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Author: Aimee Easterling (Page 16 of 29)
In fall 2017, I launched a new series that returns to a character from the Wolf Rampant series…twenty-four years later than when you saw her last. Ember is now all grown up and facing new challenges. But before you learn more about those trials and tribulations, I thought you might enjoy a story from the middle of the intervening period, when Ember is twelve years old and Wolfie, for the first time, flubs the job of fatherhood…
The door slamming, the disgruntled looks, the surly responses. Wolf Young — aka Wolfie, biggest baddest werewolf in the middle Appalachians — had known accepting the job of pack leader would be difficult. He just hadn’t realized his archnemesis would be his own daughter.
“I don’t see why you can’t just leave me alone!” Ember emoted. The preteen’s scent exuded pain, confusion, and sadness as she slipped out from under her father’s arm and rushed away into the night. What the heck? He’d only asked her if she needed any help with her homework.
“I think she needs a little time,” Terra — his mate — explained gently. “You know she can’t get into any trouble here in Haven. Come back to bed.”
So Wolfie obeyed…but he didn’t have to like it.
***
The next morning, the big, bad, overworked alpha blew off the pile of paperwork demanding his immediate attention and slipped outside in lupine form. Ember was only twelve years old, far too young to be drawn into a shifter mating dance. But if she was sneaking out to see boys, Wolfie intended to do something about it…something that involved ripping off arms and ensuring that certain males never touched his innocent offspring ever again.
Except his only child’s scent trail didn’t lead in any such direction. Instead, Ember’s mossy aroma drew the pack leader across the village green and around a corner until he stopped in front of the community dining hall. His daughter had snuck away at midnight…to eat scrambled eggs?
“Seen Ember around?” he asked the pack member in charge as he stalked in the open front door. Wolfie’s voice was scratchy from his recent shift back to human form but his eyes didn’t miss a single detail as he scanned the shifters cooking, eating, and having an all-around good time. Nope, no daughter here.
Acacia — an old friend and a loyal pack mate — ignored her alpha’s nudity and stopped swiping at a table top so she could join him at the door. “Your daughter’s been helping out here every day this week, but she left fifteen minutes ago.” The female paused, raised one eyebrow. “You know Ember’s virtually living in our guest room, right?”
Wolfie knew nothing of the sort. His twelve-year-old daughter had moved out…and he hadn’t even gotten a memo?
Sure, he’d been traveling a lot lately, trying to keep the neighboring packs from going crazy as they divided up formerly neutral territory among themselves. Meanwhile, his mate had been keeping the home fires burning in his absence…not so easy when Haven welcomed every lone werewolf who nosed around their borders despite the unfortunate tendency of the packless to rebel against even the slightest show of authority.
So he and his spouse had both been distracted. But how could they have missed Ember getting so upset she willingly chose to abandon their loving home?
“She’s an excellent baker and a good kid,” Acacia continued, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder. “She’s just figuring out who she is right now, and that means rebelling against her parents. Give her a little time and she’ll come home.”
A little time. Wolfie tried to accept the well-meant advice and put it to good use. But now that he’d noticed the chink in his family’s armor, that particular crack yawned wider by the moment until it turned into a gaping canyon separating him from the child who held his heart. He couldn’t let Ember slink off into the distance like a packless loner. He simply couldn’t.
***
So the big, bad, worried alpha continued tracking his daughter through their vibrant village. At the community garden, Wolfie was informed that Ember had been helping weed and harvest for the last three weeks…and that he’d just missed her today. A trio of boys playing basketball barely escaped Wolfie’s wrath when they explained that the mossy scent coating one male’s arm emanated from Ember’s competitive streak rather than from any amorous advances. His daughter had won the game of Horse…and despite that athletic side trip she was still ten minutes ahead of her doting father.
Wolfie wanted to be impressed by his daughter’s abilities for stealth when he lost her trail briefly in the woods. But, mostly, he was just growing more and more worried that the small splinter in his family’s happiness might actually turn out to be the source of an infected, gangrenous wound.
