I was so spellbound by the village that I didn’t realize we had reached the barn Rab had spoken of. Giant and red, it loomed over the tall trees. A creek ran behind it in the distance.
“Oh!” Demi spun, wide-eyed. “I forgot to warn you. Pearl is a dragon. So yeah … prepare for that.”
I could feel my eyelids open wider with each word she spoke, and my neck craned in order to hear her better.
“I’m sorry. Dragon?” Liv stepped forward as my mouth went dry.
Demi nodded, grinning. “Friendly dragon.”
Sage bobbed her head up and down. “Badassfriendly dragon.”
I couldn’t tell if they were messing with us or not.
Dragon, I mouthed to Liv, who just shrugged.
Had to be a practical joke. Dragons weren’t a thing.
But no one was laughing…
Demi reached out and pulled the handle of the barn door wide. I stayed where I was, unsure if I was ready to actually see a dragon.
An animalistic chuffing noise came from inside as Demi called out to her friend Marmal in greeting, and Liv and I both glanced at each other nervously. Reaching out, Liv grabbed my hand and yanked me forward, pulling us both inside.
Holy crap.
My gaze skipped right over the troll girl with tiny tusks poking out of her cheeks and went right to the freaking white dragon!
She was … huge … and … real. I froze, unmoving, unbreathing as my gaze ran over her pearlescent scales. She stood over twenty feet tall and bent her head down to nuzzle the troll girl, who I assumed was Marmal, as she stroked her neck. There were horns on the top of her head and the back of her tail, which I could see would be useful in battle.
“Hey, Marmal, this is Aspen and Liv.” Demi gestured to us both. “And they’ve clearly never seen a dragon.”
Demi and Sage both laughed as Liv and I closed our open mouths and shook ourselves from our stupor.
“Sorry. It’s nice to meet you.” I giggled nervously and faced the girl, really taking her in. I’d seen pictures of the troll people but never one in person. She had long brown hair tied into a braid at her back. The tusks that stuck out of her cheeks were tiny compared to the male trolls I’d seen in photos, and there was something beautiful about her that I couldn’t explain. She smiled at me kindly and placed a fist over her chest. “Well met, Aspen.”
I just nodded, unsure what the customs of her people were.
“Hey.” Liv waved awkwardly, and Marmal gave her the same greeting, fist over chest.
“So, we need your help, Marmal.” Demi held out her hand in my direction. “Papers,” she whispered to me.
Right.I was still shocked at the freaking dragon!
I reached into my pocket and unfolded the papers about ourbreeders. I’d left the note from Sterling behind. That felt too private to share with a complete stranger.
Demi handed it to the girl and I wondered how some troll woman would know anything about this—until she started to read it and the color drained from her face.
“Did you see anything like this in your year with the fey? It reminds me of the stuff Trip did with Pearl,” Demi added.
I wondered what her year with the fey entailed and what had happened to Pearl, and who Trip was, but kept my mouth shut.
Marmal looked over at me and Liv, her eyes clouding with darkness. “This is about you? These are your names?” There was compassion in her voice, and I nodded.
“We thought we were fully human until a few days ago.” I could feel my cheeks redden. It still felt weird to say that.
Marmal sighed, handing the paper back to Demi, and looked me right in the eyes. “There is a baby farm deep in Dark Fey Territory. I haven’t seen it, but I heard about it during my time there. I could probably find it based on the description of the mountains and waterways.”
“BABY FARM?” Liv screeched, saying what I was thinking.
