Magical Lover (29 page)

“There was a mature Halfling female and a captured male Draconi locked in dragon form.”

Two heartbeats later, the room erupted. A grin attempted a run on his lips and he quashed the emotion before it spread. It was always fun to bring back shocking news.

“A Halfling female!”

“What’s the dragon’s name?”

“Where is the boy Halfling now?”

Questions peppered Thoren and Enar faster than they could answer, rendering both silent as a defense. Eventually Alviss would call for order, allowing them to report. And as expected, a short time later the old male’s cane thumped against the marble floors.

Thud. “Silence!” Thud, thud, thud. Voices died, drifting away to the edges of the room.

“First things first. How did you find the boy Halfling?” Alviss pointed the tip of his cane at them.

“When he wandered out of Thoren’s containment spell. He’s been wandering ever since.” Enar voice dripped weariness. Going by the tone of Enar’s voice, Jamie must have given his friend a larger dose of trouble than he had earlier admitted.

A bushy white eyebrow popped up. “You are two of our best reconnaissance specialists. How could you not ward an area to contain a Halfling?”

Thoren felt his cheeks heat. “We didn’t realize what he was.”

“Pardon? Are your eyes giving you trouble?”

“No sir. The boy does not have the typical Halfling coloring. He has brown hair and gray eyes.”

Another round of murmuring followed by a thumping cane.

“We knew Bjorn had a Halfling boy, but we did not know about this.”

Bjorn was Jamie’s father? Thoren fought to keep his gaping mouth closed. Bjorn had been one of Thoren’s closest friends as a child despite being several years his senior, but they grew apart in recent years. Last he’d heard, Bjorn had disappeared several months ago. And Enar confirmed he died. Thoren took a deep breath and closed his eyes, saying a quick prayer for Bjorn’s soul. Grieving would come later.

“Does he use magic?”

“None that I saw. What about you?” Thoren turned to Enar.

“Not unless you consider a penchant for climbing trees and falling out of them magic.”

“Maybe you didn’t give him the right incentive. We’ll question him ourselves.”

Oh, that would go over really well with Keara. She protected Jamie like a mother dragon did her hatchlings.

“He’s injured—”

“Falling out of a tree. He thought he could fly,” Enar chimed in.

“He broke his leg and arm and is being tended by the Halfling female we found.”

“And my Claim.” Enar stood a little taller.

The Watchers’ gazes landed on Enar and Viktor snarled. Thoren’s hands cranked into fists. What he wouldn’t give for a fight with Viktor. Hatred was not an emotion he normally felt, but Enar’s father brought it out like a burst from an exploding energy ball.

Alviss’s questioning continued, rolling right over Enar’s statement and Thoren’s anger.

“Draconi heal fast. We’ll speak with him tomorrow or the next day. Tell us about the female. How did we not hear of a mature Halfling?”

“I don’t know the answer to that. But the town we found them in is full of superstitious people who convinced her magic was evil and she was, too. Don’t worry, I’ve convinced her otherwise. Her name is Keara and she was…is…an apothecary. Annaliese has taken her on as an apprentice.”

“You’ve been here long enough for her to meet Annaliese?”

“I returned with Keara several days ago. I went through the Change while on the mission,” Balthor’s face turned into a mask of horror, “and gave her a crash course on helping me, but she absorbed the magic and went into a coma.”

Now all the Draconi faces matched Balthor’s horrified glare and the Watchers looked puzzled. While the Watchers knew male Draconi underwent a Change, they didn’t know what it involved.

“She lived despite absorbing magic?” Alviss’s coloring matched his hair.

“She did. I turned and flew her back. Figured it was an extenuating circumstance.”

“Of course, of course. Are you sure she absorbed your energy?”

“Both she, the High Priestess, and Annaliese said that’s what she did. She’s tending Jamie, the boy Halfling.”

“We need to speak with her too. Now about the dragon.” Alviss made a circular motion with his hand.

“We found him in a dungeon—”

“What were you doing in a dungeon?”

“Rescuing Keara. She’d been captured. Oh, speaking of which,” Keara distracted him to the point where he completely forgot about important safety news. Mated males were apparently head-full-of-air fools. “One of her captors was a Draconi.”

“A Draconi?” Alviss gripped his chair’s arms in a white-knuckled grasp. “Who? Did you see this male?”

“I did not. Keara said she recognized him by his mark.”

“She was also drugged up but good,” Enar added.

“So it’s possible she did not really see a Draconi?” Alviss asked.

“I suppose. But she was insistent on that fact and she remembered everything that happened to her. The drug didn’t affect her memory. She said the Draconi wanted to use her for revenge.”

“We will question her about that. It’s very disturbing. Continue with the dragon.”

“As I said, we were in a dungeon and there he was. Apparently, he’d been captured many years ago while in human form and he Changed while in the dungeon,” as one, the Draconi shuddered, eyes wide, “and is now stuck in dragon form. He arrived at the Temple earlier today.”

