Page 41 of The Black Dragon
14
The next morningJustin cooked breakfast. Not using the stove, but dragonfire.
White fire blew from his mouth as he crawled on the back patio in dragon form, igniting the coals on the fire pit. Ariellaughed.
Never had breakfast proved so entertainingbefore.
“Do it again,” she calledout.
Justin blew out a flame with the next exhale. Fascinated, she reached out for it. Before he could react, her fingers went into theflame.
The dragon turned, spraying flames onto the gravel. Just as quickly he shifted into Skin. Justin seized herhand.
“Damnit, how bad did I hurtyou?”
But her fingers didn’t hurt. Instead, a soothingwarmth filled her, as if she’d indulged in a hot, relaxing bath. Justin examined each digit andfrowned.
“Dragon fire burns ten times hotter than ordinary flame. Your fingers should have been seared off.” He kissed each finger, one by one. “Why aren’t youhurt?”
“Maybe my magick is stronger than you realize. I’ve been reading about dragons and preparing myself through mystudies.”
He rubbed her hand against his mouth, his lips warm and firm. “Whatstudies?”
“Oh, ancient books of Mage magick that detail dragons and theirpowers.”
Soon as the words fled, she regretted them. His dark gaze intensified. “Showme.”
They spentmost of the day reading through the ancient Mage books Leo had given her. Ariel showed Justin a diary of her father’swork and his notes on theexperiments.
It only confirmed what shefeared.
“He messed me up.” Justin’s eyes were huge as he slammed the leather-bound diary shut and then threw it across the room. “He took my blood and added sources of other magick, and then reinjected me with the contaminated blood. Butwhy?”
Ariel knew the real reason her father did it. Honesty was best. “Hetold me he wanted to use your dragon powers to regenerate my foot. I think by the time he caught you, his obsession had grown beyond helping me. I believe Dell urged him to experiment more because of your strength and yourpowers.”
She picked up the journal, smoothed the cover and replaced it on the library bookshelf.Last night Justin’s gaze smoldered with passion as he took her. Todayshe saw only haunted pain. “I need to know if there’s a cure,” hemuttered.
“A cure forwhat?”
“For me.” Justin shoved a hand through his hair. “It doesn’tmatter.”
Surely Justin could benefit from visiting the Canyon of the Mages. She felt certain of it. The waters were known for soothing troubled spirits. He’d trusted her enough to show her the cave with the baby dragons.Maybe if she showed him the mystery of her people, he would trust her and know that she wanted nothing to do with her father’sexperiments.
She took his hand, and kissed it. “It matters tome.”
Surprise flared on his expression, then he regarded her with wariness. “Why?”
“I want to make amends for what Leo took from you. Maybe I canhelp.”
His wry smile tore her heart.“I doubt it, but thanks fortrying.”
“I need to show you something.” Ariel paused. “Something beautiful I’ve never shown anyone before. It’s asecret.”
He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “You’rebeautiful.”
Her heart leapt at the compliment. Heat suffused her cheeks. “Silly. This is different. We’ll take the truck. It’s a longdrive.”
Justin wasn’tcertain where Ariel wanted to take him, but he decided to trusther.
