Page 20 of Song of the Dragon Rider
“We’re almost done here,” I replied with a nonchalant shrug. “I have nothing left to say to Mirabel, especially when I’ve done nothing wrong. So if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of money to spend.” I smirked and turned to leave, but stopped when Mirabel stepped forward, magic sparking from her fingertips, which were aimed at me.
My eyes widened in shock as a flash of light barreled toward me. Lacking magical powers myself, all I had time to do was raise my arms to cover my face. When nothing hit me, I cracked open one eye and peered between my arms to see a curtain of shimmering white hair. A figure in white robes defiantly stood in front of me with his back to me, a figure I knew was Klaus. I could pin him from a mile away.
“Who dares harm what is mine?” His silky voice echoed throughout the dark, vast forest.
The four vampires gasped in horror, but Mirabel shrieked and pointed an accusing finger. “That’s him! That’s the fae who protected her last time!”
I heard Horatio growl, “Be quiet! Do you know who that is, witch?”
“Obviously she doesn’t,” Klaus said calmly. “A nobody like her doesn’t need to know.” His words carried the threat of revealing his identity to an outsider, which the vampires would be wise to heed.
In the next instant, magic sparked from Klaus’s hands and barreled toward Mirabel and she just… evaporated. I couldn’t believe it. I had to rub my eyes to make sure it really happened. “Did you… did you kill her?”
Klaus shook his head but didn’t answer, his gaze fixed on the four vampires whose earlier bravado had been sucked out of them. “And what were you all doing here this late at night, allowing harm to what I claim as mine?”
“Your Highness, we had no idea!” Horatio pleaded and dropped to his knees, the other vampires quickly following suit. “Had we known the human was important to you, we never would have—”
“I tend not to care what any of you do,” he interrupted. “But she,” Klaus pointed to me, “is off limits.”
“Yes, of course, Your Highness,” Horatio answered quickly. With deep bows and murmured apologies, the four vampires stood and scurried off into the darkness.
Klaus turned and looked at me with a devilish grin. “Well hello there, my little kitty cat.”
I rolled my eyes. “Hello to you, too. Thanks for the save.” I took in his pale, luminescent skin, lavender eyes, and pointed ears that announced to all the world of his high-born fae status. He was truly beautiful, an Adonis in real life. And to think we once kissed! True, it was to seal a bargain, but still. I touched my lips at the scorching memory.
“And what is my kitty cat thinking about right now?” Klaus leaned down into my face, his impish grin stretching from ear to ear.
“Nothing,” I grumbled and dropped my hand from my lips, looking away in embarrassment. “Sorry for the late-night call. I didn’t expect them to attack me.”
He shrugged. “It’s fine. You can call me at whatever hour you’d like, Kitty Cat.”
I growled and nudged him away from my face. “Stop calling me that!”
He chuckled. “I was actually hoping you would call on me soon. I need to bother you in two days, if you can stir up some trouble for me.” Another wolfish grin spread across his chiseled cheeks.
I snorted. “That shouldn’t be a problem. Can I ask—?”
“No.” Klaus shook his head, his glossy white hair shimmering in the torchlight. “It’s best if you stay in the dark, Kitty Cat.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“That’s it?” He raised a brow and gave a panty-melting smirk. “You’re not going to push for more information?”
I shook my head. “If it’s for my own safety, I get it. I’m learning when to stay out of things. Ignorance is bliss.”
“Hmm. Indeed it is,” he purred.
“Can I ask you a question, Klaus?”
He nodded.
“What do you know about twin flames?” I didn’t want to arouse suspicions, but if anyone knew about them, it would be the fae.
He quirked a brow. “Well, Kitty Cat, that’s quite a question, and one I think deserves a reciprocal favor.”
I narrowed my eyes at my fae protector. “Don’t you want me to stir up trouble for you in two days? That sounds a lot like a favor to me,” I deadpanned. “Now spill.”
Klaus laughed. “Quite the negotiator! You’re getting good at this.” He nodded appreciatively. “Very well, Kitty Cat. Twin flames are marks that appear on a dragon and a human, marking them as mates. They’re unique marks to the pair so they know who their mate is. Once the mates are united, the human becomes a Dragon Rider.”
