by Ashley Meira
“—Charlotte.” Edward’s voice pulled me back into the conversation. “Lovely girl. She passes by here whenever she can.”
I looked at the picture he handed back to Adam. It was of Charlotte with what appeared to be her first archaeological discovery — a stone tablet inscribed with hieroglyphics. We’d taken it from her home before leaving.
“Sweet girl,” Olivia said. “We met at a herbalist’s convention a year ago. When she found out we lived close by, she became a frequent visitor.”
“We’re looking for her,” Adam said, having taken charge while I was wallowing in my forgotten past. “Her magic passed through here.”
Edward nodded before taking a sip of his tea. His fingers were so large he had to grip the handle with only his thumb and pointer finger. “Last week. She wanted Liv to look at a wreath she’d found, see if she could identify any of the plants.”
“A wreath?” I asked.
“A beautiful wreath,” Olivia said with a dreamy sigh. “It was made of the prettiest flowers I’d ever seen. None of which are local to Earth.”
“They were likely from Arcadia,” Edward continued as his wife appeared lost to memories of the wreath’s beauty.
“Not local to Earth means you aren’t talking about the one in Greece,” I said glumly.
Arcadia was the name of the fairy realm. I didn’t know much about it since the fairies who came to live in our world were tight-lipped about the place. All I’d gathered was that it could be very treacherous and many things were not as they seemed, much like the mischievous fae themselves. Arcadia was also where the Fairy Court — the fae version of the Council of Magic — dwelt when they weren’t forced to convene with our Council.
“No, sorry,” Edward said. “But look on the bright side! I have a friend with knowledge on many things that I sent her to, and he lives nearby.”
I smiled at his happy demeanor. Edward didn’t seem like the type of man to ever get sad, which I both envied and admired.
“You sent her to a stranger?” Adam asked with a frown.
“He’s not a stranger to her. They’ve met many times before. I introduced them last year when I took her to see the dragons—” Edward cut off, looking at his wife’s displeased expression. Ollie mentioned her dislike for her husband’s daredevil ways, but the look she gave him could have frozen Seraphine.
That look quickly faded into one of concern as she turned back to us. “You said you were looking for her…. Is she okay?”
I bit my lip, unsure how to reply. Ollie warned me that lying to his mother was a bad idea, and I didn’t want to test his words. “Her father is looking for her. She hasn’t called in a while.”
Edward frowned and rose to his feet with surprising grace. His giant hands gripped the amulet around his neck as he paced the floor.
“Bah!” he growled. “That man never keeps his charm on him.”
“Probably because he didn’t want it in the first place,” Olivia said dryly. Whoever Edward’s friend was, it was clear she didn’t approve of him. “He lives deep within Plitvice Lakes National Park, within the dragon sanctuary.”
“Liv!” he exclaimed, coming back to the love seat. His speed alarmed me, but Olivia didn’t bat an eye. “That’s supposed to be a secret!”
“Like you weren’t going to tell them,” she said, unbothered. “Something could have happened to that poor girl.”
“Of course I was going to tell them.” He frowned. “It’s just, you know how he is about his privacy….” Edward sighed and turned to us. “Bane’s home is located deep within the sanctuary. There are no paths, but you can track Charlotte’s magic, yes?”
Adam nodded.
“How do we enter the sanctuary?” I asked, happy to let him take credit for that.
“The same way you made it here,” Olivia said. “Find the barrier in Plitvice Park and cross through.”
“Be careful, though,” Edward said. “And try not to climb anywhere. Lots of earthquakes this time of year.”
“This time of year?” I asked. “I thought Ollie said these were an anomaly?”
“They are,” Olivia said, shooting her husband a sideways look. “Edward thinks it’s just the dragons acting up, but we’ve lived here a long time and nothing like this has ever happened.”
“Don’t scare them, dear.” He wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulders and held her close. “Everything will be fine.”
“If you say so.” She sighed and turned back to us. “But do be careful — dragons are very territorial.”
