Nik had been trying to wrangle a dragon to fly him home, but no matter which color he approached, they either ignored, laughed (if you could call that odd sound a laugh) or growled at him. One even had the gall to spit fire at his feet. He supposed the translator was only a valuable tool when there were humans around to translate for.
He stomped down the dragon-sized hallway toward the king’s chamber. Well, at least he tried to stomp. The stone barely made a noise as he slammed his feet against the floor.
The small yellow dragon standing sentry opened the door as he approached. Good thing, because he was pretty much poised to hand out a bucketful of whoopass at this point, even if his opponent could burn him alive with its breath.
On the far side of the chamber, Joe threw something into a pile. He grabbed a box from the shelf and dusted it off, not even looking up at Nik. “You’ve been trying to secure passage down the mountain.”
That stopped Nik in his tracks. He’d thought Joe had completely forgotten about him. He relaxed his stance. “Yeah. I figured I’d outstayed my welcome.”
Joe looked up. “How so?”
“I’m human, remember?” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “And not all those dragons out there seem friendly.”
“Are you alive?”
Nik narrowed his eyes. “Yeah.”
“Then trust me, they’re being friendly.” He tossed the small box on the pile. “Since you are so eager to leave, tell me, what are your plans once you get down the mountain?”
Nik shifted his weight. He hadn’t had any plans at first, but the more trouble he had securing passage off this rock, the more he realized that he needed to get back to civilization. It was time to grow up. He was done being the perpetual child.
Joe arched a brow, waiting for an answer.
Nik shrugged. “I don’t know. Get a job, for starters. I can’t keep freeloading off my grandparents. I need to be my own man, take accountability—hell, maybe even become someone Nanna and Pops can be proud of.”
“They’re already proud of you, and you know it.” Joe snatched a clear, blue stone from the floor and held it up to the flickering torchlight.
“Yeah, but I guess I need to be proud of myself, too. I need to find my place in the world.” Funny, he’d never really thought about having a place in the world. Living was just what you did day by day, doing the same things. He’d never really wanted more than a job to pay the bills, and a house he could call his own. But now he wondered if there was a way to get more out of life.
Joe tossed the stone in the air and caught it. “I’d like to show you something.” He headed for the exit without checking to see if Nik followed. How kingly of him.
Nik trailed after him through the dragon-sized door and through another dragon-sized, stone hallway. Everything about Dragon Mount made him feel dwarfed, despite walking beside Joe, who didn’t seem dwarfed at all, even though he was nearly six inches shorter than Nik.
They turned into a narrower hallway, and stopped short, blocked by a blue dragon. Startled, Nik retreated a step, but the boss barely budged as the creature shrank into human form and pushed back her long, dark hair.
Nik’s lips parted, taking in Naked Lady in all her God-effing-damn glory.
She dropped to her knees, arms splayed. “Forgive me, my king. It was not my intention to be in your presence in dragon form.”
Joe huffed out a breath. *They’ve been doing this all over the mountain. Apparently Pijeth decreed it rude to be a dragon in my presence until I can shift again.* He looked back at the girl. *I think they all expect me to lash out like Gale.*
Do you blame them? You gotta admit, Gale was a dick.
The girl didn’t move. Her dark hair shrouded her face and hid her beautiful chest. What. A. Shame.
Joe pulled her to her feet. “Please, bowing isn’t necessary.”
“I apologize for the intrusion, my king, but I have been looking for your Kotahi.”
Nik’s eyes widened. “Me?”
She smiled and took a step toward him. Yeah, she was definitely still naked.
“When you jumped off the ledge and onto Gale’s back, that was courage like I’ve never seen from a human.”
Courage? Maybe, if he ignored the part where he almost puked.
She turned back to Joe. “I want him.”
Joe’s brow shot up.
Nik coughed. “Come again?”
“You interest me, human. Male dragons are not the only ones who like to play.”
Sweet God. Please, please, please make her be talking about what I think she’s talking about.
Joe laughed, blushing. “Forgive me, but I do believe you need to be looking for a Draconic mate. We have no shortage of males.”
She straightened, pushing out that spectacular rack.
Thank you, boss, for ticking off the beautiful girl.
“I would never fly circles around my duty.” She grabbed Joe’s hand and pressed it to her bare stomach.
His gaze shot to hers. “You’re already clutching. Congratulations. Who’s the father?”
“Blues do not concern ourselves with trivialities. There were five males in my nest, all strong and healthy.”
Five? Damn.
“I hunger for something else now.” She turned from Joe and ran her fingers through Nik’s hair. “You will come to me. Tomorrow, when our king no longer needs your service.”
Did the air just suck out of the room? “I-I…”
Joe folded his arms. “My Kotahi is planning on leaving. He may be gone tomorrow.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Then I will have him tonight.”
Joe laughed outwardly.
Her nose flared. Damn, that was sexy. But can we stop pissing her off, now?
Boss grabbed her shoulder. “I have some business with my Kotahi. Once we are done, if your offer interests him, I will have him brought to the blue sept. Is this agreeable?”
She nodded. “Of course, my king.”
Joe shoved Nik past her. *Sorry about that. Blues are very…*
Straightforward?
Joe smiled. “That’s a way of putting it.”
“I’m certainly not complaining.”
A soft blush still flashed over boss’s cheek. Hopefully he wasn’t poking around in Nik’s head, because when Naked Lady dropped to her knees back there…
Dammit, he should have asked her name.
A slick sheen of dread drifted across their bond, blotting out thoughts of the beautiful, candid blue dragon licking his neck, chest, and lower. Joe’s mind thickened, even darker now than when they planned their strategy against Gale.
