“Who’s that?” he asked, keeping his voice light.
Myles looked in the direction his finger was pointing, and raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Oh, you haven’t been introduced? I wish I’d known. I would have introduced you two. That’s Mac. You know, the Commander-in-Chief of the Falcon Cross Military.”
Zeke blinked a few times, wondering if he’d heard Myles correctly. “Mac? Mac is a silly, giggling female who wears sparkly hot pink?”
Myles gave Zeke an annoyed sideways glance. “There’s nothing wrong with laughing or wearing hot pink, you know. Just because you always want to be grumpy at parties doesn’t mean everyone else has to be, too. But yes, that giggling female in the hot pink robe is Mac. Short for MacKenzie. And she’s the commander of the Falcon Cross Military.”
Zeke looked over at Mac, who was currently using her shiny silver goblet as a mirror to reapply her lipstick.
“God, we are in so much trouble,” Zeke said.
Chapter Three
MacKenzie “Mac” Somers finished touching up her lipstick and glanced out across the crowd for a moment before turning her attention back to Peter, who was growing more insistent now that everyone needed to take their seats. He shouted for order several times, with only marginal success. Mac had to remind herself that rolling your eyes at the Head Wizard of the High Council was strongly frowned upon. But Peter was too goddamn polite sometimes. He knew if he really yelled, that people would know he meant business and shut up right away. That’s what Mac would have done. But Peter insisted on taking the long route, shushing and admonishing over and over until finally, after what seemed like an eternity, every wizard in the room had found their seat and stopped talking.
“Good evening, to wizards and shifters alike,” Peter said, the broad smile on his face growing even broader as he spoke. Mac felt her heart softening toward him. He might be too polite, but he did make an excellent leader for their wizard clan. He was jolly and kind, just like you’d expect an ancient wizard to be. But he was also shrewd, and had managed to keep the clan safe with very few mishaps over the years. He was also the most powerful wizard that Mac had ever seen. She’d seen him give a demonstration at the military training academy on several different occasions, and she was always impressed with his grasp of even the most difficult magic spells. The man was a legend in wizard circles, and Mac knew they were lucky to have him here in Falcon Cross.
“I’m so pleased you could all join us for this banquet tonight,” Peter continued. “A few short years ago, this banquet would have been impossible. We still lived in a time when wizards feared shifters, and shifters were not even aware that wizards still existed. But now, here we are, together as allies. As you all know, grave times are upon us. We face threats from the outside as never before. But, thanks to the generosity of the dragon shifters, we can all rest a little easier at night. They have graciously agreed to come stay in Falcon Cross to help us defend the city for as long as we need them here.”
A chorus of cheers and applause rose from the crowd, although Mac saw that a few wizards were frowning. She knew there were still some holdouts who believed that the shifters were going to turn on the wizards at any moment. Mac had to admit that she had been skeptical of the shifters at first. She had been slow to believe that they were trustworthy and on the side of good. But after working with a few of the dragons, several of whom were here tonight, she had changed her mind. She had never met a group of men as smart, strong, and loyal as the Redwood Dragons. She trusted them, and she knew that Falcon Cross desperately needed their help. The wizards needed any help they could get, really. Mac was proud of the soldiers in the Falcon Cross military, but she was not a fool. She knew they had been trained for times of peace, not of war. It was time to change that, and if anyone could help her with that task, it was the Redwood Dragons.
“Please stand as I call your name, so that everyone here can see who you are,” Peter was saying. Mac turned her attention back to Peter, and then watched as the dragons stood in turn. First was Noah, the leader of the group that had come to Falcon Cross. Noah had visited Falcon Cross on several occasions, and Mac had a good working relationship with him. Then came Myles, the quiet one. Mac had also met Myles before, on one of his previous visits to the wizard village. She liked his easygoing, carefree attitude. Then there was Owen—loud, boisterous Owen. Mac sighed. She could already tell that it was going to be difficult to reign in Owen. He was even more brazen than usual right now, and he was even venturing so far as to flirt openly with her. She was going to have to nip that in the bud. Owen was a good man, on the whole, but he was definitely not Mac’s type. She preferred her men a little less rowdy. Finally, Peter introduced Zeke, the new one.
