Steam

by Lynn Tyler

  Now, he wasn’t just searching for Niya. The upcoming battle was growing nearer, he could feel it in his bones. And for the sake of his clan, he needed to get back in touch with his allies.

  Leith had been snooping around, using all his seeker spells to try and figure out where the dragons had disappeared to. He’d searched the cliffs Matthew had pointed out and had yet to find anything. But the cliffs were huge and there were only so many hours of the day Leith could search. Raven would have joined him but he was determined to do right by his clan and supervise Sunny’s training.

  He stroked a single finger over the face in the photograph, cradled it to his chest and leaned back in his chair. He was so tired. He hadn’t been sleeping well and it was starting to catch up with him. It wouldn’t hurt to close his eyes for a few minutes.

  A heavy knocking pounding against the window startled him and he nearly upended his chair. “What the fuck?” he swore.

  He had to blink his eyes a couple of times when he saw the man standing at the window, beckoning for him to come outside.

  The chair didn’t stand a chance when he jolted up and took off at a run. He heard the clatter of it tipping over before he hit the hall at a dead sprint. He ignored Anna’s gasp as he raced passed her and out the door.

  He veered right, his eyes searching for the man he’d seen at the window.

  There.

  Raven stumbled to a halt in front of the tall man and bent at the waist, resting his hands on his thighs as he tried to catch his breath. “Your Highness,” he said between quick intakes of breath.

  The prince crouched down and stuck his face under Raven’s so he had no choice but to look the dragon in the eye. “Raven MacAlister. Tell me why you’ve increased your efforts to find us?”

  Raven’s heart nearly stopped when he gazed into those jade green eyes. Gareth was definitely his mother’s son, and not just because of the color of his eyes. He apparently had the same habit of appearing right when Raven was least expecting it.

  Raven finally caught his breath and forced himself up. How Prince Gareth looked so regal when he was dressed in a black T-shirt, even tighter jeans and bulky black boots, he’d never know. The man looked like he belonged on a college campus somewhere, but Raven knew the prince was probably hundreds, if not thousands, of years old.

  Gareth stared at him expectantly, one eyebrow raised. “Well? I know you’ve been looking for my mother since the last battle but why has the search switched from her to dragons in general so suddenly?”

  A soft wind blew around them and the scent of heather surrounded them. Raven closed his eyes at the memory the flower brought back. Gareth probably wouldn’t want to know about how his mother and Raven had made love in blooming heather more than once.

  Pulling himself back to the present, Raven looked at Gareth, careful not to meet his eyes. Despite the fact that Gareth stood before him as a man, Raven didn’t forget he was looking at a dragon. And dragons were the consummate dominant predator.

  “The prophecy…” He trailed off, wondering if Gareth remembered what he was talking about. The man had sat in on their meetings several times. But it had been more than twenty-five years since he had seen Gareth. It seemed like a long time to Raven, but to someone who was immortal, the twenty-five years had probably passed in a blink of an eye. So Gareth either remembered the conversations about the prophecy like it was yesterday or he’d forgotten about it in the hundreds, possibly thousands of years’ worth of memories he had to sift through.

  “Mmm,” the dragon hummed. He cocked his head and his eyes shifted to his dragon ones momentarily. “You still believe that, do you?”

  Apparently, the dragon prince remembered. “Our fire handler has been located. It won’t be long before our earth handler comes into their magic.”

  Gareth shifted. “You’re assuming the handler survived into adulthood. I understand you decided to scatter your clan after the last witch war. Why?”

  Raven rubbed the back of his neck. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. If our clan members were scattered, it would be harder to kill us off. If we’d stayed here, we ran the risk of facing genocide. And with half of our handlers dead, our defenses would never have survived a large scale attack.”

  “I’m curious. Do you still think scattering your clan was a good idea?”

