“Hear, hear,” cried Xander, raising a glass. “To Rocco!”
The next day we were surprised by Spear knocking at the door. Behind him were two dragons.
“To what do we owe the pleasure?” asked my mother, recognizing Spear.
He bowed, actually bowed to her. “I come with my deepest condolences on the passing of your husband. He and I were natural enemies, but in the end, we became the best of friends.”
She thanked him and invited him in.
“I’m afraid I cannot come in. The dragons have no spare clothes to change into and the doorway is too small for them to fit through. I came knowing that Ash was injured and thought that he and Julianna might like a lift back home.”
“It’s going to be my mother’s home, too,” I said, coming up behind her. She rested her arm on my shoulder and grinned.
“Of course. We will be honored to have her. I was going to invite her to the party anyway.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Party?”
“Yes. Krikor was telling the truth. The dragons that got sick first have already begun to wake up. It’s pretty disgusting to watch them shed their skins like snakes, but when they do, well, you should see them.”
“I can’t wait,” I grinned.
“You don’t have to wait. We decided last night to invite all the inhabitants of Dronias to the party.” He beckoned us outside and pointed skyward.
I looked up to see a sky full of the most vibrant dragons I’d ever seen. A rainbow of color filled my vision, reminding me of a kite festival. One by one, they landed. Xander, Jasper, my mother and I ran through the town, knocking on doors and inviting people to join us.
Of course, not everyone wanted to come. Decades of hatred were a hard thing to forget, and many of my fellow Slayers decided to stay at home. Many did come out though, and each one who did was transported on the back of a dragon. The whoops and excited yells of the people flying for the first time reminded me of how happy my father had been when he’d flown on Spear’s back. The grief over losing my father would never leave me, but having been able to spend so much time with him in the last few weeks, and fighting next to him, was a small consolation.
Once my mother had hopped up on Stone’s back behind Jasper, there was only Ash and I left to go. Spear shifted into his dragon form. His skin was dull and patchy and I recognized it immediately as the first stage of rebirth. Soon, he would fall asleep and wake up brand new. I had a feeling he was looking forward to it.
Ash helped me up and then jumped up behind me. As Spear took off, he grabbed hold of my waist tightly.
“Ouch!” I shouted. He was clamping down on the gash in my side. He shifted his grip a bit lower down.
“What’s the matter with you?” I asked as the Triad Mountains passed beneath us.
“I’ve never flown on a dragon’s back before. It’s kinda scary!”
I had to laugh
Frokontas was a hive of activity when we landed. The flames in the fire pit were roaring and the delicious smell of cooking meat emanated from it. Tables had been set out at the outer edges and filled with all manner of food and drink, and all the people of Frokontas had brought chairs out to accommodate the arriving Slayers.
Dragons mixed with Wolvren and Slayers around the fire, while Edeline and some of her friends served food. Some of the dragons stayed in their dragon forms to give pleasure rides to the children of Dronias and to Lucy, who seemed to be enjoying it more than anyone else.
My mother jumped in and insisted that she help, too, and when she introduced herself, Edeline gave her a bone-crushing hug.
Fiere thrust a glass of beer in my hand, then passed one to Ash before heading into the crowd. A band of musicians started to play in the background and I watched with surprise as Alpha pulled Morganna from her seat and began to dance with her. Alpha had never struck me as the dancing type.
Ash took my hand and led me to the edge of the party, away from everyone else. Firecracker saw us leaving and decided to follow, gamboling around our feet as we walked slowly up the track that would take us to town and beyond that, to Spear’s house.
“Are we going to visit the sick dragons?” I wondered aloud.
Ash stopped and put his full beer glass on a nearby fence post. “I wasn’t planning to, but we can after, if you like.”
“After what?” I asked.
He responded by kissing me. My heart thumped wildly as it always did when Ash kissed me. My own beer sloshed down my side but I didn’t care. I was home. It was the only place I ever wanted to be.
Later, we did walk to the sick dragons. A couple that had emerged that day after shedding their outer skin walked past us. They gleamed in the sunshine.
“Maybe I should try this illness thing,” mused Ash, taking in one particularly vivid green dragon.