That shouldn’t be a surprise, though. He was a king without a queen. No matter how much he trusted the golds, the fact that Anna was gone wouldn’t stay secret forever.
The hall opened into a larger room devoid of furnishings with a colossal wooden door on the far side guarded by two black dragons. The huge beasts quickly bowed and made way for Nik and Joe, one pushing the massive door open for them.
Joe grabbed a torch from the wall and one of the dragons ignited the tip for him. Once inside, Joe lowered the flame into a small circular font, and the fire took on a life of its own, running along a channel, up the walls, and through the ceiling until the entire chamber exploded in light.
Squinting against the sudden glare, Nik gaped. The brightness wasn’t all caused by the flames. The room glinted with shimmering piles of gold towering over Nik’s head. Ancient trinkets mixed with what appeared to be doubloons littered the floor. There had to be millions, hell, billions of dollars in artifacts let alone gold.
“Ho-lee-shit.”
“Yeah, what can I say? Dragons like shiny things.” Joe set the torch into a holder on the wall and turned to Nik. “I have a proposition for you.”
Nik drew his gaze away from the mountains of treasure. “A proposition?”
Joe tossed the blue stone he’d taken from the royal chambers into a pile of glistening gems. “I’m not crazy about this human form. I’m little enough as it is.” He held out his arms. “But this is pushing it.”
Nik inched up his brow. What was boss getting at?
“I want to open up lines of communication with the humans. I don’t want to hide anymore. We’re going to make ourselves known, and I want to do it as a dragon.”
Holy hell!
“Boss, that is not a good idea. People are going to panic. I don’t know if you realize this, but dragons are pretty goddamn scary.” He pointed out the door. “And humanity has changed a lot out there. It’s not spears you need to worry about, now. It’s guns, and missiles, and nuclear bombs.”
“That’s why I want to officially hire you as an interpreter. I need the humans to see that you are comfortable with us. You can explain there has been a transfer of power, and that we’re not a threat.”
But the dragons were a threat. At least humanity would see it that way. There was no way the world leaders would stand for not being at the top of the food chain anymore.
“Consuming humans is illegal. It has been for generations.”
Nik balked, still not used to this short, blond guy reading his thoughts. Joe needed to understand that even the fact that there was a law against eating people would make parents hide their children under their beds at night. “I seriously think you should reconsider.”
“Your objection is noted. When I take my proposition to the Draconi, you should feel free to voice your opinion. I hope you will stay long enough for the proceedings.”
Nik breathed a sigh of relief. Proceedings meant he was going to take time and talk this out with someone. He wasn’t thinking of flying into downtown Auckland tomorrow and saying ‘Hi, we’re here!’
Jesus, the hysteria it would have caused.
“I understand your concerns. I have them, too. But the Draconi have been trapped in this mountain long enough.” He picked up a golden pitcher and placed it in Nik’s hands. “I hope you can understand my position, and I hope I can convince you to stay on.”
The firelight flickered off the ancient artifact. Was it Incan? Egyptian?
“It’s yours,” Joe said.
Nik startled.
“Not enough?” Joe reached into the pile and grabbed a fistful of gold coins. A red-stoned necklace hung from his fingers as well. “How about now?”
Nik snapped his jaw shut. “You’re serious. You’re talking about a job, a paying job?”
Joe nodded. “Do we have an agreement?”
Nik gaped at the gold in Joe’s hand. That might be enough for a down payment on a house. A big house. But there was also an enormous catch to all that glitter, as there always was.
Joe had every intention of outing the dragons and Nik knew there was no talking him out of it. This young king was ready to take caution to the wind to set his people free. As frightening as the prospect was, Nik was kinda proud of him for stepping up. Maybe the kid was more of a leader than either of them had realized.
No matter what happened, this was going to be the event of the century, and New Zealand would be at the heart of it all. Every country in the world would flock here to gauge the threat and make alliances. To pass this offer up would be turning his back on the opportunity of a lifetime.
“So, you accept, then?”
Let’s see, a real, honest-to-goodness job, one that would make a difference to the world, let alone himself; or go back to scrolling through job postings and maybe get hired as a cashier or a stock clerk.
The easy road would be to stay the person he’d always been, to lead a normal life and live paycheck to paycheck like everyone else.
The hard option would be to accept. Yes, it seemed the money would be good, but was Nik ready for this kind of responsibility? He’d be thrown into the spotlight. For the first time in his life, he’d actually be accountable for something. Was he really the right man to place so much trust in?
Joe stood, unwavering. The fistful of gold still shimmered in his hand.
The new king obviously believed in him. There was no apprehension slithering through their Kotahi bond. The young dragon had made his choice, and that decision was already final.
Joe’s conviction seemed odd since they barely knew each other. Then again, they’d been living in each other’s heads for the past week. They probably knew each other better than anyone else at this point.
And that was an interesting fact, come to think of it. Despite seeing inside Nik’s royally effed-up brain, Joe still trusted him. The kid hadn’t considered anyone else for the position, and he never would. For some odd reason, they were both completely comfortable with that.
Not to mention that there was a beautiful blue dragon waiting for him somewhere in this mountain. Yeah, that part of the equation was a little hard to overlook.
Nik smiled. “When do I start?”
A wave of relief ricocheted off Joe and into Nik. “We’ll meet with all septs of the Draconi in a few weeks.” Joe dropped the gold into Nik’s ancient pitcher. The coins clinked as they settled at the bottom. “In the meantime, I have a very important matter to take care of.”