Page 45 of The Mating Quest
There was no time to ponder her words, for everyone was staring, slack-jawed, into thesky.
Dragons circled overhead. Awed, he watchedthem.
“Damn. Dragons.” Ilana drew in abreath.
He glanced at her. “You don’t likedragons?”
A shrug. “Better than DarkFae.”
Four dragons, one silver dragon large as a tractor trailer, with wings tipped in cobalt blue hovering in the air, was largest and most magnificent. A smaller one, blue mixed with silver. A pure silver dragon, scales shimmering in the bright sunlight, did several loops and dives, its acrobatics making the children oooh andahh.
High over the three, a black dragon circled. The dragon was the largest of all, with a wingspan that seemed to stretchforever.
The dragons flew downward, the cobalt one leading the way. He recognized that color blue from stories Ella told of her time in Tir Na-nog and hertraining.
Drust. The Coldfire Wizard. Impressed, he watched the dragon land with a thud that shuddered the ground beneath his hikingboots.
The other dragons landed behind him. Now he understood the reason for meeting in the meadow.Clearance.
The four dragons shifted to Skin. Drust was black-haired, clad in cobalt blue tunic, trousers and soft doeskin boots, his features sharp and covered with a black beard and mustache. He had intense gray-blue eyes and a serious expression. The second male was younger, dark-haired and tall, with short ebony hair and patrician features that echoed Drust’s, except his eyes were blue-green and filled with merriment. He wore khaki trousers and a forest green polo shirt. Expensive leather loafers covered hisfeet.
The third dragon was a woman, striking, perhaps not beautiful in a classic sense, but arresting. She was also tall, a few inches shorter than the men, had green eyes, long brunette hair usually tied back in a braid swinging down her back and backside. She wore a long cobalt blue gown belted withsilver.
The fourth, the black dragon, was solemn. Finely-sculpted features defined his face, from his elegant cheekbones to his nose. Tall and muscled, he wore a black sleeveless shirt and black cords. Part of an intricate tattoo of a snarling dragon inked his right arm, the tail snaking down to his strongbicep.
Drust nodded at them as Ethan and his group inclined their heads. “I am Drust, the Coldfire Wizard. We are here to escort you to your next assignment. This is my belovedmate.”
So formal. Lacey stepped forward, smiled. “Hey there. I’m Lacey. New immortal here, still learning the ropes. But I like to fly and it shows.” She waggled herfingers.
Ethan liked her instantly and suspected her casual attitude balanced Drust’s seriousness. Everyone grinned. Even Ilana had a faint smile on herlips.
The younger man gave a courtly, formal bow. “I am Crown Prince Alexander d’Mateo de Drakon Tremaine. But you may call meAlex.”
“My great-grandson,” Drustsaid.
“Yeah, Drust is my Pops.” Alex grinned and Lacey snickered as Drust glared athim.
“I told you not to call me that. It makes me feelancient.”
Lacey brushed a kiss against the wizard’s cheek. “You are ancient, love. Quiteso.”
Drust smiled, his expression softening. Ethan liked him this way. Not as threatening. But he suspected it was a huge chink in Drust’s scales, loving a woman that much. Did love do that to a guy? Ethan took a deep breath.Always be on your guard. Never drop it. Not foranyone.
The man who had been the black dragon stepped forward, looking serious and intense. “I’m Justin Moore, the bodyguard for thistrip.”
“Not that Pops needs a bodyguard. It’s more a formality,” Alexexplained.
Drust laced his hands behind his back. “Where you are going, ordinary mortal Others cannot breathe. The air is too thin. For dragons, it is possible. You will need to take a pill to help you with the altitudeadjustment.”
“Better than oxygen,” Lacey said cheerfully, taking out a bottle and doling out the pills. “It also protects you against dragon fire. The effects will wear off, though, in about 48 hours, so you don’t have a lot of time. Drust perfected it with magick, but there is only so much you can pack into a tinypill.”
Ethan chugged down his with water from his pack. Immediately he felt power rush through him. Drust eyed the water bottle and shook his head. “Leave that here. It willfreeze.”
Ilana sputtered and capped her water. “How high are wegoing?”
“About 12,000 feet,” Alex said, grinning. “It’s cold, too, but the pills should help regulate your body temps so you’ll be toastywarm.”
“We thought about booking you an airline ticket, but flying these days is so frustrating. This way you won’t miss a connection or worry about cancelled flights. Though you won’t get mile rewards with us.” Laceywinked.
