Page 7 of Must Love Dragons (Sable Cove #4)

Zay got out of Kinsley’s car in the parking lot of the lighthouse’s marina and gas dock. The sun was just now rising, and the bay rippled with ambers and oranges as the sun rose above the horizon. He inhaled, picking up the scents of saltwater, fish, and wet wood.

The lighthouse stood to the left, and he’d heard from Kinsley—who had nervously chattered the short drive, and he did not find that endearing at all—that the merman lighthouse keeper and his mate—who was a fairy and witch combination he’d never heard of—lived at the lighthouse and kept watch over the nearby beach and small marina with gas dock.

They walked down a path to the docks, the wood creaking under his boots, the air thick with fog.

His dragon paced under his skin, restless and agitated. He didn’t like being where his uncle had been abducted because he could feel faint magic in the air.

Mostly, though, he didn’t like that he wasn’t alone.

Kinsley walked a step ahead, her head turning slightly back and forth as she looked around the docks, searching for something. She seemed at ease, like the knowledge that dark magic users had been there didn’t bother her.

She knelt at the edge of the dock, her fingers brushing lightly over the damp wood as she whispered words he couldn’t quite make out but was very certain were a spell of some kind. Then with a little flare, she summoned fire.

It wasn’t wild, it was controlled, held in the palm of her hand, flickering yellow and orange. His fists clenched as he told himself he should look away and ignore the way the light reflected off her hair, turning the chestnut strands into molten copper.

But he didn’t. He couldn’t.

He was mesmerized.

He could summon fire in his dragon form, but she called to it and spoke to it in a way he’d never witnessed. She turned her hand over and the flame pulsed and expanded, moving along the wooden dock like it was alive.

Fucking magic.

But damn.

He could feel how powerful she was, like his dragon recognized it, and responded to it.

His gut churned. He shouldn’t respect her power, but seeing her wield it now, watching her control and concentration, he couldn’t deny she was strong. And strength was something he could relate to.

Kinsley’s brow furrowed.

The flames illuminated the dock where she knelt, and he could see something in the flames, but he didn’t know what it was.

He moved closer before he could stop himself. “What do you see?”

She glanced at him. “It’s not what I see, it’s what I feel. There were dark magic users here for sure, but we already knew that.”

“Is anything you discovered helpful?” he asked.

Her brow furrowed as she pressed her palm flat to the wood, the flames flaring brighter and then dimming. “Something’s wrong.”

“What does that mean?”

“The magic is cloaked,” she said, frustration in her voice.

“Someone deliberately covered their tracks. They used dark magic, and it basically erased itself. I should have been able to follow the magic and get a vision of where they are, but I can’t.

They wiped the evidence of their tracks like an eraser on a chalkboard. ”

His stomach dropped.

Damn it. He needed her to track the warlocks so he could find his uncle. But after letting his guard down with her, they were back to nothing.

Kinsley moved her hand over the flames and snuffed them out. She stood, brushing her hands on her jeans. “I’m sorry, Zay.”

And then she swayed on her feet, her eyes flashing to copper for a moment. Before he could think, his hand shot out and he gripped her arm to steady her.

Her skin was warm beneath his fingers.

He let go fast, his dragon growling in protest.

“I’m fine,” she said.

His dragon pushed forward, wanting to be closer. He shoved down the protective growl in his throat.

But as she looked back to the dock, he couldn’t help but watch her again. Noticing things he shouldn’t, like the way the scent of her fire magic clung to her skin, mingling with something wild and untamed.

His dragon purred, happy to be so close to her.

“So that’s it?” he asked, mentally pushing the beast away so he could concentrate. He was not enchanted with her, damn it. “No way to track them?”

She turned back to him. “Not unless you know someone who can break through cloaking magic, because I can’t and I don’t know anyone who can. We’re at a dead end.”

It had been a waste of time. He should have just taken off into the clouds again and tried to find Rorik by scent as he had before. He’d been so close. If that damned warlock hadn’t shot him with magic, he’d have been able to get Rorik to safety.

And then he would never have met Kinsley.

His dragon let out a snarl of denial.

And then… a sharp prickle of awareness ran down his spine.

He turned with a snarl.

They weren’t alone.

The sun had risen fully and burned off some of the fog while he’d been watching her play with fire.

Kinsley stiffened next to him, and he was sure she felt it too.

He stepped in front of her, every instinct screaming at him to be ready for whatever might come.

He saw it finally, in the trees along the path. A person watching.

