To Love a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,44

Arysteon.”

She tugged him down until he was low enough for her to press her mouth to his. She had told him earlier that this was called a kiss. Her lips were warm and yielding, and he slipped his tongue out just in time to taste them.

She was grinning when she dropped her hands from his face and stepped back. “We will set up camp together.”

Serek squealed, slapped his palms over Arysteon’s cheeks, and pressed his open mouth against Arysteon’s face in a slobbery kiss.

Leyloni made no attempt to stifle her laughter, and her grin only widened.

“Thank you, little one,” Arysteon said with a chuckle before returning his full attention to Leyloni. It was hard for him to look away from that amused sparkle in her eyes, that light that somehow eased any worries he might have harbored.

They walked into the clearing and set to work, Arysteon following Leyloni’s directions. They cleared a spot for their fire, gathered whatever dry sticks and kindling they could find, and built a small circle of stones like she had in his lair. Leyloni spread her blanket on the ground nearby.

Serek did his part by sitting patiently in the grass, gnawing on a stick until Leyloni took it from him. His face scrunched up and he let loose an angry cry, slamming his hands down on the ground to grasp fistfuls of grass. His angry outburst halted abruptly when he tugged his hands up and the grass in his hold came with them. That quickly, his attention was captured by tearing up handfuls of grass and watching the loose blades fall to the ground over and over again.

When Leyloni knelt in front of the ring of stones to prepare the fuel for the fire, Arysteon eased back, sank into a crouch, and watched her. But only part of his attention was on the way she arranged the sticks, leaves, and moss. The rest of his mind was preoccupied with a question that had only just occurred to him.

Could he still use his spark?

He felt it inside himself, just as strong as ever—perhaps too strong for this body—but was his new shape capable of harnessing that spark like he could before?

Tentatively, he turned his focus toward his spark, willing it to grow hotter, stronger, more charged. Faint tingles swept through his limbs to the tips of his fingers, toes, and tail. It was certainly in there, certainly receptive. There was only one way to know if it would work the same as it had before.

Leyloni opened her bag and reached in, withdrawing a pair of stones. She took one in each hand, held them close to the fire, and scraped one across the other. Tiny sparks sprayed from the stones, falling onto the leaves and moss at the base of the fuel.

Arysteon moved forward and caught her wrist before she could bring the stones together again. She looked at him with a questioning gaze.

“Allow me to attempt it,” he said. “I need to know if I still can.”

Her expression shifted to something decidedly more troubled—as though she, too, had only just realized this potential consequence of his change. She nodded, returned the rocks to her bag, and backed away from the stone ring, picking up Serek.

Turning his face toward the pile of wood, Arysteon released a measured breath. He’d never had to put much thought into harnessing his spark before. What reason was there to do so now?

He internally latched on to a tiny sliver of his spark and forced it upward. When he opened his mouth, the energy leapt out in a flash of light, arcing down to the dried moss and leaves. The tiny crackle of lightning was followed by a faint whoosh as the fuel ignited.

The powerful sense of relief and elation that swept through Arysteon made him realize just how worried he’d truly been. He did not regret having welcomed Leyloni’s touch, did not regret taking on this form, but he couldn’t deny how disheartening it would have been to have lost such use of his spark—to have lost that part of himself. This meant he still had a potent means of protecting his clan, a powerful weapon to use in their defense. It was valuable information considering he was unaware of his new form’s capabilities and limitations.

When he glanced back at Leyloni, she was smiling, the concern in her expression having faded completely. Delightful warmth spread through Arysteon’s chest at the sight of her proud, compassionate smile, and his spark danced.

Once