Page 9 of The Dragon's Gambit

“Reiya, you finally made it.” Chelsie walked over from the tree line at the top of the mountain.

“Yeah, finally. We all can’t teleport where we want.” Reiya rolled her eyes at Chelsie.

“Eww, it’s awake!” Chelsie took a step backward from her friend, looking at the small child.

“Chelsie, that is enough. You damn horses need to learn some respect for others. You’re not the only species that exists in the world. This is Todd. Todd, this is Chelsie. She’s a kelpie.” Reiya was afraid the little boy’s feelings would be hurt, but surprisingly they weren’t.

Todd stared at the kelpie with indifference. “Oh … a kelpie. Hmmm, I think I should be the one grossed out.”

Dragons were very similar to kelpies. They both were arrogant and too good for everyone else. “Okay, you two. You both should have respect for others. And you, little man. It wasn’t a dragon that pulled you out of that river … something you should try to remember in the future.”

“I like you. You’re really nice … whatever you are.” Todd shrugged and smiled.

“What’s going on over there?” Reiya began walking, carrying the boy in the direction of music.

“That’s the adult party,” Todd said uninterestedly.

“Well, then that’s where we’re going. We need to get you back to your parents,” Reiya said, as she confidently picked up the pace.

“I’m going to get in so much trouble.” Todd whimpered and ducked his head behind Reiya’s.

“I know the feeling.” Reiya let out an airy laugh. She knew that if her parents found out she’d left Elysia, she would be in for it, for sure.

They approached an outside area that had a large dance floor set up and hundreds of circle tables on the other side. There were people everywhere laughing, dancing, talking, and eating. Of course, all these people were dragons. Reiya had always thought that most dragons weren’t shifters, but apparently, all dragons were shifters.

She walked up to a set of short stairs that led down into the party area and cleared her throat, but still went unnoticed.

“I’ve got this,” Chelsie said, annoyed. She let out an ear-piercing whinny that silenced the whole party. Even the music quit playing. “Floor’s yours, princess.”

Ugh… “Thank you, Chels.” Reiya swallowed and looked around at the many sets of eyes on her. Her … an outsider … an intruder.

“I have someone here that I think belongs to one of you,” Reiya said, shifting herself around to show the small boy on her back. She heard a woman gasp and come running up to her. “Careful … his leg is pretty banged up.” Reiya shifted the boy into the worried woman’s arms.

“What happened?!” the woman asked in shock.

“I tried to shift and ended up in the river. She saved me,” Todd explained, as the woman’s face paled considerably.

“Thank you so much. Come on, Todd, let’s get that leg looked at.” The woman hurried away, carrying the boy who was waving goodbye to Reiya.

Reiya noticed that she was still being stared at by the dragons.

“How did you manage to get up here?” a deep voice asked.

Reiya turned her head to see a man standing there. His eyes were a beautiful amber color, and his hair was dark brown, almost black. His body was chiseled, and his face … swoon! Hot damn, guess whose hormones just realized that other males existed? This dragon was gorgeous. He and Lee could be on the sexiest most wanted list.

“I climbed up,” Reiya said, after she managed to shake herself from her lustful thoughts. She held her arms out, showing her various cuts with a crooked smile. “Not the best entrance for visitors.” She giggled but stopped as she stared back into his intense gaze, which was deep and penetrating. She felt a slight heat rise to her face from being under his unwavering glare.

“Reiya? Is that you, dear girl?” Reiya turned to look at the source of the voice beside the male hotness in front of her.

“Grandpa Sage!” Reiya squealed and jumped into the old man’s arms, thankful to see someone she knew. The crowdgasped. She bit her bottom lip and pulled back. “Are hugs not allowed? Or is it because I called you Grandpa Sage?”

The old man laughed. “Dear girl, you are allowed to hug me, and I told you to call me Grandpa Sage. You are one of the few who are allowed. My, my, my, look at you! You are stunning. You have grown up beautifully.”

“Aww, thanks Grandpa Sage.” Reiya smiled and kissed the older man on the cheek.

“Reiya … so, you’re the fairy princess,” the gorgeous man near her said, his lips curving into a slight smile.

Reiya stepped back from Grandpa Sage and turned back to the man. Her eyes widened and she pointed at him. “Oh, my goodness! You’re Xander, aren’t you?” They heard another gasp from the nearby crowds. The man looked angrily at the crowd of people. He must have mindlinked them or something, because the music started right back up and they all went back to what they were doing before.