Olaf waved at him and hurried to join him. “Are you staying here?”
“I’m not sure. I was just going to see who was staying in the barracks this time.” Alton considered the long, one-story building topped with a copper roof again.
“Not me. I prefer my own bed and meals over a noisy barracks. Because of your injury, I thought you’d want to get more rest too.”
“I do. In truth.”
They saw Halloran approaching, dressed in his royal braided uniform, and he frowned at them. “Don’t tell me you’re even thinking of staying in the barracks.” He’d always been above that, feeling he didn’t need to know about his competition.
“Not me,” Olaf said. He liked his creature comforts. “I can do just as well at the games without knowing more about who I’m going up against.”
“Yeah, I agree.” For this year, anyway, Alton thought. In years past, sometimes, sometimes not so much.
“Are you all right?” Halloran asked Alton.
He knew his friend was only concerned about him, but he hated that he wasn’t acting his normally competitive self and it showed. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
Olaf and Halloran exchanged glances, and Alton was certain they didn’t believe him at all.
Then a girl wearing a blue corset and pants skirt with the gores in black so it had sort of a blue and black striped effect, caught his eye. Her hair was the same golden color, short and curly as the girl wore who was with the falcon fae at the farmer’s market in the golden fae territory. And she’d been a golden fae!
Now she was a dragon fae again? No way could she be Kayla, yet…what if she was?
“I’m going to check out the barracks.” Because the girl was close to there and he had to see her, smell her scent, listen to her voice, and be certain it wasn’t her. Even if it wasn’t, she had to be like Kayla, able to change her aura.
“I’ll go with you,” Olaf said.
“No!” Alton knew he spoke too quickly, too harshly. Both Halloran and Olaf were staring at him as if he had flipped out. “That’s okay. I’ll meet you at the fields for practice, Olaf, before the prequalification trials.”
Olaf nodded. “Sure, see you there in…?”
“A half hour.”
“All right. See you there.”
Alton noticed then the girl was with another dragon fae, one with burgundy hair. He knew her for certain, had seen her at the games before for the last three years. Willow was nearly an expert, so he didn’t know why she would hang out with a fae who was unknown to her. Had to be, if she was a golden fae who could hide her aura beneath another. Yet, what if the girl was truly a dragon fae shifter and had been just looking to steal from the golden fae?
He stalked toward the two girls. If the blond girl was Kayla, she couldn’t pretend she was a dragon shifter too. It was one thing to cloak an aura with another, as rare as that gift was, but to turn into a dragon also? He was intrigued beyond measure.
As soon as he was close enough, he suddenly had a brilliant idea and called out, “Kayla!”
Ohmigoddess! Kayla turned around to see Alton striding toward her, and he knew her. How could he?
“Well,” Willow said, folding her arms, smiling in a dark way. “Seems someone knows your real name. Or at least one of your other covers.”
If Kayla hadn’t turned, responding to the calling of her name, would she have fooled Alton into believing she wasn’t the one he believed her to be?
Her heart was beating out of bounds, she was so concerned he’d have her arrested. She thought of transporting right out of there. But she couldn’t. She had to face him, try to get him to leave with her so they could talk, and she wouldn’t have to do this. If he knew who she was, surely Halloran and the others would too.
“Excuse us,” Alton said to Willow. “I need a word alone with—“
“Violet is her name,” Willow said, smiling. “And she’s my friend.”
Kayla glanced at her, not believing the fae would stick up for her when she had to know she wasn’t here under any kind of business but something shady.
Willow smiled back at her in a way that said she wanted to be friends, or something more maybe. Like partners in crime?
“And,” Willow added conspiratorially as she leaned in to make the next comment in private to the two of them, “she’s undercover.”
That got a smirk from Alton. “I just bet she is. But we need to speak in private.”
Before she could say a word of her own, Kayla felt his hand on her wrist, and then he pulled her into his arms and kissed her!
She was so shocked, she just gaped at him, didn’t wriggle free, slap him, tell him off, or anything.
Then he winked, the cad!
Yet, she still didn’t pull away like she should have. What was she waiting for? To see if he’d try to transport her to a dungeon or something? He just stood there looking at her like they were courting and he was in love.
Willow chuckled. “She’s never been kissed by a dragon shifter before, she said.”
Her comment made him smile darkly at Kayla again. “I suspect not. Not when anyone knows of my interest in her.”
Kayla blushed, trying hard not to, knowing he was just saying so because of the role he was attempting to play.
Then he turned to Willow. “Not that I hadn’t wanted to before, and if any others tried, they would have been in trouble.”
“Well,” Willow said. “I did say the two of you would be a matched pair—both violet-colored scales when yours are that color.”
“Really.” Now Alton was looking at Kayla with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. “Show me.” And then he transported her someplace else.
When they landed, he was still holding her, and her whole body warmed with the way he wouldn’t let go of her wrist. “Why didn’t you see me at your cottage?” he asked, finally releasing her.
“What?” she thought he was taking her to the dungeon, but instead they were in the clearing where he and Olaf had been practicing before.
