Page 20 of Dragon’s Ending

“Um, yes. That’s very nice,” I said, as admiration seemed to be expected.

“It’s not my biggest one, but look, it has a bit missing.”

“Which makes it different from the fifty-three others in your room, I suppose,” the woman said. “Hi. I’m Rae, and this is Teddy, King of the Pine Cones.”

Teddy beamed. “Do you want to see my collection? Dominic said it’s the best one he’s ever seen.”

My brain froze. “Dominic said that? We are talking about the same Dominic?”

Rae’s lips twitched. “Oh, there’s only one Dominic.” She looked at me as if she were assessing something, though I didn’t know what. “But yes, unexpected as it may seem, he has opinions about pine cones.”

“He knows everything,” Teddy proclaimed. “Come and see them, please?”

“Teddy,” Rae said. “I’m sure Mr Berstow has other things to do. Maybe later, if you’re very good, you can bring your favourite one to supper and show him. If that’s okay with Mr Berstow.”

“Ben, please. And I’d love to see your favourite one later, Teddy,” I said, carefully sidestepping him and heading for the door with another smile at Rae. Primarily of relief that I didn’t have to go and spend time looking at an array of pine cones and trying to find something nice to say about each one. The thought that Dominic had done that… My brain was still frozen on that image.

But I had a lot of work to do, discoveries to make, and brain itches about those markings to scratch until, hopefully, something fell into place. I didn’t have time to waste thinking about the conundrum that was Dominic Bedwyr.

* * *

I’d been almost looking forward to supper. Mainly because I was famished, but also because I was beginning to feel I understood the rhythm of this place. Phoebe was friendly, and Jeff on my other side was always ready to talk. Mainly about football, to be true, but things here weren’t quite as awkward as that first evening meal had made them seem.

When Rhodri came in with two older dragons, both of whom I recognised but whose names I didn’t know, Phoebe drew in a breath. Tiny, but I heard it. The entire table became very still and silent at the bitten-down fury on Rhodri’s face.

The power Rhodri held, his presence and the way he dominated this house were oppressive. He didn’t shout—that I’d witnessed, anyway—but a simple glance made whoever was on the receiving end wither on the spot. Heads of family were fearsome in their power, and Rhodri didn’t bother to cloak his. Dragons were part of the human world and subject to its laws, but there were so many other types of punishment dragon heads could dole out. Their word was absolute.

Even Dominic was behaving, I saw, somewhat to my surprise. Sitting normally rather than slouching, carefully watching his father. Right up until he must have felt my eyes on him, and his gaze flicked straight to me.

There was a glimmer in his eyes, amusement perhaps, or acknowledgement. As if he’d caught me at something and he didn’t mind in the least. I knew I shouldn’t, but I looked away first. Tried to will away the heat in my cheeks from being caught looking. Because I hadn’t been looking, not in the way Dominic clearly assumed.

Once again, at the end of the meal no one stirred from the table until Rhodri had risen to his feet and left the room, and a collective breath seemed to be let out. The volume of various conversations went up, but none of it drowned out the child’s voice. “Mr Berstel!”

“Berstow,” Rae corrected, a hand on Teddy’s shoulder where he was wriggling in his chair. Without that anchoring hand, I had no doubt that Teddy would have launched himself bodily across the table. As it was, big grey eyes stared at me imploringly, and I remembered my rash promise to admire his favourite pine cone. Excusing myself from Phoebe and Jeff, I went to him.

Teddy met me halfway, holding out a rather battered-looking pine cone with immense ceremony.

“This is the foundation one,” he informed me. “That means it’s the best. Dominic said so.”

“It’s very…” I searched desperately for a suitable adjective. Muddy seemed unkind. Lopsided was probably out, along with Are you sure it hasn’t got insects hiding in it that’ll crawl into your bed? So maybe I took after my mum when it came to the importance of clean sheets.

“Distinctive,” I said at last.

Teddy beamed.

Before I could think of anything else to say, a voice cut in behind me. “It’s going to rain tomorrow.”

I turned. Dominic had appeared, drawn no doubt by curiosity, boredom, or simply unable to resist interfering in somebody else’s conversation.

He crouched beside Teddy, taking the pine cone with surprising care.

“See how it’s closed up?” he said, running one finger lightly along the scales. “They do that when it’s going to be wet.”

Teddy’s eyes widened. “Really?”

“Means your room’s basically a weather station.”

“My own weather station?”