Oh, Poppy knew that awful sound, and not for the first time, she was thankful for it. It was enough to make Roman stop and swish his head around to see what was behind him. The large, red scaled dragon was in the sand, glaring Roman down. Narissa was on her back, being lowered by the dragon’s tale to the ground. 

“You okay, Poppy?” Narissa asked, looking for the tell-tale red glitter in the mass of Roman’s mane. 

“I’m good!” Poppy called, though she wondered if Narissa could hear her with the distance between them. 

Narissa came closer. Her hand stretched out to Roman, as if offering him a treat, though there was nothing there. “Come on, Roman. Come back to the beach.” 

Roman turned, staring at the woman wi...

Please subscribe to keep reading.