Plus, there was a scent of blood on the air now. Just the barest hint, as if his daughter had scratched her arm up against a sharp stick and ignored the wound. Still, the aroma was enough to raise Wolfie’s ruff and bring a growl up his furry throat. No way was his daughter going to be wandering around injured on his watch.
So he cheated. Pulling up the pack bond that provided information on every member of his clan, Wolfie tugged on his daughter’s thread…and soon ended up tracing her right back to his own front door.
Ember was home. Wolfie slammed inside without worrying about scratched paint or bent hinges. It was past time to put this silliness to bed.
***
“She’s in her room,” Terra greeted her mate as he walked inside. Then, glancing down at Wolfie’s dirt-streaked but otherwise naked skin, his mate added, “You might want to put on some clothing before you talk to her.”
Probably a good idea. Wolfie accepted a shirt and pants from his life partner, managing to drag on both while bounding toward his daughter’s room without pause. Opening her door without knocking, the placating words he’d managed to pull together on his descent from the mountain slipped right out of his mind as he was hit by a sensation that stopped him in his track — the overwhelming odor of large quantities of spilled blood.
“Buttercup, where are you hurt?” Wolfie demanded, pulling his daughter off her bed and patting her down with terrified hands. During his long, useless chase through pack lands, how had he managed to miss the magnitude of Ember’s injury? How could he have thought this death wound was merely a scratch? Some alpha werewolf he was.
“Ow, Dad, stop it!” the girl grumbled, wriggling out of his grasp. She moved easily, no signs of broken bones. And yet…was his daughter hunching over more than usual? Was she guarding an injured stomach from further attack?
A gut wound was seriously bad news, and Wolfie found himself falling to his knees at his daughter’s feet. “Ember, please. We’ll bring you to your Uncle Dale and he can fix whatever’s broken….”
Instead of answering him directly, his daughter merely rolled her eyes and raised her voice. “Mom!” she demanded. “Will you get Dad out of my room? And explain to him why I don’t need a doctor?”
But no one answered. Father and daughter paused, cocked their heads in mirrored synchrony, then together lifted their chins to sniff at the air. Terra had left the building. Wolfie was on his own.
***
Sighing, Ember squared her shoulders and opened her mouth. “You’re just going to nag at me until I talk, aren’t you?”
Nag? Big, bad alpha werewolves didn’t nag. But, at the moment, Wolfie would have agreed to anything coming out of his daughter’s mouth. So he nodded slowly and reached forward to take one of her hands between both of his own. Thankfully, she allowed the touch.
Still, Ember hesitated, turned her face away, shuffled her feet. The problem was evidently worse than he’d imagined. Could a twelve-year-old become pregnant? Had his usually pacific daughter started a war with another clan? Did she possess a gambling addiction that would draw mobsters to their door seeking immediate retribution?
Not a problem, Wolfie decided. He’d simply unleash his inner wolf and tear into the opposition until they left his family alone. Easy peasy.
Okay, so maybe he should try words first. So, gathering his courage around him, Wolfie tipped up his daughter’s chin until their eyes met. “Tell me.”
And then the words came gushing out. “I’m starting my period, okay? It hurts, and it’s yucky, and the boys can all smell it, which is so embarrassing I think I’m gonna die.” She sniffed, a lone tear rolling down one cheek and dripping off her chin. And for one split second, she was his little girl again, waiting to be drawn into loving arms that could heal all ills.
But then Ember’s eyes flashed in a way that was all woman, and she pushed Wolfie so hard he rocked back onto his heels. “Do you know what it’s like having hormones trick my wolf into thinking there’s danger around every bend? To have no control over my own shifts? It’s so, totally unfair that you don’t have to deal with this. I hate you!”
Then, rising, his daughter prepared to restart their earlier chase.
***
“Wait.”
Wolfie didn’t think the angry almost-woman would obey him, but she did. Pausing in the doorway, his little girl looked back with a scared, confused wolf barely hidden behind human eyes.
“You can’t fix it, Dad,” she told him, angrily, coldly. But she wanted him to. Ember so badly wanted her father to snap his fingers and change things back to the way they’d always been that her body leaned subtly forward, her fingers moving through the air in search of a thread that would pull them bodily into their shared past.
