[The Dragon Kings 01.0] Obsidian

by Kimberly Loth

  She stood upright and moved toward the door. Tori grabbed her arm.

  “Listen, I really like this guy. Can you be nice to him?” Aspen nodded. That was one way to make sure he didn’t hang around. Most guys who went out with Tori disappeared when the relationship was over because she was a little obsessive.

  They walked in, and Aspen set her stuff on a desk in the front of the room, as far away from Sid as possible, even though that meant she couldn’t hide from Mrs. Dufour. Tori pulled her to his desk.

  “Sid, this is Aspen,” she said and hurried across the room to say hi to Dan. This was new. Usually Tori would stay and hover. Aspen only saw her act like this once before, and that was a year ago when a celebrity came to spend a summer here. Aspen couldn’t even remember his name, he wasn’t that famous, but Tori was crushing on him bad. She barely said two words to him, but she talked about him all the freaking time.

  “Hey.” Aspen’s voice was too soft, almost inaudible. Sid looked up, and she studied his face. Once again, his eyes captured her. They were the color of bluebirds—unnatural, but familiar somehow. Definitely not Marc’s. Everything else, the long thick lashes, the dark skin, and the strong jaw—looked so similar. They still dug up all those old feelings of shame. Sid smiled. Aspen’s knees buckled, and she sat in the desk in front of him.

  Marc—no Sid—leaned across his desk. “How’d you get a picture of a dragon?”

  “With a camera and a lot of patience.” It was her standard answer. Most people had never seen a dragon because dragons avoid densely populated areas. They were protected, so people were not allowed to hunt or capture them. Not that it would do any good to try.

  The national park system grew up around areas with large concentrations of dragons. Aspen was part of a very small group of people in the world who tried to find them. Most people feared them, though she had no idea why. Whenever she asked anyone, she got lots of “they’re so big,” or “they start forest fires,” and her personal favorite, “I’ve heard they eat people.” No one had ever shown an interest, except Sid—who made goose bumps rise on Aspen’s arms.

  He looked perplexed.

  “I like dragons. I do a lot of hiking and backcountry camping. My camera is always ready,” she explained.

  “Do you have pictures of any others?”

  Aspen didn’t want to look at him and see that face. “Here,” she said, handing him her phone. “These are the red ones I got last week.”

  She traced the edges of an old graffitied “John was here” on the desk, avoiding his gaze.

  “This is unheard of,” he said.

  Aspen looked up. He was a mere eight inches from her face. His eyes locked on hers. Fear and desire burned in her stomach. Her lips tingled with the memory of her first kiss, the one Marc gave her three years ago. Would Sid’s kiss taste different?

  “Welcome back.” Mrs. Dufour’s voice jarred Aspen out of her trance, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

  She slipped away and went to her own seat.

  After homeroom, Mrs. Dufour called Aspen up to her desk. Tori followed.

  “I wanted to show you some of the shots I got this summer.”

  Aspen thumbed through the pictures. She’d gotten some decent pictures of the wolves.

  “They are nice. Did you get a new lens?”

  “Yeah. You should know that your dragons were lower than normal when I was taking shots. You should join me next time.”

  “That’d be nice, let me know when you go.”

  Tori picked up one of the pictures and addressed Mrs. Dufour. “Maybe you can learn something from Aspen because her pictures are loads better than this.”

  Mrs. Dufour’s face flushed, and Aspen dragged Tori out of the room.

  “Why are you being so mean?”

  “She gave me a D in English last year.”

  “Tori, that’s because you lifted your final essay from the web. You’re lucky she didn’t fail you.”

  “Whatever. I don’t like her.”

  Biology was boring as usual, but at least Sid wasn’t in that class. Things were looking up. Most of the same kids who were in biology for bimbos were also in math for morons, so chances were he wouldn’t be in Aspen’s math class.

  Tori met Aspen at their lockers.

  “How’s history?” Aspen asked.

  “I have no idea. I slept,” she replied.