  Grief tugged on him. His clan had been so much more than just the people he led. They had been his family, both literally and figuratively. In an effort to keep their whereabouts secret, he had contacted most of them only sporadically since they left and he missed them all dearly. “Yes. It was the right decision at the time. It has, of course, led to a weakening of clan bonds.” He’d been unaware of the death of Sunny’s parents, or even her birth. He wondered what else had happened to his people that he didn’t know. How many were dead? How many had children?

  “Mmm,” the prince hummed again. “Interesting. But I fail to see why you’ve decided to search out the dragons instead of recalling your clan?”

  “I’m calling on the alliance we made with your people. If we are to come out victorious in the upcoming battle, we will need the aid of the dragons.”

  Something flared in Gareth’s eyes, and Raven felt like he was being assessed. “I’m not completely against the idea,” the dragon prince said slowly. “But there will be two conditions.”

  Raven’s head snapped up. He had not expected such an easy agreement. “Name them,” he said.

  The dragon prowled over to him, his eyes completely shifted. There was no hint of white around Gareth’s irises at all and his pupils had elongated to look like small slits in dangerously glittering pools of jade. “You shouldn’t be so quick to agree,” the dragon advised.

  “You are your mother’s son,” Raven said immediately. “You are an honorable man.”

  A thin stream of smoke drifted out of the dragon’s nose, hinting that the beast was closer to the surface than Raven had originally imagined. He snorted and his skin flashed to the faintest shade of green, the scales shimmering in the sunlight before Gareth concealed them again. “I’m no man,” he said in a low, growly voice. “I’m a dragon. But I am my mother’s son.”

  Raven stared at Gareth’s chin and stood straight. “Your Highness, your conditions?”

  “We will not fight with a weakened people. The first condition is that you must recall your clan members. There is strength in numbers which you cannot replace with handlers, no matter how strong the handlers are.”

  Recalling his clan was no hardship. Some work would have to be done to the cottages on the clan property since no one had lived in them for years, of course, but he would love to have everyone home again. “Not a problem.”

  Gareth’s eyebrows rose again. “Maybe not for you. But have you considered the feelings of your clan? Perhaps they have grown to like, or even love their new homes. And what of the children?”

  Shit. He hadn’t even stopped to consider what would happen if his clan didn’t want to come back. “It will have to be something I deal with when and if it comes up. What’s your next condition?”

  Gareth looked at him consideringly. “Recall your clan. I must convene with the dragon elders before I tell you my next condition. I will be in touch.”

  The prince didn’t say anything else. He simply turned and strutted toward the forest, transforming into a twelve-foot long dragon almost instantly.

  The beast took one long look at him and Raven wondered if he looked like a tasty snack to the giant lizard. A forked tongue flicked out of Gareth’s mouth once before the beast took flight, apparently unconcerned about being spotted by humans.

  Raven watched the dragon fly off, very confused but also hopeful.

  Perhaps he’d be seeing the love of his life very soon.

  Chapter 13

  “Sunny,” Sloan groaned as she let the ball of fire fizzle out of existence. “You need to concentrate.”

  “I’m trying,” she snapped, conjuring still another flame in the
palm of her hand.

  Sloan held his breath as Sunny started manipulating the size of the fire. He’d taken over her training after she’d nearly burned the castle down. Anna still helped out occasionally, but it was best if she stayed away while Sunny worked on learning control.

  The fire dissipated and Sunny sighed. “This is hard,” she whined.

  Sloan fought to keep his lips from quirking up in a smile. She was so damn adorable; he wanted to throw her against the nearest tree and kiss the daylights out of her. “I know,” he said, trying to soothe her. “It was hard for me to learn control too. And I remember Anna trying to learn. It took her forever. Don’t worry, it will come.”

  Sunny pushed a lock of hair off her face and blew out a breath, clearly frustrated. “But it was easier when Anna was training me.”

  Sloan nodded and rubbed her back. “It was because her power was feeding yours. You didn’t have to work as hard to keep your fire going. The air magic helped it.”

