Celia reached for the knapsack she’d made for herself and slung it over her shoulders, then shook her finger at the fire hatchlings.
“No fire,” she said once again, staring firmly at Spark.
The mischievous dragon let out a trill, and she wasn’t sure if that meant yes or no, but she had no choice, so she set off toward town.
With any luck, she’d be back before they wreaked havoc.
The sooner she could get these fire hatchlings out of her house, the better.
Chapter two
Darian
DarianEmberlinstretchedbeforeleaning down to pick up another sack of potatoes, throwing them over his shoulder and transporting them to the cart out back.
“Ready for a good year, are you?”he asked the farmer as he set the last bag down.
“The missus wants me to double the crop this year,” the farmer said, scratching his head, “which means we need more seed potatoes.”
“I’d say you’ve got plenty,” Darian said, holding out his hand as the farmer paid him.He accepted the money, counted it to make sure it was all there, nodded his head, and said, “Thank you for your order,” before heading back inside.
Uncle Amos nodded at him as he put the money in the till.“Nice work,” he said, clapping Darian on the shoulder.
Darian winced at the pain shooting down his spine.Uncle Amos had a strong grip, and Darian had lifted far too many potatoes.
“Thank you,” Darian said, stepping to the side as Uncle Bram joined them.
“I heard you want some more potatoes to carry,” his uncle said with a grin.
Darian shuddered.“No, thank you.I’ve carried enough potatoes to last me a lifetime.”
“Fortunately for you, you get to spend the rest of your lifetime running this store,” Uncle Amos said.
“And I am sure I’ll enjoy it,” Darian said with a quiet smile.
Running a general store for the rest of his life was not what he’d always thought he would do, but his mother’s brothers had raised him, and he owed them everything.
The general store was far too important to the region to let it die, and he couldn’t lose their legacy.
Uncle Amos turned to help the next customer, and Darian looked around at the mostly empty store.
“I’m going to take my lunch break,” Darian said to Uncle Bram, who nodded as Darian slipped out from behind the counter to head out the front door.Normally, he brought his lunch, but he had forgotten it today after oversleeping and needing to rush in to work.
Before he could get to the front door, he heard a squeaking noise.
Uh oh.Had the rats come back?He’d thought they’d have more time to replace their mouser after losing him to old age.He turned on his heel, making his way closer to the sound, and as he made his way around the corner of the freestanding shelf that ran down the length of the store, he nearly ran into a woman with a basket on her arm and a knapsack in her hands.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said, turning to go around her before he realized the squeaking was coming from her basket.
He looked down at it, then back up at her.The tips of her ears turned pink.
“What do you have here?”he asked curiously, reaching out and uncovering the basket.
She moved her hand as if to stop him, but before she could get to him, he froze—the shawl covering the basket had moved just enough for him to see that it was not a kitten in the basket, or a puppy, or even some chicks.
What was in the basket could only be described as a baby dragon.
He opened his eyes wide, looking around to make sure no one else had spotted him, then reached for the woman’s hand and pulled her through the closest door—the supply closet.
