To Love a Dragon - Tiffany Roberts Page 0,57

course, he was massive, dwarfing even the largest creatures she’d ever encountered, but he moved with a powerful, predatory grace that should’ve been as threatening as it was beautiful. His scales changed as he moved, their color subtly shifting to match his surroundings. Those color changes were more pronounced when he passed through the shafts of sunlight pouring through the canopy. The effect of those rippling hues was almost hypnotic.

His violet eyes were vibrant even from a few dozen paces away, and the depth of the emotion within them was readily apparent.

Arysteon closed that remaining distance swiftly and smoothly, making barely a sound as he moved. Those noises he’d made before had to have been deliberate—his means of alerting Leyloni to his arrival without fully exposing either of them just in case there were more Bone Wraiths lurking nearby.

He lowered his head, bringing his eyes down to Leyloni’s level, and hummed the first few notes of the song he’d made for her. They were far deeper and more powerful than what he could produce in his human form, but they were just as lovely, just as heartwarming.

His long, forked tongue slipped out, and his hum took on a troubled tone before fading. “Tell me you are well,” he rumbled. “Tell me they have done you no lasting harm.”

Arysteon’s nostrils flared with a heavy exhalation, drawing Leyloni’s attention down slightly. The scales around his mouth and the front of his snout were spattered with drying blood. But Leyloni didn’t care. The tears that had stung her eyes earlier returned swiftly, spilling down her cheeks as she reached for him. She grasped one of his horns as she hugged his head, pressing her forehead against his scales.

Serek giggled and leaned forward, patting Arysteon’s snout with both hands. Arysteon closed his eyes and chuckled. The low, rolling sound vibrated into Leyloni, and somehow it chased away some of the pain in her heart and dulled some of the scars on her mind—but it did not stop her from crying.

I almost lost them.

“Leyloni? My heartsong?” Arysteon asked, a hint of lingering worry in his voice.

She sniffled and pulled back to meet his gaze. “I am fine,” she said, her voice husky as she tried to stem the flow of tears. “Only some bruising and scrapes, nothing lasting. And the poison is wearing off.”

Arysteon’s slitted pupils expanded and contracted as he narrowed his eyes. “You are certain?”

She nodded and released his horn to stroke her palm along his jaw. “What of you?”

“I am unharmed.”

Leyloni lightly trailed her fingers over his thick, rigid scales. “You…changed back to a dragon.”

“I did.” He tilted his head, brushing against her. “I know not how or why, only that it was what was needed to save you.”

Serek pressed his face against Arysteon, giving him a slobbery, open mouthed kiss.

Leyloni tightened her hold on the baby as he shifted his weight. “Can you change back?”

Arysteon hummed thoughtfully, and for the space of a few heartbeats, faint, tingling energy coursed over his scales, tickling Leyloni’s palm. Serek giggled, his hair rising from his head. That charge ceased abruptly.

“I believe so,” Arysteon said, “but it will require a bit more calm than I am currently able to muster. And for the time being…it may be best that I remain in this form in anticipation of any further hostilities.”

Leyloni’s brow furrowed as she drew Serek closer. “The Bone Wraiths?”

“Dead,” he replied with a savage growl that bared his big, sharp teeth, “and would that I could slaughter them again. All who were on the bank with you have been slain, but I cannot say if there were more in the area. They masked their scents and the signs of their passage well.”

Arysteon huffed through his nostrils, and some of the ferocity faded from his expression. “I can still taste their blood. Let us move to the water that we might clean ourselves before returning to camp to gather your belongings.”

Leyloni turned her eyes to Serek’s dirty face. “All right.”

She kept a hand on Arysteon for support as they moved out of the brush, down the slope, and to the water. Though the poison’s lingering effects were negligible, the soreness and exhaustion that had flooded her in its wake were almost crippling. Her side hurt where the monster named Tekal had kicked her, and she was sure her ribs were bruised.

They washed quickly, rinsing dirt and blood from skin, scales, and hair. The cool water was just enough of a shock to Leyloni to counteract