Zeke was the only dragon here whom Mac had not met before, and she couldn’t help but stare as he stood when Peter called his name. Peter rattled off a few pieces of information about Zeke, talking about the number of ancient dragon artifacts that he had recovered, and some of his special achievements in acrobatic flying, but Mac barely heard a word of it. She was too busy staring at him.
All of the dragons were tall and handsome, but Zeke was on a whole different level. Mac was not sure how she had not noticed him when the dragons were walking into the room earlier, but she was noticing him now. His dark hair was cropped close to his head in an almost military style, but he had allowed a hint of dark stubble to grace his cheeks. His eyes were dark green, and intense. He looked around as though he could see through everyone in the room, and Mac found herself grateful that he did not turn and look at directly at her. She wasn’t sure she was prepared to handle a gaze like that. He did not smile as Peter spoke, but he didn’t exactly frown, either. He kept a neutral expression on his face, and nodded politely in thanks when Peter finished his speech and the room broke out into applause. He sat down quickly, and turned his attention back to his wine goblet. Mac smiled. This guy must be the complete opposite in personality from Owen.
Zeke, Mac said to herself, letting the name roll around in her mind for a moment. It was a good, strong name, and just unique enough to be truly fitting for a shifter, she thought. Mac had always wished that her name was a bit more exotic. MacKenzie seemed too ordinary for a wizard. Perhaps that’s why she had decided to shorten it to Mac. She liked how Mac was a bit of an unexpected name for a girl.
Noah had taken the stage now, and was giving a short speech about how the shifters were all very glad to be there. Mac wasn’t paying attention at all anymore. She was staring at Zeke, knowing that she was being way too obvious but unable to tear her eyes away from him. She had never been the type to fawn over a man—a fact which surprised many. For some reason, people seemed to think that any girl who loved sparkles and hot pink would automatically be the type to be boy crazy. But no, Mac had never been boy crazy. She’d dated sparingly, preferring to pour her energy into her career instead of into finding a husband. And, in many ways, that decision had paid off. She was the youngest Commander-in-Chief in the history of the Falcon Cross Military—and the most accomplished. She’d achieved more in her short tenure as commander than many previous commanders had managed in their entire careers. It hadn’t taken long for the wizards of Falcon Cross to respect her, despite her affinity for all things frilly and girly.
And yet, one look at Zeke was enough to make any single woman go a little boy crazy. Mac couldn’t deny that her heart was pounding a bit faster than normal as she gazed over at him. He was looking respectfully up at Noah, but Mac noticed the way his fingers drummed tensely on the tabletop. She was familiar with that sort of finger-tapping, because she’d done it herself many a time. He wasn’t pleased with sitting still, she knew. He wanted to plan and take action now, not sit around and eat banquet food and give toasts. Mac smiled. Zeke might be handsome, but he had a lot to learn about the ways of wizards. Magic folk loved their feasts, even in times of war.
Noah finished his speech, and Mac dutifully clapped even though she hadn’t paid attention to a word of it. Th
en, out of nowhere, dozens of drones appeared, their long drone arms balancing heaping plates of food. They buzzed about with such speed that it was almost hard to see them. Soon, the plate of every person in the room had been filled with a variety of gourmet food, prepared specially by the top wizard chefs for this special feast. There were roasted vegetables with caramelized onions, buttery mashed potatoes, and perfectly grilled steaks. Each table was also provided with bread baskets full of steaming hot rolls, and a large community bowl of salad. Mac felt her stomach growling as she looked down at her plate. She’d been so caught up in staring at Zeke that she hadn’t realized how hungry she had become.
She dug into her food, nodding politely as Alfonso, the man sitting next to her who served as the head of the Advocacy Bureau, started talking about one of the latest cases his Advocates were working on. It had something to do with a wizard forgetting a magical pair of boots in a hotel room while on vacation. The hotel staff had been beside themselves with terror when the boots started walking around on their own and parroting off directions to the closest airport.