  “Was Sid in your class?”

  “Nope. What’d you think about him?”

  “He was nice.”

  “Yeah,” Tori sighed. “Those eyes are to die for, aren’t they?”

  “That they are.” Aspen grinned, hoping she was convincing.

  Tori crossed her arms and glared at Aspen. “Hey, he’s mine. You understand?”

  “Defensive much? I’m not interested in him. I was just agreeing with you.”

  Tori moved her books from one arm to the other, and her blonde hair fell into her eyes. That was when Aspen noticed it.

  “Did you get colored contacts?”

  Tori looked up at her. “What? Oh yeah. Do you like them?”

  They were the color of Aspen’s eyes. What the hell was going on with her? The conversation shifted after that when several others walked up to them.

  Aspen dawdled in the hallway, chatting with Tori and Matt, Aspen’s puppy dog. He’d been after Aspen for most of her junior year. He was decent looking with tight curly brown hair and a nice build since was a swimmer. Near the end of the year, she agreed to go to prom with him. They had a good time, but relationships and Aspen didn’t mix. Aspen deleted his texts and ignored his calls throughout the summer, but he was not to be deterred.

  Matt looked at his watch. “We’re going to be late, you coming?”

  “Yeah, just give me a sec.”

  “I’ll save you a seat.”

  Aspen nodded, opened her locker, and shoved in her biology book, knowing it would not come out again until the end of the year. The first day of school was the only day she used her locker, and that was just so she could store the books without losing them.

  The hallways were empty. She was about to be late to math. Her favorite class, yippee. Maybe she should go home and avoid Sid that way. Or maybe she should go to math, which was the opposite direction of Dr. VanDyke, the principal, who knew of her habit of skipping out.

  Aspen slipped into class one minute late. She was being stealthy, but Ms. Weber noticed anyway.

  “Aspen, how nice of you to join us. If you’ll take the desk in front of Mr. King, we can get started.”

  Sid sensed her panic as she slumped into the seat, took out a notebook and pen, and rested her chin on her hand without looking back. She had a knot on the back of her head with several sticks holding it in place. She emanated anger and hostility, so far the only person to feel that way around him. Which he found odd because she was the girl from the mountain. The one who felt excited to see a dragon, not scared. He couldn’t wait to get to know her.

  Ms. Weber droned on about equations. To Sid, school was pointless; he learned all this two hundred years ago. He wanted to talk to Aspen, to hear her voice, to understand her desire to chase the dragons.

  Near the end of class, Ms. Weber finally stopped talking. Sid leaned forward to talk to Aspen, but Matt, who was sitting next to her, beat Sid to it.

  “Have you heard anything about the missing climber?” Matt asked, pulling his chair to her desk.

  “Why, was he staying at your place?”

  “Yeah.” Matt fidgeted with his pencil, and it broke in half.

  “I wish I had more to tell you.” Aspen frowned. “My parents weren’t home when I left for school. Rowan said they’d been gone all night. Are the rest of the guests nervous?”

  “Yeah, he was a college kid, and his parents are freaking out. It’s always my folks’ fault when they decide to do something stupid and fall off a cliff.”

  “I’ll ask my mom or dad when I get home, but I gotta work after that.”

 
; “Great. I’ll stop by and see you, get some of this homework done.”

  The teacher walked up to her as Matt slid his chair back to his own desk.

  Ms. Weber sat on the edge of Aspen’s desk. “You’re a senior this year.”

  “I know.”

  “You’re still in Algebra I.”

  “I know.”

  “If you don’t pass my class, you don’t graduate. And to pass my class, you must do your homework.”

  Aspen shoved her notebook into her bag. “Have I ever failed one of your tests?”

  Mrs. Weber shook her head. “But you’ve never scored higher than a D+ either.”

  “Exactly. I sit here in your class every day, I pass my tests, and yet somehow I still fail. I don’t do homework.”

  “If you want to graduate, you will.”

