Page 103 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
“How?” The human studied it with curiosity.
She gestured for him to begin. “Do whatever you wish with it.”
After a few moments, he focused his aura, allowing him to poke at the ball of flame. Instead of extinguishing it, the flame changed from red to a bright purple as their energies merged. It bent and flickered wildly.
Vanra began pushing at it from all sides with his power. At first, he could only manage abstract shapes. But as he continued to engage with the fire, it slowly morphed into a small dragon. The human made a triumphant noise at his accomplishment.
He had done exactly as she had hoped. Kizoshi summoned the purple fire dragon. As it jumped from Vanra’s hand to her shoulder, it tripled in size. She reached up and stroked the dragon’s head, which leaned into the touch. “One day, you will understand why you are so remarkable. I promise we will have a proper talk then, Vanra.”
“Something tells me I’ll be as lost then as I amnow.” He watched as the fire dragon swished its tail. “That’s amazing!”
She gave the dragon a final loving scratch behind the ears, then held out her hand. It jumped off her shoulder, disappearing in a whisper of purple-gray smoke. All that remained was a silver ring etched with markings like Kitaro’s. At the center was an amethyst stone that glowed with a flickering light.
Kizoshi held the ring out to Vanra. “This is yours.”
“Mine?” Vanra asked in confusion.
“Yes, yours.”
Vanra accepted the beautiful piece of jewelry with a word of thanks. He studied it for several moments before sliding it on his right middle finger. “Wow, it fits perfectly.”
“You must promise me one thing.”
“Anything.”
She held his gaze to convey her seriousness. “Swear to me you will wear that ring at all times. Do not take it off, not even to bathe. Do you understand?”
He tilted his head with a puzzled look. “Why?”
“Because it is of the utmost importance that you always wear it. There are no exceptions. Promise me.”
He touched the ring. “You have my word. I will never take it off.”
“Good.” Kizoshi smiled when there was a knock on the door. “How kind of my brother to be right on time.”
A deeply concerned Kitaro entered the room. Heglanced between his sister and Vanra. “So, this is where you disappeared to. I was worried when you did not return to the banquet.”
“Do not blame Vanra. The delay was my fault. We had more important things to discuss than him suffering through more drunken brothers-in-arms, serenading each other off-key as they got even deeper in their cups.”
Her answer didn’t seem to put him at ease. “Is everything okay? Anytime you get involved, it inevitably leads to complications.”
“All is well now, dear brother. You are free to take Vanra and leave.”
Vanra stood up and bowed to her. “Thank you for tonight.”
“It has been my pleasure. Perhaps I shall see you at breakfast tomorrow morning if Kitaro can drag himself out of bed early enough. I promise to put on a show if you do.” They turned to leave. When they reached the door, Kizoshi added, “Kitaro, take good care of Vanra.”
She smiled to herself in private satisfaction once they left. Her meeting with Vanra had gone even better than she had expected. Many interesting things were afoot because of him coming to their time. She couldn’t wait to see how everything turned out in the future.
Chapter 52
Kitaro
Kitaro burned with urgent questions. He waited to indulge his curiosity until they were safe in their room, sitting in front of the fireplace that lit upon their arrival. “What was that about?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Vanra sighed as he slumped on the sofa. “You weren’t kidding when you said your sister was an endless riddle wrapped in a mystery.”
“It can be rather difficult to follow her meaning.” Kitaro sat close, his dragon stirring with unrest when he smelled something upsetting. “More importantly, why is Nasume’s scent on you?”
