Page 105 of Tiger's Voyage

“Kelsey.”

I blinked open my eyes and stared at the diamond palace in confusion. “Where are you?”

“Over here.”

I saw Ren still sitting in the same spot, his head against the railing and his long legs stretched out in front of him, his feet crossed at the ankles.

His eyes locked onto me, and I blushed, remembering his fingers entwined with mine. His look was hot, sultry, and tangible.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

My throat closed, and my tongue felt thick. I licked my lips so I could speak and saw his eyes tighten. I sucked in a breath and just nodded.

“Good.” He smiled, then closed his eyes, and at that moment we heard the dragon, Lóngjn, shout out, “Checkmate!”

A crestfallen Kishan appeared on the balcony followed by the beaming dragon. Lóngjn clapped his hands together and said, “Now then. Which one of you would like to be my companion here among the stars?”

Kishan immediately knelt at my side and pushed a strand of hair from my face. “Are you alright? What happened?”

I nodded weakly and pointed toward Ren, who was seated on the floor, his head resting in his hands. Kishan spoke quietly with Ren and then returned to me. He sat next to me and pulled my body into his arms. I snuggled against his chest, but when I opened my eyes, Ren’s blue eyes captured mine again. I felt like I was staring into a shiny blue reflecting pool. On the surface the water was calm, but I felt that if I could have looked farther into the depths, I’d find the water churning, roiling, full of thoughts and memories I couldn’t access. I couldn’t see through the surface of those eyes though. I couldn’t pull the man I knew from the depths of his mind. He was hidden from me.

The dragon laughed. “None of you will choose? Fine. I will choose myself.”

I looked up. “You don’t get to choose. We fixed your star.”

“Znme?” the dragon asked incredulously.

“Look for yourself.”

He walked to the balcony and peered up at the sky. “How did you do that?”

“As you pointed out earlier, our job was to figure out how, not to explain it to you.”

The dragon frowned and rubbed a cheek. “Still … a game was lost. I must have some kind of compensation as the winner.”

I groaned and stood up. Kishan rose immediately to help me. “Would you be satisfied with this?”

I put my hands on the dragon’s shoulders and pecked his cheek. It felt very warm and leathery. He pressed his hand against his cheek, shocked. “What was that?”

“A kiss,” Ren said as he rose silently next to us. “Men have been known to fight over the favor.”

I lowered my eyes and felt Kishan take my hand and squeeze it. The dragon’s eyes twinkled. “A kiss. Yes. I am satisfied. You may take the sextant and go.”

He turned to leave, and I said, “Lóngjn? Would you consider giving us a ride back to our boat?”

The dragon man stopped to weigh his answer. “Yes. If you give me another …kiss. But this time in my true form.”

I nodded as we followed the dragon back through his house of diamonds. Kishan picked up the sextant, and we asked the Divine Scarf to make a bag to carry it in.

As Kishan strapped it across his back, Lóngjn warned, “You may only use it while in my realm and only to find my brother. Once you leave our oceans, it will return to me.”

Kishan adjusted the weight and bowed briefly. “Our thanks, great dragon.”

His body quivered and erupted in an explosion of scaly flesh that quickly spread across the room. As Ren moved toward the dragon, I put my hand on his arm then quickly let it drop. He turned to me.

“Will you be okay?” I asked. “Do you need to rest longer?”

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ll be fine. Just make sure the ropes are tight.”