“I told your friend Tanya that I would bring the lockets, but I had to speak with you first. They are mixed in with my other treasure. I didn’t know which to bring.”
“What?” She couldn’t believe he’d talked to Tanya about that. “When?”
“At the farmer’s market.”
Then she realized how he knew her. Not because she was easily recognizable, but because she had been wearing her golden fae aura at the famers’ market, and then in his realm, the dragon fae again. She hadn’t thought about that. “You saw me with Sigrid then.” Which was another giveaway since she’d been trying to get Sigrid’s locket also and they had to be friends.
“I did. I told Sigrid I wished to speak with you concerning this earlier. She flew after me when I left the farmer’s market. We spoke. Only she wanted to make a deal for the lockets instead.”
Kayla closed her gaping mouth shut. “Sigrid had said she couldn’t catch up to you.”
“She lied. I waited for her right here to speak with her about you.”
Why had Sigrid wanted to do such a thing? Because she was a witch! And Tanya? Her friend had acted strange, like she’d been pondering things and not really listening to their conversation that night they slept over at Sigrid’s cottage. But that was also why Sigrid hadn’t wanted her to stay at her own cottage that night, so she wouldn’t run into Alton.
“Okay, wait, back up. You told Tanya you’d meet me at my cottage?”
“Yes. And she was really eager to tell you. Then you never showed up, though I waited for hours.”
“I’m sorry. I think Sigrid made Tanya forget that you spoke with her. Tanya would never have betrayed me.”
“But Sigrid would?”
“Some call her a witch.” Then Kayla realized what Alton was saying. “You’re giving back my locket and Sigrid’s?”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Now she was ready to slug him.
“So you’ve never been kissed by a drago
n before. What brought that up?” Then Alton smiled. “Ena and Brett kissing?” Then the smile faded. “How were you going to pretend you could participate in the games? It’s one thing to profess to be a dragon fae. Another to falsify you can be a dragon. Did you think to skip the practice and hang around until…well, what?”
“I didn’t believe you told Halloran to arrest me. I had to know for sure, but I didn’t believe it.” At least she sure hoped she was right about this.
“I didn’t. I wanted to apologize.” He looked so sincere, she thought he was telling the truth.
“Okay, apology accepted. And I knew you wanted to give my locket back to me!”
“You’re too interesting. I want to know more about you. Why is the locket so important to you?”
“I grow fields of lavender. Okay? Without it, they won’t grow. That’s who I am. The Lavender Fae. Everyone knows me that way, even if they don’t know my real name.”
“Kayla? Or Violet?”
She let out her breath in exasperation.
“Why has Willow hooked up with you? Does she know the truth?”
“No, but if she tells others that you met up with Kayla, and I’m using another name, someone might believe I’m the golden fae.”
He nodded. “So what were you going to do about the prequalification trials?”
“I don’t have to do them now because you’re going to give me back the lockets.”
He gave her the wickedest smile. “Even Sigrid’s?”
“Yes. No telling what she’d do to me if I didn’t bring it back with me.”
“Okay, so when do you have to have the locket back by?”
“A couple of days after the games.”
He studied her hair for a moment, then reached out and touched it. “Will it go back to the way it was if you have Sigrid’s locket?”
“No. I had it dyed and cut for real.” And she wouldn’t have had to do all of this if he’d just given her back her locket.
“I like it. But I liked the way you were before too.”
“Why did you kiss me?”
“For saving me from the fae seers.”
“A thank you wouldn’t have been enough?”
Again, that dark fae smile. “Not when you hadn’t been kissed by a dragon before. Besides, I was protecting you from Willow. No telling what she’d do once she learned you have an alias.”
“I already told her I was undercover.”
Alton chuckled.
The flapping sound of a dragon’s wings as he approached made them turn and look skyward to see the brown dragon with the golden edged scales coming to join them. Her heart thundering, she was afraid she was about to be found out.
She hadn’t ever heard a dragon making that much noise on an approach before. She wondered if he had done so to warn them he was on his way. He was the same one who had been practicing with Alton before, she thought.
“If you can turn into a dragon, I’d suggest you do so now.” Alton moved her slightly behind himself as if to protect her.
She couldn’t believe he’d want to do so, not when he wouldn’t give her locket back now. She wanted to wring Sigrid’s neck for causing all this trouble, when Kayla could have been done with this and not had to gamble success with this sham.
“You have been keeping this one secret from us, eh, Alton,” Olaf said, after he’d shifted. He quickly looked Kayla over as if trying to discern who she truly was. “He likes to keep all the female dragons to himself.”
“All?” Kayla raised her brows at Alton.
“Not all,” Alton said. “I leave one or two alone for the rest of you so that you don’t get so jealous.”
Conceited dragon.
“I don’t know you,” Olaf said.
“The feeling’s mutual. I’d better get back to the registration area.”
“No. We’ll go together. Safer that way,” Alton said.
Olaf eyed them both then. “Afraid she’ll have suitors, Alton, that you can’t fight off? I’m Olaf, by the way.” He made a low bow with an elegant sweeping gesture of his arm as if he was standing before royalty.
