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“And you got it in one.”

“Yay for me.At least I got something right…” Coming to a screeching halt as the overwhelming feeling that someone was watching him made the hairs at the nape of his neck stand on end, Hopper growled, “Did you feel that?”

“Did I feel what?”Pat asked, brow furrowed and a confused expression on his face as he chewed a bite of biscuit.

“That!”Hopper spat, turning to the left, then to the right, then a complete circle before stalking toward the dining room.Over the threshold and two steps into the room, the feeling was just gone.

Rubbing the back of his neck with one hand as he took another bite of the biscuit in his other, Hopper pushed the Magic of the universe that flowed through his veins into his eyesight.From one blink to the next, a light blue aura covered everything.Magnifying, intensifying, and illuminating anything and everything in its path, his Enchanted vision allowed him to see things that no other being could.

Scanning the room in a grid formation, he used stealth and precision to examine every molecule, every grain of sand and every fluff of dust.Ignoring Pat’s calls from the kitchen, Hopper didn’t stop until he was sure there was nothing but proof of his less than stellar housekeeping in the room.

Popping the last bite of biscuit into his mouth, he turned toward the door and headed back to the kitchen.No sooner had the heel of his boots hit the tile than did Pat scoff, “Is your hearing going, Old Man, or were you just ignoring me?”

“I wasn’t ignoring you,” Hopper corrected.Stopping at the end of the island, he went on, “I was trying to find out who was in my house.”

“Oh,puhlease,” Pat huffed.“Like somebody, anybody, could get into your Fortress of Hope…”

“Realm of Promise …”

“Yeah, that.”Pat nodded mockingly.“As I was saying, you have more security than the Jewel House in the Tower of London, and you damned sure don’t have any Crown Jewels up in here.”

“Yeah, but I…”

“But you bought into the whole security system scam that the Cherubs were running last century and don’t want to admit that you got taken to the cleaners.”

“HA!I did not get taken to the cleaners because as you said, I have a security system that rivals the place where they keep the British Crown Jewels.So put that in your pipe and…”

Cut off as an excellent rendition of Glenn Miller’s version ofIn the Moodfilled the Castle signifying that he was receiving a call on his very own Enchanted screen, Hopper turned toward the large landscape painted by his favorite artist, Maynard Dixon.From one heartbeat to the next, the canvas went from a gorgeous desert scene to the face of Empress Scathach of Tribe Clonburren.

Her striking image demanded attention even before she spoke a word.The Magic of the Ancients swirled deep within the elliptical pupils of the Dragoness with whom she shared her soul, while the white-hot sparks literally popped and snapped in the surrounding lavender.

Brave, courageous, valiant, fearless, and daring in the face of untenable circumstances, these Amazonian Tribes defied all odds and refused to be beaten.After the loss of the males of their Tribes at the hands of Hunters, the women stepped up and took control of their destinies.

Little did they know their survival had been woven into the fabric of Time itself and their lives were about to change forever.

When the Earth was first created, the Universe, Mother Nature, Chaos and God with a capital G combined the unstoppable Spirit, Magic, and Power with the Strength and Resilience of the Amazonian Tribes to create the Boitatá.This special race was breathed into existence to protect the forests and all living beings therein from harm.They punished those who defiled nature.They watched over all creatures great and small, and protected the Forest with their very lives.

Infused with the Magic of the Boitatá, the Fire Dragons who lived deep in the Amazonian Rain Forest these women were forged by a life of loss, hardship and battle.When Nimue, known as the Lady of the Lake, the Celtic goddess of Sacred Waters, saw their unstoppable Spirits and felt the fire burning in their souls, the kinship she felt with these women and children was undeniable.

Under the full Blue Moon of a sweltering June night, she called to the spirit of the Boitatá and blessed the Three Tribes the Power, Magic, and Flame of the Ancient Fire Dragons.Over the next century, these women and their daughters fought all comers to claim the land that was rightfully theirs and secure the borders of their home while protecting the Forest and all the life within.

The battles came one after another.Days turned into months, then years.The women stayed in the form of their Warrior Dragons for so long that even when their enemies had been conquered and peace fell over their home in the Cloud Forest, the scales of the Dragoness Queens with whom they shared their souls remained visible.

And the Empress was no stranger to the stunning phenomena.She wore the evidence of the Dragon within with pride.

The flaming red Dragon scales sweeping up her high, pronounced cheekbones pulsed with unspent Enchanment.The others lining either side of her neck, flowing across her collarbones and meeting at the peak of cleavage followed suit.

Something was definitely amiss.There was trouble on Dreki Island.The Empress was preparing to transform into the renowned Amazonian Dragon Warrior who was revered by her Clan and feared by her enemies.Hope could only imagine that the others were also ready and willing to make the Shift.

Without preamble or greeting, Hopper asked, “What is wrong?”

“Someone is on the Island.”

“Someone?”

“Yes.”Her brow furrowed as the grip on her silver staff tightened and the Dragon scales across her knuckles flashed to life.“Someone or something unseen.”Her long ginger braids lifted and fell as she relayed, “We can all feel it.It is as if eyes are everywhere.Watching our every move.The Scouts and Trackers have been out for days and returned with nothing.I was sure the feeling would pass, then…”

“Then what?”