Page 24 of Dragon Untamed

I don't think you are in the position of telling me what to do, dragon. You aren't even making any sense!

Because you can't remember. The mist must have removed some of your memories or prevented the memories from forming. Your Witch would be able to figure that part out for us.

She isn't mine. I don't own her.

I think you need to learn more about being a dragon. It looks like you coveted these friends. You have one from every species and even one of every type of dragon as a mate.

Beckett is my mate. That is one, not five.

Hmm. Then why do you still think of the others?

Kaida ignored her dragon. She was not about to admit that she did think about the others. Arlo and Esen seem to really understand that she is Beckett's mate and won't be going anywhere. They are trying to make amends with her, showing her a glimpse of the men they really are underneath all their smoldering. That should not bring amorous thoughts about them, but Kaida's mind had gone there a time or two.

Then there is Enzo...

How Kaida wished she could talk to him again. Whatever changed his mind about her being dragonless when he told her it did not matter still made no sense. Did his parents get to him before that dinner? That would make the most sense since the King and Queen wanted their son to be with the best the kingdom could offer. At the time, Kaida was not without her dragon.

I wonder what he would think of me now. I have my dragon. I have the most powerful dragon! But his opinion shouldn'tmatter to me. He rejected me. Ugh. Why am I doing this to myself?

Kaida groaned at her thoughts and pushed herself off the ground. Her dragon had one thing right. She needed to see Adrien. If her dragon was affected by something, she would be the best person to help her investigate that. She could remember that she had no control over her dragon. That wasn't even the first time she had no control over her dragon. Was it because of the mist, or was her dragon too much for her to manage?

I need to get dressed and head over there. I need to know what this black mist is and how it took over my dragon and memory.

The first thing that hit Kaida as she approached Adrien's home is the scent of lavender and white sage. Kaida looked around and noticed that it was not due to those plants growing inside Adrien’s and Azulia's garden. It was wafting outside from Adrien's home. Kaida remembered something from a passage in a book she had read once: Burning sage and lavender was a way that witches cleansed their homes of negative energy.

"Adrien?" Kaida called out after her realization.

If she is burning sage, and my dragon came into contact with some kind of negative energy, maybe Adrien is trying to cleanse her house of it.

What if she is currently fighting it? It may not be safe to go in there.

Her dragon was right. If Adrien were fighting this black mist, and it took her over the way it did her dragon, it would be just as destructive.

Kaida walked up to the gate and called out again, "Adrien? Everything okay?"

There was some stumbling inside as Kaida heard footsteps approaching the door. When Adrien's silver-haired head poked out of the door, Kaida sighed to see Adrien looking just as she always did.

"Kaida? What's wrong, honey?" Adrien asked as she stepped out onto the porch with a look of concern on her face.

"Nothing is wrong. I thought something might be wrong with you. I can smell the sage and lavender from back here."

Adrien looked back at her house and then at Kaida again, raising her eyebrows. "I did that hours ago. You can still smell it?"

"Yeah," Kaida replied, confused.

"Oh. Yeah. Right. You got your dragon. Your sense of smell is probably through the roof now."

Adrien walked over to the gate and waved her hand over it. Kaida heard the lock unlatch, and Adrien pulled the gate inward to allow Kaida inside.

"I don't remember you having a spell to lock your gate before. When did that start?" Kaida asked as Adrien closed the gate after she walked in and repelled the gate to lock.

"This morning. I had to spell this place out the wazoo. Something is going on, and it doesn't feel pleasant. I will air on the side of caution and ensure we are safe."

"So, you know about the black mist?"

Adrien stopped in her tracks. "What do you know about that?"

Adrien's tone did nothing for Kaida's anxiety about this stuff. Kaida could hear it in Adrien's voice. Clearly, this mist was not a good thing. It was going to be extremely dangerous for everyone on the island.

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