When he stopped in front of her, his beady eyes focused greedily on the slug. How long had it been since his last feeding? Blaze’s head tilted, eyes narrowed, and he spat a stream of fire at the slug’s tail. The spit and burn surprised Kera, and she dropped it. Blaze snatched the charred slug from midair and choked it down in one bite.
The dragon turned his glowing amber eyes to her, and she could see the hunger lingering there. All thoughts about sending him back to Teag vanished. Seeing how scrawny and helpless he was, she knew she couldn’t. Not yet, anyway.
She fished in the ground for more bugs, feeling slightly guilty using her powers to draw the unsuspecting creatures to their death, but bugs were nature’s snack food. More than an hour later, Blaze’s stomach had blossomed to twice its size, and he purred contentedly in her lap. The ground was littered with uneaten dead bugs. She had ruined the balance of life on this small patch of ground in her attempt to feed Blaze, and no amount of magic could correct the damage. It was best to leave and hope the remaining wildlife would scavenge the rest.
“It’s time to go.” Kera twirled her long hair around her fist before nudging the dragon onto her back. He hooked tiny claws onto her T-shirt and flattened his body close to hers. The heat from his belly soaked into her skin. With a sweep, she let go of her hair and the heavy mass swung over her shoulders and over Blaze, hiding him from view.
“No fire. No spitting or smoking, and no digging your claws into my skin.”
Unfazed by her demands, the dragon nudged her spine with the tip of his nose and cuddled closer.
“This is a temporary situation,” she told him as she made her way back to the ranch. Hiding a dragon in her room was far from a good idea, but it was the only one she had until she went back to Teag and found someone willing to care for him.
By the time she stood at the bottom of the porch steps, the outside lights were on and the house was quiet. She hadn’t meant to be gone so long. She could feel Dylan’s distress at her continued absence. He had yet to learn how to block his feelings from others, something she had done since she was a little girl…but never from him. Until today.
The risk of sharing her latest secret was too high. Though she wanted to go to him, she didn’t dare. Dylan would never agree to keep a dragon in the human realm. Even though Blaze was no bigger than a tree lizard, his tendency to breathe fire made him dangerous. To keep everyone safe, Dylan would take Blaze back to Teag. Kera couldn’t allow that to happen. Dylan must never set foot in Teag again.
Because of the raw, untamed power flowing through him, she had thought he could save them all. Instead, Teag had sunk its teeth into Dylan, nearly destroying him. She knew he felt responsible for those who had died, but if he ever went back, there was no telling what would happen. She’d nearly lost him once. She wouldn’t risk losing him again.
Surely she could take care of this one small problem by herself, but as she climbed the back stairs she had second thoughts. Pausing, she gazed back at the forest. It was so big, and Blaze so small. Keeping him contained in her room would be easiest, and they would be up and gone in the morning before anyone else stirred. He was calm and well fed at the moment, and it was just for one night. Nothing bad could happen in one night.
Finally convinced, she crossed the porch and eased the screen door open. A small squeak escaped. She froze, but the house stayed quiet. As she palmed the other knob, the door flew open to reveal Dylan, his bulk towering over her. His gaze landed heavily on hers. He was her protector, her best friend, her love, and she was keeping secrets from him. She was a horrible person.
His handsome face pulled tight. “Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?”
“I know.” The emotion crowded his thoughts. “I can feel your upset.”
“I didn’t feel yours.”
Kera put her hands on his chest and pushed, all the while making sure to face him as she maneuvered into the kitchen. “That’s because I wasn’t upset.” At least not enough to let her guard down and let him know.
He followed her as she pivoted around and backed up toward the back stairs. “Then why did you run off like that? You missed dinner. You upset Grandma.”
A quick prick and pull climbed up Kera’s back to her left shoulder. She twitched against Blaze.
Dylan frowned. “Don’t you care?”
She slipped her hand along her neck as if to give it a scratch, but instead poked Blaze’s nose down. “No! I do. I am sorry. I thought I saw something. Out there.”
“Is that Kera?” Grandpa called from the den.
“Yes,” Kera replied, keeping her eyes on Dylan, terrified he’d see Blaze. “I’m sorry to have worried anyone.”
“I wasn’t worried. I told him you’d be back, but he’s so lovesick, not seeing you for five minutes makes him jittery.”
Dylan glanced toward the den. “Grandpa…”
Kera took the opportunity to poke Blaze in the nose again. What was wrong with him? He’d crawled so high, his nose rested on her shoulder. No amount of poking would push him down. Kera quickly gathered a handful of her long hair and pulled it forward, hiding Blaze’s face from Dylan’s view. As she slipped her hands down her hair in a nervous gesture, she took another step back.
Dylan turned back to her and stepped closer. “What’d you see?”
“Nothing really.” She faked a big yawn, though she couldn’t be more tired, and blinked up at him. “Can we talk in the morning? I’ve been chasing shadows all night. I need to go to bed.”
He grabbed one of her wrists and splayed her fingers toward the light. “Your hands are dirty. So are your knees. If something is out there, tell me.”
And have him go back to Teag? He barely survived the encounter last time.
“Nothing is out there.” Not now. “I fell,” she said and pulled her hand away.
“You’re not telling me something. You’ve never kept secrets from me before.”
“I’m not keeping one now.” The lie slipped out easily. She backed up farther and bumped into the door. Blaze let out a small huff and Kera coughed at the whiff of sulfur that rose. She pressed her hand to her head, ready to beg him to let her leave.
Dylan reared back. “What’s that smell?” His face contorted oddly. “Did you just fart?”
“Pardon?” she squeaked.
“Umm, you know,” he made a few odd gestures with his hands. At her blank look he said, “Pass gas.”
“Are you asking if I have flatulence?” This couldn’t be happening. She would never—not in front of anyone.
“Yeah, I think so.”
“I-I-I—” She wanted to squish Blaze for embarrassing her. “I have to go.”
Seeing her embarrassment, he made to take her hand again, but she managed to stay free. He smiled. “It’s okay. You’re not the first girl to do that in front of me.”
Her cheeks grew hot. She opened her mouth. A strange sound, like a tiny burp, erupted. She snapped her mouth closed, swallowed, and then said in a rush, “I’m not feeling well.”
That wasn’t a lie. She felt horrible on more than one level. “I really have to go.” She twisted away, still managing to keep her back pointed away from him, and hurried up the stairs.
When she got to her room, she closed and locked the door and sagged onto the bed. Pulling her hair out of the way, she yanked the dragon off her back and turned on him. “What is wrong with you?”