Free Dragon Scales by Sasha L. Miller Page A

shot him an exasperated look.
    "She's got a chip in her shoulder," Isaia said, his mouth twisting. He turned the bit of jerky in his hands over, fidgeting with it. "We share a mother, but her father was human, and a lot of dragons don't hold with that."
    "Oh," Amantea said. He frowned. "I didn't know..." Amantea wrinkled his nose. He had heard of cross-species relationships, obviously. They were rare, but they did happen. He'd never heard of a child being a result, though.
    "It surprised everyone," Isaia said. He shrugged. "She's only got one dragon form because of it, but she's more dragon than human, but even dragons can be idiots."
    "Everyone can be idiots," Amantea muttered, thinking of his own clan heads. He didn't know what they'd do if a half-faerie was born. Probably spend years debating what to do about it.
    "True," Isaia said, sighing. He tossed his jerky aside, slumping. He stared morosely at the floor. Amantea frowned, his stomach twisting. What had Isaia so upset? They were about to finish this ordeal... but maybe that was it. Teria had mentioned Isaia and Naldo had been lovers previously. Maybe Isaia was upset at the prospect of dealing with him again.
    "I'm going to go make the circle," Amantea said. The sooner they were done with this, the better. He didn't wait for Isaia to reply before heading back over to the root cellar. He fetched up the number of potatoes he would need and set up the portal in the center of the room again, anchoring it to bring them directly to Naldo's backyard.
    Isaia fetched Teria at some point. She looked as cranky as Isaia, but she did nod at Amantea in greeting, which Amantea returned as he set up the anchors.
    "You let me deal with him first," Isaia said to Teria as they stepped into the circle. "You can have your crack at him after we sort out the threats against Amantea's nest."
    "Yes, yes, you made that clear outside," Teria snapped. She bared her teeth at Isaia. "Let's get this over with."
    Amantea activated the portal, taking a deep breath when they appeared in Naldo's backyard. It smelled sweet, with several blooming, unkempt flower beds lining the yard. It was a better smell than Amantea himself, who still smelled of stale lake water.
    Naldo opened the back door seconds after they arrived, looking worse than the last time Amantea had seen him. His skin was sallow, and he had dark shadows under his eyes. His clothes hung off him loosely, and Amantea couldn't remember if that had been the case the last time he'd seen Naldo or not.
    "Fucking faeries," Naldo said, but there was no heat in his words. He sounded exhausted, and Amantea frowned at him. What was wrong with him? "I assume you're here to kill me, then?"
    "No," Teria said sweetly, her mouth curving in a predatory smile that made Amantea nervous.
    "Wait," Isaia said, casting Teria a quelling look that did nothing to deter her smile. "First, you stop the blackmail on Amantea's nest."
    "I did," Naldo said. He sighed, glancing off to the west. "After he ported you away last time, it wasn't worth it any longer. The rest of that nest was worthless. Farthingworth never wanted to do it, anyway."
    Amantea scowled, but he didn't disagree. He felt like he was missing a piece, though. Why bother, if this was the end result? What about the dragon scales had been so important, and why was Naldo giving up now?
    "Well, that's set, then," Teria said cheerfully. "Can I now?"
    "What do you want dragon scales for?" Amantea asked. He edged in front of Isaia, frowning at Naldo. "How do we know you won't try something else to get them?"
    "I won't let him," Teria said, rolling her eyes. She sniffed, dismissing Amantea with a derisive look.
    Naldo laughed weakly, which turned into a coughing fit, which kept going for a few minutes, leaving him gasping for air. When he finally caught his breath, he said, "It won't matter. I'll be dead in a week at best. The dragon scales were my only chance at a cure."
    "You have got to be kidding me," Isaia