Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44984 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 225(@200wpm)___ 180(@250wpm)___ 150(@300wpm)
“Yes, friends clued me in. I thought about coming back then, but figured I’d been gone too long already. That was a mistake. I never considered I wouldn’t get to see Mom again.”
“I’m glad you’re here now. The dragons make Wyvern safe.”
“It’s taken me a while to make it back. The world is crazy out there. Being picked up by a dragon wasn’t anything I expected to experience today.”
“I’m sure Keres didn’t explain,” Lalani said, looking over her shoulder at Khadar. “Who’s the other man?”
“That guy and I found each other about two hundred miles from here as we each tried to get the last bottle of Pappy Van Winkle, the finest bourbon around. We decided to both enjoy it and discovered we had more than a common love of aged whiskey. He’s from Wyvern, too.”
“Brooks? Oh, good heavens. Is that you?”
Lalani turned at the sound of her friend’s voice. Elenore rushed toward the other man, who immediately shrugged out of the leather jacket Keres had him trapped by. He ran to wrap his arms around the older woman and turned in a happy circle.
“Grandma!”
“You’ve been traveling with Brooks Battlefield?” she asked Derek with complete astonishment.
“Yep. We recognized each other’s names as we talked. It seemed like a good idea that two men from Wyvern should stick together. I don’t think either of us would have gotten home alone.”
“We have a lot of catching up to do,” Lalani said.
A movement in the sky caught her attention, interrupting her next thought. She turned to see Oldrik land and shift. He seemed to sniff the air and strode forward toward Keres and the young woman.
“Who’s the woman?” Lalani asked.
“That’s Skye. We saved her from a bunch of thugs. It’s not safe for anyone to be by themselves, but women are an easy target,” Derek told her quietly. “She doesn’t talk much. We don’t know exactly what she went through before we found her. Somehow, we earned her trust and kept her with us.”
“There’s no way she’s from Wyvern, too,” Khadar said.
“There is, actually. That and home are the only words we’ve heard her say. She chimed in with both when we were talking about people we knew back here. We brought her with us. She’s one hell of an artist. We left incredible drawings of dragons everywhere we stopped.”
“I thought she was Oldrik’s mate from his reaction, but he’s leaving,” Khadar shared. “Ardon is there now.”
Lalani saw the younger dragon repeat that same sniffing motion as he strode forward. She focused on eavesdropping.
“Introduce me,” Ardon demanded of Keres as he stopped in front of the black dragon.
“I’ll tell you the same thing I told Oldrik. I don’t know her,” Keres said, shaking his head.
“What is your name, Little one?” Ardon asked.
“Skye,” she whispered, facing the crowd for the first time.
Ardon stared at the young woman as if trying to figure out a puzzle missing a vital piece.
“Skye? Is that you? Please, let me through. I think that’s my daughter,” a woman called from the assembly as she pushed her way through the people. Immediately, an aisle formed for her.
Ardon eased back as the worried mother ran forward to wrap her arms around the new arrival. “I’m so glad to see you. A dragon visited the art college to collect you, but you’d already left.”
“Hi, Mom.”
“Let’s get you home. You need a bath and something to eat.”
“There are dragons here, Mom. I need paper. I want to draw them.”
“You can draw dragons later, Skye.”
“No, Mom. I need to capture them now,” Skye stressed. “It’s important.”
“You don’t even have paper, Skye. Don’t be silly. Come home with me.”
“I have that paper I brought to make a pencil rubbing of the names. I’ll be right back,” Lalani told Khadar. Something told her this was important. When he nodded, she rushed forward, opening the tote bag draped over her shoulder.
“Hi. I’m Lalani. I couldn’t help overhearing. Would this work for you?” Lalani said, offering the tablet. “I have pencils, too.”
“Thank you.” The grateful look on Skye’s face told her everything. Lalani remembered both Ardon and Oldrik’s reactions to her. Was she one of their mates?
As the woman sat down on the grass to open the tablet, Ardon shifted into dragon form. He stood as still as a statue as Skye put the tip of her pencil on the blank page.
This is going to be fun to watch.
Mate, do not interfere in the affairs of dragons.
I’d never do that. Lalani crossed her fingers behind her back as she lied. Something was going on. She couldn’t wait to find out what happened next.