Total pages in book: 151
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 738(@200wpm)___ 591(@250wpm)___ 492(@300wpm)
I swallow hard, then nod. “I have. I can, I mean.”
“But that’s not all.” Pell glances at me, but it’s quick. Then he’s looking at Eros again. “We’ve come to make a deal. In exchange for the freedom of any of the Saint Mark’s monsters who want to come back with us, we will give you a door to the tomb of the Apis bull. And through this tomb is a direct line to the gods themselves. If you accept these terms—”
He’s cut off by a growled whisper coming from a dark corner. “Apisssssss.”
All three of us turn to look in that direction. I squint into the shadows until I can make out a silhouette of antlers.
“Callistina?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - TOMAS
I burst through the feedstore doors, out of breath and nearly out of my mind. Please, please, please. I’m begging you stupid gods, if you’re even there. If you have any sense of fairness, you will—
My begging ceases.
Because there she is.
“Madeline?”
The girl behind the counter is not a dragon chimera—which I actually am. Funny, since recently I’ve been a man on the other side of the walls. Regardless, Madeline is not like me. And neither is she a transforming dragon.
She is the human girl I met several weeks ago on my very first trip to town.
I’m just about to start demanding answers when she smiles at me. “Well, hel-looo there, handsome. Those are some legs you’ve got. I like the furry ones, but scales… interesting.” She appraises me with her eyes, giving me a very thorough once-over, like it’s the first time she’s ever seen me.
“Madeline?”
She squints her eyes at me. “Have we met?”
Have we met? Is she insane?
Things are not what they appear. Or, actually, things maybe are what they appear, but certainly are not what I was expecting.
Could it be that Madeline has gone back in time?
Possible… possible. After all, we are crossing into worlds through doorways and using hallways to visit memories. So is it so far-fetched to assume that one could do more than visit memories? That one could actually go back in time? Isn’t that the whole plan here?
I think it is possible.
And I do want to believe that this is what happened with Madeline.
However, I do not think that’s whats happening here.
She is furrowing her brow at me, waiting for my answer, so I smile at her, wide and with a lot of warmth that isn’t very hard to conjure up because I truly do love this girl. We’ve had a whirlwind romance, that’s for sure, but our hearts are aligned. I can feel it.
“I’m Tomas,” I say, walking to the counter and extending my hand. “I’m a dragon.”
She’s already grasping my hand when this last bit comes out. But then she gasps. “Oh!” It’s not a shocked gasp. It’s… a delighted one. “That’s fascinating. I had no idea there were dragon men.”
Her reaction has given me some confidence. It would be nice to be upfront with her and not have to pretend that I am something I am not, so I give it a go. “I’m not really a man. I truly am a dragon. Maybe the last in the world.”
Or… maybe not.
“Really?”
“Truly.”
“Do you breathe fire?”
“I can burn whole towns to crisps.”
“Wow.” She points at me. “But you don’t really do that though, right? I mean, that’s kind of like… murder. Don’t you think?”
My smile is tight. Maybe honesty is overrated? “Oh, no. Dear me, no. No, no, no. I am not the town-burning type, dear Madeline.” A lie. “I am the… Madeline-loving type, actually.”
She giggles, then points at me again. “You’re flirting with me.”
“I am.” I lean on the counter, flirtily smirking at her.
She blushes, then looks down at the dirty, plastic-covered pages of her hay book. “Well, sorry to disappoint you. But”—she holds up her hand, highlighting a big, fancy, diamond ring, then wiggles her fingers—“I’m already taken.”
“What?” My exclamation comes out quite loud. “How is that possible? I’ve only been gone for half a day.” Well, most of the day, actually. But still. One day and she finds another man? One who proposes marriage with a ring?
Madeline appears confused at my outburst. And of course she does. Something weird is happening here. Something with time, I think. Because half a day is simply not long enough for my dear Madeline to change back into a human and become engaged to a stranger.
An idea strikes me.
Perhaps I have been gone longer than I thought?
Or, equally possibly, perhaps we have crossed realms? Into one where all the same characters are there, but the story has changed.
Because things are not quite in line, are they?
It’s all very intriguing.
“But,” Madeline says, still appearing confused, but now also uncomfortable, “I really do like your legs. Those scales are beautiful.”
I look down at my dragon legs, then back up at her and force my smile this time. “Thank you.”