Page 6 of Flight Risk

“There was plenty of space. I just couldn’t. That would be a silly extra expense for the clan. I was fine in the economy class.”

I huffed. “Kier, you know you’re a part of the clan, right? The minute you started working for us, living in our territory, living in a building we own, you became one of us.”

“You own my building?” His head cocked to the side in the cutest way, and for a moment, it was like I could see a flash of his wolf in his eyes. The dusty auburn color of his fur matched the red tint to his human hair.

Oh, boy. I licked my lips, unsure of what else to say. We owned a majority of the apartment buildings around the headquarters, and I knew exactly where Kier lived.

“Yes,” I said finally.

“Oh, I didn’t realize that.”

Great. Now he probably thought we were some pompous jerks. I was not doing the best at making an impression. Kier knew a lot about my family. It was literally his job, but he didn’t know me, and I intended to change that.

“So, did you enjoy your time overseas?” I asked. While I and the rest of the members of the clan had been attending the Dragon Flight Games, Kier had been absent from many of the festivities. When he was around, he was there in an official capacity. The young omega never seemed to let his guard down and enjoy himself.

“Yes, of course. Everything was great.”

“I didn’t see you hanging around the rest of us. Were you able to see any of the games?”

“A little. I attended the last competition and the opening ceremony, so I could coordinate with Valar. He’s the Ebonspire clan assistant.”

With each professional answer he gave, my stomach sank. I was getting nowhere and thinking maybe I should take a hint andleave him alone? “Did you do much sightseeing? I hope you weren’t working the whole time.”

His cheeks flushed. “I went to a couple of different bookstores and a few stationery stores.”

“Stationery stores, huh?” Hope sparked like a struck match. Finally, something personal.

“Yeah. I... I like pens.”

My brow raised. “You like pens?” I leaned closer. I needed every detail.

Having a very niche interest in such a minor item was not uncommon in my friend group. We were dragons, after all. We hoarded things. Some hoarded board games. Others hoarded random things, like my dad who hoarded wine corks. Me? My hoard collection was impressive and dual purpose.

“Yeah.” Kier lifted his bag and pulled out a small case. He opened it. Inside was a beautiful silver pen with a dragon etched into the metal. It sat cradled in the velvet case, and I resisted the urge to touch it. One should never touch another person’s hoard without permission.

“It’s beautiful,” I said.

“Thanks. They didn’t have any wolves, but it’s probably a good thing anyway. This was a silly expense. I mean, it’s just a pen. It’s the only souvenir I got, though.”

“It’s beautiful. Will you use it, or is it simply a collectible?”

His cheeks flushed even darker now. “Maybe. I use certain pens for certain things, like... I have a Santa pen that I sign all my Christmas cards with, and a squiggly pen that I like to use on birthday cards, and a pen that doubles as a money clip that I use for writing checks. Silly things like that.” He shrugged until his shoulders nearly reached his ears.

I grinned. “That is so cool and not silly at all. I think it’s brilliant. I want to see all your pens. Do you have pictures?”

“You want to see pictures of my pen collection?”

It was cute that he called it a collection. It was a hoard—a beautiful one, if this pen was any indication.

“Yeah. Can you show me?”

“Sure. I keep a digital album of all of them.” His face turned beet red. “Sill—”

“Not silly. Smart. You have to keep records of all of them. That sounds like a smart way to do it.”

“Yeah, exactly. For insurance purposes. And also, because there are so many, I kind of forget what I have.”

I wanted to pump my fist in the air in triumph. More detail! This was exactly what I was looking for.

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