I’m not sure if that has changed or not. Last time I checked was two hundred years ago. We’ll have to ask the tester.”
Ariel nodded. “I want this power that’s inside me. Yet I fear it, too. And I don’t want it all if it means we’ll be apart.”
Jett reached across the table and gripped her hand. “Whatever you decide, Ariel, I’ll support you. If you want to go, then you’ll go. I’ll find a way to be with you, no matter what the rules are.” His voiced hardened. “And if you don’t want to go, I’ll fight the witches for the rest of my days, and become a fugitive if need-be. But I’ll never let them forcibly take you, my lioness. Never.”
“Why is it that you always make me melt inside,” Ariel said. “I suddenly don’t want to go to the city anymore.”
“No?” Jett asked.
“No,” Ariel said. “I want to stay here and make love to you all day, my king.”
Jett tightened his grip on her palm. “As you command, my lioness.”
5
Jett and Cliff were in Blue Hurricane’s dirt parking lot, working under the hood of Cliff’s Ford Bronco. Cliff was trying to teach Jett basic mechanic and maintenance skills, because according to him, you couldn’t be an Alpha of a lion pride without having a working knowledge of trucks.
“The problem is the radiator,” Cliff was saying. “We have to fix the feed tube. See how it’s become encrusted?”
“Okay,” Jett said.
“Look, like this,” Cliff reached inside and scraped some of the gunk off with his finger and showed it to Jett. “Go ahead.”
Jett regarded the gunk-encrusted tube with unconcealed disgust. He reminded himself that as a king, he had never hesitated to get his hands dirty: there were no jobs “beneath” him. With a sigh, he leaned over the radiator and began scraping.
“Hold your other hand underneath,” Cliff said. “So you catch any loose sediment that falls away. You don’t want it gumming up the rest of the engine.”
Jett followed the instructions of his Second, and when he finished, Jett flung the crusty bits from his palm and wiped his hands together.
“Okay, now grab the driver from my toolkit,” Cliff said. “I want to take off the top and show you what’s inside.”
Jett reached for the tool chest that sat on the rim of the open hood, but then his ears pricked up. He heard the characteristic sound of wheels on gravel, and the hum of an engine. A vehicle was approaching the camp.
“Are we expecting anyone?” Jett asked Cliff.
The Second tilted his head. He obviously heard it then, too. He shook his head. “Not that I know of. It’s late evening. Everyone’s back from the city.” He gestured toward the vehicles crowding the lot.
Jett nodded. He moved away from the Ford to stand in the center of the parking lot, which gave him an unobstructed view of the gravel road that cut a path through the forest.
A piano-black SUV came into view.
“That’s not one of ours,” Cliff said.
Jett gazed through the windshield of the incoming vehicle. He saw a driver dressed in a white T shirt and baseball cap, with huge biceps peeking out from under his sleeves. A black-clad, brooding man sat beside him in the passenger seat. “That would be Mathis.”
“The tester?” Cliff asked.
Jett nodded, and closed up the topmost buttons of his dress shirt so that the
fabric completely hid his lower neck. He didn’t want the witch to know that the collar restraining his dragon powers was gone.
“I was hoping we’d have more time,” Jett said. “Get Ariel into the woods.” When Cliff didn’t move, Jett turned to him. “Go!”
Cliff snapped out of his trance and scrambled from the lot. When he was gone, Jett pulled out his sat-phone and sent a quick text to the White Swords he had assigned to watch the outer perimeter of the camp.
The visitor has arrived. Close with the camp, but stay in the shadows.
Jett held his ground as the large SUV pulled into the lot and came grinding to a halt only a few paces in front of him.
The passenger door opened and a man dressed in a long black trench coat stepped out. The coat was open to showcase the black vest and dress shirt underneath, plus the sawed-off shotgun strapped to his hip. He wore bracelets, rings, and a necklace—all of dragon bone. His boots had sharp silver spurs. This Wayfarer was not dressed like any Potential tester Jett had ever met before.
