Thailyn returned to Thager of a few days later. This was the first night he had free and he was anxious to see Darina. He wasn't sure if he could find her house so he went to the magic shop. “Is Darina working today?” He asked the shopkeeper. “She's busy with the client.” The shopkeeper frowned. “I don’t want to interrupt. I was just wondering if she was here.” Thailyn wandered around the shop a bit. There were some little toy dragons. He bought one. He left the store a moment while he cast the spell on it then he returned. “Would you give this to her when she's done?” He held up the now purple dragon. The shopkeeper took it. Thailyn nodded and left. He crossed over to the blacksmith to pick up his order. The smith recognized him and got the item. Thailyn could hear someone working in the back room. He guessed the assistant was back. “I'm sorry. I know this is none of my business but I have to ask. What is this thing?” The smith asked. Thailyn smiled. “It's a cane.” “A cane? A cane is just a stick.” “Basically, so is this. This one's just designed to give better balance.” The smith eyed the cane again and nodded. “Make sense I guess.” Thailyn paid for the cane and left. **** “Darina, your dragon friend was here. He left this.” Darina's boss handed her a small purple dragon. “Star, meet me at the Red Terrace when you get off.” It said as she touched it. She dropped it in surprise. It repeated the message when she picked it up. She laughed. Even her boss smiled. She had no idea which dragon friend had left it so she hurried to the Red Terrace Inn as soon as she got off work. The closer she got to the inn, the more convinced she was that it was Thailyn. She had a feeling it was the bond that told her. She entered the inn and looked around. Sure enough, it was Thailyn. He rose to greet her when she approached. **** Thailyn waited for Darina. She smiled when she saw him. He rose to give her a hug. It felt so wonderful to hold her in his arms. He kissed her and transported them up to his room. Even though he knew they should wait, he seriously thought about mating with her. He was fighting a losing battle against himself when Darina's stomach growled. Guilty, he pulled away. “I'm sorry. I forgot. You need to eat.” “Don't you? Did you eat already? I can wait until I get home.” Darina offered. “No. I won't do that to you. I haven't eaten either. It's just dragons can get caught up in an activity they enjoy and forget about food. We could go several days without eating if we need to. Just watch out when we start again. We could eat a whole herd of livestock.” Darina giggled at that. “Let me get us some dinner.” He offered. He was back a short time later with a tray of food. She laughed when she saw it. “How many people are eating with us?” “Just you and I. You've known other dragons. You didn't realize how much we eat?” He set the tray between them on the bed. “The dragon I know is more apt to drink his dinner.” Thailyn frowned not understanding. “He likes rum for his dinner, lunch and breakfast and in between in case he gets thirsty.” Darina explained. Thailyn nodded understanding. “This is my nephew?” “Mirimar's nephew.” She corrected. He shrugged. “Same thing. He's her nephew and she's my sister. He isn’t my son so he must be a nephew.” She looked like he'd gone crazy. “I'm a dragon. We're all related. If two dragons marry, the two families are joined. “ “I thought dragons didn't marry.” “We don't marry in the way humans do but our mates are as much a spouse as any husband or wife. “Speaking of which, before my hormones get the better of me again, will you be my mate?” He asked. The question surprised her. “Not tonight, but sometime?” He added. “Why not tonight?” Thailyn wasn't sure if she was serious or not. It didn't feel like she was teasing. “Because of my heart, I take a lot of green bough. It the blocks the bond some, quite a bit actually. The stronger the bond gets, the more we’ll still feel each other even when I have to take multiple doses. The longer we wait, while still having contact, the stronger the bond will get.” “I would love to be your mate.” She assured him. “You do realize that if we become mates, we’ll be bonded for life? There is no way to break the bond.” Well, no safe way but he didn't mention that. It would kill him. She nodded. “That I've known for a while. Your nephew told me. I thought his aunt and uncle were separated where they live in different cities. He explained because of Mirimar's injuries, it's easier for her to live in Baj-tisk but Pt'this needs to live in Sen-gan because of his job.” “So you'll be my chosen?” He asked. “I will, but only until we become mates.” She smiled teasingly. “My mom wants to meet you.” She told him. “What did you tell her about me?” He asked cautiously. “Not much. You're a healer named Lyni and we met at the Dragon’s Wine. I didn't know how much to tell her.” “I'll answer her questions.” He assured her. “Will she worry you didn't come