Master of Dragons by Angela Knight Page B

Dorothy.” Kel took her elbow in a surprisingly gentle grip. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to the wizard.”
    She eyed his profile as he steered her across the square. “For a forty-foot dragon, you seem to know American pop culture really well.”
    He grinned, white teeth flashing. “It’s part of the job description.”
    â€œOf being a dragon?”
    â€œOf being a Knight of the Round Table.”
    She blinked at him. “Okay, I’m officially confused.”
    â€œWe affect a lot of people that way.” He laughed, the sound rich and masculine.
    Something low in her belly tightened with sweet warmth. Seducing him definitely wouldn’t be a hardship, though she had no idea how to go about it. What was she going to say? I realize we’re two different species, but my goddess says we need to play a brisk game of leaping lizards .
    But please don’t fry me while we’re at it.
    Oh, yeah, that was going to be a fun conversation. She swallowed and groped for any topic of conversation. “Where are we? I thought you guys lived in caves.” As a child, she’d built a house for her “dragon” out of cardboard boxes.
    â€œWe do. This isn’t the Dragon Lands—this is Avalon.”
    Nineva frowned. “Where King Arthur went when he died?” She’d loved reading about the Knights of the Round Table as a child.
    â€œYeah, only he didn’t die. Arthur’s pretty tough to kill.” Kel smiled grimly. “God knows plenty have tried.”
    â€œHe’s still alive?” That would make him an immortal. “What is he? Sidhe?” Her father hadn’t mentioned that. Come to think of it, he’d told her the stories that had fascinated her were only human myths about some Celtic warlord. But then, he’d come to Mortal Earth sixteen centuries before. A lot could have happened since then.
    Kel looked down at her, a hint of mischief in the curve of his mouth. “Nope, Arthur’s human. Or he was.”
    â€œSo what is he now?”
    Kel tilted his head skyward, as if mulling over what to say. “Complicated.”
    Nineva snorted. “That’s a big help.”
    â€œHey, it’ll be a lot more believable after you meet him.” His hand shifted to the small of her back as he guided her up the stairs of a big, Romanesque building whose white stone columns reminded her of a temple. His palm felt deliciously hot through the fabric of her T-shirt, as if his skin was warmer than a human’s.
    So much for the idea of dragons being cold-blooded.
    â€œSo do you live here, or do you live in the Dragon Lands?”
    His profile went grim. “I haven’t lived in the Dragon Lands in fifteen hundred years.”
    Nineva blinked. “Why not?”
    Kel gave her a crooked smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Backstabbing. Betrayal. Friends looking the other way while my mother was murdered. The usual.”
    Nineva winced. “I’m sorry.”
    â€œIt was several centuries ago.”
    â€œMy parents were murdered, too.” She hadn’t intended to say it. The words simply burst from her in her surprise at finding she had something in common with this creature of myth and nightmare.
    His false smile disappeared as he opened one of the building’s massive doors. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories. What happened?”
    â€œI saved a dog.”
    â€œI beg your pardon?”
    â€œI hit the neighbor’s Irish setter with my car, so I got out and healed him.” Nineva slipped past him into the building, not sure why she felt compelled to confess all this. “I knew I wasn’t supposed to use my powers, but I did it anyway. King Ansgar had been hunting me since I was born. He sensed my magic and sent his killers. My father forced me to leave while he and my mother distracted the assassins. They…” The rest of the words wouldn’t