I gulped. Yeah, and we were about to learn just how territorial they were firsthand.
It was a cruel thought, but I wished Charlotte had gone missing during the springtime. If she had, we could have visited Plitvice Lakes National Park when the plant life was in full bloom.
That wasn’t to say the winter wonderland we’d stepped into wasn’t beautiful. Plitvice Park was gorgeous in the winter, filled with almost unnaturally clear lakes and snow-covered trees. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how wonderful it looked during the rest of the year.
Adam had to tug me away from the waterfalls and toward the far edge of the park, taking the opportunity to play the doting boyfriend as he wrapped his arm around my waist and planted a kiss on my cheek. He pretended to whisper in my ear when people passed us by, the PDA causing them to keep their distance. Shame he wasn’t actually whispering anything, though his hot breath against my ear was enough to distract me on its own.
Growling, I gripped the back of his head and pulled him down for a passionate kiss. My tongue pushed his back, holding the upper hand until his shock wore off. It took two nips for me to regain control, though once again it felt like he was letting me win. I really needed to ask him about that one day.
A pair of strong hands groped my backside as he leaned back. “The barrier is behind us.”
“I know. I figured we should do this before entering Dragonland,” I said, lying through my teeth. Honestly, Mr. Heavy Breathing had distracted me so much, I wanted to get some payback. The protective magic swirling around a few feet away hadn’t even factored in. “Ready?”
“Are you?” he breathed, his normally clear gray eyes cloudy.
“It should be just as pretty on the other side, right?” I asked, my eyes roaming around the picturesque landscape. “Any chance you could buy this place? Like, write it off as a business expense?”
He tossed his head back, laughing for the first time since we’d seen Damien. “I doubt it. Want me to see if I can get a house built in the sanctuary?”
I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t bring myself to outright refuse the idea. “If you build a summer home in there, everyone will want to do it. Honestly, I’d prefer having dragons as neighbors over Mrs. Worthington and her pomeranians.”
The hands on my butt squeezed before Adam pulled away, kissing the pout from my lips. “Come on.”
We walked slowly, waiting until the groups of people passing by were out of sight. Even in the winter, the park drew a lot of visitors, and it wouldn’t do for any of them to see us vanish behind a bunch of plants. Adam brushed the deadened foliage aside, leading me to a hidden cave barely tall enough for him to step into. The barrier stood less than a foot away, and we didn’t hesitate to step inside.
“What are we going to do if we run into dragons—” I cut off, my jaw practically falling off as I took in the change of scenery.
Apparently, it was better for Charlotte to be missing now, because it gave me the chance to see the park in both winter and spring. This entire section screamed of magical influence. Everything was in full bloom, and if it had been more humid, I’d think I was in a tropical rainforest.
There was a tall boulder to my right, and I scaled it for a better view. High peaks were scattered around the sanctuary, some split by long waterfalls, others covered in thick green trees. It was almost like the mountains in Avatar.
Rainbow-colored plants covered the entire area, which was far larger th
an I could have imagined. It looked to be the size of the park we’d been wandering through. How much magic had been put into this place to make that possible? No wonder the Council had tried so hard to reclaim this land — and why they’d had to ban everyone from coming in. Scholars would have a field day here.
“I don’t see any dragons,” I told Adam as I came down. “Think they’re all sleeping?”
“Are we ever that lucky?” he asked, taking me by the hand and walking forward. Guess he knew I’d be moving at a snail’s pace taking in the sights.
“Well, I met you,” I said, letting him drag me around as I admired the exotic leaves. These plants were magical and completely missing from the human side of the park. “That makes me pretty lucky.”
His pace faltered as he turned to look at me, his eyes burning with emotion. I swallowed thickly trying to force down my embarrassment. Before he could say anything, I marched ahead, pulling him farther into the forest. Admittedly, it wasn’t my best idea since I still couldn’t find any trace of Charlotte’s magic. I’d rediscovered her trail on the way to the park, but it cut off a few minutes after we’d entered the main section. It was possible she never made it to the sanctuary at all, but we wanted to check with Bane just in case.