home after work?” He asked. Darina shook her head. “I don’t always come home right away. Sometimes I spent time with friends.” “Will she be okay at for a while?” Darina nodded. “The neighbor lady keeps an eye on her for me during the day. Unless I'm home for cooking lesson, she helps mom get dinner started too. In exchange, I help her clean her place and if she needs something at the shop, I get it for her cheap.” He watched her eat a moment; waiting for the question he knew was coming. “What about your mom?” She asked, tentatively. “History talks about your dad and you and your sister but it never mentions your mom. Didn’t she come with you? Or is she gone?” “I don't know where she is. When the immortals were invading Tricon, they were going after the augmenters, the mages who can magnify or manipulate magic the way most of us can't. After the immortals retreated to regroup we sent the augmenters all away. We even sent anyone related to them away so no new ones would be born on Tricon because it's an ability that runs in bloodlines. “We lost track of them. I think they hid even from us so we couldn't betray them. Then, after time, the immortals stopped coming so we felt it was safe for them to return but we couldn't find them. So we sent out people to look for them. My mom was one of those chosen to go because she spoke several foreign languages but before they left, she found out she was pregnant with my sister. They decided she shouldn't go. Most of the dragons that went never returned. Some had left mates behind so we knew they had died. Others, we don't know what happened to them. The few who returned hadn't found the Baj-tisk.” “Baj-tisk? That's the dragon clan here,” she said in surprise. He nodded. “In Tricot, Baj-tisk means hidden refugee. And they were hidden quite well from us. “My mom decided once my sister was old enough that she'd go out looking. She and my dad talked about the whole family going but my sister wasn't quite an adult yet and they didn't want to put a child at risk so my mom left alone. “After time, my dad lost contact with her. Then, he started feeling horrible things through the bond. He never said what but he was insistent we find her, so the three of us left. “You can tell where someone is through the bond but it's not precise over distance so my dad knew an approximate direction but not exactly where my mom was. We headed in this direction. “I'm not clear how we ended up at Dragon Castle. I was having a terrible bout with my heart and things are foggy but I know we ended up there and we found not only the Baj-tisk but an augmenter who had been trained by an immortal. My dad was livid that the Baj-tisk would work with our enemies. “Apparently, the augmenter had come into his magic as a toddler and his parents couldn't shield him because they weren't augmenters. He also had a perfect memory so he would hear a spell once and try casting it. He needed to be shielded continuously. Only an immortal can do that. “He and a friend, Kar, were trying to teach Kar's brother, Pt'this, magic. Pt'this was the strongest dragon in Baj-tisk but his parents died when he was young and he'd been raised by humans. I don't know why Kar didn't take him in so he could be raised by dragons. Because of all this Pt’this had no control of his magic. Whatever horrible things that had been happening to my mom had stopped so my dad agreed to mentor him. Then, Nor’than and the trolls attacked. There was no way we could leave then. Nor’than was one of the immortals to attack Tricon. Then, my father died in my sister was hurt. I may not be allowed to see her but I can't leave her. I wouldn't know where to look for my mom anyhow. All my dad ever said was she was north of here. There's a lot of lands north of here. None of the merchants I talk to have seen any sign of dragons to the north either.” Darina looked thoughtful. “There's a man here, the one Trittan works for, and he’s got an information network. I believe most of his network is here in Menthanla but I know he has people in the north too. We can talk to him, but it'll cost you.” She suggested. “Money is nothing compared family.” He assured her. “How long are you saying? I can arrange a meeting.” She offered. “I have patients I need to check on so I have to leave in the morning but I can come back most evenings. I have to stay at the clinic the night after tomorrow. Unless I have a patient in a village that needs overnight supervision, twice a week I stay at the clinic overnight to give Lial some time off.” “If you are either at the village or the clinic, when you go home?” She asked. He shrugged. “I don't have a home. I guess the clinic is my home. I have a room there. It's where I spend my days off.” He smiled and looked her over. “Well, it was.” He leaned over the food tray and kissed her. She kissed him back. He let out a purr and moved the tray off the bed. **** Thailyn met Darina the next day. She arranged a meeting with a man named