The Coldfire Wizard.
No time to react, for suddenly a flash of cobalt blue smoke and a mighty shudder of the earth announced his arrival.
When the smoke cleared, the wizard stood before them. He stood a few inches taller than Chase, with even black hair cut short. Drust sported a well-trimmed mustache and beard and had intense gray-blue eyes. Wearing a cobalt-blue tunic and trousers, and soft, doeskin boots, he looked perhaps thirty years old, but she knew he was ancient.
Evie’s heart raced with dread and her chest constricted. We’re in trouble now.
Everyone in the dragon world knew Drust, the newest of the wizards of the Brehon. Guardian and judge of dragons, he wizard presented a greater threat than all the other wizards. Drust was dragon himself, and knew a dragon’s heart.
Chase bowed low. “Uncle.”
Evie dropped to her knees and bowed her head. She had no desire to become dust in the wind, and Drust had enough power to flick a finger and destroy them all.
“Lacey, bow before the wizard,” Evie whispered.
But her sister remained upright, her expression fierce as she confronted Drust. Lacey reminded Evie of a queen of ancient times, refusing to surrender. “Why should I?”
“Zapping you into dust is one good reason,” Evie hissed.
Drust said nothing, but regarded Lacey with an intensity that took Evie’s breath away. “Please,” she whispered to Lacey. “Do it!”
Finally Lacey inclined her head. It was more of a nod, but the wizard seemed satisfied.
Indeed, he looked pleased, not at Lacey’s acquiescence, but her refusal to cower. Evie wondered if that was a novelty for the wizard. Surely other mortal dragons simpered and fawned over him all the time.
Trying to curry favor, or escape harsh punishment for some infraction of the rules.
“Lacey McGuire,” Drust rumbled in his deep tenor, a threat in each syllable he lingered over. “You have broken the law. Again.”
Evie cast her sister a doubting look. Again?
Lacey shook her head and faced the wizard. “What rules? They aren’t exactly posted like a No Trespassing sign.”
“Which was posted on the fence. Which you chose to ignore.”
“Maybe I’m illiterate,” Lacey taunted.
Why was her sister acting this way? “Lacey,” Evie muttered. “Cool it.”
“Then I will read your list of wrongdoings.” Drust snapped his fingers and a scroll appeared in his palm. After unfurling it, he read.
“Kidnapping a dragon against her will. A first degree felony.”
“It wasn’t against her will. I rescued her!”
“Did you ask the dragon if she wanted to be rescued? I recall she only wished for a glass of water when she entered your store, not a ride to the forests of North Carolina.” Drust asked in a calm, deadly voice.
Red suffused Lacey’s face.
Evie groaned, wanting to do a face palm. Six months ago Lacey had aided a woman in a bridal gown who’d begged for water. It was late and the shop closed. Lacey was alone doing inventory and had opened the door. The woman was a crimson dragon. Breathless, she told Lacey she was running from a marriage her parents had arranged for her.
Not only had Lacey given her water, but offered to hide her away. When the bride began to protest, Lacey urged her to reconsider the match. When the groom came looking for her, an outraged Lacey knocked him out and flew the bride to the woods, where no one could find her.
“You can’t force our people to mate against their will,” Lacey protested.
Drust regarded her solemnly. “The mating was not against her will, not that it is any of your business. It was part of her family’s ritual for marriage. She desired her mate and he had arranged to steal her away when you intervened. Because you removed her from his reach, the wedding was called off. The bride begged me to fix everything, which took me away from another important case. Because of that, a baby dragon nearly died.”
Lacey said nothing, but Evie heard a tiny inward hitch of breath, followed by a clear “Oh.”
Drust strode toward Lacey, the ground shuddering beneath him. Overhead, the sky darkened and even the vicious alligators swam away to the furthest corner of the swamp.
Evie’s heart raced. Chase looked respectful, but had moved closer, nearly blocking Evie from Drust’s view. Grateful for his sheltering action, she whispered “thanks” to him.
