I spun toward the voice and Quinn’s thoughts urged caution. Probably a good thing I couldn’t talk because I would have told her that Quinn and I dared . . . right before I crunched her up.

Perhaps it was better if Quinn did the talking.

Sahara Burningwood fluttered before us defiantly, a slip of a sprite, with long, flowing hair and skin smooth and unblemished, but also somehow unnatural and chalky. She didn’t look quite alive, and maybe without her soul she wasn’t. The effect was chilling—like she’d been cast in wax. She was no larger than Drutilda, though unlike Drutilda’s vibrancy and curves, she was gaunt, her wings a lusterless shade of white like the trees. Burningwood held a long gnarled staff carved at the top into the shape of a tombstone. Boy, did she know how to have fun.

I grumbled, let smoke pour from my nose. She seemed thoroughly unimpressed. Probably because of the wings.

“It’s not the wings,” Quinn whispered. I could practically feel him shake his head.

“You don’t scare me, dragon.” Burningwood’s voice carried over the eerie silence, a scratchy laugh conveying years way beyond her appearance and making the scales along my back quiver. I bared my teeth. Quinn’s calming hand rested on my neck and I pushed back against it. Fine, he could handle her. For now.

“We didn’t mean to intrude on your solitude, Ms. Burningwood. We—”

“If you didn’t mean to, you wouldn’t be here, wizard,” she pointed out in that creepy low voice.

“Uh, true, you make a good point. What I mean to say is that we’ve only come because we want to make an arrangement with you for the unicorn horn you received from Lapus Rainbowpebbles.”

She grinned, her skin pulling back from her face until the outline of her skull became clear. Creepy.

“An arrangement, you say?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Quinn shifted uneasily on my back.

“How unfortunate for you that I no longer have the horn.”

“You destroyed it?” I heard the sorrow in Quinn’s voice.

“Destroyed? No. Too valuable. I traded it.”

Can you sense it, Twig? Quinn thought.

I raised my snout and sniffed.

No, it’s not here, I replied. I sent my senses out further. Still nothing. Dammit.

“To whom did you trade it, if you don’t mind me asking?” Quinn kept his voice light.

“No, I don’t mind.” That weird grin again. “A fairy named Nyx Dapplepool.”

I snapped my teeth when I heard his name, a growl escaping my chest before I could rein it in. There wasn’t a fairy in the Elder I hated more than him.

“Easy, Twig.” Quinn soothed, picking up on my anger. “Well then, we’re sorry to have bothered you, Ms. Burningwood. We’ll just be going now.”

“I have never had a dragon nor a wizard in my army. Seeing as you destroyed my current crop, I’ll take your lives in payment.”

Before I could lunge at her, a bolt of magic shot from her staff. I roared when the spell hit me, a chill running over my skin before my thick hide bounced it back at her. She flew backward into a clump of withered foliage, disappearing in the undergrowth.

Huh, that was easy.

“Don’t count your sprites before they die,” Quinn admonished. “Look.”

Burningwood rose from the tangled vegetation, her face set in a scowl. “Let’s try that again.”

Another bolt of magic shot from her staff, striking me in the foreleg. A frosty tendril snaked over my skin before her magic rebounded and struck her down. Again. I did my best to snicker. It would take some practice in this form.

I could do this all day. What was that expression? Like shooting mermen in a cask?

Do you think since she’s attacked me, I can eat her now?

“I’d rather you didn’t. No use having to explain to the Alphae Guild—”

Quinn squawked as another zap of magic struck my neck, next to his perch. The bolt bounced and struck a gnarled tree that then crumbled to ash. A little too close to home for my comfort. I had protection, but no guarantee Quinn did. Damn. I couldn’t let her hit him.

Apparently she clued into my thoughts because she threw another burst of her dark powers Quinn’s way.

“Twig, you don’t need to worry—”

I dodged, but my jerking motions unseated Quinn. He tumbled from my neck and hit the ground with a thump.

Burningwood chortled with a breathy glee, her staff pointing where Quinn lay. I roared and charged her, my jaws gnashing as I reached for her. She fumbled her aim, then scooted beneath my belly, her ancient form surprisingly spry. I swatted her with my tail as she neared it. She sailed through the air like a ragdoll and right through a window into the manor. Ouch, that had to hurt.

Well, that should be that.

Rounding as fast as my bulky form allowed, I returned to where Quinn dusted himself off.

You okay?

“Gotta get a saddle or something.” His disgruntled voice was music to my ears.

A sudden bright yellow glow sprung from his hands. He caught and absorbed another volley from Burningwood that I hadn’t seen coming.

Burningwood stumbled from the building, a trickle of blood running down her cheek. She bared her teeth in that ghastly grin. She raised her staff and pointed it in our direction.

So over this.

I spit fire at her, engulfing her in flames.

She shrieked, but a wave of her staff extinguished the flames, left her in the middle of a thick patch of smoke.

The bitch refused to die. Maybe because she was mostly dead?

