Summer and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 2)

by Sloane Meyers

  “Bullshit,” he said. “Why are you following me, Lily?”

  Even though there was still quite some distance between them, he could see her cheeks redden when he asked the question.

  “I guess I just wondered where you were going when you snuck off every day. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try to find out.”

  Vance did laugh then. “I’m not exactly sneaking off,” he said. “Just because I don’t make a formal announcement that I’m leaving every morning, that doesn’t mean I’m sneaking. And if you wanted to know where I was going, you could have just asked me, you know?”

  Lily’s cheeks were bright red now, and she looked extremely uncomfortable. “I didn’t think you wanted to talk to me. After, you know, the other day.”

  “Come over here, Lily,” Vance said.

  Looking like a child who had just been caught ruining her mother’s most treasured possessions, Lily walked slowly toward Vance. For a moment, he forgot what he had been about to say. The closer she got, the more radiant she appeared. Her face was flushed, not just from the heat of her embarrassment but from the effort she had been putting out to keep up with Vance as he hiked. A thin sheen of sweat was on her face, and it made her look like she was practically glowing in the sunlight. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and strands of it had come loose to hang around her face, framing it perfectly. Vance felt a strange sensation come over him as he looked at her, and the air between them seemed to be almost crackling with electricity. Was it possible that, even though their relationship had started off with a fight, that there was still some sort of chemistry between them? Vance took a deep breath, wanting to tread carefully with his words.

  “Look, Lily, I know we got off to a bad start, but if we’re both going to spend the whole summer here in the Redwoods, we should probably start at least acting civil toward each other. There’s no need to act like I don’t exist. And I’m sorry if I’ve acted like you don’t exist. We’re both grown adults. We can be polite to each other, don’t you think?”

  Lily shrugged. “Sure, I guess,” she said. She did not meet his eyes when she said it.

  “And don’t try to follow me using your stupid invisibility spell. I can smell you, so I know you’re there. I’m not an idiot, either. I know you’re a wizard and can make yourself invisible, so it wasn’t that hard to figure out that you were trailing me under the cover of a spell.”

  “Sorry,” Lily said. This time she did look up. When she met Vance’s eyes, her own eyes had a wary expression in them. Vance was about to tell her that she could continue hiking with him if she wanted, when she suddenly spoke again, and anger was lacing her voice this time.

  “Aren’t you going to say sorry, too?” she asked, crossing her arms. When she did, her magic ring caught the sunlight, which made the dark onyx stone seem to light up from within.

  “Apologize for what?” Vance asked. “For flying you down too fast? I already told you I wasn’t intentionally trying to scare you. If you want me to grovel and ask for forgiveness for mistakenly thinking that you’d enjoy a wild flight, then you’re going to be disappointed. I’m not the groveling type. If you want to hang out with me, Lily, you’re going to have to learn one thing. What you see is pretty much what you get. I am who I am. I might be a little rough around the edges, but I make no apologies for that. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to hang out with me. I certainly didn’t ask you to follow me into the woods.”

  Lily hesitated, holding Vance’s gaze but looking marginally less angry. “You could have killed me,” she said. “Plus, it’s against the rules to fly in like that. Knox said that—”

  “Oh, screw the rules,” Vance said, feeling impatient once again. “I follow them most of the time, but, you know what? Sometimes rules were made to be broken. You should know that. Your little friend Bree broke the rules when she came to find shifters and search for the dragon stone against your High Council’s orders. And yet, she saved a lot of lives by doing that. I know your job as an Advocate is all about following the rules and making sure all the wizards follow protocol, and that no one does anything that might alert the rest of the world to the fact that magic exists. But if you want to get along well out here in the Redwoods, you’re going to have to be a bit more flexible. We don’t always follow the rules to the letter. We do what we need to do to get the job done. Perhaps I’m the worst offender. Perhaps I break more rules than anyone else in this clan. But you know what? I’ve also recovered more ancient artifacts than anyone on this clan. I’ve saved more lives than anyone else. And as long as there’s breath left in my body, I’ll be a bit of a rebel. It’s just who I am. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to hang out with me. But I make no apologies for who I am.”

