*
“Jared, will you talk some sense into her? She insists she’s only here for a visit, but she must stay. Make her realize how much we need her.” Kelzy’s voice was tinged with frustration when Jared walked into their apartments to find the two females squared off in full argument mode. He had forgotten just how much females could squabble over inconsequential things.
“We cannot just commandeer the woman, Kelzy. She has her own life and must make her own decisions.”
“Thank you, Sir Jared.” Adora turned the full power of her gaze on him and he looked away uncomfortably. The woman seemed to see right through him with her pale, healer’s gaze and it was jarring to say the least. “As I’ve told Mama Kelzy, I have responsibilities to the villagers. I’m their only source of medical help and they depend on me. I can’t just abandon them.”
“Why do you call her that?”
“What?” Adora seemed confused for a moment as she tilted her head up at him, her beautiful green eyes frowning.
“You call a dragon ‘mama.’ Didn’t you realize? It’s a bit odd, to say the least, but then Kelzy’s always been a little overly demonstrative with humans, or so her fellow dragons would criticize.”
“They’re just busybodies. Who I consort with as friends and family is none of their business, dragon, human or otherwise.”
“I didn’t realize I still called you that, Lady Kelzy. I’m sorry.” Adora’s blushing cheeks spoke of her embarrassment.
“Now see what you’ve done, Jared? Sweetheart, you don’t have to use titles with me. You are the daughter of my heart. It warms my soul to know you still think of me as your surrogate mother.”
Kelzy stepped forward and Adora reached her hand out to stroke the dragon’s tough, jewel-toned hide. The two females so obviously cared for one another.
“When I was very little, I got lost in the woods and stumbled into Kelzy’s cave. I could barely speak, but I knew the word ‘mama’. Kelzy returned me to my family, who were searching frantically through the woods. I know they were frightened to see her, but when they saw me on her back, smiling away and calling her mama, they knew I was safe. She deposited me back with my mother and father and after that they let me go see her whenever I wanted. She raised me as much as my parents did, watching out for me when I ventured into the woods.”
“None of them could hear me or speak with me, but Adora had the strongest gift I have ever encountered. They may have raised you, but they were not your blood kin.”
“What?”
“I never told you this because I didn’t think it my place back then, but it was obvious to me that your mother and father were not your birth parents. They adopted you. If they had been your blood kin, at least one of them would have been able to communicate with me. It’s an inherited trait, passed down through the bloodlines, usually on the father’s side. The man you called father had no such ability nor did any of your siblings. Your brothers, at least, should have been able to hear me if you shared the same parents.”
“Then who are my parents?” Adora’s voice trembled just a bit and her wide eyes looked shaken and a little lost.
“I couldn’t say and for that I’m sorry. I often thought to go on a quest to see where you came from. After all, females with the dragon gift are rare and we need every one we can find. Especially with war coming.”
“Then war is definitely on the way?” Adora’s eyes darkened with worry.
“Yes.” It was Jared who answered, his voice firm. “There’s no escaping it now. The Skithdronian king has been working toward all-out war for a long time and he’s just about ready now, we think, to launch it.”
“Which is why you must stay here with us, Adora. You will have no protection in the forest. The skiths will ravage man and beast alike when they are loosed.”
“Which is why I must go back. I’m the only healer within twenty leagues. I can’t just abandon those people.”
“We’re flying patrols now. When the skiths come, we’ll engage them whenever and wherever we find them.” Jared kept his voice calm and deadly. He surprised even himself with the sentiments he was feeling. “We’re here to protect the people and lands. What good can one unprotected healer do out there? Wouldn’t your talents be better used here?”
“You may very well be right, Sir Jared, but I have to go back. They depend on me. I’m not so conceited as to think that my destiny lies in such a grand place. I’m a simple healer, not one to be worthy of working with your knights.”
“Sheep dung! That is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard you say, Adora. And here I thought you were smart for a human.”
Adora smiled softly. “I love you too, Mama Kelzy, but the fact remains, I must return to my cottage.”
“Cottage? My son tells me it was no more than a hut! How can I leave you in such a place?”
Adora stroked the dragon’s shiny scales soothingly. “Because you must. It’s what I have to do.”
“But you’ll at least stay for your daughter’s wedding, won’t you?” Jared surprised himself by asking.
She nodded. “I’ll stay for the mating feast, but I must go home the next day.”
Kelzy snorted smoke, clearly upset. “We will take you then, but don’t expect me to be happy about it.”