Dragon Hunted

by Haley Ryan

  I used my tiny little dragon head to bonk him back, which didn’t have quite the same effect—it just made him laugh.

  Which made me feel better until I remembered my non-dragon victim.

  “Is Draven…”

  “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

  I cringed at the thought, nowhere near ready to face him again, but it was a little too late for doubts. With a barely audible rustle of feathers, Draven touched down softly on my other side.

  “Come back when you’ve talked,” Callum said. “Ryker and Declan want to see you.” Then he took off again, leaving me to deal with the consequences of my cowardice.

  Before I could say anything, Draven handed me a bundle that turned out to be my clothes. “Ryker said he didn’t want to risk anyone spotting you in dragon form.”

  I took the bundle and found sparse but adequate shelter for changing in a copse of stunted fir trees. A few glances over my shoulder proved that Draven was being a perfect gentleman and didn’t try to peek even once.

  When I was fully clothed, I emerged from the stand of trees and rejoined him on the lakeshore, letting the breeze ruffle my hair in silence. What could I even say? “I’m sorry” hadn’t really been adequate, but what else was there?

  “I’m glad you’re not hurt,” I said finally.

  “I’m not here to ask for another apology.” Draven nudged me with his shoulder, and when I didn’t respond, he shifted to face me.

  I didn’t turn away, but I also didn’t have the courage to look at him.

  “Kira.” Calloused fingers nudged my chin upwards until I had no choice but to see what he was trying to tell me without any need for words.

  In his grey eyes, I saw compassion. Heartache. Worry. Not for himself, but for me, and it broke me all over again.

  “Draven…”

  He pulled me into his arms.

  “Shhhh,” he said softly. “You don’t have to say anything.”

  So I didn’t.

  My brothers would no doubt be relieved to know that Draven utterly refused to take advantage of me in any way. That hug probably would have been the single best moment of my entire life if I hadn’t been windblown and trembling, with red, swollen eyes, dragon-sized sinus congestion, and absolutely no composure to speak of.

  And all he did was hold me while I leaned into his warmth and tried not to read too much into it.

  Because being held by Draven was basically heaven, if heaven involved feeling like I’d been on a Tilt-a-Whirl and then mildly electrocuted. I mean, it sorta sounds bad when I put it like that, but I definitely couldn’t remember which way was up, and there were tiny little shocks running from one part of my body to the next like every nerve had been overloaded. But in a good way.

  I really didn’t want it to end, because as long as we stood there, I could pretend that I didn’t have to go back—that we were all there was in the world, and none of that other ugliness existed.

  But we weren’t, and it did, so eventually I let myself ease back out of Draven’s arms and swipe at my eyes with a sleeve.

  “I guess we have to go back.”

  He shrugged. “Do you have somewhere else you want to be?”

  Just like him, to drive me inexorably towards recognition of the truth. “No,” I admitted. “I know running away isn’t the answer. Just like I know they won’t be mad at me, but part of me feels like they should be.”

  “Whenever you’re ready.”

  I took one last look around the lake. It really was beautiful—where the ice had melted, the water was tranquil and clear, glowing gold from sunlight reflecting off the bottom, surrounded by snow-covered mountains. Almost worth the pain to have found a place like this.

  Almost.

  “We should go,” I agreed, and Draven held out his arms again.

  “Wait, you… oh.”

  They didn’t want me taking dragon form.

  Which meant someone was going to have to fly me home.

  “I thought you only played air taxi when there’s no other option,” I said, trying hard not to smile.

  “Do you see any other way to get home?” His eyebrows arched.

  “I suppose I could walk. I bet I’d get back by early next week.”

  His answer was to sweep me off the ground and launch himself into the air, while I shrieked with laughter and wondered at his ability to make me feel whole.

  We landed a short distance from the enclave, apparently according to plan, because we were met by Declan in his black SUV. He jumped out as soon as he saw us and snatched me up in a hug pretty much the moment my feet hit the ground.

  I’d never had so many hugs in my life, and I could honestly say that not all change was bad—hugs might just be my new favorite thing.

  Sorry, tea. It was good while it lasted.

  Declan didn’t say anything at first, just held me for a moment before pulling back and searching my face.

  “Sometimes, I forget what it’s like to not be able to tell what others are feeling,” he said, his hands tightening on my arms. “So I want to make sure that you know—there isn’t so much as an ounce of anger or blame from any of us about this morning.”

  I nodded, not quite trusting my voice.

  “Ryker isn’t sure whether you’ll want to see him, but he’s a little bit of a mess. If you don’t mind stopping by his house, I think it would help everyone sleep a little better tonight.”

  “Yes,” I said, “I’d like that, but while we’re there, I want all of us to talk about what happened.”

  “We should, but not where anyone can hear us. Shall we go?” He jerked his head towards the SUV.

  I followed, but Draven hung back until Declan very pointedly turned to beckon him along. “You’re neck-deep in this, Elduvar, so there’s no getting out of it now.”

  We were all silent as we drove through the winding roads of the enclave, back to Ryker’s house, where I ran up to the front door and pounded on it as hard as I could.

