Page 19 of So I Dared a Dragon (The Mating Game #6)

nineteen

. . .

Aarix

“This date is nothing but a distraction,” Magnus grunted. Since our visit to the mountains, it had been impossible to get him away from the window at our chalet suite. He stared at the mountains like he’d be able to detect the most minute change, one shred of hope that we’d pull off this seemingly impossible mission.

“It’s our best chance to get more information.” I sighed.

“When will we meet with the librarian and the archeologist?” Luca asked. He could hardly wait to get his hands on those tomes and connect with someone who was fluent in the past. “That’s where the real treasures lie. I’m afraid I agree with Magnus, Aarix. I’m glad you’ve had a chance to rekindle your relationship with Calista, but she can’t help us liberate the dragons trapped in that mountain.”

“Oh, I think she will.” My body warmed thinking about the last time I saw her. How she didn’t even realize how passionate and talented she was when it came to art. She was patient with me when I was unfamiliar with the materials. I’d worried how I’d fit into Calista’s everyday life. She made me want to be a part of the world she created with her imagination. “None of this is a coincidence. She led us here—”

“You owe a debt to the Rocky Mountain thunder,” Magnus corrected. “It’s convenient that the woman who tore the Night God’s plaything away from him happens to be starting a brand-new life at the foot of that mountain range. And every move she makes is recorded and broadcast to millions.”

“What are you saying, Magnus?” I stepped closer to him. I wouldn’t let him make any more baseless accusations.

“We need to keep our eyes wide open, that’s all. She wants…something.” He shook his head. “Not sure if she can get it from you, because she was looking for it before she came to us.”

“It will all reveal itself,” Luca said. “The truth always does. It’s waiting for us to be ready to accept it.”

I wiped my hand over my face. I’d known Calista was my mate before I dared to dream that I’d be free again.

So what was the truth?

History felt dangerously like it was repeating itself, like the Night God was toying with me—using Calista as bait to get me to do his bidding all over again.

Whether I got a look at those ancient tomes, compared them to my memory, and looked for clues of why the Rocky Mountain dragons had been erased from history, I planned on rewriting my story. I would right my wrongs.

“It’ll reveal itself sooner than we expected.” Magnus chuckled grimly. “Bibi’s here.”

Luca raised a brow. “We’re not coming with you this time, are we?”

“You don’t have to.” I still wouldn’t be alone with my mate, but it would be easier.

Magnus nodded at Luca.

I groaned. “What do you two have planned?”

“Conforming to the narrow scope of reality that these landbound shifters can process will not help us get inside that mountain,” Luca said matter-of-factly. “You’re not helping Calista by not showing her all of you, Aarix. She needs to understand who you really are.”

The problem was I didn’t know who I was anymore. The dragon who went into that cave didn’t know this new world.

“The world moved on without us,” I reminded them.

“That’s their problem, not ours,” Magnus scoffed.

An enthusiastic knock at the door interrupted the conversation. My mind was spinning; the guys were right, but I didn’t know how to find the answers to their questions. Or if we liberated those dragons, if we’d be making their lives better or worse.

Not even the fabulous fairy dragmother on the other side of the door could fix this one. We’d have to do it on our own terms, unapologetically.

“I’m so excited for tonight.” Bibi clapped her hands together. Today she was wearing a bright red wig, similar to Calista’s hair color, and a gold dress that looked like it was made out of foil. “And very thankful you were all available for a last-minute adventure.”

“It’s just me tonight,” I said. “These two have other plans.”

“Oh.” Bibi blinked rapidly, confusion written all over her face. “Is there any way you’d be able to postpone? Because I don’t think you want to miss this.”

I groaned inwardly.

“Aarix and Calista deserve some time on their own,” Magnus said, sounding much more pleasant than he had before her arrival.

“They’ll have plenty of it.” She put her hands on her hips. “I didn’t want to spoil the surprise, but tonight’s date is taking place at the not-yet-open Museum of Shifter History. You’ll be among the very first patrons to see the collections that a specialized team of archeologists, anthropologists, and curators have created. They’re very much looking forward to talking to actual dragons. It would be a very beneficial conversation for all involved.”

