Clint had to admit that seeing the jaws of the High Council members dropping in shock made for a pretty gratifying sight. It wasn’t every day that you managed to shock the most advanced wizards and shifters in Torch Lake, but it also wasn’t every day that you found a wizard skilled in ancient magic.
Sunny had just finished explaining to the High Council who she was, and their reactions had been even better than Clint could have hoped for. Perhaps it was childish of him, but he had an almost overwhelming urge to stand up and say “Booyah! Looks like I wasn’t such a lazy, terrible government employee after all.”
He resisted the urge, of course, and sat silently with a stoic expression on his face as he waited for the High Councilors to speak. As for Sunny, she looked about as nervous as Clint had ever seen anyone look. Her face was pale and her eyes flitted anxiously back and forth between the High Council members. She stood tall, though, and Clint was damn proud of her. He knew it hadn’t been easy for her to get up and talk about her old clan, and about everything that she’d lost. But she had prepared well for her speech and made it through without leaving out anything important.
She looked lovely, too. Absolutely lovely. She’d traded in her barista apron for a pair of black dress pants and a simple white blouse. Her hair was pulled back into a neat bun, and she was wearing just a hint of makeup. Clint could have kissed her, again. If the entire High Council hadn’t been in the room right now, he might have tried it.
He still couldn’t believe that he had actually kissed her the first time. He’d been so overwhelmed with gratitude when Sunny had knocked on his door to tell him that she would help, that he hadn’t been able to hold back. They hadn’t discussed the kiss, which made things slightly awkward between them. After the kiss, Sunny had blushed, then turned around and ran back to her house. Clint worried that he’d made her upset, but the next morning she’d come over at the crack of dawn to ask if she could talk to the High Council today. She wanted to get things moving before she lost her nerve, she’d said.
Clint had been happy to agree to that, and had arranged the meeting he was now sitting in. And since Sunny hadn’t mentioned the kiss, he’d told himself to follow her lead and not talk about it either. But he couldn’t stop thinking about it. And he couldn’t stop thinking about her. What was he getting himself into? It wasn’t possible that Sunny was his lifemate, was it?
Clint wished he could talk to one of his friends who had already found their lifemates. He wanted to know what they had felt when they first saw the woman who would become their lifemate, or when they had known. How they had known. He just wanted to know anything that would give him a clue as to why his heart seemed to be going haywire on him right now. It wasn’t like him to get emotional, especially not over a woman. And yet whenever he thought of Sunny now, he felt a strange, giddy feeling. Was this love?
Clint hadn’t been able to talk to his friends, though, and he wasn’t sure he’d have a chance to anytime soon. Now more than ever, the High Council was going to want him to focus all his energy on fixing the dragon disappearance problem. Councilor Morgan was standing, shaking his head in wonder.
“Sunny, I think the other Councilors would agree with me that this is the best news we’ve had in a long, long time. What do you need from us to perform the counter spell properly? The resources of Torch Lake are at your disposal.”
Sunny glanced nervously at Clint. He smiled at her, hoping to put her a little bit more at ease. She looked back at Councilor Morgan and started speaking again, her voice a little stronger this time. “Well, both the disappearing spell and its counter spell are difficult to cast properly. Both spells work better when you are in close proximity to the person or objects that the spell is being directed toward, which means that I need to be as close as possible to the next dragon you go after before the scouts are sent out to him. I need to be there before the Dark Warriors are alerted to which dragon you’re going after next.”
Clint sat up straighter. “That means the Dark Warriors are probably going to be close to the dragon, too.”
Sunny nodded. “Probably. I’m sure they’re doing their best to keep themselves hidden, but my guess is that they’ve been pretty close to all of the dragons you’ve gone after thus far.”
Councilor Morgan frowned. “You’ll need protection then, Sunny. We’ll do our best to keep you from being seen, of course, but if the Dark Warriors discover that you’re there, they’re likely to attack.”
Sunny nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure they would be only too happy to kill off a wizard using ancient magic against them. But the problem is that the more guards I have with me, the more likely I am to be seen. It’s probably best if I go alone, despite the risks.”
“Absolutely not!” Councilor Isviar said, slamming his fist on the table. “We can’t let you go off on your own with no guards. You’re far too valuable to us.”
Clint sat up straighter. “I’ll go with her.”
All eyes in the room turned to him.
“You will?” Sunny asked, her voice barely more than a whisper.
“I’ll go. One dragon will offer a significant amount of protection, but by myself I won’t attract too much attention. At least I hope I won’t. It’s the best way to guard Sunny without having to send a whole squadron of soldiers with her.”
“Are you sure?” Councilor Isviar asked. “Things could get quite dangerous if the Dark Warriors discover that you’re there.”
“I am a dragon,” Clint growled. “I don’t back down from danger. Besides, you’ve all chewed me out constantly for supposedly not doing enough to help in the dragon recruiting effort. Well here I am offering to do more. So do you want my help or not?”
Clint saw Sunny’s eyes widen as he spoke, probably because it was unusual for anyone to use such a strong tone when speaking with a High Council. But Clint was too frustrated to care about things like propriety and respect right now. He wanted this dragon disappearance problem stopped, and he wanted Sunny safe. And he was sick and tired of the High Council acting like he didn’t have what it took to take care of the dragon recruiting problem.
Councilor Morgan crossed his arms and regarded Clint with shrewd eyes.
“Very well, Clint. If you are sure that you want to take on this responsibility, we will send you out with Sunny. When do you think you can be ready?”
“Well, we already have a scout ready to go track down a dragon shifter who is hiding out north of San Francisco. We could dispatch the scout tomorrow and trail right behind him. Usually, the dragons seem to disappear the day after the scout seeks them out. So as long as Sunny and I leave at the same time as the scout, we should be there in plenty of time for her to perform the counter spell.”
“Very well. Sunny, how does this all sound to you?” Councilor Morgan asked.
“Sounds good to me. I just hope I can manage the counter spell. It’s a difficult one.”
“Just do your best,” Clint piped up. Sunny turned her eyes toward him and he gave her another encouraging smile. The High Councilors started talking all at once, making plans for what resources Sunny and Clint would need for their mission, but Clint hardly heard them. For a moment, he and Sunny were the only two people in the room. His eyes were locked with hers, and, despite the fear and worry in her eyes, she smiled at him. Clint felt his stomach flutter in a funny way he’d never felt before.
He couldn’t believe he was going to get to go on a mission with this beautiful woman. He was actually going to be paid to spend time with her, which meant he pretty much had the best job in the world. Now if only they could manage to actually stop the Dark Warriors from making another dragon disappear, life would be perfect.
Sunny looked away, but Clint kept his eyes on her profile, and felt another flutter in his stomach. He knew he had to remain professional around her when they worked together, but it was going to be so hard not to kiss her when they were alone on the road. He already had a feeling that this was going to be a mission to remember.