Page 32 of Rafe

“Yes, of course,” she said, snapping herself out of it. “I was just trying to remember which way the lady with the glasses went when she was leaving the car we were in.”

“I see,” Rafe said.

“We have to find her,” Jade said. “If the schoolteacher doesn’t know who she is, then she has to be new in town, right? So where would she be staying.”

“The inn,” Rafe said. “It’s just on the other side of the park. Let’s go ask for her over there.”

They set off together, with Jade trying not to get her hopes up. But it felt like they might be on to something. She smiled as their boots crunched the frosty lichen on the way to the inn.

Rafe smiled down at her, with something unexpectedly tender in his expression, and she felt a tug on her heart as if invisible strings bound her to him.

That couldn’t be right. They hardly knew each other.

But no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t deny that something was happening between them.

12

RAFE

Rafe felt light as a feather as they walked across the park toward the inn. The dragon was purring in his chest, pleased that his mate was showing signs of trust and bonding.

Claim her, it reminded him.

He was beginning to feel that it was possible that he would claim her, and soon. But first, they had to find Judge Gaxx’s killer.

Given that he was a trained soldier with dragon-enhanced senses, Rafe was pretty confident he would get that sorted. But still, Jade would be more relaxed and receptive once she knew they weren’t going to jail, so the sooner they got to the bottom of things, the better.

The inn was a large purple building with snowy white trim. Though it was still a block away, Rafe could see it through the alleyway in front of them. A few deer were tied to a post out front.

The proper way to get there would be to go around the block. But there was no point doing that on foot, so he set off down the alleyway.

“Is this safe?” Jade asked, peering into the semi-darkness with wide eyes.

“Of course,” Rafe told her. “Just stay close.”

The just stay close part was really more for his benefit. It was the middle of the day in a tiny town. He thought the threat level would be almost non-existent.

Until he took two more steps down the alleyway, and a large shape dove clumsily at him from a shadowed recess.

Jade screamed.

Rafe easily stepped back, allowing his would-be attacker to fly past him so he could get a better look.

What he found was a Maltaffian boy with deep red horns, of maybe fifteen years, twenty at most, holding a sword of the kind the Invicta might use for fencing practice. The end wasn’t blunted, but it may as well have been.

The boy rallied and came at him again.

He clearly had some formal training. His footwork was intricate, and he did some fancy swirling and jabbing with the sword, but he had obviously learned to fence for competition. His technique had excellent stage value, but was extremely ineffective.

“Easy, boy,” Rafe said calmly, stepping out of the way again.

The boy thrust with what he probably thought was a killing blow. Instead, he hit a stone wall with a thud and bounced off, spinning to face Rafe again.

The kid wasn’t a danger to him, that much was clear. But a stray swing might hurt his soft and vulnerable little mate. Rafe waited, ready to protect Jade if the boy decided to change targets.

“You killed my father,” the young man shouted brokenly at Rafe. “This will not stand.”

“I don’t know who you are,” Rafe said. “But unless your father was an enemy of the Invicta half a system away from here, I probably didn’t kill him.”

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