“Any chance you can sense magic?” I asked. “Charlotte’s, Bane’s, a particularly powerful squirrel with a good sense of direction?”
“Are we sure Bane is a mage?” Adam asked. “I mean, he must be since he lives here, but we should have asked for more details before leaving Goliki.”
“Probably.” But I’d been eager to see the park, and he’d been anxious to find his sister. I guess that meant I should’ve been the responsible one, but— “Oooh, what’s that?”
I wandered over to a particularly noteworthy plant, but before I could run a finger over its blue-violet edges, Adam wrenched my hand back. “Don’t touch that. You don’t know what it does.”
“It makes me happy when I look at it,” I said, pulling my hand free. “That’s what it does.”
Adam rolled his eyes and moved ahead. “I think I hear a waterfall.”
My head shot up, and I scurried over to him. Whether he was playing on my love of water or my newly discovered fondness for waterfalls, I had no idea, but the soft rushing of water was all that mattered right now. I wished I’d thought to bring a better camera than the crappy one on my iPhone.
I gasped as we reached the waterfall, trying to find my breath and failing. It was actually a series of waterfalls, each filling up a small lake before overflowing into the next platform. We were near the middle, and I looked over the edge to see a steep drop over the next lake.
The water was so clean I could see the bottom. The pink flowers mixed with the thick, green bushes around the edge made me feel like I was in a dream. The water rippled as I stepped forward, the liquid so clear I hesitated to continue. I didn’t want my scuffed boots to dirty the water.
Leaves rustled as Adam stepped into the area, and I reached for his hand. When my fingers hit air, I frowned and turned back. He was farther ahead, inspecting the base of the falls. How’d he get over there so quickly?
“Hey—”
Another bout of rustling interrupted me. I turned back toward the forest and peered into the plethora of greenery. A flash of turquoise swayed between them, and I thought I’d discovered more of the magical flower Adam had stopped me from touching. As I took a step closer, the turquoise vanished and a set of reptilian eyes took its place, glowing a deep gold.
I froze, one foot still in the air as the dragon rose from its hiding spot to its full height of fifty feet and let out an earth-shattering roar.
Chapter Twelve
My eyes burned with the desire to blink, but I was afraid if I did, my next sight would be the contents of the dragon’s stomach. Hands clenched at my sides, I allowed my thumb to graze the hilt of my sword. The onyx was enchanted to withstand being destroyed, so I could stab a rock monster through the head with no problem. But that only worked because I also stabbed through the enchantment located there, shattering the spell that animated them and leaving them nothing more than dust.
This dragon wasn’t an automaton brought to life. It was flesh and bone and most definitely sword-proof.
Unlike me, the dragon had no fear of blinking. Its bright, golden eyes vanished under iridescent blue scales before appearing once more. Its movements were languid, like a cat staring at its owner. But this was a freakin’ dragon, and I doubted the movement meant it was signifying trust.
Then, proving once more that men ruined, Adam interrupted our staring contest. “Sophia!”
The dragon rose up to its full fifty feet and let out an earth-shattering screech. Its forelegs clawed the air before slamming into the ground before me. The vibrations made me lose my footing, and I was left staring up at a long, scaly neck.
A ball of fire flew at it, and I found myself asking, “Should we really be attacking this thing? We are in a dragon sanctuary, after all!”
My only reply was a shriek nearly as ferocious as the dragon’s call. I caught a glimpse of flaming wings past the dragon’s snout. Adam had shifted.
I should’ve been relieved. In his phoenix form, Adam had a chance against the dragon. Sure, he was barely two-thirds of its size, and dragon scales were great at absorbing magic, but—
Yeah, okay, we might be screwed.
“Damn it,” I muttered, trying to think of a way out of this. “Why the hell did I eat all that food before? A couple of beef burgers tossed into the jungle, and we could’ve been home-free.”
