Aspen (The Dragon Kings #2)(16)

“Alright, come on. But you should probably wait out of sight until I make sure it’s okay.” Sid as a dragon always behaved a little differently than Sid the man. She had no idea what he would say.

Aspen got to the clearing first. She watched Sid fly low and fast. He landed hard. His claws left two craters in the ground. His huge body was heaving as if he had been running.

“What’s the rush?” Aspen asked.

I didn’t want to be late.

“Late? You got here less than ten minutes after me, and I was early.” She smiled at him. She still couldn’t believe he was hers.

I don’t want to make you wait.

Aspen stared up at his chest. A brilliant blue circle that had not been there before was bright against his black scales. Right in the middle was the word “Skye.”

“Why do you have Skye’s name on your chest?” Aspen’s heart clenched. The only other name he had on his body was hers. What did it mean?

Long story, but it has to do with keeping me alive. Let’s go for a flight, and I’ll explain everything. I’ve invoked some ancient magic.

Aspen wanted more than anything to climb on his back and learn what all of this was about, but Rowan was hiding out in the trees.

“We can’t.” She waved his head down. “First, we need to talk.”





Sid felt a great deal of anxiety coming from Aspen. He spoke before she could get a word out.


Have I told you about the gifts of the dragons?

“No.” She took a couple of steps back and cocked her head.

Each dragon race is given a special gift. The river dragons can speak out loud, and the arctic dragons live longer than the rest of us. We, the royal dragons, are given the gift of feeling.

“What does that mean?” She cocked her head.

It means that I can feel what you are feeling. It’s not mind reading. It’s feeling.

“So when I’m really happy, you can feel my happiness.”

Exactly.

She raised her eyebrows. “Wow. So what was I feeling the first time I saw you?”

Excitement, awe, and elation.

She nodded. “Sounds about right. Does that mean anytime I want to make out with you, you can tell?”

Sid shifted a little. Yeah.

She laughed. “What about now?”

Fear, you are scared. I don’t understand why. And he didn’t. He rarely felt fear from her. Maybe she was still worried about his death.

“Oh, well, I have to ask you something, and I am afraid of your response.”

Are you afraid I will eat you or something? He snorted, and black smoke escaped from his nostrils.

“It’s about Rowan. He saw us together a while ago. I forgot about it until he reminded me as I was leaving.”

Has he told anyone? Rowan was getting more and more involved in their lives. If Sid wasn’t careful, Rowan’s life would be on the line as well.

“Oh no, he wouldn’t do that. He only told me. The thing is, he wants to meet you.”

Sid was amused. Rowan, the boy who, until two weeks ago, could hardly walk out his front door, wanted to meet him as a dragon?

Why?

“Honestly, I don’t know. Would it be alright? Will you meet with him?”

When?

“Right now, if you’re willing.”

Why not?

Aspen patted Sid’s flank and hurried off down the path. A few minutes later she came back alone.

Well, where is he? Sid asked her.

“Hidden in that stand of pines. He won’t come any closer right now. Maybe you can talk him into coming out.”

Sid supposed he could do that, but Rowan would expect that. Sid recalled when Rowan was with Theo, and the harder Theo rode him, the harder he worked out. Sid decided to do something unexpected, something blunt.

He aimed a volley of flames directly over the stand of pines, singeing the top of the trees. Rowan did not appear.

Aspen flung herself at him, arms flailing. “You idiot! What was that for? He’s probably wet himself now. What on earth were you thinking? I told you he was scared. If you didn’t want to see him, you could have just said so.”

Distracted by Aspen’s tirade, Sid didn’t see Rowan come out, but Sid felt him as he approached. Never before had he experienced the sheer terror he felt now. Sid’s body shook, and breathing became a challenge. Sid took deep heaving breaths.

Aspen, stop.

She continued pounding on his underbelly. “You jerk. I can’t believe you did that to him!”

Aspen, he is coming closer. I cannot have you beating on me like a punching bag. STOP.

She stopped. Sid’s shaking and rapid breath did not. He couldn’t quite believe that Rowan could be walking so calmly while feeling so horrid. Sid knew if he got closer, it would only make matters worse.

Rowan, please do not come any closer.

“Why?”

I feel what you are feeling.

Rowan sat on the ground about thirty feet from Sid. “What do my feelings have to do with getting any closer?”

You’re terrified.

“Yeah, so, I’m always afraid. It is my perpetual state of being. This whole mind speak thing is pretty cool.”

How do you even function? I’m not you, yet I shake with fear.

“I’m used to it. It never really goes away. It’s amplified now because I’m faced with a real freaking dragon, but this really isn’t all that much worse than usual.”