Page 1 of Her Dragon Defender

ONE

"You look amazing," Eden breathed as she stared at her best friend. Her silvery hair was lavender this week, to match her eyes, and the breathtaking gown that might have been made for her. From what Eden knew of Diana's family finances, it might have been. While Eden would have struggled to pay for a secondhand dress from a thrift store, if she could find one that fitted.

Diana frowned. "Then maybe I should change. I need the rich men at the ball to be tripping over themselves to talk to me, but not quite so busy staring at my boobs that they can't sign a sponsorship agreement. It's bad enough that some of them are so drunk they don't know what they're signing. Last time, one prick was so certain he'd signed a prenup, that he actually came hammering on the front gates of the Academy to insist they hand over his bride." She sniffed. "As if I want to marry anyone, let alone one of those overprivileged arsewipes."

"Surely there must be some nice men at these things. Or at least ones who look good, and are fun to dance with," Eden said. She'd never been invited to a ball, let alone attended one, so all she had to go on was what she'd seen on TV and in movies.

"Maybe balls held by other colleges, but Mirror Academy balls have this almost legendary reputation for matching business royalty with brides. So I feel a moral obligation to my fellow students to help the snotty man-children become slightly less objectionable, by giving them the opportunity to sponsor an animal shelter to prove they're not complete dicks. At least they have one redeeming feature – they're all fond of animals." Diana beamed at her reflection, then frowned again. "No, this is just too purple. I think I'll go with the green one." She stripped off the lavender gown, and handed it to Eden. "Here. You try it on while I'm gone. You can wear it to the end of year ball, when we go there together. That one's supposed to have a fairytale theme, and I have the perfect gold Beauty and the Beast gown."

Eden looked longingly at the dress in her arms. She'd never worn anything so lovely, and it was hard to believe Diana was willing to loan it to her. "Which princess wears purple again? That's Rapunzel, isn't it?"

"That's the one. And she even has short hair at the end of the movie, so you won't have to change a thing." Diana zipped up the green gown, then regarded her reflection. "Which is more than I can say about my hair in this one. I'm useless at up-dos. They don't stay up for more than ten minutes, tops."

Eden carefully laid the dress down on the desk. "That is where I come in. One of my foster families ran a dog grooming business, and all us kids were expected to work there for free, until Child Protection had them arrested under the child labour laws. I think that was my favourite foster family, actually. The main picture on their website was a poodle I made look like Marie Antoinette for Halloween."

Diana eyed her suspiciously. "And that's supposed to make me want to trust you with my hair? The headmistress will hardly let me go to the ball looking like a poodle."

Eden shrugged. "If I mess it up, you could always wear a wig. There's that blonde one in my room, left by the last girl who lived there before me."

"The curly one full of flowers? I think I'd prefer to be a poodle, thanks. I mean, I'll be looking for animal lovers. Maybe if I look like a dog, I'll get more money for our animal shelter, and we can put in a pamper room for the owls or something."

Eden burst out laughing. "So that's your goal tonight? To raise enough money for an owl day spa? I'm down with that. By the time I'm done with you, you'll put Marie Antoinette the poodle to shame. No, scratch that. You'll put the real Marie Antoinette to shame. You're already more a queen than she ever was."

She set to work, and before long, even Diana couldn't deny she liked the reflection she was looking at. Mirror Academy certainly provided its students with enough mirrors to earn the name.

"You look like a princess," Eden said wistfully as she watched Diana twirl her skirts so they sat right, after sitting on them so long.

Diana smiled. "Well, next time, we'll be princesses together, and with two of us there, our shelter will be fully funded before summer break, a full year before we actually open the doors. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"A fairytale come true," Eden said.

"It absolutely will, you'll see," Diana said as she hugged Eden. "Wish me luck!"

She waved as she headed off for what Eden hoped would be a night to remember.

TWO

Blaze squinted against the sunset light, trying to work out if he had enough to cover this last garden bed. He'd be spreading the mulch pretty thin, but the shrubs and trees had been here longer than he'd been alive, so their roots already ran deep. Unlike the roses, which always seemed to need more mulch than any other plant in the garden. The sun was sinking, but he thought he might just have enough time to finish the job before...

"Darling, I do hope you're coming in for dinner!"

"Yes, Mum!" Blaze called back over his shoulder as he pushed the wheelbarrow along the path. "I'm almost done here, so I'll have time for a shower before dinner."

"Good boy."

Blaze suppressed a snort. Mum might have gone back inside, but her hearing was as sharp as his. He was willing to bet she'd still be calling him a boy on his thirtieth, fortieth or even fiftieth birthday. Probably even after he'd had kids of his own, if that ever happened.

He grabbed a shovel and began to fill the wheelbarrow. Neither he nor Diana had ever really expected to find their mystical fated mate, but for Diana to find hers while he was still single...ha, fate must really have it in for him.

Of course, Diana's message hadn't said she'd found her fated mate, but Blaze was her brother. Of course he'd been able to read between the lines of her carefully crafted message. Didn't want ordinary humans seeing anything strange that they could use as evidence that the supernatural world did exist.

How had she put it, exactly?

Blaze pulled out his phone. Yep, there it was, the picture of her and the pixie-like girl with the short hair, silver beside night-dark, and Diana's hastily typed:

You won't believe it. I finally found the perfect partner – someone willing to spend the rest of her life saving animals at the sanctuary with me. Can't wait for you to meet her.

Diana's fated mate – for she had to be her mate, as Diana wouldn't settle for anything less than the full fairytale – was gorgeous. In fact, she looked like exactly his type. Idly, he wondered what would have happened if he'd met the girl before Diana – would she have agreed to become his mate instead? Probably not, if she was only into girls. Damn, but his sister had good taste. He only hoped he'd be half as lucky – if there even was a fated mate out there for him.

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