Chase touched her arm, a reassuring gesture. But there was nothing reassuring about the bristling anger in Lacey’s stance, nor the fierce intensity of the Coldfire Wizard.
The Coldfire Wizard towered over her sister. Drust seized her long braid and pulled, forcing Lacey’s head back to meet his furious gaze. “You have tested my patience once too often, Lacey McGuire.”
Lacey only smiled. Even as she admired her courage, Evie shuddered at her daring.
“Seems like you keep failing that test, Coldfire Wizard,” Lacey told him.
“Where is the sacred vial of Bloodflower Moon potion you stole from my nephew?”
Only silence from Lacey.
Drust wrapped an arm around her waist and hauled Lacey close to the swamp, forcing her on her back. Kneeling beside her, he yanked at Lacey’s ponytail, so her head touched the murky water as the gators swam nearby. “Tell me where the Bloodmoon flower potion is. Now.”
“Screw you, wizard.” Lacey gasped as he pulled harder, her head now partly submerged.
“Lacey, please, tell him,” Evie begged. “I can’t lose you.”
“Never,” Lacey panted.
An alligator swam closer, so close Evie could see its beady eyes, the malevolence in its grin as it opened its jaws wide. A tentacle snaked out of its mouth, swimming toward her sister.
She loved Lacey. Drust would execute her without a backward glance. She knew the impervious and cold power of the wizard, from the hushed tales Chase had shared with her.
“It’s at her house,” Evie cried out. “Please, your excellency, don’t hurt my sister! Stop it!”
Drust released Lacey, who pulled away in time from the gator’s deadly tentacle. Her green gaze grew shiny with unshed tears. Tears of anger, Evie knew, for Lacey would never cry with defeat.
“You’ll never find it. It’s a big house.”
“I have no intention of searching.” Drust snapped his fingers and Chase came forward. “Take the women back to Lacey’s house and find the potion. You were responsible for safeguarding it, now you will return it to me.”
“Do this, do that. You’re such an old fart,” Lacey muttered. “Is that all you know how to do is give orders?”
“Lacey,” Evie hissed.
The wizard’s eyes glowed an eerie blue, and Evie quivered with fear for her sister. Drust splayed his hand over Lacey’s face. Evie winced. That had to hurt, but Lacey did not react.
“I am finished with your rule breaking, Lacey McGuire. This is the last chance you have. The next time, I will not be as lenient.”
“Oh?” Lacey’s mouth curled upward in a bold smile. “What are you going to do, singe me with dragon fire?”
“No, perhaps I shall keep you as a pet and make you dance for me with bursts of coldfire.” Drust released her and pointed a finger at a nearby bush. Blue flames streamed from his finger. The bush shriveled instantly and vanished.
Cold dread filled Evie. “Lacey, please stop it.”
But even her daring sister had paled beneath the terrible display of pure power.
Drust walked over to the swamp and nodded at Chase. “Find the potion, and call upon me when you do. Do not waste my time further, Chase, or you will suffer the consequences.”
Then the Coldfire Wizard walked over to a clearing, shifted into a magnificent cobalt blue and silver dragon the size of a tractor trailer, and with a beat of his enormous wings, lifted into the sky.
Lacey stared after him until Drust became only a blue dot in the sky. For a moment, her expression looked wistful. As if she longed to join him.
> Chapter 4
Evie said little to him on the drive to Lacey’s house. Though the trip itself took less than an hour, it felt agonizingly long.
Chase sat in the back of her Lacey’s sedan next to Evie. Though the car itself was red and polished and looked expensive, the leather seats were cracked and faded, and one door handle was missing. It was another sharp contrast between Evie’s world and his own.
She had limped back to the car, refusing his assistance and once inside, removed her sneaker and donned a pair of sandals with a cracked strap. The shoes were woefully old, another reminder of how little money she and Lacey had.
He gazed out the window, searching for words to say to Evie that would make everything all right again. Deep inside, he felt he could never make amends. Not after abandoning her.
His family had truly fooled him, especially his cousins. Later, he would deal with them.
Right now he was more concerned with saving Evie’s ass, for he’d never seen Drust so coldly furious.
