“True.However, I will have to talk about Tiamat.”He grimaced.
“Unpleasant, but necessary if you’re going to make them understand some of what they believe is delusional fantasy and not true dragon lore.”I’d had a chance to read the dossiers on the baby dragons, which included their belief their kind were meant to rule the world.“Even if they don’t listen, at least you’ll know you tried.”
“If I weren’t worried about Nessie’s safety, I’d invite them to visit the loch so she could be there to ease the awkwardness.Other than her stint while being possessed, she’s always been nicer and more approachable than me.”
“Pity she can’t travel.”
“Says who?I could technically carry her in a sling,” Alistair suggested.
It led to me snorting.“Can you imagine the posts on social media if you were caught hoisting her on video?Not to mention, we Scots might just revolt if you try and steal our beloved Nessie.”
The comment made him laugh.“Maybe bringing her isn’t feasible, but perhaps once I meet the dragonlings and discern whether or not they pose a danger, they can be convinced to visit.After all, she is their aunt.”
“I know she would dearly love that.So are you going to do it then?”
“I can’t exactly ignore them forever.”
“No, you can’t.So when do we leave?”
“We?”
“As if I’d let you go alone.”
“I will not put you in danger.We don’t know how they’ll react to my presence or those accompanying me.”
“How about a compromise then?We head out together, but you leave me in a nice hotel while you visit the babies.”Left unsaid, I’d be nearby and ready with a hug in case things didn’t go well.
“Deal.”
“You agreed to that too easily,” I replied with suspicion.
“Who knows what trouble you’d get into if left alone in the castle?You’d probably find some other ancient secret or curse.Not to mention, the thought of you, waiting for me naked in a hotel bed…”
“Who says I’ll be naked?”was my coy riposte.
“Leave your garments on.I do love peeling them from your body,” he said with a naughty smile.
Not long after that discussion, we set off on an adventure.Me ensconced in a cozy aerial gondola that Oliver managed to source at great expense.Alistair held the cozy cabin that usually transported skiers up steep and snow mountains by the loop specially welded to its top.Inside, I had snacks, blankets, a portable heater with extra batteries, and with my charged laptop, I spent the flight over the ocean working on my resignation letter for the university.Would I miss the university?Yes, but given my change in circumstances, I had no choice.
I’d be forging a new path that involved researching important events and figures of the past while enjoying the present with my very own hero.
I couldn’t wait for the story of the Scottish damsel and her dragon lord.
Epilogue
Abaddon foundhimself restless and ended up outside under the full moon.He couldn’t have said what bothered, and at the same time, he had a list.
Malone remained missing, and it bothered because the doctor surely plotted his demise.
He’d yet to figure out how to visit any of the other hatchlings.Leo had been looking into purchasing a used aircraft carrier, but even if acquired, the problem would be how to get Abaddon to the airstrip and on board without being noticed.
Flying remained too dangerous, despite the fact Pip had managed to fabricate a harness that held a radar scrambler.However, as predicted, on the test flights, the battery for it failed too quickly.
Then there was the nagging sense that his knowledge was incomplete.That there were things about the dragons and their past that he should know.Important things.He blamed the dreams he’d been having recently for that newest worry.One in particular kept repeating.A dragon of the darkest red scales, who slept soundly, too soundly, and didn’t wake when a human stabbed her through the eye into the brain.The dream—nightmare—always ended in a blast of fire that woke.He’d had that one too many times to count, and yet the more disturbing one, which woke him with shivers, was simply an aerial view of a snowy mountain.That was it.A big hump of snow and ice that, for some reason, filled him with terror.
A noise he knew all too well tilted his head to the sky.The sound of wings beating, and yet he saw nothing as a confusing morass of darkness descended and coalesced into a dragon.
Abaddon blinked at the sight of the massive male with the mirror-like scales.He lacked horns and yet oozed a presence that led to Abaddon straightening his back and hissing, “You dare come to my territory without invitation, stranger.”
