Chapter 1

Chapter

One

CALLISTO

Well, getting abducted wasn't in my plans for today.

I'm sure it's fine. These six sweaty men who look like they plan to drag me off and put me in the conveniently placed abductor wagon aren't actually going to get away with it. And why are they so sweaty? It's not that hot out.

"I think you are mistaken. I would not like to be abducted today or ever, really, but definitely not today," I say then give them the best smile I can muster.

They laugh at me! At me !

"Get in or I'll make you get in," the man closest to me says with a hand on his sword, like he's just going to lop off my head when he could easily make a quick coin selling me.

"I'd really prefer not to. Thank you. How about this. In exchange for not abducting me and selling me to who knows who, I will perform a magic trick for you." Seeing a trampled flower not yet in bloom near the foot of a tall, skinny man, I reach down and pluck it before presenting it to them.

And with a simple look from me, the flower bursts into life, blooming as beautiful red petals open up.

Not a single person looks fucking impressed. One even smacks it out of my hand and grinds the pretty little flower into the ground.

"Knock him over the head and stuff him in the back," the sweatiest of them all says.

This… really isn't going as I had hoped at all, but there is one thing that could save me.

My eyes lock on to the man who has been leaning against the front of his store, ohhhh, ten or so feet from this whole debacle. He looks absolutely bored out of his mind, like he sees people being abducted from his storefront on a daily basis.

"Hey there, sir?" I ask.

The six men turn to look at who I'm calling to as the man lazily looks over at me. I'm pretty sure he's just sunning himself like a damn cat, oblivious to the world around him.

"Me?"

"Yeah. Do you not see me getting kidnapped here?" I ask.

"No, no, I saw. I just don't care," he responds as he goes back to relaxing.

"Yeah, but… it'd be really nice if you did care," I say before giving him the smile that gets me anything and everything.

He grimaces a little when he sees it.

"You got something to say?" Sweaty Sweat demands.

The man, who is almost irritatingly handsome, waves him off. "No, no. Please don't mind me."

"Minding would be really nice," I say. "I mean… you don't want blood all over your storefront, do you? It'll scare your customers away."

"I don't know, you might actually draw a few spectators in. They'd be like ‘Wow, what happened here' and then come in for a drink."

"Lovely," I whisper before remembering that I have another thing at my disposal. "I will shower you in gold if you save me."

The handsome man watches me for a long moment before shrugging and waving at my would-be abductors. "Shoo. Go on now," he mutters, like that'll solve anything .

"You lot better be careful. He's gonna fuck you up," I warn as the storekeeper proceeds to look bored out of his mind.

"Maybe we should cut his tongue out before we sell him. No one's going to want to listen to him talk," Long-Legs says.

"We don't want to mar that pretty face of his," another comments. "I know just the man who'd enjoy buying him."

The one grabs my arms and starts hauling me backward as I realize that absolutely no one is coming to my aid. The storekeeper is just going to stand there looking all handsome as if he's too busy to even watch me get abducted!

"Let go of me! Don't you dare?—"

And that's the moment a small wyvern, about the size of a horse, drops from the sky and tears the head off the man who had been holding me. Clearly not sated, it grabs two more men before flying away, leaving me to listen to their screams fade off in the distance.

I stand in absolute horror as the other men scream and run. Slowly, ever so slowly, I look over at the shopkeeper. He gets one look at me and grimaces a little. "You got a little something… right here." He motions to my face as I quickly step away from the body.

"I… see," I say, prepared to hurry away.

"You going to clean up your mess?" he asks as he waves toward the massacre.

Now that I don't have the other men to worry about, I can get a decent look at him. He's a tall man, probably a little taller than me, with dark hair cut short. He has a neatly trimmed beard and deep brown eyes that are watching me in apparent amusement. His clothes tell me he's a commoner and now that I get a better look at him and the storefront, I realize it's not a store at all but a tavern. He appears quite human, but I've learned to never judge anyone before I fully know them.

"Nope. Don't think I am going to touch any of that mess. Thank you for all of your help. You were just… phenomenal. Just like… soaking me in help."

He gives me the cockiest damn smile I've ever seen before shrugging and slipping back into his tavern. And with that, I turn away from the shitty part of the town and rush toward home, prepared to scrub my face.