Page 44 of Storm of Blood and Shadow

At the sight of him, relief courses through me. Curt and morose though he has been lately, he is my older brother, and he loves me. When he weakens, I step in, and when I am vulnerable, he is my strength.

He makes his way to me, ignoring everyone else.

“Did it happen to you too?” I ask him.

“Yes.” He looks me over, like he’s checking for wounds, then relaxes a little when he determines I’m unharmed.

“She tricked us,” I say. “Thelise tricked us.”

“I know. Where is she?”

“Still in Ashvelon’s cave.” At least, I assume so. I haven’t seen either of them this morning, and I can’t imagine Thelise would want to show her face anywhere after what she has done.

“Were there any casualties?” Kyreagan asks. “Do you know if anyone fell from the sky when they turned human?”

“Not that I’ve heard. Most of us were on the ground with the women. Some dragons were stuck in their caves all night, as humans, and they flew down here to join us as soon as they reverted to dragon form.”

“You and I must address the clan,” Kyreagan says. “First, however, I will confront the enchantress. You stay here and keep everyone earthbound and calm until we know if the change will happen again.”

“Agreed. Do what you must to get the answers we need. But Kyreagan—don’t kill her.”

His lips curl back from his teeth. “Not until I find out what she has done to us.” He leaps into the air without warning, and the Princess gives a yelp of surprise, but she manages to remain seated as they fly away.

Jessiva leans forward on my back. “Take me to the cavern, Varex. Let me down so I can speak to the women.”

“Don’t incite them to any violence or foolish escape plans,” I warn her.

“I’ll do what I think is best,” she retorts.

“There is enough chaos without you fomenting rebellion.”

“Fuck you,” she mutters.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Keep dreaming, dragon.”

When I prowl over to the mouth of the cavern, she slides down my foreleg and stalks into the cave without another glance at me.

I don’t let her attitude disturb me too deeply. I’m beginning to accept that loving her means enduring her caustic tongue and changeful moods while constantly striving to win her smiles and her approval. If it means eventually claiming her heart, I’m up for the challenge.

When Kyreagan returns, Ashvelon is with him and the Princess is not. Apparently she stayed behind to speak with Thelise.

“The sorceress and my princess appear to be rather friendly,” Kyreagan growls, clearly unsettled by the idea. He also seems upset with Ashvelon, and both of them bear the marks of a struggle. They must have fought.

“You tried to kill the sorceress, didn’t you?” I ask Kyreagan.

He chuffs. “Not exactly. And she is beyond my vengeance now. She is Ashvelon’s life-mate.”

“The fuck?” I exclaim.

Ashvelon cracks his long neck and shakes out his massive shoulders. “I am not displeased.”

I chuckle. “What did your new life-mate say about the spell?”

Kyreagan sighs heavily. “Thelise did not have the power to turn women into dragons. Apparently a permanent transformation of something small into something much larger is beyond her skill. Instead of telling me she couldn’t do it, she transformed us into what she calls ‘dragon shifters.’ Last night we remained in human form for many hours because the spell was taking effect for the first time, but from this point on, we will all spend eight hours each day in human form and the remainder as dragons.”

My heart leaps. “So it’s permanent?”

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