Seraiah froze, and Lonan did the same next to her. In the back of her mind, she knew it would be no use to run. The dragon would catch them in seconds.

The lantern light glinted off its scales, revealing not a golden dragon—but a red one, a deep garnet, the color of summer wines.

It was gorgeous and terrifying all at once.

“Well, what do we have here?” it rumbled.

Light danced on the walls of the cave as Lonan’s hand shook in fear.

Seraiah’s mouth fell open. “You can talk?”

No one had told her dragons could speak. Even the stories she’d read to Sterling hadn’t mentioned it.

The dragon either didn’t hear her, or it chose to ignore her. “It’s not often my dinner comes to me,” it said.

Then it grinned. That was the only way Seraiah could explain it. The dragon’s lips pulled back from its teeth, showing off their sharp points. A single tooth was as big around as her arm.

The dragon took a slow, lumbering step toward them, and its snout swung closer. Hot breath wafted over her, and Seraiah found herself staring straight into one of its large eyes, gleaming golden in the lantern light.

It sniffed at her.

“Hmm,” it murmured, the sound reverberating through her bones. “A human—haven’t had one of these in quite some time.” Then it moved over to Lonan and sniffed again.

“Gnome—too small to even be worth eating.”

Typical. Why do the monsters always want to eat me?

The lantern slipped from Lonan’s shaking hand and rolled to the cave wall before coming to a stop. By some miracle, it didn’t go out.

The dragon turned its attention back to her. Its eye came close enough she could’ve touched its glossy surface. The dragon blinked slowly and a filmy inner lid moved across the surface.

The heat coming off the dragon’s body chased away the chill of the mountain.

“The seer is seeking something.” It turned its head to look at her with its other eye. Another wave of heat washed over her with the movement, along with the scent of dragon. She finally figured out what the scent reminded her of—rotten eggs.

The dragon pulled back from her and retreated a step, throwing its features into shadow. It appeared even more fearsome than when it was sticking its snout in her face. “Well, human?”

Seraiah swore if a dragon had eyebrows, it would have raised one.

“Did you forget how to speak?”

With a jolt, she realized it had wanted an answer.

She remembered what Lonan said about not being able to ask a dragon for anything. “How do you know I am looking for something?” she hedged.

Seraiah shot a look at Lonan, but he appeared as if he were about to faint and not going to be any help.

“When you live as long as I do, you learn to read the signs,” it said mildly, reminding Seraiah of what Kestrel had said about the Summer King. “Now, are you going to tell me what you are looking for, or shall I guess?”

Clearing her throat, Seraiah said in her politest voice possible, “I am seeking a golden dragon scale.”

She raised her chin and stared directly into the dragon’s eyes, waiting for a response.

It wasn’t quite the one she expected to receive.

A great rumbling noise came from the beast, vibrating through her body. Seraiah wasn’t sure what was happening. One glance at Lonan told her he was just as confused as she was. A few moments later, it finally dawned on her—the dragon was laughing.

She was being laughed at by a dragon.

Any fear that remained melted away, and she crossed her arms over her chest, indignant. She waited until the dragon was done laughing before speaking again. “Why is that so funny to you?” she demanded.

Lonan was frantically motioning for her to calm down. In the back of her mind, she knew it wasn’t a good idea to pick a fight with a beast who could bite her in half, but she was past rational thought. She wanted that scale, and she wanted it now.

“A golden dragon does not exist.”

Seraiah could still hear the amusement in its voice. It had to be teasing her. “Well, the Summer King seems to think it does and sent me on a quest for it,” she retorted.

“Ahh, our dear friend the Summer King. Now, it makes more sense,” the dragon purred. “The faeries don’t play a fair game. I should have suspected it was he who had sent you the moment I laid eyes on you.”

“You’re friends with the Summer King?”

The dragon blinked again, and she swore its lips lifted in a smile. “More like acquaintances, really. He’s been around almost as long as we have.”

A thump came from behind them at the entrance to the cave, and then the sound of claws on stone. The other dragon they’d watched earlier must have returned.

