Page 72 of Rescued By The Dragon

“—and I don’t know who I am. Excuse me for wanting instant results.”

Reaching forward, I pulled her back against my chest and lifted her chin in the air. “Don’t sass me, Little Mouse. We’re gonna find out what you are. If it’s a troll, I’ll still claim you.”

Amara chuckled.

“This is precious,” Zerk said. “I never thought I would see you so affectionate, Dorran. I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you. We have to head downtown for a meeting. Call us when you have the results and we’ll come by. We’re staying on the mountain since The East Kingdom has moved over. I don’t have the patience to deal with my mother’s eagerness to help them repopulate.”

Zerk’s gaze widened. “Your mother is one strange dragon, Dorran.”

“Who are you telling?”

“Let me know if you need anything before tomorrow, or if any more symptoms pop up. I’m going to do some reading about this because I’m very curious as to what makes Amara so special.”

She looked up at me. “Amara’s special without her floating—,”

“—flying,” she interjected.

“—abilities,” I laughed. “Thank you for your help. We’ll see you soon.”

We left Zerk’s house and walked back toward where we’d landed. “Do you think the liquor made me fly?”

“You drank at dinner with me, and you didn’t. I’m not sure. That’s probably not it,” she mumbled, nibbling on her bottom lip. “I want to try it again.”

“Try to float?”

“Yeah,” she said, unlacing our fingers. Bracing her arms outward, she closed her eyes and went quiet.

I tried to hide the smile on my face but I couldn’t.

When she opened her eyes again, she frowned. “Dammit.”

“Did you just curse, Amara?”

“I curse,” she said sheepishly. “Every once in a while. My dad always said it wasn’t ladylike, but sometimes I just feel like it.”

“I won’t hold it against you.”

Amara’s gaze shifted toward the nearest cliff. “How fast can you fly, Dorran?”

I followed her line of sight. “What does that mean? Why?”

“I want to see if putting myself in a dangerous position would force me to fly. I don’t know what else to try. Me just trying to fly isn’t working.”

“What—?”

Before my brain could process exactly what she was thinking she raced toward the ledge of the cliff and jumped off. My heart sank to my stomach. This mild-mannered girl did not just jump off the cliff in hopes of flying.

I lunged forward after her, nose-diving into the valley between the forest and the mountain, Amara’s scream deafened my ears.

Catching her, I swung us upward and onto the mountain. “Amara,” I hissed, shaking her shoulders. “What was that? What if I didn’t get to you in time?”

With a flushed and excited face, she chuckled. “Come on, Dorran. I knew you’d catch me.”

“You’ve gone insane,” I said. “Do not ever do that again.”

Amara’s face turned serious. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m not usually so careless.”

---