“They were those newfangled GPS boots. You’ve heard of them? You cast a directions spell on them and then you can ask them for directions to just about anywhere. I guess the last place the guy asked for directions to was the airport. Then he somehow forgot them in the room.”
Alfonso shook his head in disgust and speared a roasted carrot with his fork, munching it thoughtfully for a moment before continuing.
“It’s getting worse, you know?” he said. “In all my years at the Advocacy Bureau, we’ve never had so many incidents of forgotten magical objects in such a short amount of time. Wizards are getting sloppy. I’m glad we have the shifters on our side and all, but I think a lot of wizards think now that it’s okay if shifters know about us, that it’s okay if humans know, too. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Alfonso slammed the table with his fist, and Mac jumped. She had only been half-listening again, and she was finding it hard to get worked up about the day-to-day problems of the Advocacy Bureau right now. She was too busy glancing over at Zeke out of the corner of her eye.
“Job security, I guess,” she said to Alfonso. He “hmphed” and then went back to shoveling food into his mouth.
A little while later, the drones came back and cleared away all the dinner plates and food. They also refilled all of the wine and water carafes, which was quite a big job since most of the tables now had empty or nearly empty carafes. When that was done, the drones returned with dessert. In front of each person, they deposited a small plate with a slice of chocolate cake on it. Mac smiled as the first bite of cake hit her tongue. The head chef had really outdone himself with this meal. It was the moistest, richest chocolate cake she had ever tasted. She savored every bite, and was even thinking about asking for a second helping. But before she could flag down one of the drones, she heard the soft music that had been playing abruptly changed to a fast-paced pop song.
“Alright, Falcon Cross,” the DJs voice came across the room loud and clear, thanks to an amplifying spell. “I hope you’ve all had enough to eat, because now it’s time to dance!”
Cheers went up across the room, and several wizards made a beeline for the dance floor. Mac snuck a glance over at Zeke, thinking that she would love the chance to dance with him, but before she could even begin to work up the courage to go ask him, she felt someone firmly grabbing her hand and pulling her up from her seat. She looked up to see that Owen was right next to her chair.
“Come on. Let me have the first dance of the night,” he said his eyes twinkling. He started tugging her toward the dance floor before she could collect her thoughts enough to protest, and a cheer went up from the High Council table when they saw her and Owen together.
“Nothing’s better for shifter-wizard relations than a good round of dancing,” one of the High Council members joked.
Mac gritted her teeth and sighed. There was no way she could say no now. Owen, who seemed oblivious to her hesitation, practically skipped toward the dance floor that was on the opposite end of the room. Once they got there, Mac had to admit that he was a surprisingly good dancer. She knew he’d spent most of his life living out in a remote area of the California Redwoods, so she wasn’t sure where he had learned his moves. Whoever had taught him, though, had done a damn good job. Mac found that she was actually having fun, but she still couldn’t keep herself from stealing a glance back toward where Zeke was sitting. The Great Hall was large, so she couldn’t see his expression from here, but she could at least see that he was still sitting down and not dancing with anyone else. But if she thought her glances were inconspicuous, she was wrong.
“I’m not gonna have a chance with you, am I?” Owen said, letting out a long, exasperated sigh. Mac forced herself to bring her attention back to the present, and tried to figure out what Owen was talking about.
“Huh?” she managed to say. She could feel her cheeks turning bright red, and she knew she’d been caught staring at Zeke.
“You’ve barely looked at me for the last several minutes,” Owen said. “But you’ve certainly spent a lot of time staring in the direction of where Zeke is sitting.”
“I…uh…um,” Mac said, and then shrugged. She was out of breath from dancing, which was a little bit annoying since Owen didn’t seem to be breathing heavily at all. She felt flustered, and she had no idea what to say to his undeniably accurate observation.
“I’m always playing second fiddle,” Owen said with another sigh. “Anytime I’m even remotely interested in a girl, it always turns out that she’s already interested in one of my buddies. I have the worst luck with these things.”
