Noah tried to reason with the dragon, “ Kara has her food. This is our food.”
Byrd looked over the meal laid out before him. “ Our food?”
“Yes. Our food.” Noah looked up at Kara. “ Kara has plenty of food. In fact, she’s almost done. If we don’t hurry, she’ll be done before we are.”
Byrd looked over the dwindling meal on the other side of the table. Tentatively, he moved to take one of the hash browns Noah had ordered. When Kara didn’t stop him, he chomped it down.
“See? She isn’t going to keep you from your food. She has enough.” Noah coaxed him into taking more of the meal.
Giving in to his grumbling belly, Byrd scarfed down the rest of his fare without complaint.
Noah mentally shook his head and relaxed, thinking about the dragon. Last night, there had been no stopping Byrd from taking what he wanted, but today it took coaxing to get him to eat. Something had changed in the dragon, but Noah wasn’t sure what.
***
It was a beautiful morning for a picnic. The sky was clear with just enough of a breeze to keep the bugs at bay. The shade of the tall pine trees made the table Kara had picked the perfect place to eat. She loved to come out here and watch the ducks in the distant pond float around, but today, she didn’t notice them. Her mind was trained on the small dragon following her to the picnic table.
The heavy traffic had kept her from more than a quick glance at him while she drove, but she couldn’t help but feel something significant had happened in the car. His sudden outburst had startled her. It also seemed to have startled him. And the order he’d given hadn’t seemed like the same excited dragon she was getting used to. It had been serious and almost surly.
Was Noah a surly person? Kara didn’t know much about Noah, only that he was a high-level mage with Eternity, and that he had been human before joining with Byrd. Images of an elderly man with white hair, siting in some dank vault and pouring over ancient tomes of magic, filled her mind.
She shook the thought away as preposterous. Eternity would never allow such valuable books to rot away in some damp dungeon. If anything, they were kept in a state-of-the-art facility with climate-controlled rooms and special lighting to keep them safe and whole. But the possibility of Noah being an aged man with white hair was more than slim. Noah wasn’t a very common name in younger generations, and the most powerful mages had spent the better part of their lives perfecting their arts. Plus, the magic would have bleached the pigment from him. Why it bleached the color from humans but not dragons still puzzled scientists and mages alike.
Pushing that line of thought away, she peeled the paper around Byrd’s sandwich back and laid it on the table. “There you go, sweetheart. All yours.” Looking back, she checked the bench before sitting down and starting in on her own food.
Picking up her sandwich, she bit into it. The sweetness of the croissant was the perfect contrast to the sharpness of the Swiss cheese and ham inside. It was one of her favorite breakfast foods. She closed her eyes and savored that first bite before getting down to the business of really eating. With the ravenous appetite Byrd had shown last night, she was going to have to hurry if she had any hope of keeping up with him.
Glancing at the dragon, she was surprised to find him watching her, his meal untouched. A note of concern tightened Kara’s chest, but she forced herself to continue eating. The fact that Byrd hadn’t dug into his food right away worried her. He had been so excited about it in the car. Her dragon supplied her with a single thought.
“Brooding.”
Kara shook her head and nibbled at her food. “ He can’t be brooding,” she argued back. Brooding was bad. It would throw his system out of whack, making it harder for his two halves to connect. Plus, it meant that he saw her as a potential mate. She didn’t want a
Byrd looked over the meal laid out before him. “ Our food?”
“Yes. Our food.” Noah looked up at Kara. “ Kara has plenty of food. In fact, she’s almost done. If we don’t hurry, she’ll be done before we are.”
Byrd looked over the dwindling meal on the other side of the table. Tentatively, he moved to take one of the hash browns Noah had ordered. When Kara didn’t stop him, he chomped it down.
“See? She isn’t going to keep you from your food. She has enough.” Noah coaxed him into taking more of the meal.
Giving in to his grumbling belly, Byrd scarfed down the rest of his fare without complaint.
Noah mentally shook his head and relaxed, thinking about the dragon. Last night, there had been no stopping Byrd from taking what he wanted, but today it took coaxing to get him to eat. Something had changed in the dragon, but Noah wasn’t sure what.
***
It was a beautiful morning for a picnic. The sky was clear with just enough of a breeze to keep the bugs at bay. The shade of the tall pine trees made the table Kara had picked the perfect place to eat. She loved to come out here and watch the ducks in the distant pond float around, but today, she didn’t notice them. Her mind was trained on the small dragon following her to the picnic table.
The heavy traffic had kept her from more than a quick glance at him while she drove, but she couldn’t help but feel something significant had happened in the car. His sudden outburst had startled her. It also seemed to have startled him. And the order he’d given hadn’t seemed like the same excited dragon she was getting used to. It had been serious and almost surly.
Was Noah a surly person? Kara didn’t know much about Noah, only that he was a high-level mage with Eternity, and that he had been human before joining with Byrd. Images of an elderly man with white hair, siting in some dank vault and pouring over ancient tomes of magic, filled her mind.
She shook the thought away as preposterous. Eternity would never allow such valuable books to rot away in some damp dungeon. If anything, they were kept in a state-of-the-art facility with climate-controlled rooms and special lighting to keep them safe and whole. But the possibility of Noah being an aged man with white hair was more than slim. Noah wasn’t a very common name in younger generations, and the most powerful mages had spent the better part of their lives perfecting their arts. Plus, the magic would have bleached the pigment from him. Why it bleached the color from humans but not dragons still puzzled scientists and mages alike.
Pushing that line of thought away, she peeled the paper around Byrd’s sandwich back and laid it on the table. “There you go, sweetheart. All yours.” Looking back, she checked the bench before sitting down and starting in on her own food.
Picking up her sandwich, she bit into it. The sweetness of the croissant was the perfect contrast to the sharpness of the Swiss cheese and ham inside. It was one of her favorite breakfast foods. She closed her eyes and savored that first bite before getting down to the business of really eating. With the ravenous appetite Byrd had shown last night, she was going to have to hurry if she had any hope of keeping up with him.
Glancing at the dragon, she was surprised to find him watching her, his meal untouched. A note of concern tightened Kara’s chest, but she forced herself to continue eating. The fact that Byrd hadn’t dug into his food right away worried her. He had been so excited about it in the car. Her dragon supplied her with a single thought.
“Brooding.”
Kara shook her head and nibbled at her food. “ He can’t be brooding,” she argued back. Brooding was bad. It would throw his system out of whack, making it harder for his two halves to connect. Plus, it meant that he saw her as a potential mate. She didn’t want a
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