“Let’s go, then.”
They piled into the flymo and directed the pilot to the market.Ten minutes later, the flymo landed at the nearest drop-off point.Ransom paid the fare, and they walked up the street, Scarlett suiting her normal brisk I-know-where-I’m-going pace to Ransom’s hobble.She led him past makeshift stalls and squeezed around pale blue beings and child-sized aliens with hard shells who scuttled rather than walked.Scarlett surveyed the dragon-man, and doubts surfaced.Was he strong enough to leave civilization for the backcountry area indicated on his map?
“Are you sure you’re up to this quest?”Thank the stars Eva’s restaurant wasn’t far.
“Don’t worry about me,” he gritted out, his shoulders straightening a fraction.
Flymos darted overhead, avoiding the hordes of foot traffic but facing problems of their own as they jockeyed for airspace on their journey through the city.Market day was profitable for some, but it made for volatile crowds and short tempers.
Several Tigrus youths, recognizable by their striped skin, hooted with laughter as a robed nun tripped and fell.Dazzling pink fruits spilled from her shopping bag.They rolled along the rutted cobblestones, at least two cracking open to reveal the edible seeds inside.
Scarlett hurried to aid the woman.She collected the smooth-skinned pink fruit, returned them to the nun, and helped her stand to dust off her saffron robe.A growl had her head jerking up.The Tigrus youths retreated in a hurry, melting into the crowd and disappearing.
“Are you injured?”Ransom asked the woman.
“I be fine.”The woman dipped her bald head, her expression serene as she righted the hood of her robe.“Blessings on ye both.”
Scarlett fluttered her lashes at Ransom.“My hero.”
“I loathe bullies.”Ransom’s voice held a harsh edge that scratched Scarlett’s curiosity.The dragon was a protective gentleman.Interesting.
“We will escort you to your destination,” Scarlett said.“This area is rough.”
“Thank ye.I’m heading to the convent.”The nun gathered her bags.
“It’s on our way,” Scarlett said, recalling the sprawling complex from earlier visits.“Let me carry some of your bags.Really, it’s no trouble.”
“That be kind of ye.”
Ransom took the more substantial bag, and Scarlett frowned, hoping the dragon didn’t face-plant.His muscular carcass weighed a lot more than the pink fruit.
To her relief, they reached the carved gateway of the convent safely with all of them still upright despite the mass of people and the thieves who skulked amongst the crowds, alert for every opportunity.
“Are you remaining in the city this blacklight or do you intend to leave Dalcon?”the nun asked.“Because if you’re staying, we have rooms to let.”She turned her attention to Ransom.“You and your wife could sleep in the knowledge of your safety within our walls.”
Ransom glanced at her, and Scarlett piped up before he rejected the offer.“It would allow us to take stock and check we have everything we require for our journey.”
“Oh, are you traveling far?”the nun asked, showing the first sign of curiosity.
“To Narenda to visit friends,” Ransom said.“Thank you.A room here for the evening suits us admirably.”Some of the tension bracketing his mouth eased, almost as if he was glad of a reason to delay their departure.
Scarlett frowned.That couldn’t be right.The dude was a dragon shifter.One of her premonitions prickled across her scalp, and she inhaled, scenting the air.Nothing in the vicinity, but something.Her skin bristled—a hand brushing her fur in the wrong direction sensation.She surreptitiously studied the nun.
The woman scrutinized the dragon shifter, her gaze sharp and dissecting for one so young.“Are ye not sleeping well?”
Ransom brushed off the concern.“I’m fine.”
Scarlett didn’t believe him.The nun doubted him, too, but neither contradicted the dragon.
“We lock the gates at dusk,” the woman warned.
Scarlett inclined her head.“Thank you.We’ll be back long before the gates close for the blacklight.”
She placed her arm through Ransom’s, her pulse skittering at the physical contact.Her feline sighed, and the contented purr echoing through Scarlett’s mind raised a frisson of alarm.She flinched from the connection.
Ransom never reacted to her rapid withdrawal.
Frying fungus!This was not good.She could fight him and was confident of staying a skip or two ahead, but things might become dicey if her feline exerted a say.Perhaps she should take a pass on those stones he’d promised her.
