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TO BE MATED 1388
He barely reacted to her presence."Ethan?" Taloni said.The dragon made a small noise in its throat, but calling it a grunt would've been generous. He appeared to be halfway between awake and asleep."Ethan, I brought some food for you," Taloni set the bits of meat in front of him.The dragon sniffed, and it looked like he tried to move his head, but he gave up rather quickly.Taloni put a hand on the dragon and discovered his scales weren't nearly as warm as they had been the previous night. She focused all her senses on the dragon trying to get a sense for his health. It took some time, but she was able to see how he was doing.It wasn't good.His regular mana was completely exhausted and his deep mana was much lower than was healthy. It was slow, but his deep mana was being used to keep him alive and wasn't being replenished. The only good news was that his deep mana wasn't too depleted; she could use regular mana to help."I'm going to give you some of my mana," Taloni said.The
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But satisfaction brought her back"I don't feel like it," Taloni replied while trying to shoo Pralya out of her shack, but she wasn't going easily. She slipped around the Fey and into the room, standing there with her hands on her hips."Come on, it'll be fun," Prayla said in her annoying sing-song voice. "You've been moping all afternoon and some fun will do you some good.""I don't feel like dancing," Taloni countered. Outside, night was fast approaching and she could hear the miners preparing for what was sure to be a marvelous party."Since when has a Fey not felt like dancing?" Prayla said, then she cocked her head to the side. "What's wrong?""Nothing,""Dragon shit," Prayla replied. "You've been moping since that cave-in this afternoon. It's not like anybody died - mostly thanks to your healing magic - so what gives?"Taloni opened her mouth, then shook her head and flopped down on the makeshift roll of blankets that she used for a bed. The cave-in earlier hadn't been bad, but
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There was something wild about his deep mana that she could feel when gently brushed up against her hand. It was at once powerful and primal, yet also kind and tender. It was full of deep love and joy, yet also profound sadness and loss. It had amazing strength; yet also profound weakness. It was wild and powerfully primal, but also had an air of sophistication and grace.It was a paradox; like 'hot ice' or 'bright darkness'.She found the combination fascinating, almost captivating.Her curious Fey nature wondered what it would feel like to accept that mana; to be joined completely to this powerfully primal force of nature with a good heart. The idea was intoxicating. She felt almost light-headed. She resolved to remove her hand, but it didn't want to listen.What if..."Curiosity killed the Fey," She reminded herself silently, and yet...And yet...Her instincts and curiosity were united in one direction; her will pulled her in quite another. She felt he was a good man - or dragon -
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"Yes, well that limits your options doesn't it?" Rachel replied with a wink. "It's not like there are any non-dragons in the world, who'd be interested in marrying a kind, loving wood elf like yourself." She added with a dose of good-natured sarcasm."Thank you," Alana smiled, then added. "I know there are more men, It's just... I wish dragons could father non-dragon children.""Maybe they can.""Oh?""You know that Lord Delmar is obsessed with dragons right?" Rachel asked. Alana nodded, so she continued. "Well, I overheard him one time telling someone that dragons can choose the gender of their offspring. They just always choose to make them males.""But there are no female dragons," Alana said. "Do you think it's possible that female dragons exist?""My father didn't think so," Rachel answered. "He was having a very heated argument with a woman on the topic. The woman was very insistent on knowing if a female dragon could exist. Lord Delmar was crystal clear that they couldn't."As
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"While we're on the topic, there's something you should probably know," Alana sighed, then told her what Elder Goman had said about one of Lord Delmar's mages - probably an Arch Mage - trying to turn regular people into dragons."By Illuminar, was he serious?" Rachel said when Alana had finished."Unfortunately, I think he was.""That's just what we need, but does the magic even exist for that?""Elder Goman seemed to think so," Alana replied. "Why?""Transfiguration is one of the most complex and difficult of the magical arts. I can't imagine how he would do it. Of course, I'm no expert and certainly not an Arch Mage. But, I've tried transfiguration before and it's devilishly tricky. It takes a lot of magic too, though an Arch Mage wouldn't be limited that way.""I wouldn't know," Alana said. "I can enchant anything you want, but I'm pretty useless at spells.""If it helps you feel any better, I'm terrible at enchanting,"Alana raised her eyebrow."It's true," Rachel said. "I've trie
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It was just after sunrise. The sun was shining onto his face through the trees, the birds were singing, and the sky was cloudless blue. It was a little slice of heaven on earth. He would've enjoyed it more if he wasn't so tired.As he woke up, he noticed something warm cuddled up against his side. He could hear the sound of relaxed breathing and the scent that filled his nostrils was heavenly. Adjusting his head, he could see Taloni had curled up next to him and snuggled against his body.Dear God in heaven she was gorgeous.Ethan had noticed she was attractive when he'd first seen her, but somehow he'd missed her true beauty. Her skin was absolutely flawless, without a blemish in sight. Her long golden brown hair looked like a professional stylist had made it look 'bedhead messy' because it looked perfect in its chaos.Coming from her back between her shoulder blades were two sets of wings. They looked like a cross between a dragonfly and butterfly and somehow gave her an ethereal, a
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"And she loves you?" Taloni asked. She glanced up, but then looked down again. Ethan thought he saw her eyes getting watery again.Ethan took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, she does.""Then I shouldn't get in the way," Taloni said. "The Book of Light says that loving someone means doing what's best for them, regardless of what it costs you." she looked Ethan in the eye. "I'm going to do what's best for you, regardless of what it costs me.""Taloni, I..." Ethan said, but voice caught in his throat as he realized the full implication of her words. It didn't make sense to him; how could she care for him that much after only meeting him a couple days ago?"It's okay," Taloni sniffled and wiped away the tears that had started forming again at the corners of her eyes. "I'm a slave anyway and my master would never let me go.""Maybe I could buy your freedom?" he offered."I want that more than anything," Taloni said. "But I doubt you h
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"It's not wise to perform surgery with a sword; you might do more harm than good. Besides, with the source gone they will dry up and shrivel over the next few days, gradually taking their influence with them. Congratulations Beth; you just saved your husband's life.""So he'll be okay?"She nodded. "He will. The weakened effects will linger for a day or two and gradually fade. Soon, he'll be right as rain.""But what about the gold cube?" Beth asked. "It was enchanted, so couldn't he simply get cursed again?""Can a trap be sprung twice without someone to reset it?" Gabriella countered. "No, the cube is harmless now as its curse is already spent. Otherwise, anyone else who touched it would be affected. Now here, you'll want this."Gabriella unbuckled the sword belt with attached scabbard from her waist and offered them to Beth. She took them, sheathed Aharown, then buckled the belt on herself. For some reason, she felt the weight comforting.
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