tall and arrogant as ever. Dragons aged very slowly, and Drake hadn’t changed at all.
I gathered a bit of the storm to me. I wasn’t as adept at containing my magic at this age as I learned to be later, but Mick had already taught me to draw on my earth-magic background to do small spells. I clumsily but effectively tossed a bit of magic at Mick and Drake, enabling me to hear them across the clearing.
Drake’s voice came to me as though I’d switched on a radio. “—were not your instructions. The Dragon Council made clear—”
“The Dragon Council can kiss my ass,” Mick growled. “They sent me because no one else was brave enough to face her. Or they were too lazy to get out of their caves. Good thing. She could wipe the floor with all of you.”
“Exactly.” Drake sounded as stuffy as ever. “Which makes me wonder why you disobeyed a direct order to kill her.”
Mick barked a laugh. “First, she’s a hell of a lot prettier than any of you. More interesting too. Second, she’s not evil.”
“That’s not for you to judge. She bears the taint of the Beneath goddess the dragons took so much trouble to shut away. She must not be allowed to release that goddess.”
“She won’t,” Mick said with conviction. “She’s an extraordinary woman, with a kindness and generosity I’ve found in very few. I’ve definitely never found it in dragons.”
Drake made a scoffing noise. “She’s seduced you.”
“No, I seduced her.” Mick took a menacing step toward Drake. “I did my best to take away everything that is innocent in her, to find out if her gentle heart was only naiveté. I’ve had her every way I could invent, and she’s hungry for it. But you know what? She’s still innocent. And loving.” Mick shook his head, his voice going soft. “I never dreamed she would be so loving. She gives her heart as she gives her body. She amazes me every day.”
I listened, my lips parting, cold night air drying my mouth. Mick’s last two sentences were delivered in a quiet tone that was filled with wonder. I remembered lying with Mick in the sunshine in the dragon compound in Santa Fe, after the dragons had captured me. He’d smiled at me, his dark eyes full of fire, and said I want to be here to watch you grow.
Tears stung my eyes. Mick’s mission, given to him by the Dragon Council, had been to find me, discover how dangerous I was, and then to destroy me. He’d volunteered for the duty, knowing how lethal the woman who’d created me could be.
For not killing me, for falling in love with me and fighting to let me live out my life, the dragons had sentenced him to death.
“You can’t disobey the Dragon Council, Micalerianicum,” Drake said coldly. “Your orders were to destroy the threat.”
“My orders were to find the threat and contain it,” Mick said sternly. “I have. She’s not a threat to the dragons. Tell Bancroft and his cronies to eat it.”
Drake went silent a moment before he said in a quieter voice, “I advise you not to defy them. They can be ruthless.”
“I know. That’s why I’m sending you, their errand boy, back to them.” Mick stepped to Drake and prodded his forefinger into Drake’s bare chest. “Tell them that Janet Begay is under my protection now.”
Drake hissed a breath. “You can’t.”
“I can. I already have. They are not to touch her. I will watch over her and make sure she does no harm—and that no harm comes to her. Tell the three pains in my ass to back off.”
“Don’t be a fool,” Drake exclaimed, more distressed than I’d ever seen him. “If she has tricked you, you’ll pay with your life.”
Mick shrugged. “If I’m wrong and she goes on a rampage, then I’ll deserve to die.”
The words tore at my heart. Mick was putting his life on the line for me, in this clearing high in the mountains. When it had happened, I’d been oblivious, and I’d grown angry at him for leaving me to wait in the motel room.
I’d lost my patience with him and his mysterious disappearances after a while and left him. He’d watched over me even then, protecting me from harm, and I’d never known.
This time, I was fully aware. My memories of the future came flooding back to me—maybe because in this dream I was doing what I hadn’t done in real life. Those memories hurt,