Page 30 of Dragons & Dumplings
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t know it was even possible to run out of soap operas.”
“Alright Mei, spill the tea. Who is this boy that has you so out of sorts that even your first solo Harvest Feast can’t hold your attention?” Pyra’s voice was teasing, but not unkind.
I buried my face in my hands, but peeked at them both through my fingers. “Promise you won’t freak out.”
They shared a glance, then said in unison, “We promise.”
“It’s…Yuri.”
Their jaws dropped. If I hadn’t been so worried, I would have laughed.
“Yuri…as in theicedragon?” Pyra gasped.
“The one that can’t even handle themildssssalsssa?” Nalini said at the same time.
“That’s the one.” I laughed mirthlessly. This was going about as well as I expected.
They shared another glance.
“Mei-Mei, sweetie…” Pyra started, reaching out a hand to place on my shoulder.
“Save it.” I shrugged away from her touch. “I know what you’re going to say.”
“Fire and ice, they just don’t mix.” Pyra gave me a pitying look.
“Your parentsss would never approve,” Nalini hissed sadly.
“Don’t you think I know that?!” I moaned, running my hands along my horns in frustration.
“I see why you’re been so distracted.” Pyra fidgeted with a ball of flame. “Even the Harvest Feast doesn’t hold a candle to such Romeo and Juliet levels of forbidden love.”
Nalini nodded sagely.
“And that’s not even the worst of it! On top of all of that, last night I had to chase off his older brother, who was beating Yuri up for the crime of being seen with me—among other things—and who is probably going to come back here with his entire fleet in order to continue the war between our peoples!” I buried my face in my hands, the weight of all of my problems crashing down at once like an avalanche.
What on earth was I going to do? Yuri said he would handle his family but… The memory of what his brother had done to him kept playing on repeat in my head.
What could one dragon possibly do against an entire fleet?
“I’m disappointed you kept this from us.” Pyra sounded about as upset as I’d ever heard her—until her tone softened. “You shouldn’t be trying to deal with all of this alone.”
“But it’s all my fault.” I finally looked at Pyra, and was relieved to see that she and Nalini didn’t look angry.
Nalini grabbed my shoulders, raising herself up on her tail to my eye level. “Did you asssk the brother to attack Yuri? Or to continue thisss conflict?”
“No,” I admitted, holding back a sniffle.
“Then it isss not your fault.” Nalini sounded so convinced that I almost started to believe her.
“If the ice dragons think they can just saunter on in and start a war in Willowmere, they can think again. We protect our own.” This time, when Pyra put a hand on my shoulder, I didn’t shake it off.
“I would like to sssee them try to get passst an entire town of drakesss, sssylphsss, nagasss, fae, valkyriesss, witchesss, daemonsss, and vampiresss!” Nalini hissed.
I gave them a watery smile. When my family first moved to Willowmere, we had felt like outsiders. Like we were unwelcome guests, intruding on someone else’s slice of paradise. We had worked tirelessly ever since, to learn the local customs and culture, and to provide value to the town and everyone in it. Over time, strangers had become friends, and neighbors had become allies.
And now, we had the entire community ready and willing to have our backs.
A light bulb went on inside my head. “I think I know how Yuri plans to stop the fleet.”
