Tropical Dragon Diver (Shifting Sands Resort 5)

“This must be where you work,” she said, standin

g by the lifeguard tower. At some point over the sand, she had taken his hand, and they had fingers twined together.

“Well,” Bastian said modestly, “I hardly ever use the tower. I’m usually in dragon form so I can see further, and keep an eye on the pool deck at the same time.”

Her fingers in his turned to rock. “In what form?” she asked, frozen.

“Dragon,” Bastian repeated, and he was surprised when she withdrew her hand and backed away from him, eyes wide and skin pale beneath her natural golden tone. “What is it?” He asked gently, suddenly afraid he’d done something wrong.

“You’re a dragon,” she said flatly.

“You didn’t know about dragons?” Some cultures kept their dragons secret. Perhaps India was one of those. “I assure you, we are not simply mythological.”

“I know about dragons,” she spat, and Bastian felt as if his world was tipping unexpectedly.

Chapter 11

A dragon, Saina thought. She hadn’t expected Bastian to be a dragon. This changed everything.

She had finally felt like maybe she could take this place at face value, had even felt badly for her first instinct to try to control the people here who had been nothing but kind and generous.

She turned away, more disturbed by this revelation than she ought to be. She shouldn’t care. She shouldn’t care in the slightest for this man, let alone should she care what his shifted form was.

But despite her care, he’d gotten under her skin, she’d trusted his boyish smile and softened to his chivalrous actions. Dragon honor could be a tricky thing, she should know.

“Saina?” Even his voice sounded innocent.

“What family are you from?” she asked, chin high as she looked out over the turquoise ocean that lapped along the beautiful beach.

He hesitated so long that she made the mistake of looking back at him.

His face was so terribly dear to her already, and the pain on it now made her want to comfort him.

“I am from the Santa Rosa dragon family,” he said, and he said it with so much guilt that Saina knew he had to know. He had to know what his family had done to hers.

“You knew,” she said. “You knew all along. Did Keylor send you after me? I’m such an idiot. I can’t believe…”

“Keylor?” Bastian said in surprise. “You know Keylor?”

Saina paused in her rant. His disbelief felt genuine, however much that didn’t make sense.

“Who are you to Keylor?” she asked, taking one angry step towards him. She put music into her words, and added:

“Tell the truth,

Say it fair,

Speak it clear,

Don’t lie, don’t dare…”

It was one of her strongest songs, and backed by her betrayal and anger, she could feel it bind Bastian like iron as she held the last note.

“He is - was - my brother,” he gasped, as if he were being squeezed.

Saina let the last note go and he blinked at her in consternation. “I am not accepted as family any longer, and I am not allowed to claim kinship or mention their name.”

Saina furrowed her brows at him. “Explain,” she said firmly. She drew in a breath and held it, in case he needed a second verse.