Page 137 of Mama Si's Paradise

“You can open your eyes now,” Tristian whispered, and the dragon was already far enough away that I could breathe again, but the man stopped in front of me.

I moved back instinctively, and he laughed once more. “See?Safe,” he said, pointing his thumb back. “Now, he knows your scent and if he likes you, he’ll protect you with his life,” Tristian told me. “And I’ll protect you with mine.”

“I appreciate it,” I whispered, though I’d rather be anywhere else. Not like I was a stranger to dragons, but Shadow was different—he wassmall!Small enough to hang out on my shoulder. These creatures here were big enough to eat me, and I really didn’t want to be near them for much longer.

Finally, Tristian agreed to get out of there.

God, I was so sick of feeling so fucking helpless…

“Do you ride your dragon?” I asked just to keep him distracted—and walking. I breathed easier the closer to the doors we were.

“Of course. I’ll take you up there any time you want, just say the word,” Tristian said. “We’re not really allowed to do that before the Blood Call, but I won’t tell if you don’t.” And he winked at me, so handsome he looked like a character out of a movie.

“Thank you, but I like the ground just fine.”

Tristian laughed. “It’s okay. You’ll have time to change your mind. Let’s take a walk. I want to hear all your questions.”

I looked at him, at the arm he offered me. “My questions?” Didn’t he meanmy story?

“Yes, I’m sure you have a lot of those. My brothers bored you with questions themselves and I’m sure you didn’t get the chance to ask about anything that makes you curious. So, askme. Anything you want,” he said.

“Oh,” I whispered, looking behind into that building full of dragons—only to find Balthazar’s eyes on me.

I froze. He’d opened his wings to the sides just a bit, and between them I saw his eyes, wide and black, reflecting orange from the fire on the torches, focused on me.

“Fall.”

Tristian’s face was in front of me, breaking my eye contact with the dragon. I drew in a sharp breath.

“What’s the matter? You okay?” He looked genuinely concerned.

I gave him a smile, an honest one. “I am. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Of course. As you wish.” Taking my hand in his again, he waved and the guards pushed the doors closed behind us, but I didn’t look inside again, afraid Balthazar would still be staring at me.

“Tell me about them,” I said to Tristian as we walked back to the courtyard. “About the dragons. How does it work?How many kinds are there? All of yours look slightly different from one another.”

“They are. Different kinds of the same species,” Tristian said. “They’re given to us as gifts from Dragons’ Den because we can’t leave the Whispering Woods. Through them we connect to the other Isles,” he eagerly explained. “They’re brought to us as eggs, and we see them hatching, and then growing. There are many kinds of dragons—wyrms and hydras and orcs and dragonettes…”

And on and on he went to tell me about dragons and Dragons’ Den, what existed now and what had gone extinct with the curse, and how the brothers were connected to them on a very deep level.

I had time to get used to Tristian’s company, and he was so invested in answering my questions and so fascinated with dragons that he never made a single comment to make me feel uncomfortable again.

By the time he took me back to my room, I wasn’t shaking. I wasn’t afraid, but I was more desperate than ever to leave this madness behind and go back to the real world where there weren’t thirty-two kinds of living dragons to watch out for.

The next morning,I felt my blood rushing, different from usual. I felt it rushing, and it scared the shit out of me because I could see better and hear better and move like I’d never moved before. I hadn’t worked out a single day since I got here, yet somehow, I was stronger, my muscles more defined, and I was faster, too. The brightness of my hair had turned up a notch—or maybe it was my eyes. The same eyes that seemed be getting greener by the day, and I knew exactly what this was.

The same thing as all the brides said they went through—thetransformation. The way magic enhanced youreverythingas it became more prominent in your body was incredible, the stuff of fairytales, and I was witnessing it firsthand. The problem was, I couldn’t even enjoy it because the more magic I had, the closer I would be to the Blood Call.

That dreaded event or whatever the hell it was, was close. Nobody wanted to tell me anything about it still, and that just made it worse, but it was almost there, I could feel it. Once it happened, I’d be done for. I’dbelongto one of them. I’d have to be theirbrideand sleep in their bed.

Fuck.

“Good morning, Sunshine.”

My eyes closed and a loud breath left my lips. Valentine was right outside my door—I recognized his voice. He’d come back after basically disappearing on me for two days.

I went to the door and opened it before I said a single word. Valentine was the closest person to me in this place. I considered him a friend,and damn it, I’d missed his stupid face. I’d missed the ease I felt when he was around—which waswrong, I knew that, but there were only so many options I had here. I felt better in his company than even the other brides.

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