“You probably already have,” I said. You were injured by a sword, and you’ve been looking ill for days, even before we went to battle. I bet if you turn into your dragon form now, you’ll be asleep by the end of the day. I think Spear will too. He looked pretty ghastly earlier.”
“Don’t tell him that,” chuckled Ash. He looked into my eyes. “Will you wait for me while I sleep?”
I kissed him lightly on the lips. “I’ll wait for you forever.”
As we got close to Spear’s house, it occurred to me that the beer was soaking through my trousers. I would need to change. I pulled off my sheath with the sword still in it and examined my pants. They were soaked through and I smelled like a brewery.
“I’m going to head into the house and see if he has a spare pair of pants laying around,” I said to Ash who nodded.
When I picked my sword up I noticed something unusual about it. It was dull and no longer looked shiny and new.
“What the...”
And then reality hit. When Krikor freed the dragons from all the swords, he’d freed the Goblins from mine, too. No wonder he hadn’t tried escaping before touching the crystal.
I looked upward to the peak of the largest mountain in the Triad Mountain range.
The Goblins were still up there, only now they were going to be mad!
* * *
Check out more books by JA Culican
https://www.jaculican.com/
About J.A. Culican
About J.A. Culican
USA Today bestselling author, J.A. Culican is a teacher by day and a writer by night. She lives in New Jersey with her husband of eleven years and their four young children.
J.A. Culican’s inspiration to start writing came from her children and their love for all things magical. Bedtime stories turned to reality after her oldest daughter begged her for the book from which her stories of dragons came from. In turn, the series The Keeper of Dragons was born.
Read More from J.A. Culican
www.jaculican.com
About J.A. Armitage
About J.A. Armitage
Born in a small town, J.A. Armitage longed for adventure and travel.
Age 20 she moved to Dublin, then to San Diego, then Sydney and back to California where she did a brief stint working at Universal Studios being a minder to Sponge Bob.
Once back in Britain she got married, had babies and decided to write about the adventure she was now missing out on. She works full time, is a mum to three kids and has had a surrogate baby.
She has skydived twice (and survived), climbed Kilimanjaro and hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon. She has also worked as a professional clown and banana picker amongst other jobs.
Somehow she finds time to write.
Read More from J.A. Armitage
www.jaarmitage.com
Books by J.A. Culican
Novels
The Prince Returns-Keeper of Dragons book 1
The Elven Alliance-Keeper of Dragons book 2
The Mere Treaty-Keeper of Dragons book 3
The Crowns’ Accord-Keeper of Dragons book 4
Second Sight-Hollows Ground book 1
Slayer-Dragon Tamer book 1
Warrior-Dragon Tamer book 2
Protector-Dragon Tamer book 3
Sword of Fire-Through the Ashes book 1
Embers of Darkness-Through the Ashes book 2
Blaze of Magic-Through the Ashes book 3
Spark of War-Through the Ashes prequel
Short Stories
The Golden Dragon-Keeper of Dragons short story
Jericho-Keeper of Dragons short story
Phoenix-Hollows Ground short story
Savior-Dragon Tamer short story
Books by J.A. Armitage
The Labyrinthians
When Kimberley's father loses his job and it looks like her whole family will be homeless, a mysterious old benefactor saves them by leaving his 'mansion' to them in his will. However, their new house, with its history of spooky happenings and disappearances, is not all it seems. When Kim's little brother goes missing, it's up to Kim and her new friend, Nate, to find him. The problem is... When they do - who will find them?
The first in a new YA series, The Labyrinthians begins a story of adventure and of terror and finding yourself when everything else seems lost.
Endless Winter, Book 1 in the Guardians of the Light Series
Imagine falling in love for the first time, the adrenaline, the flutters. Now imagine being told you had to have a baby with somebody else...
Trapped in an unfamiliar room with no way out, Anais has no idea just how much her life is about to change. A locked door stands between her and freedom but as she is just about to find out, the door is the least of her problems.
Anais had never believed in demons and vampires so when she is transported into a dark world that she doesn’t understand she is forced to realise that humans can be the most terrifying monsters of all. Yet in the shade of her new life she finds light in the most unexpected place of all.
In this occult paranormal romance, follow Anais into the realm of The Guardians of The Light and into a mystery saga filled with temptation, loss, fear and above all love.
Dragon Tamer Box Set 1 Page 46