  Vance crossed his own arms as he finished his rant. He hadn’t meant to get quite so worked up or passionate, and he realized that if he wanted a chance with Lily, that he had probably just ruined the last opportunity for that chance that he would get. But he didn’t care. He could feel his heart pumping wildly in his chest as he spoke of his accomplishments. He was proud of the difference he’d made in the shifter world through his risk-taking. He knew that Knox was proud, too, even if it was hard to get him to admit it sometimes. If Lily was bothered by Vance’s edginess, then she wasn’t the right girl for him, anyway. Plain and simple as that.

  The two of them stood there for a moment, staring at each other in charged silence. Vance was waiting for the moment that Lily would turn and storm away, disgusted with his refusal to apologize to her, or with his disregard for law and order. But that moment never came. Instead, she looked at him long and hard, and then, without warning, she stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his neck. The next thing he knew, her lips were on his.

  Chapter Eight

  Lily wasn’t quite sure what had come over her. All she knew was that she was suddenly overcome with an unbearable desire to kiss Vance, and she had acted on it. She had never been the impulsive type. Her whole life back in Falcon Cross had been a series of carefully researched, carefully planned decisions. But something about being out here in the redwoods, alone with the man who was ,objectively speaking, the most handsome man she’d ever met, had somehow cast a strange spell over her. The irony of a wizard feeling like she was under a spell was not lost on Lily, but she didn’t think too much about it as she let herself melt into Vance’s lips. As she did, she realized she’d told herself so many lies over the last few days about how she was angry at Vance and didn’t want to be with him. She realized now that she’d said all of those things to herself so that she could be angry with Vance instead of being angry with herself.

  If she was honest with herself, she had acted like a pouty child over the last few days. She could forgive herself for being upset at Vance when they first landed. She’d been terrified, and had reacted out of fear. But once she realized that she had, in fact, been perfectly safe—and that he hadn’t been trying to scare her but had actually been trying to show her a good time—she should have calmed down. Instead, she had clung to her anger like a child who was insisting on being right.

  Vance had seen right through her bullshit—and had called her on it. Somehow, his in-your-face attitude had turned her on. Lily wasn’t used to men who were so rough and raw. All the guys she hung out with back in Falcon Cross worked at the Advocacy Bureau with her. They were all nice enough people, but they lacked a certain masculine fire. They were all super smart and loved to sit around debating the finer points of countless philosophical questions, but they were too polite. They never would have gotten in Lily’s face and told her to get over herself, or that rules were made to be broken. Lily had had an epiphany as Vance spoke, and she realized that she’d been living small for far too long. Deep within her, there was a desire to rebel a little, and to live on the edge. For once in her life, she didn’t want to do every damn thing perfectly by the book. Maybe this summer was her chance.

  All of these thoughts had been swirling i
n Lily’s head as she listened to Vance essentially tell her off. But now, as her lips joined his, it was hard for her to think about anything except how wonderful he felt. She could hardly believe that she was kissing a man who she’d just been arguing with—a man whom she supposedly hated and who supposedly hated her. She had never done anything so brazen in her life. But Vance did not pull away. In fact, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back.

  His hands were strong against her back, and she couldn’t keep a small moan from escaping her lips as she ran her own hands over his biceps. They were strong and firm, and he somehow seemed even taller and more muscular now then he had the first day she’d met him in that tiny rental car office. The heat between them grew, and Lily found herself surprised at how her skin felt like it was on fire everywhere he touched her. Her back burned in the best way possible as he ran his hands across it.

  But then, just as suddenly as Lily had started the kiss, Vance ended it. Gently but firmly, he pulled away from her.

  “Come on,” he said, his voice sounding unusually gruff. “I want to show you something.”

