Page 34 of Wedding the Werepanther

I add, “And we brought you a new friend!”

“A new friend? For me?”Victoria writes.

I hide a wince, worried how the house will react when she finds out Dewdrop is my familiar. What’s the best way to tell her to prevent jealousy?

“Dewdrop, the house we’re inside is named Victoria. She’s a very special house who’s alive. Victoria, this is Dewdrop. He’s—”

“I’m Kayla’s familiar!” the dragonet cuts in, climbing from the sling to jump onto my shoulder. He gives me a cheek rub and purrs, so clearly affectionate there’s no way to hide how close we already are.

Welp, so much for finessing the info. “He’s my familiar.”

“So not a friend for me.”The atmosphere turns chilly.

“Of course he is,” I hurry to say, untangling one of his claws from my hair.

“Dewdrop will be a friend to all of us,” Shadow adds, and I mouth a “thank you” at him.

“Yes! I love everyone!” Dewdrop hops over to the stairs banister and side-shuffles up it until he can rub his head against the wall. “I love you, Victoria.”

“Did you hear that, Victoria?” I ask.

“Hear what?”

Oh, yeah. No one can understand him but me. I gotta get used to this. “Dewdrop says he loves you.”

The feeling in the house flips like a switch, becoming happy and light, and applause comes from the kitchen.

“What’s that sound?” My familiar flies down the hallway, and Shadow and I follow him into the kitchen, where he lights on the island, eyes wide as Victoria continues to make the cabinet doors open and close softly.

“That’s Victoria’s way of saying she approves of something.”

“Me!” The dragonet perks up, puffing out his little chest. “She approves of me!”

“Tell Dewdrop I love him, too.”

I point to the parchment and ask Dewdrop. “Can you read that?”

“What’s reading?” His head cocks to the side.

I guess that answers my question. “Victoria says she loves you, too.”

The dragonet gives a happy chirp and leaps into the air to fly loops around the kitchen.

Shadow laughs, then glances at me. “Looks like you’re playing translator.”

“Guess so. Sure would be better if those two could talk.” Then I imagine all the trouble they could get into together and mutter, “Or maybe not.”

Shadow offers to go and get pizzas. While he’s gone, I chop up a selection of the fruit I have for Dewdrop.

As soon as I peel a banana, the dragonet leaps onto my shoulder and leans forward. “What’s that? It smells good.”

I break off the end of the banana and hold it up for him.

He’s so excited his whole body starts to vibrate.

Or no, that’s me. My magic rushes upward, filling my chest and exploding through my fingers. The piece of banana squirms in my grip, and I drop it with a surprised yelp as I jump backward.

It hits the floor with a tiny squelch of sound, then scuttles sideways.