Read Online Dragos Takes A Holiday [6.50] Elder Races by Thea Harrison - Free Book Online Page A

he was so determined she could barely hold on to him.
    Thank God they were flying over the water. She thought of hitting the surface at the speed they were going. It might hurt, but at this height, it wouldn’t kill her. It would help if she controlled her fall and hit the surface in a dive.
    “Okay,” she said. “Ready?”
    “Yes.”
    She let go of Liam. He pulled free from the carrier, balanced on her shoulders and launched into the air. Heart in her throat, she watched as he flapped his wings enthusiastically and…
    Plummeted in an ungainly spiral.
    “Watch out, he’s falling!” she shouted.
    Fear clutched her. Strong though he might be, he was still a baby. She might survive if she hit the water, but the fall could kill him.
    Quick as a cat, Dragos twisted and snatched him out of the air. “Got him.”
    “Jesus wept.” She hunched over Dragos’s neck, leaning on one hand. “That sight aged me twenty years.”
    Dragos wheeled and flew back to shore. When he landed, he knelt so Pia could slide to the ground. She managed to do so without falling, which was a major feat since her legs were shaking so badly. She walked around to face him.
    He held the small, white dragon in one cupped paw. As she joined them, he turned his paw upward and opened his talons. Liam leaped and flapped his wings madly, and fell in a sprawl on the beach. He rolled to his feet and crouched to spring into the air again.
    Dragos put a paw on him. “ NO .”
    Liam froze.
    Dragos picked him up, held him between two talons and regarded him. The small, white dragon hung meekly limp in his grasp.
    Dragos offered Liam to Pia, who gathered him in her arms. Suddenly sitting down seemed like a good idea. She plopped on the sand, crossed her legs and cuddled the baby. Liam rested his head on her shoulder, his expression thoughtful.
    Dragos’s Wyr form disappeared as he shapeshifted. Glancing quickly along the deserted beach, he walked over to kneel beside her and they both contemplated the graceful white form of their son.
    Uncertainty chewed at Pia. She angled her head up to Dragos. “Are we terrible parents? I mean, who takes their baby up in the air like that?”
    “We’re excellent parents. What we did was natural and normal. Avian Wyr take their babies in the air all the time.”
    He sounded so sensible. She tried to calm down. “My heart almost stopped when I watched him fall.”
    “He was never in any danger.” Dragos looked deeply into her eyes. “Neither were you. If you had fallen with him, I would have caught you too. This wasn’t any different than me tossing him in the air and catching him in the living room. You just got scared. That’s all.”
    She put her cheek down on top of the white dragon’s head. “Avian Wyr really do that?”
    “Yes, they do.” He rubbed her back, his touch slow and soothing. “In fact, falling is part of learning to fly. Clearly Liam and I will need to go out and do some practicing. You’re welcome to come up with us if you want.”
    “No, thanks. I think I’ll stay on the ground for those lessons.” She shook her head and rubbed the back of her neck. “He’s going to be able to fly before he’s a year old. We need to get a toddler leash and hire avian nannies.”
    “We will. It’s all right.”
    Gradually her heart stopped its headlong pounding as she listened to him. She considered Dragos’s expression. He was entirely calm. In fact, the only thing he evidenced was mild concern for her.
    She came to the humbling realization that she was the only one who had panicked. “You weren’t bothered in the slightest by what happened, were you?”
    He managed to produce a vaguely apologetic expression. “I’m afraid not.”
    Blowing out a breath, she glanced down at Liam. He lifted his head and smiled at her. Good God, look at those teeth. Baby though he was, with those teeth and razor-sharp talons, Liam could do some serious damage to someone if he had a mind to, yet the only thing he had