Page 160 of Scales ’N’ Spells: Volume One

And that kiss on the nose. What had that been about, anyway?

A man had never done that to him, and Tori had alternated between shivering under the memory of that touch, brief as it had been, and convincing himself it wasn’t that big of a deal and Baldewin didn’t mean anything by it.

Even though a part of Tori really, really wanted Baldewin to mean something by it.

Shit, he was such a lost cause.

He was so wrapped up in his head, reviewing the events of last night—again—that it took him far longer than it should have to realize something was off about the car. It had a faint glow in the morning light, a sigil scrawled over two of the doors. Baldewin was only two strides away from the car when Tori understood what he was looking at.

“Wait! Both of you stop.”

When the dragons didn’t do more than turn and glance at him, confused, he put his guitar case down and quickly snatched their arms, hauling them back. “Wait. The car’s been booby-trapped with a spell.”

Both of them immediately backed another foot away, staring at the car anxiously. Warin spun to put his back to the car, looking out in other directions.

“What does the spell do?” Baldewin demanded urgently.

“I think it’s supposed to⁠—”

A whisper, a pfft sort of sound, and then Warin groaned, dropping heavily to his knees.

Tori had no chance to figure out what was going on before Baldewin hauled him in, using his own body to shield Tori.

The soft puff of air whispered again, and Baldewin grunted. This close, he had a better chance of cataloguing the sound. Shit, was that a dart gun? Had someone just tranqed both dragons?

Baldewin slowly crumpled sideways, taking Tori with him, although the fall was controlled enough that neither of them hit the pavement too hard. Tori tried to wriggle free, but Baldewin’s hold was still firm, although it loosened with every second as the tranquilizer chased through his system. He lifted his head up enough to see over Baldewin’s shoulder and got his first visual.

“Four of them,” he reported grimly, mind racing.

Shit, what to do? With his protectors down and no elements to work magic with, Tori was a sitting duck. Running would not help him, not if they were armed with tranquilizer darts.

“Kiss me,” Baldewin groaned.

Tori spared him a wide-eyed glance. “What?”

“Kiss me.”

“Seriously, not the time!”

“Dragon’s breath is powerful,” Baldewin explained, fighting to keep his eyes open. “Use it to work a spell. Kiss me.”

Oh. Oh, that made much more sense. Tori leaned in immediately, the kiss awkward at this angle and quick out of necessity. Still, the impression of warm, soft lips filtered through Tori’s panic, and he couldn’t help but wish he could do that again later. Properly. You know, when bad guys weren’t on the verge of capturing them.

He didn’t have time to think, and that’s what he needed to buy them first. Time. He popped up onto his knees and used the dragon’s breath coursing through his own lungs, sparking his magic, to call on the strongest ward he could create. “Tuella gev adi!”

A shining dome of gold power slammed into place, hard enough that it cracked the pavement under it, leaving a sizeable dent in the shape of a perfect ring. The barrier encircled the three of them, as well as the car. Tori stared at the ward in amazement, lost in wonder at his own creation. He had never in his entire life created a ward as powerful as this one.

Scratch that, none of his spells had been this strong before. Dragon’s breath. Just dragon’s breath could do that?

What if he were bound to a dragon with access to his life force?

He shook the thought off and looked at the Jaeggi. All four men had halted in their tracks, staring at the ward in frustration. They were smart enough to not touch it. Shame. It would have thrown them back if they had. Tori spared them a sneer before he concentrated on Baldewin and Warin.

“Hang on, guys,” he urged, checking their pulse and breathing. He quickly jerked out the tiny darts and tossed them aside. He wouldn’t put it past the Jaeggi to get the dosage wrong on purpose, and he didn’t want anyone dying on his watch. Both dragons appeared woozy but still breathing, their eyes tracking his movements. So, he had dragon noodles, but they were otherwise fine.

“Can you drive?” Warin slurred.

“Yeah. Yeah, but I need to remove the spell they’ve got on the car first. It’s meant to trap us in. Hang on.”