Well, that wasn’t happening. But Wolfie could instead propel them toward an even better future.
“I hear you’ve been in charge of the pastries in the dining hall lately,” he told her, rising to his feet more gracefully than he’d descended. “Care to show me how it’s done?”
Ember hesitated, weight shifting from foot to foot. He could tell she thought that he was scared of a little girl blood. She was pissed at him for changing the subject. But a chance to show off newfound skills — what competitive werewolf wouldn’t fall for such a trap?
For a second, though, Wolfie imagined he’d lost the gamble. Anger filled the air, along with the scent of fur that suggested an impending shift. But then Ember pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. “What do you want to make?”
“Cupcakes,” Wolfie answered quickly. Then, remembering what his mate had told him about the cure to feminine ills, he added, “Chocolate cupcakes.”
Which is how a big, bad alpha werewolf came to be covered in flour and cocoa when a delegation from the least friendly neighboring pack arrived for an unscheduled meet and greet. But Wolfie wasn’t worried. Male tempers he could handle. As long as Ember was smiling, all was right in his world.
Want to see more of Ember and Wolfie? Keep reading with the Wolf Legacy series.
Or maybe you’d like to share this story with your friends? Click the link below for easy commenting and sharing!
I seem to have gotten on a couple of unique reading kicks this summer. Just in case you want to play along, here are the books that hit the spot in each category.
I’ll start with fairy tales because, depending on the author, these can feel awfully close to either urban fantasy or to fantasy romance. Traitor’s Masque by Kenley Davidson is a good example of a fairy tale that twists and turns enough to please most readers of character-driven fantasy. The book is very richly written without being overwritten, and I’m forcing myself not to dive into Davidson’s other books immediately so I can savor them the way they deserve. (This series is all FREE to borrow with Kindle Unlimited.)
Next up, the anthology Once Upon a Kiss (FREE with Kindle Unlimited) is a great way to try out a variety of authors with bite-size stories just long enough to get you hooked. Hailey Edwards’ contribution was the sweetest morsel, fantastical and romantic all at once. I need to remember to check out more of Edwards’ urban fantasy!
Speaking of urban-fantasy authors branching out into other genres, I read two non-fantastical thrillers this month by women who usually add magic to their tales. Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake and V.J. Chambers’ Child of Mine both kept me up way too late and didn’t let me go until the bitter end. I don’t even like thrillers (or so I thought), but the psychological subgenre clearly hits the spot. (Both of these books are also FREE with Kindle Unlimited.)
How about you? Which books surprised you this summer because they were in genres or by authors you thought you didn’t enjoy? I hope you’ll join in the discussion over on facebook by clicking on the link below!
I’m excited to announce that the Fire Kissed anthology is now live on Amazon and FREE to borrow with Kindle Unlimited! This box set contains a lucky thirteen never-before-published novellas by urban-fantasy and paranormal-romance authors…including myself.
My contribution is Incendiary Magic, a short but action-packed prequel to the Dragon Mage universe. Fee is a fire mage with an impossible mission — infiltrate the home base of her dragon overlords and destroy them. You can try out the first chapter here.
But I hope you don’t just buy the box set and skip straight to my story. I haven’t read all of the other contributions yet, but the blurbs alone have me waiting with baited breath to sit down with my kindle this evening and give them a try. There’s a high-stakes poker game, an accidentally kidnapped not-quite-bride, and lots and lots of dragons. Plenty to keep me busy long into the night!
The anthology is only up for three short months, so don’t delay. Grab your copy here and enjoy!
I’m very excited to be taking part in the Fire Kissed anthology of 13 entirely new novellas featuring dragon shifters. My contribution is in the Dragon Mage universe and follows two characters you haven’t met before. Here’s chapter 1 so you can get to know Fee…
When life gets tough, you’re left with two choices. Surrender to the pain…or become a pyromaniac. Fee chose the latter.
