“Thank you. But are there specific threats I should be aware of?”
He paused again, and just when Emily had resigned herself to strained silence, he replied, “There’s talk of some dragon hunter sightings about twenty or so miles from here. As long as you’re on Seahaven, you should be fine. Just make sure not to wander off alone.”
Maybe it was because she was tired, but something about his tone sparked her temper. “Thank goodness you told me to be careful. I must’ve only made it to thirty by chance.”
As soon as she said it, she slapped a hand over her mouth. What the bloody hell had come over her?
She was about to apologize when Cam glanced at her with flashing dragon eyes and then back ahead. “I warn everyone. Keeping silent gets people killed, especially for those not from around here.”
His brusque tone made her apology die on her tongue. Was Cam trying to provoke her on purpose? Or did he really just have such a low opinion of her, or maybe of all outsiders?
Granted, his family had been exiled, and that had obviously affected them all. But Emily had dedicated her life to helping dragon-shifters, even when it meant losing her own family.
But she wasn’t going to lash out or let him provoke her again. It was better to be superficially polite and go about her tasks.
A larger cottage than the previous one came into view. It looked like a small inn or bed-and-breakfast, or maybe even a tiny block of flats.
Going from Cardiff to Stonefire had been an adjustment, but Seahaven was even more remote. She hoped she could handle it.
He stopped at the front door and knocked. A woman with black hair and light brown skin opened it, smiling at Cam as she said, “You took long enough!” She put out a hand to Emily. “Hello, I’m Kaya MacKay. We’re not only flatmates, but we’ll be working at the surgery together, too. I’ve been dying to meet you, and I’m so glad you’ve come.”
She shook the dragonwoman’s hand. “Nice to meet you. I’m Emily.”
Kaya replied, “You look exhausted, aye? Come on, I’ll show you to your room and we can chat more in the morning. Cam, follow us with her suitcase.”
And before Emily knew it, she was inside a large bedroom with an attached bath. The rest blurred as Kaya dismissed Cam, helped her get ready for bed, and then Emily’s head hit the pillow.
As she drifted off, she dreamed of Cam not only catching her when she’d stumbled, but then he’d scooped her into his arms and carried her off to his place.
Which she thankfully forgot all about when she woke up again.
Chapter Three
The next morning, Emily woke up to light filtering through the curtains, and she frowned before checking her phone.
Crap.She’d overslept. Dr. Keith’s clinic opened at nine, and it was already nine-thirty. She rushed to get ready and flew down the stairs. She reached the door before a male voice said, “You must be Emily.”
She shrieked and turned around to see two dragonmen who looked like mirror copies of each other, with pale skin, brown hair and brown eyes. Was she still half-asleep?
One of them chuckled before saying, “Aye, we’re identical twins. But I’m not your flatmate, my brother Roman is. I’m Ross Baillie, and sadly, I’m happily mated already. Roman here is trying to catch up to his younger brother.”
Roman sighed. “You are younger by about ten minutes.”
“Two hundred years ago, that ten minutes would’ve made a massive difference.”
“But it’s not two hundred years ago, and we’re not royalty or some such shite.”
“There used to be dragon royalty, so don’t slag off the likes of Queen Alviva.”
As the two argued about dragon-shifter history, Emily blinked. Was everyone on Seahaven so outrageous with strangers?
She cleared her throat, but they didn’t hear her. So she clapped her hands until she had their undivided attention and said, “Yes, I’m Emily. But I’m late, so we’ll have to postpone our little chat for later.”
“Oh, Daniel won’t mind. He has a young son and is often a wee bit late himself,” the dragonman she believed to be Ross said.
The other one came forward and made a shooing motion. “As your new flatmate—I’m Roman, if you lost track, as most do—I’m kicking you out to go to work.” He lowered his voice dramatically. “It’s the only way to escape Ross’s blathering.”
“I heard that.”
