Page 45 of Real Scale Blazer

Before he could respond, a knock interrupted them. Darian entered, his expression grim but his eyes noting their joined hands with carefully hidden interest.

“Report,” Kai commanded, reluctantly releasing Quinn’s hand.

“The kitchen staff have all been questioned. No signs of coercion or memory tampering, but...” Darian’s jaw tightened.“We found traces of dark magic in the kitchen. Whoever did this had access to forbidden arts.”

Kai’s entire body went rigid. “Ordan.”

“It’s possible.” Darian crossed his arms. “The magic signature is similar to his, but there’s no direct evidence. He hasn’t been seen near the palace in months.”

“He doesn’t need to be here to cause chaos.” Frost spread from Kai’s feet across the floor. “Double the wards around the palace. Triple the guard rotations. I want?—”

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here.” Quinn’s sharp voice cut through their planning. “If someone’s trying to kill me, I deserve to know why.”

Kai turned back to her, seeing the determination in her brown eyes. His dragon preened at her strength even as he worried for her safety. “The truth is complicated.”

“Then uncomplicate it.” She fixed him with that penetrating stare that never failed to make his heart race. “No more half-truths, Kai. No more protective evasions. I need to know what I’m up against.”

He exchanged a look with Darian, who nodded slightly and left the room, closing the door behind him. Kai moved closer to Quinn’s bed, fighting the urge to gather her into his arms.

“The truth?” His voice roughened. “Someone is trying to kill you because of what you mean to me. Because you have the power to either save or destroy this kingdom, though you don’t know it yet. Because there are those who would do anything to prevent a Dragon King from finding his true mate.”

Quinn’s breath caught. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying that from the moment you arrived, I knew who you were. What you are.” He sighed and dropped his chin to his chest. “There’s something I need to show you.”

“Bring it in,” she said.

“I have to take you to it. And we’re not going until the healer declares you healthy.”

Quinn leaned to the side and hollered at the closed door, “Someone get me the doc. She has a declaration to make.”

THIRTY-FOUR

After a bit ofcajolingthe healer, and a few threats, Quinn was declared fit to leave the room. She took that as permission to do whatever she wanted. Which meant seeing what Kai had to show her. Nothing was stopping her from finding out the truth of this entire mystery.

Fortunately, this site he was taking her to was in the mountains. Convenient that she could get some more readings as they traveled even as Kai protested the entire way so far.

The ground trembled beneath Quinn’s boots as she gripped her seismic monitoring equipment, eyes fixed on the growing fissures in the icy terrain below. From their vantage point on the cliff’s edge, the kingdom stretched out before them—a panorama of crystalline mountains and deep valleys now marred by spreading cracks that spider-webbed across the landscape. The cold air bit at her cheeks, but she barely noticed, too focused on the disturbing readings flickering across her screen.

“These readings don’t make sense.” She adjusted the dial on her device, brow furrowed. “Unless your mountains are having some kind of geological identity crisis.”

Kai arched an eyebrow. “A what?”

“You know, midlife crisis, but for mountains.” The teasing words slipped out before she could stop them. “Though I suppose at your age, you’d know all about those.”

His lips twitched. “I’m in my prime, I’ll have you know.”

“Right. Just a spring chicken of what... nine hundred years?” She pretended to do the math on her fingers. “Practically a teenager in dragon years.”

“Says the woman who called me ‘ancient’ last week,” he rumbled, amusement flickering in his eyes.

“That was before I knew you could still move that fast.” She gestured at her monitoring equipment, sobering. “Speaking of moving, these seismic patterns are all wrong. The mathematical precision behind these waves—someone’s accelerating the activity deliberately.”

Beside her, Kai’s massive frame tensed as he surveyed his troubled kingdom. His presence radiated power and authority, but Quinn caught the subtle clench of his jaw, the slight narrowing of his piercing blue eyes that betrayed his concern.

The sight sent an unexpected pang through her chest. Over the past weeks, she’d learned to read the micro-expressions that crossed his stoic features—the tiny tells that revealed the weight he carried.

She fought the urge to reach out and touch his arm, to offer comfort. These impulses to connect with him physically were becoming harder to ignore. Instead, she focused on her readings, tapping the screen. “The vibration patterns are too regular, too focused. It’s like someone’s?—”

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