Page 32 of Hungry Like A Dragon
Together.
A family,his dragon whispered slyly.
Chill, dude.
You just called me dude.
“Your dragon talking to you?” Delilah asked. “Mine does that a lot too.”
Petra gave him a curious look. He said, “Yeah. He’s telling me you can come through for us. Come on. Our entire colony will be jealous if we bring home a book of curses or something.”
“A book of curses is a very dangerous item. Most dragons cannot enact them, of course, but it isn’t entirely unheard of. I would not feel comfortable selling you something so potentially hazardous.”
“Not entirely unheard of?” Petra repeated.
Delilah arched her narrow, black brows. “You haven’t heard of the cursed dragon colony?”
Holy shit, is she about to admit she did it?
“Nope,” Noah said.
Delilah’s smile was toothy and a little bit anticipatory. The woman was practically vibrating.
“Up north.” She flapped her hand. “There is an entire colony that has been cursed for decades. Not a single dragon is able to find their fated mate.”
“What?” Petra said in horror. “That’s terrible!”
“Is it?” Delilah asked.
“Well, yes,” Petra sputtered. “Wh-who wouldn’t want to-to find true love?”
You and I, honey.
Delilah waved her hand again. “True love is a waste of time.”
“Tell us more about this curse,” Noah encouraged.
She shrugged one shoulder. “That’s it. The colony is cursed. And generally, because dragons are pretty stupid when it comes to magic beyond shifting forms, they haven’t been able to figure out how to lift it. So no true love for them.”
Dragons are pretty stupid?Wow, this lady was derisive about her own kind.
“Well, I guess that means you’re safe selling us a book of curses,” Noah said.
Delilah shook her head. “Not an entire book. And not curses. How about a love potion?”
He glanced at Petra. “What’s the point? We don’t need that. We’re already in love.” That sure slid off his tongue easily enough, didn’t it?
Delilah lowered her lashes and peeked out at him. “You said you wanted something to add to your hoard, remember?”
“Right. Of course.” He turned to Petra. “What do you think, babe?”
Her gaze darted from him to Delilah. “I suppose if that’s the best you can do…”
“It is,” Delilah said firmly. “Now go. Come back at ten tonight. The shop will be closed. Go through the alley to the back door. I’ll meet you there.” And she dismissed them, striding across the shop, back to the curio cabinet.
“She didn’t tell us how much she’d charge us,” Petra said as she watched the other woman’s retreating back.
“Come on,” Noah said, nudging her toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.”