Magnus’s lips parted, and Luca’s face lit up. There was no way either of them could say no to that offer. Also….hot damn. I was excited to have a chance to look at their collections, especially before the exhibits opened to the public. Too much energy could dull magic.

I needed to manage my expectations. So far, everything pointed to the dragons being erased.

“Maybe we could reschedule,” Luca said. “That’s quite an opportunity.”

“You don’t have to be part of the date,” Bibi said. “You can stay off camera if you like. We’ll be headed to HQ first so Aarix can get ready and have his pre-date interview.”

We followed her out to the van. Something about Bibi was different tonight. Her energy was more subdued since the last time we saw her. Still gracious, but she wasn’t her usual chatty self, instead sticking to business.

A black suit was waiting for me in my trailer. I ran my hand over the velvety fabric of the jacket, admiring the pattern that looked like it had been burned into it. It was much nicer than any of the clothes we’d been given to this point. Not that they were poor quality. But like our interaction with Bibi, this was much more formal.

The black button-down shirt was thick and soft against my scales. They were sensitive, especially so soon after a shift. My body wasn’t quite the same this time—I’d expected to become more human, like Luca and Magnus had. But instead, I kept more of my scales, and my talons had grown, making it damn near impossible to work these tiny buttons…

“Come in,” I said, relieved that someone from the wardrobe department had arrived at the perfect time.

Instead, I turned and found Calista.

“Sweet moon. You’re gorgeous.” My mate looked like a dream. Her coppery red hair flowed down her back in gentle waves. Her lashes were dark and thick, her lips cherry red and begging for a taste. Tonight she wore a green dress with straps that fastened behind her neck, leaving her shoulders bare, and draping over her curves softly, like she was back in the caverns, tangled in my sheets all over again.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” She grinned and came closer. Her scent, her vibration, enveloped me in this tiny space and threatened to dissolve every ounce of self-control I had when it came to this woman. I reached for her, cradling her face gently in my hands. She was so beautiful, breakable, and the contrast between us was never starker than when I had my talons in her hair. She put her hand on top of mine. “Are you purring?”

“I’m thinking of what it will be like when you finally belong to me.”

“Tell me about it,” she said with a sigh, closing her eyes for a long blink.

“I want to kiss every inch of this body.” I ran my talon lightly along her jawline, loving the way she shivered at the gentle motion. “I want to see you naked in the sunshine.”

“Will you kiss me?” Her voice was practically a whisper. “Last time—”

I didn’t let her finish. I couldn’t. My mouth crashed against hers and we moved together like we were dancing to the frantic rhythm of our heartbeats, mixed with her vibration and my purring, as she called it. There were so many things I wanted to tell this woman, so many things I didn’t have words for.

But when we touched each other like this none of it mattered.

I forced myself to pull away from her before I brought her over to the tiny couch and ripped her dress off. My mate deserved better. She deserved respect. More than that, worship. As much as I dreamed about our time together in the caverns, our next time wouldn’t be anything like those hurried transactions laced with sadness. Even though I’d asked her to be mine, I knew I could never possibly keep her.

But now, I could have her in every way possible.

“As I was saying.” She grinned as she wiped her finger under her bottom lip to clean her ruined lipstick from her chin. “We didn’t kiss during our last date.”

“And you wanted to kiss me.”

“I want to do a lot more than that with you, dragon. My battery-operated boyfriend is getting a workout—”

“Your what?”

She gave me a coy smile. “It’s a sex toy. It vibrates, not quite like you, but what could possibly be like you? It takes the edge off.” She shrugged. “I’d be happy to show it to you. Sometime soon, I hope.”

“I’d like that. A lot.” My voice was rough with pure need and the sensation she called purring as I thought about her pleasuring herself. “But I have a request.”

“I’m all ears.”

“I don’t want you to take the edge off.” Echoing her words felt strange, because it wasn’t something I’d usually say. “I want you to save all that for me.”

