wondering if he had caught her ogling him. She was immensely glad that Airon had carried his own change of clothes in that moment.
“You made good time,” an unfamiliar voice suddenly said behind them, pretty much scaring the shit out of her.
Amber whirled around and saw a dark-haired man with the same amount of stubble as Airon standing next to a now full-dressed Raphek.
“The currents were reasonably stable tonight,” Airon said as he stepped up to the two men. “It’s good to see you, Otaron. The scents of Austin drive you crazy yet?”
Otaron made a face. “Nearly. The exhaust output per minute is enough to make me swear off Terran cities for eternity.”
Raphek beckoned for Amber to join him, and she hurried to his side, still unable to calm her racing heart. “Amber, this is Otaron of the House of Scattered Cinders. He’ll be our host for the next day or so.”
Otaron nodded politely. “It’s nice to meet you, Amber.” He then grinned sheepishly. “Sorry about the abrupt entrance.”
Amber winced internally. Her heartbeat probably sounded like a million thundering hooves to dragon ears.
“It’s nice to meet you, too.”
At least her voice didn’t shake.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on all the online chatter while you were in the air, but so far, I didn’t see anything that would change our plans for tomorrow,” Otaron said as they followed him inside a large two-story ranch house that suddenly made Amber wonder where in the world the dragons had gotten the money to afford a property like this. The real estate prices in Austin were some of the highest in the state.
The inside décor was one hundred percent Terran. The living room where they were all now currently seated looked like something from an interior designer’s portfolio. Anyone who saw it would never equate it with dragons, and that was probably the point. The house didn’t look lived in at all. Everything from the throw pillows to the curtains looked way too pristine. She had made the assumption that Otaron lived there, but now she was sure she was wrong.
“And the lawyer’s office?” Raphek asked.
Otaron shook his head. “I sat ‘working’ pretty much all day at the coffee shop across from Ms. Madden’s law practice and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Lots of suits, of course, but no familiar faces related either to the senator or any of the anti-dragon groups I’m currently aware of.”
Amber stared at Otaron in astonishment. “If I didn’t know better, and if you didn’t have the eye color you have, I never would’ve even suspected that you were a dragon-shifter. Aside from the barely noticeable accent, you speak like you were born and raised in America.”
“I’m thrilled to hear you think so,” Otaron said with a pleased smile. He pointed at his eyes. “I hide these with brown-tinted contacts whenever I’m among Terrans. The accent, I’m afraid, is still very much so a work in progress, much to my chagrin.”
She nodded. That fact was something she already knew as Airon would be loaning Raphek a pair of his own colored contacts to use while Raphek and Airon shadowed her tomorrow.
“What’s the status on transportation?” Airon asked.
“After we drop Amber off at that twenty-four-hour diner at the edge of the city I told you about, a college buddy of mine will send a rideshare over to pick her up. We’ll use the old car trouble excuse if anyone asks.”
“College?” Amber echoed incredulously. “You’ve already managed to go to college?”
“Still going,” Otaron corrected. “Being a student is a fantastic way to gather information. There’s always somebody blabbing something important without me having to say a word. Most of the time, all I need to do is sit anywhere on campus with a book in my lap and listen. I’m known as Oliver Redmayne here. Ollie for short.” He bared his teeth playfully at Airon. “Not all of us have a name that sounds identical to a Terran name. I’ve nearly slipped and given someone my real name more than once.”
Airon laughed. “I still have to deal with all the ‘You sound funny. Where are you from?’ questions, so my name’s not that much of an advantage. Your accent is enviously less noticeable than mine. I’ve pretty much got a handle on all the various idioms and current slang the Terrans in this country use along with those in the UK for good measure. I would wish that a few thousand years of specific vocalizations were as easy to