He jumped at the spooky parts. He cuddled in close at the thrilling parts. And he laughed merrily at the parts that were jokes.
It was just like watching a whole new movie through Mercury’s eyes. Talon loved it.
He settled in and queued up movie two. He’d never had so much fun.
Chapter
Four
Mercury was having the time of his life.
There were movies. There was food. There was music and laughter. He could have long, warm baths whenever he liked.
And there was Talon.
Talon was like everything he could want—beautiful, strong, kind, funny, warm. It was amazing. It would’ve been perfect if he wasn’t dying. That made it less than perfect. In fact, it made him a little bit irritated. That his mate had happened only at the end, when he was found and rescued.
Still, if he had to do this, this seemed to be the way to do it. With grace.
Oh who the hell was he kidding? He wasn’t feeling very graceful; he was feeling mad. He didn’t want to die. He liked Talon more than that. Talon was his braaken and Mercury wasn’t interested in death, so he had to fix this and he didn’t know how.
Talon was off doing something. He wasn’t sure what. And he hadn’t met anyone yet, not even Talon’s brother.
Well, that wasn’t exactly true. He’d met Talon’s friend, Kami, and Kami lived next door. He could figure that out. So hebrushed his hair and he put on new slacks and a sweater, which was soft against his skin, along with heavy socks and lovely slip-on shoes.
It looked like him, but clean and well-fed and happy. Now all he had to do was open the door.
He stood there for a while, because this was hard, but then he just told himself he had to do it. He wanted to figure this out, and he needed help, and if Kami couldn’t help, then Kami could point him in a direction. Maybe the seer could help.
He opened the door and stepped outside, running right into a young lady who was very, very violet. “Hello, I’m trying to find Kami.”
“Excellent. I was coming to see my Uncle Reno. I’m Tempest. I live across the hallway right there.”
“Oh, well, I’m Mercury. It’s very nice to meet you. I would like to speak to Kami if I can. I need to find a new stone because I’m dying, and I don’t want to die.”
The pretty violet eyes went wide. “That’s really important. No one should die because of a stone. Other dragons can be very mean, but this place is safe. And Uncle Cain is creating an entire new world where dragons are going to be safe and live their lives and be happy.”
“You have very much family.”
“Well, I know some people say family is only blood, but family is about love. In that case, I have very much family.”
“I like that.” He beamed at her. “I like that very much. It is a lovely way to think of things.”
The door opened, and a huge dragon scowled out, with the baby he’d met in his thick arms. “Guys, why are you standing out in the middle of the hall, talking, instead of knocking on the door and coming in?”
“Because I was introducing myself to Mercury here. He lives next door. He would like to speak to Uncle Kami, please. And I am here to babysit.”
The big dragon scowled at the little girl, who was obviously unafraid. “I thought you were here to see me.”
“Silly, Reno, I am always here to see you. I was thinking maybe you and I could take the baby and have stew. It’s cold enough now and it sounds so yummy.”
“Let me just put my shoes on and get the baby into a warm suit.” Reno winked. “Come on in, both of you. You must be Mercury.”
“It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Reno.”
“You don’t need to call me Mr. or any kind of dragon honorific either. I’m just Reno.” He turned away, bellowing for Kami as he went. The baby didn’t even peep, so he figured this was just Reno’s normal mode of communication.
Kami wandered out from the back of the apartment, pulling on a warm hoodie. “What’s going on, babe?”
