Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 337(@250wpm)___ 281(@300wpm)
“Then who set it? Do you think this is related to the Sousa or the Tupã?” Luka pressed.
“Probably some humans who were using this patch of ground to conduct illegal activities,” Vasily grumbled.
“Nope. This is mage made,” Sam declared, shocking them all into silence.
Sam didn’t seem to notice that he’d floored all the dragons completely. He just knelt in the dirt and weeds, crawling closer to the device. Dimitri edged closer as well, his hands outstretched to grab Sam by the hips and jerk him into the safety of his own bigger frame.
Gregori turned his head toward him, his eyes moving from Sam to Dimitri’s hands while his brows lifted in a sort of incredulous expression. Dimitri shifted his right hand enough to flip Gregori the bird before turning his full attention to Sam.
“Oh yeah, definitely mage made. There are a series of thin, high tensile strength wires running fifteen centimeters off the ground. Most animals would instantly know to avoid it. Humans, generally, wouldn’t be watching for something like this.” Sam’s voice had taken on a somewhat scholarly tone, as if he was teaching a class, and Dimitri was hopelessly charmed. He’d let this man lecture him about the lifecycle of mayflies if that was what interested him, just so long as he kept talking.
“It appears that the wires are attached to these boxes, which contain a small talisman that will then shoot a signal to other boxes hidden up in the trees. The actual attack will come from overhead while the target is busy looking down at the wire,” Sam continued. “While we can easily step over this wire, it looks like there’s a denser web of them farther in. It’s too dangerous to try to weave through them. Especially with all the stuff we’re carrying. We’re going to set one of them off.”
“Excuse me, Mr. I’m Not a Mage, how do you know this?” Dimitri asked with a smirk.
Sam pushed up to balance on his knees, his hands resting on his hips as he glared at Dimitri. “I have never hidden the fact that I was born into a mage family. I understand the theoretical concepts and basis behind mage magic. I just can’t perform any myself.”
No. No. No. That was all wrong. Sam was a mage. Dimitri could smell it, taste it on his skin. His mate was a mage, and all mages could perform magic.
Sam sighed heavily as he glared at the booby trap that was mostly hidden under leaves and vines. “Unfortunately, we need magic to dismantle the trap. If we simply cut the wire or try to open any of the boxes, we could set it off.”
“And there’s no telling what would happen,” Gregori agreed. “Magic usually doesn’t deteriorate. At least, not after only a handful of decades. It takes centuries to fully dissipate on its own. I’m not familiar with this trap. We’re better off going around it than trying to go through.”
An angry huff lifted from Sam. “I know how to dismantle it safely, but I need magic. Trying to bypass it will cost us precious time and possibly even put us on a more dangerous route.”
“Have you ever tried to cast a spell using dragon power?” Dimitri asked.
Sam quickly twisted to face him, his blue eyes going so very wide behind his smudged glasses. “Well, obviously I haven’t. You’re the first dragon I’ve ever encountered. It’s not like dragons are popping up in my life to offer bits of their power for me to try out.”
There better be no other dragons offering him their power.
Dimitri extended his hand toward him and smiled. “Then let’s try it.”
To his surprise, Sam stared at his hand and actually shrank away from it a bit, his slender shoulders hunching inward. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard, his eyes locked on Dimitri. “I-I don’t know. This…this might be a bad idea.”
“What could it hurt to try? You’ll be surrounded by four dragons. We’ll keep you safe,” Dimitri coaxed. His heart was hanging on a thin string. He needed Sam to accept this, to accept him in this small way. He needed to give Sam this one thing no other dragon would be allowed to.
Sam stared at his hand for another couple of seconds before finally giving a shaky nod. “Okay. Okay, let’s try it.” He slipped his warm, sweaty hand into Dimitri’s, allowing him to pull him up to his feet.
As soon as he was standing, Sam tried to free his hand, but Dimitri tightened his grip and kept drawing him closer until Sam crashed into his chest. His heart was pounding like a mad thing, his dragon giving an evil chuckle in his brain. Yes, they were drawing their Sam one step closer.
“What are you doing?” Sam demanded.
“I thought I’d give you some dragon’s breath. It’s the easiest way to start.” He didn’t go into the fact that his dragon had already been giving him little tastes of just that for a couple of days now, but it had been a trickle. This time Dimitri planned to make a concerted effort and pour more power into him.