When they arrived at the house, Chase climbed out first, opened the car door for Evie. The times they had been together, Evie had never brought him here.
Now he knew why.
He stared at the structure. Solid concrete block, typical Florida home, and yet one gutter sagged precariously off the roof and the front porch was crammed with dead or dying plants. Though it was only April, the humid air held a hint of heat. It promised to be a hot summer, the kind that dragons adored, but visitors to Florida loathed.
And those visitors to Florida, if he recalled, were critical to Lacey’s herbal shop.
Instead of following Lacey inside, he walked around the house, humming a tune. The backyard was at least half an acre, with plenty of wide, open space guarded by a flank of tall pine trees and palmetto scrub. If the grass was dry and sad-looking, at least it was cut.
Enough space here for take offs and landings for a dragon. Chase saw why Lacey had chosen it. Although his people were invisible in their dragon form, they still preferred privacy when living amongst Skins.
Two royal Poinciana trees, their blossoms ready to bloom, were ringed with large stones. He walked over to investigate. Each tree had a wood placard. One read MOM, we love you, and the other read DAD, wherever you are.
His throat tightened. Lacey’s mother had died a little over a year ago, he recalled. Lacey longed to find the father who had abandoned her at birth and spent all her spare time searching for him. But at least her mother had finally rescued Lacey and Evie from the terrible foster home they lived in and lavished them with love while she lived.
Someone, perhaps Evie, had attempted to brighten the back with white wire fencing along the flower beds, but the plants were sagging and needed watering. Chase’s heart twisted. He’d suspected things were bad, but didn’t realize how dire they truly were.
You were more invested in your future than her present. That’s how. You were so intent on trying to make a life for you together some day that you failed to see her life now.
“It’s not much,” a small voice said behind him. “But it’s our home.”
He turned to regard Evie biting her lush, lower lip. “The only home I’ve ever known. If not for Lacey and her mom, I would have been kicked out to the streets at the foster home. The world isn’t kind to poor, orphaned dragons like me.”
His chest tightened. He’d known only privilege and love from the time he’d entered the world 26 years ago, while Evie had fought for every scrap of affection she’d received.
Chase stroked her bottom lip with the edge of a thumb. “I wish I’d known you back then. Maybe if we met sooner, I could have spared you some of that pain.”
Big, woebegone blue eyes stared up at him. “Spared me? What happened to me made me stronger, Chase. It enabled me to survive. When you’re already small and a woman, people tend to dismiss you, especially in the dragon world. Before I figured it was safer to be invisible and let them ignore me. Not lately. I’ve only begun to realize my value.”
“You’re more valuable than ten caves filled with gold.” Chase fought down the ever- present desire he felt around her. Evie needed words and reassurance, not lovemaking.
As passionate and sweet as their lovemaking had been.
Evie dropped her gaze. “There you go again, making me feel special. At least you did when we started seeing each other. You made me aware of my worth, made me feel validated, appreciated. But ever since the ball when your family became aware of us…”
Her voice drifted off. Chase’s heart raced. Damnit, why hadn’t he spoken out before and informed his parents instead of letting his nosy cousins tell the world through social media?
He’d deal with Helen and Lynna later.
But first he had to kiss her. Had to because if he didn’t he’d lose his damn mind. Chase brushed his mouth against hers, a butterfly kiss, and as she sighed and slid her arms around his neck, he went for the kill.
A deep, passionate kiss showcasing all his passion and feelings for Evie, the sweet little dragon with a fire of her own. From the day he’d met her more than a year ago when he went to her sister’s shop to purchase sage, he’d fallen for her fast and furiously.
When they broke apart, crimson suffused Evie’s face and Chase became aware of his cock turning hard in his trousers. He turned away, muttering a curse, and fisting his hands, thought of the vilest thing he could to calm his raging hormones.
Remembering how Evie nearly dropped into the maw of that alligator did it. His cock shrank as if someone dashed ice water on it.
I could have lost you.
Determination filled him as he turned back to her. “Come on. I have to find that potion.”