“Burn, baby, burn,” she chanted, fingers tingling with the force of fire magic exiting her skin. All around, dormant trees woke, stretched, sought her spark of life…then went up in flames as the superheated air ignited loose bark, crunchy lichen, and eventually even the sap-sodden Green itself.
Take that, suckers!
The beech was the first to go. Ghost leaves dangling from smooth gray twigs were perfect tinder for an incipient blaze. Not quite as satisfying as the pines up on the ridge, though, which seemed to thrive on fire, popping and spewing seeds of destruction in their wake. Still…. “Not bad,” she muttered as she spun, sending tendrils of fire licking up the hillside in her wake. “Not bad at all.”
“Focus, Bug.” As always, the male voice made Fee startle with combined fear and anticipation. Never mind that this time around the words emanated from the magic-infused cell phone at her hip rather than from a flesh-and-blood human. Never mind that Malachi—never Dad, never Father—was presently too far away to lash out with fists or fire.
Regardless, the partially healed burns dotting her pale skin ached with the pain of recent memories. The scars along her spine puckered at the mere sound of her father’s voice. And the joy of fire-starting abruptly vanished.
“Yes, sir,” she said, hating the way her voice quavered, hoping the distance between face and hip was sufficient to block out the intensity of her fear…and longing.
It wasn’t. Malachi’s voice was smug when he answered. “I know you’ll try your best, Bug. I just hope your best is good enough this time.”
And there was the familiar disappointment creeping into his tone. The disappointment that led to the rages, to the infernos of agony that built slowly until Fee blacked out and dreamed of self immolation. She tried so hard to evade her father’s displeasure…and yet, she never quite managed to sidestep in time.
Smoke whipped down out of the conflagration, teasing tears out of Fee’s eyes. Gritting her teeth, the fire mage smeared the liquid away with the back of one soot-covered hand then pushed the full force of her own frustration into the surrounding forest.
I’m just like my father, venting my rage on the weak, she realized as a standing snag exploded, splinters of flaming wood shooting off in every direction. Would she one day create a daughter of her own to terrorize? A daughter to turn into a certified firebug bent upon devastation?
“Not likely,” she murmured even as she obeyed Malachi’s instructions to the letter, pushing fire downwind and up the slope she’d turned to face. The Aerie lay just over that hill, close enough for dragons to smell smoke and come hunting the culprit. Close enough so she’d have no time to flee back to the hidden settlement of fire mages that Malachi ruled with an iron fist.
But running away had never been in the cards. This was a suicide mission, and that concept Fee could fully get behind.
“What did you say?” demanded the voice at her hip.
It took Fee a moment to realize her father was responding to the muttered “Not likely” rather than to the thoughts that had been whirling through her mind. A moment during which she was unable to breathe…and not just because the wall of flames had superheated the surrounding air and threatened to blister the interior of her lungs.
“I was talking to the Green,” Fee prevaricated once she pulled equilibrium back around her like the quilt her mother had sewn six months before she died.
Okay, I won’t lie to myself. Before Malachi killed Mama for trying to escape.
The mere memory of Mama’s quilt gave Fee the spine she so often lacked in the presence of her ever-volatile father. So she elaborated on her fib even as she kicked at charred tangles of what had once been semi-sentient plants. “The vines are waking up,” she said. “They’re less dormant than we thought.”
And it was true that the Green did hunt every spark of electricity and fire magic it could get its grubby little tendrils on. During the Change twenty-nine years earlier, the Green had swallowed everything from cities to farms, sending the remnants of humanity scurrying to the few regions too dry, too wet, or too high for plants to survive. Fee hadn’t been alive back then, but she’d heard the stories.
So it wasn’t a stretch to believe the Green would now be fighting back against the destruction a lone fire mage could wreak. Despite the danger, though, Fee had worked fast and the plants had lacked time to transition from winter slumber to active retaliation.
Malachi hummed something that could have been complaint or possibly encouragement. Whatever it was, Fee could tell he didn’t quite believe her. Still, her father was too far away to know for sure whether she told the truth.
