Haunting Shadows (Book 2)

Chapter 27

Nina was hugging Argento, tears of joy rimming her eyes. “I will miss looking after you little fellow.”

Beside her, Casian grinned and she threw her arms around him too, startling him. “Wow, I’m sure we’ll see you again,” he said as he awkwardly patted her back.

She shook her head when she pulled away. “No, you won’t. My job is done. I’m off to my next assignment, and who knows how far away that will take me. Us fae, we’re always moving, guarding nature. If we do see each other again, it will be by accident and probably thousands of years from now.”

Casian’s eyes widened. “Thousands?”

She waved him off. “Dragons can live forever if no outside force intervenes. You’ll get used to it once you’ve reached your first thousand and then time will start to become meaningless… you’ll be able to focus on the more important things in life.”

“Where do I go? I’ve been dead for ten years… I doubt my family would react well to seeing me… if they still lived where they used to.”

Nina made a piece of paper appear along with a feather dipped in ink. “Glamour is very useful sometimes,” she said with a shrug. She wrote something on the paper and handed it to Casian.

“This is an inn located in the nearest town from here. You should be able to stay there until you figure things out.”

“I’m on my own then?”

A sad look passed over Nina’s almost child-like features. “I’m afraid so. Most dragon lords know what they’ll become before their dragons hatches and have mentors, for some reason, you’re different. Maybe special… since Argento is the first golden dragon I’ve seen… I just know you’ll have to figure it out and that you won’t be alone. You and Argento are made for great things!”

Casian smirked and he felt sad to have to say goodbye to Nina. She would’ve been a nice friend to have… at least one until her could reunite with Andreas – they had a lot to talk about.

“One last question before you go… how do I get to Eerea?”

Nina shrugged. “Go to the inn… they might be able to help.”

“Thanks… for everything, Nina. Your help has been invaluable. I will miss you.”

Tears timed the faery’s eyes. “Awe… you are going to make me cry and then I’ll get all red and puffy.” She gave him one last hug, holding on a little longer than was necessary and waved her goodbye.

Before Casian could even say anything else, she disappeared as if she had never even been there. Weighed down by the loss of a friend he wasn’t sure he’d see again, Casian patted Argento on the head. “Looks like it’s just you and me now…”

The dragon perked up, his tail wagging. Casian laughed. “You sure seem happy about that, little guy.” Argento cocked his head to the side, his eyes innocent as he regarded his master.

They started threading through the jungle, trying to navigate to the small town Nina had spoken of, but Casian was beginning to feel like they were never going to as the rows of trees seemed like they would never end. But Argento was stacked with energy, practically bouncing form the barks so they kept going.

After what felt like forever, Casian could finally make out the outlines of buildings in the distance. He exhaled in relief. He wasn’t feeling tired yet, he realized, which must’ve meant Argento was lending him energy. The creature looked up at him with those big eyes that suddenly seemed a lot wiser than any newborn should be. Argento was calmer, fueling Casian’s theory. So even their energy levels were connected? Casian had to admit that was pretty cool.