“A good question.” The hole was slowly spreading. Too slowly. “Why are you stealing trinkets? And another question. Why did you have such an elaborate escape plan if you were just...” The truth hit like a lightning strike. You didn’t work that hard to steal worthless baubles. But you did steal worthless baubles to hide the truth of why you were sneaking into vaults. “Ah. Of course. You’re searching for something else. What is it? A potion? A charm? A rare artifact?”
Azh felt a stab of juvenile satisfaction as the astonishing lavender eyes widened in shock. He was right. Shewassearching for something. Obviously something she didn’t find in the mage’s vault.
“I have everything I need.” She blatantly lied, holding up her hand that held the stone. “And it doesn’t include meddling dragons. Mind your own business.”
With a dramatic wave of her hand she disappeared. Just like that. One second she was there and the next she was gone.
Azh heaved a sigh. He could sense her magic, which meant that she was still in the city. But it was becoming a genuine pain in the ass to waste his time chasing her from one spot to another.
Turning on his heel, Azh prepared to track down his prey, only to come to an abrupt halt as a form appeared at the entrance to the alley.
“Stop, Azh.” The deep male voice echoed through the air, bouncing off the brick walls and resonating inside Azh like a drum. “We need to talk.”
Shit. Azh was frozen in place as the form strolled toward him. “That’s supposed to be my line,” he muttered.
The unwelcomed intruder stopped a few feet in front of Azh, wearing what looked like a pair of flannel pajamas with fuzzy slippers on his feet. His head was covered by an old-fashioned night cap that he had pulled down to his eyes with a fuzzy ball dangling from the tip. His lower face was hidden beneath a bushy beard giving him the vibe of a human Santa Claus.
He should have looked ridiculous, but there was nothing funny about the green eyes that blazed with an ancient magic or the displeasure that slammed into Azh with the force of a freight train.
“Why have the dragons broken their treaty?”
Azh held his ground. He’d never been face-to-face with the Watcher, but he recognized the elusive creature. With a godlike strength the male maintained the peace between leeches, demons, and dragons. Eons ago, the bloodbath created by the constant warfare had nearly caused a total collapse of all three species. That was when the treaty had beencreated, forcing the dragons into hibernation until it was their time to once again roam free, and the leeches would become dormant.
A glorious thought.
“No treaties are broken,” Azh argued. “My people remain in hibernation as you commanded.”
The green eyes smoldered with ruthless authority. “And you?”
“The dragons are allowed to investigate if they fear a threat to their safety. It’s written in the treaty. And the reason there was an opening in the barrier for me to enter this world.”
The strange male scrunched his nose. “You didn’t create the opening?”
“Of course not. I’ve pledged to uphold the treaty. The opening was there when I awakened.”
The Watcher considered his answer for a long moment. Then he shook his head, the fuzzy ball on the end of his cap bouncing.
“What is the threat?”
“Don’t you feel it?”
“Fah. I feel many things. Be more specific.”
“It feels like...” Azh’s words faded. How did you explain a pulse of magic that was familiar and yet intoxicatingly mysterious? As if it had been created by his deepest fantasies.
“Yes?” the male prompted.
Azh shrugged. “I can’t explain it. But it calls to me.”
The Watcher tilted his head to the side. “The magic or the female calls to you?”
Azh jerked. The male had obviously been watching him for a while. An unpleasant realization. And a sharp reminder that he’d been doing the same thing. No wonder Wynn had been so pissy with him. It was unpleasant to discover that someone had been spying on him from the shadows.
“Both,” he admitted between clenched teeth.
The Watcher made a sound of exasperation. “Return to your slumber. I’ll deal with this latest complication.”
“Not a chance in hell.”
