Read Online Tempting the Dragon by Karen Whiddon - Free Book Online
Authors: Karen Whiddon
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centuries, they’d been alternatively revered and feared, worshipped and hunted.
Now there were so few of them they’d become mysterious. The lake creature that might be real. Or just myth.
Libby no longer cared. After years of doing what she should, she wanted a normal life. With friends and a man.
She wished she could discuss this with Jade. She had, at least inside her head, many times. She could picture how the conversation would go, could see Jade shoving her fingers into her thick silver hair to push it back from her face, and demanding to know why Libby didn’t have those things she claimed to want so badly.
The sad truth was, Libby didn’t know. When she’d been younger, before the illness killed off so many of her kind, she’d fallen in love. More than once. She’d broken hearts and had her own shattered. And then...so many got sick, so many dying, and her father had spirited her away to this small town and ordered her to stay here, away from her own kind, her own people.
“Only until the illness passes,” he said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll come for you then.”
Except he hadn’t. He’d fallen ill, just like a score of others, and she never saw him again.
These days, her aloneness lay gently across her shoulders like a cashmere cloak. She’d long ago stopped wanting more. She even managed to convince herself that she was satisfied—satisfied—with her life.
And then Amber Burnett had asked if her daughter could take over as caretaker. Libby hadn’t hesitated to agree, even though she usually was the one who chose the next Guardian. After her agreement, Jade had visited Libby for the first time alone.
At first, a young Jade had been terrified of her. Libby had felt the pain of that like a knife stabbing in her gut. For the first time in her life, she’d hated being considered a monster. Once, her iridescent scales had been considered beautiful. Now she’d been relegated to a thing, a creature or a beast, lurking in the depths of Forestwood Lake.
That hurt more than she would ever have believed possible.
Over the past nine years, she and Libby had grown close. Her relationship with Jade gave her hope. Of all the Guardians over the years, only Jade treated her like a friend or a relative, rather than a creature to be feared. Originally, when Libby had first arrived in Forestwood, she’d done as her father requested and set the whole Guardian thing up. She’d chosen a Burnett simply because one happened to be hiking out near the lake. At first, the Burnetts had been tasked with protecting her from outsiders and making sure she had everything she needed to survive. She’d even used a bit of her very basic magical skills to ensure they wouldn’t leave, by making her Guardian become ill if she tried to leave Burnett house.
Since then, Libby had become pretty self-sufficient, except for her crippling shyness that kept her from making friends. After all, if she went to town, she looked like everyone else. Half the time, people had no idea she was actually the “lake beast.”
With all of her kind gone, Libby had felt the weight of her aloneness grow heavier. It wasn’t until Jade had taken over that Libby had realized she didn’t have to live as an outsider. She just needed Jade to help her figure out how to make that happen.
* * *
It had been a long day. Rance had seen the panic and condemnation on that kid Lucas’s face. The sickly sort of disbelief on Jade’s. Though he’d itched to photograph everything, document it for posterity, in that particular instance, he knew better. For the first time since starting out on this quest, he’d felt a faint prickle of conscience, as if the teen might be right and he should focus on other things.
Except he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to bring Eve what she’d asked for.
Deliberately forcing his thoughts to other things, Rance remembered the pub he’d seen on the way to Jade’s house. The thought of pub
Now there were so few of them they’d become mysterious. The lake creature that might be real. Or just myth.
Libby no longer cared. After years of doing what she should, she wanted a normal life. With friends and a man.
She wished she could discuss this with Jade. She had, at least inside her head, many times. She could picture how the conversation would go, could see Jade shoving her fingers into her thick silver hair to push it back from her face, and demanding to know why Libby didn’t have those things she claimed to want so badly.
The sad truth was, Libby didn’t know. When she’d been younger, before the illness killed off so many of her kind, she’d fallen in love. More than once. She’d broken hearts and had her own shattered. And then...so many got sick, so many dying, and her father had spirited her away to this small town and ordered her to stay here, away from her own kind, her own people.
“Only until the illness passes,” he said, giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll come for you then.”
Except he hadn’t. He’d fallen ill, just like a score of others, and she never saw him again.
These days, her aloneness lay gently across her shoulders like a cashmere cloak. She’d long ago stopped wanting more. She even managed to convince herself that she was satisfied—satisfied—with her life.
And then Amber Burnett had asked if her daughter could take over as caretaker. Libby hadn’t hesitated to agree, even though she usually was the one who chose the next Guardian. After her agreement, Jade had visited Libby for the first time alone.
At first, a young Jade had been terrified of her. Libby had felt the pain of that like a knife stabbing in her gut. For the first time in her life, she’d hated being considered a monster. Once, her iridescent scales had been considered beautiful. Now she’d been relegated to a thing, a creature or a beast, lurking in the depths of Forestwood Lake.
That hurt more than she would ever have believed possible.
Over the past nine years, she and Libby had grown close. Her relationship with Jade gave her hope. Of all the Guardians over the years, only Jade treated her like a friend or a relative, rather than a creature to be feared. Originally, when Libby had first arrived in Forestwood, she’d done as her father requested and set the whole Guardian thing up. She’d chosen a Burnett simply because one happened to be hiking out near the lake. At first, the Burnetts had been tasked with protecting her from outsiders and making sure she had everything she needed to survive. She’d even used a bit of her very basic magical skills to ensure they wouldn’t leave, by making her Guardian become ill if she tried to leave Burnett house.
Since then, Libby had become pretty self-sufficient, except for her crippling shyness that kept her from making friends. After all, if she went to town, she looked like everyone else. Half the time, people had no idea she was actually the “lake beast.”
With all of her kind gone, Libby had felt the weight of her aloneness grow heavier. It wasn’t until Jade had taken over that Libby had realized she didn’t have to live as an outsider. She just needed Jade to help her figure out how to make that happen.
* * *
It had been a long day. Rance had seen the panic and condemnation on that kid Lucas’s face. The sickly sort of disbelief on Jade’s. Though he’d itched to photograph everything, document it for posterity, in that particular instance, he knew better. For the first time since starting out on this quest, he’d felt a faint prickle of conscience, as if the teen might be right and he should focus on other things.
Except he couldn’t. Not if he wanted to bring Eve what she’d asked for.
Deliberately forcing his thoughts to other things, Rance remembered the pub he’d seen on the way to Jade’s house. The thought of pub
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