Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

T he setting sun cast Nova Aurora’s terrain in shades of deep violet and magenta, turning the crystalline cliff face before Quinn into a kaleidoscope of alien colors. She crouched at its base, gloved fingers tracing patterns that defied Earth geology, while her array of specialized equipment blinked and hummed around her makeshift research station. The air itself seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly energy that made her instruments fluctuate in ways she’d never seen.

“Pattern recognition algorithm complete,” chirped her tablet. “Crystalline structure analysis shows 87% similarity to sample A-13, but with significant anomalies in the molecular binding.”

Quinn frowned, adjusting her scanner’s settings. “That can’t be right. The energy signature is completely different.” She extracted another sample of the pulsing crystal formation, holding it up to catch the light. Veins of what appeared to be living crystal threaded through the rock face, their soft glow intensifying at her touch. The raw beauty of this alien world still took her breath away, even after intensive study.

A gust of wind whipped loose strands of dark hair across her face, carrying ice crystals that sparkled like diamonds in the violet-tinged sunlight. Quinn tucked the wayward strands behind her ear, leaving a streak of sparkly purple mineral dust across her forehead.

The rational part of her brain noted how the substance caught the light - another fascinating anomaly to study. The less rational part wondered if Kai’s hair caught the light the same way, all pale gold and perfect...

“Stop it,” she muttered to herself, aggressively scratching out a doodle of intense eyes that had somehow appeared in her margin notes. “You’re a scientist, not a teenager.”

But even as she tried to focus on her work, memories of their previous encounters kept intruding. The way he moved with such fluid grace despite his imposing size. How his eyes seemed to track her movements whenever she was in the same room. The subtle flex of powerful muscles beneath his fitted clothing during yesterday’s council meeting, when he’d leaned over her preliminary findings with those piercing blue eyes...

“These fault lines follow no pattern I’ve ever seen,” she said loudly, trying to drown out her wayward thoughts. She traced a finger along a particularly vibrant vein. “The mineral composition alone could revolutionize our understanding of plate tectonics. If I could just figure out how these crystals maintain such perfect formation despite the seismic activity...”

“Talking to rocks again?” Lydia’s voice made her jump. Her best friend plopped down beside her, red curls wild in the alien wind. “Or perhaps imagining a certain dragon king’s perfect formation?”

“I’m analyzing crystal structures,” Quinn protested, though her cheeks warmed. “And stop wiggling your eyebrows like that. You look deranged.”

“Says the woman who spent fifteen minutes yesterday watching His Royal Hotness practice sword fighting in the courtyard. For ‘research purposes,’ I believe you claimed?”

“I was studying the palace architecture!”

“Uh-huh. The very muscular, shirtless architecture. You know, for someone so dedicated to science, you sure spent a lot of time analyzing his... structural integrity.”

“I hate you,” Quinn muttered, turning back to her samples. “Don’t you have anything better to do than torment me?”

“Nope! Watching you pretend to not be attracted to tall, dark, and scaly is way more entertaining than cataloging rock samples.” Lydia picked up one of the glowing crystals, turning it in the fading light. “Though I have to admit, these are pretty cool. Kind of like his eyes when he gets all dragon-y, don’t you think?”

“His eyes are more like sapphires caught in sunlight,” Quinn said absently, then froze as she realized what she’d admitted. “I mean... that’s not... I’m making objective observations.”

A shadow fell over their work area. Two towering dragon-shifter guards positioned themselves on either side of the makeshift research station, their ornate armor gleaming as they took up protective stances.

“Oh, for crying out loud.” Quinn straightened, fixing them with an irritated glare. “I don’t need babysitters. You’re blocking my light, and you’re contaminating my research area.”

The guards remained stoic, though one shifted slightly, casting an even longer shadow across her rock samples.

“The king insists on ensuring your safety,” the guard on the left intoned formally.

“The king can take his safety protocols and-” Quinn bit back the rest of that sentence as heavy footsteps approached. Her heart did a completely unauthorized little flip in her chest.

When Kai appeared, Quinn’s breath caught despite herself. Today’s fitted black leather armor emphasized every powerful line of his body, from his broad shoulders to his narrow waist. His pale gold hair caught the violet sunlight, creating an almost halo-like effect that contrasted magnificently with his sharp, aristocratic features. A few strands had escaped their usual neat arrangement, making him look slightly less polished and infinitely more appealing.

“Your work is respected, Quinn,” he said, and damn him for having such a voice - deep and rich like aged whiskey, with that slight growl underneath that made her stomach do completely unauthorized flips. “But there are boundaries. This terrain is treacherous, and you need protection.”

She forced herself to focus on her irritation rather than how his accent caressed her name, or how his presence seemed to fill all the available space around her, making the air feel thick and charged.

“I don’t need a dragon bodyguard,” she snapped, trying to ignore how his scent - something wild and spicy, like cinnamon and storm clouds - made her head spin. “I’m perfectly capable of handling myself.”

“Indeed?” One pale gold eyebrow arched as his gaze swept over her. “Is that why you nearly fell into a crevasse yesterday while ‘examining an interesting rock formation’?”

“That was one time! And I had it under control.”

“You were hanging by your sample collection belt.”

“It was a calculated risk in the name of science.”

Quinn slammed her notebook shut, taking a confrontational step toward him. Her heart raced with anger - just anger, she told herself firmly. “I can handle this terrain without the royal entourage. I don’t need your permission to do my job.”

They stood toe to toe, the tension crackling between them. When she jabbed her finger into his chest, she couldn’t help but notice how solid he felt beneath the leather armor. Heat radiated from him like a furnace, and this close, she could see flecks of gold in his blue eyes, like stars in an alien sky...

“This isn’t Earth,” Kai countered, his intense gaze locking with hers. “And you’re not alone here. As long as you’re in my kingdom, your safety is my responsibility.”

Quinn refused to back down, even as she found herself noticing things she shouldn’t - like how his jaw clenched with barely contained emotion, or how those striking blue eyes seemed to glow as they bore into hers. His dragon nature simmered just beneath the surface, and something primal in her responded to that barely contained power.

“If you two are done with the angry flirting,” Lydia called out, “these seismic readings are getting pretty interesting. Though that might just be the local temperature spike from all this tension.”