Waking the Dragon Read Online Free Page A

dinner. However, she also appeared to be the elegant hostess and lovely wife of Lucius Nightwing. Just as stilettos and diamonds suited her, denim and boots suited me.
    I narrowed my eyes as we moved farther into the room. “Is there someone specific I should be dressed up for?”
    “No one special. Just Sorcha and—I just never see you dress up anymore. Such the grunge student these days. Do you need some money for shopping?”
    I breathed out a heavy sigh, not ready to become embroiled in my struggling-college-student status again. “Who did you invite, Jess?”
    Ignoring me, she called into the house. “Julian! Come see who’s here!”
    “Aunt Moira!”
    Unable to stop the throaty laughter at the sight of my four-year-old nephew, I held my arms out to him. He was proof-positive that the Morgon DNA was dominant, beyond any shadow of a doubt, when the races intermingled. Standing a foot taller than the average human four-year-old, wearing only a pair of blue pajama pants, his mop of black hair flopped in his face as he ran to me. His thin black wings flapped furiously, lifting him like a glider when he leaped into my arms. Giggling, I held him low on the waist as he barely had control of his fluttering wings.
    “Careful, big boy, or you’ll lift me right off the ground.”
    He beamed, eyes a brilliant blue like his father’s. His brows shot up. “You think so?”
    “Well, maybe not just yet, but one day soon for sure.”
    Strong, little fingers clasped around my bare neck, my hair still pulled into a messy bun on top of my head. He pressed his forehead to mine, a devilish grin spread across his face, another trait he got from his father.
    “You’ll be the first one I take flying, Aunt Moira,” he whispered.
    “What are you two conspiring about?” Jessen called over her shoulder as she stepped toward the kitchen.
    “Nothing,” I said, giving him a wink.
    “Promise?”
    “Promise.”
    When Julian smiled, he lit me up inside, like sunshine in summer. I feared the things he would get away with as he grew older just from flashing that charming smile.
    “Nothing!” I called out. He giggled, blue eyes glittering like glass.
    “Come along, Julian.” Brant, Lucius’s longtime butler, valet, and all-around housekeeper had apparently added nanny to the job description. “To bed with you before your parents’ guests arrive.”
    “I’ll put him to bed, Brant.”
    The human male in his late forties visibly sighed with relief. “Thank you, Ms. Cade. I have a few things left to prepare in the dining room.”
    “Yay!” Julian’s legs tightened around my middle, his wings flapping, blowing loose tendrils of my hair. “Will you tell me a story?”
    As usual, I could deny him nothing. Sure, I wasn’t ready to settle down and have my own family like Jessen, but I could certainly spoil this darling boy to my heart’s delight.
    “Sure.” I carried him down the long corridor toward his bedroom, my boots echoing on the hardwood.
    He whispered, “Brant’s stories are boring.”
    I laughed. “I’m sure he tries his best. What story would you like to hear tonight?”
    “Tell me another about King Radomis, the dragon king of the North.”
    Entering his bedroom, the chamber was bathed in serene, low light. I marveled at the cosmos above, a mirror of the night sky sweeping in slow circles on the domed ceiling. A crescent moon was beginning to rise from the left corner of his bedroom, as it surely was outside. Such a lovely invention by Nightwing Industries—a balm to send a child into sleep. So many humans categorized Morgons as creators of advanced munitions and security alarms, never seeing the simple beauty their minds could also create. Some prejudices and fear lingered long after laws tried to eradicate them.
    “How about a story of the Golden Treasure in the Vale of Stars?”
    “Nah. The treasure always changes.”
    I lifted his pajama shirt off the dresser and held it out for him. He slipped his arms