Cursing my gluttony, I looked up at the sky, trying to glimpse the barrier protecting the sanctuary. It was invisible from this distance, so far from us I couldn’t even sense the magic. How much damage could it take? Would Adam and the dragon even get close enough to disturb it? Could their battle cries carry past the barrier and into the human side? I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t want to take any of those risks.
White light crackled in the dragon’s mouth. I scrambled away just in time to avoid the ball of lightning it shot out. Adam flew up, causing the lightning to hit the lake. Electricity sparked against the clear water, making it look like one of those death traps evil villains had in their lairs. I kicked myself away, still unsure whether the magical nature of the electricity meant I’d be safe from electrocution.
An idea hit me. I had no clue about the electricity, but I knew Adam couldn’t burn me.
“Hey!” I called as he and the dragon flew around each other throwing magic. “Forget the dragon! Pick me up, and we’ll fly away!”
It’d be easier to find Bane’s house from the sky as well, and I wasn’t sure the dragon would chase us. The creature shrieked from above, causing pebbles to crumble from the waterfall’s peaks. Then again, I wasn’t sure it wouldn’t chase us.
Adam shot me a disapproving look — or so I assumed. When you were a giant bird made entirely of magical fire, your eyes weren’t exactly your most defining feature.
Magic gathered in my palms, rushing around uneasily against my skin. I didn’t want Adam to get hurt, but my Fire was pulling me back, telling me not to harm the dragon. I wasn’t even sure how much magic it would take to do that. People used to try skinning dragons to create magic-resistant armor. And like everything else involving people and dragons, the people learned it was impossible to do, and that trying would get you killed.
I doubted my blast of magic would harm the dragon. But it might distract it long enough for Adam to catch a break. As it was, the winged beast was foiling him at every turn, fighting with a ferocity that seemed unnatural even for a dragon.
I was so engrossed by my internal battle that I failed to notice the electricity in the water had faded. I wished I had, because it would have saved me the heart attack when I was knocked into the lake a moment later.
Tiny pinpricks pressed against my back before growing heavier and more painful. It wasn’t until a rough snout pressed against my cheek that I realiz
ed what had happened. I’d been pounced on. By a dragon.
A very small dragon, apparently. When I rolled onto my side, I was greeted by several small dragons. I blinked trying to convince myself I was seeing six of only one, but the nudges against my hand — and the seventh dragon now perched on my head — dashed those hopes.
The dragonlings mewled, their giant golden eyes cartoonish as they peered at me. What looked like playful grins were on their toothy mouths as they dipped into a pouncing position, wiggling their hindquarters in the air.
That was all the warning I had to block my face. Tiny yet very sharp teeth dug into my arm like an army of needles as the dragonlings nipped at me. Despite their bites, I didn’t feel like they were trying to hurt me. In fact, when it became clear I wasn’t playing along, they stopped and turned toward each other, rolling around in the water and nipping at each other playfully.
The dragonling on my head stayed with me, and I counted my blessings that it removed itself from my head without ripping out my hair. It nudged my hand, nuzzling the appendage when I turned it over. I pet its head before scratching under its chin. The dragonling purred and craned its neck higher so I could continue.
I did, noting the lime green stripe that went from the base of its chin to the entire underside of its belly. The scales were as iridescent as the rest of its blue hide, and now that the panic had subsided, I put all the pieces together.
“Adam!” I cried. “It’s just protecting its babies!”
Adam screeched and backed away. He didn’t move too far, however, and for once his protectiveness didn’t make me roll my eyes. The dragon snapped at his retreating form once more before landing in the lake.
She nudged her babies onto their backs and checked each of them for any damage. The dragonling I was petting remained by my side, but let out a distressed mewl when I stopped scratching. The sound drew its mother’s attention. Suddenly, it was like no time had passed, and I was once again staring at golden eyes and a mouth large enough to swallow me whole.
