Page 55 of So I Dared a Dragon

She shrugged. “It just came to me. I don’t understand what all the words mean.”

“It looks like an agreement.” At first I’d only scanned the words written in her girlish handwriting. Those were just as salacious as she’d promised. But then the words changed, the handwriting bolder and the tone much colder. “Possibly between the dragons and the Night God.”

“What does it say?” She came closer, her skin brushing against mine. “No one knows about this. I had to get you another gift so I could sneak this in here.”

“It lays out what looks like terms of labor, and a plan for transition.” I shook my head. “I’ll need to give this to Luca. As a scribe, and someone who had never forgotten a detail, he’ll be most familiar with what the dragons had agreed to.”

And given away.

“I don’t know if I’m relieved or freaked out that it’s something important.” She gave me a tight smile and then reached into the black bag again. “I went shopping today to keep myself busy and found these in the antique shop. I don’t know if you can use them, but I thought they were perfect.”

She handed me a black box. It had more weight to it than I expected. Carefully, I peeled the lid away and gasped.

“I picture you wearing them on your talons,” she said. “I hope you like them.”

“Do you have any idea what these are?” The silver filigree was shaped like a cone and studded with tiny gemstones.

She shook her head.

“We used to wear these over our talons in ceremonies. High-ranking dragons would have these made.” I had a feeling I knew exactly who these belonged to. My contemporary in the Rocky Mountain thunder. The one who would’ve signed the contract that Calista had channeled. Like he was sending me a message. “These dragons haven’t been erased after all.”

twenty

. . .

Calista

The silver cones fit Aarix’s talons perfectly. None of this was a shock, but seeing them on his fingers was still a surprise. When I found the cones, I immediately thought of his talons. But I worried they’d be too dainty for such a giant man. Instead, they molded to him, looking fierce and even more ornate at the same time.

I wasn’t normally an antique shop girlie. Not only had I spent the last few years living out of my increasingly tattered duffel bag, I didn’t have the patience for all the hunting and pecking. Which was a bit of a plot twist, since I normally loved the thrill of the chase. But this afternoon, I was drawn to the window display outside the shop. I was only downtown looking for a distraction, something to help me digest everything that happened in the last few days.

Aarix held his hand up, letting the filigree and stones catch in the light.

“I swear I can see the energy radiating from your fingers,” I said softly. All this magic was overwhelming. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. And to you. This all might be normal for you—"

He took me by the shoulders and turned me to him. The energy flowed into me, different now than it had been before he gave me my scales, and that was before he planted the kiss on my forehead, which supercharged everything. He grasped me tighter, like he felt it too.

“None of this is normal,” he said. His voice was gravelly—a little purr, all growl. “The scales weren’t supposed to be permanent. I’m not upset that they’re still there, but it wasn’t my intention. That’s why I asked if you were something else in addition to being a wolf.”

“Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. I’ve never had superpowers.” I’d always considered myself a pretty basic bitch. Even before Bibi was Bibi, she always managed to shine. My role was the bestie fuckup, and I played it to perfection.

“You’ve always had superpowers, sunshine.” He considered his present, waving his fingers again. “Tell me about where you got these.”

“It was a secondhand store, a place where people go to sell things they don’t want anymore, and in theory, people can buy what they need at lower prices than buying new. But thrifting became trendy and some items can be outrageously expensive. These included, but we have a shopping budget from the show. The store mostly carries furniture and art, and I almost left empty handed, but then I saw a little glass case at the register. I knew I wanted to bring you something as a way to smuggle the notebook onto set without anyone noticing. The rest of it was gaudy costume stuff, but then I saw these, and they didn’t seem to belong there. They reminded me of the rings you wear on your horns and the rest of your jewelry. The woman who sold them to me had no idea what they were for, which is probably for the best.” I dared to run my finger over one of his talons. The sparks that flew in my wake were more satisfying than scary. “I wanted to give you something that couldn’t be taken away, because Ididn’t know if I’d open that notebook and everything would disappear.”

“No one’s done anything that nice for me in a long time.” He closed his eyes for a long blink. “It means a lot. These would’ve been used any time there was a transfer of power, which you refer to as magic. It was an everyday part of our lives, but powerful dragons had more of it.”

Fascinating. “What are your powers?”

“I had the power of protection. It was one of the reasons I gave you that necklace, so I could always guard you, even if I couldn’t be with you.”

This dragon knew exactly how to make me swoon.

He frowned. “But it didn’t stop the threats from coming.”

“There haven’t been any more notes.” I looked down at my arm. “Do you think it’s because of the scales?”

I didn’t expect Aarix to have all the answers for what had happened to me since our last date.

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