  The bell rang, and Aspen stalked out of class, angrier than when she arrived. At least Sid knew it wasn’t just him she couldn’t stand.

  Still unsure of what to do after school, Sid drove over to the PD to talk to Ella. She was much easier to relate to than those he met at school, more at ease around him, not intimidated. Plus, she knew Aspen.

  The old house was empty except for Ella. The smell of burnt coffee assaulted his nose. Would he ever get used to it? Ella wiped down the counter and threw her towel into the sink. She had her back to Sid, and her head bobbed up and down.

  “Hey, Ella,” Sid said, sneaking up behind her.

  She jumped and yanked out her ear buds. “Sid, you scared me.” She picked up a towel and flicked it at him.

  “Sorry. Who’s working tonight?”

  “Aspen.”

  At the sound of her name Sid’s heart raced. He tried to understand his need to know her. She was the only human he’d met (and there hadn’t been many) who didn’t detest dragons. That in itself made him curious, but she despised him. He’d given her no reason to.

  “Who else?”

  “Me. The idiot who was supposed to work with her called in sick.”

  “I’ll work for you.”

  “Sid, that would be wonderful. I’ve been here all day.” She rubbed her hand across her forehead, leaving a streak of coffee.

  “Yeah, but you have to do me a favor,” Sid said, handing her a clean towel.

  “Sure thing.”

  “From here on out, you need to schedule Aspen and me together.”

  She grinned. “I told you you’d like her.” Ella understood his fascination with Aspen, probably better than he understood it himself. He didn’t understand his human feelings at all.

  “That’s still to be determined. She won’t talk to me. At all. I figure if I’m working with her, she’ll have to.”

  “Oh, don’t underestimate her. I’m sure she could go through an entire shift without uttering a word.”

  Theo sat at Sid’s desk, messing with the computer, and didn’t acknowledge Sid’s presence. The clock on the dresser said Sid had exactly thirty minutes to dress and get back to the shop. He didn’t want to give Aspen any reason to be irritated with him.

  “Find anything taboo on there?” Sid asked.

  Theo took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. “You know I have to do this. It’s my job.”

  “No one else had people snooping through their stuff,” Sid grumbled.

  “Actually, you’d be surprised. But, Sid, you’re no ordinary dragon. If I don’t do this, the council will send someone else who is more thorough.”

  “I know, but I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

  “Says the dragon who broke the heart of Winerva’s niece.”

  “I never gave Candide any reason to think I was interested in her. Why are you bringing that up? It happened over twenty years ago.”

  Theo chuckled. “I know. I’m just giving you a hard time. You working tonight?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Will that Ella chick be there? If so, I’m going with you.”

  “No. I’m working with Aspen. How do you know Ella?”

  “I scoped out the Purple Dragon today. She’s hot. I guess I’ll just have to wait until tomorrow.”

  Sid looked at the clock again, twenty minutes left. “Listen, Theo, I need your help with something, and I can’t have you blabbing. Can you keep a secret?”

  “What’d you do?”

  “Nothing yet. The council won’t approve, but I need your advice and master researching skills.”

  Theo leaned back on the chair and rested his bare feet on Sid’s bed. “Why?”

  Sid tossed him the Your Human Years book and grabbed his work clothes out of the closet.

  “Turn to Chapter Five,” Sid said, undressing.

  “Chapter Five. Romantic Relationships.” Theo snorted without opening the book. “Did you bother to read all the warnings before you read the tasks?”

  “Yes, and I know what I’m doing.”

  “No, you don’t.” Theo put the book down and walked toward him. “You’ve only been at this for three weeks. You still don’t understand human feelings. Chapter Five says do not try any of these until the sixth year for a reason. You’ll be sealed before you’ve realized what happened.”

  “I was with Skye for a hundred and sixty-two years and managed not to get in trouble. I think I can handle a human girl.”

