Page 88 of Cast By Flames (Dragon's Breath)
The colonel gave me a rueful smile. “We suspected as much after I received a report about burn marks on the floor of your house after you vacated it. Some were mystified by the pattern, but I had my suspicions.”
“Sorry,” I said, resisting the urge to hide behind Aidan. It was easier to face giant dragons than stern military commanders. “He had his first shift while I was away on a mission, and I didn’t think it would happen with him that young.”
“There is much we must discuss.” Aidan changed the subject—to my relief—and called Morgan over to erect a shield for privacy.
Colonel Melvin shook the sorcerer’s hand after he finished casting the spell. “I’m glad they’ve kept you alive and in one piece as well. We’ve missed having you.”
Morgan had also participated in training and received a few bumps and bruises. We protected the magic users as best we could, but it got crowded on the battlefield, and we couldn’t stop everything. The poor guy was covered in dirt and had a cut on his cheek.
“I’m looking forward to you joining the training,” the sorcerer said, shooting me a dark look. “Maybe you can convince the slayers to try harder to protect me on the battlefield.”
I rolled my eyes. “We have simulated battlefield chaos as closely as possible. He needs to get used to working while injured and with tails flying at him. I tried to tell him how to avoid them, but his dodging skills are lacking.”
“Did you tell the colonel about when you had a shifter throw me on top of a flying Kandoran dragon and expected me to take him down from six hundred feet in the air?” Morgan asked, glaring at me.
He would never let that go, but I’d never stop laughing about it, either.
I grinned. “You survived, didn’t you? We had complete faith in your survival instincts.”
The commander patted Morgan’s shoulder. “It sounds like this place has been good for you.” He turned to Aidan and me. “I can’t tell you how many times I tried to get him to bemore active on the battlefield, but he refused. He’s too valuable to keep far from the front lines.”
“Totally agree,” I said with a sage nod.
Aidan patted Morgan’s other shoulder as he cringed under all the attention. “He has been slowly coming out of his shell under my guidance. I’ve had him attend all my meetings with the pure dragons to create the privacy shields, and he’s gotten much better at not cowering.”
Colonel Melvin laughed. “I’m sorry I missed that.”
Movement in the distance caught my eye. I squinted as countless red dragons came into view from the east, heading straight for us. “Is that the Straegud?”
“Yes, approximately three hundred and twenty of them,” the commander said, then looked at Aidan. “We have been exposing our slayers to them as much as possible so they can learn control like Bailey, but it would be better if the shifters resided in another location.”
“Of course, we anticipated that,” he replied.
Aidan gestured toward Galadon and Rayna, calling them over. Morgan created a gap in the shield bubble so the pair could get through and closed it behind them. They were both stiff, making me wonder if they’d been arguing again.
“This is Galadon—a member of the Faegud toriq—who is a powerful warrior and sorcerer. He knows the area where the Straegud will be staying,” Aidan said.
The colonel had inadvertently taken a step back, and his hands trembled so much he stuffed them into his pockets. “Powerful is certainly one word for him, but I’m glad you’re on our side.”
I managed to hide a smile.
“Of course.” Galadon nodded, reigning in his aura as much as possible. “I have heard much about your weaponry and look forward to seeing it used against the Kandoran.”
He was being surprisingly polite, which was unusual for him. Perhaps he didn’t want to scare an important human off who could make a significant difference in the war.
Aidan continued his introductions. “This is Rayna. She is a strong slayer and sorceress with telepathic abilities and control of lightning. The Straegud were the ones to indoctrinate her to dragons, so she has excellent control around them, and she can introduce Galadon to the shifter pendragon.”
Galadon worked his jaw. “Perhaps it would be better if I took Bailey.”
“She needs to stay here to assist me with the coalition since she is their point of contact,” Aidan said.
Rayna looped her arm through Galadon’s, ignoring him stiffening at her touch. “It’s just me and you, big guy. We got this.”
“You are a most annoying creature,” he said, scowling at her.
Colonel Melvin gazed between them, incredulous. “She’s…very brave.”
While I wasn’t usually scared of Galadon, I still wouldn’t have been able to go near him if he glared at me like he did Rayna. He was not holding back on his “fear me, puny person” power toward her whatsoever. It was a mystery how she didn’t run screaming.
