Page 1 of Hot for the Dragon (Saltwater Grove #3)

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DAPHNE

S unlight streamed through the small front window of Petal & Vine, casting rainbow patterns through the crystal prisms Daphne had hung last spring. The tiny shop buzzed with life - both the regular and magical variety. Creeping vines wrapped around weathered wooden beams, their leaves swaying despite the lack of breeze, while potted plants competed for space on every available surface.

Daphne hummed as she arranged a bouquet of sunset-hued roses. Her fingers tingled with the spark of green magic that kept them blooming well past their natural season. A tendril of ivy reached out to playfully tug at her apron string.

"Now, now," she chided softly, "I know you're excited about the new fertilizer, but behaving yourself means you get the first taste."

The bell above the door chimed as Mrs. Henderson, one of her regular human customers, shuffled in.

"Something smells absolutely divine in here," Mrs. Henderson said, taking a deep breath.

"That would be the new moonflowers. They're not supposed to bloom until tonight, but they're feeling a bit rebellious today." Daphne gestured to the pearly white blooms nestled in a corner.

"Your flowers always seem to have personalities of their own."

"If only you knew," Daphne muttered under her breath, then louder, "What can I help you with today?"

"Anniversary bouquet. Something that says, 'forty years and I'd do it all again.'"

Daphne's green eyes lit up. "I know just the thing." She wove between the tight aisles and gathered stems. Her fingers brushed each flower, awakening their magic. Roses for enduring love, forget-me-nots for memories, and a sprig of enchanted lavender that would ensure sweet dreams for weeks to come.

"How do you always know exactly what I need?" Mrs. Henderson asked as Daphne wrapped the bouquet in brown paper and twine.

"Just a green thumb," Daphne replied with a wink. Once Mrs. Henderson left, she turned to the nearest fern. "And maybe a little magic." The fern shivered in response, dropping a few spores that sparkled as they fell.

During her lunch break, Daphne pressed her nose against the dusty window of 42 Belladonna Boulevard, cupping her hands around her eyes to peer inside. The 'For Sale' sign swayed in the autumn breeze.

"Just look at those windows," she whispered to the potted peace lily she'd brought along. "Floor-to-ceiling. Can you imagine the sunlight?" The lily's leaves rustled in agreement.

The abandoned café's interior stretched far deeper than her current shop, with exposed brick walls and weathered wooden floors that practically begged for trailing vines. Her mind's eye transformed the empty space - hanging baskets would cascade from the high ceiling, while built-in planters could line those gorgeous windows. The old barista counter could become a custom arrangement station.

"And that door in the back?" She bounced on her toes. "That leads to the courtyard. A greenhouse, right there. No more growing the sensitive specimens in my bathroom."

A sprig of lavender poked out of her jacket pocket, its purple buds vibrating with excitement.

"I know, I know." Daphne patted it gently. "Just three more months of saving. The realtor said the owner's desperate to sell." She checked her phone's banking app again and the numbers burned into her memory. "If spring wedding season is as good as last year..."

The peace lily's leaves drooped slightly.

"Hey now, none of that. We're going to make it happen." She adjusted her grip on the pot. "Remember how everyone said I couldn't make the current shop work? 'Too small,' they said. 'No foot traffic.' But we proved them wrong, didn't we?"

A warm breeze highlighted the scent of approaching rain, and Daphne closed her eyes, imagining the possibilities. The courtyard greenhouse would be perfect for her more... magical inventory. No more cramming the moon-blooming jasmine behind regular plants or hiding the singing snapdragons in the storage room.

"Think about it - actual space for workshops. I could teach basic herbology, magical propagation..." She pressed her hand against the cool glass. "No more turning people away because we can't fit another person in the shop."

The peace lily perked up, one of its flowers unfurling in response to her enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit. Now come on, we've got orders to fill. Those enchanted roses won't prune themselves."

Later that afternoon, a crash outside her flower shop made Daphne jump, nearly dropping the delicate glass terrarium she'd been arranging. Her Venus flytrap snapped its jaws in agitation.

"Easy there, buddy." She set the terrarium down as another boom rattled her window displays. "What in the world?"

Screams erupted from the street, followed by a sound like a thousand gas stoves igniting at once. The temperature inside her shop spiked, and her tropical plants stretched eagerly toward the sudden heat.

"Not now," she whispered to a particularly enthusiastic orchid. "Something's wrong."

