Page 44 of Dragon Blood

A born leader.

Her dynamic undercurrent made her irresistible.

He’d felt that same unmistakable power in her queen mother. The power that commanded attention and drove one willingly to their knees in acknowledgment of her connection to something otherworldly. And since her mother’s decline, that same power ascended within Astred, making her shine all the brighter. A constellation among the cosmos, suspended by a rainbow of stardust over Aeleftheria.

She inspired him to stand a little straighter, work that little bit harder, give more than he thought possible.

He swallowed the tightening in his throat as his heart swelled, watching her laugh at something Brandi said.

I still love her.

He’d just have to bury it even deeper now.

And when they discovered what she’d needed him for?

He’d be there.

Whatever had drawn them together all those years ago seemed to have a purpose. A story. Even then, that was being played out now. His work contracts would wait. There were others that could head the firm while he was away.

It wasn’t just about Astred, that he would willingly join her on this journey.

‘Someone needs to witness things as they unfold here on behalf of the rest of dragonkind,’his dragon whispered from his nap. Because as much as Kai had buried that part of himself, he was still a dragon.

And maybe a witness forallshifters?

The ripple effect this Consortium group had on the tightly-knit Aeleftherian and mountain clans was powerful and dangerous.

His hand drifted over his shirt where he’d tucked his mother’s locket.

He withdrew it now, thumb caressing the Aeleftherian shield etched into the front before flipping it over.

Kai stared, yet again, at the entwined bodies of the dragon and the tiger.

A story from his childhood quietly drifted back to him now.

A tale of the fearless tiger becoming the protector of the powerful dragon.

AstredandKaihadaccepted Heidi’s gracious offer to billet them at her farm while they spent their days helping to set the refugee camp aright.

Though Astred didn’t think it could rightfully still be called that anymore.

It was a village. A community in its own right.

And though it had its own internal issues, it was well run by those chosen to lead.

Chosen.

A unique concept in the dragon world.

If and when Aeleftherian rulers had been ‘chosen’, Astred had no idea of their origins, as it was so long in the hazy past no one thought about it anymore. Those histories would all be in the stuffy, enclosed archives, which Astred had always avoided.

Thankfully, Odson had elected to stay at Heidi’s with them, driving them back and forth to the camp to finish the cleanup, and providing as much knowledge of dragon history as he could remember, constantly insisting that Elora was a much better resource.

They rose with the sun, stuffed themselves with Heidi’s delicious breakfast, fuelled up with her signature coffee and set off to work until long after sundown.

Heidi had thoughtfully left them plates for their late-night dinner before turning in for the night.

Astred, Kai and Odson ate in near silence, exhausted after a long day of work, expecting another early rise the next morning.

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