  Sunny plopped on to the ground in a heap. “Then I should continue to work with her.”

  Sitting down next to her, Sloan wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “You’re doing great. Just think, everything you’ve achieved in the past week has been all on your own. There’s been no help, intentional or not, from Anna. You’ve made huge strides.”

  “Thanks,” she said tilting her head until it rested against his shoulder.

  She still sounded down, so he wracked his brain for something to cheer her up. “Have you been into town yet?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

  “No. I haven’t had enough time, really.”

  “Let’s take a break then, and go into town.”

  Sunny agreed easily enough and before long, they were in his car, driving along with the windows down and the music blasting.

  He couldn’t help the smile that time, when she started singing along to the radio at the top of her lungs. She sang off key and her timing sucked, but she was having a ball. It was one of the things he admired most about Sunny. She really didn’t care about what other people thought.

  Parking on a side street, he raced around to open her door while she dug around in her small purse for sunglasses. Her smile of thanks was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever seen, and he offered his elbow reflexively.

  She tucked her hand into his arm, and he reveled in the feeling. He let her lead him around, stopping whenever she wanted to look into a shop window, or coo over some brightly colored flowers. He stood still as she placed a silly hat on his head and waited while she took a picture of some children with their noses pressed against the toy shop’s window.

  Acting purely on instinct, Sloan bent down and plucked a daisy from a shop’s garden. “Here,” he said, offering her the flower.

  “You shouldn’t have picked that,” she scolded even as she tucked it behind her ear. “But thank you. How does it look?”

  “Beautiful,” he said, well aware he referred to more than the flower.

  “Ice cream,” Sunny said suddenly, pointing behind him.

  A little bemused by the sudden change in subject, Sloan turned around. Sure enough, there was an ice cream stand. “Do you want some?”

  Sunny nodded and practically dragged him across the street. They got in line behind a small girl, who had hair the same vivid red as Sunny, and her mother.

  Sunny crouched so she was at eye level with the little girl. “What kind are you getting?” she asked.

  “Vanilla,” the child said. “It’s my favorite. What are you getting?”

  Sloan watched the two chat about ice cream, stunned by the ease Sunny interacted with the little girl. Eventually, the little girl and her mother ordered their ice cream cones and Sunny said a cheerful good-bye to her new friend. “I’ll have a chocolate cone please,” she said to the clerk. She made to pull her wallet out of her purse, but Sloan put his hand on her wrist.

  “Let me get it,” he said. “What? Call me old fashioned,” he defended when she raised an eyebrow at him.

  Sunny sighed but let him pay for their treats. “Okay, but dinner is on me. And don’t complain,” she said when he opened his mouth.

  He had to make Sunny see that all he wanted to do was take care of her. He might not be as old as Leith or Raven, but he was still from a different generation.

  Still, he didn’t say anything. He would make an excuse about going to the bathroom during dinner and then talk to the waitress about putting the meal on his credit card. He ordered his vanilla ice cream and waited patiently for the clerk to hand it over. A sudden sobbing from beside them drew his attention. Sunny’s little friend had dropped her cone and was weeping as if her dog had just died.

  “I know you’re disappointed, love, but I only brought enough money for two ice creams. You can have mine,” the girl’s mother said.

  “But I like vanilla,” the little girl sobbed.

  Sloan had never been able to take a child crying. He would do everything in his power to make her stop. And really, she sounded as if this was a tragedy.

  He accepted the ice cream from the clerk and walked over to the mother and daughter. Kneeling next to the little girl, he looked at the mother and smiled. “She can have my cone. I’ve just bought it and I haven’t even taken a lick yet.”

  The little girl’s eyes lit up and she reached for the ice cream, but the mother shook her head. “No, we really couldn’t.”

  He was about to protest when he remembered it was a different time than when he’d grown up. Parents needed to worry constantly about the motivations of strangers. He reached into his pocket with his free hand and pressed a note into the mother’s hand. “I understand. Here, take this. It should be enough to get her another cone.”

