Page 35 of Ale Storm

“Anyway, that was the original soup he served. Now, everything the dragon chef makes just leaves you full and satisfied and wanting to come back and try more. The caramelized Luminous Lake scallops are to die for. And that blue maple glaze? Damn, I may need to visit the diner tonight.”

“You’re smiling again,” Sylin remarked, watching Rylana. “How many of those arrows are you envisioning firing into your father’s backside?”

“I like hearing that people appreciate Jildarin’s food. He deserves praise and recognition. He…” Rylana trailed off because the golden dragon, her eel meal consumed, was flying low over the lake.

At first, it looked like she would fly toward the ferry—and did her amber eyes lock onto Rylana?—but a pillar near the dock on the western side started gonging. The dragon flapped her wings and veered inland. She flew over the pillar and wooded estates along the shoreline, following the road that led inland from the dock, and then descended toward the treetops. The branches kept Rylana from seeing what the dragon did after that, and she shifted uneasily. It had looked like she might be landing. Landing to turn into an elf so she could walk past the pillars without prompting them to alarm? The one near the dock had stopped gonging.

“Yes, you’re definitely going to have company waiting for you when you get off.” Sylin must also have thought the dragon had landed.

“Just for me? You’re not disembarking?”

“If there’s a dragon waiting on the docks for you, I might stay aboard, sip my coffee, and enjoy the show.”

“What kind of show are you expecting?”

“Thus far, all the female dragons you’ve met have tried to kill you.”

“They haven’t all tried to kill me.”

Sylin arched her eyebrows.

“So far, I think only Jildarin’s aunt and one of the sisters did.” Rylana scratched her jaw. Was that right? Or had both the sisters been after her on Lucky Island? Had Sylin not ensnared one with the magical gnomish net, Rylana might have found out for certain. “His mother hasn’t personally tried to kill me.”

“She just flew around nearby while his aunt did?”

“Essentially. I admit I have gotten the impression that all the female dragons I’ve met think my death would be a good idea.”

“I’m going to recommend that you stay on the ferry too.” Sylin tilted her thumb back toward the opposite side of the lake. Suggesting they forgo this errand? At least for today?

If Rylana did that, who knew what other tasks her father might assign to Jildarin? Dangerous tasks. He could easily have been wounded during the pirate encounter. As powerful as dragons were, they weren’t impervious to shiploads of men firing cannons, crossbows, and bows at them.

“If she’s in elven form again, she’ll be able to walk onto the ferry to join us,” Rylana pointed out.

“True.”

As the ferry neared the dock, the same beautiful blonde elf who had come to the diner that morning walked out, wearing a dress that was already growing damp from the rain. It clung to voluptuous curves that nearby men noticed. The mist hadn’t dampened her hair enough to make it lose its body or luster, and more than one person waiting for the ferry looked her brazenly up and down. The humans did, anyway. A half-orc and a dwarf, probably sensing what she was, backed uneasily away.

The shape-shifted dragon didn’t seem to notice any of the attention. Her gaze was toward the approaching vessel. Toward Rylana.

She sighed, equal parts exasperation and worry in the exhalation. Maybe she should have been terrified, but she was too frustrated at this point to be properly afraid.

A few of the crewmen who’d been discussing Jildarin earlier whispered, nudged each other, and pointed to the shape-shifted dragon.

“Maybe she got tired of flying and bought a ticket for a ride back,” Sylin said.

“Oh, I’m sure,” Rylana said.

“Maybe she wants the horn.”

Rylana snorted. “Somehow, I doubt my new antique artifact is what’s bringing Jildarin’s admirers to Tranquility.”

“Do they admire him or just lust after him?”

“Both, I think. And, above all, they want his babies. His hatchlings.”

“You should have fallen in love with a less desirable dragon. I haven’t heard anything about Zilek being chased by horny females.”

“Zalani thinks he’s hot.”