“This is Violet,” Alton quickly said. Was he afraid she hadn’t remembered her alias?
“Did you want to join us in our practice then?” Olaf asked, not bothering to see if it was okay with Alton.
Really feeling like she needed to return to the registration, choose her games, and do the prequalification tests, she felt antsy. “If you’re going to practice, I should just—“
“Watch or join us,” Alton insisted.
Now she got the impression he really intended to protect her. Which she truly appreciated. She reached over, took hold of Alton’s hand, and leaned in to kiss his cheek. She swore his cheeks turned a little red. Was it okay that he kissed her so all of a sudden, but not if she returned the favor? “All right.”
“Which is it?” Alton asked, and she knew he was dying to see if she could turn into a dragon.
“I’ll watch, thank you.” She folded her arms and waited for them to begin practicing, wishing she could too, but not with experts like they were. She hadn’t wanted him to see her try to fly or blow flames or any of what dragons did. She was certain any of the expert dragons wouldn’t be hanging around the beginning gamers to see how they did, but instead intent on seeing how the other advanced dragons did in the trials.
“If you change your mind, join us any time, right, Alton?” Olaf asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
Then Alton kissed her cheek back as if he was supposed to do that for his part of the charade, shifted—into a violet dragon and hissed out a smoky breath—then rose up into the sky, flapping his beautiful wings.
“He doesn’t like that color,” Olaf said. “But all the girls like it.” Then he shifted and took off to join Alton.
Would Alton even notice if she left and returned to the registration area? Still, she loved watching them following each other in a ferris wheel formation, diving down and turning and heading for the sun.
She wondered what Olaf really thought of her. Had he heard of the golden fae who had saved Alton and Muriel’s life? Did he wonder if she was the same girl then?
She assumed if she turned into a dragon, he wouldn’t suspect she was a golden fae. At least she hoped he wouldn’t. So she shifted. The dragons were so busy with their routines, though she noticed Alton was often maneuvering so that he could still keep an eye on her and make sure she didn’t vanish, that while he was doing one of his upside down turns, she thought he wouldn’t see her change.
But both he and Olaf literally broke free from their routines, and flapping in place, stared at her as if she’d just grown several heads.
9
By the gods, Alton couldn’t believe it. Not only had Kayla shifted, but she looked like his matching mate, like birds of the same kind and color.
He kept reminding himself it was all allusion. That the witch Sigrid had cast this spell over Kayla. But could Kayla really fly? Probably like Brett in the beginning. A novice.
Since Olaf had offered for her to join them, Alton flew down to land in front of her and shifted. “Come fly with us.”
She shifted so she could answer him. “You are experts. I’m a beginner. I’d waste your time.”
Olaf was still hovering in place high in the sky, waiting for Alton to return.
“Come on. We’ll do some really easy routines with you so you can get a feel for it. Nothing difficult.”
The training from a real dragon would probably be better than one from a falcon fae.
“I don’t know. I don’t want you to get behind in your practice…”
“Come on. You don’t have to do it for long. Just a couple of simple flying routines. If the falcon fae was showing you how to do this, she won’t have taught you what you need to know. Falcons don’t fly exactly like we do. And she probably couldn’t help you with breathing fire either.”
She had to agree wholeheartedly with him there. All Sigrid could d
o was nod, while Tanya had just smiled at the sight of her flying in the clouds, casting fireballs into the atmosphere.
“Okay, but I’m warning you, I’m a beginner, beginner.” Like a one-day old dragonling only with a grown-up body.
Olaf landed on the ground in front of them.
“Don’t I know it. Come on. Let’s go,” Alton said.
She was so unsure about this, but better to make a fool of herself, she figured, in front of just these two dragons, rather than all the dragons at the game site. In fact, maybe Alton would feel sorry for her and give her the lockets and send her home instead. Not that she liked the idea anyone had to feel sorry for her, but if she could get her locket back and that made it happen…
She did a little flying leap into the air and flapped her wings until she was airborne. She realized the guys were watching her from the ground still, arms folded across their chests, frowning. Great. She’d done it all wrong. But she didn’t know a better way to take off than that.
The two guys talked to each other while she was in a holding pattern, waiting for them to do something. Olaf nodded, then Alton said, “I’m coming up. I’m going to show you some moves and Olaf’s going to tell you what’s going on or you might not understand.”
She nodded.
“He’s going to show you some basic moves. You need to feel the currents beneath your wings, work with them, not against them,” Olaf said.
Easy for him to say. He’d been flying all his life.
When Sigrid had flown with her, it was one thing. She was smaller than any dragon, in human form with big wings, but hers hadn’t been nearly as big as dragon wings. And she could talk to her as they were flying, guiding her in her moves. Now Kayla had to listen to Olaf down below and at the same time concentrate on what Alton was doing.
Alton flew around in a wide circle.
“No explanation there. Just follow him. He wants you to feel the air currents, get used to turning left. See how he angles his left wing down when he does it? Then he’ll turn to the right and circle the same way. Just don’t look at the ground when you’re doing circles or you could get dizzy.”