  The woman tried to give him back the money but he refused. “A beautiful princess like this shouldn’t spend such a nice afternoon crying.”

  The little girl beamed at him. “Thank you,” she said, clasping her hands together under her chin.

  He smiled and gave her a thumbs up. “My pleasure, princess. Now, make sure not to drop this one, okay?”

  She agreed and skipped off with her mother to replace her ice cream after one last thank you.

  Sunny’s warm hand slid down his forearm before she linked her fingers through his. “That was nice,” she whispered.

  He hadn’t done it to impress Sunny, but he saw no reason not to ask her for what he wanted, now that he had her buttered up. “Nice enough to let me pay for dinner tonight?”

  She pursed her lips, which had him wishing he’d asked for something else instead. “No. But it’s nice enough for a kiss,” she answered.

  “I’ll take it,” he said, leaning down. Very softly, he placed his lips against hers.

  *

  Sunny let her eyes close when Sloan’s mouth settled on to hers. It was a rather chaste kiss, considering they were out in public, but it was still exciting.

  She’d seen a completely different side of him today. He’d been patient with her since he’d taken over her training, even when she’d struggled to even form a flame at will.

  But that afternoon showed her something completely different.

  She’d been pleasantly surprised to find Sloan was some kind of old-fashioned romantic. He’d let her lead him around town, stopping obligingly every time she wanted to take a closer look at something. And while she might act like his insistence on paying for everything annoyed her, in truth, it was kind of nice that he wanted to provide for her. It hadn’t really been anything she’d experienced before.

  And then he had to go and offer his ice cream to a crying child, and then he paid for another cone when his offer had been refused.

  Oh, she’d seen glimpses of this Sloan. He was a generous lover, always making sure she was satisfied before he finished. It was in the gentle way he now treated Anna, and it was in the way he spoke to Matthew.

  It was enough to make her fall in love with him. In fact, she already knew she was knee deep in love with the ma
n. All it would take would be a push and she would fall head first in love. And the little display she’d just witnessed had been quite the nudge toward that edge.

  Sloan deepened the kiss a little, and she pulled away before things got carried away in the middle of the park. “You know what else it’s nice enough for?” she asked.

  He smiled. “What?”

  “Dinner in bed.”

  “Yeah?” Sloan asked, sounding extremely interested. “Can I have you for dessert?”

  Sunny blushed a little but tugged on his hand, pulling him in the direction of the car. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

  Chapter 14

  Sloan dropped his head back and closed his eyes. The magic hummed through his veins, and it was slightly uncomfortable. His power had been increasing in spades since Sunny had come into her magic. Anna had said the same thing and according to Leith, Sunny was the only handler to have so much magic to control right off the bat.

  While he still scoffed openly at the whole prophecy business, it was just for show. Why else would the handlers’ magic keep increasing in power?

  And the whole thing about the handlers having their soul mates at their sides during the war to end all wars…well, he could see how it could be considered a sign.

  Trying to pull his mind from his dark thoughts, he tuned into Raven and Leith’s conversation. “Have you seen Matthew lately?” Raven asked.

  Leith shook his head, but Sloan noticed the slight concern on the man’s face. Everyone knew Matthew was desperately in love with Leith except Leith. “He’s not been home at all then?” he asked.

  Sloan leaned forward. “I saw him early this morning,” he said to ease the man’s worry. “He was on his way into the office.” He didn’t mention that the kid looked like he was about to fall over from exhaustion.

  Leith frowned and ruffled his long hair. “The lad needs someone to take care of him.”

  Looking up, Sloan caught Raven’s eye and shrugged. He wasn’t sure if Leith was really that blind or if he just didn’t want to acknowledge Matthew’s one-sided love. After all, the man did come from a time where homosexuality was condemned. Hell, in Leith’s time, a man would have been killed over his sexuality.