Embers (Scales 'N' Spells 4)

Loosening his arms, Gunter sat forward and nodded. “That’s true. Even if we continue to struggle with the compound, we also have the town outside of Sonthofen. That’s at least two starting points from which to work, as well as Thomas’s time in Prague.”

“I’ll help,” Nikki volunteered. They were strength and chaos. They could do this. “I’ll help the ice dragon when he arrives.”

Both Alric and Gunter’s eyes snapped to Nikki. The instant concern on Gunter’s face warmed them, and Nikki was able to sit up straighter. That look said Gunter wouldn’t let them go off alone into danger. Like last time, they’d have Nikki’s back. And that reassurance was all Nikki needed.

“I will admit part of the reason I came down here was to see if you’d be willing to help the tracker,” Alric said carefully. “But I don’t want you to feel as if you have no choice in the matter. Your assistance in locating the Jaeggi—whether it’s with the tracker or from the safety of the castle—is greatly appreciated.”

“Are you sure, Nikki?” Gunter asked, his voice soft and gentle, just like his worn sweater.

Nikki shot him a wink. If Gunter had their back, Nikki certainly would have Gunter’s. With head held high and shoulders straight, Nikki looked right at Alric. “I would be proud to help this dragon locate the Jaeggi.”

And next time, they’d have the right ingredients to explode the Jaeggi to kingdom come, too.

Nikki would take absolutely no chances.

Alric didn’t linger much longer after he’d acquired Nikki’s agreement to assist the tracker, which left Gunter feeling oddly conflicted over the entire matter. It was best his old friend had retreated to his own office or to find Cameron, rather than have him hanging about. Gunter needed to think.

He felt uneasy about this whole thing. He’d seen how badly booby-trapped an old Jaeggi location could be, so this wasn’t something to be taken lightly. And he was really of two minds about Nikki once again delving into the fray.

It was also a matter of Nikki not being comfortable on those grounds. They’d suffered more than enough at the hands of the Jaeggi. The dragons shouldn’t be asking them to return yet again. They’d earned their respite and peace from the Jaeggi at last.

But Nikki seemed determined to help. Maybe they wanted revenge—Gunter certainly would in their shoes. And maybe Gunter worried about this unnecessarily. Still, asking more of Nikki didn’t sit well with him.

Gunter had walked Alric to the door and carefully shut it behind him. Turning on the balls of his feet, Gunter slipped his hands into the pockets of his jeans and slowly ambled toward the area Nikki had claimed as their own.

His frown grew with each step, his eyes sweeping over the area Nikki sat in. Lisette had asserted on two different occasions that Nikki had built themself a nest, which sounded positively ridiculous. Of course Nikki hadn’t built a nest in the library. Nikki simply hadn’t had a place of their own with the Jaeggi and was trying to establish somewhere they spent most of their day.

Gunter had tried to explain to Nikki their personal space was their apartment, but the words seemed to go in one ear and right out the other.

Nikki remained close at all times, despite Gunter’s attempt to interest them in other places and people outside the library. Not that he minded Nikki’s presence—which would have surprised anyone if he said that out loud. Gunter wasn’t known to seek out people’s company most of the time. Or to welcome people down here. But Nikki wasn’t trying to do something insane to drive Gunter out. They were good company.

It was just this…this space they’d claimed was cluttered and messy. The books stacked at the edge of the table were this strange hodgepodge of family histories, spell books, and even a few treatises on various wars waged among the dragon clans. And was that a cookbook? How had that even migrated to his library?

The castle technically possessed two libraries. One was more for general use, filled with fiction novels and how-to books that had been published in the last couple of decades. The library—or the dungeon, as his compatriots called it—he held dominion over contained all the historical texts for the various clans, spell books that didn’t stay with the mages, and other critical documents regularly used by the rest of the clan.

This cookbook should have been in the other library.

A little huff escaped as he noticed that one of his favorite coffee mugs with the Shakespearean quotes was also in Nikki’s nest—er, rather, table.

Now was not the time to worry about any of that. The main concern was Nikki and whether they were truly good with the plan.

“Nikki,” he started, trying to pull his brain away from the strange accumulation of things in his library. “Are you sure this is what you want to do? Hoheit is correct. You don’t have to help this tracker. We can get other mages to assist him, as well as other dragons.”