Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 166(@250wpm)___ 138(@300wpm)
When they were level, his powerful winds impelled them through the air. She opened her eyes to see the most brilliant sunset. All the colors of yellow, orange, pink and blue melting together took her breath away.
A flash of motion caught her eye. Jerking her head to the right, she almost lost her balance, but Argenis steadied her with a flex of his massive shoulders.
Steady, Little Sky. This isn’t the time to play catch.
The deep raspy voice sounded inside her brain, startling her. Argenis. It could only be him.
Could she talk back to him? She thought really hard. I’m okay.
A huge bronze dragon took position next to Argenis. His jewel-like brown eye seemed to look right through Ciel. Mesmerized, she almost forgot to hold on, but caught herself as she swayed his way. She needed to stay away from that dragon, she decided.
Flames ahead drew her attention. She stretched upward to see better over Argenis’s head. It was almost dark, but when the flames flared, she could see dark figures trying to get in through one of the mountain passes. Their covert actions made it clear they were not good guys.
Close your eyes!
Without hesitating, Ciel slammed her eyelids shut. Almost immediately a bright glow lit up the area around them. She squeezed her eyes closed harder as the light showed through her protective flesh. Shouts of anguish filtered up from the ground. Argenis flew pass after pass over the area until an eerie silence filled the air.
When the glow faded, Ciel dared to open her eyes. The scales on the dragon’s neck were the first thing she saw. They glowed with an inner brightness that lessened as she watched. Looking at other parts of his body, she noted the same thing. Had that piercing light come from Argenis?
This time, when Argenis made a sweeping turn, he headed back toward his mountain. A thousand questions raced through her mind. Could all dragons emit light? What did it do? She looked behind her to see what had happened on the ground, but they were too far away.
She tried to think a message to Argenis, but errant thoughts kept zinging through her mind. Unable to focus, she could only wait until he was once again in human form to communicate. Whatever the threat had been, the dragons had repelled it.
The dragon landed with a resounding thud that almost unseated her. It was so totally different from when she’d ridden on his back before that Ciel slid down quickly and ran back to give him room. Almost instantly, he shifted in a dazzle of light.
“Argenis? Are you okay?” she rushed toward the man who had dropped to one knee—his posture bent toward the ground.
“I am okay, Little Sky. Just depleted.”
“What can I do to help you?” she asked.
“Let’s go inside. My staff will have everything I need.”
Ciel wrapped her arm around his waist when he stood to support him. She could tell he was operating on sheer willpower as he moved mechanically. That athletic, smooth pace that normally characterized his walk had vanished.
He headed inside and directly to the kitchen. A feast was laid out on the candle-lit kitchen table. Argenis took a seat and began inhaling food.
“Eat, Ciel, if you are hungry,” he instructed.
She helped herself to a piece of cheese and a cracker to nibble on as she looked around the darkened kitchen. “I’ve never been in here.”
“This is my staff’s space. They eat here together often. We have all become a family.”
“What happened out there?”
“My apologies, Little one. Due to the mate bond, I couldn’t leave you here. I would never put you at risk,” he assured her.
“I wasn’t worried about me. I figured it was an emergency. What were those people doing?”
“People are becoming desperate. Food is becoming scarcer as everything in freezers starts to rot. That was a raiding party. They thought by breaking through the barriers at night, we would not be able to respond.”
“So… You made it… not night?” she suggested hesitantly, trying to figure this out as she talked.
“Correct.”
“So, you’re like a giant nightlight?” Ciel asked.
A bark of laughter erupted from his throat at that visual image. “Ciel, you delight me. Yes. That is exactly what I am.”
“Do all dragons glow?”
“No. The power of the moon belongs only to silver dragons,” he explained as he devoured his third sandwich.
“Does everyone else have a power?” she asked, completely enthralled.
“Dragons are the definition of power,” he told her in a tone somewhere between proud and simply factual.
Surprised that she understood that statement completely, Ciel nodded as she helped herself to a piece of the freshly baked bread. She froze when he took it from her. Ciel watched him slather butter over the top of it.
“Try this,” he suggested as he handed it back.
“Thank you,” she said, relaxing. Even famished, he focused on taking care of her. Taking a big bite, she wiggled happily in her chair at the delicious flavor.