 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
M/M, Contemporary Fantasy, Friends-to-Lovers [Coming Oct. 7, 2025 / 23,000 Words] AMZ / Apple / BN / Kobo / SW / All Buy Links When Nino comes home to find his roommate has adopted a pair of infant dragons, the situation is more than perplexing; it's impossible. Arden Roy has no idea magic exists, but he insists on keeping the little hellions anyway, over Nino's strenuous objections. There's danger for magical creatures in such a thoroughly nonmagical city, and Nino should know. He's got secrets of his own—secrets that only grow more distressing, as caring for the foundlings brings him closer to Arden in new and confusing ways. He hates lying to his best friend, hiding his talents, while navigating the chaos two mischievous dragons have brought crashing into their lives. The dragons can't stay. But convincing Arden may require revealing everything he knows, and Nino is terrified. To confess the truth could cost him his best friend, just when Nino is finally beginning to understand his own heart. It must be Nino's magic that calls them, however inadvertently. Autumn offers an aggressive palette of warm colors all around him, and the weather's been turning so slowly that Nino keeps forgetting to account for the chill when he goes out in the morning. Even today, with the sky a bright and cheerful blue—only the faintest wisp of clouds texturing the southern horizon—the air is so cool that he regrets not bringing a jacket. His sweater may be soft and cozy and just stylish enough to pass for business casual, but it's not enough to combat the icy wind that sneaks in around him as the evening sun sinks low. When he cuts through a habitual shortcut between brick buildings, he takes the opportunity to glance around and confirm he's alone. Then, reaching for the magic that lives like a constant hum just beneath his skin, he tugs a little extra warmth out of the air and wraps it around himself. Like a blanket, or a cape, or an especially fond hug. His vision hazes green for a fleeting moment, and he knows if anyone could see him, they would be able to glimpse an unnatural sheen of light swirling all around him, shining brightest in his eyes. But the color fades quickly, and by the time he emerges onto a proper sidewalk again, he's nothing unusual to look at: a gangly man in his thirties with a dark flop of hair, skinny shoulders, and a lopsided smile that rarely leaves his face. The street he's on now is busier than the one where he disembarked the last bus of his commute. Faces both unknown and familiar pass him by, everyone hurrying along through a crowded rush hour along a hectic sidewalk, pushing their luck at the intersections as car horns honk and traffic crawls forward. By the time Nino reaches his building, the sky has begun to burnish orange and pink along the uneven skyline—and between some of the buildings, Nino can just make out the colorful glare of sunlight glinting off the river. He lets his cushion of heat dissipate as he steps into the lobby, the interior space significantly warmer than the outdoors despite the austere minimalism of its design. He shares his elevator ride with several people, but everyone else gets off well before the top floor, and he has an empty hallway to himself for the short final stretch of his journey. It's a relief to step inside the apartment he shares with his best friend, the decor so much softer and more inviting than the public spaces of the building. Arden's boots have been kicked haphazardly into the corner of the little entry hall, but Nino doesn't need this clue to know his roommate is home. Arden's laughter is musical and delighted, echoing through the air and making Nino smile even without knowing what he's laughing at. The door swings shut, and Nino turns the deadbolt. Slides his own shoes off and sets them deliberately beneath the storage bench. Shrugs the leather strap of his work satchel off his shoulder—then jolts to stillness so sharply he nearly drops the bag from slack fingers. The sensation of magic that skitters across his awareness doesn't feel malicious, but the shock of it sends a rush of ragged air into his lungs. It's faint and unfamiliar, not at all human, and the strangeness trills along his senses. Wariness twists in the pit of his stomach, and Nino puts his satchel down on the bench before edging toward the living room beyond the tiny entry hall. Arden's laugh bounces through the air again, and Nino hesitates. Surely there can be no danger here, if his friend sounds like that. True enough, when he finally rounds the corner and peers across the open sprawl of the living room—the overcrowded bookshelves, the oak TV stand, the mismatched green furniture all hazy with the settling sunset—Nino sees nothing amiss. Arden Roy sits on the floor, almost entirely concealed