Page 26 of Wynter and the Stone Dragon

Wynter stroked Pow-pow’s nose. “Conceal yourself, my friend.”

Pow-pow snorted and faded from sight. Khalid would have thought the dragon had just vanished if not for the fact he could still feel heat radiating from him. Khalid reached out a tentative hand. His fingers brushed against the mixture of rough and smooth stone scales.

“Amazing,” he murmured with a shake of his head.

“Come, you need sleep. You don’t get enough.”

Khalid held her hand and followed her inside. As tired as he was, he didn’t want to sleep. When he slept, the nightmares came—nightmares of losing his parents, losing the men who had fought beside him, and most frightening of all, the nightmare where Wynter disappeared.

ChapterEleven

Life settled into a pattern over the next week. Wynter often spent the days overseeing the rebuilding of Aethon’s infrastructure with Khalid. When he was in meetings, she explored the city or worked on restoring Queen Faiza’s favorite courtyard to its former glory. It was Wynter’s favorite courtyard, too, since it was where she and Khalid had met. The garden was just a little neglected—and now there were claw marks in the wall, so… restoring it was a gift for Khalid, but also, it was really her responsibility. Pow-pow thought the gouges made the courtyard more interesting, sohewasn’t going to be in charge of fixing it.

The nights were her favorite. They flew over the desert on Pow-pow, discovering beautiful oases and ancient ruins hidden deep in the desert that even Khalid wasn’t aware of.

Wynter trailed her fingers along the railing leading down to the main floor. Time was running out. She wouldhaveto go home in the next few days. It was possible that even now her parents suspected something was wrong. If they had tried to contact her and received no answer, would they return from their trip early?

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t see Giaf until she ran into him as she rounded the corner. She stumbled backward, blinking up at him when he grabbed her arms to steady her. He jerked back from her as if he had been burned, and then he blushed.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention,” she apologized.

“I….” He stared at her, his cheeks pink.

She tilted her head and studied him. “You are Giaf, yes?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied with a nod.

With amusement, she said, “I don’t bite.” She laughed. “I’m Wynter.”

He stared down at her outstretched hand as if it were a serpent. She held it for a few seconds, wondering if she was doing something wrong. She had seen many people in the city doing this. He finally reached out and shook her hand before quickly dropping it.

“Where’s your dragon?” he asked, glancing at the corridor behind her.

Wynter looked back to see what he was looking at before understanding dawned. She laughed again, the sound echoing against the tall ceiling.

“He’s in Queen Faiza’s courtyard. Would you like to meet him?”

Giaf’s expression wavered between terror and awe. She had to remind herself that this was all new to Khalid’s confidants. She looped her arm through Giaf’s and changed his direction toward the courtyard.

“Come, he would love to meet someone new. He really enjoys sharing our adventures.”

She had to practically drag Giaf the last few feet out of the doors and down the steps.

She paused when Giaf stopped and glanced around the garden with a frown. He paled as he scanned the deep gouges on the wall, and she guessed that he was remembering what Pow-pow had done to Khalid’s uncle.

“Pow-pow does not like to eat humans,” she assured him.

He looked even more horrified, and she grimaced.

Poor human is shaking,Pow-pow observed.

“Pow-pow, I would like you to meet Giaf. He is a friend of Khalid’s,” she said.

Pow-pow materialized and Giaf stumbled back, tripping on the bottom step. The dragon caught Giaf around the waist with his wing, steadying the man before he could suffer a nasty fall. Wynter tutted when she noticed that Giaf stood stiffly.

“Steady now, human,” Pow-pow cautioned.

Giaf blinked and his mouth fell open. He stared into Pow-pow’s brilliant green eyes. Wynter decided it might be best to leave the two of them alone to become acquainted without her.

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