When the smoke cleared she looked a little more like melted wax than the young sprite she pretended to be. Satisfaction surged through me. I opened my maw to hit her again, but a hand on my leg stilled me.

“You should stop while you’re behind,” Quinn called out. “It’s only a matter of time before my familiar roasts you or you become a dragon snack. You get that, right?”

“Let’s strike a deal, wizard.” Burningwood lowered her staff, staying well out of my immediate reach.

A deal? I waited to see what Burningwood had in mind. Mostly, I wanted to understand why Quinn spared her. He was right. I’d have barbequed her in another moment. He should let me. She’d already killed hundreds of creatures. We’d be doing the world a favor. Quinn patted my leg as he kept his eyes on Burningwood.

“What did you have in mind?”

“You want the horn. I can get it for you.”

“And the price?”

“You.” She swung her staff in his direction, shot her destructive magic.

Quinn had obviously been expecting something because at almost the same moment he vibrated, his hand still on me. A jolt went through my body, though it didn’t hurt, and when her spell hit it bounced off us and ricocheted back on her.

This time, she screeched, a dried up husk of a scream and fell to her knees. Her staff burst into flame. She dropped it, clutching her sides.

Huh, hadn’t expected that.

Skin that only moments ago could kindly be described as well-preserved now turned a deep brown and rippled in ever increasing pulses. Burningwood continued to scream, her back bowing at an unnatural angle, her fingers tearing at her skin. Flowers began to sprout along her hair, and branches shot through her body, spreading and growing at an astronomical rate. Then vines twined around her, and roots grew from her knees into the ground. I gaped. What in blazes did Quinn do?

“I reversed her magic through you. Pie gave me the idea when he said that dark magic turns on its user. You already have immunity to most black magic, so I turned that around and instead of draining your essence, it shot life into hers. It’s weird to see a spell in action that I’d practiced all these years, but could never actually do.”

We watched as she writhed, rooted to the spot, more tree limbs bursting forth from her body. A forked branch shot from her mouth, her face crumpling inward, bits falling away like old bark.

“I wasn’t honestly sure what would happen.” Quinn’s fingers dug into my skin, his attention riveted on the grotesque scene. “I figured life wouldn’t react well with all her powers of death.”

Um, an understatement to be sure. As he finished his explanation, her final scream cut off abruptly. An enormous tree grew in what had been Sahara Burningwood, branches still unfurling, and flowers the size of Quinn’s hand dotted the newly emerging foliage.

Wow, she must be pretty old to have such a thick trunk, I thought.

“Ancient,” Quinn agreed. Even the ground around us was affected. The withered trees began to crack and healthy shoots pushed through the husks. Then the swamp grass turned from a shriveled brown to a vibrant and lush green.

That’s some magic you got there, Quinn.

“Y-Yeah. I guess so.”

We traced our way back through the swamp, Quinn slumped against my neck.

Tired?

“That spell took a lot out of me. Do you mind if I rest and we can talk more once we reach the Outpost?”

I rumbled my assent and sped my steps, making sure Quinn was nestled snug in his place. With my new size and stamina, we made it back to the Outpost in short order. I lowered my head gently to the ground so he could dismount. He scrambled off me, stumbling a bit as he cradled his arm once again.

I nosed at him, almost knocking him over.

“Careful, big guy. You don’t know your own strength yet.” Quinn patted my snout. “We need to get you to change back. I don’t suppose you know how to do it?”

I shook my head. I didn’t have a clue.

“Maybe you just need to think about it.”

I did the equivalent of a shrug. Worth a try. Willing myself to change back to my human-like form, I waited. Nothing happened.

“Close your eyes and picture yourself as Twig,” he suggested.

I did as he asked. It wasn’t as easy as it sounded because I just really wanted to stomp around and test out my new body some more. I’d lived my whole life thinking I’d never have a dragon form, so this was incredibly exhilarating.

“Focus, Twig. I really need to get my arm seen to.”

I flinched. What was I thinking? I should be taking care of my mate. I couldn’t do it in this form now, so I needed to shift. Thinking of Quinn’s arm did the trick. My bones cracked and I grunted from the pain as my body shrank and reformed into human form. Still excruciating, yet not nearly as bad or as slow as the first shift. Hopefully, in time, it would be effortless.

I lay on the ground gasping for breath, my bones feeling achy and my muscles wobbly. Quinn rushed to my side, crouching.

“Are you okay?” His eyes were huge, his cheeks flushed. “Uh, I don’t suppose you packed a change of clothes in your knapsack?”

I cleared my throat a few times before I could speak, and even then my voice came out raspy and harsh as though I hadn’t talked for a long time. “You know I didn’t.”

He grinned sheepishly. “Let me see if I can get you something from the outpost. Do you have any gold?”

I nodded.

“You want to sit up?”

“Nope. Going to lay here until I can move without barfing.”

He patted my shoulder.

“Fair enough. You stay here and I’ll get you something to wear. Uh, just so you know, your markings are amazing.” He rose and vanished through one set of gates.

My markings? I looked down at myself. My body was covered in the tattoo-like scales that full-blooded dragons sported. I’d have smiled if I didn’t hurt so much.

