“Demetrius. That is a good name. It has weight to it.” He nodded. “I am Kaspian.”
“Caspian?” I asked. “With a C? You Greek? I'm part Greek too.”
“Greek?” He mulled the word over. “That is a type of human?”
“Odd way of putting it, but yeah.”
“No, I am not Greek. I'm a Dragon, as I said earlier. And I spell my name with a K. It is an ancient, respected name in my dread.”
Before I could ask him about that dragon thing again or what a dread was, Kaspian with a K, lifted a hand and took a deep breath. The wind shifted, but that wasn't what made people shout. No, not shout—exclaim. Everyone within sight of the fire exclaimed in shock and then joy.
Because, as if the hand of God smacked them, the flames went out.
Chapter Two
Gone. The fire was gone. All of it, down to the embers. Not even a spark remained to ride the wind. The only proof that it had raged at all was the blackened forest and the smoke that hung over it.
“Holy fucking shit,” I whispered as shivers raced up and down my arms. “What was that?” I turned to look at Kaspian.
That's when his beauty really hit me. And I do mean beauty. The man wasn't just handsome. He was on another fucking level entirely. Young—maybe early thirties at most—and yet his hair was pure white. White, not platinum. I'd thought he was a blond at first, but now, with the fire out, I could see that it had been the reflection of flames that had painted his locks gold. That white hair hung in layered lines to his chin—the angles directing the eye to his face. As if anyone needed directions to get there. That face was a billboard all on its own.
The guy had bronzed skin. I would have said deeply tanned, but that wouldn't have described it properly. No, it was almost shimmery, as if he'd rubbed himself in one of those glowy body lotions that women loved. But up close as I was, I knew that was no lotion. It was natural. He just shone. His body gleamed with health, his skin shining as if celebrating the fact that it got to be so damn close to him. And then there were his eyes—bright green, almost too pale. But his irises had emerald rings around the perimeters to keep him from looking blind. Instead, it made his eyes look as if they were glowing too, much brighter than his skin. In fact, the depth of his skin intensified the brightness of his eyes.
As I said, he was beautiful.
I gaped at Kaspian as shouts of relief turned into cries of confusion. Firefighters were popping their lids left and right, looking down the line at Kaspian. After the commotion he caused, everyone nearby had been watching when Kas did his thing. It was who had extinguished the fire. And it was also impossible.
“You are all very strange humans.” Kaspian took in the amazed expressions and motioned his hand at the other firefighters in a regal manner. “Yes, yes, you're welcome.” He looked back at me. “Where is your king? Why did he allow this fire to get out of hand? Why not extinguish it?”
“Our king?” I snorted. “This is America, buddy. Our whole thing is about not having a king.”
“Your whole thing?”
“Our reason for being here. For making America. We're a land of immigrants, all coming together to be free of kings and dictators. We elect our rulers.” And why the hell was I explaining this to Kaspian as if it were perfectly natural for him to be there and not know he was in America or what America was all about?
“So, you elect your king?”
“We call him a president.”
“What the fuck is going on?” Gromit pushed through the group of gaping firefighters to confront Kaspian. “How did you do that, dude? What are you—a fucking magician? Is this a publicity stunt?” He looked around. “Are we on camera?”
“Gromit, you're a fucking moron.” Tank, AKA Hernandez, shoved his shoulder. “Those magicians can't do real magic. It's all tricks. Real magic doesn't exist.”
Kaspian started to laugh, but then he saw the way everyone was staring at him and stopped. “Where am Iexactly?”
“You're in Oregon,” I said. “It's a state in America.”
“America again. It must be like a kingdom.” Kaspian rubbed at his head. “What continent are we on?”
“The continent ofAmerica,” Tank said slowly. “North America, to be exact. What the hell is wrong with him, Met?”
“I'm not sure if anything is wrong with him,” I murmured as I stared at Kaspian. “Kaspian, where are you from?”
“I am King of Aravult.”
“Aravult,” I repeated.
“Yes. It is a dragon kingdom on the continent of Lenvahar in the central region of Serai. Have you not heard of it?”