“Why did he not come back with you?”

Thoren shrugged and looked to Enar.

Enar’s heavy shoulders bunched. “I don’t know why, but he came with me, not Thoren.”

“He’ll also be questioned. How was he captured?”

Thoren shrugged. “I don’t know, but the bars of the cell were made out of titanium.”

“Titanium? How can a mere human know titanium renders a Draconi’s powers useless?”

“I don’t know.” Mated Draconi males were forgetful fools; he almost missed telling about Bjorn’s death. “Enar discovered Jamie’s father is dead.”

Alviss’s eyes widened, his mouth tightening. “How?”

Enar related what he knew about Bjorn’s death and his speculations regarding the rogue Draconi trying to capture Jamie before he tried capturing Keara.

“That is a major security threat. We cannot have humans working with Draconi to capture Halflings. We will send a team tomorrow to eradicate the problem. Do you know anything else about this dragon?”

“Sir, I discovered how the dragon was captured,” Enar said.

Thoren glanced at Enar. Some inner voice told him Fafnir hadn’t gotten all close and personal with Enar, so how did the Watcher know that tidbit of information? More gossip?

“Well, we’re waiting.” Alviss leaned forward.

“He was visiting River’s Run and ran afoul of one of the nobles there who somehow knew of titanium’s effect on Draconi. I’m not sure why the noble captured him, but Fafnir cast a spell on the noble before he was thrown in the cell and the man went crazy.”

“Serves the human right. Do you know more than that?”

“No sir. I didn’t discover more about his story.”

“Very well. We’ll question all involved and find out the answers ourselves. First we’ll talk to the female, you said her name was Keara?” Thoren nodded. “We’ll try to discover who her father was. Please bring her to us.”

Thoren nodded and closed his eyes, sifting through the thoughts of Draconi surrounding him and the point where he last saw Keara. He found her thought pattern in the healing room and took a hop into her mind.

Keara?

Thoren? Where are you? What’s wrong?

The Council would like to speak to you. Can you transport here or do you need me to bring you?

Where’s here?

Hold on and I’ll bring you.

Thoren used his newly awakened powers to transport Keara from the infirmary to the Council’s Chamber. She took shape beside him, the scent of herbs wafting around her. One hand reached out and clutched his palm as she stared at the thirteen in front of her. The acrid scent of fear slapped against his nostrils, but her shoulders arched back, her spine straightening.

Courage in the face of fear attracted him.

He wrapped his fingers around hers, running his thumb over her mark. Her fear receded, rolling away like dust on a breeze. Her palm felt small, tiny even, in his hand. As if it needed protection. Just like she did. A female needed her mate’s protection, his caring, his love. In the same way a male needed his female like he needed the air beneath his wings. Without her, he remained grounded, a useless vessel, living, but not alive. With her though...

Thoren gave Keara a sideways glance as she looked at him. He smiled and stood a bit straighter.

“May I present Keara, the Halfling female from River’s Run. Keara, this is the High Council, the group in charge of security for Draconia.”

Keara dipped her head. “Pleased to meet you.”

Even with his thumb stroking her mark, her hand shook. Guess relaxation only went so far. Where she was concerned Alviss was an old dog with no teeth. He’d never hurt a female. The thought was ludicrous. But Thoren could understand Keara’s fear. Where she came from, this little visit meant disaster.

Understanding didn’t mean he agreed, though.
They mean you no harm.

Her eyes flicked to him and then refocused on Alviss, her thoughts banked. Good to know his lessons on shielding her mind met with success.

“Greetings, Keara. I am Alviss, the Grand Master of the Council. We have some questions for you. Will you be so kind as to answer them for us?”

The kindness in Alviss’s voice must have relaxed Keara because Thoren no longer scented fear wafting from her. Her hand still shook, though.

“If I know the answers, sir.”

“Of course, of course. Now, tell me about your parents.”

“My mother died when I was a young child and I never knew my father.”

“No one knew your father?”

“My mother never spoke of him.”

“Come, child. Let me see your mark.” Alviss’s hand beckoned her forward.

Keeping a death grip on Thoren’s hand, Keara drug her feet toward where Alviss sat. Was he actually able to tell her bloodline by looking at her mark? Perhaps this is what Ari meant when she said Alviss could deduce Keara’s family.

Keara pressed her lips together, dragged a breath through her nose and stuck her arm out. Alviss grasped her outstretched arm, raised her sleeve and peered intently at her mark. A gnarled finger stroked across the dragon imprint before pressing hard. Thoren felt the thrum of magic beat against his palm from where it touched Keara’s. Her hand tightened against his as her body went rigid, her teeth grinding hard enough to hear.

And then she went limp.

Thoren caught her around the waist, lifting her into his arms. Steam poured out his ears, his lip peeling into a snarl. His mate hurt. Reasoning fled, instinct taking over. His mate hurt and the cause of it must die.