by the couch, nothing but his tousled blond hair visible. "Is that you, Nino?" Arden calls. A redundant question—it's unlikely any of their friends with a key would let themselves in without knocking first—but Arden sits up straighter, more of his head popping up into Nino's line of sight. Nino still can't see the bottom half of Arden's face, but he doesn't need to see the man's mouth to know his friend is smiling. He would recognize the deep, delighted crinkles at the corners of those alarmingly blue eyes any day. "Who else would it be?" And then, despite all the evidence that there is nothing amiss, Nino adds, "Is everything alright?" Arden's brow furrows. "Of course everything's alright." Then a strange little chirrup whispers through the room, and Arden's head ducks lower again, a snort of amusement escaping him before he says, quietly and clearly not to Nino, "Oh, calm down. Don't be such a diva." Nino finds himself suddenly certain Arden has done something impossibly foolish like adopting a dog without consulting him. Or perhaps a bird. Nino's never heard a dog sound like that, but he could convince himself a cockatiel might. Then he finishes rounding the couch, and the sight that greets him is such a shock his legs give out beneath him. He lands on his ass with an uncomfortable thump. Arden looks perfectly normal, if slightly more disheveled than usual, already changed out of the day's suit and jacket in favor of loose jeans and a faded Star Wars t-shirt. But there is nothing normal about the scrawny lizard coiled in Arden's lap, squirming contentedly under the wondering slide of a hand along its back. That is a dragon. He's never seen one in person, but Nino Casini has studied every book and scroll he's ever been able to get his hands on about magic. He has spent his life asking endless questions of anyone who could hope to answer them. And even now, as terrified disbelief settles into his chest, he feels an equally powerful wonder igniting inside him, lighting his senses and leaving him breathless. The dragon is definitely an infant, long and slender, and so small its snake-like body would easily fit coiled inside a glove compartment or a lunchbox. It has spindly legs, a frill that circles its narrow head like a mane, a forked tongue that darts out occasionally to scent the air. Iridescent silver scales glint purple in the warm light, and Nino can't tell if this is simply the color of the scales or the shade of the sunset. When the creature blinks, its eyes flash a gold so deep as to look nearly copper, and it takes Nino a moment to realize those eyes are glowing. When another dragon scurries forward, identical to the first, Nino yelps in surprise. The second creature scrambles clumsily up the front of the couch, tiny claws gripping the velvety material, and then stretches the full length of its body along the arm of the couch. Its little legs splay to either side, and it gives a yawn—so big Nino sees all its tiny, razor-sharp teeth—then flops its head down and closes its eyes. "What...?" Nino tries very hard to steady out his own breathing, painfully aware that panicking won't do him any favors. "What the hell?" There are dragons in his home. And Arden Roy—who has no idea magic exists—has found them, and seems utterly charmed by the whole disastrous situation. "Incredible, aren't they?" Arden's smile is radiant, and when he turns to look directly at Nino, the expression is so overwhelming that it's difficult to keep meeting his eyes. "I found them on the balcony. And it's going to get below freezing tonight. I couldn't leave them outside." There is something so simple and straightforward in Arden's delight. Nino would not normally describe his best friend as a himbo—the man usually has plenty of cleverness and common sense about him—but today the word seems a remarkably apt description. It's clear he hasn't considered the obvious strangeness of the creature in his lap. From its improbable appearance to the fact that there is no world in which a couple of lizards should have turned up on a twelfth-story balcony... This is ridiculous. It is hopeless and exasperating, and for a moment Nino seriously considers just locking himself in his room and refusing to come out. That won't accomplish anything, though. So instead he braces himself to sound as natural as he possibly can when he speaks. "Only you would find a pair of lizards on your balcony and bring them inside instead of calling an animal shelter." Arden stops petting the creature draped across his ankles and gives Nino a baffled look. "What?" Nino says, feeling instantly defensive. "Nino." Arden mutters his name with an achingly familiar rumble of impatience. "They are clearly not normal lizards." AMZ / Apple / BN / Kobo / SW / All Buy Links |
Cover art by Kai @kindlycrow (Kindlycrow) Ebook ISBN 978-1-946316-62-2 |