Dragon Wish by Judith Leger Read Free Book Online

spoke
    again, forcing him to pay attention to her words.
    “You said the dragons were the ones who opened the
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    door. I need to see them. Can you tell me how?” She started
    then stopped with a shake of her head. “No, that’s not right.
    Can you take me to them?”
    Her gaze sought his and she hesitated a moment before
    she continued. “If you go, maybe they’ll listen to you more
    than me. Then they’ll send me home. To Earth.”
    Had she practiced her words before she came to meet
    him? Tilting his chair toward the wall behind him, he draped
    an arm over the back. “No, I cannot. No one goes to see the
    dragons unannounced. A request must go out across Avaris
    to the great clan leaders. If they agree to meet with us, a
    gathering will then take place.”
    Silence passed between them for several moments. She
    opened her mouth then shut it. He watched her internal
    battle pass over her features. After a few moment of
    consideration, she found the strength to speak.
    “Fine. Tell me how to send the requests. They have to
    listen to me.”
    He glanced at the rough surface of the table, trying to
    think of a way to make her understand. Taking a breath, he
    said, “No matter what you and I desire, I believe the dragons
    opened the portal for a reason. They want something from
    you, and possibly, me. I care little for their manipulations,
    but there is nothing I can do to fix this without their help.”
    Taking a chance, he covered her hands with his before
    continued. “I deeply regret bringing you here. For now, we
    will travel to the land of Bae to visit the other off-worlder.
    Perhaps there, we will learn of another way you might return
    home.”
    She released a shuddering sigh. Her body sagged as a
    small smile passed over her lips. “Thank you.”
    Under his palm, he felt what had to be relief surge
    through her body, making the blood race in her veins. It
    spiraled to end at the base of her belly, reminding him, even
    verifying what he’d sensed earlier. He had never been a man
    to keep silent if another needed important information. She
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    needed to know this, now, not later. Still, he hesitated for a
    moment before he spoke.
    Paladin cleared his throat, turned away from her for a
    moment, glanced around the room, cleared his throat again,
    then turned back and met her eyes directly and spoke
    bluntly. “You carry my child.”
    She flinched at his words and shook her head in denial.
    He tightened his hold on her hand.
    “You do. I could sense it when you came downstairs. The
    child’s dragon blood cries out to his sire,” he explained. With
    disbelief radiating from her eyes, she seemed unable to
    comprehend what he spoke of.
    She slipped her hand from beneath his. Fisting it, she hid
    it on the other side of her body, her arm formed a protective
    barrier across her stomach. He focused on her abdomen. Yes,
    a slight flicker. He still sensed it there, growing stronger with
    each passing second.
    She glared at him. “There isn’t any way you can tell if I’m
    pregnant. It’ll take weeks before my body will start showing
    signs.”
    He half-smiled. Her ignorance of his world made it
    difficult to explain things like this. “If the child was pure
    human, yes, but this babe carries the white dragon blood in
    its veins. A male child.”
    Seren opened her mouth to speak, but Alice appeared.
    She dropped a platter on the table.
    “’ere ye go. Fresh cooked.” Sliding the plate filled with
    fluffy eggs topped with plump sausages toward Seren, she
    grinned and winked at Paladin before flouncing away.
    Grateful for the interruption, Paladin lifted his tankard.
    He kept an eye on Seren. She gulped, took a deep breath, and
    then picked up the tine. She frowned at it, shrugged and
    stuck the two-pronged, metal implement into the eggs.
    One small bite and she glanced at him. “Needs a little
    salt.”
    “Salt?”
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    “It’s a seasoning,” she said.
    He tilted his