Page 117 of I Dream of Dragons

Aethry.Only my little brother has ever called me that.

And he’s dead.

The white and gray Magpie drak with the black crest is flying toward me, Remi a smaller version of him by his side.

Keres! Over here!

“I see you,”Keres says in my head.“I am not blind.”

Gods, dragons really are prickly. That stick up their asses is enormous.

“I can still hear you,”Keres says in my mind.“I am not deaf, either.”

Oh dear.Is this Grumpy Dragon Day?

“And… still hearing you.”

Damn. How do I turn this mind-meld off?

“It’s your panic and the fact that you are already in communication with me. Which is a good thing as it helped me locate you.”

I draw a bracing breath.Please, Keres. Can you come get me and take me to the palace?

“How can I get you? You are in the sea.”

Can’t you float?

“Do I look like a duck? No.”

Gods. Do something! I will die out here.

And just like that, the panic is back. I had counted on Remi and Keres to get me out, counted on… Jai. He was the first person who came to my mind, the first person I wanted to see.

Jai, Jai, where are you?

Something big brushes against my feet. A long dark mass slithers in the water.

Oh shit. Sea serpent.

This can’t be the end.

“Fated mates,”Jai had said.“Hair like ebony and eyes like the night.”

I need to hear him confirm the truth. And for that, I need to survive.

There has to be a way. And it has to be fast, before the mermaids hear me and come calling, before any monster of the deep decides to grab me.

Like the serpent, circling underneath me.

Keres! Can you fly lower? Lower still. Hover over the waves.

“I’m not a dragonfly.”

The serpent returns, faster now. I see its dorsal fin, red and fluttering, coming at me.

Yet I bet you can do it! Do it now!

“Command me, mistress,”he speaks softly in my stunned mind and flies lower and lower, his great wings sending gusts of wind, pushing out the water from around us. I struggle to keep afloat so I can see.