Page 74 of Crown of Wings and Whispers

I felt a vibration and placed my hand on her neck. She was purring.

Dragons purr?

Do not tell your little bird.Then she showed me her thoughts—an image of a marshmallow skewered on a stick, on fire.

I laughed, and when Griffon nudged me, wanting to know why, I only laughed harder.

At long last, when we landed back at the mökki, I thanked Kivi again and followed Griffon toward the steps.

“Tell him,” Kivi said. “It is time for the Son of Fae to go.”

Griffon turned and marched back to her. His shoulder bumped into mine as he passed and knocked me into the snow. It was comical, how he was torn between fighting with my dragon and making sure I wasn’t hurt. I sat arse-deep in the snow and laughed so hard I snorted.

“Lennon,” he scolded, as he pulled me back to my feet. “I am sick of her trying to get rid of me.”

“She’s not trying to get rid of you.” I gave Kivi a pointed look. “She just didn’t bother asking nicely. And she does need to ask nicely.”

“Ask nicely?” He turned to face her. “You want somethingbesidesmy absence?”

“We do,” she said. “We require…we request…that you bring us the violatedcloch realtas.”

* * *

When I was young,Christmas eve was a night of hyper vigilance. Any little thump meant Santa was in the house, so I had to hold completely still so he would believe I was asleep. That was also the night my parents left the Christmas lights on outside, and the blue and green glowed through the curtains. The color combination always meant Christmas to me. I had no idea that they were chosen because blue was the least popular color, and that’s all that was left by the time my flaky father got to the store for replacement bulbs.

My dragon was the colors of my childhood Christmas.

I was awakened by the loud pop of our fire finding a pocket of sap, and I was instantly alert. No, it wasn’t Santa, but I couldn’t go back to sleep with Christmas just hours away.

I eased out of our cocoon and got a drink, then sat on the futon to watch Griffon sleep. He looked so young when his guard was down. It was easy to imagine what his children would look like…if he had “claimed” someone else.

I sucked in a loud breath without meaning to. He stirred but went right back to sleep. So trusting. Boy, had he changed since we first met. I guess I had too.

We weren’t the same pair who bumped into each other on the second floor of the library—a Fae pretending to be mortal and a mortal not knowing she was…a mythical creature from a nearly extinct race of Fae.

I’d spent my life wanting to be something to somebody. But I’d been something special all along.

I’d loved my mother. I guess I’d assumed that becoming a mother would ensure I’d be loved too. And when I was told I couldn’t have children, I worried I wouldn’t be loved at all.

And yet, there I was, staring down at an impossibly irresistible man whom I adored, and who adored me.Helovedme, unconditionally, before he’d even known what I was. And now, even a dragon, who was more than willing to toast his marshmallow arse, couldn’t scare him away.

What more could I ask for?

Yeah, I’d come a long way from Hazelton, Idaho, where I’d lacked safety, security--everything but a job, and even that was under daily threat.

Now, gazing down at Griffon, I wanted to wrap my arms around him and hold on tight until morning, but he needed his sleep. In a few hours, he’d be leaving to run an errand he didn’t want to run, to make my dragon happy--a dragon that called himlittle bird.

He might have resisted harder, but he liked the idea of surprising his stepmother on Christmas. The risks of putting any distance between us made me nervous, and the possibility of losing each other again had me crawling back into bed and quietly draping myself over his chest.

“Mine,” I whispered. “You’re mine. And youwillcome back to me.”

26

Fairy Chess

Archer…

Archer glanced at the candy dish on the end table that held a dozen yellow chunks of old -fashioned sea foam, Bridie’s latest confection. If he hadn’t the metabolism of a Fae, he’d gain two stone before the Days of Christmas had a chance to start.

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