Gaspare for confirmation. “Right?”
“Right.” Gaspare nodded and held out his arms in a placating gesture. “It was all a show. I’m sorry I frightened you.”
I was finally able to wrangle my spry granny and wrapped my arms around her middle in an attempt to keep her from murdering my uncle.
“Explain,” Bay gritted, breathing hard as Mother slinked to our sides.
“Yes, explain. Both of you.” She gave me a pointed look. She knew I had something up my sleeve.
Gaspare swallowed hard. “Would you like to go first, or shall I?”
I had the sneaking suspicion he was uncomfortable as the sole focus of three redheaded dragon women.
“Mom, Bay,” I said. “I’m sorry you two were so scared. Gaspare and I were communicating through the whole ‘I’m going to eradicate these women’ ordeal—”
“Eliminate,” Gaspare corrected. “I said eliminate.”
“Okay, ‘eliminate,’ and, well, he’s got some sort of plan. He’s not actually going to kill us. He helped us get away from the vicious mob of assholes back there.”
“Ladies don’t curse, Stella,” my mother cut in, and I rolled my eyes.
“Care to share this plan?” Bay asked in her rolling lilt. Her accent was always stronger when she was upset. She was still rigid with anger, and fear, but with each passing moment, she relaxed a notch. I held out hope she would not smite Gaspare where he stood.
I nodded at Gaspare to go on, for I’d reached the extent of my insider knowledge.
He cleared his throat nervously again, and I worked to hide my smile. Thayer’s Prime Minister, one of the most powerful men I’d met and a talented and rare omni, afraid of a few gingers.
“Despite my hopes to the contrary, it is clear the people of Thayer aren’t ready to accept the existence of dragons with open arms. There may be some who’d be receptive, of course, but public sentiment for the most part would like to see you burn.” He looked up sharply. “Ah, pardon the expression.”
Bay rolled her eyes, but my mother’s face held impatience.
“So, what are you saying?” she snapped.
“What I’m saying is perhaps you could make your home here. In Pearl.”
Gaspare extended his arm, drawing our gazes from our immediate surroundings. We’d been so unnerved we hadn’t looked beyond one another.
I followed the direction of his hand and discovered with a start that we stood at the top of a steep cliff. The rocky drop ended in turquoise waters so clear the rich coral of a nearby reef was visible hundreds of yards away.
To our right, the landmass extended for miles along steep, rocky cliffs that disappeared beneath the aqua water. Small, sandy beaches littered the place, as did tropical trees and other, brightly hued plant life. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and the four of us stood silent, taking it all in as the salty air whipped around us from our elevated perch.
Beneath our feet, the fragrant yellow flowers led from the ocean to an enormous caldera, a bowl-like pit formed by the deflating of an ancient volcano. Any lava long since gone, the caldera was lush and green and had several big lakes. The green expanse was stunning and ended at a cliff like the one we stood atop, the ocean resurfacing again behind the rocky wall.
“It’s an island,” I said.
“An archipelago, actually—several islands. This one’s the largest. From far away, it looks like a small mountain. Nothing special. But once you’re inside, this.” He motioned toward the green expanse.
Having absorbed the very big picture, I began to notice details. Distinct rows of farmland covered mounded plateaus in the center of the bowl. The gray brown roofs of white-, yellow- and salmon-colored houses collected around the largest lake. A sliver of smoke rose from what looked like an open-air market in the distance.
“It’s inhabited,” I breathed. “By whom?”
Gaspare’s slow smile went all the way to his eyes, which relayed love, peace, and joy.
Chapter
“Right.” Gaspare nodded and held out his arms in a placating gesture. “It was all a show. I’m sorry I frightened you.”
I was finally able to wrangle my spry granny and wrapped my arms around her middle in an attempt to keep her from murdering my uncle.
“Explain,” Bay gritted, breathing hard as Mother slinked to our sides.
“Yes, explain. Both of you.” She gave me a pointed look. She knew I had something up my sleeve.
Gaspare swallowed hard. “Would you like to go first, or shall I?”
I had the sneaking suspicion he was uncomfortable as the sole focus of three redheaded dragon women.
“Mom, Bay,” I said. “I’m sorry you two were so scared. Gaspare and I were communicating through the whole ‘I’m going to eradicate these women’ ordeal—”
“Eliminate,” Gaspare corrected. “I said eliminate.”
“Okay, ‘eliminate,’ and, well, he’s got some sort of plan. He’s not actually going to kill us. He helped us get away from the vicious mob of assholes back there.”
“Ladies don’t curse, Stella,” my mother cut in, and I rolled my eyes.
“Care to share this plan?” Bay asked in her rolling lilt. Her accent was always stronger when she was upset. She was still rigid with anger, and fear, but with each passing moment, she relaxed a notch. I held out hope she would not smite Gaspare where he stood.
I nodded at Gaspare to go on, for I’d reached the extent of my insider knowledge.
He cleared his throat nervously again, and I worked to hide my smile. Thayer’s Prime Minister, one of the most powerful men I’d met and a talented and rare omni, afraid of a few gingers.
“Despite my hopes to the contrary, it is clear the people of Thayer aren’t ready to accept the existence of dragons with open arms. There may be some who’d be receptive, of course, but public sentiment for the most part would like to see you burn.” He looked up sharply. “Ah, pardon the expression.”
Bay rolled her eyes, but my mother’s face held impatience.
“So, what are you saying?” she snapped.
“What I’m saying is perhaps you could make your home here. In Pearl.”
Gaspare extended his arm, drawing our gazes from our immediate surroundings. We’d been so unnerved we hadn’t looked beyond one another.
I followed the direction of his hand and discovered with a start that we stood at the top of a steep cliff. The rocky drop ended in turquoise waters so clear the rich coral of a nearby reef was visible hundreds of yards away.
To our right, the landmass extended for miles along steep, rocky cliffs that disappeared beneath the aqua water. Small, sandy beaches littered the place, as did tropical trees and other, brightly hued plant life. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and the four of us stood silent, taking it all in as the salty air whipped around us from our elevated perch.
Beneath our feet, the fragrant yellow flowers led from the ocean to an enormous caldera, a bowl-like pit formed by the deflating of an ancient volcano. Any lava long since gone, the caldera was lush and green and had several big lakes. The green expanse was stunning and ended at a cliff like the one we stood atop, the ocean resurfacing again behind the rocky wall.
“It’s an island,” I said.
“An archipelago, actually—several islands. This one’s the largest. From far away, it looks like a small mountain. Nothing special. But once you’re inside, this.” He motioned toward the green expanse.
Having absorbed the very big picture, I began to notice details. Distinct rows of farmland covered mounded plateaus in the center of the bowl. The gray brown roofs of white-, yellow- and salmon-colored houses collected around the largest lake. A sliver of smoke rose from what looked like an open-air market in the distance.
“It’s inhabited,” I breathed. “By whom?”
Gaspare’s slow smile went all the way to his eyes, which relayed love, peace, and joy.
Chapter
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