Page 42 of Searching for Thanksgiving

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Crystal’s heartfelt laughter rang through the air. Deep inside, Devon rejoiced at the beautiful sound. It had been so long since he had heard true, unadulterated laughter that he had forgotten what it sounded like. The last he remembered had been filled with cruelty.

We make mate happy.

Yes, we made Crystal happy, but she cannot be our mate. We cannot doom her to a life of pain and unhappiness the way our father doomed our mother.

We no like him. We fight him.

Not at first. We sought acceptance. It doesn’t matter. Once the royal families of Valdier, Sarafin, and the Curizan know that we exist, our life will be forfeit.

His dragon pulled away from him. He knew it disagreed with him, but Devon was a realist. The royal families would never allow him to exist. He was too much of a threat. He held knowledge that could destroy them.

That knowledge had come at a price. He could taint the powerful symbiots the way his father had. What he could not do was turn them back.

Yet…

His dragon turned his head to look at their companion. There were lines of vivid gold streaking its body. Lines left from their mate’s touch.

She heal us.

There is her home.

His dragon tilted to the left, flying lower. Crystal leaned forward, anticipating their movement by the shifting of his muscles. Gliding through an opening in the treetops, his dragon skillfully maneuvered through the thick limbs until he reached the ground. His back feet lightly touched the soft soil before he lowered his front legs. He took several steps before he came to a halt and lowered his body to the ground so that Crystal could slide off of his back.

He shifted back into his two-legged form once she stepped away. She was extending her trekking pole and looking everywhere but at him.

“I… uh… I can make it from here,” she said, finally looking at him.

“I’ll see you safely inside,” he replied.

“There isn’t—“ she paused when he gave her a sharp look. “Thanks, that would be nice. I might get lost between here and there.”

Her wry sarcasm and the amusement on her lips made him smile. The fact that the hut was clearly visible in the growing light of the moons made her statement more humorous. He tucked his hands in his pockets to keep from pulling her into his arms and kissing the smile off her lips. His nether regions appreciated his restraint. She must have seen him cautiously eyeing the staff in her hand because her next words made him chuckle.

“Sorry, not sorry about earlier. I hope I didn’t do any lasting damage,” she muttered.

She turned away and began walking toward her cottage. He caught up with her and walked beside her. He kept his hands in his pockets—for good measure—in case the temptation to kiss her and chance another blow struck him.

“Thank you,” he said, breaking the silence.

She gave him a startled look. “For what?”

“For sharing what happened with me.”

“Oh. Well… thanks for listening—not that I gave you much of a choice,” she mumbled.

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and lightly touched her arm. She stopped and looked up at him. He could see the confusion and uncertainty in her eyes in the faint light. He tenderly stroked her cheek with his knuckles, needing the simple, brief contact.

“You can tell me anything. I will hold whatever you tell as the precious gift that it is.”

She gave him a crooked smile. “You can be quite the charmer for someone living in a cave.”

His chuckle was cut short when a flash of warning swept through him. His symbiot sensed they were not alone. He instinctively pulled Crystal closer to him, stepping in front of her to shield her.

“What—?”

“There is someone here,” he cautioned.

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