Chapter 1

CHAPTER1

The shop was teeming with magic, and Opal’s nails tingled a little as he stepped inside. The locals had told him that this was the place to buy all sorts of charms and potions, and Opal could already see the possibilities spreading out before him. Human potions to do human things.

“Hello?” Opal called out into the empty space. “I’d like to buy a potion!”

While he waited for the proprietor to come out, he began to wander the shelves, checking what was on offer. There were a few charms to ward off disaster, a lovely necklace that promised mild luck, and a row of potions for sleep. Opal very carefully tested a few of the spells, and they did what they promised to do.

Good. This sorcerer wasn’t a charlatan like the last one he’d been sent to.

The sorcerer stepped out from the back room, huffing a little. He was tall, for a human, with long hair so light it appeared white, and a pair of round glasses that dazzled with magic. He also wore a lot of enchanted necklaces around his neck. There were so many spells layered on them that Opal had no clue what any individual one did.

“Apologies,” the sorcerer said, adjusting his glasses. “I was absorbed with my work in the back and didn’t notice you enter.”

Opal smiled at him. “No worries! I was just looking around.” He almost reached up to touch his horns nervously, before remembering that he was pretending to be human. No horns right now. He approached the sorcerer, careful not to get too close to some of the more hyperactive spells. There was at least one shelf that was meant to warn against magical creatures, and Opal was a little bit too magical.

“How may I help you?” the sorcerer asked, stepping closer to the counter. “I have many potions here. Sleeping draughts, cures for coughs and fevers, ones that might remove aches—”

“I want a love potion,” Opal blurted out. He blushed after saying it. “I mean… I heard you sell those. Maybe?”

“A… love potion?” The sorcerer looked at him in surprise and fiddled with his glasses again. “Why would you… that is, love potions are usually superficial at best. If you want instant lust, you’d be better off finding a… a dragon, and bartering for its saliva.”

Opal groaned and buried his face in his hands. Of course he knew that he could get a human to be completely consumed by lust. That was the easy part. But he’d tried that a few times, and usually the humans ran away once the effects of his saliva ran off, or they were just a blubbering mess and wanted him to fuck them senseless over and over, and maybe Opal wanted more than just a fuck buddy. He wasn’t like his brother Alabaster, who seemed content with a string of liaisons, and he hadn’t been as lucky as his brother Jade, who somehow enchanted a human on the power of his saliva and dicks alone.

“I don’t want instant lust,” Opal said, lowering his hands. “You are the sorcerer Izar, correct? Everybody says you’re the best in this land.”

“Ah, yes. That is indeed me.” Izar coughed into his hand. “I don’t usually recommend love potions. They cause problems on both sides. But if you insist, far be it from me to get in the way of your, ah, affections.”

“I don’t want to trick anyone,” Opal said quickly. “It’s not like that. I just want… an opportunity. And opening. For somebody to give me a chance.”

Now Izar gave him another hard stare. “You’re fairly attractive already. But how about I give you a minor attraction glamor? When you use it, the object of your affections will be compelled to converse with you a little. That’s not as ill-advised as a full love potion.”

That wasn’t what Opal wanted, but he resigned himself to it. “Fine, fine. Give me the glamor, and I’ll be on my way. How much does it cost?” He started rummaging through his skirt pockets and pulled out a few jewels. “Would this be enough?”

Izar coughed again, but he nodded. “Certainly. That should be plenty.” He went over to a shelf and unlocked a drawer, pulling out a small brooch in the shape of flowers. He brought it over to the counter and, after one more glance at Opal, he said his human magic words and imbued it with more human magic.

Human magic was so different from dragon magic. Opal could tell it was there, he knew the effects, but how tiny little humans managed to use something so much bigger than them was beyond him.

“It’s done?” Opal asked, approaching Izar. The brooch sparkled with a pretty seashell sheen, a few pearls around the edges and beautiful, light blue sapphires for the petals. Opal wrinkled his nose at it. “You don’t have one with an opal?”

Izar sighed. “Attraction spells and the like require sapphires. This is the only one I have at the moment that isn’t made for more potent spells. Opals are only good for deception spells, like invisibility or hiding your face.”

It seemed like a lot of jewels for a single spell, but Opal wasn’t going to argue with a human sorcerer about human magic. He resented the implication about opals, but in the end, he wasn’t actually an opal. His scales just shimmered in that color, and he had the most unimaginative parents in the entire world. He’d met one dragon named Crimson Blaze and he’d marveled at how much cooler that name sounded.

“Okay fine. thank you!” Opal dumped his payment on Izar’s counter and picked up his new brooch. He fastened it to his shirt, directly over his heart, and grinned. The jewels looked nice on him. It was almost a shame his long coat covered it. He wanted to show it off to the world.

