Page 68 of Ties of Bargains

“But don’t ask about saddles. We aren’t beasts of burden.” Taran, too, lay in the sand and stretched out a leg.

Harm shared a look with Val before he bent and picked up a shaking Daisy. “One more adventure on our way home? At least they aren’t trying to eat me.”

“Not yet,” Val muttered as she led the way climbing up Tora’s leg.

With his arms full of terrified dog, Harm struggled to walk up the leg, and Val turned back several times to tug him up. He settled into a seat at the base of Tora’s neck, wedging himself between two of her spikes. Val sat behind Harm and wrapped her arms around the spike and his waist, as if she planned to somehow hold Harm onto the dragon.

Chela and Abelardo with Acurru climbed onto Tora as well while Jesenia, Ignatius, and Grutte climbed onto Taran, though Taran gave a grunt when Grutte settled into a spot.

Once they were all on the dragons, the two dragonsspread their wings. With a short run, the two dragons hurled themselves into the air one after the other.

Harm gripped Tora’s long, scaly neck with his legs while he clutched Daisy to his chest. The dog flailed and scratched at him, as if trying to climb up and over his shoulder, distracting him from the way his stomach remained somewhere buried in the sand rapidly disappearing below.

But at least he was finally headed home.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The journey to the dragon’s mountain proved to be far more complicated than Harm had expected. First the dragons flew them over the desert until they reached an oasis, where they landed, transformed, and entered what the dragons called an outpost library. It was certainly filled with enough books to put any library Harm had ever seen to shame.

In the outpost library, the dragons greeted the librarians, then led Harm, Val, and the mercenaries to a door set in the back wall. An Anywhere Door, apparently. When Tora had opened it, the Door revealed a white marbled hall that bustled with people even at that hour of afternoon bleeding into evening.

No sooner had they stepped through the Door into the hall—holding tightly to each other since only the dragons could actually use the Doors—than Tora shut the door, opened it again, and suddenly the Door led to a cavern deep inside a mountain. Just like that with afew steps, Harm found himself back in the Court of Stone, no days of walking or long flights needed.

Now he understood why it was such a big deal that Val and the other mercenaries couldn’t use the Anywhere Doors. He would have been delivered within a matter of minutes if Val had been able to go through the magical doorways.

They stood in a large cavern with the Door set into the rock wall behind them. A waterfall poured through a hole in the ceiling, sunlight casting rainbows through the mist. To their right, a large stairway led upward while to their left, an opening led to a long passageway. More doors and smaller openings ringed the cavern.

Beside the waterfall’s pool, two statues formed of a white marble that contrasted with the gray stone of the mountain stood on either side of the creek that cut across the cavern and down one of the branching tunnels. One of the statues was of a dragon with its wings outspread and its mouth open to show rows of teeth. Across the creek, a statue of a human woman, her rounded ears visible, stood with her eyes looking upward and a crown on her head.

Tora must have seen where Harm was staring because she smiled and gestured at the statues. “Our great-grandmother was a human.”

“I don’t remember if our great-grandsire commissioned that statue of her or if her village in the Human Realm made it.” Taran halted next to his sister. “I should have paid more attention when our grandsire talked about our history.”

“I know our great-grandsire stole that statue ofhimself from her village. Our great-grandmother teased him relentlessly about it.” Tora gave a little sigh as she gestured toward the dragon statue. “An epic romance, or so we’ve always been told.”

“Flight Clawstone already had a history of respecting humans.” Taran nodded toward the statues.

“But thanks to her, we’ve been rescuing humans even before the Wild Fae Primrose founded the Primrose League.” Tora grinned up at the visage of her human ancestor.

“Doesn’t make us the most popular Flight among the dragons. Or in the rest of the Fae Realm, for that matter.” Taran shrugged, then turned back to them. “Many of those who work here at the eyrie have human ancestors. If you’re considering settling down here in the Fae Realm, you’d be welcome here.”

Harm cleared his throat before the twins could keep speaking. “Thanks for the offer, but I must return to the Human Realm. My father and brother are still in danger.”

But if he arrived in the Human Realm only to discover that a hundred years had passed and his father and brother were long dead, then maybe he’d consider it.

Though, Val was a summer fae. She didn’t like the cold. Perhaps the Court of Knowledge would be a better option for a backup plan.

“Understandable. Although, we should…” Tora trailed off, meeting her brother’s gaze for a long, speaking moment.

After returning his sister’s look, Taran gave a nod. “Yes, I think we should.”

Footsteps echoed down one of the passageways before afeeënman with dark, nearly black hair threaded with gray and skin a few shades lighter than Val’s but darker than the dragon twins’ strode out of the passageway into the light of the cavern. The man bowed to Tora and Taran. “Welcome back.”

“Have our parents returned from the Dragon Moot yet?” Taran glanced from the man to the large stairway.

“No, not yet.” Thefeeënman’s gaze swept past the dragons to focus on Harm, Val, and the mercenaries. “I see we have guests.”

“Yes. Could you please prepare…” Tora glanced from Harm to Val. “How many rooms?”

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