Page 10 of Merry in Moonvale (Moonvale Matches #3)

CHAPTER 10

Fiella

I was going to kill Kizzi.

Not actually, of course. But spiritually, I wanted to flay the bitch.

I needed a cider. Or five.

“Not up there! Get down!” I shouted for what felt like the hundredth time. Ember was now perched on top of my highest shelf, nestled between a delicate glass bowl and a few ancient scrolls.

Things the dragon could destroy in an instant.

Ember simply swished his tail, making direct eye contact. Stubborn little shit.

“At least don’t breathe on the scrolls. They’re very flammable.”

“I don’t think he knows what flammable means,” Redd said gently.

I glared at him.

“Or maybe he does. Dragons are very intelligent, according to legends.”

I huffed out a sigh. “This is hopeless.”

“It’s not hopeless, love. He’s just a baby. He’s curious.”

“He’s going to destroy our cottage! After everything we went through to fix my shop…” Panic swirled in my chest, choking off my air and halting my words.

“He’s not going to destroy anything. The cottage is protected, remember? He’s not going to destroy anything.” Redd wrapped a reassuring arm around my shoulders, squeezing me into his side. I breathed a little easier.

A tiny voice chimed in from up on the shelf next to the dragon. “It’s going to be alright, Fiella!”

I think that sprite was Scarlett. It was actually really nice, having tiny folk around that were always willing to help and reassure at a moment’s notice. Kizzi should have been more grateful.

“You think so?” I asked.

“The fates will it, so it will be,” she said sagely.

“That sounds very wise,” Redd muttered under his breath.

“Just the truth,” Scarlett responded.

Redd flinched, clearly not expecting the sprite to be able to hear him from the perch across the room.

We kept forgetting that the sprites were inherently magical, and that none of us really knew what they were capable of.

He cleared his throat. “Right. Well. I guess we should just go about our day as usual?”

“How are we supposed to act normal when we have a fire breathing beast in our cottage?” I wailed.

“We haven’t actually seen Ember breathe any fire,” Redd said calmly. “He might have to grow into that.”

I choked. I hadn’t even considered what would happen when the dragon grew. How big did dragons even get? Would he even fit inside the cottage anymore?

Redd grabbed me by my upper arms, shaking me gently to catch my attention. “Stop spiraling. We can do this. You can do this.”

“We can’t!”

“We can. You wanted this. Just remember how excited you were when Kizzi brought the eggs back. You were meant for this. You know that.”

I sniffed. “I was excited,” I agreed, my voice unsteady.

“You were so excited. Just look at him up there. He’s having so much fun.”

I did what Redd said, returning my gaze to the dragon perched on my highest shelf. He did look happy. He was watching Hex, where they were curled up on an end table, stiffening into different shapes.

I personally thought the sight of the magical slime was horrifying, but the dragon found it entertaining.

He really was just a baby.

Gathering myself, I straightened, steeling my spine and hardening my nerves. Redd released me but he stayed close, hovering. Prepared to step in at any moment.

I snatched a scrap piece of yarn from one of my knitting projects, tying it to a stick that Sookie had brought inside for some reason.

If cats liked playing with toys, perhaps baby dragons did, too.

Hesitantly, holding my breath, I held the string on a stick out where Ember could see it.

His eyes zeroed in on the string immediately.

“Careful,” Redd said to the room in general.

I swallowed. “Here, dragon, dragon, dragon,” I called in a high-pitched voice. I waved the stick back and forth, letting the string flutter.

It took a few moments, but it worked.

Ember spread his wings, knocking the bowl and scrolls from the shelf, but he didn’t even notice.

He dove.

My scream came out garbled as I slapped my hand over my face, trying to stifle the sound.

I held the stick out as far as my arm would reach, my fingers clamped onto it like iron.

To my surprise, I didn’t hear any shattering crash. From the corner of my eye, I watched a group of sprites leap and dip, zipping through the air to catch the falling items, working together to set them back where they belonged.

My relief was short lived, though, because the beast was charging.

Ember, instead of landing on the ground, chose to land directly on my arm.

He damn near plowed me over. I only stayed on my feet because of Redd’s sturdy grip on my shoulders.

“Ahh!” I shouted as the dragon latched onto my arm with four clawed feet. Paws? Feet? I wasn’t sure.

He wasn’t heavy, but he was strong . And he was surprisingly agile, nowhere near as wobbly as he had been the night before in Kizzi’s shop.

He was growing up so fast.

Strangely, that made me want to cry.

Ember swatted at my hand, which was still clutching the stick. I held fast.

“That’s not how you’re supposed to play with it!” I called, my voice shaking. “Let me hold it!”

The dragon tilted his head. He swatted at my hand again, harder this time.

“Ouch!” I yelped. “That hurts!”

Redd grumbled behind me, something that sounded like, “Damned beast.”

The dragon stilled, turning its head to glance at my face. He snorted.

Then he hopped to the floor, landing with a soft thud.

I exhaled heavily. “There you go,” I cooed. “Good dragon. Like this .”

I wiggled the string again. This time, the dragon tensed and leaped, but he stayed near the floor. He lunged for the strung, trying to grasp it in his teeth, but the string slipped away before he could find a solid grip.

I chuckled. It really was like playing with a cat. “Almost! Try again!”

I continued to wiggle the string as the dragon dipped and dodged, swiping over and over again and snapping his teeth with audible clicks.

Redd laughed lowly behind me. I glanced at him. “Want to try?”

“Oh, no, I like watching you do it,” he said, but I could see the way his eyebrows quirked with interest.

I shoved the stick into his hand. “Just try it. It’s fun.”

He looked confused for a moment, but then he hesitantly stuck his arm out, jiggling the string gently.

Ember reacted instantly, this time rolling onto this back and kicking at the string with all four legs.

I laughed louder. “Look at him!” I called. “He’s like a bug!”

“Not a bug,” Redd said, lifting the stick high above his head. Ember jumped for it. “A beast. A very smart beast.”

Ember let out a sound somewhere between a purr and a growl. I flinched, but immediately regained my composure.

“The smartest beast in the entire realm,” I agreed.

The day flew by as we continued to play with the dragon, finding random items for it to chase around the room.

We also were able to pet the creature as it tired, scratching its smooth belly and its horned head.

Even Sookie and Pumpkin seemed to appreciate the dragon, joining in and wrestling with Ember as they fought for possession of a small wad of paper.

My worries melted away with the hours.

Finally, curled up in bed in Redd’s arms with the dragon snuggled up with cats somewhere on the floor, I accepted the fact that we were going to be okay.

“See, I told you we could do this,” Redd said against the back of my head, his legs entwined with mine.

I snuggled into his embrace. “Fine, I hate to admit it, but you were right.”

And he was right. We could do this.