In Pursuit of Dragons by Anne Renwick

Author:Anne Renwick
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781948359108
Publisher: Anne Renwick

It ought to be cozy, sitting before a fire with Luke, holding his hand while, outside, day faded into night. But instead of dreaming of a future together, she was brooding over the past, over things that could not be altered. Too long she’d existed in such a state, tied to a dissolute, opportunist of a husband who had done nothing save foist the care and keeping of his family estate upon her while pilfering from governmental funds earmarked for her research.

Free at last, it was time to take decisive action to secure a better future for herself. Luke in her bed was only a beginning. She wanted more. So, so much more. But if there was no cure for his illness, her dreams of spending a lifetime‌—‌hers‌—‌with him would crumble, slowly but surely. Every hope she had for their future hinged upon a viable egg.

“I can’t wait,” she said. “The uncertainty will kill me.” She reached out to touch the tip of a half-buried egg, then addressed Zia. “May I?”

Zia nudged her hand toward her brood, as if proud to have her offspring admired.

She pushed aside a brass doorknob and a few stones before placing her fingertips upon an egg. She looked to Zia. No objection. Gently, she lifted an egg free, careful to keep it near the flames. Luke handed her the decilamp, and she touched the light to the shell of the egg, illuminating its golden-red interior.

Within a large mass of dark red shifted.

“It’s alive!” she gasped.

“And nearly ready to hatch.” His voice held a note of excitement, but it was tempered with relief. Or was that apprehension?

One by one, they examined all three eggs. All contained viable embryos. Three dragonets due to hatch in less than two-weeks’ time. She looked to Luke with a grin, but her smile fell away as she studied his face. “What’s wrong?”

He gave a quick shake of his head. “Nothing.”

She frowned. “You doubt my laboratory skills, my ability to culture stem cells? It’s true, I have no formal training, and I didn’t help Papa with the original experiment.” She’d been flat on her back in a bed, wondering when she would die. “It is a risk. My plan might well fail.”

Luke shifted, touching his fingers lightly to his injured arm, then dropping them away, clearly uncomfortable. He drew a deep breath. “It bothers me that Ivanov is out there, scheming…‌” He shook his head. “I want the cure. But I also want you safe. And I’m certain Ivanov‌—‌now that his true identity has been discovered‌—‌won’t wait two weeks before pressing his agenda.”

Nor was she. But to step beyond the castle walls was to expose themselves to capture. By Ivanov or Rathail’s hunter. Even if they altered their plans, fled for the city and somehow managed to reach Edinburgh, once they arrived, what then? Bone-deep, she knew men in formal attire would swoop in‌—‌citing various rules and regulations‌—‌snatching away Zia and her clutch. Without a newly-hatched dragon egg or access to a laboratory, all hope of curing Luke would be lost.

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