In the Shadow of the Dragon King Read Online Free

she’d quit staring and say something, anything to make him feel less exposed .
    She rose from the bed and chuckled. “Oh my gosh. I don’t believe it. You got a tat.” She traced the mark with her fingertips.
    Her touch surged like warm currents through his body. David swallowed and pulled the sweatshirt back over his head in hopes she didn’t notice the goosebumps spreading across his flesh.
    “What happened to being afraid of needles and catching the plague?” Charlotte asked.
    “Still there,” David said.
    She sat back down. “So why did you do it?”
    “I didn’t.”
    Charlotte smiled. “Your chest disagrees.”
    David pulled the sweatshirt over his head. “I woke up like this.”
    Charlotte laughed. “Right, and I suppose the tattoo fairies came in your room in the middle of the night and inked it there.” Her blue eyes twinkled. “Come on. Wipe away the scowl and tell me what happened. Did you do it on a dare?”
    “No,” David said. “Didn’t you hear me? I. Didn’t. Do. This.”
    “Oh, come on. It’s me, David. Tattoos don’t appear out of thin air.”
    “This one did, and it’s not the only thing that showed up without explanation.” He pulled an open sketchpad from beneath a stack of books on his desk and handed it to her. “Check this out. I drew it yesterday.”
    A black dragon with small horns and merciless cat-like eyes clung to a castle’s battlement. A boy bearing a striking resemblance to David was clutched in one talon. Crouched in the shadows were a man and a woman, terror etched on their faces.
    Charlotte stammered. “David, this-this is amazing. Creepy, but amazing. The detail is incredible. Who are these two people?”
    “My parents. Look.” David plucked two framed pictures from the nightstand. “You can see the resemblance.”
    “Holy cow. This is whacked.” She glanced sideways at him, her eyebrows pinched. “When did you do this?”
    “Yesterday, after Lily and I got back from visiting my parents’ graves.” David put the photographs back and sat beside her, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped together. “The bad thing is, I don’t even remember drawing it.”
    “What?”
    “All I remember is sitting down to draw and then signing my name to the bottom. Everything in between is a blank, like last night. I don’t remember leaving the house. I don’t know if I walked or drove or if I let someone in.” There was a strained silence. David took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’m scared, Char. What’s wrong with me?”
    “I don’t know,” she said, rubbing his back, “but we’ll figure it out.”
    David stared at the floor, his nerves stretched tight like a rubber band waiting to snap. Charlotte’s presence was the only thing keeping him from breaking. With her, he was complete, like he’d found a missing piece to a puzzle. If only he could tell her how he felt. If only—
    Crack!
    A branch splintered and crashed onto the balcony with a heavy thud. A diminutive but forceful, “Ouch!” followed.
    Charlotte jumped. “Who said that?”
    David stood, his gaze fixed on the balcony doors. Your time is nigh. Be brave. He shook the words from his head and took a deep breath.
    “There’s someone out there,” Charlotte whispered. “I can see the shadow through the curtains.”
    “I know.” David moved around the edge of the bed to the loveseat, opened a black case, and removed a longbow. He wrapped his fingers around the leather grip and pulled an arrow from the quiver.
    “Really?” Charlotte quipped.
    “Someone just dropped onto my balcony from a tree,” he said. “You think I’m going out there unarmed?”
    “Don’t you have a bat?”
    “I’m an archer, Charlotte, not a baseball player.”
    “And whatever that is is not a paper target.”
    David snorted. “Thanks for your overwhelming confidence in me.”
    “Hey, I’m just saying, but please. Go on, Sir Robin Hood. Go for it. Do your thing. Lady Marian awaits your