Page 56 of Searching for Thanksgiving

“And you can draws all over him. Watch this!” Sacha exclaimed with excitement.

“He should be contained,” Zoran growled, standing up and pressing his hands against the table.

Jack raised his hand, and Zoran clenched his lips together. Stripe had fallen over, and the two little girls were drawing hearts and stars all over him. When they reached his belly, his back leg began to jerk back and forth like he was running. What was amazing was the gold remained for a short period after they drew the pictures before fading.

Crystal watched as her father walked around the group which held everyone’s attention. He casually picked up the red crystal that had been used to destroy the corrupted black symbiots. Her heart pounded with fear when he turned and walked back to Stripe.

Instinctively, her hand reached over to grasp Devon’s shoulder. He gripped her hand in return. They both watched and waited as her dad held the red crystal over Stripe—and nothing happened.

“The basis for the case to destroy Stripe, and condemn Devon Reykill, is based on his biological father’s crimes and the unusual coloring of his symbiot. If his symbiot had been corrupted the same as the others, then this red crystal would have drawn any negative energy out of the creature, thus destroying it. As you can see, this is not the case. There has been no evidence that Devon ever participated in his biological father’s plot to overthrow or harm the Dragon Lords of Valdier, nor the Sarafin and the Curizan Royals. The facts are clear. My client is innocent. Therefore, he, his dragon, and his symbiot must be immediately released,” Jack concluded.

“What about that? How do you explain him?” Zoran demanded, pointing at Stripe.

Vox cleared his throat and rose to his feet. “I think I might be able to explain,” Vox replied.

He stepped to the front where his daughter looked up at him with a happy smile. Squatting down, he ran his hand along Stripe’s muzzle with a touch of awe and pride. Stripe licked his hand.

“You know what’s going on?” Zoran asked with a frown of confusion.

Vox chuckled, nodded, and stood. “Yes, I think so. Devon, what was your mother’s name?”

This time Devon was the one to frown with confusion. “Rissa.”

Vox nodded. “Rissa d’Rojah was my aunt. I suspect that Stripe is a combination of Devon’s dragon and his cat. What color is your cat?”

“Midnight,” Devon replied.

Vox nodded. “Valdier and Sarafin combined.”

“I’ve never thought about it that way. My father… Raffvin never experimented on my symbiot. He… assumed that it… Stripe… was already converted because of his color. I kept my cat hidden for fear Raffvin would kill me if he knew I could shift into it. My… mother was a trigger point for him. It was better not to mention her or anything about my connection to her,” Devon confessed.

Vox nodded. “His dragon and symbiot would probably have been the reason he could keep his cat hidden. Rissa was Raffvin’s true mate, but he wasn’t the only one—which is unusual. On rare occasion, this happens, though it is even more rare for it to occur between two species.”

Devon looked down at his hands and nodded. “I was very young when she and Collen, my step-father, were murdered. Collen was from Valdier. I didn’t know who had ordered it until Raffvin told me.”

Crystal’s heart broke at the pain in Devon’s voice. He had been through so much. She looked at her father. He smiled at her and gave a brief, confident nod that everything would work out.

“Lord Zoran, a verdict, please,” Jack requested.

Zoran slowly sat back in his seat. He looked first one way, then the other at his brothers who each gave a nod. With a low sigh, he waved his hand at Devon.

“You and your symbiot are free,” he declared.

Crystal rose behind Devon and threw her arms around his shoulders. He laughed with relief. His laugh was cut short when she leaned into him and kissed him firmly on the lips before pulling back with eyes shining with joy.

“Congratulations!” she murmured.

“Thank you.”

She looked over to her dad who was shaking hands with Vox and talking to Morah, Hope, and Sacha. Her lips softened into a smile of pride. She bit her lip when emotion threatened to overwhelm her.

“All it took was a little magic,” she said, turning to stare into Devon’s eyes.

“I like that… magic,” he said, sliding his hand up and capturing her lips again in a deep, passionate, possessive kiss that left her breathless.

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