Dragon in the Dark (Kindred Tales)

“Something’s wrong with you, child,” she said, shaking her finger in Iyanna’s face. “Why in the world are you going back with this boy when he already broke your heart once?”

Iyanna sighed.

“Granny, I’ve had my heart broken several times lately—at least Ian realized his mistake and came back,” she said, looking in the mirror to straighten her veil.

Thanks to the weight she’d lost, her mom’s dress was a little baggy on her, but it didn’t really matter—hardly anyone would see it, she told herself. And all of them were already assembled at the front of the chapel, waiting to see her walk down the aisle. All but her grandmother, anyway.

“I knew it! I knew it!” her Granny exclaimed. “You met somebody up on that big monster ship, didn’t you?”

“Its’ the Monstrum ship, Granny and I was hardly there long enough to meet anybody,” Iyanna corrected her, though she couldn’t meet the other woman’s eyes.

“Don’t you go making excuses to me, child. You met somebody—I knew you would! I saw it in my dreams.”

“Granny, you did not,” Iyanna said, exasperated.

But her grandmother was not to be deterred.

“Oh yes I did—yes I did!” she exclaimed. “He was a big one—really big! He has yellow eyes and horns like the devil.”

“What?” Iyanna spun around to face her, nearly getting tangled in the too-big dress. “What did you say?”

“Ah, I see you know what I’m talking about after all.” Granny gave her a knowing smile. “Yes, I saw him, child. At first I was fearful he might do you harm, but then I saw him protecting you—defending you. And I knew he was the monster for you.”

“Monstrum” Iyanna corrected her again, but she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Her grandmother had always claimed to have the gift of second sight and she always seemed to know things that no one else did, but this was the most extreme case Iyanna could remember.

“Granny, you really saw him in your dreams?” she demanded. “I mean, really?”

“Of course I did, child.” Her grandmother shook her gray head sadly. “He wants you, you know—he grieves over losing you. That Ian, he never grieved for you! He just realized he was stupid to let such a beautiful, perfect woman slip through his fingers and now he’s taking advantage of your grief to lure you back in. But child, he’s no good for you! It’s that monster you want—he’s the one you ought to be with!”

Iyanna didn’t bother correcting her again. She couldn’t believe what her Granny was saying.

I didn’t tell anyone about Dra’vik—not a single soul!

It had been too painful to talk about—too awful to admit that she’d been dumped again and this time the man who had dumped her wasn’t even human! Iyanna had kept her pain to herself, letting her parents think that the reason she was so upset was that her dream job aboard the Monstrum Mother Ship hadn’t worked out.

Now she didn’t know what to think because somehow her Granny knew.

“Granny…” she began distractedly. “I can’t believe…I just don’t see how…”

“How I knew what you and that monster got up to?” Her Granny raised one salt and pepper eyebrow at her. “Told you I have the sight, didn’t I? And if you inherited even a smidgen of it from me, like you did my way with plants, then you know I’m right. Ian is the wrong one for you and that monster with the horns is the right one. That monster is the only one for you!”

“But, Granny—”

“Iyanna, honey, are you ready to go?”

Her mom and dad were suddenly at the door of the small dressing room at the back of the chapel.

“Are you ready to go?” her mom repeated. “Ian’s waiting for you—he looks so handsome in his tux! And oh my—you look beautiful!” She pulled a Kleenex out of her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes. “My baby is finally getting married!”

“They’re about to start the wedding march,” Iyanna’s father held out his arm. “You ready, baby girl?”

Iyanna looked at her grandmother. Granny was silent, but she was shaking that gray head of hers, slowly and disapprovingly.

“Momma, I just don’t know—” she began.

But just then the organist at the front of the chapel began the first bars of the Wedding March.

Dum…dum-da-dum…Dum…dum-da-dum…

“Come on, honey.” Iyanna’s mom tugged at her sleeve. “We have to go—it’s starting!”

Biting her lip, Iyanna took her father’s arm. It seemed like the wedding was going ahead no matter what. Feeling like a leaf swept away on a fast-rushing current, she allowed her father to lead her towards the entrance of the chapel.

But she couldn’t get her Granny’s words out of her head—“That monster is the only one for you!”

Could her grandmother be right about Dra’vik? Even if she was, it seemed like it was too late to do anything about it…