Page 10 of Sea and Sky
One of the ravens yanked Kyler from his chair by his arm. With a snarl, Kyler slammed his cup into the raven’s face, shattering the ceramic. A fist grazed his ear as he barely had time to deflect.
“Enough of this.” Kyler sank his hand into his pocket and pulled out a handful of powdered impshade, thankful his sweat hadn’t congealed it into a sloppy, useless mess. He blew the powder off his palm. As soon as they inhaled, all three shifters dropped to the floor.
Stepping around them, Kyler raised a broken shard of his cup. “More wine. And put it on their tab.”
“Yes, absolutely.” A barmaid promptly brought him another.
Kyler dusted his palms on his pants, then grabbed his plate of bread crusts, to find a new table to sit at.
When he settled into his new spot, he rubbed at his neck where the raven had snagged him with a talon. A thin line of blood marred his finger. He’d had worse injuries.
No one paid any attention to the ravens now snoring on the floor. They’d wake up with headaches and have nightmares for a few nights, but otherwise, they’d be completely fine.
Alone again, Kyler munched on his bread crusts, which were surprisingly delicious. He ate with gusto, dipping a few select pieces in the wine, but frowned at the crumbs floating around when he took a drink.
The door to the tavern opened, catching his attention. In walked a dragon shifter. His uniform was perfectly wrinkle free, form-fitting black leather.
Kyler sweated thinking how hot he’d be if he was in the leathers. But also, how yummy it’d be to see the muscled chest underneath.
The uniformed man wore his wavy mop of dark hair short enough not to get tangled in his horns. Stubble ran across a sexy, strong jaw. Kyler wondered what it’d feel like under his tongue. Or what that beautiful mouth would feel like against his skin. The dragon’s eyes glittered like bright starlight framed with long, thick lashes.
With utter horror, Kyler watched his haze of desire lift from his skin. Like heatwaves, barely visible, and probably not seen by anyone but him. Usually, he had more control over himself. He grasped for the haze as if he could catch it, but realized how silly that had to look. The scent swirled in the air, heading straight toward…
Kyler finally registered the color of the dragon’s thick horns. Silver… silver? A prince.Theprince. The one who needed a mer.
Chapter 4
Kylermadeithalfwayto the door when another dragon came in behind the prince, dwarfing the man, and blocked the exit. Every person in the tavern turned to look at the giant of a dragon.
The prince held up his hand. “You’ll be able to leave momentarily, but please hear what I have to say.” The prince’s voice was deep. It washed over Kyler, and he wondered if the prince was part merfolk himself.
“His Majesty has granted me a Task. Retrieve the phoenix stone. As you know, that means I need a mer.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
A dragon shifter right in front of the prince laughed, and his friends joined in. “They live in the sea.”
A playful smile curled the prince’s full lips. “Yes, of course. Thank you. But I’m hoping someone knows where to find one. I can pay handsomely.”
People chattered among themselves. None of them looked familiar. Kyler usually stuck with taverns closer to the docks. The dragons earlier mentioned no one had seen merfolk in centuries. Few knewhewas mer, outside of Captain Vex and the crew. Kyler always thought it was so Vex could sell him to the highest bidder when he wasn’t useful anymore. So why then was Vex willing to let Kyler buy his freedom? Something wasn’t adding up.
The prince stepped forward. “I’m offering coin today for information. And a generous sum if that information leads me to finding a mer in the next handful of days. As you know, it takes a while to get to the stone and time is a factor.”
More murmurs rolled through the tavern. Kyler’s heart pounded hard. He could offer himself right now, but then it’d be one captivity for another. Besides, he’d never escape without Vex removing the spell that bound Kyler to him.
Kyler needed to test the waters. “How will you treat the mer?”
The prince’s entire face lit up with delight. He seemed to stand taller, and Kyler took a step back.
“With respect, of course. They’ll be doing me a huge favor. I can promise luxury for the rest of their life. But I must confess, I also wish to study them.”
“What do you mean, study?” Kyler took another step back. Ideas whirled around in his head. “Will you dissect them?”
The prince gave a rich, deep chuckle. His shoulders shook, and Kyler had to wonder if the seams of his uniform would hold.
“Skies, no. Talk, get their history, become friends, make alliances. That sort of study. Nothing so heinous as to pick them apart scale by scale.”
Kyler shuddered at the thought. Another favorite torture of Captain Vex’s, pry off scales. There was nothing special about mer scales on their own, at least that Kyler knew of. Captain Vex just wanted to add to his morbid collection.
