Page 78 of Lahaina Noon

“BRIDGET!” He screamed her name.

Wait, how could that be? He couldn’t speak in dragon form. She looked up beyond the golden claw and realized it wasn’t Vaughn who had her. She panicked and began to squirm when a whisper came to her mind.

Shh, my daughter. You are safe now.The huge white dragon above her circled the point, decreasing his altitude before lining up to land.

Bridget’s mouth gaped open. The dragon had spoken in her mind! And it was white. She didn’t remember Vaughn mentioning anything about white dragons.

How can you speak in my mind?She asked.

She heard a laugh, then a whisper,it’s a secret, tell no one.

Bridget nodded silently, and the dragon laid her gently in Vaughn’s outstretched arms before landing smoothly in the plaza.

After checking her over multiple times, Vaughn finally let her stand on her own feet. The white dragon, which strangely now looked gray, was still standing nearby. He seemed in no hurry to change.

“Who is that?” demanded Vaughn, but she had no answer for him.

She slowly walked to the dragon and stood in front of him. He lowered his massive head and looked her in the eyes. She could swear he looked white again. He slowly blinked one eye.

He winked at me, she realized. She glanced over her shoulder, but no one else seemed to have noticed. Okay, so they had a secret for now. She had an awful lot of those lately. “I,” she croaked. She swallowed and had to try again, her throat was still sore from the shadow attack. “I want to thank you for saving my life. I don’t know how you managed to be there in time, but I’m glad you were. If there’s anything, well, I don’t know what I could offer you, but if I can ever do anything for you, please let me know.” She spread her hands to show that she was not sure what she could really do.

He nodded at her.

She glanced around again and saw that Vaughn was talking to Wu, who had hobbled over.You do want something,she thought to him.

He nodded again. The whisper came to her:Fight.

Bridget’s mouth dropped. This was the same voice she’d been hearing. This strange dragon, who kept shifting from white to gray, was the one pushing her to be strong and keep going.

Wu walked up to them. “Bridget, my dear, thank goodness you are safe. I do hope you have suffered no ill effects from your experience?” He seemed relieved when she shook her head no. She was in pain, but it wasn’t permanent. He turned to the large dragon sitting there, who suddenly lifted a hind leg and scratched his ear like a dog.

Bridget slapped her hands over her mouth to stifle the laugh that almost came bursting out. Not only would it have hurt her throat, she didn’t want to offend the white dragon.

The dragon winked at her again before focusing on Wu.

“Okay Tar’n. Enough showing off. If I’d known you were coming with us, I would have waited for you.”

The dragon shimmered and suddenly, the tall, robed man from the Council hearing was there, hood and all.

How did he do that,she wondered.

Tell no one, he reminded her.

Bridget nodded slowly.

Vaughn stepped up and grabbed his hand. “Tar’n, please, accept my thanks and gratitude for saving my mate from the Shadow King. We never thought he’d dare show his face here, but I cannot ever repay you for the gift you have given me. I owe you a life debt.”

Tar’n’s hood studied Vaughn. “And I believe you would honor such a debt, young Master Drake. But your life is destined for other things. It was a pleasure to save your lovely mate. That is all the thanks I need.”

He walked away with Wu tottering next to him, looking so much like Yoda and Obi Wan, Bridget began to laugh, but it hurt too much and turned to sobs, just as painful.

Vaughn gathered her close and held her until her shaking subsided. He brushed her hair away from her face in a familiar gesture and kissed her forehead before picking her up and carrying her to the car.

Back in Rome, they were gathered at the restaurant of the kind family that had hosted them weeks earlier. It was a lifetime ago to Bridget. She was exhausted and somewhat queasy from her ordeal. Jorrie sat next to her, rubbing her back in small circles, while Gabe sat on the other side, holding her hand and refusing to let anyone else near her. The conversations were a mix of voices at different levels and tones, and it was giving her a headache. She rubbed her temples and couldn’t wait until they were on the plane so she could lie down in the back. Vaughn had told her it had a bedroom, and she could take a nap.

Vaughn picked up on her distress and signaled to get everyone’s attention. The lessening of the noise had a significant impact on her well-being, and she began to feel somewhat better.

“You all saw what happened on the point to an extent, but here’s what you don’t know. The shadows now have confirmation that Bridget is the Wielder of Prophecy. They tried to grab her right in front of us and saw her wield. This tells me they are desperate. Also, the one who made the attempt was none other than the Shadow King himself.” Gasps went around the room.

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