“When you want to activate the spell, simply rub the flower a few times,” Izar said. “I’m not sure it’ll do much for you that your own appearance and natural… charms… wouldn’t already do, but…”

“Nope, this is good!” Opal said cheerily. He couldn’t stop grinning as he took his new piece of jewelry out of the sorcerer’s shop. He’d have to test it immediately.

It was only a ten-minute walk to the city of Lurina, and Opal vibrated with excitement. He was already imagining it: sitting down at a small table in a tavern or outside a bakery, and a handsome or beautiful stranger being so taken by Opal that they had to sit down. They would chat for hours, lost in each other’s eyes, and at the end of the day, the stranger would kiss Opal, and—

“Whatcha got there?”

Opal stopped in his tracks and focused on the road ahead of him. Three very large, very rough looking men, wielding battered weapons, stood in front of him. The one who’d spoken smelled like he hadn’t bathed in a week.

Oh, bother. Opal wasn’t in the mood to eat a human. He wanted to fall in love with one!

“Nothing. I am a very normal traveler, with very normal traveler goods. That’s usually nothing, right?” Opal asked, holding his hands up like how humans usually did to show they were weak and harmless.

“Yeah? Then what’s that shiny bauble on your chest?” The brigand pointed his short sword straight at the sparkly new brooch.

Opal peered down. His coat had fluttered out of the way during his walk. He should have buttoned it shut, but it was a lovely day. Cool, yes, but no rain in sight, which was a miracle for this time of year. Opal didn’t usually bother leaving his cave once the rains started, but after his brother’s beautiful wedding, he’d moped and moped until his heart couldn’t take it anymore.

He needed to find a true love of his own.

“Are you listening?” the brigand shouted again, taking a very menacing step closer.

Opal scratched his chin. “I guess? But I don’t want to give this up. I just bought it. I like how pretty it is. Can’t you rob somebody else?”

“You won’t be robbing anyone today,” a new voice said from behind Opal, a strong baritone that instantly caught his attention. “Begone, lowlifes, before I take you in to face the king…” The man hesitated over his words, then went on, “the kingdom’s justice.”

One of the brigands snickered. “The king is dead, idiot. There’s no king’s justice.”

Opal turned around, and nearly shrieked with glee. This newcomer was just… dazzling. Opal couldn’t quite judge human years, but the man seemed to be in the prime of his life—not too young, not too old, with smooth dark skin and hair cut close to his scalp. He was wearing leather armor that did absolutely nothing for his figure, but Opal could imagine the muscles that might be beneath it well enough.

The only small, really negligible flaw was that he was shorter than Opal, but Opal had resigned himself to the fact that most humans were. There was just no getting around it.

“We don’t need a king to protect the realm from brigands,” the armored man said. He unsheathed a longsword, holding it at the ready with the experience of someone long practiced with the weapon.

A knight. A literal knight in shining—well, almost shining—armor. Opal couldn’t believe his luck. The love spell was working already. Opal carefully sidled closer to the knight and sighed dreamily.

“Oh, kind sir, please, please save me from these ruffians.” Opal tried to make himself sound as helpless as possible. “I’m so afraid for my life.”

The leader of the bandits looked between Opal and the knight, then barked out a laugh. “A knight. You gonna take on all three of us, in the name of justice and honor, to protect this pretty little morsel?”

At least they thought he was pretty, but Opal didn’t particularly want the bandits to like him in that way. “He’s going to easily defeat all three of you!” Opal shouted to him. Then he looked at the knight again. “Right? A knight such as yourself should have no trouble at all dispatching three men at once.”

His knight’s demeanor stayed proud, seemingly unaffected, but he tensed almost imperceptibly. Maybe he wasn’t quite so confident in his own abilities after all, but Opal could always step in if things looked like they were going poorly.

“This is your last warning. If you don’t move along, I’ll make sure you never trouble another traveler again,” his knight said, and he sounded confident. Good.

The leader of the bandits drew his own short sword, yelling out, “Attack!”

The knight got in front of Opal, and Opal’s heart nearly melted all over again as the knight lifted the sword and took on the first of the attacks.

The bandits knew how to use their weapons, but so did the knight, and he held them off for several seconds, twirling and deftly dogging out of the way of their attacks. Good, but he was going to get tired quickly at this rate—and that was likely what the men were counting on.

The fastest way to deal with this was to shift into his dragon form and devour the humans, but Opal wanted to see his knight in action.

He didn’t want to see his knight run through with a sword, and the third bandit was creeping in behind the knight, using his two compatriots as a distraction. Opal cast a glance around and found a big rock by the side of the road. He picked it up and threw it at the third bandit.

If he’d wanted to, he could have hit him in the head, but Opal wouldn’t deny his knight the glory of victory. So the rock caught the bandit in the shoulder, making him cry out, fumble with his sword, and alerting Opal’s knight to his presence.