  Lily tried to push away the disappointment that filled her as the moment between them ended. “Where are we going?” she asked as brightly as she could, doing her best not to sound as deflated as she felt that she was no longer in his arms. Her mood perked up, though, as he reached for her hand, closing his own large palm firmly over her smaller one.

  “You wanted to see what I’ve been up to this week,” he said. “So let’s go.”

  He said nothing more. He walked in silence through the woods, and Lily found herself amazed again at how quickly he could move without making a sound. He kept his hand firmly on hers as they walked an irregular path through the trees. There was still no visible trail, but Vance seemed to know exactly where he was going.

  The whole time that Lily had been following Vance, he had been moving steadily upward through the forest. Now, though, the incline of the ground became markedly steeper, and Lily found herself sweating and huffing as she tried to keep pace with Vance. She didn’t complain, but he seemed to notice that she was struggling, because he slowed his pace down a bit as they ascended. He was forced to drop her hand as the way through the trees narrowed and they had to walk single file. They continued on like this for another hour. Just when Lily felt like she could not possibly walk another step, Vance halted. He looked around for a few moments, as though not quite certain which way he wanted to go. Then he nodded, as though his decision was made, and he grabbed her hand again.

  “Come on,” he said. “This will be the easiest way up.”

  The rocks in front of them seemed to be almost a solid wall. Vance seemed to know, though, each spot where the rock jutted out just enough to make a step. Step by careful step, he led her straight up the small cliff, never letting go of her hand. Somehow, even though she knew that this climb was probably even more dangerous than the crazy flight Vance had taken her on, she was not afraid. He held her so firmly, and she knew deep down that he would not let her fall. This time, she trusted him.

  Lily had felt for a while now that they were walking among the treetops, but as they climbed the rock wall, they rose above the treetops. They slowly ascended even higher than the tallest of the trees, until they reached the top of the cliff. Lily saw then that the top of the cliff had a smooth, almost table-like top to it. Vance climbed up onto it, and then pulled Lily up with him.

  All of a sudden, she felt like she was standing on the top of the world. The view took her breath away, and was almost the same as the view had been when she had been riding in on Vance’s dragon back earlier that week. For as far as she could see, rolling hills of redwood forest rose and fell. The deep green of the treetops contrasted starkly with the bright blue of the sky. The sun shone hot on Lily’s face, now that all the shade of the forest was below her. But she hardly noticed the heat as she looked around, taking in the beauty that surrounded her.

  “Look,” Vance said, turning her one hundred and eighty degrees so that she was now facing the opposite direction. He pointed to a spot on the horizon between two of the largest hills.

  “That’s the ocean,” he said, his voice sounding softer and happier than Lily had ever heard it. “I love to come up here and look at it. On cloudy days you can’t see it, but in the summertime it’s almost always sunny enough to make it out.”

  Lily strained her eyes to look, and then she saw it, too. The shades of blue between the two hills were different, and, if you knew what you were looking for, you could see where sky turned to sea.

  “It’s beautiful,” she said, then glanced over at Vance “But is this really what you’ve been doing every single day for the last week? And why make all the effort to climb up here? Wouldn’t it be much easier to just shift into dragon form and fly up here?”

  Vance laughed. “What would the fun be in just flying up here every day? I like to hike, and sweat a little bit. Besides, flying around in dragon form just for the sake of flying is against the rules, and I wouldn’t want to break any rules, you know?”

  He gave her a pointed, teasing look, and Lily blushed. There was no animosity in his gaze now, though. His eyes danced merrily as the sunlight hit them and lit up their greenish-gold color.

  “This view isn’t the real reason I’ve been coming up here, though,” he said, reaching for her hand and pulling her toward the opposite side of the large, rocky surface. “Come look at this. But be very quiet.”

  Lily nodded, intrigued, as Vance walked with her to the very edge of the cliff. He knelt down and then lay flat on his stomach so that only his head was peering over the edge, and then motioned for her to do the same. She carefully knelt and then lay down, wondering what the point of all of this was.

