Page 60 of The Mating Claim
Waving a hand, the Silver Wizard vanished. No time to ponder Tristan’s cryptic warning, for he needed to assess the full situation. He knew where Lacey was, but did not know her emotional frame ofmind.
As expected, the shop was closed. Drust shifted back into a dragon about the size of a small pony. Prowling down the street, he sniffed out her scent trail. Threaded through Lacey’s delicate fragrance of vanilla, lilies and wood smoke, he smelled fear and uttergrief.
Woven with that potent mixture was a canine’s grief and bewilderment atabandonment.
Emotions were dangerous. Drust had learned to lock his away when he needed practicality and calmness. But these emotional trails Lacey and her dog had left behind were so potent they made his scales tremble. The grief kicked him in the gut, as if he were the one leaving behind a belovedpet.
Such a novelty, for he had never experienced such rawsorrow.
No, that is wrong. I have felt this, even worse. A sadness so wrenching, I wanted to die so I could never feel again, never taste the bitterpain.
Halting, he sniffed the air. Odd how memories returned to him at times, glimpses as a curtain jerked back and a memory surfaced. Never enough to form a full remembrance, more like a puzzle piece. But for that dream the othernight…
Drust roared in frustration, blowing out a stream of coldfire from his mouth and melting a street lamp, along with part of the sidewalk and pavement. Damn. He waved a claw and everything restored to what it had been. Clever trick. Silently he thanked Tristan, who was adept at doing it in wolfform.
Seeing no threats, he arrived at the coffee shop, nudged the open door with his nose and wandered inside. Only five Others were present, two on the sofa, sipping from paper cups (herbal tea, it smelled delicious), three seated at a table. The three at the table were dragons, and they stared at him, jawsdropping.
For once he wished one of his people would greet him with a smile and a cheery wave instead of this abject fear. Respect was necessary, but fear saddenedhim.
Still, fear was preferable to arrogance and disobedience. Those led down a darker path, sometimes to a dragon’sdetriment.
“Get out,” Drust ordered his three charges. “Go home. You may return tomorrow after we have warded the area and deemed itsafe.”
Surprised by either the fact he could talk in dragon form, or not wanting to question his order, the trio abandoned their lattes and ran for the door. The couple on the sofa blinked and tilted their heads athim.
Fae. Slightly pointed ears, but the unmistakable glimmer of magic surrounding them. Drust shifted into his human form and firmly closed thedoor.
“Where isTara?”
The Fae couple glanced at each other. The male shrugged. “Who cares? I just came for the herbal tea. Search for yourself, scaleface.”
Bristling at the insult, he pointed to the door. “Get out. Your time here isfinished.”
“Make me,” the Faejeered.
Growling, Drust lobbed a small energy ball at the arrogant Fae male. It smashed into him, and bounced off his chest, sailing through the air to strike a shelf, shattering Tara’s antique teacupcollection.
For a moment, he recoiled, and then realization hithim.
“Gideon,” he said, satisfied. For only another wizard or his mate could repel his coldfire and not be harmed. None of the five wizards could hurt each other. The same protection had been accorded to theirmates.
The Crimson Wizard and his mate, Alia, transformed back into their true selves. Dressed in a red tunic, trousers and boots, Gideon looked smug, his long blond hair pushed back to show his pointed Elvenears.
Clad in a flowing blue gown, Alia was gorgeous, her skin glowing with heath, her expressionmischievous.
“Scale face?” he askedpointedly.
Gideon shrugged. “You are adragon.”
True enough. “Anyone else here besidesTara?”
“Tara is in the back room with her daughter, laying down salt to keep demons out and protect the dog. We arrived soon as Tristan sent word for us to ward the area,” Gideon explained. “It was best to remain in disguise until we could determine if demons werepresent.”
“Excellent glamour.” Drust grinned, relieved and glad to see them both. “You fooled evenme.”
“Our glamour is far more advanced than other Fae,” Gideon remarkeddryly.
Alia’s gaze sparkled with mirth. “Gideon likes to play tricks on all of you. He reasons if he can deceive you, he can deceive the cleverest ofFae.”
