Page 43 of The Heart of the Dragon

"You don't think your parents are going to freak out when we all show up unannounced and explain who we are and what we need?"

"It's not as if I could call them. Lost phone, remember?" Normally I kept my phone plugged in next to my bed, but with my cottage currently in shambles, the darn device could be anywhere.

Once I got rid of all my unwanted guests, I'd head home and take stock. Figure out how to go about fixing everything. A shudder snaked down my spine, along with a weird feeling that I didn't want to investigate. I hated those. They never boded well. Intuition, my mother called it. I preferred the heebie jeebies.

"No, my parents will be fine. They specialize in the weird and unusual and are going to love every minute of this. I just hope they have what you need."

"Will the spell use the same portal we came through?" Magnus asked.

Kitra nodded. "As far as I know, it's the only one that still exists between our worlds. I had kind of hoped it wouldn't open again, but I should have known there would be a loophole."

Her words pinged through my mind, and that weird feeling intensified. My pulse quickened, and my hands gripped the steering wheel tighter until my knuckles turned white. Luckily, we were almost there.

'What's wrong?" Magnus was giving me another death glare from the side again and it unnerved me. I got the feeling he could see right through me.

"What makes you think?—"

"Your pulse is racing, and if you don't calm down you're going to have a heart attack."

"You do seem out of sorts."

I looked at Kitra as if she'd grown a second head, rolling my eyes until it hurt. "Out of sorts? Really? Three days ago, I saw a small, pissed off dragon standing overhisshoulder, which made me think I was going crazy, then I discover the dragon is real, but he's actually ginormous and basically took out the back half of my home in one fell swoop. Not to mention I accidentally poisoned him, and he lost the dragon for a day or so. But yes, I'm just out of sorts."

"Don't forget that you also kidnapped me. That is an important point. Maybe these weren't the consequences you imagined for your actions, but you had to suspect there would be consequences."

"Oh. My. God. When are you going to stop?" I pulled onto my parents’ road and immediately pulled the car to the edge of theroadside. I slammed the gear in first to park. “Enough. Get over it or I’m done helping you.” I jumped out of the vehicle before anyone could question or stop me. I couldn't take it anymore. There was a pressure in my chest and head that were both building to something explosive. Since we were close to town but still out of earshot, I climbed up the embankment and looked down at the village below us. As I stood there clenching and unclenching my fists, I admired the peace we were about to disrupt.

No one down there deserved what I would be bringing to their doorstep.

Least of all my family.

Heat built in my torso, encompassing me from chest to core. I clawed at my shirt and bra, frantically beating both against my skin. If I was alone, I would have stripped down to nothing to alleviate this misery. But here, with the others very close, I needed to hold it together.

"Rose?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. Not when all I wanted to do was scream.

"Give her some space." Kitra shoved Magnus out of the way and carefully approached me from the side where I could see every move she made.

"What's wrong with her?"

"Stress. Manifestation. Mating heat. Take your pick."

"It's not mating heat. I think I would know," Magnus snapped back.

“Oh you know. You’re just being an asshole about it.” Kitra yanked the bag she had strapped to her side around and dug through it until she produced a bottle of water. "Here, drink this.” She shoved the bottle in my direction. “Tell me more about your parents. Have they always lived here?"

"My parents? Why?" I guzzled the offered water and tried to focus on her question. When she didn't elaborate I forced myself back to the two most important people in my life.

"All their lives. Even in the same house. It's been passed down in our family from generation to generation. When they adopted me, they put the house in my name. Not only to cement the fact that I was their child, but to ensure it would pass on when the time was right."

"Adopted?"

"Mm-hmm. My bio parents died when I was a baby, and they had no other family, so I was taken in by distant friends of the family."

Kitra's eyes had narrowed, and I could practically feel the wheels turning in her head as she listened raptly to what I had to say.

"I don't know what you're thinking, but I can assure you it's not nefarious. My parents are the most peaceful, non-conflict type of people you could ever meet. They took me in out of kindness and love. My mother couldn't have a child of her own, so I am what she calls her miracle baby. They were sad over the loss of my parents, but grateful that they could keep me in their life. And they have been the best parents anyone could possibly have."

---