“Oh, you beautiful thing!” Phryne said softly.
They were the first words she had spoken since the dragon had landed, the first indication she had given that she wasn’t in total shock. The tremor in her voice caused Pan to look over at her in surprise. She wasn’t shocked; she was excited.
To Pan’s horror, she took a tentative step toward the beast, her hand outstretched.
“Phryne!” he gasped.
“Stay where you are, Pan,” she said at once. “Don’t move. Don’t alarm him. I think I know what’s happening. Just stay still.”
No part of him thought that this was a good idea, but it was too late to do anything but what she asked. She was too far away from him to stop.
“Beautiful creature, are you the last of your kind? Are you all that is left? The only one?” Phryne was cooing at the dragon, no longer advancing, but still holding out her hand. To his shock, Pan realized she was holding out the Elfstones.
The dragon, watching intently until now, suddenly dropped his head so that his nose was only inches from Phryne’s outstretched hand. He could hear the rough sound of his breathing, then a sharp snuffle and a grunt that came from deep inside his belly.
“Do you see, Pan? Do you see how he’s reacting? He senses the Elfstones! He smells their magic! That’s what drew him to us! I knew it!”
Certainly, something had brought the dragon to them, Pan thought. He had flown a long enough distance to reach them, flying so straight to where they crossed the foothills that backed up against the mountains and passes leading into their valley home that he couldn’t possibly have arrived by chance alone. Phryne had just finished using the magic to reveal the details of the battle they had heard raging in the distance, and moments later the dragon had appeared.
“What does he want with the magic?” he pressed.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. He wants something, though.” She shifted her focus back to the dragon. “Oh, you lovely, wonderful creature, tell me what it is!”
The dragon lifted and dipped his head again, almost as if acknowledging her question.
He positioned his nose just above the Elfstones, waiting to see what she would do. The yellow eyes lidded to slits and his long, black tongue licked out.
Impulsively, Phryne opened her clenched fist, palm up, to reveal the Stones cradled in her fingers.
The dragon shifted his head so that he could better see what she was doing, and when he caught sight of the Elfstones, he emitted a sudden violent sound that fell somewhere between a cough and a bellow. This caused the girl to flinch, but she held her ground as he sniffed into the cup of her palm, and then shook his head as if to acknowledge what she had done.
“It’s the magic that drew you to us, isn’t it?” she whispered. “What is it that you want with it? Do you want me to call it up for you? Is that what you want? Is that what made you come? To see how the magic is made?”
“Phryne …”
Panterra spoke her name softly, wanting to warn her that summoning the magic might have exactly the wrong effect on the creature. He might react in an entirely different way than she expected. If he thought the magic dangerous, a threat to his safety, he could end her life with one snap of his great jaws.
But Phryne was no longer paying attention to him. She was focused exclusively on the dragon, staring into his eyes, watching the way he reacted to her every move. She was enraptured with him, compelled by him. There was a bond between them, Pan realized, one that had begun to form the moment she had revealed the Elfstones and now held them fast.
Then Phryne closed her eyes and went down inside herself in the way she had learned to do when summoning the magic. Pan felt a shock of dismay go through him at the realization that she intended to do exactly what he had feared she might. She was responding to what she believed the dragon wanted of her, but by doing so she was taking a terrible risk.
The magic flared to life, the blue light leaking through the cracks between her fingers, sharp and clear. Instantly the dragon responded, making strange sounds deep in his throat, his eyes no longer lidded but wide open, his nostrils flaring. He snapped his long tail, causing Pan to jump back in spite of his resolve, clouds of dust and clots of earth flying as the spikes raked the ground. Phryne’s eyes snapped open at the sounds of the dragon’s agitation, and she let a little more of the magic escape her fingers. The dragon gave a deep growl, almost a wail, and bobbed his head toward her fist.
“Look, Pan! He wants the magic! He’s entranced!” She was so excited that she was almost hopping as she watched the dragon’s movements, a huge smile spreading across her face. “Oh, he’s so wonderful, isn’t he? He’s perfect!”