By the time Sasha swooped downward, Max’s face had gone numb. They’d decided not to fly near the settlement either for fear of someone spotting them flying over. Not that the town was substantial. Max had visited as a child with his parents and on a school trip.
Sasha landed in a field, and Max slid down before reaching up to lift Noel free.
Noel clapped his hands, his expression full of pleasure despite the late hour. “Again,” he insisted.
“Sasha needs to have a rest first,” Max said, making his voice firm. His little brother wasn’t beyond begging or having a hissy fit to get his way when he became overtired.
Thankfully, Noel allowed Max to pluck him from Sasha’s back.
Sasha transformed as quickly as the last time. This time she shivered and hurriedly rifled through her bag to grab her clothes. She pulled on black trousers, a shirt, and a jacket without bothering about underwear. She took the time to pull on socks, though before she donned her boots. “We’re near the accommodation your friend booked for us. I landed closer than we’d planned, so it should be a five-minute walk at most.”
“Let’s hope the owner was as efficient as she promised, and the key is in her mailbox.” Max pulled a face. “Otherwise, we’ll be in trouble.”
Sasha picked up her bag plus Noel’s.
“Let me take that,” Max said.
“I think you’re going to need to carry Noel. Now the excitement is over, he’s drooping.”
Seeing she was right, Max lifted Noel and sat him on his shoulders.
Sasha led the way, her progress unfaltering despite the dark. Max hadn’t thought to bring a torch.
“You’re very quiet,” Sasha said after a while.
“I’m unsure of what to do for the best. For Noel.”
“You can’t let your grandmother get her hands on him, not if all she’s interested in is the trust money,” Sasha said.
“But we can’t spend our life running either,” Max said.
“You can’t let her win.”
“No. My mind is chasing in circles.”
“Let’s try to enjoy the two days we have before the court’s deadline. Perhaps a third alternative will come to us,” Sasha said. “Ah, I think that’s the cottage we’ve rented, judging by the photos your friend sent to my email address. Why don’t you and Noel wait here, and I’ll run to get the key?”
Max smothered a yawn and indicated acceptance of the plan. She headed into the darkness without hesitation and was back in under ten minutes, flourishing a key. “Found it along with a note.”
“Great. I want to get Noel in bed, otherwise it will be a fun day for all of us tomorrow.”
With a nod, Sasha unlocked the door and flicked on the entrance light to reveal a large room sectioned into seating, dining, and food preparation areas.
“Nice,”her dragon said.“I like the human’s open rooms instead of lots of smaller ones. I enjoy the space.”
“Me too,”Sasha agreed.
Max dumped his pack on the floor, picked up Noel’s smaller bag and led his brother down a passage leading off the principal room. She picked up Max’s pack and took out their food supplies.
“What was in the note?”her dragon asked.
Sasha plucked it out of her pocket and read the contents. “Excellent,” she murmured. “Fresh milk, eggs, bacon, and bread. That means we won’t need to go out if we don’t want to—not to visit the town at any rate.”
Max came out a few minutes later.
“Is Noel asleep?”
“For a while there, I thought he’d put up a fight. The flight thrilled him, and he wanted to draw a picture of your dragon before he forgot the details.” Max pulled a face. “He fell asleep midway through telling me about exploring the island. These days, he’s excited and involved, and it’s all thanks to you. I hate to think of him going backward with my grandparents. I’m sure they’d look after him, and he’d lack for nothing physically, but their child-rearing methods are old-fashioned. Seen and not heard. Noel needs to learn and repeat things until he understands them. I want him to be excited by life.”
