Page 56 of Her Silent Knight

Chapter Fifteen

FINALLY, HE WAS HOME.

It took longer than expected to arrive at the village outside his compound. He’d had to stop every few miles to reposition his mate on his back and keep her from sliding off. His arrival in the village caused an uproar.

This was the first time many of them had seen a dragon. None of them had ever seen him in his dragon form. For the first time ever, he was glad to see Rhen. When Kaede landed, the vamp strode over to him and held up a sheet in front of him.

“I told you,” Rhen yelled to the onlookers behind him. “Your boy found his mate and he can shift now.”

That hadn’t been Rhen’s news to spread. Kaede roared, causing the villagers to look even more afraid.

“Down boy. You’re scaring your friends.”

“You’re the one we’re scared of,” Silvia, an elderly snake shifter yelled. “If that’s really Kaede, we know he’d never hurt us, no matter what form he’s in. It’s you we don’t trust. Kaede, if that’s you, reveal yourself.”

Rhen rolled his eyes. “If I wasn’t here with this sheet, you guys would be seeing a naked Kaede in a few minutes. Trust me, none of you want to see that.”

“I do,” Jenna, a succubus from the village, chimed in.

“Calm down,” Rhen told her. “Kaede has a mate now.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Smiling, Jen twirled a strand of her long red hair.

“Shift, Kaede,” Rhen insisted. “I’m tired of holding this damn sheet up.”

He hadn’t wanted to shift in front of the entire village. It seemed he had no choice. Kaede knelt down and curled his wing behind him until he felt his mate.

“Want me to get her...”

Kaede roared.

“It’ll be easier if I get her,” Rhen insisted. “I know she’s yours. I got it.”

Kaede sighed, causing smoke to unfurl from his nostrils. The kids of the village giggled.

“Is that a dragon smile on your face?”

Kaede glared at Rhen.

“Okay. It’s not a dragon smile. Use your wing to push her my way. And don’t hit me with it.”

Tempting as it was, Kaede didn’t hit him. He was actually thankful for Rhen’s presence. Not only had the vampire had enough sense to request a sheet from the villagers, he was also offering to help him lower down his treasure.

It was a good thing he hadn’t burned the bastard alive. Whether he did so in the future or not was yet to be seen. Once Rhen had Kaede’s mate safely in his arms, Kaede jerked his head toward the villagers.

“You want me to go? Over there?” Rhen asked. After Kaede jerked his head again, Rhen told him, “I don’t speak dragon sign language. I didn’t even know that was a thing.”

Idiot! Kaede roared.

Silvia spoke up for him. “He probably wants you to bring her to us. Hand her here.”

“You should’ve just said so.” Rhen winked at him.

Bastard. Kaede didn’t start to shift back until his mate was safely in Silvia’s arms. The old woman may be up in age, but she was strong. Though she was immortal, her kind never stopped aging.

The good thing about them was they literally shed their skin like a snake. They did so every eighty years. In about a year or so, Silvia would leave them for three months and go deep within the Frozen Forest, where she would shed her skin and return as a younger version of herself.

“I’ve got her,” Silvia told him. “Go on and shift.”