Page 72 of Red Dragon’s Flame

Mikah felt a surge of gratitude. He said, “Then it’s up to Devon. What do you think?”

“I need to think it over.” She looked around the room, meeting everyone’s eyes. “I can’t even tell you how much it means to me that you went to all this trouble, and that you’re willing to do this for me. Can you give me a little while to think, and talk it over with Mikah? How much time do we have?”

“Not much,” Tyr admitted. “A couple of hours, and then we need to start prepping. Is that enough for you?”

Devon nodded. “Thank you. Thank you all.”

By the time they got back to their room, Mikah was bursting with things he probably shouldn’t say. As soon as they were there, Devon said, “Go on. You might as well get it out.”

“You said you needed to think.”

“I do. But I need to hear what you have to say first. And don’t give me that ‘Mikah the diplomat’ bullshit. This is only going to work—you and me—if we can really talk about things.”

“Fine,” he said. “You know I love Mikey to death, but she’s still a fifteen-year-old girl—one who’ll try fucking anything, whether she can do it or not. She’s the one who’s going to be making the tattoos and funneling the magic into them. You’re putting your life in her hands. I don’t like it.”

Devon was silent for a few minutes, while he used all his willpower to keep from saying any more. Finally she said, “I could see the others were worried about that too. But of all of them, you know Mikey the best. I know she’s a huge risk-taker. So you tell me—how often does it go wrong? When was the last time one of her crazy schemes failed?”

Mikah opened his mouth, and closed it again. He frowned.

“They haven’t,” he said slowly. “She always somehow pulls them off, even the craziest ones. It’s just that she gives the rest of us heart attacks doing it.”

“Because of what could have happened,” she said.

Mikah nodded.

“But it sounds to me like her crazy shit is well-planned and well-executed, that she has an excellent grasp of her own abilities, and she has the devil’s own luck.”

“Pretty much,” he admitted.

“So there’s a good chance she really can do what she says she can do. And my understanding is that she’ll just be providing the magical conduit, and Tyr and Blaze will be doing the actual spells. Plus, there will be a whole crap-ton of dragons—including you—watching out for me, and two additional very powerful sorceresses.” She paused. “Not to mention the fact that no one has yet come up with a better plan.”

He turned away. “I hate just leaving your fate—both of our fates—to such a long shot.”

She came over to him, wrapping her arms around him. “Mikah,” she said. “Don’t be scared.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he snapped. “How can I not be scared?”

“I know.” She kissed his chest, right over his heart. “But I need you to be brave for me. I need you to believe in Mikey, and Blaze and Tyr, and yourself, and me. I need you to believe with everything you have that it’ll be okay, even though you’re scared. So I can believe it too.”

She tilted her head back and looked into his eyes. “I never told you, but you were always my hero. Even when I thought you were an accountant. Because you were always there, when I was most alone, and you made me feel strong. I need you to be my hero now.”

He kissed her softly, his hands on either side of her face. She needed him, and he couldn’t let her down.

He said, “The Al-Maddeiri clan used to have an oath, that their protectors gave to those they protected. Now I give that oath to you:

With all that I am, and all that I have, I will protect and fight for you and yours.

My claws your weapons, my body your shield.

My life and my magic, yours

Until I die, or the House of Al-Maddeiri is no more.”

She looked into his eyes, tears running down her face, as blue fire surrounded them.

“Then I don’t need to think,” she said. “I’ll do it.”

Chapter 33