Read Online Demand of the Dragon by Kristin Miller - Free Book Online Page A

her dragon.
    Pride, and something a little hotter, flashed through Caleb’s
veins, making him want to grab more than Lucy’s hand. He stood by her side, a
little taller than before.
    “Why’d you come here?” Emerly asked, bobbing in time with the
waves. Her voice was sweet. Innocent, with a seductive husk.
    “I have reason to think Tristan is alive,” Lucy said. “That he
might’ve emerged from the portal inside these cliffs.”
    Emerly eyed Lucy carefully, as if she was judging the sincerity
of her words.
    “There’s something I want to show you.” Emerly smiled, her
cocoa-brown eyes hiding a delicious secret. “Follow me, and stay close.”
    Emerly spun and dived headfirst into the waves. Her
violet-tinted tail slapped the water before she disappeared completely.
    What the hell ?
    “Follow her where?” Caleb asked, staring at the streams of
purple fading into the blue.
    “Into the sea.”
    Lucy’s sapphire eyes lit up, without a single twinge of fear.
He admired the way she threw caution to the wind. He loved the boldness of her
spirit, the way she dived into dangerous situations headfirst and unafraid. She
was more of a fighter than she knew.
    Watching Lucy stomp into the water and dive in headfirst, Caleb
realized that he wasn’t falling in love with Lucy. He was there already.
    They had to find Tristan. Had to .
    Hoping he’d be able to tell Lucy that he loved her before she
had to claim someone else, Caleb followed her into the sea.
    * * *
    Lucy kicked hard. Her arms windmilled as quickly as she
could propel them. Thanks to the white light of the moon blanketing the water,
Lucy and Caleb could see the swish of Emerly’s tail with crystal clarity. All
they had to do was follow the streams of light flowing behind her, and they’d be
all right.
    Merfolk emitted waves of ultraviolet light from their tales
that resembled the aurora borealis, and as Emerly swam through the water,
rippling her lanky body ahead of them, Lucy could’ve sworn she painted the water
purple.
    It was more beautiful than she remembered.
    Looking back, Lucy spotted Caleb. He seemed to be a strong
swimmer, pushing through the water with effortless strokes that ate up the
distance between them.
    When they reached the end of the cliff, far out to sea, Emerly
banked left, curving around the edge. Lucy followed, Caleb swimming in her wake.
The cliff stretched on for miles without a single beach in sight.
    They were so far out to sea that if Lucy or Caleb tired, or if
something happened to them, there’d be no way to make it back. Lucy may’ve
remembered Emerly’s beauty, but she sure as hell didn’t remember the cave being
this far removed from the beach.
    How had she made the swim as a teenager? She was weaker, then.
Crabbier, too. She would’ve turned back by now.
    “How much farther?” Caleb said between labored strokes.
    Lucy sucked in a deep breath. The cliffs had weathered and
changed in the years since she’d been here and high tide had rolled in, hiding
the marks in the rocks. “I’m not sure.”
    Emerly answered for her. The violet light surged toward the
cliff, and when they reached its slanted face, Emerly surfaced up to her
shoulders.
    “You’re slower than I recall,” she said when Lucy arrived at
her side, a few breathless strokes later.
    “I think you’ve just gotten faster.”
    Emerly shrugged as a hefty wave splashed against the cliff.
“Could be.”
    “Let’s get to it.” Caleb treaded water beside them. “Where’s
this cave I’ve heard so much about?”
    Emerly studied Caleb carefully. “How do I know you’re not going
to squeal about this to your dragon friends?”
    “Told you she’d want something in return,” Caleb said to Lucy.
“Did you bring the satchel?”
    “I left it in the bag at the beach.”
    “Damn it.”
    “If you let me have that medallion around your neck,” Emerly
said, “I’ll consider your word good as gold.”
    “Tristan’s medallion?” If Lucy wasn’t