So in reality, it's the four of us who make up the team—two humans and two dragons.
Two bloody good humans and dragons. The landing area came into view. So let's do this.
As they made their way toward the tall form of Robin, Honoria kept her head high and shoulders back. The next set of tasks could determine everything, and she was more than ready to get started.
~~~
Asher suspected Honoria had reached for his hand to put on a show and make Shane, and maybe some of the others, think she was afraid. It was brilliant, but it also irked him a little. He didn't like others thinking Honoria weak, even if it was part of a plan.
His dragon spoke up. Give it time. People are still trying to wrap their heads around the female leader in Ireland, and it's been months since her secret was revealed. Honoria throwing her name into the race and it going public was only days ago.
It was hard to think it'd been barely a week since he'd first spotted the blonde hair and blue eyes of Honoria in the conference room.
Robin's tall, dark-skinned form came into view and Asher quickly packed away his irritation. They were about to learn their first task.
Once they reached the Protector, he handed them a satchel used for when in dragon form, meaning it could easily be clutched in the hind legs or around a dragon's neck. Robin motioned toward the bag. "Inside you'll find your assignment and supplies. I can't say more than that, so don't ask. You have five minutes to read and study your material before you must depart. Good luck."
Robin walked away to the side of the main landing area to guard two other large satchels.
Not wasting a minute, Asher opened it and found a small envelope with the words "READ FIRST" emblazoned on the front, a basic first-aid kit, one hundred pounds, a binder full of the necessary intel from the Protectors, and a square device with a single button encased in a clear plastic cover. On the back of the button device were the words, "Press only for emergencies. Disqualified once pressed."
Honoria placed it back in the bag. "We won't be using that then." She picked up the envelope. Inside was a note as well as a picture of a ginger-haired male in his late twenties, the intricate tattoo on his bicep marking him a dragon-shifter. He had no bloody clue who the male was.
Asher took the note and read it aloud, "Fraser MacKenzie has been kidnapped by the dragon hunters and is trapped somewhere in South Downs. Your goal is to find him, carefully extract him, and return him to Skyhunter, where he can be reunited with his clan leader, Finlay Stewart."
Honoria spoke up. "So it seems the clan cooperation continues."
Asher studied the male's features, including the amusement in his eyes and the shadow of a smile on his lips. "And knowing my luck, he'll be a pain in my arse to get back."
Honoria chuckled. "That's part of the challenge." She stashed the note and picture back inside the satchel. "We should go. How about going to our special spot first, to go through all the information in the binder and strategize?"
He loved how Honoria went straight to the point, and he grunted. "We'll probably need our clothes at some point, so let's toss them into the bag, too."
Once they undressed and did so, Asher took a second to watch Honoria's form change. White wings grew from her back, her arms and legs extended, and her face morphed into a dragon's snout and ears. The urge to chase her in the skies rushed through his body.
When she stood in her beautiful white dragon form, he met her gaze and read her look, which told him to hurry his arse up.
His dragon laughed as they shifted. And when done, he tossed the satchel around his neck, spread his red wings, crouched down, and jumped into the air. After a few beats of his wings, he was high enough to find his bearings and head toward his and Honoria's special place.
It'd been more than a decade since he'd visited it. However, both male and dragon knew exactly where it was, nestled not far from Arundel Castle but beyond the Duke of Norfolk's lands.
When he spotted a particular old stone bridge on the River Arun, Asher adjusted his wings and headed for a tree-covered hill that overlooked the river.
He carefully landed onto the small clearing at the top of it and imagined his body shrinking back into his human form. Once he and Honoria were both done, Asher didn't waste time taking out the binder compiled by the Protectors.
Honoria leaned against his side as he opened it. He was aware of every inch of her skin pressed against his, almost as if the heat of her body was transferring to his. Not to mention the spark continued on down to his cock, which was already stirring to life.
It made it fucking impossible to concentrate on the task at hand.
His dragon spoke up. You could tell her to move.
Never.
Clan leaders should be able to resist even the most delectable female at his side. Drawing on his years of experience in prison, when he had perfected the art of distraction, Asher remembered the ginger-haired male who was their target. He was the key to winning Skyhunter. Only then could he claim Honoria as his, maybe forever.
And so he scanned the documents inside the binder.
There were several suspected locations listed of where the dragon hunters could be hiding. On top of that, there were several fuzzy photographs included, each with a label of when and where they'd been spotted.