“You’ve been busy,” Jett said.
The witch offered Jett a bemused expression.
Jett nodded toward the SUV. The man turned, and saw the curious faces peering from the rear windows.
“Ah,” the witch said. “Yes. I’ve found five Potentials so far. It’s been a while since the Wayfarers cast their net out here. I’m Mathis by the way.”
“I know who you are,” Jett said. “My sister sent word.” He purposely rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt to reveal the black and gold dragon tattoos on his forearms.
If he was impressed, Mathis didn’t show it. “So you are Jett, the great dragon king.”
“Not anymore,” Jett said. “I’m Alpha of Blue Hurricane now.”
“I heard you abdicated for a woman shifter.”
Jett ignored the question and waved toward the cabins. “You’ll be wanting to examine everyone, I assume?”
“I only bring it up because I’m fascinated as to what kind of woman could make a member of the Council of Seven give up his seat,” Mathis said.
It’s a battle of wills he wants, is it?
Jett narrowed his eyes at the man. “Do you want me to gather the pride, or not?”
Mathis stared at him. His gaze drifted to his neck. “Are you wearing a collar, dragon? I can’t tell with that shirt you’re wearing.”
“No dragons are allowed outside their dens without collars,” Jett said.
“Show me,” Mathis ordered.
Jett smiled. “I’m not your lapdog. Witches have no jurisdiction here. You’re in dragon territory now.”
“Oh but the witches do have jurisdiction,” Mathis said. “Especially when they wish to ensure that the laws are being followed. If you don’t show me, there’s a Weave I can use to detect it.”
“Fine,” Jett said. He opened the topmost button of his shirt. “Happy now?”
Mathis gazed at Jett’s neck for several seconds, then nodded, looking away.
Jett quickly closed the top button of his collar. His heart was pounding in his chest. He had worked with Razor to create a facsimile of the silver collar for the arrival of the witch. It would pass a quick inspection, but if Mathis examined it more closely, the witch would see it for the fabrication it was.
“If you can get your pride to stand out here in two groups, that would be great,” Mathis said. “In the first, I want to see all newcomers to your pride since the last testing. Everyone else goes in the second group.”
Jett walked to the edge of the parking lot, where Razor was loitering. “Gather the pride. Split them into the groups the witch asked for.” He pulled out his sat-phone and glanced at Mathis. “I’m calling in our scouts so that everyone comes.”
Mathis nodded nonchalantly, as if he were in charge. That serene, arrogant expression was getting on Jett’s nerves.
In moments Razor had the pride members standing in the necessary groups, with five people in the new-to-the-pride lot, and everyone else standing nearby.
“Is this all of you?” Mathis asked.
“We’re still waiting on the scouts,” Jett replied. A moment later three lions padded in from the edge of camp and transformed into humans. Oblivious to their nakedness, they joined the appropriate groups under Razor’s directions.
“Now this is everyone,” Jett said.
That wasn’t precisely true. Cliff and Ariel were absent.
Mathis ran his gaze across the group. When his eyes passed over Jeremiah, his lips curled in slight disgust.
“Who is your Second?” Mathis asked.
Jett nodded toward Razor.
Mathis pursed his lips, as if not entirely believing it. But then he retrieved a white half-crown from an inner pocket of his trench coat.
“I’m going to place this tiara on your heads,” Mathis said. “It’s made of dragon bone. You’ll notice the onyx gem in the center. I’m going to place a special Weave over your foreheads, and if the gem glows, you are a Potential.”
“What’s that mean, exactly?” Flax asked. “A Potential.” He was a younger shifter, in the new-to-the-pride group.
“It means you have the ability to Siphon the Strength,” Mathis said. “The brighter the glow, the more Strength you can Siphon.”
“It means he’ll be taking you away from the pride,” Duncan spat.
“That, too,” Mathis said. He glanced at Jeremiah. “Though as your local witch can tell you, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
“For some,” Jeremiah said.
Mathis ignored the comment and walked to the group of newcomers. He turned toward Jett.