While Quinn shopped, I let my stomach settle and tried to keep as still as possible. Shifting was a queasy business.

But even an unsettled stomach couldn’t diminish my wonder. If Quinn hadn’t figured it out . . . if I hadn’t trusted him . . . so many things to be grateful for and yet all I could do was lay on the ground and moan. Not exactly the triumphant moment I’d pictured hundreds of times before, though the zombies had been fun.

Shifting changed everything. Would I still be welcome in the Elder? What would my father do? What did it mean that Quinn and I were wizard and familiar? Would he always be able to read my thoughts? So many questions. My mind, however, was tired. Almost as much as my body. I closed my eyes and just drifted.

By the time Quinn returned, I felt almost ready to stand on my own. I groaned and sat up, my muscles screaming. Fucking basilisk boners! Shifting hurt. Considering all the zombies I killed in both forms, I shouldn’t be surprised either. This was the part bards left out of all those ballads about heroes that humans seemed to favor. I didn’t think I’d move comfortably for at least a couple days.

Quinn held up a thick leather belt and a long white tunic that didn’t seem too many sizes bigger than me.

“Where did you find this?” I asked.

“It’s for a small child,” he said, keeping his eyes averted.

Of course. Slipping it over my head, I shimmied into it, then pushed myself to my feet. Ugh. I needed food and a bed pronto. I stumbled when I tried to walk. Quinn slipped under my arm and braced me.

“I think we both need some rest,” he said.

We weaved our way back to the Watering Hole. As soon as we entered, the patrons burst into loud applause. Quinn and I must have looked like morons standing there with our mouths agape. Chairs scraped as the giants stood and gave us a standing ovation. Quinn recovered first and performed a shaky bow. I considered it, except I would be more likely to tip over than straighten back up.

Before I could force my body to bend, a key flew toward us. My reflexes were slow so it bounced off my chest and hit the floor. Unfortunately, so did Quinn and I.

We both lay there, stunned, trying to struggle back to our feet. Once upright, I watched as Krofom picked up Quinn under his arms and hefted him like he weighed less than nothing.

“Sorry,” Krofom said, blushing. “I forgot you’d both be exhausted.”

“You knew we’d come back.” Quinn smiled.

“Yes, little wizard, I had another vision. Your room is ready and I placed a tray of food for you both up there. There’s also a bowl of warm water to wash with and some bone-setting powder.” He eyed my outfit. “Nice onesie, dragon.”

“It’s a tunic,” I grumbled.

“Of course.” Krofom kept a straight face. Barely. He handed me the key and wished us a good evening.

Retreating to the room, we took turns washing up, then I applied the bone-setting powder. A breath hissed between Quinn’s lips as the powder did its work. I cringed when I heard a distinct crack of bones resetting and mending. Quinn groaned, his teeth gritted as the healing continued. It didn’t take long, but I could see it cost Quinn to act like it wasn’t extremely painful.

Once the healing completed, we sank down on a huge sofa and ate every last bite on the tray, even though the portion was definitely giant-sized. Having shifted, I was ravenous, and I guess when Quinn’s powers activated it took a lot out of him too, because he ate more than I ever imagined a human eating.

I must have been more tired than I realized, because it was only after we’d eaten and were settling down for the night that I noticed his ring was smashed, the ruby gone.

“Your ring . . .”

He shrugged. “It happens.”

I could tell he wasn’t as unaffected as he pretended. I’d seen his knapsack with his pitiful belongings, after all. That ring meant more than he was saying.

“Did I do that?” My voice sounded dejected even to my own ears.

“Don’t worry about it, Twig. It was an accident. It didn’t really help me when I needed it anyway. Kind of like my family. Without you I would have been zombie fodder.”

“I’d never let that happen.” I leaned against him, needing his touch. “I’ll replace the ring. I’m sure my dragon can find a similar acting stone. It might take a little while—”

A finger over my lips silenced me.

“I don’t care about the ring.” Quinn’s eyes shone glassy in the low torch light. He leaned in.

“You don’t?” I swallowed, the air feeling suddenly charged.

“No,” he said, a bare inch from my lips, his warm, sweet breath a reminder that we’d both come out of the swamp very much alive. “I ended up with something a lot better.”

I closed the final distance and felt his lips give under my own. An unfamiliar sound spilled from my throat, a kind of purr, as he opened for me. His taste filled my senses making me want more, want to devour him. I kept the kiss gentle. Neither of us were in any shape for something more and my bones still ached from my recent shift.

We kissed for what seemed like hours, but was probably only a minute or two. He went slack in my arms and when I drew back, his eyes were closed and his breathing had leveled out. He’d fallen asleep.

While we were kissing.

Talk about giving a guy’s ego a kick in the balls. Yet my dragon all but crowed watching him sleep. Scooping him into my arms, I put him to bed. I even tucked him in and brushed a kiss across his brow.

Ah, fuck me. When I wasn’t looking trouble came and kicked my ass. So, why wasn’t I more upset about it?