The Consumption of Magic (Tales From Verania 3)

Pat crouched down in front of me until she was at eye level. Leslie did the same at her side, her feathers brushing against her mate.

They really were quite beautiful, now that I wasn’t mostly filled with fear that they were going to kill me. The feathers atop their heads looked soft to the touch, whereas the ones along their backs and wings appeared to be hard as steel. I marveled at how different they were from Kevin or Zero and wondered just how many types of dragons there used to be. The fact that these two found each other seemed to be a minor miracle.

“We asked him about you,” Pat said. “While you were inside the castle.”

“Randall? Now wait a minute. You probably shouldn’t believe a single word he says about me. He tends to overexaggerate my faults! I didn’t mean to turn his nose into a dick—”

“I’m talking about Kevin.”

“Oh. Oh! Right! Ignore everything that I just said.”

“I believe that’s not going to be an issue.”

“Good. Good, that’s—hey!”

“So precious,” Leslie whispered.

“We asked him about you,” Pat said. “Because a dragon’s trust is not something that is handed out lightly. There is a choice in everything, human. The gods may have dictated your path, but they have not dictated ours.”

“You’re telling me,” I mumbled. “They’re kind of jerks that way.”

“We were to be given a choice,” Leslie said. “That’s what he told us.”

“He?” I asked.

“The star dragon,” Pat said, surprising absolutely no one.

“Yeah,” I said. “Let me tell you about that guy. I get the feeling he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing.”

“Blasphemy,” Pat hissed.

“But most likely true,” Leslie said.

“Leslie!”

“Oh, stop it,” Leslie said, rolling her eyes at her mate’s anger. “He was a bit of a loon. You can’t deny that. For a god, he was rather… ungodly.”

I decided Leslie was my favorite.

“He still deserves respect,” Pat snapped.

“Pishposh,” Leslie said, bumping her nose against Pat’s jaw. “You’re just upset that you like the human too, even though you’re trying so hard not to show it.” Leslie looked at me and winked. “She tends to be such a grouch sometimes. Have to keep up appearances, you know?”

“I don’t know why I put up with you,” Pat muttered.

“You love me.”

“Only the gods know why.”

Leslie smiled. “I’m sure they do.”

“I want to hug you both so bad right now,” I breathed. “Like, you don’t even know. Lesbians are so awesome.”

“Touch me and you’ll lose an arm,” Pat said, snapping her teeth.

“Finish your story so that we can tell it we’ll help it,” Leslie said, nudging her mate.

“Leslie!”