Page 89 of Rescued By The Dragon

“I’ve never seen one do that, but I have seen one attack a boy I went to school with for stepping over the river. It’s known to locals not to go near there. They like their privacy.”

My gaze shifted toward Amara. The look of horror on her face mimicked my own. “Do they leave here? Like, go other places?”

Eva shook her head. “Everything they need is in that forest or the sea. They never leave,” she said, sitting forward, her elbows against her knees. “Why are you not with them?”

Amara folded her arms over her stomach and shrugged. “I don’t know. My parents died when I was young, and my stepmother raised me. I wasn’t allowed to do a lot of things, and she put me on medicine. She wouldn’t let me in the water—

“You weren’t allowed in the water?” I asked. That nailed Helena’s coffin shut.

“Do any of the humans or dragons here ever talk to them”?

Eva shook her head. “Not that I know of. We weren’t allowed, and especially after they attacked my schoolmate, I never ventured over on their riverside.”

“Why did they attack him?”

“He tried to get some fruit off their side of the river, and they attacked him. They blew their trumpet, and the waters grew crazy. My mother forbade me to go into the forest after that. I haven’t been in over a decade.”

“Does The Dragon King ever speak of them?”

Eva pursed her lips. “They have a treaty to stay away, and I’ve never heard any of them speak about them. Their land is magical and holds healing properties they want to keep to themselves. I think our King is afraid of them. We’ve kept them secret and they let us live.”

Amara glanced at the memorabilia on Eva’s wall. She pointed toward the Asian mermaid on a built-in shelf. “Are they mermaids?”

Eva shook her head. “They’re beautiful like a mermaid but mean. More like a ... what do you guys call them? Oh, siren. Like a siren. They’re sensual and charming.”

A siren.

It explained why Amara was so beautiful and alluring. The way she’s been opening up and one look made me weak. Sheltered by her stepmother on purpose. But why was she keeping Amara away from the sirens?

“Have any of them ever mated with other species?”

Eva nodded fiercely. “When I was young there was a story that we told at recess about a siren that left with a human man. They had a baby—,”

Eva’s gaze shifted toward Amara who looked white as a ghost. “They looked for her because they wanted to kill her because she was half-human. She lacked the discipline growing up in a human world to hone her powers. Oh. My. God. Is that you?” she asked suddenly.

“No, of course not,” Amara said, hiding her fear. “I have no powers, and my parents were human.”

Eva laughed. “Good, I wouldn’t want them to show up here asking questions. If they saw you and recognized you, I wouldn’t be surprised if they came for you.”

My need to get the hell out of her house drowned me. Grabbing a cookie, I shoved it into my mouth and offered Amara my hand. “Come on, Amara. Thank you for your time, Eva. I don’t want your mother to come by and catch us talking to you. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble with her.”

Eva laughed. “You’re right there. That woman runs a tight ship. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

“Thank you,” Amara said weakly.

We walked out of the door, and suddenly it felt like the entire kingdom was watching. I could practically hear Amara’s breathing in my head, and the closer I pulled her to me, the further away from safety I felt.

Amara stopped several yards away and braced her palms on her knees. “We need to leave. I’m afraid they’re going to hurt us.”

“We’ll go check out of the hotel, and leave.”

I swept her into my arms, flying us over the kingdom to the hotel. Sprinkles of rain began to fall from above as I flew us swiftly through the buildings

We walked into the hotel, seeing the receptionist turn up the TV, and stare at the sirens blazing. “Looks like they’re locking the city down for the night,” she said, looking back at us. “Bad weather is coming.”

Amara clung to my deltoids, her gaze moving toward the open window and the dark clouds brewing outside.

Something was coming, but I didn’t think it was bad weather.

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