Maevus woke to early morning sunlight through sheer curtains. She stretched, rolling in the silk sheets until she was on her back, staring up at a ceiling edged in scrollwork. Her stomach grumbled for breakfast, but she wasn't quite ready to get up from the ridiculously soft feather bed.

Loathe as she was to admit it, working under the Queen's order certainly had some perks. Namely, she and Volt could send all their expenses to the Royal Treasury, along with getting paid.

Thus, the fancy hotel Volt had checked them into and the several fancy meals Maevus had indulged in since their arrival in Fresi yesterday. Maevus hadn't left her room since, sleeping for most of the day and ordering food up to her room in an effort to regain her magical strength. 

Volt hadn't so much as knocked on her door. Which...had given her a lot of alone time to think.

She rolled onto her side and hugged one of the many pillows to her chest. The memory of those ink wings he had drawn floated up to the surface, making her groan in frustration. In response, there was a sharp tug on one of the strings.

A sharp popping sound announced Lox before he landed on her shoulder. Chirring with concern, he pawed at the loose hair covering her face.

After so many days without her dragons, Maevus couldn't help but smile. Sitting up, she caught Lox before he could jump in the air and cuddled him to her chest. Lox grumbled—a compulsory show of cat-like disdain—then gave up and burrowed his head beneath her chin, purring.

Lox's warm breath on her neck was comforting, and she stroked the velvety skin of his wings. Which...just made her think of Volt's wings again.

"It's just a stupid drawing," she muttered. Lox pulled back, blinking his big, round eyes. He chirped a question before resting his forepaws on her cheeks. Maevus sighed. "He doesn't want to be here either. And now I feel like a big baby, complaining so much."

Lox just sneezed and dropped down to all fours.

"Thank you," Maevus said, wiping dragon spit off her face. "Did you come here just for that?"

All that earned her was a slow blink, and then Lox began licking his paws. Maevus stuck her tongue out at him and flung her blankets back. She smiled when he yowled in protest as the heavy comforter flipped over him. As Lox fought with his enemy, Maevus stood and stretched, straightening the loose sleeping pants Korie had packed. Somehow, they'd been twisted sideways around her waist.

A sudden ripping sound made her tense. It was followed by a cough and a crackling sound. Maevus whirled with a cry to find the bed on fire, Lox happily playing with the flames as they burned. With a sigh, Maevus raised her hands, palms facing the floor, then lowered them.

The flames resisted her and she gave Lox a hard look. The little dragon snorted and let her extinguish the fire, but not before a scorch mark roughly the size of a wagon wheel had been burned onto the ivory comforter.

Maevus sighed and rubbed her forehead, wondering how much this would cost. Then, she remembered it hardly mattered. A small laugh escaped her and she turned toward the bathroom. Lox joined her in the steaming hot water in the gigantic tub, using his flexible tail to rudder around as she bathed. 

Refreshed by the hot water and reeking of lilac-scented soap, Maevus finally got out of the tub and dressed. Lox steamed her hair dry until it fell in silky waves around her face. By the time she was dressed in black trousers and a plain, grey linen shirt, her stomach was beginning to stage a serious revolt.

Lox hopped onto her shoulder, burrowing under her hair until his small body was mostly hidden. She bit her lip as she went to the bell-pull near the door. Her dragons tended to make people nervous, especially non-gifted people.

But...her red hair more or less camouflaged the scarlet dragon. That, along with the fact that she didn't want Lox to leave made her decision.

Before she could reach for the bell-pull, though, a sharp knock sounded. A startled Lox slipped from her shoulder, his tiny, needle-sharp claws ripping the sleeve of her shirt and scratching her skin as he tried to stop his fall.

"Ow!" Wincing, she caught him around the middle, cradling him in her hand as she opened the door.

She froze when she found Volt waiting outside, hand raised like he was about to knock again. Lox let out a chir and gathered himself. She wasn't fast enough to grab him as the fire-dragon launched himself at Volt.

