Page 45 of Searching for Thanksgiving

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“My Lords, welcome,” Christoff greeted.

“Are the kids here?” Cree asked.

Christoff frowned. “Kids? What kids?”

“Christoff, who is it—? Oh my,” Edna murmured.

Christoff stepped to the side so his mate could exit their modest cottage. His symbiot had warned him they were about to have visitors, he just never expected it to be such a large group of prestigious visitors.

“We are looking for a little girl. She is this high, has brown hair and vivid green eyes,” Calo said.

“We haven’t seen any children. I’m sorry,” Edna said, her voice filled with concern.

“They are searching for someone they call Thanksgiving,” Vox said. “My twin girls are part of it.”

“Thanksgiving? Like… in the holiday?” Edna asked.

“Yes. Trisha has been keeping an eye on them since she found them. We were hoping that they may have come by here. We haven’t heard from her or Kelan in a couple of hours,” Paul added.

“Here’s Kelan,” Viper said.

The group turned as a dark green and silver dragon landed a short distance from them. Kelan shifted into his two-legged form and walked toward the group. He shot Paul an amused grin.

“Sorry about the silence. Trisha and I were making sure the kids were settled before I left them,” Kelan said in greeting.

“Where are they? Hope—” Cree demanded, pushing to the front of the group.

“She and the others are fine. They are in a hut a few miles from here. Trisha is keeping an eye on them,” Kelan replied.

Cree ran his hands through his tousled black hair before grunting out a relieved curse. His twin blew out a sigh of relief. Viper and Vox muttered their soft thanks to the Goddesses.

“That sounds like Crystal’s place,” Christoff said.

“Crystal… is she alright?”

Christoff turned and smiled reassuringly at Shelly, Crystal’s mother, when she and Crystal’s father, Jack, stepped out of the doorway. They had arrived on the planet yesterday after nearly a year of uncertainty back on Earth. The effect of the stress on both of them was evident by the lines of strain around their mouths and gaunt appearance.

This was one reason why he hadn’t immediately pressured Crystal to come visit. He knew she had been worried about her parents after what happened to her. He owed a lot to Zoran for agreeing to allow both Crystal and her parents to come to this world. When he discovered that Zoran and his brothers had arranged for a twice-yearly expedition to Earth for the unattached warriors to search for a mate, he never expected that they would become a rescue mission for his mate’s family.

“Christoff—” Jack said.

“Crystal is fine. It appears some dragonlings have gone on an adventure and have found their way to her house,” he chuckled.

Edna laughed and threaded her arm through Christoff’s. “If it turns out as good as it did when they came to visit you, then it will be interesting to see what happens.”

“Dragonlings… Oh.”

Shelly’s eyes widened when she made the connection to their unexpected guests and the missing kids. Christoff and Edna had shared the story of how the dragonlings had confused him with a storybook character called the Old Dragon of the Mountain and had come to visit with him. The memories of the Christmas lights the two young girls, Amber and Jade, had decorated his cave with and the gifts they had given him still choked him with emotion. He had been alone for so long and had thought he was destined to die on the mountain. Instead, the Goddess had given him a magical gift—Edna.

“The kids will be fine with Crystal tonight. I can show you the way to her hut tomorrow morning. I’m afraid my home is not large enough for everyone. There is an inn in the village, though,” Christoff said.

“We brought everything we need to camp outside if you don’t object to us finding a spot in your meadow,” Paul requested.

“Not at all.”

“Thank you, Christoff,” Cree said.

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