Just as quickly as he focused on the person, they disappeared.

“What the hell?” he muttered.

“Do you smell that?” she asked.

He inhaled and wrinkled his nose. “Sulfur.”

“Telltale sign of dark magic. Whoever that was, it’s safe to say it’s one of the warlocks that took your uncle, because nothing smells like sulfur except fireworks, matches, and dark magic.”

“We need to go,” he said.

He looked at her when he could feel her hesitation.

“You said you couldn’t track him, so staying here, out in the open is useless. And if they’re watching us, it means that they know I’m the one they took down and they had someone watching the docks.”

He took her arm and guided her toward her car. His dragon didn’t like retreating, especially not when it came to warlocks, but he wasn’t about to take on a dangerous enemy with Kinsley there.

When they reached her car, they got in and he said, “Get us back to the rescue.”

She nodded and peeled out of the parking lot.

He looked over his shoulder but didn’t see anyone following them.

He exhaled and forced himself to relax. His dragon paced in his mind, angry at the retreat.

His dragon was a fighter and never wanted to back down, but without knowing how many warlocks were around, it was foolish to do anything but get to safety and then figure things out.

Beside him, Kinsley gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles were white.

“They were really waiting for us, weren’t they?” she asked.

“It seems so.” Posting someone to watch the docks meant they knew he’d come looking for Rorik. While he wanted a fight with the warlocks who’d taken nearly everything from him, he wasn’t alone.

She’s not mine to protect.

His dragon’s instincts were screaming otherwise.

He ran a hand through his hair and sat back against the seat.

“We need a plan,” she said.

“No, I need a plan.”

“You can’t go against warlocks, Zay. Especially not warlocks that are using dark magic. Do you not get how close you were to dying earlier? And I still never got that damned thank you.”

He bit back a smile. She was so damn feisty.

“Thank you.”

“If I have to ask for a thank you then it doesn’t really mean as much.”

“You literally asked me two times to say thank you. So now I have. Are you ever satisfied?”

“I’m very hard to please,” she said. She gave him a serious look for a moment and then she smiled as she turned her gaze to the windshield. “But I’m very worth it.”

He bet she was.

“Anyway,” he said. “I’m not alone. I have other clan members and I can meet with them and we can find my uncle. I’ll search for him as I did before, by scent.”

“You have no idea how dangerous a coven of warlocks messing with black magic can be. You need allies.”

“Are you talking about your coven?” he asked, wary.

“Yes.”

“Hell no.”

“Why on earth won’t you trust me, Zay?” she demanded. She stopped at the back of the rescue and turned to face him, her gaze pleading. “Tell me what happened to your clan. Tell me why warlocks took your uncle and nearly killed you. And mostly, tell me why you hate me so much.”

“I don’t hate you.”

“Could have fooled me.”

He clenched his jaw. She wanted answers, and he’d never shared his past with anyone. He had every intention of shutting her down, but the way she was looking at him? Like he was everything she’d ever wanted in the world, and she wanted to help him at any cost.

It was messing with his head.

He got out of the car and shut the door, scanning the yard to make sure he didn’t pick up signs of anyone watching them.

Magic users were bad.

They took and they killed and they destroyed.

But Kinsley had risked herself to save his life.

She got out of the car and moved toward him slowly like he was a frightened pup that might spook.

“You don’t want to get involved.”

“It’s too late for that. You crashed into the rescue’s backyard, and I saved your life. I’m already involved.”

“You helped me, and I appreciate it. But this isn’t your fight.”

The scent of fire still clung to her, sweet and wild, and his dragon rumbled in response.

“You don’t know what you’re asking,” he said.

“Then tell me.”

She was so close he could feel her warmth. His dragon went quiet.

He should step away from her. Turn and walk off.

Instead, he couldn’t stop thinking about how much he wanted to touch her.

This was a fucking mistake.

She was a magic user and magic users were not to be trusted. He should turn tail and run. Back to his clan and the bookstore, regroup, and locate his uncle.

But he didn’t.

Instead, he stood his ground, staring down at her.

Despite himself, he couldn’t stop wanting to be near her. She was intoxicating on a level he didn’t wholly understand but damn did his dragon like it.

Crave it.

He wasn’t going to even think of the word that his dragon was trying to push on him. The reason they’d crossed paths.

Magical, mystical fate.

But no matter how his instincts screamed that he should walk away from the chestnut beauty, he knew one thing for certain: He wasn’t ready to walk away from her just yet.