Theodore (Xavier's Hatchlings #2) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,14

the hardest of material.” He told her what he was. “Pearl? I don’t know what that is either, I guess.”

“I can shift for you. There is more than enough room for me to do it here.” She nodded, then shook her head. “What do you want me to do, Pem? Like Bubble, I’m yours to command.”

“You’re very large, aren’t you?” He said he was and left it at that. “I’d love to see your dragon, but I don’t want anyone to notice this huge dragon or whatever you might turn into in Grandma’s yard.”

“No one but you will see me.” He moved out into the yard, excited to be able to do this for her. “Be careful of my tail. While my dragon won’t mean to harm you, it’s large, and he forgets sometimes.” She nodded.

Shifting from himself to dragon was like being reborn to him. It wasn’t painful, not at all, but he became whole. Every cut or scratch he’d gotten while being a man would simply heal and disappear. His body felt like he’d been given a thorough cleaning, a shower like none other. Theo was very careful when Pem came closer to him.

~*~

Pem didn’t know what she had expected when he became the dragon, but he was much larger than she’d thought he’d be. When she was close enough to touch him, Bubble cautioned her to be careful of his spikes.

“They’re very sharp, my lady, and since you’re so much smaller than they are, they could slice through you without a second warning.” She told Bubble she was careful. “He’s a pearl dragon, mistress. Only you can see him because of you being his mate. I can because we’re together. But he is blended into the grass and trees around him so that no one could see him if he was right in front of them.”

She could see it then. The way that when he took a breath, the trees in the yard would shift and change. Pem put out her hand and touched his snout. He was warm, not hot, but she thought he could get hotter when necessary.

“When I was a child, I always thought of a dragon that would rescue me from my family. One that would pick me up and carry me away when it was too much for me. And now, here you are.” Theo asked her, in her mind, if she’d like to take a ride. “Can I? I mean, can you—how would that even work?”

Theo put out his clawed hand, and she was startled that just one of his great sharp claws was bigger than she was. Stepping into the middle of his paw, she held on tightly to his finger. They were airborne in seconds. Pem couldn’t have dreamed anything like this. Never in her wildest dreams could she have ever thought she’d one day really be riding on a dragon.

The wind on her face was wonderful. Pulling the holder out of her hair, she left it to blow too. There were all kinds of things to see from this height. Pem had never thought the town was so spread out as it was. From this height, too, she was able to see the tops of houses, some of them in terrible repair.

Pem saw yards that had children playing in them without any toys. She knew she should be thinking of the beauty of the things she was seeing. But all Pem could see was how much more the Manning Foundation could be doing in simple things for the older generation. When they landed atop a mountain, she was careful getting off his hand. Her mind was buzzing with things she wanted to say to him.

Wait. Nodding, she watched his face as he seemed to be listening to someone. My Aunt Carson is telling me something we both should be aware of. She wants to know if she can connect with you.

“I suppose. What does she have to do?” The woman was laughing when Pem felt her inside her head. Well, I guess that question is answered. I’m Pem.

Yes, child, I know. I have a couple of things that you need to be aware of before you go into this meeting tomorrow. Nothing you can’t handle, I’m sure, but you should be made aware of it. If you don’t mind, I’ve invited the others, your new brothers-in-law, Rachel, and Theo, to listen too. Theo nodded, then there were other voices of people she didn’t know. Each of them told