  “No, you can’t.” He paused for a minute. Then he lay on Sid’s bed and spread his arms out, his expression far away. “I spent ten years living around them, and I was lucky I never got into trouble. Human girls are incredibly seductive. More so than any dragon I’ve ever met. They have ways of making you feel like you’re on fire.

  “I used to surf with a girl named Hazel. She had this smile to die for. We hung out for a summer, and I nearly gave up everything for her. She was the only human I kissed, and my lips still burn when I think about her.”

  Did he seal himself to her? Sid looked for the scrawled circle that marked the sealing, but saw nothing. Theo’s eyes were closed, and a small stream flowed from the corners of his eyes. Sid looked away, embarrassed. Theo never talked about stuff like this. In fact, he never had a mate that Sid knew of. He was the good one, saving himself for the queen. Not that the rest of them did anything to jeopardize their chances for the kingship, but they played closer to the edge of the cliff than Theo. Sid was really the only one who nearly sealed himself to someone. He was good and he didn’t, but there was a time with Skye that he thought about it.

  Theo spoke again, his voice cracking, “I don’t know how any of us make it through unscathed. You won’t be able to resist. Plus, you know what will happen if you seal.”

  Sid pulled on his shirt and buttoned it up. There had to be a way to convince Theo he wouldn’t let that happen. “This girl absolutely hates me. I’m not going to seal myself to her. I just want to get to know her. When I do, I’ll be able to cross several things off that stupid list, which gets me closer to going home. If I finish in less than ten years, they’ll let me be done.” Looking in the mirror, Sid pulled his hair back. He liked it better when it hung down, but Ella said if she found a long black hair in the coffee, he would be fired. The clock read ten to four.

  “I have to go,” Sid said. “While I’m gone, find out everything you can about Aspen Winters and her family.”

  Chapter Eight

  Aspen got to work a half hour early in the hope that someone would do her homework for her. The math book somehow found its way into her backpack. Throughout her entire high school career, not one book had ever made it past her locker, and she managed to pass all her classes. Except math. Mrs. Weber made it very clear that if graduation was to happen, then she had to do her homework. Ugh.

  Ella brought Aspen a latte.

  “Homework? You?” Ella had on her Guns and Roses outfit today. November Rain played in the background. Aspen was more of an alternative rock fan, but she still appreciated Ella’s taste in music.

  “I think they’re trying to kill me this year. You wanna do this for me?”

  “Hon, I b
arely passed the first time. What makes you think I’d be able to help you with that?”

  Aspen shrugged and looked at her book, the numbers and letters swirling together.

  “Who’s working with me tonight anyway?”

  “The new guy.”

  Aspen groaned. She’d be better off alone.

  “Ella, you know I hate training.”

  “You won’t have to train him. He worked with me all last week while you were off playing in Hawaii, and he’s a fast learner. Give him two weeks, and he’ll be up to speed. In the meantime, be patient with him.” Ella crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

  “Fine,” Aspen said and looked at her homework. What was she supposed to do with all the Xes? Whoever put letters in math was crazy. Besides, all Aspen could focus on in class was the fact that the scary boy sat behind her. She found it odd that her mind could accept he wasn’t Marc, but her emotions couldn’t.

  Ella sat across from Aspen. “Hey, do you mind punching in a few minutes early? I’d like to get going. You can do your homework on the clock if you want.”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  “Nothing.” Ella stood and went behind the counter before Aspen could ask her more questions.

  Aspen gathered her books and headed to the back room. Ella put on her leather jacket. She didn’t say anything to Aspen.

  “You okay?” Aspen asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll see you later.”

  Why did she want to leave so quickly? Aspen stared out the window as Ella walked to her car. A young man in a white button down shirt walked up to her. New boyfriend, maybe. He enveloped her in a big hug, and Ella smiled wide. Aspen watched, happy to have something to tease her about tomorrow.

  Ella tugged at his black ponytail and laughed. Then he turned and walked toward the shop while she drove away in her Bronco. He was soon out of Aspen’s sight, and she went around the counter and stocked the teas so he wouldn’t think she was snooping.