I shook my head, still smiling. “The eggs. Thewholeeggs.”
Her eyes rounded. “Oh! Oh. I’m afraid those aren’t for sale.”
Tandor stepped up behind me, placing a supportive hand on my shoulder. “The price isn’t an issue,” he insisted. “We can pay.”
I grabbed his fingers and squeezed for a moment, grateful for the backup. I was stone cold broke, and his coffers would be funding this purchase.
She shook her head. “That’s not it. They’re fossilized. Practically relics. They’ve been sitting in a Rockward mine for hundreds of years. If they’re going to hatch, they’ve always hatched in the warm lagoons deep below the mountains.” She glanced between me and Tandor with a pained look on her face. “They’re not supposed to leave the town.”
I clasped my hands under my chin in a pleading gesture. “Please? It’s been hundreds of years. Thousands. They’ll probably never hatch. What’s the harm? If they don’t hatch before next Hallow’s Eve, I’ll bring them back.”
She considered this. “I’d have to discuss this with the coven.”
I nodded quickly. That wasn’t a hard no. “Of course! I expected as much. That’s no problem at all!”
Tandor’s hand on my shoulder squeezed. “We have to hit the road soon—we need to make it back to Moonvale by Hallow’s Eve.”
The witch sighed. “Come back when the suns start to set. I’ll see what I can do.”
I held down a squeal and cleared my throat. “Of course! Thank you!”
After a stroll around the perimeter of town to kill some time, Tandor and I settled into a pub for a late lunch of mulled wine, fluffy pretzels, and dippable cheese.
Tandor popped a cheese-loaded bite of pretzel into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. I watched his throat as it worked, entranced by the muscles. I shifted in my seat.
“So,” he started as he dabbed at his mouth with a napkin. “Dragons, huh?”
I nodded. “Dragons.” I brought my mug to my mouth, letting the hot mulled wine pour over my tongue.
“What if they actually hatch?”
I smiled at this. “That’s the goal. Fiella made me swear that I would bring her an egg—she’s convinced that her presence will crack the fossilized shell.”
He snorted out a laugh. “She thinks that, huh?”
“Could you imagine—a tiny dragon running around Moonvale? Frolicking in the trees, splashing in the river, playing with the local cats.”
He tilted his head. “That would definitely keep things interesting.”
“Maybe the coven will have some ideas. It’s been ages since anyone has tried to hatch a shell—the rest of us assumed they were completely extinct. Gone. Poofed out of existence when the Old Gods abandoned us.”
“I had always assumed they were gone. Just stories in fairytales.”
“Exactly! I’m sure if we really put our minds to it, we can figure something out.”
Hex stirred on my shoulder, reminding me they were there. I pointed at them.
“Like Hex! Familiars are supposed to be a thing of the past. But somehow, some way, they exist.” I stroked a finger over Hex’s slimy surface. I only cringed a little at the off-putting texture.
Tandor hummed in contemplation. “Good point. That is peculiar. Maybe it’s you—maybe you’re the secret ingredient that will finally crack those eggs open.”
I snorted out a laugh. “Funny.”
He smiled broadly. “I’m serious! There’s something special about you.”
A flush rose in my cheeks. “You’re just saying that because you like me.”
“I’ve been thinking that for years, actually.”