“Which of these women is the shifter you gave up your throne for?” Mathis asked.
Jett was standing near the newcomers, but before he could answer Julia wrapped a possessive arm around Jett’s waist. “Leave my dragon alone, asshole.”
Mathis frowned as he studied her, but then shrugged. “You get the honor of going first.” He glanced at Jett. “Please step back.”
Jett moved away, and Mathis placed the tiara on Julia’s head.
Mathis didn’t need to do any hand waving or anything else to form his invisible Weaves. He simply looked at Julia.
As a dragon, Jett could sense the magic flowing through the man, but he couldn’t see the actual Weaves. When the sensation ebbed, he knew the work was done.
The jewel didn’t glow.
“She’s clean,” Mathis said.
He moved from person to person and applied the tiara to each one. Finishing with the newcomers, he proceeded to test everyone else. When he reached Jeremiah, he lifted the tiara to test him, too.
“Why?” Jeremiah said, raising a hand to block Mathis.
“It’s possible you’ve grown stronger in the years since we last tested you,” Mathis said.
Jeremiah shrugged and allowed Mathis to place the bone band over his forehead.
This time when Mathis worked his Weave, the gem glowed a slight red.
Mathis removed the band without a word and moved on to the next person.
“So I won’t be going back to the Steel Tower after all?” Jeremiah asked.
“No,” Mathis said.
When the witch finished testing the last of them, he turned toward Jett. “I was expecting to find at least one Potential here, giving how long it’s been since this territory was last checked, and the number of Potentials I discovered in neighboring crews. The statistical probability was very high.”
“Well your statistics were wrong,” Jett said.
Mathis furrowed his brow and Jett sensed Siphoning. For a moment Jett was worried the Wayfarer had placed a Weave on him to confirm whether Jett really was wearing a collar.
But what the witch had actually done proved far worse.
Mathis looked around him, surveying the cabins. “You’re hiding someone.”
Jett folded his arms. “Really? Razor, confirm for me. Is this everyone?”
“It is,” Razor said immediately. “All of t
he pride is accounted for.”
“You’re hiding someone,” Mathis repeated.
“You accuse me of lying?” Jett said dangerously.
“This particular Weave doesn’t lie,” Mathis said.
“Really,” Jett said. “And what did the Weave tell you?”
“Strengthwork was used in recent days,” Mathis said. “Behind that building.”
He pointed at the cabin Jett and Ariel called home.
“It was probably Jeremiah,” Jett said.
“No,” Mathis said. “The residual imprint I’m sensing is too strong for your existing witch. He wouldn’t be able to handle the amount that was Siphoned. Whose cabin is that?”
“It’s mine,” Razor said quickly.
Mathis pursed his lips, then strode toward the cabin.
Jett was going to stop him but he knew any actions on his part would only be interpreted as guilt on his part. Best to let this play out as it would.
Mathis walked along the periphery of the cabin and Jett followed him. Jett beckoned toward Connor and Duncan to join him. He wanted the big men there in case things turned south.
Jett’s phone buzzed. He had a message from Cliff.
We’re still here. Didn’t have time to run.
Jett responded instantly. How could you NOT have time to run!
He pocketed the phone when a reply didn’t come immediately.
Mathis halted in the backyard area. He stared at the pits cut into the ground, and the pile of grass and dirt that formed a mound beside it, where Ariel had pinned Jett a few days earlier. Jett immediately regretted not cleaning that up; at the time he wanted it to serve as a reminder of what Ariel could do with dragon bone.
“The amount of Strength that was Siphoned here was definitely beyond the reach of your man,” Mathis said.
“We caught a vampire witch in the area some weeks back,” Jett said. “Could be that she did this when she was prowling around.”
“I was one of those who reported the vampire to our Queen,” Mathis said. “I could feel the Death emanations from as far away as the city. Those emanations were very powerful. You’re telling me you were able to defeat her in your collared state?”
“Never underestimate a collared dragon,” Jett said with a shrug.