Page 29 of Dragon’s Rogue

He shrugged. “As far as I know, she works alone. If you’re looking for someone to acquire difficult-to-find magical items, she’s not the one.”

Blaze smiled, though her mind was buzzing. Could Rebel have hooked up with her partner only recently? Was that why she’d branched out?

She gave a careless laugh. “It seems it was just a rumor after all. Ah well. I guess there’s no need for a ‘friends and family’ deal this time around.”

Jean-Claude sighed. “Is it my fault you don’t want to know anything valuable?” he said. “And I hope that we are friends, regardless of any bargaining we might do.”

Blaze recognized the threat there. “Of course, Jean-Claude,” she said. “But I’ve taken up enough of your time for now. The vultures are circling.” There were people hovering nearby, all eager for a few words with Jean-Claude.

“They always are.” He sighed, but she could see the satisfaction in his face. He loved having everyone deferring to him, currying favor.

He was still smiling, but that dark, oily sensation was growing stronger. And as Blaze turned to look at him, she could have sworn she saw a black hole burning through his shirt in the center of his chest, where his heart should be.

Blaze stared, her heart pounding, breath stealing from her lungs. Surely someone else must be seeing this. How was he still standing, making conversation, drinking champagne, with that black fire consuming his heart?

He gazed at her in concern. “Blaze? Are you all right?”

She sucked her breath in with a gasp. The image faded. “Yes,” she said. “Of course. It’s just—a bit stuffy in here. I think I’ll find the ladies room and—”

“Of course.” He smiled at her, but his teeth suddenly looked sharp and predatory.

Blaze gave him a mechanical smile and turned away.

She skipped the bathroom and headed toward the shallow steps leading to the foyer. The butler had just let in three men. Tall, drop-dead gorgeous, and obviously ripped, even though their tuxes covered all the best parts. Too bad she wasn’t in the market at the moment.

Blaze stopped behind one of the oversized indoor shrubs, waiting for them to get out of the way so she could ask the butler to find her wrap and get the hell out of here before Jean-Claude’s ‘friend who wanted to meet her’ arrived.

She was getting a very, very bad feeling about this.

One of the men turned toward the living room, giving her a glimpse of his face. For a moment all she could see was blond hair and striking blue eyes.

Then recognition slammed into her. It was the man in her vision. The Knight of Flames.

Chapter 15

Blaze ducked back behind the plant before the Knight of Flames could see her. Dammit, if he was here at Jean-Claude’s, he must be a major player in Portland’s magical community. Who the hell was he? Why hadn’t she ever seen him before?

Could he possibly be the ‘friend’ who’d wanted to meet her?

Ever so carefully, she stretched out her magical senses, trying to get a feel for who these men were without alerting them to her presence.

Were they sorcerers? Tainted by dark magic, like Jean-Claude? Or Silas?

Her aura touched theirs, and she felt magic. But it wasn’t the dark, oily feel she’d gotten from Jean-Claude, or the idol. And it wasn’t the fresh bright magic of her coven when she was a little girl.

This magic was… old. Powerful. Made of contrasts: black velvet nights and the hard bright glitter of gold. Deep still caves, damp with moisture, and the free wild sky.

A nature coven?

She peeked through the long leaves of the potted plant, trying to get another look at the man from her spell vision. She’d seen his face so briefly before the card burst into flames. It must have been completely destroyed—she hadn’t been able to find it the next morning.

Just looking at him made her swallow hard. He was so… beautiful was the only word for it. Temptingly, terrifyingly compelling. They all were, but he seemed to glow like the sun shone from within him

His hair was not just blond, but golden—on the long side, with a tousled I-styled-this-like hell-but-I-want-you-to-think-I-just-rolled-out-of-bed kind of look. His eyes were clear blue, like a summer sky. Chiseled jaw, faint laugh lines around his eyes, a quirk of humor on his firm lips.

Looking at those lips sent an unexpected rush of heat flooding through her, and a jumble of dreamlike visions that felt like memories.

Just like the other night, when the thief had kissed her.