Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I started back as a powerful light burst out of my body and cast a wide net some fifty yards around me. The vampires cried out in pain and scattered out of the domain of the bright glow, all except the unconscious Hugh. The light also blew off the remains of the ship and scattered timber and treasure far and wide.

And the magic blew off my vampire blood.

I wrapped my hands around my throat and gasped as water bubbles now escaped my own lips. The light around me faded as my focus turned to staying alive. Tegan clamped his teeth on my coat and flapped and paddled upward. His wings propelled us to the surface and we broke through into the starry night. I clutched onto Tegan's scales and choked on the sweet oxygen. Even he trembled as he sucked in the precious air.

Tegan got a hold of himself and looked down at me. I'd forgotten how gravely his voice was in this form. "Are you alright?"

I choked out a few more cupfuls of seawater and nodded. "Y-yeah."

He looked me over before he turned his sights on the beach. "So much for laying low on revealing our magic. . ."

I snorted and patted his chainmail chest. "At least we're not laying on the ocean floor."

Tegan gave me another careful study. "You sure you're alright."

I leaned my cheek against one of his plates and sighed. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't dreaming of a nice warm bed." A breeze wafted over us and made me shiver. "And a really warm bath."

The vampires popped their heads above the surface and one of them had draped Hugh's arm over his shoulder. The lead vampire gave us a weak smile. "My sincerest apologies. It appears we were rather careless."

Tegan shook his head. "It was an accident. We were prepared for such danger."

Hugh looked over his scaly body. "So it would appear. I thank you for saving me. I might have been crushed to ash if you hadn't intervened."

"Glad to help," I spoke up as I patted Tegan on the chest. "Now I think we'll be going."

Tegan lowered his neck. "Climb aboard."

I pursed my lips. "You sure you can fly us back?"

He grinned at me. "I could use the warm exercise."

That didn't quite answer my question, but I floated onto his neck and eased myself lower so I was positioned on his back. He opened his wings and flapped hard, spraying water over the area and forcing the vampires back. We were soon airborne and I clutched on to his wild mane.

I was positioned just slightly ahead of his wings and they inspired a very important question in me. "How's your wing?"

"Perfectly healed," he assured me.

I lay lower against him as the cold night air struck me in the face. My damp clothes clung to my shivering flesh and I let out a sneeze.

"Hold on," he called out as he dove lower.

A few lights illuminated some of the windows of the estate as we landed on the terrace. Tegan let me down and quickly transformed back into his handsome self. He grasped my arms and led me inside where the warm air immediately rejuvenated me a little. Our bare feet padded across the carpeted floors but our quiet entrance didn't go unnoticed.

Miles appeared down the hall and the candlelight cast long shadows on his expression of horror. "Out!" he commanded as he marched toward us. "You are ruining the rug! Out!"

Tegan didn't miss a beat by foot or mouth. "We could strip here if you'd like or you could let us pass and start cleaning up after us."

The older gentleman froze with indecision at the lewd suggestion though I did notice his eyes briefly flickered to my person. The lech.

We zipped past the butler and upstairs. I couldn't have been happier to strip off those wet clothes and toss them in a heap in a basket provided by the house. Tegan reignited the fire and a soothing warm enveloped the room. A quick bath and I was a new person. Tegan did likewise while I sat in front of the fire basking in the heat.

He came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and his handsome short hair ringing his face. I admired his physique for a moment before his twinkling eyes fell on me. A blush accented my cheeks and I looked back to the flames.

"So what do you think happened to our shoes?" I wondered.

"Conrad will get them to us somehow," he assured me as he dressed in his night attire of simple pants and a shirt. He joined me beside the fire and rubbed his hair with the towel. "How are you feeling?"

"Warm," I assured him as I scooted a little closer to the fire. "And I think I'll swear off swimming for half a lifetime."

"That was a pretty close call," I agreed as he set his towel aside.

I snorted. "If you hadn't transformed all three of us would've been skewered pancakes. Speaking of that-" I looked him up and down. "How are you feeling?"

He rotated his shoulders and winced. "A little out of practice."

I returned my gaze to the fire and nodded. "Yeah. You haven't changed since that one night, have you?"

Tegan shook his head. "No, but I don't often change into that form, anyway. It attracts too much attention."

I thought back to our latest foray into adventuring and snorted. "Did you see how big the eyes on those vampires were? I don't think a lot of them have seen a dragon any more recently than Clara."

"We are rather rare," Tegan confirmed as he grabbed another log and tossed it onto the fire. Embers flew up and cast their twinkling light on his slightly saddened face.

I tilted my head to one side and caught his eye. "That few, huh?"

"While we can mate with humans we generally don't have very many children," he revealed.

A grin slipped onto my lips. "Then we'll just have to try to break that curse, won't we?"

Tegan reached back and grasped his shoulder where he winced. "Indeed, and as much as I'd like to start immediately I think we should get some rest."

My shoulders slumped and I sighed. "Yeah. I guess we're on the clock with that protection racket, aren't we?"

"Unfortunately," he confirmed as he stood and offered me a hand and a smile. "But that doesn't we can't enjoy one another's company."

"You bet I will," I agreed as I accepted his hand and he helped me to my feet. "I'm going to put my cold feet on you all night."

He slightly winced and led me over to the bed. "I plead mercy."

I laughed and hopped into the bed, taking him with me. "Never!"

We snuggled down and slept, without cold feet touching, through what remained of the night. I awoke the next morning to the accursed sun shining through the windows and a serious ache in my body.

Also, one hell of a hangover.

I buried my face in the plush pillow and shut my eyes to block out the pounding, but there was no relief for me. Every little bit of noise, from the sea tides to the birds chirping, was like a jackhammer on my brain. Even the creaking hinges on the door were like nails on a chalkboard to my swimming head.

"You're awake," Tegan commented as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

I moved my head far enough to give him one evil eye. "Conrad really should have warned us a little better about this hangover."

Tegan chuckled as he moved over to me, and I saw he held our shoes and socks in his hands. "Speaking of him, he had Hugh return these early this morning." He set them on the floor and took a seat on the edge of the bed beside me. "Besides the headache, how are you feeling?"

"I can't feel anything but the headache," I retorted.

"It will pass with some water and food," he reassured me. "And speaking of that, breakfast is ready."

I buried my face into the pillow. "Go on without me. I'm done for."

He rubbed my back between the shoulder blades and elicited a purr from me. "I would rather cut off my wings than ever leave you before."

I gave a heavy sigh and flopped myself over. "Alright, you win. I'll get up."

He grinned. "Good. I'll help you dress."

I sat up and swatted away his eager hands. "You'd better let me handle this. If you helped we wouldn't get out of here before sunset."