Chapter Twenty-Two

Josef

Using the early morningsun as his guide, Josef paddled out to sea. The laborious task was made easier by the steady current at his back, the elements obeying his command to push him toward deep waters. He slowed his rowing at the first signs the monster was nearby. Beneath the pale moonlight, the sea began to change. Fish migrated to the surface, splashing and jumping across his bow as they made their escape. Then the water began to bubble and swirl, tossing his small vessel from side to side until he was in danger of capsizing. The creature's massive head appeared, followed by two teardrop-shaped, inky eyes. She rose like a tower jutting from the sea, her tendrils fanning out around him.

Josef swallowed as he arched back and looked up at Graechen. Though the giant had always been gentle, the sight of her still unnerved him.

You are not abed, Josef,she spoke to him in thought. Do not tell me you bring bad tidings.

He sat up on his knees, while his shins creaked and ached against the hard surface of the wooden seat. "Why have you brought these dragons to my shore?"

The creature's black eyes revealed no emotion. Because they need you, Josef, as much as you need them.

Of that, Josef wasn't so sure. Though he was grateful for the way the dragon queen had worked tirelessly to heal his grandson, Pedro, after he'd been mauled by a shark, Josef feared he owed her his soul. In return for his grandson's life, Josef was supposed to sever the bond between the dragon and her mate. The severance of souls required dark magic. A dangerous magic. The dragoness knew this, yet she was willing to risk many lives to see it through.

And then there was the matter of his other grandson, Gabriel, who'd eloped with the dragon queen's only child. Josef feared the queen would make good on her promise of revenge. And then what? How could he protect his grandson from a dragon's wrath?

He fixed Graechen with a pointed stare. "Gabriel has flown away with the girl."

Graechen made several strange sounds, a mixture of the low groans of a whale and the squeals of playful dolphins. They have mated?

He swallowed. "I fear so."

Then she is a girl no more.

Though Josef knew his grandson loved the girl, he worried it would not be enough to appease her mother, the queen. "Fiona promises retribution."

Graechen made an odd gurgling noise that sounded like laughter. As well he should be punished for stealing away her daughter.

"Graechen," he cried. "She will kill him." Josef wouldn't be able to live with the guilt of failing to protect yet another loved one.

Graechen's inky eyes narrowed. A dragon's smoke does not always precede fire. She would have to kill Safina to get to Gabriel. Do you think the dragon queen would harm her child?

Josef threw up his hands. "Then she will separate them. Gabriel loves the girl."

Gabriel was wise beyond his years, with a tender, caring heart for all of earth's creatures, and Josef suspected the boy had inherited some of his papí 's elemental magic. For such a kind soul to wander the earth without his mate would be a fate worse than death.

The monster's head sank low in the water until her eyes were level with Josef's. She may try to force Safina back into the shell, though I doubt the princess will listen. Where is the queen now?

After the dragon queen had lamented the loss of her daughter, she'd fallen asleep in Josef's parlor, and neither he nor his grandsons had had the courage to wake her.

"She is resting." Josef nodded to the distant shore behind him. "Pedro was attacked by a shark. Healing him has drained her energy." For that, he was grateful.

Her head sprang up, her pinched mouth turning up in what could have been a smile. Then now is the perfect time.

"Time for what?"

To sing a dragon lullaby.

* * *

Safina

I AWOKE TO THE SUNshining brightly on my face. Nestled in the crook of Gabriel's arm, I sighed contentedly, reluctant to pull away. How odd, I thought, that after five centuries of always waking with my mother nearby, I would now spend each dawn with my mate. I wondered how many days we'd stay in Cuba, our new island home. I prayed Gabriel wouldn't wish to explore the world soon, for leaving my mother had been terrifying enough.

From far off came the sound of male voices, their boisterous conversation carried on the sea breeze. It was an unfamiliar language, possibly that of Gabriel's family. I sat up, rubbing the grit from my eyes.

I shook my mate's shoulder. "Gabriel, wake up."

His eyes fluttered open, twin copper gems dazzling beneath the midday sun. He looked momentarily disoriented before his lips tilted in a slow, languid smile. "Good morning, mi amor." He placed a hand on my thrumming heart. "Amazing. I can still feel you as if our bodies were one."

I grasped his hand and squeezed. "I hear voices."

He bolted upright, searching out the source of the sound. The voices grew louder.

"What are they saying?" I asked.

He held up a silencing palm, looking lost in thought. "They are fishermen, arguing about the size of their catch. I don't think they've seen us yet." He jumped to his feet with surprising ease, brushing sand off his hands before pulling me up. "Come on, get dressed."

I wiped off as best I could before slipping into my clothes. My shift was easy, but the cumbersome skirt clung to my legs like a heavy sack. Removing the grit from between my toes was an impossible task. With a groan, I forced myself to tolerate sand in my socks.

To add to my misery, my feet were unbearably hot in the lace-up boots, but we would have to flee into the neighboring jungle, and the last thing I needed were thorns stuck in my soles. I tied my hair behind my nape as best I could and grabbed Gabriel's hand, letting him lead me into the dense trees. I had no idea where we were heading, and I suspected he didn't either, but it didn't matter so long as we were together.

* * *

Josef

MUCH TO JOSEF'S SURPRISE, the dragon queen slept soundly while his grandsons loaded her into the back of the cart. It was even more surprising when she continued to sleep while Mrs. Jenkens followed them up the stairs, fussing and groaning because Fiona refused to wake, and there was a crowd of sick callers in her parlor. Josef had given Mrs. Jenkens strict orders not to disturb Fiona. He only hoped the old woman obeyed, for the longer the dragon queen slept, the farther Gabriel and Safina could distance themselves from her wrath.

After Mrs. Jenkens had tucked Fiona in bed, Josef brooded over the sleeping queen. Even in sleep, her brow pinched together, and her mouth was drawn. A wave of guilt washed over him, for he knew the mother missed her child.