Black-wrapped hands shot up, catching Lox mid-leap. Small, pearly fangs flashed. There was a grunt of pain from Volt, but he stayed still as Lox buried his teeth into Volt's forefinger. Maevus stared, unsure what to do.

She could sense why her little dragon was being so vicious—this was repayment for Volt hitting Doren with a lightning bolt the first day they met. But she also knew those tiny teeth hurt, and she didn't want Volt thinking she had made her dragon attack him. He already disliked her enough.

Not that she particularly cared...but she had made the decision to at least work with him.

This was a hard enough task without constantly being at odds with her companion.

It surprised her when Volt brought Lox into his chest, cradling him close. He ran his long fingers down the strip of quills over his spine, making the dragon freeze. His amber eyes went wide, pupils huge as he stared at Maevus, utterly bewildered.

Slowly, he pulled his teeth free of Volt's finger. Lox sniffed at the blood that seeped from the wound before tentatively licking at it. He looked up at Volt's face, sitting on his hind legs and stretching up until his head disappeared beneath the edge of Volt's hood.

"Lox," Maevus chided, simultaneously trying to peer into the fire-dragon's mind to see what he saw. It was no use. Lox saw things in shades of heat—hot reds and cool blues.

She felt something brush her nose and backed up before realizing it wasn't her that had been touched. Volt had touched his nose to Lox's.

Maevus blinked at the other Encant, watching as he continued to cuddle her dragon. Her mouth dropped open when Lox clambered up Volt's chest and slid into the dark, warm pocket of his hood, curling his tail around Volt's throat.

Volt froze, hands hovering uncertainly near the dragon around his neck.

"Lox," Maevus said, stern. "Come here."

She got a snort in answer. Irritated, she raised a hand, gesturing to the dragon. "Don't make me send you back."

Lox peeked out of the hood, flicked his tongue at her, then ducked back into the shadows.

Dumbfounded, Maevus opened and closed her mouth like a fish. The little dragon knew it was an empty threat. She never sent them back to their world unless it was absolutely necessary. Mostly because it made them sulky.

Sulky dragons tended to eat things they shouldn't.

"Lox!"

"It's...fine," Volt said with his quiet voice. "He's...warm."

"He's...a fire-dragon." Maevus pursed her lips, letting Lox feel exactly how irritated she was.

Volt's mouth twitched with what might have been a smile. Then he frowned. "You're bleeding." He gestured at her arm, and Maevus looked down to find blood staining her grey shirt, seeping from Lox's claw marks.

Grimacing at the sudden sting, she shot a dirty look toward where Lox was still hidden inside Volt's hood. With a sigh, she tugged lightly on Medella's thread—just enough to shroud her hand in glowing, green magic. Taking a sharp breath in, she slapped her palm over the scratch marks, swearing as they closed.

With a mental thank you to Medella, she released the magic and shook out her arm. Freshly healed skin always felt uncomfortably tight.

Biting her lip, she glanced at Volt, then looked down. Her pride wouldn't quite stomach an apology.

"Let me change my shirt..." She ran her fingers through her loose hair. "Then...let's get some breakfast and...begin."

Volt stood stock still for a moment and Maevus tensed, waiting for the questions or the sarcasm she likely deserved. It surprised her when all he did was nod. "I'll wait here with..." He tilted his head slightly, like he was looking at something from the corner of his eye. "Lox. The...fire-dragon."

There was a self-satisfied purr from the depths of the hood, and Volt's lips twitched. He lifted his hand, slipping his fingers into the hood and provoking more purring.

"Traitor," Maevus muttered before turning back into her room. Shutting the door, she sighed and leaned against it for a moment, staring up at the ceiling.

She didn't know what it meant that her most temperamental dragon liked him.

She did know that it would at least make working with him incrementally easier.

If you'd like to see some artwork my sister did of Maevus and Veena, I've posted it at the bottom of the very first chapter (lol, because the picture goes with the first chapter, sorry for any inconvenience.)