?

  I tried not to stare at the man who wasn’t supposed to be in the shop. However, his bright blue eyes kept coming to mind, and I found myself drawn to them.

  The Cat didn’t move from beside me, though his tail flickered back and forth across the counter. He freely stared at the customer.

  “Can’t you just ask him to leave?” whispered the Cat inside my head.

  I didn’t respond, and instead I focused on my hope that Indigo would stay hidden. Last I knew, she was near the children’s area and had used her shadow magic when the cooking class came in. I tried to reach out with the magic that let me feel where people were, to see if I can sense her.

  Her presence registered as slowly moving along the top of the bookshelves along the back wall. Slow and steady, she crept toward her hideaway.

  The guy also registered.

  He scratched the back of his neck before pulling a journal off the shelf and his shoulders slowly crept up.

  “Pull back your magic, he's sensitive,” added the Cat.

  I cut off the flow of magic immediately.

  The guy's shoulders noticeably relaxed and he nodded at the journal in his hand. He turned in my direction and headed my way.

  “I think this is the one…” A golden sheen covered him as he smiled, making his eyes sparkle even more.

  The Cat bristled beside me, and a low growl vibrated through him.

  The guy’s shoulders fell. “I wish I knew why cats didn’t like me…”

  Before I could react, the door swung open, and the bells rang.

  Bright red hair and eyes met me as I blinked at Lady Borsal.

  “It’s because they know he isn’t human,” mumbled the Cat.

  Lady Borsal smiled at me and headed toward the counter, but paused as her nose twitched. Her eyes stared into the back of the guy with the journal. I knew that wasn’t a good sign.

  “Let me ring that up, and I’m sorry about the Cat. He can be touchy.” I scanned the barcode on the journal and he tapped his card on the reader.

  The Cat stared at him, but stopped growling.

  Lady Borsal stood in the center of the room, her eyes not moving from the strange customer as he finished his purchase.

  He turned around after picking the journal up, apparently ready to leave.

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  The golden sheen around him flickered again, this time reaching out toward Lady Borsal.

  She smiled at him, even as he glanced at her red robes in confusion.

  “Lady Borsal!” Indigo flew across the room right at the other dragon, dispensing with subtlety given the tension in the room.

  The journal crashed to the floor as the guy, whatever he was, caught sight of the little dragon.

  She ignored him as she flew around Lady Borsal’s head.

  “Little one, can you head to the counter?” asked Lady Borsal.

  Indigo quickly streaked by the guy, who had paled considerably. Yet, his eyes still glittered.

  “That’s a dragon…” The words tumbled from his lips as his hands shook.

  Lady Borsal stepped closer. She reached out with a hand, as warmth slowly filled the shop.

  “Ah, you’re a lost one,” she said in a soothing voice.

  The golden light between them grew stronger.

  “Lost one?” he asked.

  “Caught between two worlds,” she said with a smile, her hand still stretched out. “Come with me and I’ll show you.”

  I couldn’t tear my eyes away even as Indigo landed right next to the Cat. Not one of us said a word.

  His hand reached out to touch hers. At the contact, sharp blue scales appeared covering the pale skin on his arm.

  “See, lost one.” Again her voice came out soft. “I’ll take you home.”

  His hand tightened in hers, and I felt magic surge into the room.

  The golden glow covered both of them. Then they were gone.

  Indigo chirped forlornly.

  “But, I wanted to play with Lady Borsal…”

  “Cat, what was that?”

  “That was a half dragon, who didn’t know…”

  “That’s why I came out! He’s one of us.” Indigo nodded, but then her eyes went wide. “I didn’t know he didn’t know.”

  “It’s okay…” I paused, my lips falling open. “Did she just kidnap him?”

  “She asked. He took her hand,” replied the Cat.

  The journal rested on the floor, and I leaned toward it. It sank down, then appeared next to us on the counter.

  “I’ll need to get this to him somehow, since he bought it after all…”

  The door bells rang again and Lady Borsal walked in with a smile. Red scales moved underneath her skin near her eyes.

  “Well, that was unexpected,” she said as she walked up to the counter.

  Indigo started chirping and frantically asking questions faster than I could follow.

  “He’s fine, little one.”

  Indigo leaped into the air and landed on her shoulder.

  “Wait, so where is he?” I asked, holding up the journal.

  “With those who can help with his transition.” A shot of steam came out of her nose. “I find those who are lost, and then take them somewhere safe to learn about themselves. It’s almost a hobby.”

  I held the journal out to the older dragon. “Can you get that to him?”

  “Of course.” It vanished as soon as she touched it.

  “So, transition to what?” I asked.

  Lady Borsal chuckled. “A lost one is someone with dragon blood, but they don’t know it. Someone like him, who’s half dragon, can learn dragon magic and eventually transform into one of us.”

  “Sable smells like a dragon!” Indigo’s eyes went wide. “Become like us?”

  I jerked back at the thought. While I’d love to go flying with a dragon, I wasn’t sure I’d want to transform into one. Though the tiny ones like Indigo, and Lord Bennit’s smaller form, were cute.

  “Sable isn’t a dragon, little one. She smells like us because of the magic, and the dragon stone.”

  “Why not? We could fly…”

  Lady Borsal scratched under Indigo’s chin. “You can fly together without Sable being a dragon.”

  “But I want to fly now!”

  “So, what brings you in today?” I accidentally nudged the Cat, but he didn’t stir; now dozing next to me.

  “An ancient Elder wanted me to show you something.” Lady Borsal pulled a rock out of nowhere and set it on the counter.

  Before it even touched, I felt the magic inside me stir, rushing to my fingers, making them ache.