Dragon Guard Scholar - Alicia Montgomery Page 0,1

one they call on when they need someone to sniff out secrets,” she said with a wink.

During that fateful trip back two-and-a-half years ago, an anti-shifter organization had planted bombs in what she considered her home town—Blackstone. When she heard about the trouble, she volunteered to help sweep for bombs. It was a dangerous task, but during the entire time, there was an excitement and thrill she hadn’t felt in years.

The town had been saved, and in the aftermath, she discovered the existence of The Shifter Protection Agency or simply, The Agency, run by Sybil’s brother Jason Lennox and his wife, Christina. They had been so impressed with her investigation skills that they brought her in as one of their recruits, and after a solid year of training, started sending her out on missions.

Now when she traveled, she actually had a purpose. Though she’d done a variety of jobs for The Agency, undercover work seemed suited to her. Being pretty and petite helped, as few people suspected she had anything to hide, and putting on the dumb blonde act had gotten her out of more than a few scrapes. But she completed every mission assigned to her, and nothing satisfied her more than bringing justice to the helpless and oppressed of her kind.

When it came to jobs, she was relentless and never stopped until she finished her mission, then she moved onto the next. Her missions kept her grounded and in the present. Stopped her from dwelling on the past.

“Did Christina tell you why we need help?” Sybil asked.

“Yes, she briefed me on the situation,” she replied, grateful for the distraction. “You and your husband were attacked, and you suspect someone on the inside had something to do with it.”

“Yes.” Sybil’s nostrils flared, and her eyes glowed briefly with the anger of her dragon. “We can give you more details when we get to the palace.”

“Sure. When do we leave?”

Sybil chuckled. “Now.”

“Now?” Ginny glanced around. “But how … oh.” Oh fuck. Her stomach flipped like a pancake. They were flying to the palace—via Dragon Airlines, apparently.

“Are you all right?” Sybil cocked her head to the side. “You don’t mind, do you? The Northern Isles doesn’t have any commercial flights or ferries, and if we flew you in with the jet, we’d have to explain why you were there. Aleksei thought it would be better if there was no record of your arrival since we still don’t know who our mole is.”

Ginny swallowed hard. “That makes sense. And no, it’s no problem at all. I don’t mind flying.” No, flying wasn’t the problem, after all. It was what was ahead, or rather, what they would be flying over.

The frigid, icy water stretching between them and their destination.

Her lioness backed away, snarling in displeasure, and Ginny couldn’t even find the words to calm it down.

“Are you sure you’re fine, Ginny? You look a little pale. I promise it’s not a long flight. Just thirty minutes until we’re over the main island.”

“I’m sure,” she said flatly, then turned on her heel to walk over to the rock where she had placed her backpack. “Ready when you are.” Yet, the sweat beading on her forehead told her she’d never be ready. As long as we fly high, I’ll be fine.

“Great. I’ll grab onto you. I promise I won’t let go.”

“Thanks, I’m sure it’ll be okay.” It was her that was the problem, after all. With a deep breath, she secured her backpack to her body. Sure enough, when she turned around, Sybil was gone, and the dragon stood by the edge of the cliff. “Here goes nothing,” she murmured under her breath.

Her lioness was calmer as they approached the dragon, perhaps sensing they were in no danger of being devoured by this particular predator. Its long, scaly arms stretched out, and Ginny stepped into them. The limbs wrapped around her, and she found herself crushed against the surprisingly warm scales. She pressed her cheek against the leathery surface as she heard the flapping of wings and her feet lifted off the ground.

She held her breath as her heart and stomach suddenly felt like they were trying to switch places as the dragon soared higher and then dipped down. Her eyes shut tight as terror seeped into her veins. Thankfully, Sybil’s dragon quickly found the perfect cruising altitude, and they moved forward at a steadier pace. Instead of thinking of what was below, she concentrated on the fact that she was flying.

Cracking one eye open,