Merrada. They met at her shop and she took him to a different inn. The man she led him to had the look of trouble about him. Thailyn didn't like Darina doing business with the likes of him. The man smiled. “Tired of working in that shop? I can get you all the clients you want.” Thailyn let out a growl. “She's mine.” The man looked up at him, startled. “We we need information,” Darina said, sitting down. Thailyn chose to stand. He didn't trust this man and wanted to be on guard. “What kind of information?” Merrada asked. “We’re looking for woman named…” She turned to Thailyn. “Shawtila.” Thailyn supplied. “What's the va?” The man asked. “She doesn't have one,” Thailyn said. “She's not Menthanlan.” Menthanlans added ‘va’ and their parents’ names to add distinction to individuals and show family ties. The Baj-tisk had adopted the practice. Here, he was caller Thailyn va Mishtali. On Tricon they simply used their given names. He was known as Thailyn, or sometimes Thailyn the healer. The man frowned. “She's not Menthanlan?” Thailyn shook his head. “She's Tricot.” The man nodded. “Where was she last seeing?” Thailyn shrugged. “All I know is she was north of here.” “The Tricot are dragons. What's her coloring?” Merrada asked. “Purple.” “There's a purple dragon living in the palace.” Merrada offered. “Not her.” Thailyn shook his head. That was Mirimar, his sister. “There's another in the villages outside of Illia.” Merrada continued. “That's me. I told you, she's not in Menthanla.” Thailyn frowned. He turned to Darina. “This man is a waste of time.” He turned to leave. “Wait.” Merrada called after him. “I'm just being thorough. I’ll send word to my contacts in the north. Just be warned, dragons are not liked in Yarba. If that's where she was, she may not be still alive.” “I understand.” Thailyn nodded. “I'd still like to know.” “This will take time and it’ll cost you.” Merrada warned. “How much?” Darina asked. “500 gold.” Merrada told her. She scowled. “You think because he's not from here you can take advantage of it. Ten gold is to use usual rate finding someone.” Thailyn growled again. “Twenty gold. This is harder. I want it all up front.” “I’ll give you three now, the rest when you have the information. And I want proof. If she's a live and you tell her Lyni's looking for her, she'll give you proof.” “And if she's not?” “I still want proof.” Thailyn insisted. “Is she your mate or something?” Merrada asked. “She's my mate.” He indicated Darina. They weren't of course, but Merrada would be less likely to mess with a dragon’s mate than his chosen. “Don't worry who Shawtila is to me. Just find her.” Merrada nodded. “Twenty gold and I'll tell you where she is, three now, the rest later.” Thailyn gave him the three coins. He grabbed the man's arm. “But if you double-cross me…” He felt his magic draining. The man was augmenter. Thailyn pulled in more magic to compensate. He couldn't keep ahead of the draining for long but it should be long enough. Then he slowed Merrada's heart drastically. Merrada stopped draining him and started gasping for breath. “… I won't hesitate to kill you, augmenter.” He allowed the man's heart to return to normal and released him. He stalked out with Darina hurrying to follow. He could feel her surprise at his threat and she wasn't happy about it. “Sorry about that. He was planning on double-crossing me. I may never hear from him but at least he won't make waste my time with fake proof.” “You think he would?” “I do.” Thailyn nodded. “I could see it in his eyes.” “Would you really kill him?” Thailyn knew she was wondering what kind of man she was involved with. “I don't know.” He told her honestly. “I don't plan on it. I have a temper ad have gotten into fights because of it. So far, it's never caused me to kill anyone and I work to make sure it stays that way.” “What did you do to him?” She asked. “Slowed his heart to a dangerous level.” “Never mess with a dragon or his family,” Darina said. He smiled. “Exactly.” Then he pulled her close. “And you are part of my family.” She shook her head. “Not quite. We’re not mates yet.” He shrugged. “Close enough. Will you join me for dinner? I need to get a room yet.” “No, you're joining me for dinner. Like I said, my mom wants to meet you. She wants you to come to dinner tonight.” “Tonight? I don’t know. I should shave and change. Dragon skin and silk are not exactly dinner attire. And while I like a few whiskers, my beard isn't all that great.” He scratched at the sparse beard on his chin. She laughed. “Stop. You look fine. And don't you dare shave off the beard.” He shrugged. “I just want to make a good impression.” “Relax. Either she likes you, or she thinks you like the rest of my friends.” She kissed him. He kissed her back. “Let's just get a room for the night.” He suggested. “Not until you meet my mom.” Darina insisted. “Can we at least get my bag?” They'd left it at the shop while he went to meet with Merrada. “Sure.” She agreed.