Dragos Takes a Holiday (Elder Races #6.5)(18)

“No, thanks. I think I’ll stay on the ground for those lessons.” She shook her head and rubbed the back of her neck. “He’s going to be able to fly before he’s a year old. We need to get a toddler leash and hire avian nannies.”

“We will. It’s all right.”

Gradually her heart stopped its headlong pounding as she listened to him. She considered Dragos’s expression. He was entirely calm. In fact, the only thing he evidenced was mild concern for her.

She came to the humbling realization that she was the only one who had panicked. “You weren’t bothered in the slightest by what happened, were you?”

He managed to produce a vaguely apologetic expression. “I’m afraid not.”

Blowing out a breath, she glanced down at Liam. He lifted his head and smiled at her. Good God, look at those teeth. Baby though he was, with those teeth and razor-sharp talons, Liam could do some serious damage to someone if he had a mind to, yet the only thing he had done so far is damage her clothes.

He was already being careful.

She stroked his head. “You’re such a good boy. I’m so proud of you.”

He leaned into her hand and sighed.

“I guess our morning flight is cancelled,” Dragos said.

Liam’s head popped up. His expression turned stricken.

Pia steeled her heart against the sight. The primary reason they had come to Bermuda in the first place was so that Dragos would get some time for rest and recreation.

“That’s all right.” She smiled at Dragos. “Why don’t you start your search? We don’t need to come with you. I’ll start on the research.” She turned her attention to Liam. “If you want to come with me, you need to change back into your human form. Otherwise you have to stay here with Uncle Hugh.”

Liam’s gaze slid sideways to Dragos.

Pia told the baby firmly, “No, you’re not going with your dad. You can go flying with him soon, but not this morning.”

Thunderclouds gathered in his violet eyes. He growled.

A thoroughly annoyed baby dragon was quite a sight. Her face compressed, and she bit both of her lips. She would not laugh.

Dragos tapped Liam’s snout. “Stop that. Don’t growl at your mother.”

The peanut blinked and jumped. Giving her an apologetic look, he changed, and she held her innocuous, human-looking baby in her arms.

She cuddled him close. “That’s better.”

Dragos kissed the top of Liam’s head then kissed her on the mouth. “I’m going to take off.”

“Have fun.”

“You too.” He paused. “Don’t do anything you don’t want to do. If it gets boring, stop.”

“Don’t worry about me. We’ll have fun and be fine.” She shooed him. “Go. Be free.”

He smiled and changed, stepped a few paces away from them and leaped. Dragos had taught her some time ago how to see beyond the cloaking spell. She watched him soar, the dragon’s huge wingspan conquering the air. No matter how long she lived, she would never get tired of that sight.

Back at the house, she found Eva and Hugh drinking coffee and reading newspapers that Hugh had picked up earlier from the local grocery store. They both looked up as she entered the kitchen. Eva asked, “Did you have a nice flight?”

“Well, we had an eventful one.” Pia told them wryly what had happened. Eva groaned but Hugh just laughed. Pia regarded him with a sour expression. “Do gargoyles really take their babies on flights?”

“Every chance we get.” Hugh grinned. “In some clans, the parents toss ’em off a cliff.”

She shuddered. “And there for a while I thought we were the worst parents ever.”

“Not so,” he replied. “Hitting the ground in our gargoyle form doesn’t hurt us. If a baby gargoyle gets that far, he’ll just bounce.”

She thought of Hugh’s hard, stonelike façade when he was in his Wyr form. Still, she said doubtfully, “If you say so.”

Eva slapped her hands on her thighs. “Enough about that. Ready to go exploring?”

Pia bounced on the balls of her feet. “Yep. Let’s go.”

They headed out the door. Eva drove again while Hugh took shotgun, and Pia rode in the back beside Liam in his car seat.

Eva glanced in the rear view mirror. “I poked around online while you guys were out to dinner last night. There’s an Elder museum located in an old lighthouse on the west coast of Somerset Island. You wanna start there?”

“Absolutely.” Pia smiled with satisfaction.

The drive took about twenty minutes, and a good section of the route followed the coast. After a brilliant rose-and-gold dawn, the late morning remained perfect, sunny and cloudless. Light sparkled off the intense blue ocean. Both motor and sailboats dotted the water.

The Elder museum was located in the Beacon Hill lighthouse, which sat on the edge of land that jutted into the water. The white-and-red lighthouse towered against a backdrop of blue sky and water. Slowing, Eva turned the Mercedes down a narrow lane.

Pia looked around with interest as Eva pulled into a small, half-full parking lot. A few picnic benches were scattered across a wide lawn, and a Dark Fae family sat at one of the tables eating ice cream. Across the lawn, two trolls sat side by side, their faces tilted up to the sun. They looked like boulders that someone had carved faces on. At the far side of the building, a tall man with a ponytail leaned against the corner.