To Enchant a Dragon by Amanda Milo Page 0,21
dared to hunt our Titan’s Tears Cove.
Kalos chases the trespasser to the cliffs. The other dragon, a great black Crested Merlin almost the same size as Kalos is, lands heavily on the rocky hillside, and barks, “What has gotten into you?”
He shouts at him like he knows him, and I realize that Kalos has friends and maybe a whole family of his own. A whole family he would probably be proud for me to meet, if I care to dry myself off, grow some legs, and go meet them.
He’s been so good about being here with me and my sisters that I decide if he wants me to meet his family, I will.
Kalos faces off, looking like an angrier twin to the towering serpent he’s cornered, and snarls, “THIS COVE IS MINE.”
“Since when?” the other dragon asks, clearly perplexed.
“Since I took a mate of mermaid kind,” Kalos explains. “There will be no more hunting of mermaids,” he orders.
The other dragon gapes at him. “You mated a mermaid?”
He says it like, You mated a radish?
Kalos glowers at him.
The other dragon holds up one heavily clawed hand. “All right. No more hunting here.”
Kalos grumbles something to him.
“What did he say?” Nerissa asks.
Ianthe says, blinking, “I think he just told him that mermen are still fine to eat.”
My sisters all turn on me.
I gasp, and jump to defend the man I mated. “Kalos wouldn’t eat mermen!”
“Are you sure?” Katiana drawls, her brow raised, clearly not moved by my vehemence. “Because two mermen were sent from the Ice Cove, but they never got here.”
“Then they were stolen by naiads!” I spit. Which is possible. Naiads are pretty little sea women who love mermen. We’ll get back the men they stole, eventually. When the next generation of half-mer, half-naiads are growing in their mother’s bellies.
Kalos brushes me with his nose. He’s not in the water; his big body is leaning out over it, his long neck stretched. “What are you ladies arguing about now?”
I glance over to see that the other dragon is still there, staring at Kalos like he’s lost his mind. I ignore the other dragon and focus on the way my sisters are looking peeved about their mermen accusation. I consider the best way to exonerate Kalos, but Nixie beats me to it, bypassing the careful line of questioning I’d been preparing, and instead blurts an accusing, “Did you crisp two mermen?”
“No,” Kalos says. No hesitation.
I breathe a sigh of relief.
My sisters, though, look upon him with suspicion.
That is, until Kalos calls to the other dragon, “If you’re looking for a mate, I highly recommend a mermaid. I know of a few candidates, if you’re interested.”
My sisters begin fighting each other to get to the shoreline while fascination and horror mingle on the dragon’s face. It’s a total toss-up if he’s going to fly away or get close enough to the edge to get dragged under. If he thinks my sisters aren’t strong enough to take him down, he’s mistaken. Give us a nicely rocking wave, and a tribe of mermaids can capsize a good-sized ship.
I turn from the spectacle and wrap my arms around my own dragon, careful not to stab myself in the elbow with the spikes that sit over each of his nostrils and in the middle of his nose. “Thank you for protecting us.”
Face knocking against my arms as his lower jaw moves as he speaks, Kalos says, “You are my mate, Adella. Your people are now my people. I will always protect you.”
With my sisters’ frustrated screams echoing around the cove as they try to catch the only eligible male in their vicinity (who is backing up but not flying off yet, giving them hope as they try to beach themselves to reach him), I kiss Kalos on the big scale set square between his eyes and vow, “I love you, my dark dragon.”
Nuzzling into my side, Kalos releases a rumbling purr and responds, “I love you more, my maiden of the sea.”
CHAPTER 13
ADELLA
“Why’s he coughing?” Pearl asks, sounding concerned.
“Oh,” I say quickly, “he’s fine. Just leave him to it.” I silently beg Kalos to move further away from the shore.
He doesn’t.
His great midnight-scaled back arches as he heaves. His neck extends with his rough retching spasm, followed by an unsettling choppy cough. And a distinct gagging. Hllllugggh!
“EWW! He’s puking!” Nerissa cries. “It… it looks like a turd! Right on our beach!” She turns to me, horrified. “The first time it rains, it’s going to wash right