The Dragon Legion Collection(92)

She glanced up at him, both enticing and vulnerable. “Remember that tree?”

Thad was startled by the change of topic. He spared a glance at the orchard of golden apples, but Aura shook her head. “Not those trees.”

“The one outside the garden?” he asked, unable to think of another she’d singled out for his attention. Aura nodded. The tree had something to do with the firestorm?

“Let’s go there, now, and I’ll tell you a story.”

Thad was ready to do anything to fulfill the firestorm and to win Aura’s trust, even if he couldn’t understand her reasoning as yet. He summoned the change from deep within himself and savored the surge of power that rolled through him with his transformation. He took flight over the lush garden, then hovered over Aura.

She had picked up the golden apple, the one they had shared. It had two distinct bites out of it but was otherwise intact. She tucked it into her tunic, hiding it from view, then smiled at him and lifted her arms toward him. “Show me what it’s like to fly with a dragon,” she demanded, and Thad was only too glad to comply.

She was his mate. She was his future. He would spend every moment of his life believing in the firestorm and proving as much to her.

And if the firestorm burned for all of that time, he would savor every spark.

Thad swept down and gathered Aura up, chuckling at her shout of delight. He soared high over the garden, even as her hair swirled around him and tickled his scales. She was unafraid, her eyes shining. He showed off a little, wanting to prompt her laughter, but only until she pointed to the road outside the garden.

“The tree,” she commanded, so fearless that he knew she was his match in every way.

“The tree,” Thad agreed, fixing her with an intent look. “And the story.”

Aura nodded and settled against him, leaning her cheek against his chest. Thad raced out of the garden and over the lip of the mountaintop, spiraling through the air in a way he knew Aura would appreciate. He was so busy trying to show her the similarities between their powers that he didn’t notice the scale from his chest fall free and into her hand.

* * *

The dark scale lifted from Thad’s hide so easily that it might not have really been attached. Aura caught it in her hand and glanced up at him, realizing immediately that he hadn’t noticed it fall. He was intent upon flying, and while she admired his skill, the scale mystified her.

Did the Pyr lose their scales like this all the time?

It couldn’t have hurt him to lose it, or he would have noticed. Maybe the Pyr routinely shed scales and grew new ones. But when Aura looked over Thad’s muscled dragon form, she couldn’t see another missing scale anywhere. The dark scales were locked over each over in perfect rows, as if providing complete protection.

Except for the spot this one had left bare. Aura could see a bit of uncovered skin, and it worried her to think that her dragon had any vulnerabilities. She’d ask him more about the scale after she told him the story she’d promised him.

The sky was brighter in the east and the sun had crested the horizon. When Thad flew high, they were above the lingering shadows of the night, and a crisp wind lifted Aura’s hair. She wondered if it was anyone she knew, a notion that made her smile.

“I’m waiting,” Thad murmured in old-speak and Aura smiled.

It was so easy to confide in Thad. Aura knew that was because she trusted him to keep his word.

“Once upon a time,” she said. “There was a beautiful nymph.”

“I know a beautiful nymph,” Thad interjected and she poked him.

“A different nymph.”

“Then she must have been less beautiful than my nymph.”

Aura smiled at his possessive tone then continued. “She loved to make music in the world around her. She would make water spray so that it splashed on broad water lily leaves, or cast it tinkling into a pool of still water. She would blow through the rushes so they whistled and race through icicles so they made a sparkling tune. She was happy with these amusements and would have stayed so.”

“But...” Thad prompted.

“One day, Zeus himself spied her and was filled with lust. She refused his advances but he was determined to have her. He tricked her by becoming a tree with silvery leaves that made music when they were stirred by the wind. She discovered this and couldn’t resist the tree, for the music it made was sweeter than sweet. The third time she blew through the tree’s leaves, Zeus surprised her. He changed shape, captured her and claimed her by force. Once he had had his fill of the beautiful nymph, he abandoned her on a remote hilltop and went in search of another beauty to claim.”


Thad stilled at this and fixed her with a look that commanded the truth. “Are you certain I don’t know this nymph?” He looked dangerous and ready to avenge her, even against the king of the gods.

“Positive,” Aura said, liking how Thad closed one claw more protectively around her. He flew higher, taking a turn over the mountain that sheltered the garden and narrowed his gaze as he stared toward the horizons. Was he checking the area for amorous gods? Aura could believe not only that, but that he wouldn’t flinch from defending her.

The warm glow of the firestorm surrounded them, like an orb of golden light, its caress making her imagine many earthy ways to reward her loyal dragon.

But first, the story.