Seraiah felt it draw closer, its warmth heating her back.

The newcomer skirted around them and dropped its prize in front of the first dragon. This dragon wasn’t golden either, but an iridescent blue even more beautiful than the red.

“What’s this?” the blue dragon asked. “Did you invite visitors for dinner, Isaour? I would have brought more food had I known.” It studied them as Isaour had.

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That name sounded familiar to her, but why? Her eyes flicked back and forth between the two dragons.

Red.

Blue.

Then it clicked.

These were the dragons from the stories, Isaour and Skrivdyr.

Oh gods. How old were they?

“A human visitor no less!” the second dragon exclaimed after it had finished examining her. “Where did you get one?”

“Would you believe me if I said they wandered in here?” Isaour asked.

“I can’t say I would be surprised. They must want something. Did those faeries send them again?” the blue dragon guessed.

“You always ruin my fun, Riv,” Isaour said, giving a name to the newest arrival and confirming Seraiah’s suspicions.

These were the dragons from the bedtime stories she would read to Sterling.

“Tell him what you told me, girl,” Isaour said, focusing back on Seraiah again.

She repeated her request and got much the same response as the first time she had said it. When they finished having a good laugh at her expense, Lonan spoke up for the first time.

“Are you going to eat us now?” he asked, trembling like a leaf.

This question sent them into another fit of laughter.

Seraiah and Lonan looked at each other helplessly. If they ever needed to distract a dragon and escape, now they knew all they needed to do was make them laugh.

It was Riv who finally explained that no, they would not eat them, but Seraiah and Lonan were welcome to join the dragons for dinner.

Seraiah respectfully declined with the excuse that they’d already eaten back at their camp. When the dragons heard their camp was nearby, they insisted Seraiah and Lonan bring their things and stay in the cave with them.

“Otherwise, you might freeze to death in the mountain climate,” Riv informed them. “It gets quite chilly up here at night, or so I’m told. I can’t tell myself.”

As much as the thought of sleeping in a cave with dragons terrified her, Seraiah also dreaded the thought of sleeping on the frozen ground. Since entering the cave, it had begun to snow, and a thin blanket of it already covered the ground.

After conferring with Lonan, Seraiah agreed they would stay the night in the cave and went to retrieve their things.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the dragons, Lonan said, “They aren’t what I imagined dragons to be like.”

Seraiah agreed. Then again, if someone had told her a few months ago that dragons existed at all, she would have thought them insane.

“I was always told they eat gnomes and anyone else who wanders into their territory, and they aren’t the least bit helpful.”

That sounded more like a description of the faeries, Seraiah thought, but didn’t say aloud.

“They haven’t been helpful yet,” she said. “All they’ve done is laugh at me and tell me that a golden dragon doesn’t exist.”

“But they offered us a place in their cave and promised not to eat us. They even offered us dinner.”

“But what am I supposed to do now? I need that scale.”

Lonan shrugged, seeming unbothered by her predicament. He was happy enough to not have been eaten.

Seraiah, it seemed, was on her own to come up with a new plan.

----------------------------------------

Morning dawned on the day Kestrel and Seraiah were supposed to return from the Seelie Court, and Kai made his way to the stable yard. He was anxious to see what information they’d obtained, but also worried about what it might have cost them.

Faeries were notoriously hard to deal with, especially if they knew you were desperate.

Kai headed to meet with Eryx, pretending he was checking in on how training was proceeding. He still hadn’t spoken with Gavaran, but Kai knew he had eyes and ears everywhere. It would be for the best if Gavaran didn’t know every detail—at least until Kai was able to figure out what exactly Gavaran’s intentions were.

Kai greeted Eryx, and the two of them observed the training rings while talking in low voices.

“As soon as you see the first sign of them returning, let me know immediately,” Kai instructed him.

“Of course, Your Highness. My scouts haven’t spotted them yet, but you will be the first to know.”

