Purring, he made himself comfortable on my lap. I had tons of things to take care of and debated on moving him away, but I’d always been a pushover, so I let him curl up.
My mind was a million miles away, back in Faythander, as I recalled the last minutes I’d spent with Kull, my newly reunited… boyfriend? Could I call him that now? We’d finally reconciled, yet with a piece of Theht inhabiting my consciousness, I felt I could never be close to him. How long until I could no longer control the goddess? What if I hurt him? Or worse, what if I killed him? I still hadn’t told anyone what Theht had done to me, and I wasn’t sure if I would ever be able to admit it to anyone. Not even to Kull.
Even so, I missed him more than humanly possible, and despite the goddess lurking in my head, I still wanted to be with him. He had the unique talent of calming my fears. Plus, he was a gorgeous Wult warrior, which only made the business of our being apart even worse. Not being in the same world with him put me in a dark mood.
A knock came at the door, so I pushed Han off my lap, crossed to the door, and opened it. A man with piercing golden eyes, a pressed white suit, and striking silver hair stood tall on my doorstep. He carried a wooden cane carved with a dragon’s head on top. Looking regal in every sense of the word, he gave me gentle smile. It took me a moment to find my voice.
“Fan’twar?”
“Hello, Olive.”
My stepfather made it a point never to cross worlds. In fact, I hadn’t seen him in a human form since I was a kid, and I couldn’t remember the last time he’d been to Earth.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
A low growl rumbled in his chest, and I heard the dragon in his voice.
“I’ve got bad news, I’m afraid.”
Chapter 2
I sat across from Fan’twar in the booth at a hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant. It had been a Taco Bell in another life and had been reincarnated to serve the best pizza and breadsticks on the planet. As we placed our drink orders, I found myself still in shock that he’d crossed worlds and taken a human form. As of yet, he still hadn’t given me a great explanation for why he’d come to Earth.
He’d wanted to go out for lunch and sample Earth Kingdom cuisine. I’d refused at first, eventually admitting the sad state of my checking account, which had only given him reason to take me out on his dime. I couldn’t argue—dragons were loaded.
So, we’d ended up here.
“Do you know why I’ve come?” he asked.
“No. I’m pretty puzzled, to be honest.”
“Yes, I assume you must be quite confused. I had at one time made it a point never to cross to Earth at all. The memory loss is not something I wish to experience, and memory charms have never worked well with dragon magic. Furthermore, Earth magic will frequently transform dragons into crocodiles or lizards, giving them the intelligence of primitive animals and making it impossible for us to create portals to return home. Of course, one need only take a human form before crossing to avoid those side effects.”
“Interesting. You know, I don’t think I’ll ever look at lizards in quite the same way.”
The waitress arrived with our drinks and a breadbasket, which filled the air with the scent of buttered garlic. After taking our orders, the waitress exited to the back and I turned my attention to my stepfather.
“So why did you come to Earth?”
“Hmm…” he growled, sounding more dragon than human, “I am troubled over the elves—particularly the elven queen.”
Chills prickled my skin. Anything having to do with her was never a good thing.
“What about the queen?”
“She has been gaining a fair amount of support from the elven nobles. While she stands strong as elven leader, I suspect she is not satisfied.”
“You think she wants to rule more than just elves?”
“Indeed.”
“Short of assassinating you, I don’t see how she plans to do it.”
“There are powers in Faythander that are stronger than me, young one.”
“Maybe. But it’s not just your powers that make you ruler. You respect all races, and so they respect you. She doesn’t. In fact, most races hate her. And if she kills you, she’ll be making more enemies than she has now.”
Fan’twar sipped his soda, made an odd face, and then stared at the brown fizzy liquid. “The beverages have changed since I was here last. What is this?”
“It’s basically liquid sugar with carbonation. It’s called Coke. Do you like it?”
He took another sip, then swallowed, his brows knit in concentration. “It has an odd flavor. Reminds me of a mold-worm custard. What is yours?”
“It’s called Dr. Pepper. Try it.” I scooted the glass toward him.
He took it and sipped the soda. “Yes,” he said, “I prefer this. May I?”
“Sure.”
I reluctantly scooted his Coke toward me, trading drinks with him. Yet another reason why I could never live with Kull or Fan’twar in Earth Kingdom—I’d never get the luxury of finishing my own drinks between the two of them.
“Now,” Fan’twar said after a long gulp, “you are correct that the queen would be foolish to try and kill me, but there are other ways of gaining rule in Faythander. Have you ever heard of the lost isle of the Tremulac Sea?”
“Of course. It’s Faythander’s version of King Arthur if I remember right.”
“Not exactly. While Earth Kingdom’s King Arthur promoted peace and equality, symbolized by the round table, the nobles of Tremulac did the opposite.”
“But there are similarities,” I said. “Each story spoke of a magic sword, and each told of kingdoms being united, although one story did it more peacefully than the