“They’re homing in on the electrical signature,” she said quickly, stepping closer to the flames in an effort to strengthen her resolve. It didn’t matter that soot clogged her nostrils and burned her eyes. She always felt stronger in the proximity of fire. “I’m gonna turn off the cell phone to give myself space to work. Don’t worry, though. I know what I’m doing.”
Not that Malachi ever worried. He wouldn’t worry now either, not even when she powered the device down without giving him time for a reply. Not even when she was the only pawn presently on the board in the face of an enemy so much more powerful than the Green itself.
Malachi wouldn’t worry because he knew that Fee would obey him without question. Minor rebellions like dropping his call were one thing. A major rebellion like taking advantage of this wall of flames and using the distraction to disappear into the wilderness? No daughter of Malachi’s would be so stupid as to try to evade his grasp.
Fee tried to talk herself into proving her father wrong. Into walking away from this battle she’d been enrolled in since birth. She yearned to escape the father who manipulated her and hurt her and—she suspected—didn’t even know how to begin loving her.
But she couldn’t. Instead, running across the charred earth in the wake of the flames, she chased her personal inferno up onto the hilltop. There, ultra-flammable pines were already sizzling into life…but not the kind of life the Green preferred. Instead, this was a plant’s afterlife, one flaming pillar of catharsis reaching toward the pure blue sky, grasping at the smoke, clinging onto the skyline.
Beyond the flames, a city that had once been Knoxville stretched out across the valley below. Down there, the jungle was unseasonably active, vibrant leaves shielding most of the original human habitations from view. Because the Green didn’t sleep so close to the dragons’ Aerie. No, the plants reached upwards toward the high rises where dragons and humans still lived in all of the luxury of Before. Where they lived in all the luxury Fee had heard about but had never really been able to imagine.
The dragons refused to share that luxury with fire mages like her father. So Malachi had resolved to take it by force…or at least to ensure the dragon cities couldn’t be used against him when he constructed high rises of his own.
As she watched, a black speck took off from the top of the golden globe just west of the Aerie proper. Winged beast dipped, rose, then arrowed directly toward her location. The fire had been spotted and a dragon was on its way.
“I did everything you asked, Papa Bug,” Fee murmured, using the childhood endearment with a sad smile on her lips. Because even though she’d obeyed Malachi’s instructions to the letter, she knew his plans would fail. After all, the rebellion depended upon her reaching the Aerie safely…
…And the flames had eluded her grasp, growing a mind of their own while their maker was peering out across the valley below. Now they encircled her body in a wall of overwhelming heat, dense smoke not only tearing her eyes but also rasping her breath. Her head was already growing muzzy, her thoughts slowing to a snail’s pace.
“The fire,” she muttered. “I can still guide the fire.”
So she did. But not the way Malachi would have wished. No, rather than asking the flames to move along and leave the closest trees untouched, she pushed the heat deeper into the leaf mold at her feet. Deeper even than that until the earth itself ignited.
“I always knew I’d go up in flames,” Fee whispered. Then, with a smile on her face, she slid away into darkness.
This limited-time anthology is no longer available. But you can snag a copy of Incendiary Magic in the free Shifter Origins box set.
Branching out a little further from the urban fantasy and paranormal books I recommended last time, today’s post is all about top reads in other subgenres of fantasy (notably fairy tales and romantic fantasy).
Death Sworn by Leah Cypress is a perfect fantasy read, with a strong but flawed heroine, an intriguing setup, and enough moral ambiguity to keep me guessing. Plus assassins. Who doesn’t love assassins?
Out of Time by Monique Martin is time-travel fantasy that feels like historical fiction. How can you not enjoy reading about a modern grad student having to get a job in a Depression-era speakeasy in order to pay the rent? (At the time of this post, this title is FREE.)
Cinderella and the Colonel by K.M. Shea feels less like a Cinderella story and more like a fantasy with interesting worldbuilding and a good moral conundrum to work through. Recommended for fans of fairy tales and romantic fantasy alike. (At the time of this post, this title is in Kindle Unlimited.)
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge is probably the most believable Beauty and the Beast retelling I’ve ever read. There’s fascinating, history-based world-building that really matches the fairy tale…but I’ll warn you, the story goes to some pretty dark places.
