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Brayden, I need you.

We’ll be there in just a few minutes, okay?

There’s someone coming.

There should be a number of people coming.

That’s not what I mean, Brayden.

He looked back outside. They were closer, much closer than they ought to have been, almost as if they had eaten up space.

Mother very quietly wiped her hands on a towel. “Come on; let’s go see. I think it’s time that we stop hiding from people.”

“What?” He didn’t understand what that meant. He was about to have a party. How was that in any way hiding from people? This was different. This was a caravan of some sort and they were coming right for his farm, where they had no business being, and he didn’t want them here.

Still, he followed his mother because he had to protect his bwostfal, didn’t he? Especially Seren and her mother. There was no way he was going to let somebody discover them and try to take them away.

Brayden, there are a lot of people that are not coming to the party.

I’m coming right now.

That was much better. That was the response he wanted. I’m coming right now. Not in a minute.

His mother stepped outside and waited for him to come out and stand on the other side of the doorway. She shaded her eyes with her hand as two riders on ysidri broke away from the caravan and advanced toward the front of the house. So that was good that they weren’t going to just drive the wagons into his yard. That would have made him fuss.

As it was he wanted to fuss at his mother because she didn’t need to shade her eyes to see and he knew it. Her eyes had never lost any bit of their acuity.

He stepped in front of his mother, and he noted the ysidri were ill-used, lathered and breathing hard, in need of rest and water.

That in and of itself was worth distrusting these dragons.

“Harden of the Galinea Clutch?” one of the armored dragons asked.

“Who has need to know?”

“I have been sent by the Gorett, head of the Great Wyrm, whose name makes the world quake with fear and the mountains bow down in respect. We have business to conduct with you.”

Those were a lot of words. Also — he glanced toward the mountains all around them — nothing seemed to be bowing. Now, the Rocky Mountain clutch was rather intimidating, so maybe the mountain didn’t dare.

“Never heard of him. I am not conducting business this day.” Also, they were not invited to his party.

“Oh, I believe you are. We have our instructions. We are to purchase your new ysidri.”

He felt his eyebrows fly up with outrage. “She is not for sale.”

The dragon soldier curled his lip. “Everything is for sale.”

“Not here.” Harden was not going to have it. He was having a party. “Now, be on your way. No one is for sale.”

The dragon raised his arm, a sharp whistle sounded, and someone brought up a giant chest, all banded with metal.

Pretty.

An order was barked out, and the new dragon opened the lock. The chest contained many, many beautiful jewels, a hoard’s worth.

He looked at them, looked at his mother, glanced at the stranger, and shook his head a bit. His upper lip curled with disgust. “I don’t understand what you want.”

“This is treasure enough to buy a thousand ysidri.”