  “Open up!”

  The door jerked open so fast I almost fell forward from the momentum of my attempted knock.

  My middle brother was a red-eyed wreck. His hair stood on end, and he looked more like he was hung-over than upset.

  He didn’t move, and he looked so miserable that I kind of wanted to pat him on the head and feed him.

  Instead, I tried what had worked so well on me—I hugged him.

  “I’ll forgive you if you forgive me,” I whispered, and after he stood there like a mannequin for a few more moments, he finally wrapped me up in a hug of his own.

  “Thank you,” he murmured. “For giving me another chance.”

  “You’re my brother,” I said. “I’ll always give you one more chance to be annoying.”

  His shoulders began to shake with laughter, and suddenly, all was right with my world again.

  In the end, none of us could really agree on a theory, but one thing we knew for sure—no one wanted a repeat. I vowed not to use telepathy again until we’d done some research, and Ryker made it clear there would be no more battles between him and Draven. Partly because it wasn’t worth it, and partly because I think they’d somehow settled into a cautious respect of each other’s skills.

  At least that was what I told myself.

  And after much pep-talking and reminding myself of the stakes, I agreed that we would go out again the next morning to continue my training.

  “But now I’m going home,” I announced. “Back to my room anyway. Would someone call Skye and tell her that I’ll be watching romantic movies and eating as many cookies as I can find until I fall asleep, and she’s welcome to join me if she’s up to the challenge.”

  Ryker apparently did as I asked, because Skye showed up in my room not long after I did, with a laptop and a shopping bag stuffed to the brim.

  “I don’t know what you like, so I brought everything,” she announced. “Grasshoppers, Oreos, chocolate chip, vanilla cremes, and shortbread. Plus two pints of ice cream,
nail polish, and a subscription to four different streaming services. Did I forget anything?”

  “It’s official,” I said seriously, feeling as though I might have misjudged her. “We can be friends. In fact, I might decide to keep you forever.”

  “Don’t make any promises until we’ve watched at least three movies together. I dissect the plots out loud and throw things at the screen when the heroine does something stupid.”

  I handed her a decorative pillow. “It’s your laptop, and I have lots of these.”

  She grinned evilly. “What’s your preference?”

  “Romance is required. Helps if the love interest takes his shirt off at least once. I’m a sucker for historicals, but only if they have a sense of humor. Anything where dogs die will result in being cut off from my favor forever.”

  “Spaceships?” she asked.

  “If there’s kissing, I’m in.”

  Two movies, one pint of ice cream, fourteen cookies, and about seven nail-polish mishaps later, I fell asleep.

  Twelve

  I woke up the next morning feeling guilty about neglecting my “real” life, so I called Faris, not thinking as hard as I should have about the life of a club owner. Pretty sure I woke him up from a dead sleep, but he sounded more anxious than angry.

  “Are you okay? Are they treating you well? Do you want to come home?”

  Luckily, we weren’t on a video call, so he couldn’t see my eyes rolling.

  “Faris, don’t you think it’s a little late for that? What are you going to do, pull together a team of elemental bartenders and storm the enclave?”

  “If I have to,” he growled, voice rough with sleep.

  “I’m fine,” I told him, feeling fond but exasperated. “My family isn’t half bad. The rest of the dragons now…” I told him a little of what had happened, but left out the bit where I’d been challenged to a not-quite-death match. Time enough for him to find out that part if I ended up returning to Oklahoma in disgrace.

  Then I abruptly changed the subject. “How are things at the store?”

  “Fine.” He didn’t sound worried at all. “I sent Marilee over there to help with the cleanup, and it looks like your insurance is willing to cover the windows, minus the deductible.”

  I winced. I’d seen the store’s policy, and I’d be surprised if that deductible didn’t wipe out most of my savings.

  “And Hugh?”

  Faris chuckled. “Seems to be doing a brisk business, even after scaring the neighborhood half to death the night of the attack. I’m keeping an eye on bills and such, but he’s incredibly organized and doesn’t seem to be having any trouble keeping up.”

  That was a relief. “Thanks, Faris. I really appreciate you looking in on things. Is Waffles okay?”

  “Seamus decided to keep him until you get back. I caught him sneaking that crazy dog into work the other day because he couldn’t bear to leave him alone, so I’d say everything is fine.”

  Seriously, I have the best friends.

  But now for the hard part. “Have you heard anything about whoever attacked my house? Any leads on who it might have been, or who might have hired them?”

  “All rumors point to it being an air elemental name Krugard. Which isn’t what I would call good news—he’ll work for pretty much anyone with money. Has a crew of mercenaries who follow him around. Wish I had better news, but I haven’t been able to dig up any dirt on who hired him yet.”

  I’d kind of expected it, but it was still disappointing. Though I suppose it ruled out a random hit.

  “Any news on Wynter?” I knew she was an elemental and a mercenary, but surely she wouldn’t have been involved in the attack.

  “Nothing. She’s gone deep, wherever she is.”

  “Well, thanks for looking into it anyway,” I said. “I really appreciate you doing that for me.”

  “I’m not giving up.”

