Page 24 of Dragon Touched
He moved forward.
An icy tingle met her finger, then her hand slid through the image.
“That’s really cool.” She bent at the waist for a closer peek, and his citrusy scent tickled her nose. “Do all people from Erb-Erbsen—”
“Erbse, pronounced urb-suh”—
“Yeah, that place. Do all people there have these abilities?”
“No.” His hands bounced the glowing ball from one to the other. “Very few can wield magic, but those who do hold prestigious roles in our society. We’re the guardians of the three Divines, who keep everything in balance.” With a quick twist of his wrist, the spinning planet rolled up his palm to twirl at the end of an index finger. “We’re tasked with controlling Chaos, Order, and Neutrality.”
“I’m sorry, I’m having a difficult time understanding what you’re saying.” She scratched her neck and straightened. “It seems impossible.” Rubbing a temple, she thought about his last sentence. “That sounds a lot like good, evil, and apathy. Which one are you?”
“That”—He pursed his lips and shot a sly smile her way—“still remains to be seen. The guild will conduct the proper tests to determine my aptitude when I return.”
The vision of the planet disappeared, and Fin laid a hand against her forearm.
“This is a bit much.” Sacha shook her head.
His words sound like the babbling of a crazy person, but they ring true, nonetheless.
A finger traced the blue veins under the skin. “There are unlimited universes out there, no two alike. Some very similar to this one, others so strange, things would seem improbable to foreigners.”
Scientific theories of multiverses she could understand but imagining a bunch of sorcerers running around shooting fire from their bodies stretched her capacity to remain open-minded.
Why, though? I watched him shoot a stream of light from his palm and create a blue ball of flames out of thin air. Why am I having such a hard time with this?
“Fin, I’m not sure I can comprehend what you’re saying.” She swept an arm toward the room. “I don’t know if I can grasp the idea you’re not from here and play with magic.”
He dipped his chin downward. “At first glance, these two veins look alike, but they’re unique and separate.” The tip of a fingernail ran up her inner forearm and stopped at the elbow. “Just as some cells can slide between tissues, certain people can drift between dimensions.”
Those strange, exciting eyes met hers.
Crimson. Those are not something common amongst people—at least in this world.
“And to return to my calm, peaceful planet, maybe I need the help of a princess.”
He reached a free hand to his neck. When his fingers encountered skin minus its necklace, he sighed and released her arm with the other hand.
“Or I could be a crazy, lonely hermit licking old, inflicted wounds.”
Sacha had a feeling he was trying to steer her away from the conversation, so she ignored his last comment. “If this is true—and I’m not saying I believe anything you say—how’d you end up here?”
Something red shot up from Fin’s robe and flapped near his head.
Sacha did a double take. “What the hell isthat?”
When the creature landed on his shoulder, it folded leathery wings to its side and nibbled Fin’s earlobe.
“Well, isn’t this lovely.” He sighed and turned his attention to the dragon near his head. “Cyan, you were supposed to stay hidden.”
Sacha’s heart pounded in her chest, and her eyes felt like they were going to bulge out of their sockets. “Is that a—” She pointed to the creature but couldn’t bring herself to saydragon.
The animal’s golden eyes gave her a lazy blink. Long, black talons gripped the cloth of Fin’s robe, and the critter’s tail smacked him across the cheek.
“Damn it, that hurt.” Fin tried to pry him from a shoulder.
Cyan hissed, exposing sharply pointed teeth, and then nipped Fin’s neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