His knight reacted immediately, spinning around, and the swiftness of the action allowed him to catch one of the men unaware. The sword slit his stomach open, blood immediately darkening the front of his tunic as he cried out. With him dealt with, Opal’s knight seemed better matched—and invigorated by the first defeat. The slight uncertainty seemed gone, replaced with a confidence that matched his skill with the sword.

First the third man, then Opal’s knight went head-to-head with the leader of the group. He wasn’t laughing now, but instead buckling down as he fought for his life against the knight.

What a heart-stopping show! Opal gasped when the swords clashed, and he cheered when his knight drew the leader’s blood. Throughout it all, Opal was entranced with his knight’s fluid movements and how he commanded his weapon.

He couldn’t imagine a human more perfect than this. Opal was so excited, in fact, that he almost lost control of the glamor hiding his horns. He didn’t want to cause distraction, though, so he tamped down on his feelings and went back to cheering his knight on a bit more calmly.

“You can do it, Sir Knight! You have the might of the gods behind you!” Opal shouted.

His knight’s brief answering grin was fierce, like Opal’s words really were bolstering him. It was sweet, and he continued to cheer like this was a sparring bout instead of a battle over life and death.

The only remaining bandit finally barked out, “Mercy! Mercy, Sir Knight!”

Opal’s knight’s eyes narrowed, and he stared at the brigand. “Submit, and I’ll turn you in to the guards instead of spilling your innards.”

“Yes, yes, I surrender.” The bandit dropped his sword onto the ground in front of him. Despite the man’s words of concession, he was reaching behind himself, where Opal could see the glint of a dagger hilt.

Opal opened his mouth to shout a warning to his knight, but it turned out to be unnecessary. The knight saw the motion, too, and his mouth set in grim determination as he struck before the ruffian could actually grab hold of the dagger. The man went down in a heap, just like his friends had.

What a marvelous and clever human Opal’s knight was. There truly couldn’t be anybody more perfect or worthy or lovely in the entire world.

The knight walked over to the corpse, cautious as he looked at the three of them, as though to make sure they were really dead and no more threats to him. He pulled the dagger from the man’s back sheath. “A throwing dagger,” his knight said in disgust. “I would have spared him, too.”

“Ruffians like him don’t deserve mercy.” Opal gingerly stepped around the bloodied ground and approached the knight. “Thank you so much for saving me, Sir Knight. Would you be so kind as to tell me your name?”

“Tristan Blythe, Knight of Phassis,” his knight replied, inclining his head to him. “What about you? You shouldn’t be traveling alone.”

How polite. Opal sighed dreamily. “I’m Opal. And I came out here to visit the sorcerer, and then these horrible brigands beset me. I had no idea a simple twenty-minute walk could be so dangerous!”

“There are many threats in Phassis these days,” Tristan said gruffly, pulling a cloth from his pack so he could clean his sword. “Thieves and brigands, would-be usurpers to the throne, dragons and all sorts of creatures…” He shook his head.

Opal’s heart sank a little. “Dragons? What do you mean, dragons? Are you sure you don’t mean wyverns? I don’t think Phassis has dragons. Or maybe a basilisk? Those are scaly too, and they can turn you to stone! Very dangerous.”

Tristan’s expression was dark as he dropped the blood-soaked cloth to the ground and sheathed his sword. “No, I’m sure of it. There’s been an infestation, and now dragons have been spotted everywhere. Just look at what’s happening in Kithage.” His lip curved in an unseemly grimace.

An infestation? Opal had lived here in Phassis longer than the land had been known under that name! And just because his brother Jade had married the King of Kithage didn’t mean there was an infestation, which was a terribly rude word as it was. The only dragons in the immediate area were Opal and his sister Citrine, who lived in the southern mountain range, but she didn’t walk around the human towns as a dragon either, and anyway, neither of them did more than eat some livestock here and there. Fine, there was the occasional human who dared to bother them, and one time a human had attempted to steal Opal’s books, and there were also the humans who’d tried to burn down the nearby library, but in general, Opal didn’t interact with humans much, outside of the occasional unromantic liaison to relieve some… tension.

Opal ducked his head and let his hair fall over his face, using the cover to reach for the charm he’d bought and rub the flower petals a bit. He felt the magic release, and that eased him.

When he raised his head, Tristan was watching him.

“If… if the dragons are so dangerous… if these roads are so dangerous… would you be so kind as to accompany me the rest of the way to Lurina? And, um, to an inn! So I can buy you a meal in thanks!” Opal smiled at Tristan and gave him his best pleading eyes.

Tristan nodded slowly. “I’ll escort you,” he said. “I’m on my way to Lurina anyway, and I’d appreciate a meal and some good ale.”

It was all right that Tristan didn’t like dragons. He just didn’t know better yet. After he fell in love with Opal, surely he’d realize the stupidity of his prejudices and they would laugh about his dumb human ideas.

Yes. This was the perfect plan.

And then Opal could have his own wedding to his true love, and his life would be perfect.