How about you? What’s the best fantasy book you’ve read so far this summer? Click on the facebook link below and let me know!
I realized I hadn’t regaled you with my list of Favorite Recent Reads for a few long months. Time to catch up…starting with the genres you’re likely to enjoy the most — urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
Agent of Enchantment by C.N. Crawford and Alex Rivers is my most highly recommended title for this period. The blend of unique worldbuilding, London history, and just the right amount of psychobabble turned an already gripping urban fantasy into a major winner. (At the time of this post, this title is in kindle unlimited.)
Where the Wild Things Bite by Molly Harper is a close runnerup. This is a human-meets-vampire romance including ancient books and wilderness survival situations plus a really funny authorial voice that kept me laughing as I turned pages way too quickly.
Rebel Wolf by Amy Green has an extraordinarily hooky beginning — a grad student goes to visit a werewolf in prison, trying to talk him into being her research subject. Highly recommended for fans of T.S. Joyce. (At the time of this post, this title is free.)
And, speaking of T.S. Joyce, she writes books faster than I can read them (which is saying something!). My favorite of her titles this time around was Gray Back Ghost Bear, which includes the author’s patented feel-good romance with great characters, a real storyline, and this time ghosts! (At the time of this post, this title is in kindle unlimited.)
If you want more book recommendations (along with limited-time sales I tend not to post over here), be sure to sign up for my newsletter. And, in the meantime, maybe you’ll click on the facebook link below and let me know which recent urban fantasy and paranormal romance reads you thoroughly enjoyed?
Do you love the Mercy Thompson series, about a coyote shifter running with werewolves? Or perhaps you prefer the Alpha & Omega series, which follows an entirely new kind of werewolf — one so low on the totem pole that she calms unruly tempers just by entering the room. Either way, all good things must come to an end, and eventually you run out of the gateway drug. What comes next?
I asked a bunch of readers, and here were the most common replies:
Kelley Armstrong’s Otherworld series is arguably the most like the Mercy Thompson series in overall feel. If anything, the former series feels a hair derivative of the latter…but who am I to complain when I love Mercy Thompson so much that I let my heroine read Briggs’ newest novel in the beginning of my first werewolf book?
Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series is probably a close second on the similarity scale, adding in more action and worldbuilding but lowering the romance quotient a bit. Or maybe I just don’t have as much chemistry with Curran as I do with Adam? Either way, I highly recommend giving this series an extensive try.
Faith Hunter’s Jane Yellowrock series begins branching out into classic urban fantasy that is less closely related to Patricia Briggs’ works in ways other than genre. However, the Native American element (which is strong in certain Mercy Thompson books) is also present here, providing an extra link between the two series.
Eileen Wilks’ World of the Lupi has less of an urban-fantasy feel, at least in the first book which veers strongly toward the whodunit. But there’s enough shifter action and culture so that I suspect the series will float many Briggs’ fans’ boat despite veering off in a totally different direction. (Different can be good, right?)
Shannon Meyer’s Rylee Adamson series is also a crowd pleaser, with a werewolf pet and plenty of other magical beings plus a healthy quotient of action and mystery.
Hailey Edwards Gemini series is another werewolf-packed urban-fantasy saga (although this one is indie published and will be harder to find at your local library).
My own Wolf Rampant and Alpha Underground series were intended to scratch a similar itch as well — I ran out of the type of werewolf books I wanted to read and decided to write my own. As a bonus, you can try the first book in each trilogy for free in my Shifter Origins box set.
If you’re still in search of urban fantasy after all that, this Goodreads list is full of up-to-the-moment information. Happy reading!
Cerulean Magic is now live on Amazon! This second novel in the Dragon Mage series follows a minor character from book 1 (Sabrina Fairweather) and is designed to be entirely understandable as a standalone. Here’s what early readers have to say about it:
This book has it all. Bad guys, good guys, people you can love and people you can hate. Action, adventure, and love. — VaWineLover
Does NOT disappoint! — Robin
Dragons, Magic and Adventure…who could ask for more??? — Sara F
Full of excitement and adventure — LHill
Sabrina turned out to be a very secretive, twisty character, so her book soon took on the same characteristics. As a result, I had to do more rewriting than usual, but I hope the final product will keep you on the edge of your seat. Enjoy!