“I can do that.” Her vibration intensified. “But first, I have to show you something. Two things, actually.”

Not until then did I notice that she had a little black bag over her shoulder. But—

“You didn’t wash off my painting.” It had been days since our last date, and they looked perfect. Real, even. I reached for her arm, but she shied away from me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Well, maybe everything. The scales won’t come off. I think they’re a part of me now.”

“Why don’t you want me to touch them?”

Her eyes darkened. “Because they feel so real, like you made me a dragon.”

I took her hand in mine, hating the way she trembled. Like she thought I would be angry with her.

“I have another request. Never apologize for any part of this beautiful body. Especially for wearing my mark.”

This time, she let me touch the scales. They felt so real they took my breath away. Tiny sparks of flame followed my movement as I brushed my finger lightly over them.

Her lips parted. “Did you know this would happen?”

I shook my head. “I painted your skin for my own satisfaction. I wanted to know what you’d look like as a dragon. I’d dreamed of it many times, but never quite like this.” I lifted her arm to my lips, shocked at how real the scales felt. How warm they were and how power vibrated from them with far more intensity than her usual frequency. “It was selfish of me, greedy even. What I didn’t tell you was that painting scales on a partner is part of our old mating rituals. It was how mates shared power.”

“Is that why I haven’t been able to feel my wolf since that night?” She swallowed hard. I hated that this scared her, but there was no plausible explanation for this.

“I was just about to ask you, are you sure you’re only a wolf?” I chuckled. “Not that I mean that it makes you insignificant in any way. I’m asking if you are mixed with any other species, because this shouldn’t have happened.

“As far as I know, I’m just a rank-and-file member of the Montana wolf pack. But maybe I could paint scales on you too, and we could see what kind of power I give you. If I have any to give.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“Was that disrespectful? I don’t know your traditions, but like I said, I have something else to show you.” She pulled a notebook out of the bag and handed it to me. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard about the incident at the library, where the ancient books erased themselves while I turned the pages?”

“No.” I growled. “Were you able to make out any of the words before the disappeared?”

“It happened yesterday, and it was the reason I pushed Bibi to set up the second date for tonight.” She motioned to the notebook. “Once I got back to Bibi’s house, I just started writing to see if it happened again. At first I was just telling a cute story; if nothing else, I figured I could write you a naughty tale. But then I blacked out, and my handwriting changed. Can you read this, or is all just gibberish?”

My mouth dropped as I took in the words. “Where did you learn this?”

She shrugged. “It just came to me. I don’t understand what all the words mean.”

“It looks like an agreement.” At first I’d only scanned the words written in her girlish handwriting. Those were just as salacious as she’d promised. But then the words changed, the handwriting bolder and the tone much colder. “Possibly between the dragons and the Night God.”

“What does it say?” She came closer, her skin brushing against mine. “No one knows about this. I had to get you another gift so I could sneak this in here.”

“It lays out what looks like terms of labor, and a plan for transition.” I shook my head. “I’ll need to give this to Luca. As a scribe, and someone who had never forgotten a detail, he’ll be most familiar with what the dragons had agreed to.”

And given away.

“I don’t know if I’m relieved or freaked out that it’s something important.” She gave me a tight smile and then reached into the black bag again. “I went shopping today to keep myself busy and found these in the antique shop. I don’t know if you can use them, but I thought they were perfect.”

She handed me a black box. It had more weight to it than I expected. Carefully, I peeled the lid away and gasped.

“I picture you wearing them on your talons,” she said. “I hope you like them.”

“Do you have any idea what these are?” The silver filigree was shaped like a cone and studded with tiny gemstones.

She shook her head.

“We used to wear these over our talons in ceremonies. High-ranking dragons would have these made.” I had a feeling I knew exactly who these belonged to. My contemporary in the Rocky Mountain thunder. The one who would’ve signed the contract that Calista had channeled. Like he was sending me a message. “These dragons haven’t been erased after all.”