Fae-ted to the Bear - Harmony Raines Page 0,83

ready to go as soon as Ivan gets here.” Aiden opened the truck door and got out.

“It’ll be okay.” Caleb glanced down at the phone in his hand, willing it to ring.

“Will it?” Elise sobbed before covering her mouth. “Sorry, crying isn’t going to help anyone.”

“It’s okay to cry.” Caleb froze and looked up at the roof of the truck as if it were invisible.

“Is Ivan here?” Elise asked.

“He is.” Caleb leaned over, kissed her cheek, and then opened the door. “Come on, let’s move. We should be at Zara’s house in about a half-hour.”

“That soon?” Elise asked.

“Ivan is fast. He doesn’t usually fly fast when he’s got people on his back, but this is an emergency.” Caleb pocketed the tea Grandma Sylvie had given them while Elise shoved the bag containing the ingredients for the location spell inside her pack.

Once Aiden had spoken to Ivan, he’d called Oscar and relayed all the information to the ex-detective. Oscar had promised to do whatever he could to get hold of the toy if it were still with the case evidence. He also said he’d find out who Murray was.

With Zara and Karros potentially missing, they had to trust Oscar to do his job while they flew to Bear Creek.

“Oh, my goodness.” Elise covered her face with her hands as the distant thrum of dragon wings grew louder.

“He won’t hurt you,” Caleb assured her.

“I’m not afraid. I just never thought I’d get to see a dragon so close up.” She stared into the sky as the moon reflected off Ivan’s scales, which shimmered like the ocean.

“We’re going to get more than close.” He took her hand and they joined Aiden and Flora.

“I hope I don’t fall.” Elise shivered as the dragon flew over them and then dropped to the ground to land lightly before them.

In a blink of an eye, the air shimmered and the dragon disappeared to be replaced by Ivan’s human form. “Have you made contact with them?” he asked.

“No, there’s still no answer from either phone,” Aiden replied.

“Okay. Let’s go. I know where Bear Creek is, but you’ll have to guide me in to land,” Ivan called.

“We should land in the mountains. There’s a shallow outcrop above Zara’s house. If it’s all clear, we should land there.” Caleb nodded to his brother. “We can’t thank you enough for this.”

“We’re family, right? I’m sure there’ll be a day when I need your help.” Ivan inhaled deeply and then the air popped and fizzled as he disappeared.

Even though Elise was prepared for the sight of the dragon, he still took her breath away as he appeared as if from nowhere. However, she didn’t have time to stare at him, to absorb every feature of his massive body, his shimmering scales, and his noble head. Instead, Caleb pulled her forward and she ran toward the dragon, who crouched down, extending his leg so they could climb on board.

Caleb went first and sat at the front. Leaning down, he held out his hand to Elise, who reached for it and pulled herself onto the back of the dragon. Not exactly as if she were mounting a horse, but she tried to calm her nerves by telling herself that’s all she was doing.

Riding a horse. Riding a horse, she repeated to herself over and over again.

Flora sat behind Elise, and then Aiden sat at the back, his arms around Flora. Flora put her arms around Elise’s waist, while Elise hung on to Caleb as if her life depended on it. Which it probably did.

When the dragon pushed himself back onto all fours, she let out a small cry, which she swallowed down. She didn’t want to draw attention to them.

But as he crouched down and then sprang into the air, she couldn’t contain the wail of excitement and pure terror that escaped.

“It’s all right, you’re safe!” Caleb yelled as the dragon leaped into the air.

As he leveled out and flew toward the edge of town, where tall hills rose up as a barrier between Wishing Moon Bay and the world beyond, her terror was replaced by a sense of elation. This was the most incredible thing she’d ever done.

Ivan was the most incredible creature she’d ever seen.

Mentally, she apologized to Caleb, but she was certain he understood how incredible the dragon was.

Ivan’s dragon stretched out his neck, his wings beating a fast tempo as they raced across the land. Straight and true, he flew toward Bear Creek, only diverting a little to skirt around