Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 223(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“Keres gave me one,” Rimi blurted, not realizing what she’d just revealed.
“You’re Little?” Lalani asked before shaking her head and apologizing, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Several of the mates had rosy cheeks now, and Ciel and Brooks avoided Rimi’s eyes. “It’s okay. You can ask me anything. If I don’t know or don’t want to answer, I’ll tell you. I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of that term before meeting Keres.”
“He’s talked to you about it?” Aurora asked.
“Yes, when he gave me Rumble. That’s my dragon.”
“I love that name. Mine is Silly. He’s a silver dragon,” Ciel shared.
“It turns out we all have a lot in common. That’s probably the fated mate thing,” Brooks pointed out. “Perhaps there’s a personality component to all of us, in addition to our family roots.”
“Did you ever think you’d be a dragon’s mate?” Lalani asked.
“No. I knew a dragon would capture me at some point. My mother didn’t share any details about how Oldrik and I were conceived. My impression was that her survival after our hatching was unusual,” Rimi told them.
“Female dragons do not have easy lives. You’d think the other dragons would treat them like queens,” Brooks stated fiercely. Rimi could tell he was ashamed of his sex.
An image of her sitting on a gold throne heavily adorned with jewels popped into her head, and she chuckled. Noting their quizzical looks, she said, “Sorry, I pictured myself like a queen bee there for a moment in all my regalia.”
“I want to see that. We need to have another tiara party,” Aurora suggested, earning a groan from Brooks. “You can wear your ruby crown, Brooks. That will be extremely manly.”
“Deal,” he agreed. “Has Keres shown you his hoard?”
“No,” Rimi said, shrugging. “Does he have one?”
“Oh, yeah. Keres has one,” Ciel laughed. “All the dragons do. Hey, you should have one, too. Keres should create a space for your own lair.”
Rimi shook her head. “I’m sure a female doesn’t get a treasure spot.”
“Who says? There aren’t any others to ask,” Skye pointed out. Her voice made everyone turn. Skye didn’t speak often. When she did, they listened.
As if on cue, the shifters walked in. All the mates turned in unison to look at them. Keres arched an eyebrow at their attention.
“Why do I think we got here at the wrong time?”
“We were just discussing tiaras and the fact that Rimi doesn’t have one. And that led to us asking if she had her own hoard. Don’t all dragons have a hoard?” Ciel asked in a sugary, innocent tone that made Argenis shake his head.
The other dragon shifters stepped away from Keres in a deliberate attempt to distance themselves with a blended “Ooh!” of sympathy.
“Keres, it’s not important,” Rimi rushed to assure him.
“It is, Snowflake. We will work on remedying that when we finish our visit with our guests,” Keres assured her, seeming completely unfazed by the attention.
“Mommy?” Slate called her name to get Rimi’s attention before climbing up on her lap. Already, he was almost too big.
“You’re getting so big. How many cows did you eat?” Rimi asked, groaning under his weight dramatically to entertain the young dragon.
“Two!” he announced proudly.
“Two whole cows?” Rimi asked in amazement.
“Well, Daddy helped with the last one,” Slate admitted.
Keres rubbed his flat stomach. “It’s a tough job being a parent” he whined, making everyone laugh.
When the shifters had settled with their mates, Keres asked, “Catch us up. Is there any news about the powder attacks?”
“It’s been quiet since the two guys in Rogan’s barn alerted us about the shipment coming in. We caught that before it hit the border. When you’re ready to join the patrols again, message us,” Drake told him.
“More will come,” Argenis predicted. “I think we’re dealing with some kind of fanatic. It has to be one person pulling the strings. Who knows what his motivation is, but he is definitely targeting dragons.”
“All we can be is vigilant and make sure those in our inner circle are loyal,” Drake suggested.
“The news of Slate’s birth will spread,” Keres commented warily.
“That will piss them off,” Oldrik predicted.
“Count me in on patrols immediately,” Keres added.
“Can I ask what the powder attacks are?” Rimi asked. She wanted to learn about anything they felt would affect Slate.
“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Lalani asked.
“A faction of humans have discovered a powdery substance that is lethal to dragons and humans alike. They have orchestrated attacks against almost all the horde,” Keres explained.
“Will they come after us?” Rimi asked, glancing deliberately at Slate.
“It is possible. Slate, do not go off on your own until we eliminate this threat,” Keres instructed.
Limiting a young dragon’s freedom was almost impossible. Hopefully, Slate would heed his sire’s instructions.
“You can protect me, Slate, when Keres is on patrol.”
“No way. I’m going with him.”
Chapter 10
“What’s a crystal dragon’s superpower?” Skye broke the tension that followed Slate’s declaration.