Skyborn (Dragons & Druids #1)(33)
Keegan growled but it wasn’t threatening, more just to blow off steam. “We have rules. No one outside of this pack can know who you are.”
“Unless it’s your mate or someone who takes the oath,” Logan added.
“Danny is neither. I’ll see you later,” Keegan said, and stalked off down the hall, his feet stomping out the anger I knew he was feeling.
For such a hardass and closed-off guy, I was surprised by how much emotion he showed over his ex. He must have really loved him, and still did by the sound of it, but took his own rules too seriously to hang on to the guy. I was so caught up in the Keegan and Danny soap opera that I almost didn’t notice Logan enter the room. He popped the door open wide and crossed over to my bed.
“You heard everything, didn’t you?” Logan asked, and there was a little relief in his face. Like he didn’t want to keep things from me, and he also didn’t want to have to say it again.
I nodded. “I’m probably half skyborn, half sorcerer, and Keegan is hiring more people to protect us.” I left out the ex-boyfriend drama to be respectful.
Logan nodded. “That’s right. Which means I have no way of training you fully because I don’t deal in … purple magic.”
I rolled my eyes. “Stop saying purple like it’s cancer. Purple is a badass color.” I motioned to the unicorn on the wall that had a magnificent purple glitter horn.
Logan smiled sheepishly, letting me know he appreciated my rare and often misunderstood sense of humor. “Nevertheless, you might blast my head off if I’m not careful, and you also might send a beacon out to the world saying ‘come find me.’ I have no idea what hybrid magic is capable of.”
It dawned on me then. “That’s why you want a sorcerer in the pack.”
Logan nodded, running his fingers over his chin stubble in what I was learning was his thinking gesture. “I need a sorcerer there to shield our training sessions and also to … fix stuff if it goes south.”
“This whole talk is not very confidence inspiring. Why don’t we just skip the magic training altogether?” Please, no more running. No more purple magic.
Logan’s eye narrowed a little as he stepped closer to the bed. “Sloane, it’s only a matter of time before the hunters find us again. Fighting off the druids is a full-time job. If you’re not prepared, if I’m not around to save you … you’re dead.”
Those words. You’re dead. They slapped out at me, bringing the harsh reality of my new life with it. But something else he said bothered me.
“Why would you not be around?” I asked insecurely, and stared at a piece of lint on the carpet. Maybe he would train me and leave. Maybe I was too much of a risk to keep around long-term.
“This is a dangerous life. I might die, and then you would be left behind to carry on the magic alone. If I don’t train you in time, then my knowledge dies with me.” His voice was stone cold, void of emotion, but his words made a pulsing ache constrict my heart. My inner dragon flared to life and I stood suddenly, facing Logan, inches from his face. I knew instinctively that my eyes were glowing. I didn’t know why I stood or what I was going to say, I just knew that talk of Logan dying made me want to lock him in a cage and keep anyone from hurting him. Karma. Logan’s eyes fell to my lips and I licked them, relishing the warm throb that had started in my gut. I couldn’t explain it, but there was something about Logan Sharp that made me feel like we were two magnets constantly being pulled to each other. I didn’t want to fight the pull anymore.
“I dreamt about you,” Logan breathed; his hand came up to stroke my hair, staring at the bright red strands as if they held some truth. His declaration of dreaming about me had the breath stopping in my chest. I leaned forward, pulling myself up on my tiptoes. All rules of no dating within the pack had flown out my head. I wanted Logan Sharp and I wanted him now. My dragon preened at the inner declaration as Logan’s hand went from my hair to the back of my neck. Yes.
He leaned forward slowly, all the while asking me with his eyes if this was okay. When he got closer, I closed my eyes and pursed my lips. But just as I felt the heat of his breath, Nadine shouted from downstairs.
“Logan! Eva’s here. There’s trouble!” Her voice held panic, and the raging inferno that had built in my belly was doused as Logan rocked back on his heels, dropping his hand.
He looked at me for one more long moment and then sighed, turning and striding towards the door. Damn. That was an epic kissing fail. Now that his smoldering body was away from me, I had time to gather my wits. Kissing Logan, my trainer and fellow surviving dragon, was a bad idea. Right? Like Nadine said, if we dated and broke up, it would be a disaster and I would be kicked out of the pack. Now that I had seen all of the supernatural dangers in the world, I didn’t want to leave the pack. It was safe. I needed to staunch my hormones and play cool.
I smoothed my hair and shirt and jogged down the stairs to join them. Just as I was rounding into the kitchen, I heard Eva talking to Nadine, Gear, and Logan.
“Two druids at the bar. They have a truth witch with them and they’re asking about a redhead,” Eva said, causing me to stop dead, mouth popped half open.
“Since when do the druids have a truth witch?” Logan asked as I was trying to decipher what the hell a truth witch was. It didn’t sound good.