If you missed the beginning of Nicholas’s chapter, please click here to catch up.
She. The word smacked Nicholas across the face just as his brother had intended, and his feet turned toward the stairwell as the fastest path to achieve his destination.
“There’s no big hurry,” Alexander called after his retreating back. “One of the visiting sloggers said she’d been up there for two hours already. He thought the female was one of us. Imagine, a silver dragon and he had no idea she didn’t belong.”
Nicholas could well imagine. Mudsloggers — or sloggers for short — were ordinary humans who occasionally visited the Aerie to trade or work. They were inevitably terrified of dragons, or were at least in awe of the tremendous beasts who prevented the Green from overrunning the few skyscraper safe zones where both dragons and humans lived in harmony. Why should a slogger bother to consider color and gender when the mere presence of a dragon was enough to make most of them piss their pants?
“She shifted?” Nicholas called backwards even as he pulled at his own inner fire and felt fiery wings pop out of human shoulder blades. Stairs were faster than the elevator…especially when you were a dragon and able to fly.
“Nope,” his brother answered, matching him wingbeat for wingbeat. Together, they pushed upwards, navigating the nine stories between kitchen and roof in the time it would have taken for the elevator to ascend a single level.
“She’s leaving then.” Nicholas wasn’t sure why his stomach lurched at the thought. Probably just because he’d never met a female dragon before. Never imagined there were sisters out there to match the brothers — some of his blood, all of his heart — with whom he shared this aerial retreat.
Because there weren’t new dragons being born or made. Every shifter had popped into existence three decades earlier at the same time normal plants morphed into the dangerous Green. Perhaps that was why learning about a female dragon after all this time felt like stepping into a fairy tale where knights and dragons were matched by princesses and tasks of honor.
“Hasn’t even spread her wings,” Alexander countered. Then, catching Nicholas’s arm before the latter could push open the heavy metal door that stood between them and the open summit of the Plaza, his brother admonished, “Slow down. You don’t want to scare her away.”
Nicholas couldn’t slow down, though. Instead, his feet rushed forward, hip thrusting out to press against the release bar in the middle of the door. Sister. The word danced like a newfound secret down his spine and for a moment Nicholas remembered what secrets used to feel like before they’d turned into a burden nearly impossible to bear.
Still, he forced himself to pause after stepping out into the cool, damp tang of evening so his eyes could adjust to the rapidly fading light. Back in the Before, the rooftop would have been ablaze with the glow of electric bulbs, the city beneath so brilliant it made stars in the sky impossible to pick out of the smoggy skyline. Now, the Aerie faded into near darkness as soon as evening fell, only a few beacons of light shining to the north, south, and west where five other buildings rose high enough in the air to provide refuge from the Green.
But Nicholas had no attention to spare for either absent lights or pesky vines that were unable to breach his current elevated location. Instead, his gaze locked onto the beast perched atop the tremendous air-conditioning unit that rose above the roof’s otherwise flat surface.
Silvery hide reflected the last rays of the setting sun and a long tail twined sinuously around the vertical wall below. The strange dragon appeared to be relaxing, basking even. But her eyes were open wide, her muscles tensed as if to flee. And Nicholas found himself motioning his brother backward with a single wave of one desperate hand.
“Go below,” he commanded, knowing even as he spoke that he was screwing up already. Dragons weren’t good at at obeying orders, and Alexander was likely to do the exact opposite when faced with a stark demand.
But…a female dragon. The notion must have filled his brother with every bit as much awe as Nicholas felt, because footsteps obligingly retreated back toward the stairwell from which they’d both come. The door clicked open and clanged shut once more, then Nicholas was alone with the biggest secret he’d uncovered in his entire life.
I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek into Sabrina and Nicholas’s world! If so, keep reading Cerulean Magic here. Or why not join the conversation on facebook?
Thanks for reading!