Page 221 of The Discount Damsel

Murmuring sweet nothings into the cat’s ear, Sir Eustace turned and began their journey home.

“Best get you hidden in the tower before the griffin arrives,” Dirk said a mite apologetically.

“Quite right.” She made a conscious effort to relax as Dirk lifted her with his magic. “I suppose since the Discount Damsel Protocol officially concludes at six twenty-two this evening, we’ll have plenty of time for a light breakfast, a spot of tea, and pack before it’s time to leave.”

The little dragon only hummed his agreement. It had been easy to push away the thoughts of this particular day into the future, but now that future was here. Bradley’s curse was broken. There was no need to remain in the tower any longer. As his Designated Sorcerer Companion, Dirk was bound to follow wherever the young man went. But he also had a commitment to Millie that he wasn’t quite sure how to fulfill.

You’ve gone and put yourself into a pickle yet again, Dirk my lad. But his mood only dampened for a moment. This time, he didn’t have to make the decision alone. But he did have to tell Master Excelsior alone, which was mildly terrifying, even if he was a sassy little dragon.

The tower residents, aside from the sorcerer apprentice and the luck dragon, had just enough time to huddle in the kitchen for a very quiet breakfast before the griffin rider arrived ahead of schedule on a tailwind. If discovered, the worst they could receive was ejection from the tower, and they were already planning on ejecting themselves this evening. The coffee and all the leftover party food was worth the risk.

Washed and presentable in a fresh robe, his black curls brushed to a gleam and pulled into a Tianzi topknot, Bradley awaited the arrival of the griffin rider in the workroom. Sometimes looking your best was all the armor you had, and the sorcerer apprentice wasn’t sure what to expect from this College representative. If Dirk hadn’t told him there was an incoming rider, Bradley would’ve taken the portal that had appeared after he’d gotten dressed. Persistent little piece of magic. As it was, it would’ve been rude to leave before at least discovering what the rider had come all this way to tell him.

While Dirk circled around in the air above Bradley’s head, working himself into a tizzy about how he was going to break the news about him having a princess to Master Excelsior and muttering how half a dozen teacakes and something hot to drink would’ve done wonders for settling his nerves, the sorcerer apprentice toyed with the hag stone. It tingled with magic, ready to summon a portal to the exam chamber with a simple thought.

Funny, that. He hadn’t questioned Miss Penelope’s instructions at the time, hadn’t questioned a lot of things—which would have earned him a swat or hundred from Master Excelsior—but upon reflection, he couldn’t understand why the hag stone would create the portal for him if he did not speak the name of his intended destination in High Aetherial. That was the way of these portalling hag stones. They had to have direction.

He turned the hag stone over in his hands, swept his thumb across its eye. Just a thought.

Miss Penelope was as precise-speaking as she was detail oriented. That hadn’t been a slip of her tongue.

His mind raced back to all those moments where that strange wind had swirled from his feet. How magic had leaked out of him when Jax had cut the rope, when the men had come for Millie and Dirk. Maybe even when he’d applied the seaweed cream to the princess’s legs.

What if his magic hadn’t leaked at all? What if it simply obeying his raw, unfiltered command? His need? Thought wasn’t the birth of action as many people believed. Thought was just a middleman. It was will that brought everything into being.

Even magic.

Could it really be that simple?

Before the enormous panther raven finished perching on the balcony, with an ear-splitting scream to boot, Master Excelsior sprang out of the saddle. His staff got tangled in the reins, and after much fussing, yanking, and one indignant screech from the griffin who’d had his beak wrenched, the grand master finally got it free.

“Insufferable twig,” the sorcerer spat.

Checking about himself that nothing else would impede forward momentum, Master Excelsior strode into the workroom. His long skinny legs and blue robe gave Bradley the impression that a very cantankerous heron was headed his way. Despite appearing wrinkled, disheveled, sleep-deprived, and in desperate need of good cup of tea, Master Excelsior’s old eyes were as bright and focused as ever.

“Boy!” he barked.

Bradley shoved the hag stone back into his pocket.

“First I get this enigmatic message and then you’re not answering the portal summons. Is there something wrong with the hag stone? And if not, why in all of Caelus’s stars are you still here?” Then in a complete switch of character, he smiled up at Dirk and said with much sincerity and interest, “Good morning, Lung Shang. Feeling well?”

“Yes, Master,” he answered quickly, brightly. Perhaps if Master Excelsior continued to direct all his anger at Bradley, he’d have none left for Dirk when he discovered the little dragon had a princess in tow.

“Wonderful to hear it.” The grand master’s personality switched again. “Well, apprentice mine? What have you to say for yourself?”

Bradley wouldn’t be cowed. In fact, he was trembling with so many emotions and one revelation in particular that he was at risk of shedding his skin. “You asshole!”

When the old man’s eyes snapped wide and a feral sheen swept over his irises, Dirk knew there was no coming back from that proverbial gauntlet. They were done for.

And that tizzy he had worked himself into exploded.

Dirk promptly fainted out of the sky.

No words were spoken. Only Bradley flung up his hand, but two magics caught the little luck dragon before he could fall to the ground. Bradley felt it the moment his master released his power, leaving his apprentice to guide the dragon carefully, precisely into his arms.

Bradley slapped the blue muzzle lightly. “Dirk! Dirk wake up.”

The baby dragon thrashed, rousing violently. Bradley jerked his head back and away from flailing claws. “Egad! What happened? Is Master Excelsior here, or did I just dream you called him an asshole?”