Chapter One

Three days. Three days and not one sign of Timor. Was he another victim of those taking dragons or had something else happened to him? Aziel exhaled. A puff of smoke drifting from his snout. Time for some rest and tomorrow, he’d rejoin the search.
Aziel pumped his wings, gaining altitude as he left the city. He turned, flying along the river. A flash of bright silver caught his attention. He narrowed his eyes. What was that? He circled and tracked along the river looking for the splotch of silver white again.
He eased lower, sweeping over the water. The shiny silver splotch stood out against the darker green of the flowing water and white hair floated in the river. By Grimlan, that was a person.
A woman, at first glance. The fabric looked like a dress or maybe sleeping attire. The long flowing material shimmered and glittered in the light. Hopefully, she wasn’t dead. He swept down and grabbed the woman with his front paws.
He’d set her in a nearby clearing and see if she was alive. At first, she hung loosely in his grasp. Then, hands pushed at his paw. He held on to her but circled back to the city. If she needed healing, they could find it easier there.
He pumped his wings. Thick gray walls surrounded the city. The gathering building gleamed, a beacon of white among the other gray and brown buildings. From the sky, it was easily seen, even if it sat at the same height as every other building around it.
The woman called out, but Aziel couldn’t make out what it was before the wind whipped the sound away. He landed outside of the city of Wissipel. He put her on the ground and eased back to change forms. Once back in human form, he stepped forward.
He stared. Golden eyes stared at him warily. She stood. The damp fabric fluttered, moving in the light breeze. She had her hands clenched, held close together in front of her. Light brown cord wrapped around her wrists, binding them. Had someone thrown her in the water like that? She was lucky to be alive.
“Are you alright? Can I untie you?” He glanced down at her hands and back to her face. She was beautiful. The gauzy silver material clung to her breasts and hips, highlighting the soft curves of her body.
“I don’t know. Everything is fuzzy. I’d like you to get this off me.” She held out her hands. They trembled.
Was that exhaustion, fear, or something else? He looked up at her. She frowned, but her scent didn’t carry a hint of fear.
He popped a claw and cut through the bonds. “My name is Aziel. What is yours? Are you cold?”
“My name is Oriana, I think.” She bit her lower lip. “I don’t know if everything is real. I’m dizzy, a little nauseous, and there’s a disconnected feeling. Even now, I can’t tell if this is real or if I’m still in the water.”
He took a deep breath. The symptoms she described were all too familiar, but how did it happen? If a dragon chose her, they wouldn’t tie her or leave her in the water if she somehow fell or dropped into it. “I think I know part of what happened to you. Some of the symptoms sound like a dragon bite. Do you feel any pain anywhere?”
“No, I’m not in pain.” She ran her hands over her arms and shoulders, moved a little, and shook her head. “No pain anywhere.”
“I’ll give you the antidote for the dragon bite. It should help. Can you tell me what happened?” He held out his hand and focused. The antidote formed in his hand with a flare of red and gold magic.
“No, I can’t remember anything but being in the water and my first name.” She shook her head. She took the flask with the antidote and swallowed the liquid in two gulps.
“Memory loss isn’t a symptom of dragon venom.” He tilted his head and looked her over again. The bands on her wrist. At first glance, he’d thought they were bracelets, but they weren’t decorative. In fact, they looked a little rusty in spots.
“Can you do magic right now?” He frowned. She was still standing there in a wet gown. Most witches, dragons, and vampires he’d met would dry themselves.
She frowned. “I didn’t think of it before. Let me try.”
He nodded.
She opened her palm and then winced. “No, there’s a sharp, shooting pain when I try.”
“I intend to step closer to you.” He lifted his head and met her eyes. She wasn’t thinking straight. He didn’t want to scare her. One of them could be hurt unintentionally. “Those bracelets don’t look like something any woman would wear of their own free will. I’ll try to get them off. This won’t be easy. I’m not a vampire. This won’t be easy. It will be trial and error to get them off if they’re spelled. First, though, I’ll try to pull them off.”
She held out her hand. He gripped the bracelet and pulled. An electrical jolt slashed through him. He jumped back and hissed. Definitely spelled.
“Well, this is spelled. Let me try once. If it doesn’t work, we’ll see if we can find a vampire or send for one. We need to find out what happened to you.” Aziel exhaled and paced closer.
He put his hands over one of the bracelets. His heartbeat picked up. This bracelet wasn’t undefended. Probably better to go in slow and easy. He sent a trickle of magic to the bracelet. The red and gold magic drifted slowly over the metal. It probed and sparks shot to him and her.
She cried out and dropped to her knees. He hissed and tensed. That hurt him. What did it do to her?
“Are you alright?” He dropped to a knee beside her. “That didn’t go well. We need to go to the ceratia, the gathering house, to find someone to help you.”
“The ceratia?” She looked up at him. A tear trailed down her pale cheek.
“It’s a place where the vampires and dragons meet to exchange information. It’s also where the cities citizens can easily find help if there is trouble.” He rose to his feet and held out his hand. “Come on. If there’s not a vampire there, we should at least be able to send for one.”