“We’ll continue this in our next session, Ms. Knight,” Thrackborne clipped, motioning for me to leave. “It seems my next appointment has arrived.”
Chapter Fifteen
Dante
I didn’t miss the way Thrackborne’s hands clenched into fists as Bechora Knight brushed by me on her way out of his office. The overgrown lizard stared after my mate in a way that made me want to snatch her up and lock her away in a tower, high enough only I could ever reach her, which would be impossible considering the male I wanted to snatch her away from was a dragon. My sudden possessive streak was going to be an issue if I didn’t get it under control.
“Slumming with mages now?” I managed to say as I painted on a smirk and stepped into his office, closing the door behind me.
“I am their head of house thanks to Vallynn’s meddling,” he drawled, arching a brow at me.
Sometimes it seemed like Caulder Thrackborne could read the thoughts I kept hidden away. His posture was a challenge, but whether it was one meant to make me spill my secrets or one meant to lay claim to the woman who’d just vacated the room, I couldn’t be sure. Neither option sat well with me. I wasn’t about to tell the dragon the fiery redhead was my mate, not after I’d kept it from Vallynn.
Vallynn, feeling the pull of a fated bond to the female, put her firmly off limits, no matter my own connection to her. Anything less would have been cruel. After everything we’d been through, I wouldn’t parade my connection to the female in front of Vallynn, knowing that he couldn’t ever acknowledge their connection without painting a target on her back. None of that meant I was going to roll over and let thefeather-brained dragon take her, though.
“Where is the princeling?” Caulder asked, moving to sit behind his desk.
“Just me today, flames,” I grinned. “Vallynn felt it would be better if he were seen on campus courting his fiancée and appearing to bend to his father’s wishes.”
Caulder opened a drawer in his desk and retrieved a pass for leaving campus before hastily scrawling his signature along the bottom. “Very well. You know where to meet, you can give me the details there. The sooner we get this done, the better.”
“Got big plans there, Smokey?” I snorted, snatching the slip from his outstretched hand. Caulder merely scowled as a plume of smoke flowed from his nostrils and obscured his face. “Fine, don’t tell me.” I shrugged.
The dragon growled, and I flipped him off as I strode toward the office door. I couldn’t help the nagging sensation that his irritation was more than his usual annoyance at my presence. If I were a paranoid male, I’d almost make the leap that he was angered over my interrupting his meeting with Bechora. By the time I reached the campus gates, I’d resolved to figure out what the damned dragon was doing in his meetings with my mate.
Caulder was waiting for me, pacing impatiently, when I made it to the small, secluded lake off campus. I could have shifted into my gargoyle form and flown, but I couldn’t resist needling the dragon by taking my time walking instead. Scales rippled over his bare arms, and each puff of his breath contained sparks of flame. I couldn’t stop the satisfied grin that split my face over how much I got under his thick hide.
“You walked,” he snarled as I drew to a stop a few yards away from him. “Did you forget that time is of the essence in these little missions of ours?”
“Chill, we have time,” I replied. “Our information says the King is still planning his attack. We have at least a few more days before he sends someone after the female. A few extra minutes for me to stretch my legs isn’t going to change that.”
“A female?” Caulder asked, tilting his head for me to continue.
“A sphinx, from what Vallynn has been able to gather.”
Caulder stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Sphinxes are rare, and their ability to see the future makes them nearly impossible to be found if they don’t want to be. The princeling’s informant is sure this is the King’s next target?”
“Positive. The King’s scribes found something in the historical archives that would help him avoid the female from foreseeing his movements, but they’re missing Selir knows what to make it work. He’s sent someone to the human realm to retrieve whatever it is they need.”
“How can we even be sure the location we’re headed to is where we’ll find her?”
“Simple,” I shrugged. “She contacted Vallynn and told him where to find her before his father can make his move, and our informant gave us the rough timeline for the excursion to the human realm.”
“Fine. Lead the way,” Caulder replied, motioning for me to step back so he could shift. “Just know, if this turns out to be a trap of some sort, you’ll be digesting in my stomach faster than you could make any of your smartass remarks.”
I rolled my eyes with a snort and let my stone form take over as I moved out of range of the shifting dragon. Not waiting for him to transform, I launched myself skyward and turned north. The loud flapping of dragon wings echoed behind me as the other male took flight. I didn’t bother goading him as I focused on navigating to our destination as night bloomed over the land. Gargoyles had nearly unmatched night vision, but I needed to focus on the landmarks speeding past below us to ensure we reached our destination.
We flew for hours, cities and towns falling away until there was little more than trees beneath us. As much as our realm's advancements seemed to mirror those of the human realm, the northernmost parts of our lands remained wild and untainted. It was almost like the magic of our homelandprotected the region from even the thought of altering it in favor of technological and industrial change.
“There,” I called over my shoulder to Caulder as I spotted a small cabin built into a large, old tree.
Caulder blew out a puff of smoke and dove toward the ground. Tucking my wings tightly to my side, I let myself fall like granite toward the earth, smiling at the idea of aiming for the lizard’s back as my landing spot. At almost the last second, I opened my wings, letting the air buffer my fall and slow my descent until I landed gently on the purple grass a few feet from the cabin door. Caulder landed at the same moment, allowing the shift back to his human form to take over just before his feet touched down.
“Show off,” I grumbled.
Caulder shot me a smirk before whipping his head in the direction of the cabin. The sound of movement inside drew my attention just as the door swung open wide. A short, round woman with gray hair thrown into a loose bun bustled outside to greet us. My eyes widened at the two plaid-colored suitcases, almost the size of the woman, tucked one under each arm. I had to bite the inside of my cheek so as not to chuckle at her overall appearance.
For a powerful sphinx, she was much less put together than I expected. Her bright pink sweater was clearly made from homespun yarn and had a smattering of small holes from missed stitches. The pants she wore were patched more times than I could begin to guess, only the tiniest hint of their original orange color peeking through. To top it all off, she had human realm combat boots on her feet, laced halfway up to show the green and beige striped socks beneath.