  And he wouldn’t either. For whatever reason, even after Morghaine deserted us, he’d decided that I was still family.

  “Thanks, Faris. You’re the best.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Does that mean you might forgive me someday?”

  I let out a long breath. “Are you going to stop trying to do things for my own good without consulting me?”

  “I promise,” he said solemnly. “Next time, I will talk to you first. Unless… Well, I’ll try.”

  I wondered if this was a little bit of what it would be like to have a dad—someone with a remarkable talent for loving you and frustrating you at the same time.

  “Promises, promises,” I said lightly. “You’re just lucky you’re hard to stay mad at. Let me know if anything else comes up?”

  “Will do.” He paused. “And Kira… I’m glad you’re safe. Thanks for letting me know.”

  I hung up, stretched, and thought about taking a shower, just as the knocking on my door commenced. I’d been a little worried by the lack of enthusiastic brothers beating my door down, but obviously they were just waiting for the moment of maximum heart stoppage.

  Except when I opened the door, it wasn’t Ryker and Declan.

  It was Callum. And even more alarming—Lady Tairen.

  “Your practice has been postponed until afternoon,” she said abruptly, striding past me into my room. “We need to talk.”

  So far, in my experience, nothing good ever followed those words.

  “You were not exactly truthful about your relationship with the fae emissary.”

  Clearly, the streak would not be broken today.

  “Not to be contrary,” I pointed out, “but after everything that’s gone on in the past forty-eight hours, I don’t feel like that’s the most vital topic we could be discussing. It might not even make the top five.”

  She stood looking out the window for a moment before letting out a sigh. “As unfortunate and appalling as I find it to admit, you’re probably correct.” She turned to face me, and I was struck once again by how old she looked, despite her strong build and firm stance. There was a strange air of brittleness to her that filled me with worry.

  “I didn’t do it,” I said, wondering whether she would doubt me. “I didn’t push that guy into the fountain.”

  “Literally no one thinks you did,” she replied dryly. “That’s not the point.”

  “I assumed it was a political move of some kind, but it makes him look like a bully. What does he hope to gain?”

  “It’s more what I stand to lose.”

  That made more sense than the idea that Weldon had attacked me for my own sake.

  At least, I hoped so. I’d hate to think my face was quite that offensive.

  “As you heard, there has been a growing call for me to choose a new heir,” she explained, “and your presence complicates that. The opposition doesn’t want me to step down only to hand things over to someone they still see as a dangerous and unknown outsider.”

  “Yep, so dangerous.” I flexed dramatically, but Lady Tairen didn’t laugh.

  “So they have to either discredit you or get you out of the way, but I confess, I expected them to give you more of a chance. The fact that Weldon acted so swiftly tells me that you’ve jeopardized some other plan that must have already been in motion.”

  That made sense. “Probably connected to the attacks on your plane and my house?”

  “I can only hope so,” Lady Tairen growled. “Otherwise, I have two sets of very bold enemies that require my attention.”

  “We’re still looking into it,” Callum told me, “but so far, everything has been a dead end.”

  “If it helps, the attack on my house was carried out by an air elemental named Krugard,” I announced.

  Both Callum and Lady Tairen stared at me in surprise.

  “What?” I protested. “I have connections too, you know.”

  “Well, don’t be shy about sharing information from them in the future.” Callum sounded decidedly disgruntled. Maybe even huffy, though he would probably obje
ct to my choice of words.

  “Kira.” Lady Tairen pinned me with her gaze. “I am more sorry than I can say that I did not prevent this from happening. I promised you would be safe with us, and I have not lived up to my promise.”

  “Well, he can’t kill me, right?” I reminded her, trying to sound upbeat.

  “No, but he can take you from me right after I’ve found you again.” Her jaw clenched, but I could see the quiver as she struggled to retain her composure. “He can remove you from our protection and make you an easy target for those who won’t hesitate to do what he cannot. And you will be forced to reveal your dragon as a part of the challenge. Everyone will know what you are, and you will be hunted relentlessly.”

  Even though I’d known this ever since Draven told me months ago, it wasn’t easy to hide my fear. Or my frustration.

  “I would have to go into hiding. I wouldn’t be able to go home.”

  Their expressions confirmed what I’d sort of already known but hated to acknowledge.

  “Then there’s really only one answer. I have to win.”

  Lady Tairen shook her head. “Weldon is over two hundred years old, with dozens of informal challenges under his belt. He’s also a gold, which means he’s an extraordinary leader when his head isn’t stuck up his…”

  Callum cleared his throat. “Winning would, in fact, be the best way forward, but we have to assume that it’s not very likely.”

  “Hey!” I protested. “Ryker and Draven are training me. You could at least pretend there’s a chance.”

  “And what,” Lady Tairen asked, almost snapping in her frustration, “would a fae know about fighting dragons?”

  I debated how much to reveal, but I really wanted her to be okay with Draven, so I decided to tell her at least part of the truth. “He’s been fighting for most of his life, and he’s half shifter. Plus, he can fly, so he knows aerial tactics. And he’s a lot smaller than a dragon, so he can give me pointers on going up against someone fifty times my size.”