Daphne crept to her front window, pushing aside a curtain of hanging ivy. Her heart stopped. A massive red dragon perched atop the post office across the street, its scales gleaming like fresh blood in the afternoon sun. As she watched, it reared back its head and belched a stream of fire that melted the weather vane.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no." Her knees wobbled as she counted more dragons - twelve in total, ranging from copper to obsidian, all wreaking havoc on her peaceful street. One of them, a bronze beast the size of a bus, crushed Mrs. Henderson's car beneath its claws. A green dragon swooped past her window, so close she could see the individual scales on its belly. The draft from its wings sent her wind chimes into a frenzied dance.

"This is bad," she muttered, backing away from the window. Her plants rustled nervously, picking up on her fear. "Really bad."

The sound of shattering glass came from somewhere down the street, followed by more screams. Through her window, Daphne watched as people ran for cover, some ducking into shops, others sprinting for their cars.

A dragon's roar shook the entire building, and her hanging baskets swayed dangerously. The succulent collection on her windowsill huddled together, their leaves curling inward protectively.

"If they come this way..." She glanced at her beloved plants, many of which were irreplaceable magical specimens. Her night-blooming cereus had taken three years to mature, and the singing snapdragons were the last of their kind in the city.

The street outside glowed orange as another gout of flame lit up the afternoon sky. Her green magic tingled beneath her skin, responding to her plants' distress.

Through her shop window, Daphne spotted a group of people huddled behind an overturned car. A copper dragon swooped low over the street, its shadow sweeping across the pavement like a dark tide.

"In here!" She flung open her shop door. "Quick, quick!"

The group sprinted inside - a mother clutching two children, an elderly man with a cane, and a teenager still wearing his fast-food uniform. The bell chimed cheerfully, completely at odds with the chaos outside.

"Behind the counter," Daphne directed, ushering them past displays of roses that trembled in sympathy with her racing heart.

A deafening roar shook the building. Through the window, a large, dark blue dragon landed on the boutique across the street, its claws puncturing the awning like tissue paper. Its head soon swiveled, and its golden eyes fixed directly on Petal & Vine.

The ivy on her walls recoiled. Her magical moonflowers began closing despite the daylight, and the Venus flytrap snapped its jaws repeatedly in warning.

"Oh no," Daphne whispered. "No, no, no."

The dragon's chest began to glow.

"Everyone out the back door!" She herded the group through her workroom. "Past the compost bins, there's an alley that leads to Maple Street!"

"But what about-" the teenager started.

"Go!"

The door barely clicked shut behind them when heat blasted through the shop. Daphne watched in horror as flames engulfed her beloved store. The roses screamed - a sound only she could hear - as fire consumed them. Her magical specimens withered, decades of careful breeding and nurturing reduced to ash in seconds.

The singing snapdragons managed one final mournful note before they burned. The moonflowers exploded in a shower of silver sparks. Her ivy, loyal to the end, tried to shield the other plants but crumbled to cinders.

Tears streamed down Daphne's light brown cheeks as everything she'd built went up in flames. The dragon watched from above, smoke curling from its nostrils, while her dreams burned with her shop.

Through her tears, Daphne watched as the massive dark blue dragon's scales began to ripple and shrink. The transformation was mesmerizing - like watching a time-lapse of a flower blooming in reverse. Where the dragon had perched, Carmen Kane now stood, her boots crushing what remained of the boutique's awning.

"Look at you all," Carmen's voice carried across the burning street. "Cowering behind your Council's precious rules and regulations." She spread her arms wide, gesturing to the destruction around her. "Where are they now? Where's their protection?"

A charred rose petal drifted past Daphne's face. The last surviving tendril of ivy wrapped around her ankle, seeking comfort. Her throat burned from the smoke.

"The Council is weak!" Carmen's laugh echoed off the buildings. "They can't even keep their own streets safe. But we can." She paced along the roof's edge, her shadow falling across Daphne's ruined shop. "When my wing returns, we'll show you what real protection looks like. What real power looks like."

The remaining dragons circled overhead, their wings casting shifting patterns of light and shadow across the street.

"Dragons were meant to rule," Carmen called out. "Not hide behind human laws."

Her form shifted again, scales erupting across her skin like sapphires breaking through earth. Within seconds, the massive dark blue dragon took flight, leading her wing toward the horizon.

Daphne stood frozen, her fingers still tingling with unused green magic. A single thought kept repeating in her mind: her singing snapdragons had been the last of their kind in Saltwater Grove. The knowledge sat in her chest like a stone.

The ivy at her ankle gave one final squeeze before crumbling to ash.