Page 29 of Mountain of Dragons and Sacrifice

Evander lifted a hand slowly, then pointed. “Keep a watch there. You might be able to catch a glimpse of…there!”

A flash of gold shimmered against one of the rocky ledges briefly before disappearing.

“What was that?”

“One of the magical sheep that live in these mountains. Their golden fleece is highly prized in the Fae Realm.” Evander kept his gaze focused on the far ridge.

Gold flashed again, then a shaggy sheep with wool formed of long, golden ringlets appeared on one of the rocky ledges. I wasn’t sure if the sheep had simply moved really fast or if it had somehow moved from one place to another using magic. In this realm, anything seemed possible.

As we watched, more sheep flashed onto the ridge, grazing on the tiny patches of grass growing between the rocks. One of the sheep had a lamb bounding along behind her.

My breath caught in my throat at the wonder of it. I’d never dreamed I’d see sights like this. Magical sheep. Golden fleece. Conversations with a dragon.

My concept of the world had gotten so much bigger than it had been when I’d been a simple village girl.

Did that mean my concepts of who and what the dragon was should change? Perhaps he’d been right. Perhaps I should believe his word over what the village elders claimed was his word.

My heart ached, my throat choking at the memories of my parents. How I wished I could speak with them. Surely they would be able to help me sort out this confusion.

I hadn’t realized I’d been sniffing in my attempt to hold back the homesickness until Evander glanced at me, one of his hands reaching for me, though he stopped short of touching me. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. Just…” I swiped my mitten over my face, replacing the hot tears with cold flecks of ice. I hadn’t cried since being snatched by the dragon, and I wasn’t about to become a weak, sniveling damsel in distress now. “I miss my parents. They think I’m dead. I can’t even tell them I’m alive.”

Evander dropped his hand, though he held my gaze. “You can visit them. Ask the dragon. He’ll take you.”

“He would?” I hadn’t even thought to ask the dragon for such a thing.

Surely if going home was that easy, one of the others would have done it. Clarissa would have done it.

Was this yet another test? A temptation?

I was so tired of always questioning, always suspecting everything. A part of me just wanted to fail the dragon’s tests and get it all over with. None of the others had succeeded, so why did I think I was special enough to avoid failure?

There was only one way to find out if this was a test. I’d have to ask the dragon to take me for a visit home. Even if he agreed, what would I have to promise in exchange? Maybe that I wouldn’t speak to anyone but my parents? A promise that I wouldn’t try to escape?

It didn’t matter. I’d agree to nearly anything to see my parents again.

“There’s just something you need to know before you visit.” Evander paused, finally dropping his gaze to focus on the sheep again. “Time doesn’t move the same way between the realms. While three weeks have passed here, months have passed in the Human Realm.”

“My parents have believed me dead for months?” I couldn’t help the way my voice rose at the end.

The sheep on the far ridge froze. It shouldn’t have been possible for them to hear me from so far away. But several of them flashed away, followed by the rest of them.

Evander’s mouth twitched. “And that’s why the golden fleece is so hard to come by.” The smile faded as he dragged his gaze back to mine. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

My parents had been suffering for months. Three weeks was long enough as it was. But months?

No matter how scary it was, I would have to ask the dragon to take me home for a visit.

Chapter Eight

You are probably screaming at me right now. You can see all the signs that I didn’t see. It is rather obvious, looking back.

But you can’t blame me if I didn’t see it back then. After all, this situation was nothing like what I’d been told it would be.

In my dark room that night, I paced beside my bed as I waited for the dragon to arrive. My stomach churned, and I struggled to keep my breathing even. I wasn’t sure if I was as afraid as the night I’d been sacrificed to the dragon, but it was close.

There was the knock on my door. The dragon’s growly voice asking permission to enter.

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