Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 45585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45585 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
“I’ve heard rave reviews about you.”
“Really?” That made her feel a bit better.
“I think they’d fire me before they’d get rid of you,” he joked.
“Right…” She drew the word out skeptically.
“So, what’s wrong? You know you can tell me anything, Little one.”
“That’s part of the problem. I don’t understand it. It’s just this feeling that I have. Kinda like a cartoon cloud of doom looming over my head.”
“That doesn’t sound pleasant. You wouldn’t tell me last night. What happened in your dreams? Perhaps if you tell me about them, we can figure out what’s bothering you.”
“I don’t even want to think about them,” Aurora said.
When he frowned and got those wrinkles across his forehead, she knew he wouldn’t let everything go. “Okay. I’m walking across a big field. As I watch the ground where I’m walking, I see a big cloud-like shape block out the sun, putting everything around me in the shade. Just before I glance up, I notice the grass and flowers have withered around me. That scares the hell out of me, and I don’t want to look up.”
“Was each dream the same?” Drake asked. The grooves in his expression seemed to deepen.
“Almost. Each time I started in the same place but saw more things. Like details filled in. People were on the mountain tops, staring at Wyvern like they were going to attack.”
“I don’t like this, Little one. Go through it one more time for me.”
“I don’t want to. Each time I think about it, I get more freaked out.”
Aurora wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. When Drake scooped her into his arms, she clung to him for both warmth and security. He carried her into their living room and sat down to cradle her on his lap. Resting her head on his shoulder, Aurora melted against his hard body. If anything could keep her safe, he could.
“What scares you?” she blurted, trying to distract herself.
“You mean like another dragon or a foe of some kind?” Drake asked, sounding confused.
“Yeah. What’s a big strong dragon’s predator? What’s above you on the food chain?”
“Nothing.”
“Come on. Something has to be able to get you! Missiles, bombs, the common cold…”
“Germs do not affect us, Little one. Your human diseases cannot survive in our super-heated dragon bodies.”
“That make sense.”
“Certain spells from powerful wizards or witches can cause a dragon to die. Projectiles can wound us. Kill us if we’re hit in vulnerable places.” He listed off his weaknesses. “Are you planning to kill me in my sleep?”
She shuddered and hugged him tightly. “No way.”
“That’s good to know.” He kissed her forehead.
“Are there actually wizards and witches still?”
“I would assume that those powers still run through family lines. Magic doesn’t exist as it did long ago. The old ways have been lost to many.”
“It must have been an interesting time when you were young. All those knights with swords and magic wielded all around,” Aurora teased.
“You, Little one, are trying to distract me. It isn’t working. Tell me what scares you.”
“Those dreams scare me. It’s almost worse not knowing what’s so ominous about the black cloud.”
“Could it be something other than a black cloud? Do you think it’s a dragon looming over you? I don’t think the black dragon is going to continue to menace you.”
Drake had seen the resignation in Keres’ eyes last night. The dragon was holding on to his sanity with all his will and knew Aurora was not his. The need to protect a fated mate was ingrained in the dragons who’d settled around Wyvern.
“No, I didn’t get dragon vibes. It’s something else,” Aurora said. Her gaze pointed up as if she was searching her brain for details—something that would help her understand.
“Then we hope it’s just a dream. Something from a random slasher movie you saw a few years ago,” Drake tried to reassure her.
“Oh, I don’t go to those. They’re too bloody for me.”
All he could do was hug her and hold her close. Inside, he burned to destroy whatever threatened her. She wasn’t going to like this, but he planned to be as close as possible to his mate around the clock.
“You don’t have to follow me around, Drake,” Aurora protested as she exited the bathroom to find him leaning against the wall.
“Daddy. And be glad I didn’t come in with you. I’m giving you some privacy.”
“Right,” she scoffed. Turning, she stomped down the hall and back to her office.
Aurora walked past the small office he’d created for her. When she stopped to open the refrigerator, she turned to find him still behind her. “I don’t think the grapes are going to attack.”
“You never know.”
“Go away already. I’m just going to get a snack. Then, I’m going to start on the next batch of microfiche that arrived yesterday.”
He watched her eye the box he’d brought up to his lair yesterday afternoon. She’d chosen to leave opening it until today. That wasn’t her normal enthusiastic response.