Den of Thieves - Shannon Mayer

1

A teeny tiny speck in the air a mile or so ahead of us was the only indication of Lila scoping out the land. While she was a dragon, and a monstrous foe when she wanted to be, more often than not, she stayed in her smaller form where she had a wingspan of two and a half, maybe three feet, at best. Weighing in at six pounds and able to get in and out of tight spots, she only pulled out the big guns—her I’m so big I could carry a horse if I wanted to size—when necessary.

I watched closely as she slowed over a spot in the desert I couldn’t see, spiraling to the ground with a flash of blue scales, then as quickly as a bolt from a crossbow, shot into the air. Hovering there, she didn’t move, didn’t shift into her larger form. Nor did she fly back our way.

So not too scary but intriguing enough to stay where she was and watch . . . whatever it was she was observing.

“What’s going on?” I muttered.

Balder jigged under me, snorting and then tossing his head, his lightly dappled gray coat damp with nervous sweat. I stroked a hand down his neck, picking up on his rising energy. Or maybe he was picking up on mine. While he might have looked like just a horse, he was in fact, a unicorn minus the horn.

No. Really, my horse was a freaking unicorn. I’d only recently discovered that, and I had to admit all the signs had been there for years. I’d just ignored them. Speed like no other, quicker recovery time, intelligence that was on par with any person I knew. That and he had his own brand of magic, the ability to gift others with skillsets they otherwise wouldn’t have.

Basically, he was a gem in all the ways possible.

I patted his neck again and narrowed my eyes as Lila continued to circle around whatever it was she’d come across.

“What do you think?” Maks’s rumble soothed any worries that bubbled under my skin, and my heart rate immediately eased. I glanced at him. Messy blond hair that brushed the back of his neck, blue eyes, solid body, soft lips, and a strong jaw. More than that, good heart, gentle hands, and so damn smart, it made me want to throw my clothes at him.

His hands rested lightly on his horse’s neck, scratching Batman gently as he kept his eyes on Lila ahead of us.

Batman—yes, I know it’s a strange name, some would even say dumb for a horse, but I didn’t name him and he came when called, so there you have it—stretched his neck and nipped at Balder who just ignored him.

“We knew the quiet wouldn’t last. I thought we’d have till we reached the Blackened Market.” I thought about the last two weeks, about the slow ride south as we headed to the last known location of the dragon eggs we were tracking. About the lazy mornings, and the lovemaking when Lila was off hunting, the laughter as the fire crackled late into the night and the joy in being free of fear for a little bit.

Then again, there were things that made me jumpy, like the croak of a frog, or the rumble of distant thunder. Things that made me tense when they came upon us, because in the past, those things had been deadly. I shook my head, clearing it of the thoughts that rolled through me.

“Let’s check it out. She’s not too worried by the looks of it.” I gave Balder a cue to step out, and he went right into a quick trot. “Eager much?” I leaned back and gave him a scratch on the hip. Feisty and always ready to run at top speed, he was ready to gallop to Lila if I so much as leaned forward.

I sat back farther, slowing him just a bit. There was no rush. If this was the end of our quiet, I wanted to enjoy the moment. Such as it was.

As we drew closer to Lila, I could make out the object on the ground. Or more accurately, the creature.

Hunched over on itself, I could make out spotted hide, a short tail, limbs that were powerful but squat, and I found myself reaching for a weapon I no longer had to deal with a creature that every lion hated.

Hyenas.

Or, in this case, one hyena. But why had Lila flown away like she had, straight up