  “Look,” he whispered, pointing to a spot just below them where a small part of the cliff jutted out. The wall of the cliff curved at that point, so that most of the little rock shelf was sheltered from the wind by the cliff itself. On the shelf of rock was a nest, with three baby birds in it. They must not have been too young, because they had some adult-looking feathers mixed in with smaller, fluffy baby feathers. The mixture gave them a funny, bedraggled look. They were chirping incessantly, but Lily had not heard them until she bent down, since the angle of the rock wall muffled their cries if you were standing above.

  “They’re so cute,” Lily whispered. “What are they?”

  Before Vance could answer her, a mighty rush of wind passed by Lily’s right ear. She saw the fierce bird that had zoomed by her continuing on, diving down at lightning speed until it quickly disappeared beneath the treetops. Lily didn’t have to ask anymore what it was. She would have known the shape of that bird anywhere. Vance was already answering the question, though.

  “They’re peregrine falcons,” he said. “I thought that Falcon Cross was named for them. Surely, you must have seen them before.”

  “I must have seen hundreds of them in my lifetime,” Lily said. “But I’ve never seen their babies. They like to nest up high, and I didn’t do much climbing back home.”

  Vance nodded. “Makes sense, I guess. I found these little guys the first morning after you arrived at our base camp. I was angry, and decided to go on a hike to get rid of some angry energy. I’ve been up here before for the view, but when I came up this time I saw one of the adult birds flying in and looking like they were landing right on the edge of the wall. I was curious and came to look. That’s when I found this little rock shelf and the nest. I’ve been coming to visit them every day since. They’ve already grown a ton since the first day I found them.”

  “The parents don’t mind your being here?” Lily asked.

  Vance shook his head. “They seemed wary of me at first, but I think they’ve gotten used to me by now. I suppose they don’t mind you, since you’re with me. Peregrines are smart birds, you know, they have a good sense of who to trust and who not to.”

  Vance fell silent as he looked down at the birds, and for several m
inutes, Lily did not speak, either. She watched the young birds, calling out for food. Then, one of their parents came back with a fresh kill, and the impatient calls turned into a sort of happy cheeping as the adult bird fed them. When the adult bird left again to go hunt, Lily finally turned back to speak to Vance.

  “It’s kind of funny, you know—a big tough guy like you making the hike all the way up here every day to see some baby birds,” she said, keeping her voice quiet so that she wouldn’t disturb the birds.

  Vance looked over at her, his green eyes sparkling so brightly in the sunlight that for a moment all Lily could think about was how much they looked like emeralds.

  “There’s no reason a tough guy can’t like baby birds,” Vance said. “Besides, it’s not just the babies I’ve been watching. It’s the parents, too. Peregrines are some of the coolest birds around.”

  Lily smiled. “Well, I am pretty partial to them myself, you know, since I’m from Falcon Cross.”

  “Did you know their name means ‘wandering falcon’?” Vance asked, sitting up on one elbow to look over at Lily. Maybe that’s why I like them so much. I’ve always felt like a wanderer.”

  “Well, you do wander quite a bit on your missions, from what I’m told,” Lily said.

  “Yeah, but it’s not just that,” Vance said. “I’ve always felt a little bit like I didn’t really belong anywhere. I mean, I know I belong here, with the Redwood Dragons. It’s my home, and these guys are my brothers, as much as we may annoy each other at times. But I never knew who my parents were. I don’t know where I came from. I’ve found myself wondering quite a bit lately about how my life would be different if my parents hadn’t died in the war.”

  Vance got a faraway look in his eyes, but Lily shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” she said slowly. “I get the feeling that there’s some part of you that feels as though it’s missing something, and you think if only your parents hadn’t died, that you wouldn’t feel that way. But I don’t think it does much good to spend your time wondering about a life that could have been. The life we have is all we’re guaranteed for sure, and none of us know how long even that will last. And it seems to me that you have a pretty good family here with your clan. There are a lot of people who would give anything for that.”