Chapter 5
Evie knew she was falling for Chase’s charm again. He had a way of sneaking past her defenses and gunning for all the pent-up passion she’d held for him.
That kiss, it served as a reminder of everything she’d missed since last seeing him four weeks ago.
That kiss… if she kept kissing him, they’d end up naked on the ground and then what? Forget about the fact they needed to find the potion.
Chase wasn’t right for her. Their worlds were too far apart.
So she ignored his outstretched hand, leading the way to the front door. Lacey rose from a broken wicker chair on the porch and unlocked the front door.
“Kitchen’s that way. You can start looking there.” Lacey set her keys down on a little table by the door. “Have fun searching.”
Despite the day’s warmth, the house was relatively cool inside. Sunshine streamed through the front windows.
Instead of heading for the kitchen, he wandered down the hall. An open door showed a bathroom with pink square tiles and a yellow toilet and tub. Shame crawled through Evie. Chase had said little about his family’s holdings, but she knew they owned an ancient castle in the Scottish Highlands where he and his family sometimes spent summers. She’d seen photos on Instadragon of Chase, his older siblings and his cousins and their parents.
Stacks and piles of items cluttered the first bedroom on the right. Damn. Evie went to close that door. Too late.
Chase blinked. “Surely this isn’t where you sleep.”
“It’s the storage room. My room’s across the hall.”
She pointed to a closed door. Figured. Her room was neat and sparse. He would have to see the one room that looked like a tornado hit it.
“You hoard junk.” He frowned. “Whatever for?”
Evie bristled at the suggested criticism. “Every dragon hoards something. And it’s not junk. Lacey is in the resale business so I collect things for her to sell online.”
“Of selling junk.” Chase’s disapproving look kindled her anger. “You can do so much better, Evie. Whatever happened to your art?”
Maybe he didn’t mean to sound condescending, but damnit, he had no idea how much it cost to live in human form these days. “My watercolors don’t pay the rent, Chase. Or the electric bill. We have to work fo
r a living, unlike some dragons, who are supported by their rich families.”
Chase shook his head. “My family doesn’t support me, Evie. I work in the business, or used to. And that excuse about your art is merely an excuse. You’re good enough to get a showing of your own. If you truly want it, you can make it happen.”
How could she explain to him she barely had the confidence in her art to show her paintings to Lacey? It took time, effort and associating in certain social circles to make the right connections to have an art gallery display her work.
If only Lacey had time to mix the potion, maybe then Evie would feel bold enough to solicit art galleries for a showing of her own. Certainly she had enough paintings.
“You always did believe in me,” she murmured. “At least you believed in my talent.”
He clasped her shoulders and stared down at her, his gaze piercing. “I believed in much more, Evie. Still do. You just didn’t believe in us.”
“I believed in us, Chase. But your family didn’t. I doubt they ever will.”
The space between them seemed so large, so cavernous, too insurmountable to cross. They might as well have been miles apart instead of inches. Chase came from a higher echelon of dragon society that claimed a large piece of the economic pie, while she and Lacey spent their entire lives fighting for a mere sliver.
“Forget them.” He cupped her cheek. “Why do you think I took this apprenticeship with Drust? Not because I wish to serve the Coldfire Wizard, or that he’s my bloodline. I did it to find a way free for us, apart from my family. When I’m finished with my two years of apprenticeship, we can have a fresh start.”
A fresh start. New beginnings. Chase believed in her. She believed in him. Hope flared inside her. Maybe they could make this work. Was it a pretty but improbable dream that she could be the mate to a dragon higher on the social ladder than herself, a man whose family could date their bloodlines back to the Coldfire Wizard?
“If you truly want it, Chase, you can make it happen,” she said, throwing his own words back at him.
His kiss was no soft brush of the lips this time, but urgent and hard. Evie slid her arms around his neck, needing this contact, missing him dreadfully. It had been a cold and lonely four weeks without Chase, without his touch, his laughter, his presence at her side.
THE MATING MAGIC: Werewolves of Montana Book 13 Page 3