Mac looked up at Owen, and for the first time since she’d met him, she saw not just an annoying, boisterous dragon, but a pained, lonely man who just wanted someone to settle down with. Her heart went out to him a bit, but that still didn’t mean that they were right for each other.
“Look, you’re a great guy,” she said. “But we aren’t right for each other. We’d drive each other crazy. I know one day you’re going to find the perfect girl who can really keep up with you. And when you do, it’s going to be amazing.”
Owen gave her a wry smile. “Thanks for letting me down easy,” he said.
Mac laughed. “I mean it,” she said. “You’re going to make some girl really happy. Just not me.”
“You want Zeke to be the one to make you happy, eh?” Owen asked.
Mac blushed. “I mean…I have to admit I think he’s really attractive. I don’t know anything about him, though. Unlike you and Noah and Myles, he’s never been to Falcon Cross before. What’s he like? Do you think he would dance with me?”
Owen winced. “Well, I hate to say it, but it might be my turn to let you down easy, now. Zeke isn’t much of a dancer. He’s not much of a partier, in fact. And he’s the epitome of the strong, silent type. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of him being interested in a girl, but I have to say that I would be shocked if he went for a girl as bubbly as you. He’s pretty much the opposite of a social butterfly.”
Mac felt her heart sink a bit, and it must have shown on her face, because Owen hurried to explain further.
“It’s not that you aren’t awesome,” Owen said. “It’s just that he’s kind of a loner. And he’s already pissed off that we’re partying right now instead of working on tactical stuff.”
Mac frowned. “He isn’t entirely wrong about that, you know. We do have a lot of work to do, and we can’t spend a lot of time on having fun, unfortunately. But one of the most important jobs that we have to do is to convince the wizards who are still doubters that the shifters can be trusted. And throwing a banquet like this is a good way for everyone to get to know each other. When the wizards see that the shifters are down-to-earth, normal people, and that they honor our traditions of feasting, it will go a long way toward convincing them to trust you guys. Trust me on that one.”
Owen put his hands up in a sign of
surrender. “Hey, you don’t have to convince me. I was happy to come to a banquet tonight. Zeke is the one being all grumpy about it.”
Mac glanced back at where Zeke was sitting. He was by himself now. Everyone else was up and mingling, or on the dance floor. The song that had been playing ended, and some couples were leaving the dance floor.
“I’m going to go talk to him,” Mac said to Owen, a note of determination in her voice.
“To Zeke?” Owen said. “Good luck.”
Mac grinned. “I love a good challenge,” she said, and then winked at him. “Thanks for the dance. And if you’re interested in a finding a girl, don’t give up yet. There are lots of pretty wizards here who would kill for the chance to dance with one of the dragon shifters.”
Owen smiled back at her. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Mac made her way back toward the platform, where Zeke was still the only one sitting. She took the seat next to him and did her best to ignore the annoyed look that fleetingly passed across his face.
“You’re Zeke, right?” she asked.
He nodded, and stared straight ahead while taking a long sip from his wine goblet. Owen had been right. Zeke was definitely going to be a tough nut to crack.
“I’m Mac,” she said. For a moment he didn’t say anything, but then he seemed to remember his manners and he turned to look at her, extending his hand to shake hers.
“Nice to meet you, Mac,” he said, a pleasant smile suddenly appearing on his face. “I understand you’re the head of the Falcon Cross military?”
“That’s correct,” Mac said, suddenly struggling to speak. Up close, he was even more handsome than he had been from far away. His eyes were intense, and appeared to be flecked with gold. His ears had the slightest hint of an elfish bend to them, giving away the fact that he had dragon shifter genes. His tanned skin glowed in the red-orange light of the setting sun, which was streaming in brilliantly through the windows above. When he locked his eyes on hers, the room around her seemed to disappear, and she could only see him. Her heart started beating faster, and her whole body felt like it was several degrees too warm. She stared at him and tried to think of something else to say, but the words wouldn’t come. She wondered if she was having an effect on him like he was having on her, but his eyes gave nothing away.
The Commander and the Dragon (Redwood Dragons Book 3) Page 3