“Good, and if they arrive before I can get here, have them sent to my study. We don’t want anyone else intercepting them first.”

Eryx looked grim, but he nodded.

Kai lowered his voice, even more, his words barely audible. “I’m sure she’s fine. She can take care of herself.”

“She always does,” Eryx said, but the worry didn’t leave his eyes.

Kai patted his shoulder and said in a louder voice, “Good work, Commander. Keep up this level of training and they’ll be in shape in no time.”

Then he retreated to the castle to wait.

----------------------------------------

Kai went about his normal duties for ruling the kingdom, trying to appear like nothing was amiss as he waited for news from Eryx.

Morning passed into afternoon, and afternoon faded into night with no word.

It was a struggle not to let his apprehension show, so Kai cloistered himself in his study, attempting to focus on the documents in front of him that needed his approval. Nothing like mundane paperwork to distract the mind.

He jumped when a soft knock came at his door.

“Come in,” he called, hoping it was Eryx.

Sure enough, the door opened to admit the Commander.

“Any news?” Kai asked him.

In the dim light, Eryx’s expression appeared strained. He shook his head. “No, Your Highness. There has been no sighting of them.”

Kai sighed. What was keeping them? He’d been adamant they return at the set time, with or without the information.

“Perhaps they were delayed on the journey back,” he suggested. Even as he said the words, Kai doubted this was the case. Something must have gone wrong. Kestrel was never late.

Eryx agreed readily. “Should I send someone out to track them?”

Kai thought for a moment. “No,” he finally decided. “Let’s wait until morning. If they still haven’t appeared by then, we will discuss sending someone out to look for them.”

“As you wish.” Eryx bowed before exiting the room as quietly as he had come.

Kai hoped he wouldn’t have to make that decision. He’d meant what he’d said to Eryx this morning. Kestrel could take care of herself, and if anything were to have gone wrong, he was sure she would be able to get them out of it.

Kai returned to his work, and it wasn’t long before another knock sounded on his door.

“Come in,” he called again without looking up. It was probably Eryx returning. No one else was likely to bother him while he was in his study.

Someone entered the room while Kai finished the page he was reading.

“Do you have more news?” he asked without looking up.

“You could say that,” answered a feminine voice.

Kai’s head jerked up in surprise. “Virelai.”

She smiled that feline smile of hers that said she wanted something.

He sighed internally. He was not in the mood to deal with her tonight. She could only be here to cause trouble. Maybe Gavaran had sent her to gather information since he hadn’t bothered to come see Kai himself.

“How can I help you, Virelai?” he asked, trying to keep the irritation out of his voice as he set his paper down to focus on her.

She must have taken this as an invitation to make herself comfortable because she settled herself in one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

“I think what you meant to say, Kaimana, is how can you, Virelai, help me?”

He leveled a look at her. Most would have been uncomfortable under his stare, but Virelai merely returned it. Gavaran had trained her well.

“I don’t have time for your games right now. Tell me why you’re here or leave.”

She pouted. “I never play games.”

Kai didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up his papers again, pretending to read while keeping an eye on her. It was a clear dismissal.

“Fine.” Virelai picked at her nails as though the conversation was boring her. “I am here because I thought you might like to know what my father is up to.”

Now, that caught his attention, but he couldn’t let her know, or she would pounce.

“And why would I want to know what your father is up to?” he asked, keeping any hint of interest out of his voice.

She leaned forward in her seat and pushed down the papers he was pretending to read.

“Because you value your life,” she purred, her face mere inches from his.

He dropped the papers on his desk, eyeing Virelai as she settled back into her chair now that she knew she had his attention.

“Are you threatening me?” he asked her, raising one eyebrow.

She laughed. “Does that worry you?”

“Hardly. If you have nothing else to say, I have work to do.” Whatever information she may have, it wasn’t worth playing her game for.

“Suit yourself,” Virelai said, standing and moving to the door.

Kai watched through narrowed eyes as she paused at the door and looked back over her shoulder. “Don’t blame me when you lose your crown—and then your head.”