Sasha and her dragon both laughed as he meant them to, and the gaiety eased some of his tension. An hour later, he spotted land.“Is that Perfume Isle?”
“It is,”Sasha said.“You should smell sweet spices soon. Our island is famous for its delectable scent.”
Sasha’s dragon flapped her wings and arroweddownward until she skimmed the treetops. Sasha was right. The perfume from the plants reminded him of his mother’s cookies when they’d come fresh from the oven. A pang struck his chest as he thought of his mother and, by extension, his father. He missed them, even though he hadn’t spent much time in Bamburgh. He’d still made regular calls via the internet or phone. They would’ve loved Sasha. His parents hadn’t liked his fiancée much. They’d been polite with her, but he’d sensed their reservations, and once he’d overheard them discussing the engagement. He doubted they’d have the same issues with Sasha, despite her otherness.
He prayed Sasha’s parents were open-minded enough to give him a chance.
“Our home is over that hill,”Sasha said.
Although Max had expected a prosperous estate—given what Sasha, Blaze, and Griffith had told him about their home—this was even grander than he’d anticipated. The buildings were of weathered gray stone, and like the monastery, the gardens were a show of flowers and herbs. Beyond, large orchards of fragrant trees emitted the sweet aroma of baking spices. Max wasn’t sure what the trees were, but they contributed to the wealth of the Mountholden dragon clan.
They landed in a large grassy area in front of the stone mansion. Max clambered down from Sasha’s back and reached up to help his brother. He tugged Noel out of the way, giving the three siblings plenty of space to shift to their human forms.
“Did you enjoy the flight, Noel?” Max asked.
“Yes.” Noel’s eyes shone with enthusiasm. “I’m going to draw pictures to show Joanna. She’s my friend.”
“You do that,” Max said.
Sasha dressed rapidly, as did Blaze and Griffith.
A woman appeared from the direction of the flower gardens. She was running and shouting at the same time. “Tiberius! Tiberius! Come quickly.”
A man strode from a smaller building nearby, his hair a light brown with strands of copper. One look at the man’s broad shoulders and height told Max this was Sasha’s father. The dragon scanned the new arrivals, and when his gaze settled on Sasha, he lengthened his strides to hurry to his daughter.
“You found her,” Sasha’s mother cried, and she kept running until she reached Sasha. She wrapped her arms around her daughter and clung to her. Tiberius hustled to his wife and daughter and drew them both into his embrace.
“This might take a while,” Griffith said as he fastened the ties on the front of his shirt.
Blaze came over to join them and stood watching his parents and sister with a grin on his face.
“Who are they?” Noel asked in a loud voice.
“That’s our mother and father,” Blaze said.
“I don’t have a mother and father,” Noel said.
Max winced. “That’s not true, buddy. Remember, they’ve gone to heaven. We’ll see them again one day.”
Blaze slapped Max on the shoulder in silent sympathy. “Noel, you can share my parents, if you want.”
Max sent Blaze a grateful glance.
“Mother, please. You’re smothering me,” Sasha protested after a long time. “Please, I need to breathe.”
Tiberius laughed. “Dalinda, let Sasha go, so she can tell us where she has been all this time.”
“Excellent idea, husband.”Dalinda released her grip on Sasha and stood back. She slid against her husband’s side and glared at Sasha. “You worried us silly, child. You vanished without warning, and none of us could find you. Blaze, Griffith, and even Rafael have searched the Dragon Isles for you.”
Sasha crossed to Max and extended her hand. Silently, Max clasped their fingers, and together, they turned to face Tiberius andDalinda Mountholden. “This is Max Lombardy, my mate, and his younger brother Noel.”
For a moment, silence fell, then both of Sasha’s parentslifted their heads. Their nostrils flared in the same manner Max had noticed the other dragons use when they were attempting to identify something or someone.
Tiberius frowned. “They’re human, but they hold your scent.”
“Because Max is my mate,” Sasha repeated.
“You’ve been hiding in the human village,”Dalinda said in clear disapproval.
