The dragon stilled, turning its head to glance at my face. He snorted.
Then he hopped to the floor, landing with a soft thud.
I exhaled heavily. “There you go,” I cooed. “Good dragon. Likethis.”
I wiggled the string again. This time, the dragon tensed and leaped, but he stayed near the floor. He lunged for the strung, trying to grasp it in his teeth, but the string slipped away before he could find a solid grip.
I chuckled. It really was like playing with a cat. “Almost! Try again!”
I continued to wiggle the string as the dragon dipped and dodged, swiping over and over again and snapping his teeth with audible clicks.
Redd laughed lowly behind me. I glanced at him. “Want to try?”
“Oh, no, I like watching you do it,” he said, but I could see the way his eyebrows quirked with interest.
I shoved the stick into his hand. “Just try it. It’s fun.”
He looked confused for a moment, but then he hesitantly stuck his arm out, jiggling the string gently.
Ember reacted instantly, this time rolling onto this back and kicking at the string with all four legs.
I laughed louder. “Look at him!” I called. “He’s like a bug!”
“Not a bug,” Redd said, lifting the stick high above his head. Ember jumped for it. “A beast. A verysmartbeast.”
Ember let out a sound somewhere between a purr and a growl. I flinched, but immediately regained my composure.
“The smartest beast in the entire realm,” I agreed.
The day flew by as we continued to play with the dragon, finding random items for it to chase around the room.
We also were able to pet the creature as it tired, scratching its smooth belly and its horned head.
Even Sookie and Pumpkin seemed to appreciate the dragon, joining in and wrestling with Ember as they fought for possession of a small wad of paper.
My worries melted away with the hours.
Finally, curled up in bed in Redd’s arms with the dragon snuggled up with cats somewhere on the floor, I accepted the fact that we were going to be okay.
“See, I told you we could do this,” Redd said against the back of my head, his legs entwined with mine.
I snuggled into his embrace. “Fine, I hate to admit it, but you were right.”
And he was right. We could do this.
CHAPTER 11
Kizzi
“She’s cold!” I shouted, chasing the dragon around the room with a blanket stretched out in front of me. I wanted to wrap her up and snuggle her close.
The second dragon was a lovely sapphire blue color, about the same size as the first dragon, but instead of radiating heat, she seemed to absorb it. Instead of steam wafting from her open mouth, she spat small streams of icy water.
“She’s not cold,” Tandor said gently. “It’s nice and warm in here.”
“But she was so cozy in her egg, and now she’s out.” The dragon jumped out of my reach again, vaulting off of the table and putting a few feet between us. Almost like it was a game. I kept at it.
“She was ready to hatch,” he reminded. “She’s old enough. And she’s inside.”
