Free The Dragon Spy (The Lone Shifters Book 1) by Michele Bardsley

Chapter One
    “ I want you to steal Giselda’s Egg.”
    Garrett Stone, reformed thief and exiled dragon, stared at his mother in shock. “You want me to steal? Isn’t that the reason I was shunned from our kind?” He lifted his hand. “Giselda’s Egg is a myth, Mother. How am I supposed to abscond with a non-existent object?”
    “It’s not mythical.” She sighed. “As you know King Kearney has mated once more.”
    “Didn’t he marry the human who was the reincarnated soul of his murdered wife?”
    “Yes, darling. But they still had to have another wedding. Besides, she’s now our one and only dragonwitch. Together, they are powerful rulers. Do you remember Clíona?
    “I was barely a hatchling, Mother.”
    “She was good for him. She softened the rough edges of our king. And she has done so once more.”
    Garrett waited. What was his mother up to now?
    “I asked the king to review your case, and he has agreed to lift your banishment—if you are able to perform one task for him.”
    “Find Giselda’s Egg?” He shook his head. “That’s like asking me to change the color of the sky. It can’t be done.”
    “What if I told you that the egg exists and we know where it is?”
    Garrett mulled over his mother’s words. More than a 1,000-years-old, Syneca Stone looked as gorgeous as ever. Blessed with high cheekbones, sparkling blue eyes, and alabaster skin, his mother remained a classic beauty. Her only concession to age was the monthly coloring appointments she kept in order to oust the gray from her honey blonde hair. He knew the one thing that vexed his mother about her human appearance was her lack of height—she was just shy of five feet tall. She was dragon royalty, so she had learned to be imposing at a young age. However, when she was in her human form she often commented that she felt like a Lilliputian railing at giants. Mother’s dragon, however, was a sight to behold. The jeweled tones of blue and silver marked them as part of the Stone clan, but her coloring was especially vibrant.
    Tonight Mother wore a crème-colored pantsuit—Versace if he wasn’t mistaken—and four-inch open-toed stilettos. The staggeringly high heels were a sure sign she felt less than confident. Added to that, her usually benevolent gaze held both determination and trepidation.
    “What do you say, Garrett?”
    “I’m on the straight and narrow. I’m only halfway through my 100-year banishment.” As the second youngest son of Syneca and Riles Stone, he was never meant to inherit leadership. His older brother Liam had long been groomed for the post. After their father died, Mother essentially handed him the reigns of their clan. Liam and Garrett were never close. They were nearly a hundred years apart in age.
    “If you know where the egg is, then why send me?”
    “A proof of loyalty, perhaps. Bring him the egg, Garrett, and King Kearney will lift your banishment and proclaim your debt paid.”
    His arrogance and ego would not let him resist the challenge of breaking into the king’s stronghold. He hadn’t actually intended to steal anything. He just wanted to do it to show that he could.
    He’d lost everything after that foolish act. His standing, his home, his girlfriend. Fifty years had passed, and he still thought about Jessica Kearney. Yes, he’d been dating the king’s stepsister, very much in love with her, but not even that kept him from making the decision that ruined his life.
    I miss her.
    Yes, he missed her. Every time he thought he had moved on, a flash of memory—her laugh, her blue eyes, her wit—it brought the same ache to his heart.
    Garrett grasped the brandy glass in both hands and sank onto the supple leather chair. He stared at the flames that popped and snapped in the copper-plated fireplace. The living room was cozy even with its vaulted ceiling, black-marble floors, and oversized furniture. His mother had a way of creating warmth and comfort where none existed. Despite her vast