Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

T ime seemed to slow as Quinn felt herself sliding toward the edge of a massive crevasse that had opened in the glacier. Her fingers scrabbled for purchase on the smooth ice, but found nothing to grip. The yawning chasm gaped below her, bottomless and dark.

“Should have taken the help, should have taken the help,” she chanted, heart pounding as she slid closer to the edge. “Stupid pride, stupid ice, stupid?—”

A shadow passed overhead, followed by a rush of displaced air. Something massive swooped down from above—something with scales that gleamed like polished silver and sapphire in the alien light.

Powerful claws wrapped around her waist, plucking her from the edge of disaster with surprising gentleness. Quinn’s stomach dropped as she was lifted into the air, her feet dangling above the dizzying drop she’d nearly fallen into.

She found herself staring into an enormous eye the color of glacier ice, with a vertical pupil that contracted as it focused on her. Kai’s dragon form was magnificent and terrifying—easily the size of a small passenger plane, with wings that blocked out the sun as they beat the air.

Without warning, he deposited her onto his broad back between two ridges of metallic scales. Quinn grabbed hold instinctively as he banked away from the unstable cliff face, powerful wings carrying them higher into the crisp mountain air.

“Oh my god,” she breathed, momentarily forgetting her pride in the face of pure wonder.

The view was breathtaking. From this height, she could see the full majesty of Nova Aurora’s landscape—vast purple forests, winding rivers of luminescent blue ice, and mountain peaks that seemed to pierce the very sky. The cold wind whipped through her hair, but Kai’s scales radiated a pleasant warmth that kept the chill at bay.

Her heart raced, though whether from the near-death experience or the intimate contact with Kai’s dragon form, she couldn’t say. She could feel the play of powerful muscles beneath his scales as he soared through the air with practiced grace. It was... distracting.

“I had it under control,” she called out, though the words sounded hollow even to her own ears. “Mostly. Kind of. In theory.”

A rumbling sound vibrated through his scales—something between a laugh and a snort. The smug dragon was actually laughing at her.

“Oh, sure, laugh it up,” she muttered, patting his scales. “Not all of us can sprout wings when things get dicey.”

They descended toward the palace courtyard in a gentle spiral. Kai lowered to the ground with surprising delicacy for a creature of his size, allowing her to slide off his back. In a shimmer of magic that made her eyes water, his dragon form melted away, leaving him standing before her in his human shape.

“You’re welcome,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting in a slight smirk.

Quinn crossed her arms, fighting the blush that threatened to color her cheeks. “I didn’t ask for your help.”

“No.” His eyes glinted with amusement. “But you needed it all the same.”

“I would have figured something out.”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “And what was your plan, exactly?”

“I... would have thought of something brilliant at the last second. It’s kind of my specialty.”

“Of course.” He inclined his head, though his expression remained infuriatingly knowing. “I merely thought I’d... expedite the process. Save you the trouble of having to be brilliant.”

“Your concern is touching,” she said dryly, trying to ignore how her skin still tingled from where she’d been pressed against his scales. “But I don’t need a knight in shining armor. Or a dragon in shining scales, for that matter.”

“And yet, here I am.” He took a step closer, and suddenly the playful atmosphere shifted into something more intense. “Perhaps the universe is trying to tell you something.”

Quinn’s breath caught in her throat. He was too close, radiating heat and power and something else she wouldn’t name. Something that made her want to step closer instead of away.

“The universe needs to mind its own business,” she managed, proud that her voice remained steady. “I came here to study geology, not... whatever this is.”

“And what do you think this is?” His voice had dropped lower, sending shivers down her spine.

“Nothing.” She stepped back, needing distance to clear her head. “It’s nothing. You’re my host, and I’m grateful for the save, but that’s all.”

His eyes searched her face for a long moment. “You don’t believe that.”

“I have to.” The words slipped out before she could stop them. She turned away quickly, hoping he hadn’t heard the vulnerability in her voice. “I need to get back to work.”

“At least let me?—”

“No.” She started walking, refusing to look back at him. “I don’t need an escort, a guard, or a dragon-sized safety net. I can handle myself.”

His deep chuckle followed her across the courtyard. “As you wish, little scientist. But remember—sometimes accepting help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of wisdom.”

“And sometimes,” she muttered under her breath, “it’s a sign that you’re getting way too close to something you shouldn’t.”

Quinn quickened her pace, her cheeks burning. Stupid, arrogant dragon king with his stupid, logical points and his stupid, attractive everything. She wouldn’t admit it aloud, but the memory of soaring through the clouds on his back had stirred something in her—something that had nothing to do with geological research and everything to do with the way her heart had raced when he’d held her safe in his claws.

She needed to focus on her work, not on the way his scales had shimmered in the sunlight or how his presence made her feel simultaneously protected and challenged. She had mysteries to solve, and none of them involved why her pulse quickened every time he looked at her with those piercing ice-blue eyes.

But as she reached her quarters, she couldn’t help glancing back toward the courtyard. Kai was gone, but the impression of his dragon form against the sky lingered in her mind. For the first time since arriving on Nova Aurora, she wondered if she might be in over her head—and not just because of the unstable geology.

“Focus, Quinn,” she told herself firmly. “You’re here to study rocks, not fall for the local dragon king. No matter how unfairly attractive he is when he’s being all heroic and infuriating.”

The walls of her room hummed with what sounded suspiciously like amusement.

“Oh, shut up,” she told them. “Nobody asked you.”

But as she paced the room, she couldn’t quite shake the memory of flying dragonback , held safely in the embrace of a dragon who looked at her like she was something precious and frustrating and wonderful all at once. It was almost enough to make her wonder if maybe—just maybe—there were some mysteries worth exploring beyond the geological ones.

Almost. But not quite. She had work to do, and she wasn’t about to let attraction, no matter how powerful, derail her from her goals. Even if said attraction came with wings, scales, and the most intense blue eyes she’d ever seen.

Right. Focus on the science. Not the dragon. Definitely not the dragon.

The walls hummed again.

“I mean it,” she warned them. “Not. One. Word.”

But even her equipment seemed to be laughing at her now, and Quinn couldn’t quite suppress her own smile as she headed out to the workshop with the tools she needed to fix her equipment. Again.

Maybe Nova Aurora had more surprises in store for her than she’d bargained for—and maybe, just maybe, not all of them would be geological in nature.