Page 12 of Dragon’s Rogue

Only the Guardians had stayed. And the Wild Dragons, with their human blood, stayed too. They stayed, and spawned their young, remaining hidden until humans needed them.

When he landed Tyr was standing on the roof, hands on his hips. Zane came in fast, diving toward the roof with wings furled, and then dropped his hindquarters at the last minute and backwinged to slow himself down, like a duck coming in for a water landing.

Grit and dead leaves swirled across the roof in the wind from his wings. Tyr made a quick circular gesture with one hand and the debris detoured around him, as if he were enclosed in a bubble.

Show-off.

Tyr started in before Zane even had a chance to Change back to human.

“What the hell happened? How did you manage to set off the alarm? Why did you jump out the fucking window? Because, not stealthy at all. Did the witch see you? Did you get the Seal?”

Zane knew Tyr was worried about him. And they were all stressed out to the max, because time was running out and their mission so far had been an epic fail.

Even so, he was in no mood.

Zane blew a puff of fire at his brother. Unfortunately, Tyr’s shield kept that away from him too. Not that that tiny bit of fire would hurt either of them, but it would have burned Tyr’s clothes off, which would have been funny.

Tyr shot him the finger.

Zane contemplated just staying in dragon form. Flying back to Blaze’s house. Plucking her out of her bedroom and flying away with her in his claws, like the dragons did in the bad old days. Taking her back to his lair under the ridge and tormenting her with wild sex, keeping her on the edge until she told him everything about the idol and the spell in a frenzy of climactic desire.

And then giving her about six hundred orgasms, so that she never wanted to leave him.

Because life always turned out like the dreams, right?

Belatedly, Zane realized that Tyr was still yelling at him. About what a dick he was, because Tyr had his back, and then he fucking just flew away and he could be bleeding from magical wounds and he didn’t even care that Tyr was worried about him, which he’d never do again because Zane was an ungrateful fuck.

And he was asking again if Zane got the Seal.

Six hundred orgasms, Zane thought. And we’re not coming out of the cave for a thousand years.

Tyr smacked him across the snout with all of his strength. Ow. “Fucking pay attention!” he snapped. “I’m yelling at you!”

With a sigh, Zane Changed back into human form, clothes molding around his body as he did so. Unlike most other shifters, dragons had the ability to manifest clothing when they Changed to human form, instead of ending up naked like fools.

He’d changed his breaking and entering outfit for black jeans and a royal blue button-down shirt, rolled up at the sleeves. Black cowboy boots. He had a weakness for cowboy boots, though not for horses.

Dragons and horses definitely did not mix.

He’d added an unstructured black jacket instead of the combat vest—and felt something weighing down the pocket.

Blaze’s idol.

He closed his hand around it, feeling waves of cold darkness emanating from it. Once again, he heard a faint whispering.

He dropped his hand. Was the thing talking to him? That couldn’t be good.

“No. I didn’t get it, okay? It was a cluster fuck in there.” He’d been outmaneuvered by a human petty thief and a cat.

“How? What happened? How the hell did you manage to set off all the alarms? And what took you so long to get home? Are you—”

Zane cut him off before he could get to “okay.” “I said I didn’t get the Seal, all right? Now stop buzzing around like a mosquito, before I swat you.”

“Fine. See if I ever watch your back again.” Tyr stomped away and jumped off the edge of the roof to the balcony a story below, not even bothering with the wrought-iron spiral staircase.

Zane sighed. Tyr, he said quietly in his mind.

He felt his brother pause by the balcony doors. I’m pissed at you.