She grabs my hand. “I can’t believe it; they’ve finally found you.”
“I haven’t had the lightning yet. I might not.”
“You will.” She’s beaming at me.
But I can’t help thinking I need to find Roark. She shouldn’t have come here on her own. They made a big deal about taking her home.
“I see that look on your face. I don’t even know you yet, but I know what you’re thinking without being able to probe your mind. You’re worried about how I’ll get home. TheThessarisare fine. There’s no way they’re going to link to the wrong one. That’s just a bunch of fairy tales they tell dragonets at night to keep them from wandering off on their own.”
“Connect to the wrong portal?”
“You know— Oh wait, you don’t. There are five clans, and each has a portal. But over the last twenty years or so, they haven’t had as much power. And there’s a theory that, with the Firested one collapsed, they’ll start connecting to the wrong places.”
“Holy crap, Aisling. Why did you come through, then? What if you don’t get home? We need to go find Roark.” I’m about to grab her wrist, like I’m dragging one of my younger cousins away from the dock at my grandmother’s house when they couldn’t swim. But I stop myself. She’s not twelve. She’s college age. It’s hard to tell with shifters.
Instead, she grabs my wrist. “No, please. I had to meet you, and I knew they wouldn’t let me. I’m not a dragonet. I’m a bit impulsive, I suppose. But...” Her blue eyes blink up at me. Shoot. I’m about to cave to her puppy eyes when I snap out of it.
“I want you safe.”
“I’ll be safe.”
“You say that you believe I’m their mate. How angry will they be with me when they learn that I didn’t tell them you came here?”
She glances down. “Furious. Maybe we can find a witch who can erase their memory or yours. Then you wouldn’t know I’d come.”
“They can do that?”
“Sure.”
“I’m afraid I don’t happen to know the neighborhood witch.”
“Right, that would be a problem.” Her head cocks to the side. “Leopold!” She scampers around me, her robes flowing behind her.
“Princess Aisling.” Leopold smiles.
“Thank you for taking care of Roark.”
“You’re very welcome. Did you have a nice chat?”
“We did. But Raine is worried about me getting home safely.”
“That she should be. But I believe I can help.”
I can’t help but cock my head at Leo.
“I’m not a Crest Wing dragon, and I can’t open theThessari,but I can steady it.”
“Ancestrals, they’re more powerful than the strongest fae.” Aisling gives Leopold another hug. And his cheeks are bright red.
“I wouldn’t go that far, Your Grace.”
“Well, I would.” Aisling beams up at him.
“I’ll be back when you are ready to go.” He gives her a pointed look down his long nose, and it’s evident to at least me that he means soon.
“I can’t wait for you to have the lightning. Which, nopressure, you need to do, like, soon, okay?” She gives me another hug. “You smell really good. Weird. You smell like the dahl of Ruino.”
“The doll of runno?”
